Tutankhamen
Born: 1341 BC
Died: 1323 BC
Reign: 1332 BC – 1323 BC
Tutankhamen, more well-known as
“King Tut”, was the son of the
pharaoh Akhenaton and a lesser wife
of Akhenaton. Akhenaton’s principal
wife, Neferiti, did not have any sons so
Tutankhamen succeeded his father.
He was crowned pharaoh just nine
years old! Hence, the reason he is
often referred to as the “boy king”.
Although he was the official pharaoh of Egypt, he was originally too
young to make any major decisions. He had an advisor, or vizier,
named Ay who did most of the political work, at least until Tut was a
little older.
Tutankhamen’s father, Akhenaton, was a radical pharaoh who
changed Egypt’s religion from polytheistic to monotheistic. This
means that he changed it from belief in many gods to belief in one
god. He said that the people should worship only the god Aten, and
even moved the capital from Thebes to a new city that he named
Amarna. The people did not like this and became very unsettled, so
when Tutankhamen took the throne he changed it back to the
polytheistic tradition that they had previously practiced. He also
moved the capital back to Thebes.
He also spent time trying to repair foreign relations. Since
Akhenaton had been so concerned with his religious revolution, he
kind of neglected diplomacy! Diplomacy is the practice of
conducting negotiations between nations.
In the history of ancient Egypt, King Tut wasn’t really very
influential. He ruled for only a short time before his death at age 18.
There are a couple of different theories surrounding his death. One
theory is that he was murdered. When his mummy was found x-rays
showed that he had bone fragments in his skull, indicating a possible
bludgeoning. However, his mummy also revealed that he had a
broken leg at the time of his death. The people of ancient Egypt
didn’t have the modern medicine and antibiotics that we have today
so infections often caused death.
King Tut is so well-known because when his mummy was
discovered his tomb was still intact. Most tombs that have been
found have been looted by robbers and there’s not much left, but
King Tut’s tomb still contained hundreds of valuable objects that tell
us about his life.
1. When was Tutankhamen
born?
5. What are the theories
surrounding his death?
2. When did he die?
3. What did his father do that
changed Egypt?
4. What did Tut do to change it
back?
6 What is the main reason why
he is so well known?
Sources
www.biography.com/people/king-tut-9512446#death-and-burial
www.primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk.tut.html
www.ducksters.com/history/ancient_egypt/tutankhamen.php