10 Facts about Egypt’s famous child-king – Tutankhamen
King Tut will always remain a favorite to many since his story outlives many other pharaohs, and also for the fact that even at such a young age, he did a massive job as King to his people.
King Tut is a synonymous name in ancient Egypt history, and to a certain extent in the modern world as well. Out of all the Egyptian kings to be buried in their crypts, King Tuts story resonates above it all, due to its unnatural circumstances, firstly due to him being only 9 years old when he ascended the throne, and also of his strict but short reign over the people. Son of a powerful pharaoh, Ankhenaten, he was born around the time of1342 BCE, and took over the throne in 1332 BCE. He ruled for 10 years and died at the low age of 19. His tomb was ornate, and forgotten swiftly until its discovery by Howard Carter in 1922. Due to the groundbreaking technology now available, using the DNA particles found in the tomb, a few interesting details were uncovered about King Tut. Here are a few that might catch your eye.
1. During the time of King Tut, incest was a common and general thing, and so his father and mother were both related, as were many of the Kings and Queens. It is due to them wanting to keep the bloodline pure and noble. According to DNA findings, it is proven that King Tuts father and mother were siblings.
2. Due to the common incestuous union, King Tut seemed to have a lot of physical disfigurements in his body, despite many of his pictures and enactments showing a virile young boy. Basing on findings, he seemed to have prominent breasts, a very slim waist, a curved spine, a severely disfigured foot, a severe overbite, Epilepsy, and a lop-sided face. He also seemed to be in a lot of pain.
3. Due to all of these disfigurements, King Tut wasn’t able to walk by himself. When his tomb was discovered, they found over 100 walking sticks and several stools used to shoot bows and arrows. Once the autopsy was done, it became evident why these were found along with his remains.
4. As soon as he ascended the throne, he was married to his half-sister, Ankhesenamun. This means at the age of 9 he married her, whereas she was supposed to be a few years older than him, but still a child.
5. King Tut had two daughters, twins, who seem to have been born dead, since there were two tiny coffins along with him in his tomb, of two tiny babies. One of them seemed to have a severely deformed spine as well.
6. The most acceptable theory of his death is that he died of a broken leg, which in turn caused a malarial infection to set in, which ultimately killed him. It is assumed that he genetically had a weak immune system and was prone to malaria and other sicknesses.
7. With the use of infrared thermographic technology, they have discovered that some parts of the tomb have different temperatures from the rest of the space, which concludes that there may be other secret chambers inside King Tuts tomb. What they could be housing no one knows, but it could be mummies of more family members or even his mother, whose identity till today remains a mystery.
8. They say that King Tuts tomb could be cursed since a few people from the expedition lost their lives within a few years of discovery of the tomb. However, this was never scientifically proven since they could have just died due to illness or old age.
9. Out of all the historic tombs discovered in Egypt of long forgone Kings and Pharaohs, King Tuts happened to be the one which was the most intact and complete.
10. Howard Carters Excavation and the many researchers who have been trudging in and out of the tomb may have significantly damaged it, so in 2014 an exact replica of the tomb holding a few key artifacts was opened in Egypt, and the original tomb is said to be in-line to be sealed for good, honoring the memory of this famous child king.
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King Tut will always remain a favorite to many since his story outlives many other pharaohs, and also for the fact that even at such a young age, he did a massive job as King to his people. He was, is and always will be a big part of Egyptian culture, and lives on in his stories and discoveries through those of us who look for him.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tutankhamun
https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/tutankhamen
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Tutankhamun
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