Tutankhamen

Egyptian pharaoh (r. 1334–1325 BCE)

• Born: c. 1341 BCE
• Birthplace: Probably Tell el-Amārna, Egypt
• Died: c. 1323 BCE
• Place of death: Unknown

Tutankhamen (Tutankhamun; Tutankhamon) is one of the best-known and most studied of the Egyptian pharaohs because his tomb lay undisturbed and intact until its discovery in the early twentieth century. Although he was a relatively minor figure in the course of Egyptian history, the gold-laden contents of his tomb have captured the imagination of the world and contributed much to the knowledge of ancient Egyptian life, culture, and religion.

Early Life

For years the lineage of Tutankhamen (TEWT-ahn-KAH-muhn) was uncertain, and despite the vast assortment of riches discovered in his tomb, the exact dates and events of his rule remain shrouded in mystery. Although DNA tests published in 2010 found genetic matches for his parents, controversy has surrounded even those results. Presumably born in Tell el-Amārna, Tutankhamen was proven to be the son of another mummy considered by most to be that of Akhenaton (1350–1334 BCE). However, some dispute that identification of Tutankhamen's father, and others consider the DNA tests used to be flawed as well. The identity of Tutankhamen’s mother is even less certain. The 2010 DNA analysis as well as another study in 2014 determined that she was certainly the sister of Tutankhamen's father, but it is unclear which one. The mummy of Tutankhamen's mother is known as the Younger Lady, and, like Akhenaton, was a child of Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye.

Tutankhamen married his likely sister or half-sister Ankhesenpaaton, the third daughter of Akhenaton and Queen Nefertiti, and was only nine years old when he succeeded his likely brother, Smenkhare. Tutankhamen’s queen was also very young at the time of their marriage, and took the name Ankhesenamun. The royal couple produced no known heirs. Two fetuses, however, were buried in the tomb of Tutankhamen and are assumed to be their offspring. Tutankhamen ascended the throne during the period of transition that followed the death of Akhenaton, who had promoted a cultural revival through the cult of the solar disk, Aton; at such a time, the rule of Egypt would have been difficult for even the most adept of statesmen. Akhenaton had angered many by moving the capital from Thebes to Tell el-Amārna. Akhenaton’s fervent monotheism, neglect of foreign affairs, and the decline of Egyptian power abroad, especially in Syria and Palestine, had created considerable unrest. During the final years of his reign, however, and during the brief reign of his coregent and successor, Smenkhare, the priesthood of Amen reemerged. When Tutankhamen succeeded his brother Smenkhare, he initially embraced the priesthood of Aton. It was the only cult he had ever known.

Life’s Work

Although the new king originally took the name Tutankhaton, meaning “gracious of life is Aton,” less than three years later he changed his name to Tutankhamen, meaning “gracious of life is Amen.” It is likely that the achievements of Tutankhamen’s reign were actually envisioned and carried out by the vizier Ay and the general Horemheb. Tutankhamen was probably no more than a puppet ruler who, because of his youth and physical frailty (he had foot malformations and likely walked with a cane), was easily manipulated by others for much of his reign. Ay, possibly the father of Nefertiti, was the power behind the throne and was likely responsible for the return of polytheism. The transfer of the administrative capital of Egypt back to Memphis and the reestablishment of Thebes as the religious center should probably be credited to Ay as well. Meanwhile, Hasemhab, the commander of the Egyptian armies, reasserted Egyptian authority in Asia by halting Hittite advances. Tutankhamen was thus credited with successfully halting Hittite advances on the Egyptian empire in northern Syria.

Although several objects in his tomb depict the 5.5-foot (1.6-meter) Tutankhamen defeating enemies in battle, there is no evidence he ever actually participated in a campaign. It is not an impossibility, but unlikely given his ailments; most scholars believe that the depictions represent the king’s armies as an extension of his power. It is known that Tutankhamen was a trained archer. Inscriptions on the fans found in his tomb state that the ostrich plumes they contained were taken from trophies of the king’s hunts.

When Tutankhamen died at about the age of eighteen, he was succeeded by Ay, who married Tutankhamen’s widow. The cause of his death is unknown. Early evidence of skull damage suggested that he may have been killed in battle or assassinated, though most experts believe the death was accidental, perhaps connected to a broken leg. The 2010 DNA study found that Tutankhamen had malaria, which may have joined other factors, possibly genetic and related to inbreeding, in leading to his death. Whatever the cause of his demise, he had not prepared for death. Tutankhamen was buried in the Valley of the Kings in a tomb that had been originally prepared for someone else. The tomb of Tutankhamen was not one typically prepared for persons of such status. It has been estimated that it took the artisans working on his tomb about ten weeks to complete the coffin and shrines that protected him.

The mummification process took about the same amount of time. Before his burial, all of his internal organs, except the heart, were removed and placed in containers called Canopic jars. The body was then placed in a dry mineral, natron, for dehydration. Other substances known only to the ancients were also used to embalm the body before it was wrapped in linen bandages and placed in the solid-gold coffin. Although the entrance of the tomb was pillaged by grave robbers some years after his death, it was later resealed and buried under the debris of the Twentieth Dynasty tomb of Ramses VI, which was built literally on top of his tomb. Tutankhamen was all but forgotten, both by his successors and by historians, until the discovery of his tomb by Howard Carter more than three thousand years after his death.

In 1909, Theodore Davis, a noted archaeologist, uncovered what he believed to be the tomb of Tutankhamen. Howard Carter, a self-trained Egyptologist, disagreed with Davis and vowed to continue the search. He eventually convinced George Herbert, the fifth earl of Carnarvon, to purchase Davis’s concession to work the Valley of the Kings. For the next eighteen years, the two men spent half of each year in the Egyptian desert searching for the tomb of Tutankhamen or some other rare antiquity. In 1922, Carter, whose work since 1909 had been financed by Carnarvon at a cost of more than $250,000, discovered the set of steps leading down to the entrance of Tutankhamen’s tomb. Within days, news of the discovery of the massive golden treasures unearthed in the tomb captured the imagination of the world.

The tomb was stocked with everything the young king might need in the afterlife. Clothing, jewelry, musical instruments, chairs, lamps, weapons, chariots, jars, and baskets containing wine and food filled the rooms. The sepulchral chamber contained his throne, covered with gold, silver, and jewels. The sarcophagus contained three coffins placed one within the other. The innermost, made of solid gold and weighing 2,500 pounds (1,134 kilograms), was of human shape and bore the likeness of Tutankhamen.

Carter spent more than ten years extracting and documenting every artifact removed from the tomb. He maintained meticulous field notes on every aspect of the discovery and excavation. Carter’s notes and drawings, and related photographs taken during the excavation by Harry Burton of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, were later donated to the University of Oxford. Carnarvon, on the other hand, died as the result of a mysterious infection soon after discovering the tomb. He was only one of a series of victims—including Carter’s pet canary, which was eaten by a cobra—whose deaths were attributed to the “mummy’s curse.” The allegedly strange circumstances surrounding their deaths, however, only served to heighten the interest in the phenomenal discovery and the field of Egyptology.

Significance

Tutankhamen was a relatively minor Egyptian ruler. As a result of the discoveries of Carter and Carnarvon, however, the world became obsessed with Tutankhamen and all things Egyptian during the 1920s. Egypt greatly benefited from the publicity surrounding the discovery, as thousands of tourists flocked to the Valley of the Kings. Although the local economy was completely unprepared for the deluge, industrious entrepreneurs soon found ways to accommodate the visitors. The “Egyptian look” became the epitome of women’s fashion, and when the British Empire Exhibition of 1924 featured a replica of the tomb, it attracted more than 200,000 visitors on opening day.

The fascination with things Egyptian created by the discovery of Tutankhamen’s tomb persists in popular culture. Many of the contents of the tomb remain on display in the Cairo Museum, but several exhibitions have been conducted abroad. In 1972, to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the tomb’s discovery, an exhibit was held in the British Museum in London. A similar exhibit toured the United States in 1976. Thousands waited in line to catch a rare glimpse of the wealth and splendor of Egyptian antiquity. Tutankhamen’s greatest legacy as ruler of Egypt was not political or military but rather the knowledge of the society in which he lived that has been gleaned from the contents of his tomb.

Bibliography

Brier, Bob. The Murder of Tutankhamen. New York: Putnam, 1997. A well-known paleopathologist and Egyptologist presents the case for Tutankhamen’s murder, arguing that Ay, who replaced him on the throne, fomented the political intrigue. Although Brier’s thesis is controversial, he is perhaps its most persuasive and knowledgeable proponent.

Carter, Howard. The Tomb of Tutankhamen: Discovered by the Late Earl of Carnarvon and Howard Carter. 3 vols. 1927. Reprint. London: Duckworth, 2000–2001. Carter describes the events of his discovery in detail. The photographs are of great interest.

Dersin, Denise, ed. What Life Was Like on the Banks of the Nile: Egypt, 3050-3030 B.C. Alexandria, Va.: Time-Life Books, 1997. Almost every aspect of Egyptian life, including the role of women in society, is addressed in this well-written volume. The timeline is extremely helpful for the novice Egyptologist, and the bibliography is excellent.

Descouches-Noblecourt, Christiane. Tutankhamen: Life and Death of a Pharaoh. 1984. Reprint. New York: Penguin Books, 1990. The text is complemented by more than seventy color photographs and numerous illustrations related to the life and death of Tutankhamen. The list of principal characters of his life is invaluable. The notes on the color photographs are an excellent resource.

El Mahdy, Christine. Tutankhamen: The Life and Death of the Boy-King. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2000. A thorough assessment of the evidence for Tutankhamen’s life that can be gleaned from the contents of his tomb. El Mahdy argues that the pharaoh died of a tumor, and his death was covered up for a time in order to ensure a smooth transition of government.

Hawass, Zahi, et al. "Ancestry and Pathology in King Tutankhamun's Family." JAMA 303.7 (2010): 638–647. American Medical Assn. Web. 5 May. 2015.

James, T. G. H. Tutankhamun: The Eternal Splendor of the Boy Pharaoh. New York: Tauris Parke, 2000. One of the best-illustrated works on Tutankhamen’s burial available. Provides detailed description of the discovery of the tomb and its contents. The photographs are of exceptionally high quality and include many lesser-known objects as well as the iconographical items such as the gold funerary mask.

Marchant, Jo. "Royal Rumpus Over King Tutankhamun's Ancestry." New Scientist. Reed Business Info., 21 Jan. 2011. Web. 5 May. 2015.

Reeves, Nicholas. The Complete Tutankhamen: The King, the Tomb, the Treasure. 1990. Reprint. New York: Thames and Hudson, 2002. Outlines the events of the discovery of the now-famous tomb. Includes easy-to-read biographical information about the most important participants in the expedition, including often overlooked members of the excavation team. Also contains excellent photographs.