1. Name
While most people call the him King Tut, his actual name was Tutankhamen. His name means Living image of Amun. Amun was a local deity to Thebes. He was the God of wind and the King of the Gods. His original name was Tutankhaten, or Living image of Aten. His father had made Aten the main God of his people.
2. Life
King Tut was a Pharaoh in Egypt in the 18th dynasty. He ruled from 1332 BC until 1323 BC. During his reign he reversed many decisions made by his father which included moving the capital back the Thebes and restoring Amun as the supreme God. This is also when he changed his name, emphasizing the restoration of Amun as the supreme God.
3. Death
No one is certain how King Tut died. He did have a broken leg that was infected. His system was also shown to have Malaria in it. These two factors lean Scientists to believe they worked in combination to kill him. Some believe he was killed, but most consider his death an accident.
4. Age
King Tut was only 9 years old when he became Pharaoh. This has earned him the nickname ‘The Boy Pharaoh.’ He was also 9 years old when he married his half-sister, Ankhesenamon. She was 13. King Tut was the youngest ruling Pharaoh, and also the youngest ruling Pharaoh to die during rule.
5. Forgotten
King Tut was virtually forgotten for many many years. Horemheb, who took over after King Tuts successor died, replaced Tutankhamen’s name on many monuments with his own name. He was wiped from the record and forgotten in history.
6. Tomb
The tomb of King Tut was discovered by Howard Carter in 1922. The tomb was the most well preserved tomb ever discovered from ancient Egypt. The artifacts inside the tomb included furniture, clothes, and weapons. Also in the tomb was the body of King Tut and the bodies of his wife and two stillborn daughters.
7. Body
King Tuts body was found mummified, as was customary for Egyptian royalty. His body was inside a sarcophagus, which had 3 coffins inside. The body was in the third coffin, which was made of gold. On his head was a 24 pound gold portrait mask, pictured at the beginning of this article. This is the most iconic image representing Ancient Egypt to date.
8. The Curse of King Tut
After the tomb’s discovery, the person who funded the expedition died from an infected mosquito bite. Several other mysterious things happened surrounding the tomb discovery, including Howard Carter’s pet bird being eaten by a snake the day the tomb was opened. It was widely rumored that there was an inscription with a curse at the opening of the tomb. However, it has been discovered that the media made up the inscription and the “curse” was over exaggerated in the press.
9. Relics
The relics retrieved from King Tuts tomb have traveled the world. The famous mask is on display at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. The best known tour of relics was The Treasures of Tutankhamun, which ran from 1972 to 1979 and visited more than 7 countries. The tour allowed millions to view various things pulled from the tomb.
10. Fame
Because of the discovery of his tomb, King Tut is now the most well-known Pharaoh. Almost all we know about his is a result of the discovery of his tomb.
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