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Valley of The Kings
Valley of The Kings
The Valley of the Kings is a valley in Egypt where for a period of nearly 500 years from the
16th to 11th century BC, tombs were constructed for the kings and powerful nobles of the
New Kingdom (the Eighteenth through Twentieth Dynasties of Ancient Egypt). The valley
stands on the west bank of the Nile, across from Thebes (modern Luxor), within the heart of
the Theban Necropolis. The wadi consists of two valleys, East Valley (where the majority of
the royal tombs situated) and West Valley.
The area has been a focus of concentrated archaeological and egyptological exploration since
the end of the eighteenth century, and its tombs and burials continue to stimulate research and
interest. In modern times the valley has become famous for the discovery of the tomb of
Tutankhamun (with its rumours of the Curse of the Pharaohs), and is one of the most famous
archaeological sites in the world. In 1979, it became a World Heritage Site, along with the
rest of the Theban Necropolis.
The Valley was used for primary burials from approximately 1539 BC to 1075 BC, and
contains some 60 tombs, starting with Thutmose I and ending with Ramesses X or XI.
The Valley of the Kings also had tombs for the favourite nobles and the wives and children of
both the nobles and pharaohs. Around the time of Ramesses I (ca. 1300 BC) the Valley of the
Queens was begun, although some wives were still buried with their husbands.
The quality of the rock in the Valley is very inconsistent. Tombs were built, by cutting
through various layers of limestone, each with its own quality. This poses problems for
modern day conservators, as it must have to the original architects. Building plans were
probably changed on account of this. The most serious problem are the shale layers. This fine
material expands when it comes into contact with water. This has damaged many tombs,
particularly during floods.
The Valley of the Kings, in Upper Egypt, Thebes, the burial place of the pharaohs of the New
Kingdom.
Most of the tombs were cut into the limestone following a similar pattern: three corridors, an
antechamber and a sunken sarcophagus chamber. These catacombs were harder to rob and
were more easily concealed. The switch to burying the pharaohs within the valley instead of
pyramids, was intended to safeguard against tomb robbers. In most cases this did not prove to
be affective. Many of the bodies, of the pharaohs, where moved by the Egyptian priests, and
placed in several caches, during the political upheaval of the 21st Dynasty.
Construction of a tomb usually lasted six years, beginning with each new reign.
The Valley of the Kings has two components - the East Valley and the West Valley. It is the
East Valley which most tourists visit and in which most of the tombs of the New Kingdom
Pharaohs can be found.
By the end of the New Kingdom, Egypt had entered a long period of political and economic
decline. The priests at Thebes grew in power and effectively administered Upper Egypt,
while kings ruling from Tanis controlled Lower Egypt. The Valley began to be heavily
plundered, so the priests of Amen during 21st Dynasty to open most of the tombs and move
the mummies into three tombs in order to better protect them. Later most of these were
moved to a single cache near Deir el-Bari. During the later Third Intermediate Period and
later intrusive burials were introduced into many of the open tombs.
Almost all of the tombs have been ransacked, including Tutankhamun's, though in his case, it
seems that the robbers were interrupted, so very little was removed.The valley was
surrounded by steep cliffs and heavily guarded. In 1090 BC, or the year of the Hyena, there
was a collapse in Egypt's economy leading to the emergence of tomb robbers. Because of
this, it was also the last year that the valley was used for burial. The valley also seems to have
suffered an official plundering during the virtual civil war which started in the reign of
Ramesses XI. The tombs were opened, all the valuables removed, and the mummies collected
into two large caches. One, the so-called Deir el-Bahri cache, contained no less than forty
royal mummies and their coffins; the other, in the tomb of Amenhotep II, contained a further
sixteen.
The Valley of the Kings has been a major area of modern Egyptological exploration for the
last two centuries. Before this the area was a site for tourism in antiquity (especially during
Roman times). This areas illustrates the changes in the study of ancient Egypt, starting as
antiquity hunting, and ending as scientific excavation of the whole Theban Necropolis.
Despite the exploration and investigation noted below, only eleven of the tombs have actually
been completely recorded.
The Greek writers Strabo and Diodorus Siculus were able to report that the total number of
Theban royal tombs was 47, of which at the time only 17 were believed to be undestroyed.
Pausanias and others wrote of the pipe-like corridors of the Valley - i.e. the tombs.
Clearly others also visited the valley in these times, as many of the tombs have graffiti
written by these ancient toursits. Jules Baillet located over 2000 Greek and Latin graffiti,
along with a smaller number in Phoenician, Cypriot, Lycian, Coptic, and other languages.
Before the nineteenth century, travel from Europe to Thebes (and indeed anywhere in Egypt)
was difficult, time-consuming and expensive, and only the hardiest of European travelers
visited Ð before the travels of Father Claude Sicard in 1726, it was unclear just where Thebes
really was. It was known to be on the Nile, but it was often confused with Memphis and
several other sites. One of the first travelers to record what he saw at Thebes was Frederic
Louis Norden, a Danish adventurer and artist. He was followed by Richard Pococke, who
published the first modern map of the valley itself, in 1743.
In 1799, Napoleon's expedition drew maps and plans of the known tombs, and for the first
time noted the Western Valley (where Prosper Jollois and edouard de Villiers du Terrage
located the tomb of Amenhotep III, WV22). The Description de l'Egypte contains two
volumes (out a total of 19) on the area around Thebes.
Nineteenth Century
European exploration continued in the area around Thebes during the Nineteenth Century,
boosted by Champollion's translation of hieroglyphs early in the century. Early in the century,
the area was visited by Belzoni, working for Henry Salt, who discovered several tombs,
including that of those of Ay in the West Valley (WV23) in 1816, and Seti I, KV17 the next
year. At the end of his visits, Belzoni declared that all of the tombs had been found and
nothing of note remained to be found.
In 1827 John Gardiner Wilkinson was assigned to paint the entry of every tomb, giving them
each a designation that is still in use today Ð they were numbered from KV1 to KV21
(although the maps show 28 entrances, some of which were unexplored). These paintings and
maps were later published in The Topography of Thebes and General Survey of Egypt, in
1830. At the same time James Burton explored the valley. His works included making KV17
safer from flooding, but he is more well known for entering KV5.
In 1829, Champollion himself visited the valley, along with Ippolitio Rosellini. The
expedition spend 2 months studying the open tombs, visiting about 16 of them. The copied
the enscriptions and identfied the original tomb owners. In the tomb of KV17, they removed
some wall decorations, which are now on dispaly in the Louvre, Paris.
In 1845 - 1846 the valley was explored by Carl Richard Lepsius' expedition, they explored
and documented 25 main valley and 4 in the west.The later half of the century saw a more
concerted effort to preserve rather than simply gathering antiquities. Auguste Mariette's
Egyptian Antiqities Service started to explore the valley, first with Eugene Lefebre in 1883,
then Jules Balliet and George Benedite in early 1888 and finally Victor Loret in 1898 to
1899. During this time George Daressy explored KV9 and KV6.
Loret added a further 16 tombs to the list of tombs, and explored several tombs that had
already been discovered.
When Gaston Maspero was reappointed to head the Egyptian Antiquities Service, the nature
of the exploration of the valley changed again, Maspero appointed Howard Carter as the
Chief Inspector of Upper Egypt, and the young man discovered several new tombs and
explored several others, clearing KV42 and KV20.
Twentieth Century
Around the turn of the Twentieth Century, the American Theodore Davis had the excavation
permit in the valley, and his team (led mosty by Edward R. Ayrton) discovered several royal
and non-royal tombs (KV43, KV46 & KV57 being the most important). In 1907 they
discovered the possible Amarna Period cache in KV55. After finding what they thought was
the burial of Tutankhamun (KV61), it was announced that the valley was completely
explored and no further burials were to be found.
Howard Carter then acquired the right to explore the valley and after a systematic search
discovered the actual tomb of Tutankhamun (KV62) in November 1922.
At end of the century, the Theban Mapping Project re-discovered and explored tomb KV55,
which has since be discovered to be probably the largest in the valley, and was either a
cenotaph or real burial for the sons of Ramesses II. Elsewhere in the eastern and western
branches of the valley several other expeditions cleared and studied other tombs. Recently the
Amarna Royal Tombs Project has been exploring the area around KV55 and KV62, the
Amarna Period tombs in the main valley.
Various expeditions have continued to explore the valley, adding greatly to the knowledge of
the area. In 2001 the Theban Mapping Project designed new signs for the tombs, providing
information and plans of the open tombs. A new visitors' centre is currently being planned.
On February 8, 2006, American archaeologists uncovered a pharaonic-era tomb (KV63), the
first uncovered there since King Tutankhamun's in 1922. The 18th Dynasty tomb included
five mummies in intact sarcophagi with coloured funerary masks along with more than 20
large storage jars, sealed with pharaonic seals.
Multiple tombs lay hidden in Egypt's Valley of the Kings, where royalty were buried more
than 3,000 years ago, awaiting discovery, say researchers working on the most extensive
exploration of the area in nearly a century. The hidden treasure may include several small
tombs, with the possibility of a big-time tomb holding a royal individual, the archaeologists
say. Egyptian archaeologists excavated the valley, where royalty were buried during the New
Kingdom (1550-1070 B.C.), between 2007 and 2010 and worked with the Glen Dash
Foundation for Archaeological Research to conduct ground- penetrating radar studies.
Ancient Flowers Found in Egypt Coffin in Egypt's Valley of the Kings "KV 63" National
Geographic - June 30, 2006
The last of eight sarcophagi from a recently discovered burial chamber in Egypt's Valley of
the Kings revealed ancient garlands of flowers. The coffin contained strips of fabric and
woven laurels of delicate dehydrated flowers. The flowers are likely the remains of garlands
strung with gold strips that were worn by ancient Egyptian royalty. It's very rare, there's
nothing like it in any museum.
Pharaonic tomb find stuns Egypt BBC - February 10, 2006
Researchers discover 3,400-year-old artifact depicting Queen Ti MSNBC - January 25, 2006
Egyptologists have discovered a statue of Queen Ti, wife of one of EgyptÕs greatest
pharaohs and grandmother to the boy-king Tutankhamun, at an ancient temple in Luxor, an
Egyptian antiquities official said. The roughly 3,400-year-old statue was well-preserved. Ti's
husband, Amenhotep III, presided over an era which saw a renaissance in Egyptian art. A
number of cartouches, or royal name signs, of Amenhotep III were found on the statue, and
the statue's design and features allowed researchers to identify it as a New Kingdom, 18th
Dynasty statue of Queen Ti.
Akhenaten was the son of Amenhotep III and Queen Tiy, a descendent of a Hebrew tribe.
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EGYPTIAN PYRAMIDS
Prima moarte
Prima moarte – este dealtfel și singura – care ar putea fi pusă în legătură cu descoperirea
mormântului. Aceasta este a Lordului Carnavon, care a murit în februarie (sase luni după
descoperire). Sir Carnavon a fost înțepat de o insectă (probabil un tantar).
Moartea celorlalți
Cât de nefondat și de mistificată este teoria „Blestemului” se poate lesne vedea din lista
reprodusă mai sus, listă ale cărei date merită analizate.
Media de vârstă în momentul morții (exclusă valoarea minimă „0”, relativ la
Callender, și valoarea maximă „86”, relativ la Hall): peste 63 de ani;
Media de supraviețuire după anul 1922 – data descoperirii – (exclusă valoarea minimă
„1” an, relativ la Lordul Carnarvon, și valoarea maximă „47”, relativ la Lindslay
Foote Hall): în jur de 22 de ani.
Chiar Lady Evelyn, fiica Lordului Carnarvon, care a participat activ la fazele inițiale ale
descoperirii mormântului, născută în 1901, va muri în 1980, iar Dr. D.E. Derry, care a făcut
prima necropsie asupra cadavrului lui Tutankhamon, va muri în 1969, la vârsta de 87 de ani.
Toate aceste date mărturisesc în mod decisiv că „Blestemul lui Tutankhamon” nu este
adevarat . Afară de goana după senzațional – specifică ziarelor – au mai fost (se pare) două
cauze care au contribuit la răspândirea acestui mit al „Blestemului”:
Articolele acestei săptămâni sunt James Blunt, Ilie Cătărău, Dreptul de acces la internet și
Zopyrion. Oricine poate contribui la îmbunătățirea lor.
Tutankhamon
De la Wikipedia, enciclopedia liberă
khaton Tut-ankh-Aton (n. 1341 î.Hr. - d. 1323 î.Hr.) a fost un faraon din dinastia a 18-a,
conducătorul Egiptului între anii 1333 î.Hr. - 1324 î.Hr., urcând pe tron la 9 ani. El este fiul
faraonului Amenhotep IV (Akhenaton) și al reginei Kiya, făcând parte din Noul Regat,
dinastia a 17-a, numită și Epoca de aur a faraonilor.
Cuprins
1 Biografie
2 Moartea
3 Blestemul
4 Note
5 Legături externe
Biografie
Băiatul faraon s-a născut în anul 1341 î.Hr. în orașul Aketaton ("Orizontul lui Aton"). La
vârsta de 7 ani Tutankamon a luat-o de soție pe frumoasa Ankesenamon ("Ea trăiește pentru
Amon"), sora sa vitregă. Doi ani mai târziu, fratele său mai mare, Smenkhkare moare, tronul
revenindu-i lui. A abandonat cultul tatălui său, revenind la zeii tradiționali.În al doilea an de
domnie, Tutankhamon părăsește Tel al-Amarna, efemera capitală întemeiată de Akhenaton, și
se instalează la Memfis, aproape de actualul Cairo. Face din el centrul administrativ, și în
același timp, își schimbă numele din Tutankhaton, „imagine vie a lui Aton", în Tutankhamon,
„imagine vie a lui Amon", marele zeu al Egiptului, adorat în temple de la Karnak până la
Teba, capitala religioasă. Demolarea monumentelor închinate lui Aton începe. Sanctuarele
sunt demontate rând pe rând, blocurile lor de piatră fiind refolosite în noile construcții.
Tutankhamon pune să se decoreze unii pereți ai templelor de la Karnak și Luxor, închinate lui
Amon, și să se ridice numeroase statui ale zeului și ale lui însuși. Pe plan extern, au avut
poate loc două expediții militare, una în Orientul Apropiat, cealaltă în Nubia.
Numele oficial Tut-ankh-Amon era Nebkheperure numele Tutankhamon fiind unul foarte
personal și mai puțin important.
Celebritatea postumă a lui Tutankhamon se datorează mormântului său din Valea Regilor de
lângă Teba, descoperit în 1922 de britanicul Howard Carter, singurul mormânt al unui faraon
care timp de 3.200 de ani a scăpat neprofanat și nejefuit.[1]
Moartea
Faraonul și soția sa
În anul 1925, mumia lui Tutankhamon a fost deschisă și analizată de către echipa lui Howard
Carter. În 1969 și 1986, ea a fost supusă razelor X; în anul 2005, mumia a fost testată cu
scanerul. Radiografiile indică mai multe fracturi, dar se presupune că acestea au fost produse
de către echipa lui Carter. Radiografiile arată că Tutankhamon era sănătos și nu avea nici o
urmă de infecție, ceea ce indică faptul că el nu a murit din cauze naturale. O radiografie a
capului său prezintă un cheag de sânge în zona cefei, ceea ce ar dovedi presupusa lovitură la
cap.
Dar cine a fost ucigașul? Mulți consideră că suspectul principal era chiar soția sa,
Ankesekhamon. În apropierea mumiei sale s-au găsit doi fetuși morți, probabil fii săi (unul ar
fi murit la naștere; celălalt - la câteva zile după naștere).
O tomografie a mumiei indică faptul că Tutankhamon avea coloana strâmbă, ceea ce ar putea
însemna că faraonul nu-și putea mișca capul. Acest fapt ar putea reprezenta cauza care a dus
la moartea fiilor săi. O variantă este aceea că faraonul ar fi fost ucis de către soția sa deoarece
nu putea să aibă copii sănătoși din cauza stării sale de sănătate.
Însă, bazat pe imaginile transmise de-a lungul vremii, aceasta își iubea soțul foarte mult, fapt
care face imposibilă crima. Deviația coloanei ar fi putut fi provocată la îmbălsămare.
Un alt suspect este Maya, un servitor al faraonului. Dar și despre acesta se presupune în unele
teorii că ținea la faraon și că este cel care a distrus documentele care indicau locul
mormântului său.
Un alt suspect este generalul Horhemheb. Totuși, dacă acesta ar fi fost ucigașul, i-ar fi luat
imediat locul pe tron; în plus, acesta era cel care îl instruia pe faraon.
În fine, un alt suspect este viziriul său, Ay. Acesta l-ar fi ucis pentru a prelua puterea, fapt
care s-a și întamplat.
În anul 2005, o echipă de la 'National Geographic' condusă de către arheologul Zahi Hawass,
a analizat mumia prin scanare. S-au descoperit foarte multe fracturi produse de către Carter.
Cutia toracică lipsea, mumia avea o gaură la cap, o gleznă de-a sa era înfășurată, posibil
datorită unei fracturi, iar un dinte sănătos era ieșit lateral.
Faraonul pe car
Pe lângă asta, s-a descoperit că piciorul stâng era fracturat, iar rotula lipsea, ceea ce poate
indica o căzătură. Rana de la picior s-a cangrenat, provocându-i moartea. Căzătura i-ar fi
afectat și cutia toracică, ceea ce înseamnă că ea fost scoasă la îmbalsămare. Gaura de la cap
ar fi putut fi produsă la îmbalsămare. Atunci când creierul i-a fost scos, ar mai fi rămas o
cantitate mică în interiorul craniului; restul creierului a fost scos prin peretele craniului, iar
cheagul de sânge nu e altceva decât o urmă de rășină, de ulei.
Însă unii cercetători cred că fractura s-ar fi produs la îmbălsămare și că teoriile cum că
Tutankhamon ar fi fost lovit în cap sau că a fost otrăvit sunt false. Chiar dacă a avut coloana
strâmbă sau s-a accidentat la piciorul stâng, Tutankhamon ar fi rezistat, fiind foarte sănătos și
viguros, afirmă cercetătorii. Moartea sa rămâne în mare parte un mister. Recent, grație unui
studiu genetic major, efectuat pe mai mulți membri din familia lui Tutankhamon, cercetătorii
au descoperit că acesta avea anumite malformații la nivelul picioarelor.
În afară de o afecțiune a oaselor picioarelor de care suferea, numită maladia Kohler II,
faraonul Tutankhamon avea picioarele grav deformate, astfel încât era nevoit să se deplaseze
cu ajutorul unui baston.
Celui de-al doilea deget de la piciorul drept al faraonului îi lipsea osul mijlociu, fiind astfel
mai scurt, iar laba piciorului stâng era îndoită înspre interior, faraonul călcând pe gleznă, nu
pe talpă.
Masca mortuara a lui Tutankhamon, acoperita cu aur, arata imaginea unui faraon care
sugereaza putere si frumusete regala, insa in realitate el avea dinti iesiti in exterior, o
deformatie la picior (la talpa) si solduri feminine. Mai mult, in loc sa fie un baiat pasionat de
cursele carelor de razboi, el mergea schiopatand, sprijinaindu-se mereu intr-un baston, in
timpul domniei sale din secolul al 14-lea Inainte de Christos.
“Autopsia virtuala” relizata de oamenii de stiinta a fost compusa din analiza a peste 2.000 de
scanari computerizate si a fost combinata cu analizele gentice ale familiei lui Tutankhamon.
Astfel s-a constatat ca parintii sai au fost rude de gradul 1, adica frate si sora, fapt care a dus
la aparitia unor dereglari hormonale in cazul sau. De asemenea, este posibil ca istoria familiei
sale sa fi dus la moartea lui prematura, in timpul adolescentei, scrie Daily Mail.
Pana in prezent, conform miturilor, faraonul ar fi murit din cauza unor accidente in timpul
curselor de care de razboi sau chiar ar fi fost ucis, deoarece in craniul sau fusesera gasite
fracturi care sugereau aceste ipoteze. Acum insa, oamenii de stiinta cred ca Tutankhamon ar
fi murit din cauza unor boli, deoarece handicapul de la picior nu ii permitea sa participe la
curse.
Albert Zink, cercetator de la un institut din Italia, este cel care a folosit amprentele gentice si
a facut teste ADN, descoperind astfel ca mama lui Tutankhamon a fost sora lui Akhenaten,
care a fost tatal sau. In Egiptul antic, incestul era tolerat, iar oamenii nu stiau ca exista urmari
genetice asupra copiilor rezultati din astfel de relatii.“De asemenea, el dezvoltase boala
Kohler, adica moartea oselor, in timpul adolsecentei, fapt care ia provocat probabil dureri
foarte mari. Stim ca acest om a avut 130 de bastoane pe care le folosea si ca obisnuia sa traga
cu arcul atunci cand statea pe un scaun”, a declarat Zahi Hawass, secretar general al
Consilului Suprem de Antichitati din Egipt.
Blestemul
Articol principal: Blestemul lui Tutankhamon.
Mormantul
Atunci când Carter și Carnavon au coborât treptele, Carnavon s-a îngrijorat de o înțepătură de
insectă, iar când a tăiat-o cu o lamă, înțepătura s-a infectat, provocându-i o pneumonie, astfel
pe 5 aprilie 1923, a decedat. Înainte de asta, canarul lui a fost mâncat de un șarpe (simbolul
faraonului), chiar în ziua când mormântul a fost deschis. Apoi, alți zeci de oameni au murit în
20 ani...
Unii cred că a fost de vină blestemul. Foarte multe inscripții spun despre acest blestem de ex:
"cel ce va atinge mormântul faraonului, va fi răzbunat de leu, crocodil și de către
hipopotam" sau "Moartea îi va secera pe cei care vor tulbura liniștea faraonului". Unii cred
că moartea lui Carnavon ar avea legatură cu profanarea mormântului. Când l-au deschis, ca să
scoată masca de aur, Carter ar fi trebuit să-i profaneze mumia. Mulți îl acuză pe Carter,
deoarece ar fi distrus toate doveziile morții sale și ar fi produs acel blestem
Egypt: Tutankhamun (King Tut) of the 18th
Dynasty
King Tut
by Jimmy Dunn
At this point, it almost seems to be repetitive to remind readers that Tutankhamun (King Tut)
was not a major player in Egypt Pharaonic history, or at least, in comparison with other
pharaohs. In fact, prior to Howard Carter's discovery of his tomb, almost nothing was known
of him and interestingly, the one disappointment in Carter's discover was that there was little
in the way of documentation found within his tomb. Therefore, we still know relatively little
about Tutankhamun. For example, even who is father was remains a topic of some debate.
That has not prevented writers from producing volumes of material on the Pharaoh.
We believe Tutankhamun ruled Egypt between 1334 and 1325 BC. He was probably the 12th
ruler of Egypt's 18th Dynasty.
Tutankamun was not given this name at birth, but rather Tutankhaten (meaning "Living
Image of the Aten), squarely placing him in the line of pharaohs following Akhenaten, the
heretic pharaoh, who was most likely his father. His mother was probably Kiya, though this
too is in question. He changed his name in year two of his rule to Tutankhamun (or heqa-
iunu-shema, which means "Living Image of Amun, Ruler of Upper Egyptian Heliopolis",
which is actually a reference to Karnak) as re reverted to the old religion prior to Akhenaten's
upheaval. Even so, this did not prevent his name from being omitted from the classic kings
lists of Abydos and Karnak. We may also find his named spelled Tutankhamen or
Tutankhamon, among other variations. His throne name was Neb-Kheperu-re, which means
"Lord of Manifestations is Re.
Tutankhamun from the back of his gold throne.
We do know that he spent his early years in Amarna, and probably in the North Palace. He
evidently even started a tomb at Amarna. At age nine he was married to Ankhesenpaaten, his
half sister, and later Ankhesenamun. We believe Ankhesenpaaten was older then
Tutankhamun because she was probably of child bearing age, seemingly already having had a
child by her father, Akhenaten. It is possible also that Ankhesenamun had been married to
Tutankhamun's predecessor. It seems he did not succeed Akhenaten directly as ruler of
Egypt, but either an older brother or his uncle, Smenkhkare (keeping in mind that there is
much controversy surrounding this king). We believe Tutankhamun probably had two
daughters later, but no sons.
At the end of Akhenaten's reign, Ay and Horemheb, both senior members of that kings court,
probably came to the realization that the heresy of their king could not continue. Upon the
death of Akhenaten and Smenkhkare, they had the young king who was nine years old
crowned in the old secular capital of Memphis. And since the young pharaoh had no living
female relatives old enough, he was probably under the care of Ay or Horemheb or both, who
would have actually been the factual ruler of Egypt.
Kiya, a lesser wife of Akhenaten who was probably Tutankhamun's mother..
We know of a number of other officials during the reign of Tutankhamun, two of which
include Nakhtmin, who was a military officer under Horemheb and a relative of Ay (perhaps
his son) and Maya, who was Tutankhamun's Treasurer and Overseer of the Place of Eternity
(the royal necropolis). Others included Usermontju and Pentu, his to viziers of upper and
lower Egypt, as well as Huy, the Viceroy of Nubia.
Immediately after becoming king, and probably under the direction of Ay and Horemheb, a
move was made to return to Egypt's traditional ancient religion. By year two of his reign, he
changed his, as well as Ankhesenpaaten's name, removing the "aten" replacing it with
"amun". Again, he may have had nothing to do with this decision, though after two years
perhaps Ay's and Horemheb's influence had effected the boy-king's impressionable young
mind.
One reason why Tutankhamun was not listed on the classical king lists is probably because
Horemheb, the last ruler of the 18th Dynasty, usurped most of the boy-king's work, including
a restoration stele that records the reinstallation of the old religion of Amun and the
reopening and rebuilding of the temples. The ownership inscriptions of other reliefs and
statues were likewise changed to that of Horemheb, though the image of the young king
himself remains obvious. Even Tutankhamun's extensive building carried out at the temples
of Karnak and Luxor were claimed by Horemheb. Of course, we must also remember that
little of the statues, reliefs and building projects were actually ordered by Tutankhamun
himself, but rather his caretakers, Ay and Horemheb.
Kiya, a lesser wife of Akhenaten who was probably Tutankhamun's mother.
His building work at Karnak and Luxor included the continuation of the entrance colonnades
of the Amenhotep III temple at Luxor, including associated statues, and his embellishment of
the Karnak temple with images of Amun, Amunet and Khonsu. There were also a whole
range of statues and sphinxes depicting Tutankhamun himself, as well as a small temple in
the king's name. We also know, mostly from fragments, that he built at Memphis. At Kawa,
in the far south, he built a temple. A pair of granite lions from that temple today flank the
entrance to the Egyptian Sculpture Gallery at the British Museum.
Militarily, little happened during the reign of Tutankhamun, a surprising fact considering that
Horemheb was a well known general. Apparently there were campaigns in Nubia and
Palestine/Syria, but this is only known from a brightly painted gesso box found in
Tutankhamun's tomb. It portrays scenes of the king hunting lions in the desert and gazelles,
while in the fourth scene he is smiting Nubians and then Syrians. There are paintings in the
tomb of Horemheb and as well as the tomb of Huy that seem to confirm these campaigns,
though it is unlikely that the young Tutankhamun actually took part in the military actions
directly. The campaigns in Palestine/Syria met with little success, but those in Nubia appear
to have gone much better.
Though we know that Tutankhamun died young, we are not certain about how he died until
very recently. Both forensic analysis of his mummy and clay seals dated with his regnal year
support his demise at the age of 17 or no later then 18. As to how he died, a small sliver of
bone within the upper cranial cavity of his mummy was discovered from X-ray analysis,
suggesting that his death was not due to illness. It has been suggested that he was possibly
murdered, but it is also just as likely the result of an accident. In fact, a recent medical
examination now seems to indicate that he may very well have died from infection brought
about by a broken leg.
Tutankhamun's famous tomb is located in the Valley of the Kings on the West bank across
from modern Luxor (ancient Thebes). It is certainly less magnificent then other pharaohs of
Egypt, yet, because of it, Tutankhamun has remained in our memory for many years, and
will probably continue to do so for many years to come. Regardless of all the myths
surrounding his tomb's discovery, including the "curse of the mummy" and other media hype,
it is all a blessing to the boy-king. The ancient pharaohs believed that if their name was
remembered, their soul would live on, so not even the powerful Rameses the Great's soul can
be as healthy as King Tut's.
See Also:
Who Was King Tut
The Death of King Tut
The Enigmatic Book of the Netherworld
The Happiest Pharaoh
The Tutankhamun Collection
Tutankhamun's Perfume
The US Tut Exhibit (Coming in 2005)
Tut's Tomb
What's New ?
References:
Reference
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Malek, Jaromir
Chronicle of the Pharaohs (The
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Clayton, Peter A. 1994 Thames and Hudson Ltd
Rulers and Dynasties of 05074-0
Ancient Egypt)
Reeves,
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Nicholas; IBSN 0-500-
The (Tombs and Treasures of 1966 Thames and Hudson Ltd
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Richard H.
History of Ancient Egypt, A Grimal, Nicolas 1988 Blackwell None Stated
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Shaw, Ian 2000 Oxford University Press
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