Tutankhamun (King Tut) was not a major player in Egypt Pharaonic history, or at least, in comparison
with other pharaohs. In fact, prior to
Howard Carter's discovery of
his tomb, almost nothing was known of him and interestingly, the one disappointment in Carter's discover was that there was little
in the way of documentation found within his tomb. Therefore, we still know relatively little about Tutankhamun. For example,
even who is father was remains a topic of some debate. That has not prevented writers from producing volumes of material on
the Pharaoh.
We believe Tutankhamun ruled Egypt between 1334 and 1325 BC. He was probably the 12th ruler of Egypt's
18th Dynasty
Tutankamun was not given this name at birth, but rather Tutankhaten (meaning "Living Image of the Aten), squarely
placing him in the line of pharaohs following Akhenaten, the heretic pharaoh, who was most likely his father. His mother was probably Kiya, though this too is in question.
He changed his name in year two of his rule to Tutankhamun (or heqa-iunu-shema, which means "Living Image of Amun, Ruler of Upper Egyptian Heliopolis", which is actually a reference to Karnak) as re reverted to the old religion prior to Akhenaten's upheaval. Even so, this did not
prevent his name from being omitted from the classic kings lists of Abydos and Karnak. We may also find his named spelled Tutankhamen or Tutankhamon, among other variations. His throne name
was Neb-Kheperu-re, which means "Lord of Manifestations is Re.
We do know that he spent his early years in Amarna, and probably in the North Palace. He evidently even started a tomb at Amarna. At age nine he was married to Ankhesenpaaten,
his half sister, and later Ankhesenamun. We believe Ankhesenpaaten was older then Tutankhamun because she was probably
of child bearing age, seemingly already having had a child by her father, Akhenaten. It is possible also that Ankhesenamun
had been married to Tutankhamun's predecessor. It seems he did not succeed Akhenaten directly as ruler of Egypt, but
either an older brother or his uncle, Smenkhkare (keeping in mind that there is much controversy surrounding this king). We believe Tutankhamun probably had two daughters
later, but no sons.
At the end of Akhenaten's reign, Ay and Horemheb, both senior members of that kings court, probably came to the realization that the heresy of their king could not continue.
Upon the death of Akhenaten and Smenkhkare, they had the young king who was nine years old 
crowned in the old secular capital of Memphis. And since the young pharaoh had no living female relatives old enough, he was probably under the care of Ay or Horemheb
or both, who would have actually been the factual ruler of Egypt.
Right: Ankhesenpaaten, Tutankhamun's wife from the back of his gold throne.
We know of a number of other officials during the reign of Tutankhamun, two of which include Nakhtmin, who
was a military officer under Horemheb and a relative of Ay (perhaps his son) and Maya, who was Tutankhamun's Treasurer and
Overseer of the Place of Eternity (the royal necropolis). Others included Usermontju and Pentu, his to viziers of upper and lower Egypt, as well as Huy, the Viceroy of Nubia.
Immediately after becoming king, and probably under the direction of Ay and Horemheb, a move was made to return
to Egypt's traditional ancient religion. By year two of his reign, he changed his, as well as Ankhesenpaaten's name, removing the "aten" replacing it with "amun".
Again, he may have had nothing to do with this decision, though after two years perhaps Ay's and Horemheb's influence had
effected the boy-king's impressionable young mind.
One reason why Tutankhamun was not listed on the classical king lists is probably because Horemheb, the last
ruler of the 18th Dynasty, usurped most of the boy-king's work, including a restoration stele that records the reinstallation
of the old religion of Amun and the reopening and rebuilding of the temples. The ownership inscriptions of other reliefs
and statues were 
likewise changed to that of Horemheb, though the image of the young king himself remains obvious.
Even Tutankhamun's extensive building carried out at the temples of Karnak and Luxor were claimed by Horemheb. Of course, we must also remember that little of the statues, reliefs and building projects
were actually ordered by Tutankhamun himself, but rather his caretakers, Ay and Horemheb.
Left: Kiya, a lesser wife of Akhenaten who was probably Tutankhamun's mother.
His building work at Karnak and Luxor included the continuation of the entrance colonnades of the Amenhotep III temple at Luxor, including associated statues, and his embellishment of the Karnak temple with images of Amun, Amunet and
Khonsu. There were also a whole range of statues and sphinxes depicting Tutankhamun himself, as well as a small temple in the king's
name. We also know, mostly from fragments, that he built at Memphis. At Kawa, in the far south, he built a temple.
A pair of granite lions from that temple today flank the entrance to the Egyptian Sculpture Gallery at the British Museum.
Militarily, little happened during the reign of Tutankhamun, a surprising fact considering that Horemheb was
a well known general. Apparently there were campaigns in Nubia and Palestine/Syria, but this is only known from a brightly
painted gesso box found in Tutankhamun's tomb. It portrays scenes of the king hunting lions in the desert and gazelles, while
in the fourth scene he is smiting Nubians and then Syrians. There are paintings in the tomb of Horemheb and as well as the tomb of Huy that seem to confirm these campaigns, though it is unlikely that the young Tutankhamun actually
took part in the military actions directly. The campaigns in Palestine/Syria met with little success, but those in Nubia appear
to have gone much better.
Though we know that Tutankhamun died young, we are not certain about how he died. Both forensic analysis
of his mummy and clay seals dated with his regnal year support his demise at the age of 17 or no later then 18. As to
how he died, a small sliver of bone within the upper cranial cavity of his mummy was discovered from X-ray analysis, suggesting
that his death was not due to illness. It has been suggested that he was possibly murdered, but it is also just as likely the result of an accident. Yet it is clear that others certainly had eyes on the throne.
Afther Tutankhamun's death, Ankhesenamun was a young woman surrounded by powerful men, and it is altogether
obvious that she had little interest or love for any of them. She wrote to the King of the Hittites, Suppiluliumas I,
explaining her problems and asking for one of his sons as a husband. Suspicious of this good fortune, Suppiluliumas
I first sent a messanger to make inquiries on the truth of the young queen's story. After reporting her plight back
to Suppilulumas I, he sent his son, Zannanza, accepting her offer. However, he got no further than the border before
he was murdered, probably at the orders of Horemheb or Ay, who, 
both had both the opportunity and the motive. So instead, Ankhesenamun married Ay, probably under force, and
shortly afterwards, disappeared from recorded history. It should be remembered that both Ay and Horemheb were military
men, but Ay was much older then Horemheb, and was probably the brother of Tiy who was the wife of Amenhotep III. Amenhotep
III was most likely Tutankhamun's grandfather. He was also probably the father of Nefertiti, the wife of Akhenaten.
Therefore, he got to go first, as king, followed a short time later by Horemheb.
Right: Tut's famous gold funeral mask.
Tutankhamun's famous tomb is located in the Valley of the Kings on the West bank across from modern Luxor
(ancient Thebes). It is certainly less magnificent then other pharaohs of Egypt, yet, because of it, Tutankhamun has remained
in our memory for many years, and will probably continue to do so for many years to come. Regardless of all the myths
surrounding his tomb's discovery, including the "curse of the mummy" and other media hype, it is all a blessing to the boy-king.
The ancient pharaohs believed that if their name was remembered, their soul would live on, so not even the powerful Rameses the Great's soul can be as healthy as King Tut's.
There are many theories about how the young king died. Forensic evidence shows that Tutankhamun had a disability which
made it difficult for him to move. He had a fused spine which meant that if he fell, off his chariot for instance, it could
kill him in an instant. This is one of the theories. The thoughts were that Horemheb had been out hunting with Tut when as
a result of an accident he fell off his chariot, but instead of fetching help Horemheb left him there in the desert to die.
This theory has not yet been denied by scientists, because when King Tut was mummified his body was wet and had already started
to decompose, which is enough evidence to support this theory.
Another theory is that King Tut's wife murdered him. It is believed that she may have murdered him in despair for the loss
of their to children, one was still born and the other 4 months premature. Though if she was the murderer then why would she
argue against marrying Ay. A recent investigation into King Tut's murder shows that she was in love with the king, some hyrogliphics
found in Tut's tomb show them enjoying times together. This in its self is enough to remove her from the equation.
Maybe His religious leader killed him out of spite for what his father had done. His father had closed down temples to
the gods of Amun, and only entrusted his faith to the sun god, Aten. Evidence shows King Tuts tomb was ransack a year after
it was sealed. His religious leader had it restored and resealed then destroyed the maps which show where King Tut's tomb
was. We believe this is an act of a friend and not a killer.
So the only person left who could of killed King Tutankhamun was in Fact Ay. His adopted father. The thought is that Ay
was getting worried about his place in the dynasty as the prime minister and the fact that he and Horemheb were technically
ruling the court using Tut to hide behind. He felt threatened by Tut and so killed him then forced his Tut's wife to marry
him. It is also thought that Ay may have also murdered Tut's wife once he got what he wanted, the throne, as she too mysteriously
disappeared from historical records. Ay was only pharoah for 4 years before he died. He was succeed by Horemheb who is believed
to have possibly been Ay's partner in the murders. This fact has not yet been proven but there is no evidence to suggest otherwise.
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