Nebkheperre Tutankhamun (alternate
transcription Tutankhamen),
named Tutankhaten early in
his life, was Pharaoh of the
Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt
(ruled 1334 BC – 1325
BC), during the period of
Egyptian history known as
the New Kingdom. His original
name, Tutankhaten, meant "Living
Image of Aten", while
Tutankhamun meant "Living
Image of Amun". He is
possibly also the Nibhurrereya
of the Amarna letters.
In historical terms, Tutankhamun
is of only moderate significance,
primarily as a figure managing
the beginning of the transition
from the heretical Atenism
of his predecessor Akhenaten
back to the familiar Egyptian
religion. As Tutankhamun began
his reign at age 9, a considerable
responsibility for his reign
must also be assigned to his
vizier and eventual successor,
Ay. Nonetheless, Tutankhamun
is in modern times the most
famous of the Pharaohs, and
the only one to have a nickname
in popular culture ("King
Tut"). The 1922 discovery
by Howard Carter of his nearly
intact tomb received worldwide
press coverage and sparked
a renewed public interest
in Ancient Egypt, of which
Tutankhamun remains the popular
face.
Tutankamun's parentage is
uncertain. An inscription
calls him a king's son, but
it is debated which king was
meant. Most scholars think
that he was probably a son
either of Amenhotep III (though
probably not by his Great
Royal Wife Tiye), or of Amenhotep
III's son Amenhotep IV (better
known as Akhenaten), perhaps
with his enigmatic second
queen, Kiya. It should be
noted that when Tutankhaten
succeeded Akhenaten to the
throne, Amenhotep III had
been dead for some time; the
duration is thought by some
Egyptologists to have been
seventeen years, although
on this, as on so many questions
about the Amarna period, there
is no scholarly consensus.
Tutankhamun ruled Egypt for
eight to ten years; examinations
of his mummy show that he
was a young adult when he
died. Recent CT scans place
Tut at age 19. This conclusion
was reached after images of
Tut's teeth were examined,
and were found to be consistent
with the teeth of a 19 year
old. That would place his
birth around 1342 BC-1340
BC, and would make it less
likely that Amenhotep III
was his father.
Tutankhamun was married to
Ankhesenpaaten, a daughter
of Akhenaten. Ankhesenpaaten
also changed her name from
the -aten endings to the -amun
ending, becoming Ankhesenamun.
They had two known children,
both stillborn girls –
their mummies were discovered
in his tomb.
During Tutankhamun's reign,
Akhenaten's Amarna revolution
(Atenism) began to be reversed.
Akhenaten had attempted to
supplant the existing priesthood
and gods with a god who was
until then considered minor,
Aten. In year 3 of Tutankhamun's
reign (1331 BC), when he was
still a boy of about 11 and
probably under the influence
of two older advisors (notably
Akhenaten's vizier Ay), the
ban on the old pantheon of
gods and their temples was
lifted, the traditional privileges
restored to their priesthoods,
and the capital moved back
to Thebes. The young pharaoh
also adopted the name Tutankhamun,
changing it from his birth
name Tutankhaten. Because
of his age at the time these
decisions were made, it is
generally thought that most
if not all the responsibility
for them falls on his vizier
Ay and perhaps other advisors.
