Tutankhamun
Tutankhamun, or King Tut, was a pharaoh of Egypt's 18th dynasty who reigned from 1336-1327 B.C.. He is usually identified as the son of Akhenaten, the "heretic pharaoh" who replaced Egypt's traditional polytheism with the monotheistic cult of Aten. Tutankhamun restored polytheism and the cult of Amun.
Tut married Ankhesenamun, daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti -- and Tut's half sister. Their two children were both girls and were both born prematurely and died.[1] Tut named army commander Horemheb as his successor. However, Horemheb was away on campaign when Tut died unexpectedly. Ay, Tut's vizier, succeed him as pharaoh.
In the 19th dynasty, Akhenaten, his brother and successor Smenkhkare, Tut, and Ay were all treated as illegitimate rulers. Their names are omitted from the Abydos king list and effort was made to remove all mention of them in records and on monuments. In 19th century, the history of this period was reconstructed by archeologists.
Tut's tomb was discovered intact by Howard Carter in 1922, still filled with gold, virtually untouched by looters. In 2010, genetic testing established that mummy KV55, discovered in 1907, is Tut's father, and that mummy KV35YL ("the Younger Lady"), discovered in 1898, is his mother. There is a large wound on the left side of the Younger Lady's face, suggesting that she was murdered.[2] The two mummies are close relatives, probably brother and sister. They are usually identified as Akhenaten and an unrecorded secondary wife, although some scholars have suggested Smenkhkare and Meritaten.
References
- ↑ The tragedy of Queen Ankhesenamun, sister and wife of Tutankhamun
- ↑ Hawass, Z., Y. Gad, et al., "Ancestry and Pathology in King Tutankhamun’s Family" (2010), JAMA