Tutankhamun, The Boy King

At the young age of nine, a boy king mounted the Egyptian throne. His name was Tutankhamun, or best known as King Tut. Many intriguing stories have been told about this young pharaoh, but even more interesting are his mysteries. Why did he die? If it was murder, who killed him? And is his curse real? When Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon found King Tut=s tomb they were shocked by the great riches and glorious knowledge that they discovered there. Thanks to them we have filled in many gaps in ancient Egyptian history.

Even though we may never know the exact date, King Tutankhamun is believed to be born around 1307 B.C. His parents are believed to be King Akhenaten and his secondary wife, Queen Kiya. King Tut=s original name was Tutankhaten which means AThe living image of Aten@. He later changed his name to Tutankhamun which means A The living image of Amun@ The Egyptian period known as the New Kingdom is when King Tut reigned from his luxurious palace in Memphis. Because he was so young, King Tut did not make many important decisions on his own. Most decisions were made by Ay and Horemheb, two high officials. Horemheb was commander-in-chief of Egypt=s military forces. During Tutankhamun=s nine year rule, he made some important changes. King Tut issued a decree to restore the temples, images, personnel and privileges of the old gods. His supposed father, King Akhenaten , had ordered that all of Egypt worshiped the new god, Aten during his reign. Later, even though priests began worshiping Amon, leader of the old gods, Tutankhamun never showed disrespect for people who chose to still worship Aten. For this reason King Tut was loved by all of his subjects. When Tutankhamun chose a wife he married Ankhesenamun, his older half sister. At the end of Tutankhamun=s ninth year of reign he died a very sudden, and suspicious death.

There are many opinions on how King Tut died. Most believe that he was murdered, as an X-ray of his skull revealed a calcified blood clot which could have been caused by a blow to the head. He was about nineteen years old when he died a very unexpected death. King Tut=s tomb contains evidence that the mummification process was done in great hast. The tomb he was discovered in was originally created for Ay. Ay was a suspect as he immediately after Tutankhamun died declared himself king and forced Tut=s widow, Ankhesenamun, to be his wife. General Horemhab is also a suspect because after Ay=s short four year rule Horemhab became pharaoh and erased Akhenaten, Ay, and Tutankhamun from The Official List of Pharaohs. An other suspect is King Tut=s wife, Ankhesenamun. It was she who sent a message to the Syrian monarch to ask for one of his many sons to be her husband. As she did not want to marry a A slave@. Most believe she was referring to Ay. Forensic examination done by Egyptian experts shows that King Tut was poisoned. Experts believe that the calcified blood clot and bump on the back of his head most likely was the result of being dropped on the hard flagstone floor during the mummification process. I believe that Tutu (or Dudu),a long time government official, committed the crime of murdering King Tutankhamun. On a statue found, Horemhab wrote a message to his fellow Egyptians. It read A Egyptian brothers, don=t ever forget what foreigners did to our King Tutankhamun@. Tutu was a foreigner, that the royal household disliked, as he was an un-savory character who often caused problems. Sadly we may never know how he died or who kiwlled young King Tutankhamun.

When a high status Egyptian, such as a pharaoh, dies an important process begins. This process is called mummification. The ancient Egyptians believed in life after death. When Egyptians died the deceased=s souls, the Ba and the Ka, were released from the body. The Ba went to live with the Egyptian=s family and the Ka went to and from the body to the Next World. Both the Ba and the Ka went to the body to rest at night. For both of the souls to rest peacefully at night the body needed to be preserved. The best way Egyptians knew to preserve people was mummification. Mummification was a morbid process. The mummies of early pharaohs were often black and dry, while later mummies were yellow and rubbery. In the mummification process, four priests cut a slit in the deceased=s side to remove the organs, which helped prevent rotting. Archeologists have even found mummies that have turned into a jelly-like substance. Next step in mummification was to stuff the Egyptian body with natron and linen, then they placed him on a tilted slab to dry. This method left the deceased reasonably tough and plastic. Afterwards, the body received a cosmetic process where the priests, among other things, placed artificial eyes in the eye sockets. The body was then wrapped in linen and bandages trying to give it a natural shape. Last, but not least, the priests set the mummy in it=s two nesting coffins and the sarcophagus. The inner most coffin could be made of solid gold. After the body was embalmed and the tomb prepared, the procession was lead out and the tomb door sealed for AEternity@. Tutankhamun>s embalming was done poorly and in haste. To the great disappointment of the archaeologists King Tut=s beautiful sarcophagus was opened his remains were in extremely poor conditions.

For about fifteen years Howard Carter had been digging, digging for Tutankhamun=s tomb. Carter new little about this young pharaoh, but he knew that finding the tomb would fill in many gaps in understanding ancient Egypt. In 1921 Carter and Lord Carnarvon, Carter=s partner and financial backer, were starting to give up hope. Still, Carnarvon declared that he would fund one more year of searching. On November 4^th, 1922 a worker needed to set his water jug on some place flat, so he kicked some rocks away. In doing so his heel hit something sharp and hard. The young worker called to others, and together they first uncovered two white steps. Carter wrote ABy the solemn silence all around caused by the stoppage of work, I guessed that something out of the usual had occurred. My foreman was most cheerful, and confidently told me that the beginning of a staircase had been discovered@. The crew dug out sixteen steeps that led to a sealed door. The door=s seal was in tack which suggested that the tomb had been untouched by grave robbers. When Carnarvon got to Egypt, Carter and his workers bore a small hole in the tomb door. Howard Carter inserted a candle and peaked in. He saw many things and, AEvery where the glint of gold@. During the excavation many fabulous items were found including over 300 articles of clothing, more than 200 pieces of jewelry, about 100 baskets of food, 4 game boards, 3 trumpets, 6 war chariots, and 35 model boats. Tutankhamun=s remains were protected by eight containers. Most amazing was that one of them was over 200 pounds and made of solid gold. Even though it is evident that King Tut was buried in great haste, his tomb is one of the biggest archeological finds to this day.

King Tutankhamun=s curse is a well known, and mystifying theory, about the opening of Tut=s tomb and how it may be connected to many tragic events. Five months after the opening of the tomb, Lord Carnarvon died of a mosquito bite, shortly followed by blood poisoning. When Lord Carnarvon=s father heard the news of his son=s death, he jumped from a 7^th story window of his home in London. As Carnarvon=s father was driven to his final resting place the driver ran over a small boy. Howard Carter also suffered under the curse. He lived the last seventeen years of his life in pain and misery. The death of Carter=s golden canary adds to the possible truth of the curse. When Carter first stumbled on the tomb, he and his crew nick-named it AThe Tomb of the Golden Bird@. On that very day a cobra entered Carter=s house and it pounced, then swallowed his golden canary. In ancient Egypt cobras were a sign of royalty. Was this King Tut=s curse or just a coincidence? Supposedly, thirteen of the twenty-two people present at the opening of the tomb died shortly after, under mysterious circumstances. King Tutankhamun, The Boy King is surrounded by mystery, which has astounded archeologists for many years. King Tut was not an important pharaoh when he was alive, but his death lead to the greatest archeological find to this day, having opened up a port hole into the ancient world.