History UsefulNotes / Tutankhamun

The discovery of his tomb in 1922 was massive, worldwide news, because unlike other tombs of the pharaohs (or indeed of other Egyptian nobles), most of which had been cleaned out by (roughly) contemporary graverobbers, his was largely intact. Indeed, it is the most intact ancient Egyptian royal burial known today.[[note]]It is ''not'', however, the most intact ancient Egyptian burial; that title goes to [=TT8=], the tomb of Kha and Merit, a noble couple (Kha appears to have been an architect/project manager for tombs) who lived during the reigns of Tutankhamun's predecessors (and probable ancestors) Amunhotep II, Thutmose IV, and Amunhotep III. If Tutankhamun's tomb is 95% intact, [=TT8=] is ''100% intact''--it shows no signs of being robbed whatsoever.[[/note]] It does seem that Tutankhamun's was robbed twice, but both times within a matter of months after his death, and by robbers who only had time to take a few small-but-probably-valuable items. As a result, his tomb was resealed permanently with most of the treasure still intact (if in some disarray after the theft). Shortly thereafter, it seems that one of the rainstorms that occasionally strike Thebes came and (as usually happens) flooded the Valley of the Kings; as Tutankhamun's tomb has an entrance near the valley floor, the sediment carried by the floodwaters built up over the tomb entrance, hiding it from view for the next 3,200 years.

** Tutankhamun was also originally assumed to have been a pretty irrelevant pharaoh, on account of his young age and brief reign. This was before it became clear that his reign came at a pivotal time in Egyptian history. While he didn't have time to do a lot before his death, Tutankhamun still presided over the restoration of traditional Egyptian religion.

For all that, he appears to have been something of an active young king, albeit hardly a policymaker. Most scholars agree that he was partaking in the religious ritual roles of the king for much if not most of his reign. After all, a ten-year-old is more than capable of chanting and making appropriate gestures when prompted. And it wouldn't be unprecedented within Egyptian history; his ancestor Amenhotep III appears to have done the same thing, presiding over the funeral of his father Thutmose IV at about the same age. Tutankhamen also seems to have enjoyed driving chariots (the sports cars of the day) and hunting (preferably from his chariot).[[note]]Weirdly, one gets the impression that Tutankhamun would've been right at home among the class of [[GenteelInterbellumSetting interwar British gentleman-adventurers]] who discovered his tomb. Rich teenager with an impeccable pedigree, a speech impediment, and a limp who nonetheless loves to shoot ducks and drive around at insane speeds in a sports car? Indeed, preferably shoot ducks ''while'' driving around at insane speeds in a sports car? And did we mention that he grew up in an absurdly splendid palace his eccentric father--or something--built in a hilariously unlikely spot? Can you get more [[TheRoaringTwenties Roaring Twenties]] Britain? And all the while he's attended by hypercompetent servants who might or might not have their own agendas. Wouldn't this guy fit right into a Creator/PGWodehouse novel? (Or more darkly, as the victim in an Creator/AgathaChristie murder mystery?)[[/note]] He may have had some battlefield experience against human enemies as well--armor found in his tomb that was clearly made to fit his body also had distinctive damage suggesting use in a real war. Thus one of the great what-ifs of the era is, assuming he was physically healthy enough to rule actively and didn’t die young, whether he would have taken more direct control over policy in his 20s (like his predecessors Thutmose III and Amenhotep III) or continued to be a creature of his ministers. At the very least, had he survived, he might have taken some lesser wives or concubines with whom he might have fathered a male heir; his great-grandfather Thutmose IV and great-great-great-great grandfather Thutmose II,[[note]]We strongly suspect. There's a possibility that Tutankhamun was a grandson rather than a son of Akhenaten and therefore a great-grandson of Amenhotep III, in which case add an extra "great" to his descent from Thutmose IV and II (and III for that matter).[[/note]] both sickly monarchs who had no heirs by their Great Royal Wives (probably because they were too closely related), managed to produce healthy heirs by lesser consorts. (Actually, more than healthy heirs--the relevant sons were none other than Thutmose III and Amenhotep III, the two greatest and longest-reigning kings of the Eighteenth Dynasty.)

For all that, he appears to have been something of an active young king, albeit hardly a policymaker. Most scholars agree that he was partaking in the religious ritual roles of the king for much if not most of his reign. After all, a ten-year-old is more than capable of chanting and making appropriate gestures when prompted. And it wouldn't be unprecedented within Egyptian history; his ancestor Amenhotep III appears to have done the same thing, presiding over the funeral of his father Thutmose IV at about the same age. Tutankhamen also seems to have enjoyed driving chariots (the sports cars of the day) and hunting (preferably from his chariot).[[note]]Weirdly, one gets the impression that Tutankhamun would've been right at home among the class of [[GenteelInterbellumSetting interwar British gentleman-adventurers]] who discovered his tomb. Rich teenager with an impeccable pedigree, a speech impediment, and a limp who nonetheless loves to shoot ducks and drive around at insane speeds in a sports car? Indeed, preferably shoot ducks ''while'' driving around at insane speeds in a sports car? And did we mention that he grew up in an absurdly splendid palace his father--or something--built in a hilariously unlikely spot? Can you get more [[TheRoaringTwenties Roaring Twenties]] Britain? And all the while he's attended by hypercompetent servants who might or might not have their own agendas. Wouldn't this guy fit right into a Creator/PGWodehouse novel? (Or more darkly, as the victim in an Creator/AgathaChristie murder mystery?)[[/note]] He may have had some battlefield experience against human enemies as well--armor found in his tomb that was clearly made to fit his body also had distinctive damage suggesting use in a real war. Thus one of the great what-ifs of the era is, assuming he was physically healthy enough to rule actively and didn’t die young, whether he would have taken more direct control over policy in his 20s (like his predecessors Thutmose III and Amenhotep III) or continued to be a creature of his ministers. At the very least, had he survived, he might have taken some lesser wives or concubines with whom he might have fathered a male heir; his great-grandfather Thutmose IV and great-great-great-great grandfather Thutmose II,[[note]]We strongly suspect. There's a possibility that Tutankhamun was a grandson rather than a son of Akhenaten and therefore a great-grandson of Amenhotep III, in which case add an extra "great" to his descent from Thutmose IV and II (and III for that matter).[[/note]] both sickly monarchs who had no heirs by their Great Royal Wives (probably because they were too closely related), managed to produce healthy heirs by lesser consorts. (Actually, more than healthy heirs--the relevant sons were none other than Thutmose III and Amenhotep III, the two greatest and longest-reigning kings of the Eighteenth Dynasty.)

The discovery of his tomb in 1922 was massive, worldwide news, because unlike other tombs of the pharaohs (or indeed of other Egyptian nobles), most of which had been cleaned out by (roughly) contemporary graverobbers, his was largely intact. Indeed, it is the most intact ancient Egyptian royal burial known today.[[note]]It is ''not'', however, the most intact ancient Egyptian burial; that title goes to TT8, the tomb of Kha and Merit, a noble couple (Kha appears to have been an architect/project manager for tombs) who lived during the reigns of Tutankhamun's predecessors (and probable ancestors) Amunhotep II, Thutmose IV, and Amunhotep III. If Tutankhamun's tomb is 95% intact, TT8 is ''100% intact''--it shows no signs of being robbed whatsoever.[[/note]] It does seem that Tutankhamun's was robbed twice, but both times within a matter of months after his death, and by robbers who only had time to take a few small-but-probably-valuable items. As a result, his tomb was resealed permanently with most of the treasure still intact (if in some disarray after the theft). Shortly thereafter, it seems that one of the rainstorms that occasionally strike Thebes came and (as usually happens) flooded the Valley of the Kings; as Tutankhamun's tomb has an entrance near the valley floor, the sediment carried by the floodwaters built up over the tomb entrance, hiding it from view for the next 3,200 years.

Tutankhamun (originally "Tutankhaten") was an 18th Dynasty Pharaoh of the Egyptian New Kingdom most famous for his luxurious tomb, which was discovered by Howard Carter in 1922. As an actual Pharaoh, his successes are debatable: since he came to the throne aged about nine, how much of his actions were his, and how much were those of his officials? He died at 18 or 19, after only 9-10 years of rule, so he didn't have time to do all that much himself.

* RoyalInbreeding: His biological parents, the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Younger_Lady "younger lady"]] and a pharaoh believed to be UsefulNotes/{{Akhenaten}}, have been confirmed by DNA analysis to be full siblings. While his own wife is believed to have been a daughter of Akhenaten and his primary wife Nefertiti.

** Tutankhamun has been portrayed as the half brother or the nephew of Akhenaten but DNA evidence suggests he was in fact a son of the Heretic Pharaoh. Originally the many depictions of Tutankhamun hunting and chariot driving were taken on their face value giving an impression of a healthy, physically active youth. Careful examination of his mummy has detracted from this image showing him to have been a lame and rather frail youngster.

* CurseOfThePharaoh: UrbanLegend about the "curse" of Tutankhamun evolved shortly after the tomb opening in 1922, as several people who had been present when the grave was discovered all died within the span of a few years under allegedly mysterious circumstances. This made Tutankamun even more infamous in popular culture, and inspired several "Mummy rising from his grave" stories, including '' Film/TheMummy1932'' with Creator/BorisKarloff. Needless to say, most of the "mysterious" deaths could be easily explained as coincidence and/or other circumstances not directly related to the opening of the tomb. For instance, the most famous "victim" of the "curse", the Earl of Carnarvon (the British [[UsefulNotes/KnightFever Peer]] who had bankrolled the discovery), pretty straightforwardly died in 1923 of an infection after he nicked a mosquito bite while shaving and then disregarded his doctors' advice to stop drinking a whole bottle of wine every day so he could, you know, fight the infection. (He almost certainly would have survived had penicillin been available, but that wouldn't be discovered--let alone applied as an antibiotic--until 1928.) And some people who helped discover the tomb or merely visited it lived long lives, including Howard Carter -- the one who opened the coffin first. What ''actually'' happened was that Carter had signed an exclusive deal with ''[[UsefulNotes/BritishNewspapers The Times]]'' of London, which charged exorbitant rates for other newspapers to carry actual news from the tomb dig.[[note]]This deal also incidentally insulted the Egyptian government and people, who were offended that he didn't at the very least let an Egyptian paper tag along. And he probably could have done this with minimal interference with ''The Times''[='s=] dominance over global coverage of the event--after all, if he allowed ''Al-Ahram'' to report on the dig along with ''The Times'', how many foreign papers would bother to translate the Egyptian paper from Arabic versus getting the English copy from ''The Times''? Like, where do you even ''get'' an Arabic translator in Melbourne in 1922?[[/note]] However, wild speculation about an exotic ancient curse didn't fall under this deal, so papers the world over could (and did) run it at no cost beyond the usual for column-inches.

For all that, he appears to have been something of an active young king, albeit hardly a policymaker. Most scholars agree that he was partaking in the religious ritual roles of the king for much if not most of his reign. After all, a ten-year-old is more than capable of chanting and making appropriate gestures when prompted. And it wouldn't be unprecedented within Egyptian history; his ancestor Amenhotep III appears to have done the same thing, presiding over the funeral of his father Thutmose IV at about the same age. Tutankhamen also seems to have enjoyed driving chariots (the sports cars of the day) and hunting (preferably from his chariot).[[note]]Weirdly, one gets the impression that Tutankhamun would've been right at home among the class of [[GenteelInterbellumSetting interwar British gentleman-adventurers]] who discovered his tomb. Rich teenager with an impeccable pedigree, a speech impediment, and a limp who nonetheless loves to shoot ducks and drive around at insane speeds in a sports car? Indeed, preferably shoot ducks ''while'' driving around at insane speeds in a sports car? And did we mention that he grew up in an absurdly splendid palace his father--or something--built in a hilariously unlikely spot? Can you get more [[TheRoaringTwenties Roaring Twenties]] Britain? And all the while he's attended by hypercompetent servants who might or might not have their own agendas. Wouldn't this guy fit right into a Creator/PGWodehouse novel? (Or more darkly, as the victim in an Creator/AgathaChristie murder mystery?)[[/note]] He may have had some battlefield experience against human enemies as well--armor found in his tomb that was clearly made to fit his body also had distinctive damage suggesting use in a real war. Thus one of the great what-ifs of the era is, assuming he was physically healthy enough to rule actively and didn’t die young, whether he would have taken more direct control over policy in his 20s (like his predecessors Thutmose III and Amenhotep III) or continued to be a creature of his ministers. At the very least, had he survived, he might have taken some lesser wives or concubines with whom he might have fathered a male heir; his great-grandfather Thutmose IV and great-great-great-great grandfather Thutmose II, both sickly monarchs who had no heirs by their Great Royal Wives (probably because they were too closely related), managed to produce healthy heirs by lesser consorts. (Actually, more than healthy heirs--the relevant sons were none other than Thutmose III and Amenhotep III, the two greatest and longest-reigning kings of the Eighteenth Dynasty.)

For all that, he appears to have been something of an active young king, albeit hardly a policymaker. Most scholars agree that he was partaking in the religious ritual roles of the king for much if not most of his reign. After all, a ten-year-old is more than capable of chanting and making appropriate gestures when prompted. And it wouldn't be unprecedented within Egyptian history; his probable grandfather Amenhotep III appears to have done the same thing, presiding over the funeral of his father Thutmose IV at about the same age. Tutankhamen also seems to have enjoyed driving chariots (the sports cars of the day) and hunting (preferably from his chariot).[[note]]Weirdly, one gets the impression that Tutankhamun would've been right at home among the class of [[GenteelInterbellumSetting interwar British gentleman-adventurers]] who discovered his tomb. Rich teenager with an impeccable pedigree, a speech impediment, and a limp who nonetheless loves to shoot ducks and drive around at insane speeds in a sports car? Indeed, preferably shoot ducks ''while'' driving around at insane speeds in a sports car? And did we mention that he grew up in an absurdly splendid palace his father--or something--built in a hilariously unlikely spot? Can you get more [[TheRoaringTwenties Roaring Twenties]] Britain? And all the while he's attended by hypercompetent servants who might or might not have their own agendas. Wouldn't this guy fit right into a Creator/PGWodehouse novel? (Or more darkly, as the victim in an Creator/AgathaChristie murder mystery?)[[/note]] He may have had some battlefield experience against human enemies as well--armor found in his tomb that was clearly made to fit his body also had distinctive damage suggesting use in a real war. Thus one of the great what-ifs of the era is, assuming he was physically healthy enough to rule actively and didn’t die young, whether he would have taken more direct control over policy in his 20s (like his predecessors Thutmose III and Amenhotep III) or continued to be a creature of his ministers. At the very least, had he survived, he might have taken some lesser wives or concubines with whom he might have fathered a male heir; his great-grandfather Thutmose IV and great-great-great-great grandfather Thutmose II, both sickly monarchs who had no heirs by their Great Royal Wives (probably because they were too closely related), managed to produce healthy heirs by lesser consorts. (Actually, more than healthy heirs--the relevant sons were none other than Thutmose III and Amenhotep III, the two greatest and longest-reigning kings of the Eighteenth Dynasty.)

[[TheMagnificent The Horus, the victorious bull, the very image of rebirth; the one protected by the Two Ladies, the perfect of laws who has quieted down the Two Lands; the Golden Horus, the elevated of appearances who has satisfied the gods; the King of Upper and Lower Egypt Nebkheperure, the Son of Re Tutankhamun Heqa Iunu Shemau]].[[note]]''Nebkheperure''="Possessor of the Forms of Re"; ''Tutankhamun''="Living Image of Amun"; ''Heqa Iunu Shemau''="Lord of the Southern Heliopolis", i.e. "Lord of Thebes".[[/note]]

For all that, he appears to have been something of an active young king, albeit hardly a policymaker. Most scholars agree that he was partaking in the religious ritual roles of the king for much if not most of his reign. After all, a ten-year-old is more than capable of chanting and making appropriate gestures when prompted. And it wouldn't be unprecedented within Egyptian history; his probable grandfather Amenhotep III appears to have done the same thing, presiding over the funeral of his father Thutmose IV at about the same age. Tutankhamen also seems to have enjoyed driving chariots (the sports cars of the day) and hunting (preferably from his chariot).[[note]]Weirdly, one gets the impression that Tutankhamun would've been right at home among the class of [[GenteelInterbellumSetting interwar British gentleman-adventurers]] who discovered his tomb. Rich teenager with an impeccable pedigree, a speech impediment, and a limp who nonetheless loves to shoot ducks and drive around at insane speeds in a sports car? Indeed, preferably shoot ducks ''while'' driving around at insane speeds in a sports car? And did we mention that he grew up in an absurdly splendid palace his father--or something--built in a hilariously unlikely spot? Can you get more [[TheRoaringTwenties Roaring Twenties]] Britain? And all the while he's attended by hypercompetent servants who might or might not have their own agendas. Wouldn't this guy fit right into a Creator/PGWodehouse novel? (Or more darkly, as the victim in an Creator/AgathaChristie murder mystery?)[[/note]] He may have had some battlefield experience against human enemies as well--armor found in his tomb that was clearly made to fit his body also had distinctive damage suggesting use in a real war. Thus one of the great what-ifs of the era is, assuming he was physically healthy enough to rule actively and didn’t die young, whether he would have taken more direct control over policy in his 20s (like his predecessors Thutmose III and Amenhotep III) or continued to be a creature of his ministers. At the very least, had he survived, he might have taken some lesser wives or concubines with whom he might have fathered a male heir; his great-grandfather Thutmose IV and great-great-great-great grandfather Thutmose II, both sickly monarchs who had no heirs by their Great Royal Wives (probably because they were too closely related), managed to produce healthy heirs by lesser consorts. (Actually, more than healthy heirs--the relevant sons were none other than the great Thutmose III and Amenhotep III, the two greatest and longest-reigning kings of the Eighteenth Dynasty.)

For all that, he appears to have been something of an active young king, albeit hardly a policymaker. Most scholars agree that he was partaking in the religious ritual roles of the king for much if not most of his reign. After all, a ten-year-old is more than capable of chanting and making appropriate gestures when prompted. And it wouldn't be unprecedented within Egyptian history; his probable grandfather Amenhotep III appears to have done the same thing, presiding over the funeral of his father Thutmose IV at about the same age. Tutankhamen also seems to have enjoyed driving chariots (the sports cars of the day) and hunting (preferably from his chariot).[[note]]Weirdly, one gets the impression that Tutankhamun would've been right at home among the class of [[GenteelInterbellumSetting interwar British gentleman-adventurers]] who discovered his tomb. Rich teenager with an impeccable pedigree, a speech impediment, and a limp who nonetheless loves to shoot ducks and drive around at insane speeds in a sports car? Indeed, preferably shoot ducks ''while'' driving around at insane speeds in a sports car? And did we mention that he grew up in an absurdly splendid palace his father--or something--built in a hilariously unlikely spot? Can you get more [[TheRoaringTwenties Roaring Twenties]] Britain? And all the while he's attended by hypercompetent servants who might or might not have their own agendas. Wouldn't this guy fit right into a Creator/PGWodehouse novel? (Or more darkly, as the victim in an Creator/AgathaChristie murder mystery?)[[/note]] He may have had some battlefield experience against human enemies as well--armor found in his tomb that was clearly made to fit his body also had distinctive damage suggesting use in a real war. Thus one of the great what-ifs of the era is, assuming he was physically healthy enough to rule actively and didn’t die young, whether he would have taken more direct control over policy in his 20s (like his predecessors Thutmose III and Amenhotep III) or continued to be a creature of his ministers.

[[TheMagnificent The Horus, the victorious bull, the very image of rebirth; the one protected by the Two Ladies, the perfect of laws who has quieted down the Two Lands; the Golden Horus, the elevated of appearances who has satisfied the gods; the King of Upper and Lower Egypt Nebkheperure; the Son of Re Tutankhamun Heqa Iunu Shemau]].[[note]]''Nebkheperure''="Possessor of the Forms of Re"; ''Tutankhamun''="Living Image of Amun"; ''Heqa Iunu Shemau''="Lord of the Southern Heliopolis", i.e. "Lord of Thebes".[[/note]]

* The title character of ''WesternAnimation/Papyrus'' is eventually revealed to be the descendant of Tutankhamun.