Tutankhamun was a ruler of ancient Egypt 18th Dynasty who ruled for 10
years. He became a household name in 1922, when archaeologist Howard Carter found his tomb in the Valley's remarkable Egyptian kings. Over
the millennia, many Egyptian tombs had been broken into and looted, but
of Tutankhamun was discovered largely intact.
It included several lavish
rooms, overflowing with gold, jewels, statues, furniture, tanks,
weapons and many other objects and sculptures. When the objects of his
tomb went on display in a world " Treasures of Tutankhamun " exhibit, King
Tut won a place in public consciousness far exceeding that of other
kings with greater historical significance.
Tutankhamun tomb discovery
Inside his small tomb, the mummy of the king was in a nest of three coffins, the innermost of solid gold, the two outermost gold hammered wooden frames. On the king's head was a magnificent portrait mask of gold, and many pieces of jewelry and amulets lay upon the mummy and its packaging. The coffins and stone sarcophagi were surrounded by four shrines covered with the text of beaten gold on wood, which practically filled the burial chamber.
The other rooms were packed furniture, statues, clothing, tanks, weapons, personnel, and many other objects. But to his tomb, Tutankhamun has little claim to fame, as it is, it is perhaps better known than any of his predecessors of longer duration and better documented and successors. His fame was assured after the popular "Treasures of Tutankhamun" exhibition has traveled the world in the 1960s and 70s. The treasures are housed in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
Who was Tutankhamun ?
Tutankhamun, commonly known as King Tut, was an ancient Egyptian king. His reign as king was brief, and is best known for his tomb, which was found largely intact in the Valley of the Kings in 1922. During his reign, powerful advisers restored the traditional Egyptian religion and art, both of which had been set aside by his predecessor, Akhenaten, who led the "Amarna revolution." The Descent Tutankhaten-as it was originally known, remains uncertain, although one black fragment originating Akhetaten (Tell el-Amarna), Akhenaten's capital, appointed him as the son of a king in a context similar to that of Akhenaten's princesses.
On the medical analysis of the mummy of Tutankhaten shows that it shares very similar physical characteristics with the mummy found in KV 55 (tomb 55) Valley of the Kings.
Some researchers identify the remains as those of Smenkhkare, which seems to have been co-regent with Akhenaten in the latter years of his reign, others suggested the mummy may be Akhenaten himself. With the death of Smenkhkare, the young Tutankhaten became king, and was married to his third daughter of Akhenaten, Ankhesenpaaton (later known as Ankhesenamen), probably the eldest survivor of the royal family.
Because at his accession, he was very young, the elderly Ay official, who had long maintained ties with the royal family, and the army general, Horemheb, served as senior advisors to Tutankhaten. By its third year of the reign Tutankhaten had abandoned Tell el-Amarna and moved his residence in Memphis, the administrative capital, near modern Cairo. He changed his name to Tutankhamen and issued a decree restoring the temples, images, staff, and privileges of the old gods. He also began the long process of restoration of the sacred shrines of Amon, who had been badly damaged during the reign of his father.
Prohibitions and persecution of Aten, the god of Akhenaten, has been undertaken, and vineyards and royal army regiments were still named after Aton. In addition to a palace built at Karnak and the temple memorial in Western Thebes, now largely disappeared, the main existing monument of Tutankhamen is the colonnade of the Luxor Temple, where he decorated with bas-reliefs depicting the festival Opet, an annual rite of renewal involving the king, the three main gods of Karnak (Amun, Mut and Khonsu), and the local form of Amun at Luxor.
Tutankhamun died suddenly in his 19th year without designating an heir and was succeeded by Ay. He was buried in a tomb somewhat hastily converted for use in the Valley of the Kings (his tomb was probably planned supported by Ay). Like other directors involved in the Amarna period, Akhenaten, Smenkhkare, Ay, and he posthumously to suffer the fate of having his name removed from lists King later usurped and its monuments, especially by his former general, Horemheb, who later became king.
Although Tutankhamun's tomb shows signs of having been briefly seized and looted, the location of his burial was clearly forgotten by the time of the 20th dynasty (1190-1075 BC), where artisans assigned to work on the tomb of Ramses VI near temporary shelters built of stone directly from its input. The tomb has been preserved until a systematic search of the Valley of the Kings by English archaeologist Howard Carter found the location in 1922.
Images of king Tutankhamun
