King Tutankhamun 18th Dynasty, Egypt, 1334-1325 B.C.

king tut exhibition www.kingtut.org

History of the Boy King

Queen Nefertiti had six daughters; King Tut married one of them, his half sister. Ankhesenamon was thirteen years old when she became the wife of Tutankhamun when he was only nine years old. Tutankhamun succeeded Smenkhkare in 1334 B.C., but only ruled about 10 years. The teenage queen apparently suffered two failed pregnancies: the miscarriage of a 5-month-old female fetus and a stillborn baby girl. (Both were mummified and buried in Tutankhamun’s tomb.)

King Tut was born most likely in city of Ankhetaten (present-day Tell el-Amarna). Little is known of Tut’s childhood. There is considerable archaeological and textual evidence indicating that King Tut was the grandson of Queen Tiye. King Tut's parents was probably King Akhenaten, and a secondary wife Queen Kiya. See also King Tut's family tree.

King Tut died around 1325 B.C. at the age of about 19, leaving behind a mystery of his death. English archaeologist Howard Carter and his excavation team in 1922 had badly mangled the mummy of Tut. A bone fragment detected in his skull during
a 1968 X-ray was caused not by a blow, but by the embalmers
or by Carter’s rough treatment.

After King Tutankhamun died, Queen Ankhesenamon took some drastic measures perhaps because she was afraid of the priests and the power of general Horemhab, which was growing. Horemhab was stirring up opposition to Amarna and the worship of the god Aten. Ankhesenamon wrote to the chief of the Hittites, Suppiluliuma, who was an emerging power in the northern Mediterranean. She offered herself and the throne of Egypt to one of his sons. Prince Zananza set out for Egypt, but was murdered on the border of Egypt. It is probable that he was killed by general Horemhab's military agents.

The man chosen to succeed Tutankhamun was Ay, who was master of horse in Thebes. Ankhesenamon was given to Ay as his bride. Some believe that Ay was the father of Queen Nefertiti, which would have made him Ankhesenamon's grandfather. Together, they assumed the throne before Tutankhamun was buried. Ay died in 1319 B.C., but Ankhesenamon disappeared before his death. She was replaced by Ay's wife, Tey.
King Horemheb, was the last pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty

Treasures Within the Tomb

Perfume Box
DESCRIPTION:
A double perfume box of gold and silver pedestal, in the shape of two cartouches, having plumes for lid.
Back: The young King represented in similar attitude to the front, but as King, and on the left with a black face on the right a light flesh colored face.

One of a pair of life sized statues of Tutankhamun that were found either side of the entrance to the burial chamber. This one stood at the right hand side.

The Golden Throne

This chair is by far the most spectacular of the six found in Tutankhamun's tomb. The wood frame was wrapped with sheets of gold and silver and then inlaid with an array of semiprecious stones, faience and colored glass, which together were worked into a wealth of symbolic and decorative elements. Finely detailed lion's legs support the chair, while the arm panels take the form of winged uraei (or cobras) surmounted by the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. Partially visible is the exquisitely rendered chair back, which depicts Queen Ankhesenamun anointing her husband beneath the life-giving rays of the sun disc.

Massive hinged gold hoop-shaped bracelet found on the mummy of Tutankhamun. Its central plaque bears a large gold scarab inlaid with lapis lazuli. All the floral and block-decoration is inlaid with lapis lazuli, turquoise, cornelian and quartz in colored cement.

From the tomb of Tutankhamun, Valley of the Kings, W. Thebes. 18th Dynasty (1334-1325 B.C.)

Two of the bracelets found on Tutankhamun's arms. The massive rigid hinged gold example (a) has a cylinder of turquoise inset into a plaque smothered with applied wire and granulation. The other (b) has a flexible strap of gold and glass beads attached to a circular gold plaque, also highly decorated, with a central lapis lazuli inset.
From the tomb of Tutankhamun, Valley of the Kings,
W. Thebes. 18th Dynasty (1334-1325 B.C.)