king Tutankhamun | Famous Egyptian Pharaohs kings

Discover King Tut Tomb, Mummy, Death, Mask, Facts, Biography, Tomb, Kings of Ancient Egypt Kingdom…

Tutankhamun Living is the image of Amun (1334-1325)

We have been talking about The New Kingdom of Ancient Egypt and those kings who ruled Egypt from 1550 to 1080 BC.  Some of the kings we knew very well from the king lists in Abydos, Karnak, and from their monuments everywhere in Egypt, especially Luxor.

Tutankhamun was one of those little-known figures of the 18th dynasty till his tomb was discovered in November 1922. Most of the king lists dropped the kings after Amenhotep 3 till Horemheb. To understand who was Tutankhamun and why he is so famous, we answer some of these questions

Who was Tutankhaten (Tutankhaten)?

When and where was Tutankhaten (Tutankhaten) born?

At what age did Tutankhaten (Tutankhaten) become a Pharaoh?

Why did he change his name from Tutankhaten to Tutankhamun?

Why was Tutankhamun called the boy king?

Who was King Tutankhamun’s Wife?

When did Tutankhamun die?

Where was Tutankhamun buried?

What is the Mummy’s Curse?……..

Who Was Tutankhaten (Tutankhamun)?

Once we answered those questions, we will have every good idea about king Tutankhaten, and later Tutankhamun. Tutankhaten spelled Tutankhamun, famous as king Tut was the 12th king of the 18th dynasty. The first 11th kings of the dynasty were as follows

  1. Ahmose I
  2. Amenhotep I
  3. Tuthmosis I
  4. Tuthmosis II
  5. Hatshepsut
  6. Tuthmosis III
  7. Amenhotep II
  8. Tuthmosis IV
  9. Amenhotep III
  10. Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV)
  11. Smenkhkare (probably coregent with Akhenaten in the final years of his reign)
  12. Tutankhamun
  13. Ay
  14. Horemheb

We still do not have information about who was the father and the mother of the king Tutankhamun. Some archaeologists believe Tutankhaten (Tutankhamun) was the son of the king Akhenaten from one of his minor wives called Kiya. Sure, Tutankhaten was not the son of the king with Nefertiti, as we know king Akhenaten had 6 daughters with his wife Nefertiti. One of these 6 daughters will marry Tutankhamun later.

Names of the 6 daughters of the king Akhenaten and Nefertiti

  1. Meritaten
  2. Meketaten
  3. Ankhesenpaaten (Tutankhaten-Tutankhamun) wife
  4. Neferneferuaten
  5. Tasherit
  6. Neferneferure

When and where was Tutankhaten (Tutankhaten) born?

As long as we know that king Akhenaten ruled the first 4 years of his reign from Luxor as a capital city then he changed the capital to Akhetaten or Tell El Amarna. Amenhotep IV, Akhenaten married non-royal blood Nefertiti, daughter of the vizier AY, and he introduced a new monotheistic cult of the sun-worship, Aten.

Akhenaten ruled from Akhetaten for 17 years till his death and Tutankhamun became a king when he was 8/9 or 10 years maximum. That means, Tutankhaten was born in the new capital Akhetaten or Tell El Amarna in the 11th year of the ruling time of the king Akhenaten. He was names Tutankhaten till he became a king and changed his name to Tutankhamun.

At what age did Tutankhaten (Tutankhaten) become a Pharaoh?

Seems that Tutankhaten’s father (Akhenaten) and predecessor to power choose Smenkhkare as coregent at the end of his life. After his father and his coregent death, Tutankhaten became a king after getting married to Akhenaten’s third daughter, Ankhesenpaaten, and later Ankhesenamen. Most probably her sisters died before that time. At that time, Tutankhaten was 9 years old.

 Why did he change his name from Tutankhaten to Tutankhamun?

If we can say that his father Akhenaten recognized the growing power of the priesthood oh Amun from the first beginning and he wanted to put an end to that. That’s why he closed the Pharaonic Temples, stop the Amun cult, introduced Aten new cult, and changed the capital to el Amarna. Sure, he moved with his new fans, the upper classes of the society, those who embraced the new religion. But his mom Queen TIY was against that.

Queen TIY traveled to her son in the new capital, trying hard to convince him to come back to Luxor Tours, the old capital, to Amun, the old god but it was no way. After his death, Queen TIY, took the new young king Tutankhaten back to Luxor after he was crowned at Memphis then he ruled from Luxor as a capital. A new move back to the old religion was made and the king and his wife replaces the name of Aten with Amun. So, Tutankhaten changed his name to Tutankhamun in the 2nd year of his reign.

Why was Tutankhamun called the boy king?

Most probably the boy became a king when his father passed away. As we mentioned before, Smenkhkare was co-ruler with Akhenaten and after his death, he went to the old capital Memphis. Soon he passed away and Tutankhamun became the only king of the whole of Egypt at age of 9 years old, that was the reason why he is called the Boy King.

Who was King Tutankhamun’s Wife?

Tutankhamun’s wife was the third daughter of Nefertiti and Akhenaten because her first two sisters died young. According to Egyptian traditions, the king should be the son of the king of his major or chief wife.

This means the mother of the king should be a daughter of a king and Queen but if the king id 50% royal blood. He had no right to be the pharaoh but he can if he will marry to 100% royal blood princess as he did.

When did Tutankhamun die?

Tutankhamun ascended the throne when he was 8, or 9- or 10-years old maximum. He ruled for about 10 years, so he dies when he was 18, or 19 years old around 1325 B.C.

 Accomplishments

We should confess first that Tutankhamun is not known for his accomplishment but for the grandness of his tomb. We can not compare him to any of the other great kings like Cheops, Hatshepsut, Tuthmosis III, or Ramesses II for example.

King Tut is only famous because of the discovery of his tomb. If we think about what could be inside a Pyramid? There is no answer as we never found an intact Pyramid. Sure, we can guess what was inside but we cannot confirm. Because of King Tut’s tomb, we can give a very good idea of what we can expect to see inside one of these royal tombs. If we can consider this one of his accomplishments.

If we can mention another accomplishment even, he has nothing to do with that, Tutankhamun was born for a king. A son of a king even from the minor wife.

One more, he moved the capital back to Luxor, Thebes in that time after his father moved it to the middle of Egypt between Memphis and Luxor, El Amarna.

He restarted what his father stopped. He opened the temples, restored the old religious rituals, and gave the priests their prestige. Changed his name from Tutankhaten to Tutankhamun.

He started, added, and decorated many parts in the house of the god in that time Amun Ra like Luxor temple, Karnak temple, and The Opet Feast Hall, and restore religious artifacts.

King Tut took the throne at an early age

Where is the tomb of  Tutankhamun?

Tutankhamun was born in El Amarna, crowned at Memphis, ruled from Luxor, and buried on the west bank of the River Nile in the Valley of the Kings.

How did Tutankhamun die?

We should know that we have a lot of theories and nothing is for sure since we found the tomb in 1922 till now. We will mention some of the opinions right here
When Carter found the tomb and the mummy inside the sarcophagus. He found a hole in the back of his skull. Some historians suggest that he was assassinated because of that but may the hole be made accidentally during the mummification process. Maybe that was the way how they get rid of the brain through the hole.
Another funny opinion dates back to 2014, BBC tv documentary program suggests that King Tut died in a chariot crash that broke his legs and pelvis, leading to infection and death.
Malaria, some mentioned that malaria was probably the most acceptable opinion of King Tut’s death.
Conclusion
Till today, “We cannot and we do not have any evidence at present know-how Tutankhamun died. All we know about Tutankhamun is that he was a sticky man and he was a very fragile and disabled Egyptian Pharaohs kings.