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Tutankhamun, also King Tut, was only 19 years old when he passed away 3,300 years ago. He came to the throne at the age of 9, too young to have made his own decisions. They were made for him by two figures. Aye (also Ay), his vizier [or minister] was said to be the power behind the throne during Tutankhamun's reign. His royal name was Kheperkheperure which means "Everlasting are the Manifestations of Ra". The other personage was Horemheb (a.k.a. Horemhab or Haremhab), the commander-in-chief of his army.
We think King Tut was Akhenaton's son not from the well-famed (Neferneferuaten) Nefertiti but from Kiya a minor wife [actions and roles of hers are poorly documented in the historical record]. He may have had a brother Smenkhkare (also called Smenkhare, Smenkare and Smenkhkara), or as some think he could have been his father after all. Tut had six half-sisters from Akhenaton and Nefertiti (if Akhenaton was his father really!). He was married to his probably half-sister Ankhesenamun [denotes "Her Life Is of Amun"] and had twin girls who were stillborn and buried with him in the tomb. But even Ankhesenamun's fate is unknown, as she was made to marry Aye after her husband's death then just disappeared out of existence.
Tutankhamun was the King that brought back the old religion after the revolution of Akhenaton, who banned the worship of Amun in favour of the one god Aten or Aton (religion: Atenism), which was represented by "the disk of the Sun". This gave him instantaneous popularity with both priests and people, so he was a loved king! Contrary to what was concluded that he was buried in haste, clues have shown that the mummification process and burial took their due course.
For some reason when Horemheb came to power he deleted all evidence of existence of his predecessors Akhenaten, Neferneferuaten, Smenkhkare, Tutankhamun, and Aye who were erased from the official lists of Pharaohs which instead reported that Amenhotep III [means "Amun is Satisfied"] was immediately succeeded by Horemheb. This may have been a way for Horemheb to delete all trace of Atenism and of any pharaoh associated with it from historical record. Akhenaten's name never appeared on any of the king lists compiled by later Pharaohs and it was not until the late 19th century that his identity was re-discovered and the surviving traces of his reign were unearthed by archaeologists.
Before Howard Carter discovered Tutankhamun's intact tomb in 1922, the world had never heard of King Tutankhamun and the finding led to a refreshed public interest in ancient Egypt. Since then his burial mask has become synonymous with all of Egyptian history. But at the time of discovery, Carter and his teamwork basically dismantled the corpse while looking for amulets and other jewellery. The mummy's head was removed and nearly every major joint severed. Furthermore, many of its parts present at the original examination are now missing. But if Carter had not cut the mummy free from the hardened resin that cemented it fast in the wooden coffin, thieves would certainly ripped it apart to remove the gold.
Archaeology has significantly changed over the years. It was more important to discover and collect treasures, not paying enough or any attention to details of life and intriguing mysteries of death, even if they left the antiquities badly damaged or in a critical state.
Since 1926, the mummy has been X-rayed three times. First X-ray picure was taken in 1968 by a group from the University of Liverpool led by Dr. R. G. Harrison. Then in 1978, another group from the University of Michigan, and finally in 2005 a team of Egyptian scientists led by Secretary General of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, Dr. Zahi Hawass, who conducted a CT scan on the mummy, acquiring 1,700 three dimensional images during a 15-minute scan.
The early X-rays raised alarms that the deceased was murdered. But did the young pharaoh die from a blow to the head? Well! apparently not! After the detailed CT scans taken recently King Tut died of natural causes. Although some Egyptologists and amateur sleuths have long speculated that a stealthy foe murdered Tut by attacking him from behind. The evidence is all circumstantial, with very little reason to believe that murder was the primary scenario.
So lets look at evidence just a tad-bit closer. Among claims that King Tut may have died of the Black Death or Bubonic Plague* (which had appeared at the time), of lung disease, poison or even a brain tumour, the major allegation of a fatal blow to the back of the head have all proved futile.
The damage to the skull that raised cahoots has proven to be due to damage by the embalmers during the mummification process or carelessness of the Carter team. What was actually determined, though speculation, but the most agreed on, is the fact that there was a fracture found on the left leg of the mummy, which did not show evidence of healing, meaning that it was received just before death.
And again from what we learnt of his life painted on the walls of his burial chamber, like all Pharaohs, King Tutankhamun studied reading, writing, mathematics, geology, astronomy, a foreign language and for fun and relaxation he learnt, archery, wrestling and how to drive a chariot. But as it seems he had a deep infatuation with hunting, which may have been the root cause of his demise. Whatever caused the fractured thigh bone is likely to have also caused an open wound that was serious enough to cause an infection, fever and death. Although the break itself would not have been life-threatening, but gangrene caused by a badly broken leg was the most likely culprit. So was it a hunting accident that brought the end to a Dynasty of Kings? We may never know.
Many questions have yet to be answered about the life and death of the Boy-King, and may even remain a mystery buried under the sands of time like many still unsolved mysteries of the Valley of the Kings.
* Bubonic plague, caused by Yersinia pestis [a Gram-negative, nonmotile, rod-shaped coccobacillus, with no spores], is transmitted by the bite of the flea Xenopsylla cheopsis.
This flea lives off the blood of many species besides man but its most notorious relationship is with the black rat (Rattus rattus). Recent archaeological evidence has caused a rethinking of plague in the ancient Near East. Fossilized remains of the plague flea have been found in large numbers in Amarna, Egypt; and, since Amarna was occupied for only a few years, we can date this contact between human beings and plague fleas accurately to about 1350 BC - which is before the events described in the Book of Samuel. Moreover, archaeological studies in the Nile Valley indicate that R. rattus was introduced at this time, probably via ships from India. Evidence of bubonic plague has not been seen in Egyptian mummies but all the vectors were in place. These vectors could have spread a few miles north to Philistia [Philistia refers to the land of the Five Lords of the Philistines, described in Joshua and Samuel, comprising Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, Gath, and Gaza, in the south-western Levant].
About the Author:
Gawhara Hanem
Tutankhamun, also King Tut, was only 19 years old when he passed away 3,300 years ago. He came to the throne at the age of 9, too young to have made his own decisions. They were made for him by two figures. Aye (also Ay), his vizier [or minister] was said to be the power behind the throne during Tutankhamun's reign. His royal name was Kheperkheperure which means "Everlasting are the Manifestations of Ra". The other personage was Horemheb (a.k.a. Horemhab or Haremhab), the commander-in-chief of his army.
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| Detail of a statue of Horemheb, at the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna Photo credit: wikipedia.org |
We think King Tut was Akhenaton's son not from the well-famed (Neferneferuaten) Nefertiti but from Kiya a minor wife [actions and roles of hers are poorly documented in the historical record]. He may have had a brother Smenkhkare (also called Smenkhare, Smenkare and Smenkhkara), or as some think he could have been his father after all. Tut had six half-sisters from Akhenaton and Nefertiti (if Akhenaton was his father really!). He was married to his probably half-sister Ankhesenamun [denotes "Her Life Is of Amun"] and had twin girls who were stillborn and buried with him in the tomb. But even Ankhesenamun's fate is unknown, as she was made to marry Aye after her husband's death then just disappeared out of existence.
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| King Tut's Death Mask |
For some reason when Horemheb came to power he deleted all evidence of existence of his predecessors Akhenaten, Neferneferuaten, Smenkhkare, Tutankhamun, and Aye who were erased from the official lists of Pharaohs which instead reported that Amenhotep III [means "Amun is Satisfied"] was immediately succeeded by Horemheb. This may have been a way for Horemheb to delete all trace of Atenism and of any pharaoh associated with it from historical record. Akhenaten's name never appeared on any of the king lists compiled by later Pharaohs and it was not until the late 19th century that his identity was re-discovered and the surviving traces of his reign were unearthed by archaeologists.
 |
| October 1925 Carter and a worker examine the solid gold innermost sarcophagus |
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| Zahi Hawass examining King Tut mummy |
Since 1926, the mummy has been X-rayed three times. First X-ray picure was taken in 1968 by a group from the University of Liverpool led by Dr. R. G. Harrison. Then in 1978, another group from the University of Michigan, and finally in 2005 a team of Egyptian scientists led by Secretary General of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, Dr. Zahi Hawass, who conducted a CT scan on the mummy, acquiring 1,700 three dimensional images during a 15-minute scan.
 |
| December 1922 A ceremonial bed in the shape of the Celestial Cow, surrounded by provisions and other objects in the antechamber of the tomb. IMAGE: Harry Burton (C) The Griffith Institute, Oxford. Colorized By Dynamichrome for the exhibition “the discovery of King Tut” in New York. |
The early X-rays raised alarms that the deceased was murdered. But did the young pharaoh die from a blow to the head? Well! apparently not! After the detailed CT scans taken recently King Tut died of natural causes. Although some Egyptologists and amateur sleuths have long speculated that a stealthy foe murdered Tut by attacking him from behind. The evidence is all circumstantial, with very little reason to believe that murder was the primary scenario.
So lets look at evidence just a tad-bit closer. Among claims that King Tut may have died of the Black Death or Bubonic Plague* (which had appeared at the time), of lung disease, poison or even a brain tumour, the major allegation of a fatal blow to the back of the head have all proved futile.
The damage to the skull that raised cahoots has proven to be due to damage by the embalmers during the mummification process or carelessness of the Carter team. What was actually determined, though speculation, but the most agreed on, is the fact that there was a fracture found on the left leg of the mummy, which did not show evidence of healing, meaning that it was received just before death.
And again from what we learnt of his life painted on the walls of his burial chamber, like all Pharaohs, King Tutankhamun studied reading, writing, mathematics, geology, astronomy, a foreign language and for fun and relaxation he learnt, archery, wrestling and how to drive a chariot. But as it seems he had a deep infatuation with hunting, which may have been the root cause of his demise. Whatever caused the fractured thigh bone is likely to have also caused an open wound that was serious enough to cause an infection, fever and death. Although the break itself would not have been life-threatening, but gangrene caused by a badly broken leg was the most likely culprit. So was it a hunting accident that brought the end to a Dynasty of Kings? We may never know.
Many questions have yet to be answered about the life and death of the Boy-King, and may even remain a mystery buried under the sands of time like many still unsolved mysteries of the Valley of the Kings.
* Bubonic plague, caused by Yersinia pestis [a Gram-negative, nonmotile, rod-shaped coccobacillus, with no spores], is transmitted by the bite of the flea Xenopsylla cheopsis.
This flea lives off the blood of many species besides man but its most notorious relationship is with the black rat (Rattus rattus). Recent archaeological evidence has caused a rethinking of plague in the ancient Near East. Fossilized remains of the plague flea have been found in large numbers in Amarna, Egypt; and, since Amarna was occupied for only a few years, we can date this contact between human beings and plague fleas accurately to about 1350 BC - which is before the events described in the Book of Samuel. Moreover, archaeological studies in the Nile Valley indicate that R. rattus was introduced at this time, probably via ships from India. Evidence of bubonic plague has not been seen in Egyptian mummies but all the vectors were in place. These vectors could have spread a few miles north to Philistia [Philistia refers to the land of the Five Lords of the Philistines, described in Joshua and Samuel, comprising Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, Gath, and Gaza, in the south-western Levant].
About the Author:
Gawhara Hanem
Great information and theories about King Tut's death.
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