king tut biography
king tut biography
Tutankhamun lived over 3,300 years, during the period known as the New Kingdom. For two centuries, Egypt had decided as a global superpower, while the royal family lived opulent lifestyle. The powerful priesthood of Amun had controlled vast temples and estates.All that changed during the reign of Amenhotep IV when he renounced the multitude of gods worshiped by the Egyptians and abolished the priesthood of Amon. Amenhotep established a new order to worship the sun god Aten and changed his own name to Akhenaten, meaning "servant of Aten".
A new capital was established well north of Thebes (modern Luxor) - home of the main temples of Amun. His new city was named Akhetaten, meaning "Horizon of Aten". This is where Akhenaton (left) has decided with his wife Chief, Nefertiti, who bore him six daughters but no son to be like Pharaoh. It is now believed that Akhenaten and a lesser wife named Kiya were the parents of Tutankhaten, as Tutankhamun was known at first. He spent most of his early years in the palace of Tell el-Amarna, a mentor in many skills, including reading and writing.Much is uncertain about this period and, in time, both names of Nefertiti and Kiya has ceased to appear in written documents. A dark figure emerged as the Smenkhkare - it may have been a brother of the king and ruled briefly by his side.
In any case, shortly after the death of Akhenaten and Smenkhkare, Tutankhaten became a Boy King at the age of about nine years. He married a slightly older Ankhesenpaaten (bottom right), a daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti. Soon their names have been changed to Tutankhamun and Ankhesenamun to reflect the return to favor of the Amun hierarchy and the ousting of the Aten power base. The temples of Amun were restored. At a young age, Tutankhamun would not have been responsible for the actual decision-making. It would have been handled by two senior officials called Ay (possibly the father of Nefertiti) and Horemheb, commander of the army.
Around the ninth year of the reign of Tutankhamun, perhaps 1325 BC, he died and Ay is represented in tomb paintings to oversee the funeral arrangements of Tutankhamun, which lasted 70 days. Meanwhile, Ankhesenamun was left in a dilemma - there was no heir to the throne. (Two female stillborn fetuses were found in the tomb). Maybe she was the Queen who wrote in desperation to Suppiluliumas I, king of the Hittites, asking him to send his son to marry and become Pharaoh. Being an enemy of Egypt, the Hittite king suspected a trick and sent an emissary to check. The situation of the widow was confirmed and he then sent a son who was murdered at the border - probably by agents sent by General Horemheb. (It is also possible that the correspondence with the Hittites may have been written some years earlier by Nefertiti after the death of her husband, Akhenaten.)
The aging Ay became Pharaoh and took Ankhesenamun his queen to legitimize his rule. What happened to her after that is unknown. Ay ruled for only four years after his death Horemheb grabbed power. He soon obliterated evidence of the reigns of Akhenaten, Tutankhamun and Ay and substituted his own name on many monuments. Radiographs taken in 1968 seemed to indicate the possibility of injury to the skull that had time to partly heal. This was seen by some as evidence of a blow to the skull - perhaps murder. Others thought it was perhaps the result of a fall from a horse-drawn chariot.
In January 2005, the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities organized a van equipped with a CAT-scan cell (the latter given by Siemans Ltd and the National Geographic Society) to be taken to the Valley of Kings, as part of her mother Egyptian project. Tutankhamun's mummy was briefly removed from his tomb and decayed outside the van for CT scans. These detailed analyzes have shown no evidence of a blow to the skull. They provided a wealth of data on Tutankhamun, including that he had an impacted wisdom tooth. According to the analyzes, it was estimated that was about 168cm (5 feet 6 inches) tall, lightly built, but well fed, and about 19 when he died.
The analyzes also showed that the Pharaoh had a fractured left femur with skin and broken bones. The left knee cap was also detacted. His injuries could have occurred as much as a few days before his death and, if infection had settled, it may have been fatal. Maybe he was thrown from a car or injured in battle, but we may never know.
A new capital was established well north of Thebes (modern Luxor) - home of the main temples of Amun. His new city was named Akhetaten, meaning "Horizon of Aten". This is where Akhenaton (left) has decided with his wife Chief, Nefertiti, who bore him six daughters but no son to be like Pharaoh. It is now believed that Akhenaten and a lesser wife named Kiya were the parents of Tutankhaten, as Tutankhamun was known at first. He spent most of his early years in the palace of Tell el-Amarna, a mentor in many skills, including reading and writing.Much is uncertain about this period and, in time, both names of Nefertiti and Kiya has ceased to appear in written documents. A dark figure emerged as the Smenkhkare - it may have been a brother of the king and ruled briefly by his side.
In any case, shortly after the death of Akhenaten and Smenkhkare, Tutankhaten became a Boy King at the age of about nine years. He married a slightly older Ankhesenpaaten (bottom right), a daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti. Soon their names have been changed to Tutankhamun and Ankhesenamun to reflect the return to favor of the Amun hierarchy and the ousting of the Aten power base. The temples of Amun were restored. At a young age, Tutankhamun would not have been responsible for the actual decision-making. It would have been handled by two senior officials called Ay (possibly the father of Nefertiti) and Horemheb, commander of the army.
Around the ninth year of the reign of Tutankhamun, perhaps 1325 BC, he died and Ay is represented in tomb paintings to oversee the funeral arrangements of Tutankhamun, which lasted 70 days. Meanwhile, Ankhesenamun was left in a dilemma - there was no heir to the throne. (Two female stillborn fetuses were found in the tomb). Maybe she was the Queen who wrote in desperation to Suppiluliumas I, king of the Hittites, asking him to send his son to marry and become Pharaoh. Being an enemy of Egypt, the Hittite king suspected a trick and sent an emissary to check. The situation of the widow was confirmed and he then sent a son who was murdered at the border - probably by agents sent by General Horemheb. (It is also possible that the correspondence with the Hittites may have been written some years earlier by Nefertiti after the death of her husband, Akhenaten.)
The aging Ay became Pharaoh and took Ankhesenamun his queen to legitimize his rule. What happened to her after that is unknown. Ay ruled for only four years after his death Horemheb grabbed power. He soon obliterated evidence of the reigns of Akhenaten, Tutankhamun and Ay and substituted his own name on many monuments. Radiographs taken in 1968 seemed to indicate the possibility of injury to the skull that had time to partly heal. This was seen by some as evidence of a blow to the skull - perhaps murder. Others thought it was perhaps the result of a fall from a horse-drawn chariot.
In January 2005, the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities organized a van equipped with a CAT-scan cell (the latter given by Siemans Ltd and the National Geographic Society) to be taken to the Valley of Kings, as part of her mother Egyptian project. Tutankhamun's mummy was briefly removed from his tomb and decayed outside the van for CT scans. These detailed analyzes have shown no evidence of a blow to the skull. They provided a wealth of data on Tutankhamun, including that he had an impacted wisdom tooth. According to the analyzes, it was estimated that was about 168cm (5 feet 6 inches) tall, lightly built, but well fed, and about 19 when he died.
The analyzes also showed that the Pharaoh had a fractured left femur with skin and broken bones. The left knee cap was also detacted. His injuries could have occurred as much as a few days before his death and, if infection had settled, it may have been fatal. Maybe he was thrown from a car or injured in battle, but we may never know.
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