Who is Tutankhamun

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King Tutankamun

The Boy-king Tutankhamun is the most of all of Ancient Egypt's pharaohs because of the maginificent treasures found within Tutankhamun's tomb in Egypt's Valley of the Kings. Tragically he died as a teenager and had no surviving children, but left behind a young and devoted widow Ankehesenamun who was then married off in unseemly haste to his successor, the Pharaoh Ay.

 

Head of Tutankhamun by leoncillo sabino

Head of Tutankhamun

tutankhamun by Mostly Dans

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Portrait of Tutankhamun (RMO Leiden, Nubian? 1333-1323bc, 18d) by koopmanrob

Portrait of Tutankha...

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Sarcofag Tutankamon a mida real by Rafel_Miro

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Esfing de Tutankamon

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Cadira Reial

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Uncertain parentage 

Despite the treasures recovered from his tomb, relatively little about Tutankhamun's life is known with certainty. He was born into the Amarnan royal family as Tutankhaten sometime about 1341 BC. His parentage is unknown but most probably he was the son of the Pharaoh Akhenaten known as Amenophis IV and either Nefertiti or Akhenaten's second wife Kiya, although some have suggested Meketaten, who probably died in childbirth about that time, may have been his mother. Older theories that Tutankhamun was the son of Akhenaten's father, Amenophis III, are now considered less likely.

Great baby mystery 

The Royal tomb at Amarna shows the death of Meketaten, and a baby in the arm of a wet nurse. Was this baby Tutankhamun and was his mother Nefertiti or Meketaten?
featured lens Meketaten

Meketaten was the second daughter of Pharaoh Akhenaten and Queen Nefertiti    The details of Meketaten's brief life are scanty but it is possible she died in childbirth which in turn suggests she was a Queen and married to a Pharaoh, possi...

featured lens Nefertiti - mother of Tutankhamun?

By Dr Marc Gabolde has a theory that Queen Nefertiti was the mother of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun. In her lens on Nefertiti's daughter Meketaten lensmistress Kate Phizackerley explores the theory that Meketaten was the mother of Tutankhamun. In This An...

Tutankhaten - Saqqara and Maya 

If Tutankhaten's parentage is uncertain, his childhood is clouded in even more doubt. There was a feeling that he was born and raised at Amarna but Dr Hawass has suggested he had a palace at Saqqara. He was close to his wet nurse Maya (meaning flesh of the gods) whose tomb is at Saqqara as shown in this video.

What is without doubt is that he succeeded to the throne in about 1333 BC aged about nine and reigned for less than ten years although all or most of these would have been under the regency of Ay who succeeded Tutankhamun to the throne on his death.

More about the Amarnan royal family 

featured lens Ankhesenamun

Married to Tutankhamun when he was just nine, Ankhesenamun was his Great Royal Wife for his relatively brief reign as King   This Ancient Egypt lens by Kate Phizackerley covers the life of Ankhesenamun who may have been the queen of four p...

A new name: Tutankhamun 

Perhaps a couple of years into Tutanhkaten's reign, bowing to policical pressure, the royal family and court moved back from Amarna to the old royal capital at Thebes (Luxor) and abandoned Akhenaten's religion of Atenism and reverted to the old polythistic religion. The chief god in the old religion was Amun and in recognition of their changed affiliation, the royal couple took new names. Tutankhaten became Tutankhamun and Ankhesenpaaten became Ankhesenamun. (Egyptian names were spelt in hieroglyphs and English translations vary. Sometimes Amen is spelt with an 'e' rather than as Amun. The couples' names are therefore sometimes spelt as Tutankhamen and Ankesenamen. It is worth remembering this if searching for information on the Web.)

Tutankhamun was still only about 10 and it is unlikely that the move back to Thebes and his religious conversion was his idea. Indeed, there is some evidence that the royal couple in private continued in Atenistic practice. It is more likely that the decision was made by the powers behind the throne - the vizier Ay and General Horemheb - who would in turn succeed Tutankhamun as Pharaoh.

Marriage to Ankhesenpaaten 

When he took the throne at age nine (or so), Tutankhaten was married to Ankhesenpaaten who may have been his half-sister by their father Akhenaten and just four or five years his senior. When Tutankhtaten changed his name to Tutankhamun, Ankhesenpaaten's name was similarly changed to Ankesenamun.

Ankesenamun was Tutankhamun's Great Royal Wife and Queen throughout his relatively brief reign of ten years or so. Vizier Ay took the throne on the death of Tutankhamun so it is obvious that Tutankhamun had no surviving son. There is also no record of any daughters. Two mummified foetuses were found in Tutankhamun's tomb. DNA tests may prove Tutankhamun's paternity; Ankhesenamun is presumed to be the mother as Tutankhamun is not known to have a second wife. With the degree of marriage within the royal family it is perhaps not surprising if genetically the royal line had become weak. The smaller foetus is five months in gestational age and just less than 12 inches in height while the other is estimated to be a birth of between seven and nine months in gestational age and measures just over 15 inches and suffered from Sprengel's deformity with spina bifida and scoliosis. Despite the different gestational ages, it is thought that they may be twins although the umbilical cord of the younger foetus is still attached while that of the older is cut; however, the residual had not dried suggesting that the infant was birthed, possibly drew breath, but did not survive long.

It is likely that Ankhesenamun shared many of the duties with the Pharaoh. She is depicted together with Tutankhamun on a number of items found in his tomb, most famously in a beautiful scene on the back of his 'throne' which depicts a loving royal couple on the back. For more details of the objects found, please see my lens on Tutankhamun's Tomb.

Creative Commons AttributionCreative Commons Sharealike Photographs © Kate Phizackerley, 2003 under a creative commons attribution sharealike license on the terms set out here on my site

Intermarriage within the royal family 

It is assumed that Akhenaten fathered children by both Meritaten and Ankhesenamun (Ankhesenpaaten). It is most likely that Ankhesenamun was Tutankhamun's half-sister. However, if the theory that Mekaten was him mother was correct, then Ankhesenamun was also his aunt! Whatever the exact relationship, it is clear that marriage within the royal bloodline was common. Not surprisingly this resulted in a number of genetic weaknesses being observed within members of the royal family.

  • elongated skull in males, especially Akhenaten but observed in Tutankhamun
  • one leg shorter than the other observed in Tutankhamun and the mummy from Tomb KV55
  • Curvature of the spine - both Tutankhamun and the foetuses found in his tomb

Complete Tutankhamun 

This great book by Nicholas Reeves is an excellent source of information about Tutankhamun and his tomb. I've got the hardbook and totally recommend it. To read a full review, please follow the link.
featured lens The Complete Tutankhamun - Reviewed

Kate Phizackerley, author of the highly respected News from the Valley of the Kings, offers a detaiiled review of "The Complete Tutankhamun" by Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves and published by Thames and Hudson with a forward by the Seventh Ea...

Tutankhamun's mummy dismembered 

This is the first of a series of four videos in this lens. I suggest you watch them in the order I have shown them in this lens 1, 3, 4 then 2. (The 2nd is the least interesting part but details the science.)

In this first video, learn how Howard Carter's team mistreated and mangled Tutankhamun's mummy. If you are interested in reading about the unwrapping of the mummy, you can read an abridged copy of Howard Carter's own notes here.
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An Undistinguised Reign 

Some Egyptian pharoahs like Tuthmosis III were renowned warriors; some, like Ramses the Great as builders of maginificent temples. What was Tutankhamun famous for? Nothing in particular. We know of no great battles. Maybe he died too young - although there is some thought that he had a accident in a war charriot shortly before his death so it is possible he was fighting. His building achievements are modest - although perhaps he did build palaces and temples at Memphis which are now lost to us.

In truth, in the surviving monuments and archaeology, his reign is modest for a pharoah who sat the throne of Egypt for nearly a decade. He did commission some building work at Karnak Temple, beginning the demoliton of chapels built by Akhenaten and possibly built the avenune of Sphinxes between the precinct of the Temple of Amun and the precinct of the Temple of Mut. A reasonable number of statutes tentatively attributed to his reign have also been found in Karnak Temple. There is also a statue of Tutankhamun and Ankhesenamun in Luxor Temple.

It is also assumed that he had a Mortuary Temple on the West Bank of the Nile at Luxor (Thebes) but nothing remains of this and its scale is unknown.

Was Tutankhamun Murdered? 

For 40 years after Tutankhamun's mummy was first x-rayed, the world believed that the king had received a fatal blow to the head - in short that he was murdered. A CT scan in 2005 proved conclusively that this wasn't the case as shown in this video which reviews the alternative causes of his death, particularly whether he died of an infection in a very badly broken leg.
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The video continues with a discussion of whether his leg wound could have been a battle wound or the result of a chariot accident. All the indications are that Tutankhamun could have died in terrible pain from gangarene.

The video ends with a reconstruction of the face of Tutankhamun from the data obtained by the CAT scan.

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The Scientific Investigation 

Personally I think the videos are best viewed in the wrong order. This video covers the investigation and presents some surprising new information on his health and the embalming process.
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The Other Tomb 

One thing that the videos don't mention is that 15 years before Tutankhamun's tomb was found, another sealed tomb was found in the Valley of the Kings. The occupant's seal was missing but was eventually found in pieces in rubble near the entrance. The name on the seal was ... Tutankhamun and the tomb was the mysterious KV55. There's a lot on my to do list at present but I will write up the story of this enigatic tomb when I get chance.

Curse of Tutankhamun 

Was an ancient curse responsible for the death of Lord Carnarvon and others shortly after the opening of Tutankhamun's tomb? Lord Carnarvon's on believed there was a curse.

I think this is one of those questions where the scientist and occultists will see the same facts very differently. Lean more about the Curse of Tutankhamun and the belief of the Herbert family (Lord Carnarvon's heirs) in this lens.
featured lens Curse of Tutankhamun

Scientists, and I cound myself one, discount any curse. Howard Carter, who more than Lord Carnarvon, was responsible for the discovery and opening of Tutankhamun's tomb, lived another 17 years and Carnarvon's daughter Lady Evelyn lived to the ripe ol...

More About Egypt's Valley of the Kings 

featured lens Tomb KV63 in the Valley of the Kings

On February 10, 2006, on behalf of the Supreme Council of Antiquities of Egypt, Dr Zahi Hawass announced that a team from the University of Memphis had discovered a new tomb in Egypt's Valley of the Kings: KV63. This was the first tomb found in t...

featured lens Tutankhamun's Tomb KV62 and Treasures

Tutankhamun's treasures from KV62 King Tut's tomb in Egypt's Valley of the Kings have thrilled the world for 90 years. Discover them for yourself in this lens by Kate Phizackerley author of the popular News from the Valley of the Kings . Photo ©...

featured lens Valley of the Kings

The Valley of the Kings is the burial ground of most pharaohs of the New Kingdom including Tutankhamun. This lens by Kate Phizackerley is one of her series of lenses about Ancient Egypt. Read on to find out more about this famous tourist site, and i...

featured lens Tomb KV64 in the Valley of the Kings

It is widely believed that a new tomb has been discovered in Egypt's Valley of the Kings but not yet announced to the public. This is the story of tomb KV64. This lens by Kate Phizackerley highlights the ongoing excavations in the Egypt's Valley of...

Learn more about Tutankhamun 

Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs: Official Companion Book to the Exhibition sponsored by National Geographic

Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs: Official Companion Book to the Exhibition sponsored by National Geographic

by: Zahi Hawass

Amazon Price: $23.10 (as of 12/25/2009) Buy Now

The Complete Tutankhamun: The King, the Tomb, the Royal Treasure (King Tut)

The Complete Tutankhamun: The King, the Tomb, the Royal Treasure (King Tut)

by: Nicholas Reeves

Amazon Price: $15.80 (as of 12/25/2009) Buy Now

Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs

Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs

by: Zahi Hawass

Amazon Price: $29.20 (as of 12/25/2009) Buy Now

Tutankhamun's Tomb: The Thrill of Discovery: Photographs by Harry Burton (Metropolitan Museum of Art Publications)

Tutankhamun's Tomb: The Thrill of Discovery: Photographs by Harry Burton (Metropolitan Museum of Art Publications)

by: Susan J. Allen

Amazon Price: $16.47 (as of 12/25/2009) Buy Now

Tutankhamun

Tutankhamun

by: Demi

Amazon Price: $14.39 (as of 12/25/2009) Buy Now

Latest News from the Valley of the Kings 

The latest news on Tutankhamun and the Valley of the Kings from my blog.

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All the latest news on Tutankhamun and the Valley of the Kings

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Closing Credits 

And finally, I'd like to thank a few developers whose icons I feature on my lenses: Dry Icons for the Portfolio icon; Gopal Raju for the Twitter Bird; Icons-Land for Sweet Angel; Maja Benic for the Contact & Home icons.

by Kate-Phizackerley

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Off Squidoo I am a middle-aged woman with a wide range of interests from Ancient Egypt, backgammon, cookery ... to ... Zimbabwe which I visited 20 y... (more)

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