Facts about Tutankhamen | The Golden King of Egypt

King Tutankhamun

The Golden King of Egypt: Thomas: An Egyptian king who succeeded the cults of Amun during the time of his father's rebellion of Akhenaten in 1341 BC-1323 BC. He was the twelfth ruler of the 18th dynasty and is famous because, apart from his golden collection found intact and now exhibited in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, he has indeed worthily prospered in Egypt by returning back to the traditional religion of the cult of Amun as a king. Egypt has made that visit a traditional part of the Egyptian Museum tour of our various tours from Cairo.

Tutankhamun, born in Amarna in 1341 B.C., is one of the historians' favorite memories set as the 'child pharaoh.' He was the successor of pharaoh Akhenaten and the twelfth ruler of the 18th dynasty of the New Kingdom. His original name, Lasting Image of Aton, referred to the cult of Aton, the solar deity of ancient Egypt. Aton was something adored rather forcefully by pharoah Akhenaten, who commanded us to worship this one god instead of the many deities from ancient Egypt.

Had he not been fortunate enough to die peacefully, his reign would have lasted a short period, but he is perhaps one of the most famous pharaohs that ever ruled ancient Egypt. Within nine years of age, he came to power. Most probably, in the annals of ancient Egypt, King Tut is the most famous individual.

The Golden Pharaoh

The reign of Tutankhamun was extremely short: sick from childhood, he died in 1323 B.C. before turning 20 and without having left an heir to the throne of Egypt. Although he ruled, as reported by the ancient historian Manetho, only for 9 years, we remember the reign of this pharaoh because he married the half-sister Ankhesenamon, who also forced her to change her original name, which was Ankhesenpaaton. He also brought back the capital of Egypt from Amarna, the city built by Akhenaten, in Thebes, which is Luxor nowadays.

His tomb was discovered during the expedition directed by Howard Carter in 1922, a British archaeologist and Egyptologist, and sponsored by Carnarvon.
After five years of excavation in the Valley of the Kings, Carnarvon was about to abandon the search for the pharaoh's tomb, but Carter convinced him to finance even more excavations.
22 days after the start of this new investment, Carter opened a crack in the access road to the grave. The mummy of the pharaoh, totally wrapped and contained inside the innermost sarcophagus, was covered with jewels and amulets. Tutankhamun's face was covered with a very precious funeral mask, which is now among the funeral collection in the museum.

The death of the young king probably happened suddenly, and therefore a real grave had not yet been set up for him. According to some archaeologists, these circumstances prompted the family to prepare for his burial in the tomb of Nefertiti, as some theories believed, who died seven years earlier, and to seal the access routes between the two tombs with hidden doors.

In Egypt, even if a king died unexpectedly, there were 70 days to fill the grave destined for him with objects that, according to traditions, could be useful to him in the afterlife. Seventy days was the time necessary before the mummification process was completed.

His mummy was not found amongst those mummies we found in the El-Dier El-Bahari cachette; it was buried in a very small tomb in the Valley of the Kings, not compared to the royal tombs in the valley or famous monuments built by his ancestors in Giza and visited every year by millions during the tour to the Giza Pyramids.

The mummies and tombs of the Egyptian pharaohs are said to be haunted by an old curse that states that anyone who dares to disturb the tranquility of these embalmed mortal remains will suffer from illness, death, or both. Lord Carnarvon was discovered dead not long after the tomb's discovery.

The Mystery Surrounding His Death

According to scholars, the young king Tutankhamun died at the tender age of eighteen, and speculation over the cause of his death has raged on for centuries. Several hypotheses range from death caused by some severe infection due to a fracture on his leg, malaria, to even genetic abnormalities because of incest within the royal family. Although modern science by way of CT scans and DNA analyses has brought some evidence to these theories, the exact conditions surrounding his death are still shrouded in mystery.

Legacy and Cultural Impact

Tutankhamun, in all technical senses, was probably one of the least important rulers in terms of military or political glory. An insignificant tomb compared to many others, however, has made him one of the most famous pharaohs ever. His treasures have gone around, engrossing millions and showcasing the richness of ancient Egyptian civilization. The story of Tutankhamun continues to be popularly told by researchers and enthusiasts, thus ensuring his reputation as the "Golden King of Egypt."