'Tutankhamun and his tomb

Tut’ankhamun (Nebkhepruré) (d. 1323 B.C.E.) Twelfth
ruler of the Eighteenth Dynasty and the most famous
pharaoh of Egypt
He reigned from 1333 B.C.E. until his untimely death. The
most popular pharaoh in modern times because of the
discovery of his tomb, he was probably the son of AKHENATEN.
As the successor of SMENKHARÉ, he was only eight
or nine at his succession. He was married to ANKHESENAMON,
the third daughter of NEFERTITI and Akhenaten, and
for a time the young couple remained at ’AMARNA. Then
they moved to MEMPHIS and refurbished the apartments
of AMENHOTEP III at THEBES for their use. He had abandoned
his ATEN name by his fourth regnal year.
The RESTORATION STELA, which dates to this period,
gives an account of Tut’ankhamun’s efforts to stabilize
the government and to restore the temples and cultic
rites of the old gods of Egypt after the ’Amarna period.
He even subsidized new priests and the palace staff from
his own pocket. It is believed that AYA (2) was one of his
counselors at the time, and he probably suggested the
reform measures. Tut’ankhamun had been given the
name Tut’ankhaten, but assumed his new name as part of
the restoration of the old ways. He also moved some of
the bodies of the royal family from ’Amarna to Thebes, as
evidenced by a cache of royal jewelry apparently stolen
during the reburial and then hidden in the royal wadi
area.

414 Tuthmosis
In his 18th year, Tut’ankhamun died, apparently from
a head wound. The nature of the wound, which was in
the region of the left ear, makes it likely to be the result of
a battle injury or an accident, and not the work of an
assassin, although there is a debate about this. When he
was buried in the VALLEY OF THE KINGS, two mummified
fetuses were found in COFFINS sealed with his name. It is
believed that they were his children, born prematurely.
After his death,

Queen Ankhesenamon made the
extraordinary offer of herself and the throne of Egypt to
the Hittite king SUPPILULIUMAS I. The HITTITE prince sent
to marry Ankhesenamon as a result of her invitation was
slain at Egypt’s border. She married Aya and then disappeared.
The wealth of Tut’ankhamun’s mortuary regalia has
mesmerized the modern world. It is believed that his
canopic coffinettes were originally intended for
Smenkharé. Other tomb treasures were taken from the
’Amarna necropolis as well. The tomb of Tut’ankhamun
would have been vandalized if the treasurer of HOREMHAB,
MAYA, had not intervened to protect it. Maya was able to
preserve this resting place, thus offering the modern
world spectacular treasures. Tut’ankhamun is also credited
with a mortuary temple in the area of MEDINET HABU.
He had designed colossal statues of himself for this
shrine, but they were usurped by his successors.
Suggested Readings: El Mahdy, Christine. Tutankhamun:
The Life and Death of the Boy-King. New York: St. Martin’s
Press, 2000; James, T.G. Henry, Araldo de Luca, and Elisabetta
Ferrero. Tutankhamun. New York: Friedman/Fairfax,
2000; Reeves, C.N., and Nicholas Reeves. The
Complete Tutankhamun: The King, the Tomb, the Royal
Treasure. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1995.
Source : Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt