Tutankhamunlived between 1343 and 1323 BCwas one of the pharaohs of the New Kingdomthe period of Egyptian history corresponding approximately to the second half of the second millennium BC (it was part of the XVIII dynasty). He was probably the son of Akhenatenthe “heretic” pharaoh, who had attempted to replace the polytheistic religion with the monotheistic cult of the Sun. Having ascended to the throne when he was only nine years old, Tutankhamun was subjected to the control of the powerful vizier Aywho restored the traditional religion. He died when he was about 20 years old. The discovery of his intact tombwhich occurred in 1922made him the most popular pharaoh in the world, but was accompanied by the spread of an irrational theory: that of the curse of Tutankhamun, according to which whoever disturbed the pharaoh’s sleep died prematurely.
New Kingdom Egypt and the Heresy of Akhenaten
Tutankhamun, one of the pharaohs of the 18th Dynastyascended to the throne during the New Kingdom, the period from 1550 to 1050 BC that was the time of maximum splendor of the pharaonic civilization. The pharaoh, as we know, was a absolute monarch and was venerated as a deity, but had to deal with the “counterpower” represented by the priestsespecially those of the great temple of the god Amun, located in Karnaknear Thebes (now called Luxor), in the southern part of Egypt.
Pharaoh Amenhotep IV, who ascended to the throne around 1350, sought to challenge the priests by radically changing the religion and instituting the monotheistic cult of Aton, the solar disk. So he changed his name to Akhenaten (meaning useful to Aton), abandoned the worship of other gods and built a new capitalAkhetaton (i.e. horizon of Aton), in a location known today as Amarna. Akhenaton died in 1336 (or 1334) and was succeeded by Tutankhamun, who was only nine years old.
The reign of Pharaoh Tutankhamun
Tutankhamunwhose name means “living image of Amun”, was born around 1343 BC. He was probably the son of Akhenaten and at birth was called Tutankhaten (living image of Aten). He ascended to the throne in 1334, when he was still a child. The actual power was held by the regency council and, in particular, by the vizier Aya sort of prime minister. Ay and the council decided to put an end to Akhenaten’s religious revolution and restore traditional deities. The city of Akhetaton was abandoned and the capital was moved back to Thebes. A large stele was erected in the temple of Karnak to celebrate the restoration of the cult of Amun and the other gods.
Tutankhamun married the half-sister Ankhesenamontwo years older than him. The couple probably had two children, both stillborn or died shortly after birth. Not much else is known about Tutankhamun. He was in poor health and may have walked with a stick. It has been hypothesized that as he grew up he tried to to become independent from Ay’s control and exercise effective power over Egypt, but without having the time to succeed.
Death and succession
Tutankhamun died around 1323around twenty years of age, and was buried in the Valley of the Kingslike all the pharaohs of his time. The causes of death are not known: perhaps he died of illness, but it is not excluded that it was killed on Ay’s orders. The vizier, moreover, became his successor as pharaoh: although he was not noble, he was able to ascend to the throne by marrying Ankhesenamon. The story was very tormented. The young woman, tied to the memory of Tutankhamun, tried to oppose the marriage, to the point that she wrote two letters to the king of the Hittites (an Anatolian people) to convince him to send his son to Egypt, who could become her husband and the new pharaoh, but the young prince never reached his destination (perhaps he was killed on the way). Ay then married Ankhesenamon and became pharaoh.
It has been suggested that Ay had Tutankhamun, the Hittite prince, and Ankhesenamun herself killed, after forcing her to marry him, but there is no evidence that this was the case. What is certain is that Even Ay did not reign for longbecause he died three years after ascending the throne.
The Discovery of Tutankhamun’s Tomb and the Superstition About the Curse
Tutankhamun was soon forgotten: he had reigned for only a few years, without holding effective power, and had not accomplished any significant feats. Until 1922 his name It was known only to a few Egyptology specialists. In that year, however, the English archaeologist Howard Carter discovered the tomb of the Pharaoh in the Valley of the Kings.
The discovery made Tutankhamun famous throughout the world and increased interest in the civilization of ancient Egypt. tomb It was not particularly large or sumptuous, if compared to those of more important pharaohs, but it had one unique feature: it was intact. The ancient Egyptians followed the custom of placing large quantities of precious objects in the tombs of the pharaohs and, consequently, the burials attracted thieveswho “visited” them regularly. All the other tombs in the Valley of the Kings had been stripped of the riches contained within them, but Tutankhamun’s tomb was particularly well hidden and was not never been spotted by thieves.
Immediately after the discovery, however, the superstition of the Tutankhamun’s curseaccording to which the tomb anyone who violated the tomb, disturbing the sleep of the pharaoh, was destined to die soon. The curse, in reality, does not exist and those who discovered the tomb, as well as those who visited it later, did not run any risk.
