Tutankhamun the Boy King 1336–1327 BC

Tutankhamun

It is ironic that the Egyptian king who is most famous today was a little-
known and unimportant pharaoh in his own time. He had no real power, his
impact on Egyptian history was trivial, and the modest works carried out
during his short reign were taken and renamed by his successors.

After Akhenaten’s death Tutankhaten, as he was then called, was crowned at

Mamphis. He was only nine years old at the time, and had few close relatives
left alive. His wife, Ankhesenpaaten, was older, and he was probably the
political puppet of Ay and Horemheb. Under their guidance, he changed his
name to Tutankhamun; restored Amenhotep III’s Theban palace; issued a
decree restoring the temples, images, and privileges of the old gods; and
admitted the errors of Akhenaten’s political and religious policies.
When Tutankhamun died, he was eighteen, and modern medical analysis of
his mummy shows that he may have received a blow to the head, but we can
only speculate as to whether he was murdered or the victim of an accident such
as a fall from his chariot. Other theories are that “the boy king” died of an infected broken leg.
However, in 2010, scientists found traces of malaria parasites in Tutankhamun’s remains,
indicating that malaria, perhaps in combination with degenerative bone disease, may have
been the cause of death.

The Discovery of Tutankhamun’s Tomb

The Egyptologist Howard Carter had worked in Egypt for 31 years before he
found King Tutankhamun’s tomb.
In 1905 the Earl of Carnarvon, who spent the English winters in Egypt, hired
Carter to direct archaeological digs. After several moderately successful
seasons working together, interrupted by World War I, they began working in
Valley of the Kings in 1917.
After five years of excavating in the Valley he did not have much to show and
Lord Carnarvon decided to end the search. But Carter persuaded Carnarvon to
finance just one last season in 1922, and it was then that they made the
discovery.