Revision as of 16:13, 2 December 2007 view source162.84.220.110 (talk) ←Replaced page with '--~~~~Tutankumun , has been buried greater years than other mummies '' Other mummies have gone with Anubis(god of embalming ). Tut, has yet to go with Anubis......'← Previous edit | Revision as of 16:13, 2 December 2007 view source Animum (talk | contribs)30,489 editsm Reverted edits by 162.84.220.110 (talk) to last version by MarkhNext edit → | ||
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{{dablink|King Tut redirects here. For the song, see ].}} | |||
--] 16:13, 2 December 2007 (UTC)Tutankumun , has been buried greater years than other mummies '' | |||
{{Pharaoh Infobox | | |||
Other mummies have gone with Anubis(god of embalming ). | |||
Alt= Tutankhaten, Tutankhamon,<ref>Clayton, Peter A. <cite>Chronicle of the Pharaohs: The Reign-by-Reign Record of the Rulers and Dynasties of Ancient Egypt.</cite> p.128. Thames & Hudson. 2006. ISBN 0-500-28628-0</ref> possibly Nibhurrereya (as referenced in the ]) | | |||
Tut, has yet to go with Anubis... | |||
Name=Tutankhamen | | |||
scientists believe tut's heart is so heavy ,The god of underworld Osiris could not weigh it...\ | |||
Image=] in ].]] | | |||
this is a problem for the Egyptian King Because tut was orderd to be a Pharaoh of Egypt 1900BC(Before Christ) | |||
Predecessor=]? or <br /> ]? | | |||
Successor=] | | |||
Dynasty=] | | |||
Burial=] | | |||
Reign=1333 BC – 1324 BC | | |||
Spouse= ] | |||
}} | |||
]]] | |||
'''Nebkheperure Tutankhamen''' (alternately spelled with ''Tutenkh-'', ''-amen'', ''-amon''), ] ''{{lang|egy|twt-ˁnḫ-ı͗mn; *tuwt-ʕankh-yamān}}'' (] – ]) was a ] of the ] (ruled ] – ] in the conventional chronology), during the period of ] known as the ]. His original name, Tutankhaten, meant "Living Image of ]", while Tutankhamen meant "Living Image of ]". He is possibly also the ''Nibhurrereya'' of the ]. He was likely the eighteenth dynasty king 'Rathotis', who according to ], an ancient historian, had reigned for nine years—a figure which conforms exactly with ] generally accurate version of Manetho's Epitome.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.phouka.com/pharaoh/egypt/history/KLManetho.html|title=Manetho's King List}}</ref> Tutankhamen is, in modern times, one of the most famous of the pharaohs, and the only one to have a nickname in popular culture (King Tut) | |||
Today, Many People hope and pray tut is crowned in the underworld by Osiris & Anubis | |||
==Significance== | |||
Tutankhamen was only 9 years old when he became pharaoh. He died 9 years later, at age 18. In historical terms, Tutankhamen is of only moderate significance, and most of his modern popularity stems from the fact that his tomb in the ] was discovered almost completely intact. However, he also is significant as a figure among those who managed the beginning of the transition from the heretical ] of his predecessors ] and perhaps ] back to the familiar ]. As Tutankhamen began his reign at such an early age, his vizier and eventual successor ] was probably making most of the important political decisions during Tutankhamun's reign. The 1922 discovery by ] of Tutankhamen received worldwide press coverage and sparked a renewed public interest in ], for which Tutankhamen's burial mask remains the popular face. | |||
That is my mimi report | |||
By K.S | |||
==Parentage== | |||
Tutankhamen's parentage is uncertain. An inscription calls him a king's son, but it is not clear which king was meant. Most scholars think that he was probably a son either of ] (although probably not by his ] ]), or more likely a son of Amenhotep III's son ] around 1342 BC. However, Professor James Allen argues that Tutankhamen was more likely to be a son of the short-lived king Smenkhkare rather than Akhenaten. Allen argues that Akhenaten consciously chose a female co-regent named ] as his successor rather than Tutankhamen which would have been unlikely if the latter had been his son.<ref> | |||
{{cite book | |||
|last=Allen | |||
|first=James P. | |||
|title=Causing His Name to Live: Studies in Egyptian Epigraphy and History in Memory of William J. Murnane | |||
|url=http://history.memphis.edu/murnane/ | |||
|format=Online publication in ] | |||
|accessdate=2006-08-05 | |||
|year=2006 | |||
|publisher=University of Memphis | |||
|location=Memphis, TN | |||
|pages=pp. 7, 12-14 | |||
|chapter=The Amarna Succession | |||
|chapterurl=http://history.memphis.edu/murnane/Allen%20-%20Amarna%20Succession.pdf | |||
}} | |||
</ref> Tutankhamen was married to ] (possibly his sister), and after the re-establishment of the traditional Egyptian religion the couple changed the –'''aten''' ending of their names to the –'''amun''' ending, becoming Ankhesenamun and Tutankhamen. They are known to have had two children, both died as babies (may have been stillborn) girls—whose mummies were discovered in his tomb. The "boy king" died by reasons still disputed.Some believe that he was murdered by his advisors, but it is also possible that he died from injuries suffered in an accident or while at war. A recent CT scan of his mummy show a very bad injury to one of his knees so some scientists now think he died of infection. The muder theory is also unlikely now because of the scan. He was buried in the ], in a small tomb today known as ], that was not intended for a king. | |||
The first theory was that he was a son of ] and Queen ]. This theory seems unlikely since Tiye would have been more than fifty years old at the time of Tutankhamen's birth. Another theory is that Tutankhamun was the son of ] and ]. This is possible, but not plausible. Smenkhkare came on the scene when Akhenaten entered year 14 of his reign and it is thought that during this time Meritaten married Smenkhkare. So, if Smenkhkare is the father of Tutankhamen, he would have needed at least a three year reign, because if it had been shorter, Tutankhamun would have been barely seven when he came to the throne. However, if there had been lengthy co-regency between Amenhotep III and Akhenaten, Amenhotep definitely could be Tutankhamun's father. | |||
The current theory is that he was the son of Akhenaten and his minor wife ]. Queen Kiya's title was "Greatly Beloved Wife of Akhenaten" so it is possible that she could have borne him an heir. Supporting this theory, images on the tomb wall in the tomb of Akhenaten show that a royal fan bearer standing next to Kiya's death bed, fanning what is either a princess or more likely a wet nurse holding a baby, which would indicate that the wet nurse was holding the boy-king-to-be. | |||
==Reign== | |||
]s of his birth and throne names are displayed between rampant ] lioness warrior images (perhaps with his head) crushing enemies of several ethnicities, while ] flies protectively above]] | |||
During Tutankhamun's reign, Akhenaten's ] revolution (]) was being reversed. Akhenaten had attempted to supplant the traditional priesthood and ] with a god who was until then considered minor, ]. In Year 3 of Tutankhamun's reign (1331 BC), when he was still a boy at the age eleven and probably under the influence of two older advisors (Akhenaten's ] ] and perhaps ]), the ban on the old ] of ] and their ]s was lifted, the traditional privileges were restored to their priesthoods, and the capital was moved back to ]. The young pharaoh adopted the name Tutankhamun, changing it from his birth name Tutankhaten. Because of his age at the time these decisions were made, it is generally thought that most if not all the responsibility for them falls on his advisors. Also, King Tutankhamun restored all of the traditional deities and restored order to the chaos that his relative had caused. Many temples devoted to ] were built. And even though Tutankhamun's wooden box depicts him going to war against Hittites and Nubians and he is shown wearing the blue war crown, it is doubted that he ever went to war. | |||
== Events after his death == | |||
A now-famous letter to the ] king ] from a widowed queen of Egypt, asking for one of his sons as a husband, has been attributed to ] (among others). The royal lineage of Egypt was carried by its women. Marriage to a woman of the royal line was essential for a male pharaoh, even if he came from outside the lineage. Suspicious of this good fortune, Suppiluliumas I first sent a messenger to make inquiries about the truth of the young queen's story. After receiving reports that the situation was as related to Suppiluliuma I, he sent his son, ], accepting her offer. However, Zannanza got no further than the border before he was killed, according to the Hittite archives. If Ankhesenamun were the queen in question, and his death a strategic murder, it was probably at the orders of either ] or ], who both had the opportunity and the motive to kill him. | |||
== Name == | |||
{{PharaohNamebox | |||
|HorusHiero= <hiero>E1:D40-t-G43-t-F31-s-t-G43-Z3</hiero> | |||
|Horus= ''Kanakht Tutmesut'' <br /> The strong bull, pleasing of birth | |||
|NebtiHiero= <hiero>nfr-O4:p-G43-M40-Z3-s-W11:r-V28-D36:N17:N17-N21:N21 </hiero><br /><hiero>wr-aH-pr-Z1-i-mn:n | |||
nb:r-Dr:r-A41</hiero> | |||
|Nebti= ''Neferhepusegerehtawy Wer-Ah-Amun Neb-r-Djer''<br /> One of perfect laws, who pacifies the two lands; Great of the palace of Amun; Lord of all<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/chronology/tutankhamun.html |title= Digital Egypt for Universities: Tutankhamun |accessdate= 2006-08-05 |date=], ] |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |year= |month= |format= |work= |publisher=University College London }}</ref> | |||
|GoldenHiero=<hiero>U39-N28:Z2-O34-R4:t*p-R8A-HqA-q:Y1-mAat-s</hiero><br /><hiero>Htp:t*p-R8A w-T:z-U39-xa:Z2-i-t:f</hiero><br /><hiero>A41:f-C2-U39-xa:Z2-Tz:z-tA:tA-m</hiero> | |||
|Golden=''Wetjeskhausehetepnetjeru Heqa-maat-sehetep-netjeru Wetjes-khau-itef-Re Wetjes-khau-Tjestawy-Im''<br /> Who wears crowns and pleases the gods; Ruler of Truth, who pleases the gods; Who wears the crowns of his father, Re; Who wears crowns, and binds the two lands therein | |||
|PrenomenHiero=<hiero>N5-L1-Z2:nb</hiero> | |||
|Prenomen= ''Nebkheperure'' <br /> Lord of the forms of Re | |||
|NomenHiero=<hiero>i-mn:n-t-G43-t-S34</hiero> | |||
|Nomen=''Tutankhamun Hekaiunushema'' <br /> Living Image of Amun, ruler of Upper ] | |||
}} | |||
Under ], Tutankhamun was named Tutankhaten, which in ] is: | |||
<hiero><-i-t:n:ra-t:w:t-anx-></hiero> | |||
Technically, this name is ] as twt-ˁnḫ-ỉtn. | |||
At the reintroduction of the old pantheon, his name was changed. It is transliterated as twt-ˁnḫ-ỉmn ḥq3-ỉwnw-šmˁ, and often realized as '''Tutankhamun Hekaiunushema''', meaning "Living image of ], ruler of Upper ]". On his ascension to the throne, Tutankhamun took a ''praenomen''. This is translated as nb-ḫprw-rˁ, and realized as '''Nebkheperure''', meaning "Lord of the forms of ]". The name ''Nibhurrereya'' in the ] may be a variation of this praenomen. | |||
== Cause of death == | |||
] | |||
For a long time the cause of Tutankhamun's death was unknown, and it is still the root of much speculation. How old was the king when he died? Did he suffer from any physical abnormalities? Had he been murdered? Some of these questions were finally answered in early ] when the results of a set of ]s on the mummy were released, but many still remain to be unsolved. | |||
The body originally was inspected by ]’s team in the early 1920s, although they were primarily interested in recovering the jewelry and amulets from the body. To remove these objects from the body, which often were stuck fast by the hardened embalming resins used, Carter's team cut up the mummy into various pieces: the arms and legs were detached, the torso cut in half and the head was severed. Hot knives were used to remove it from the golden mask to which it was cemented by resin. | |||
Since the body was placed back in its sarcophagus in 1926, the mummy has subsequently been X-rayed three times: first in 1968 by a group from the ], then in 1978 by a group from the ], and finally in 2005 a team of Egyptian scientists led by Secretary General of the ], ], who conducted a ] on the mummy. | |||
]s of his ], which were taken previously, in 1968, had revealed a dense spot at the lower back of the ]. This had been interpreted as a ], which would have been caused by a blow. Such an injury could have been the result of an accident, but it also had been suggested that the young pharaoh was ]ed. If this were the case, there are a number of theories as to who was responsible. One popular candidate was his immediate successor ] and other candidates included his wife and chariot-driver. Interestingly, there seem to be signs of ] within the supposed injury, which if true, meant Tutankhamun lived for a fairly extensive period of time (on the order of several months) after the injury was inflicted.<ref>Bob Brier, The Murder of Tutankhamen: A True Story, 1999</ref> | |||
Much confusion had been caused by a small loose sliver of bone within the upper cranial cavity, which was discovered from the same X-ray analysis. Some people have suggested this visible bone fragment for the supposed head injury. In fact, since Tutankhamun's ] was removed ''post mortem'' in the mummification process, and considerable quantities of now-hardened ] introduced into the ] on at least two separate occasions after that, had the fragment resulted from an injury while he was alive, some scholars, including the 2005 ] team, say it almost certainly would not still be loose in the cranial cavity. | |||
===2005 findings=== | |||
] | |||
On ], ], ] archaeologist ] revealed the results of a ] performed on the pharaoh's mummy. The scan uncovered no evidence of a blow to the back of the head and no evidence suggesting ]. There was a hole in the head, but it appeared to have been drilled, presumably by ]s. A fracture to Tutankhamun's left thighbone was interpreted as evidence that the pharaoh badly broke his leg before he died and his leg became severely infected; however, members of the Egyptian-led research team recognized, as a less likely possibility, that the fracture was caused by the embalmers. Altogether 1,700 images were produced of Tutankhamun's mummy during the 15-minute CT scan. | |||
Much was learned about the young king's life. His age at death was estimated at nineteen years, based on physical developments that set upper and lower limits to his age. The king had been in general good health and there were no signs of any major infectious disease or malnutrition during his childhood. He was slight of build, and was roughly 170 cm (5 ft 7 in) tall. He had large front ] teeth and the ] characteristic of the Thutmosid royal line to which he belonged. He also had a pronounced ] (elongated) skull, although it was within normal bounds and highly unlikely to have been pathological. Given the fact that many of the royal depictions of ] (possibly his father, certainly a relative), often featured such an elongated head, it is likely an exaggeration of a family trait, rather than a distinct abnormality, and not related to ] as some have speculated. The research also showed that the pharaoh had ].<ref> | |||
{{cite news | |||
|first=Brian | |||
|last=Handwerk | |||
|url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/03/0308_050308_kingtutmurder.html | |||
|title=King Tut Not Murdered Violently, CT Scans Show | |||
|publisher=National Geographic News | |||
|date=], ] | |||
|page=2 | |||
|accessdate=2006-08-05 | |||
}} | |||
</ref> | |||
A slight bend to his spine also was found, but the scientists agreed that there was no associated evidence to suggest that it was pathological in nature, and that it was much more likely to have been caused during the embalming process. This ended speculation based on the previous X-rays that Tutankhamun had suffered from ]. (However, it was subsequently noted by Dr. ] that the mummy found in ], provisionally identified as Tutankhamun's father, exhibited several similarities to that of Tutankhamun—a ], a ] skull and slight ].)<ref>''Nefertiti and the Lost Dynasty,'' National Geographic Channel 2007.</ref> | |||
] | |||
The 2005 conclusion by a team of Egyptian scientists, based on the CT scan findings, confirmed that Tutankhamun died of ] after breaking his leg. After consultations with ] and ] experts, the Egyptian scientists found that the fracture in Tutankhamun's left leg most likely occurred only days before his death, which had then become gangrenous and led directly to his death. The fracture was not sustained during the mummification process or as a result of some damage to the mummy as claimed by ]. The Egyptian scientists also have found no evidence that he had been struck on the head and no other indication that he was murdered, as had been speculated previously. Further investigation of the fracture led to the conclusion that it was severe, most likely caused by a fall from some height—possibly a chariot riding accident due to the absence of ] injuries—and may have been fatal within hours. | |||
Despite the relatively poor condition of the mummy, the Egyptian team found evidence that great care had been given to the body of Tutankhamun during the embalming process. They found five distinct embalming materials, which were applied to the body at various stages of the mummification process. This counters previous assertions that the king’s body had been prepared carelessly and in a hurry. In November 2006, at the annual meeting of the ], Egyptian radiologists stated that that CT images and scans of the king's mummy revealed Tutankhamun's height to be 180 centimetres or 5 feet 11 inches tall, a revision upward from the earlier estimates. | |||
Michael R. King continues to dispute these findings, claiming that the king was murdered. He argues that the loose sliver of bone was loosened by the embalmers during ], but that it had been broken before. He argues that a blow to the back of the head (from a fall or an actual blow) may have caused the brain to move forward, hitting the front of the skull, breaking small pieces of the bone right above the eyes.<ref> Michael R. King, Gregory M.Cooper, Who Killed King Tut?: Using Modern Forensics to Solve a 3300-Year-Old Mystery (With New Data on the Egyptian CT Scan), New Ed edition,13 Sep 2006</ref> | |||
== Discovery of KV62 == | |||
{{main|KV62}} | |||
]]] | |||
Tutankhamun seems to have faded from public consciousness in Ancient Egypt within a short time after his death, and he remained virtually unknown until the early twentieth century. His tomb was robbed at least twice in antiquity, but based on the items taken (including perishable oils and perfumes) and the evidence of restoration of the tomb after the intrusions, it seems clear that these robberies took place within several months at most of the initial burial. Eventually the location of the tomb was lost because it had come to be buried by stone chips from subsequent tombs, either dumped there or washed there by floods. In the years that followed, some huts for workers were built over the tomb entrance, clearly not knowing what lay beneath. When at the end of the twentieth dynasty the Valley of the Kings burials were systematically dismantled, the burial of Tutankhamun was overlooked, presumably because knowledge of it had been lost and even his name may have been forgotten. | |||
For many years, rumors of a "]" (probably fueled by newspapers seeking sales at the time of the discovery) persisted, emphasizing the early death of some of those who had first entered the tomb. However, a recent study of journals and death records indicates no ] difference between the age of death of those who entered the tomb and those on the expedition who did not. Indeed, most lived past seventy. | |||
] | |||
]ian ] games similar to the one displayed at the right, were found in the tomb.<ref> | |||
{{cite web | |||
|url=http://www.humanities-interactive.org/ancient/tut/senet/index.html | |||
|title=Welcome to Senet | |||
|accessdate=2006-08-05 | |||
|date=], ] | |||
|publisher=Texas Humanities Resource Center | |||
}} | |||
</ref> | |||
Some of the treasures in Tutankhamen's tomb are noted for their apparent departure from traditional depictions of the boy king. Certain cartouches where a king's name should appear have been altered, as if to reuse the property of a previous pharaoh—as often occurred. However, this instance may simply be the product of "updating" the artifacts to reflect the shift from Tutankh''aten'' to Tutankh''amun''. Other differences are less easy to explain, such as the older, more angular facial features of the middle coffin and canopic coffinettes. The most widely accepted theory for these latter variations is that the items were originally intended for '']'', who may or may not be the mysterious KV55 mummy. Said mummy, according to craniological examinations, bears a striking first-order (father-to-son, brother-to-brother) relationship to Tutankhamun.<ref>C. Nicholas Reeves, The Complete Tutankhamun: The King, the Tomb, the Royal Treasure, London: Thames & Hudson, November 1, 1990</ref> | |||
===2007 discoveries in Tutankhamen's tomb=== | |||
On September 24, 2007, it was announced that a team of Egyptian ] led by ], discovered eight ] of 3,000 year old ] fruit in the treasury of Tutankhamun's tomb.<ref name="hawass"></ref> Doum comes from a type of ] native to the ]. The doum fruit are traditionally offered at ]. | |||
Fifty clay pots bearing Tutankhamen's official seal were also discovered. According to Dr Hawas, the containers probably contained money that were destined to travel with the pharaoh to the afterlife. He said the containers will soon be opened. The objects were originally discovered, but not opened or removed from the tomb, by ].<ref name="hawass"/> | |||
King Tutankhamen still rests in his tomb in the ], in a temperature-controlled glass case. On November 4, 2007, 85 years to the day since Howard Carter's discovery, the actual face of the 19-year-old pharaoh was put on view in his underground tomb at ], when the linen-wrapped mummy was removed from its golden sarcophagus for display in a climate-controlled glass box. This was done to prevent the heightened rate of decomposition caused by the humidity and warmth from tourists visiting the tomb.<ref></ref> | |||
==Tutankhamen in popular culture== | |||
{{main|Egypt in the European imagination}} | |||
If Tutankhamun is the world's best known pharaoh, it is partly because his tomb is among the best preserved, and his image and associated artifacts the most-exhibited. He also has entered popular culture—he has, for example, been commemorated in the whimsical song "]" by the American comedian ] with a backup group he called "The Toot Uncommons". He was also the namesake of one of Batman's arch enemies played by ] in the 1960s American television series "]" with ]. | |||
]''.]] | |||
In 1939, slapstick comedy trio the ] filmed '']'', in which they explored the ] of the ] King Rutentuten (pronounced "rootin'-tootin'") and his Queen, Hotsy Totsy. A decade later, they were crooked used ] salesmen in '']'', in which they ultimately assist a different King Rootentootin (]) with a toothache. | |||
As a side effect, the interest in this tomb and its alleged "curse" led to ] featuring a vengeful mummy. As ] writes, in his forward to the 1977 edition of Carter's ''The Discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamun'', "The pharaoh who in life was one of the least esteemed of Egypt's kings has become in death the most renowned." | |||
=== Tutankhamun's appearance and controversy === | |||
]'' in 2005 - considered controversial by some because it exhibits hazel eyes and a mid-range of skin tones]] | |||
{{See also|Racial characteristics of ancient Egyptians}} | |||
In 2005, three teams of scientists (Egyptian, French, and American), in partnership with the ], developed a new facial likeness of Tutankhamun. The Egyptian team worked from 1,700 ] ]s of the pharaoh's skull. The French and American teams worked plastic moulds created from these—but the Americans were never told ''who'' the subject of the reconstruction was.<ref> | |||
{{cite news | |||
|first=Brian | |||
|last=Handwerk | |||
|url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/05/0511_050511_kingtutface.html | |||
|title=King Tut's New Face: Behind the Forensic Reconstruction | |||
|publisher=National Geographic News | |||
|date=], ] | |||
|accessdate=2006-08-05 | |||
}} | |||
</ref> All three teams created ] busts of their interpretation of what the young monarch looked like. | |||
====Skin tone==== | |||
Although modern technology can reconstruct Tutankhamun's facial structure with a high degree of accuracy based on CT data from his mummy,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dsc.discovery.com/anthology/unsolvedhistory/kingtut/face/facespin.html|title=discovery reconstruction}}</ref><ref></ref> correctly determining his skin tone is impossible. The problem is not a lack of skill on the part of Ancient Egyptians. Egyptian artisans distinguished quite accurately among different ethnicities, as can be seen clearly in the image, above at "Reign", where the enemies being vanquished are displayed under the rampant lioness with Tutankhamun's head. Sometimes they depicted their subjects in totally unreal colors, the purposes for which aren't completely understood. The colours may have had ritual significance. There is no consensus on King Tut's skin tone. | |||
Terry Garcia, ''National Geographic'''s executive vice president for mission programs, said, in response to some protesters of the King Tut reconstruction— | |||
:The big variable is skin tone. North Africans, we know today, had a range of skin tones, from light to dark. In this case, we selected a medium skin tone, and we say, quite up front, 'This is midrange.' We will never know for sure what his exact skin tone was or the colour of his eyes with 100% certainty. … Maybe in the future, people will come to a different conclusion.<ref> | |||
{{cite news |first=Evan |last=Henerson |url=http://u.dailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,211~23523~2921859,00.html |title=King Tut's skin colour a topic of controversy |publisher=U-Daily News - L.A. Life |date=], ] |accessdate=2006-08-05}}</ref> | |||
===Exhibitions=== | |||
The splendors of Tutankhamun's tomb are among the most traveled artifacts in the world. They have been to many countries, but probably the best-known exhibition tour was the ''Treasures of Tutankhamun'' tour, which ran from 1972-1979. This exhibition was first shown in London at the ] from 30 March until 30 September 1972. More than 1.6 million visitors came to see the exhibition, some queueing for up to eight hours and it was the most popular exhibition ever in the Museum. The exhibition moved on to many other countries, including the USA, USSR, Japan, France, Canada, and West Germany. The exhibition in the United States was organized by the ] and ran from from 17 November, 1976 through 15 April, 1979. It was attended by more than eight million people in the United States. | |||
An excerpt from the site of the American ]: | |||
:"...55 objects from the tomb of Tutankhamun included the boy-king's solid gold funeral mask, a gilded wood figure of the goddess Selket, lamps, jars, jewelry, furniture, and other objects for the afterlife. This exhibition established the term 'blockbuster.' A combination of the age-old fascination with ancient Egypt, the legendary allure of gold and precious stones, and the funeral trappings of the boy-king created an immense popular response. Visitors waited up to 8 hours before the building opened to view the exhibition. At times the line completely encircled the West Building."<ref> | |||
{{cite web | |||
|url=http://www.nga.gov/past/data/exh410.shtm | |||
|title=NGA - Treasures of Tutankhamun (11/1976) | |||
|accessdate=2006-08-05 | |||
|publisher=National Gallery of Art | |||
}} | |||
</ref> | |||
In 2005, hoping to inspire a whole new generation of museum visitors, Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, in partnership with Arts and Exhibitions International and the National Geographic Society, launched a new tour of Tutankhamun's treasures, this time called "Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs." It was expected to draw more than three million people.<ref> | |||
{{cite web | |||
|url=http://www.kingtut.org/exhibition.htm | |||
|title=King Tut exhibition. Tutankhamun & the Golden Age of the Pharaohs. Treasures from the Valley of the Kings | |||
|accessdate=2006-08-05 | |||
|publisher=Arts and Exhibitions International | |||
}} | |||
</ref> | |||
The exhibition started in ], then moved to ], and ]. The fourth location is ], and the fifth will be ]<ref></ref> before finally returning to Egypt in August 2008. Subsequent events have propelled an encore of the exhibition in the United States, beginning with the ] in October of 2008.<ref></ref> The tour will continue on to two other U.S. cities which have yet to be named. <ref>], ""</ref> | |||
The exhibition includes 80 exhibits from the reigns of Tutankhamun's immediate predecessors in the eighteenth dynasty, such as ], whose trade policies greatly increased the wealth of that dynasty and enabled the lavish wealth of Tutankhamun's burial artifacts, as well as 50 from Tutankhamun's tomb. The exhibition does not include the gold mask that was a feature of the 1972-1979 tour.<ref>http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article409075.ece?token=null&offset=12</ref> | |||
===In fiction=== | |||
Tutankhamun/Tutankhaten appears in ]'s trilogy of Ancient Egyptian novels, ''An Evil Spirit Out of the West'' (2003), ''The Season of the Hyaena'' (2005) and ''The Year of the Cobra'' (2005). | |||
Tutankhamun is also the major character in a series of historical novels by the American author ]. | |||
The historical novel ''Tutankhamun-Speak my Name'' (2005) ISBN 1-4120-6325-6 by Anthony Holmes is the comprehensive (678 page) story of the life of the young king from his birth to Kiye, the concubine of Akhenaten, until his death 6,666 days later and beyond into the afterlife of his KA in the tomb eventually discovered by Howard Carter. | |||
Tutankhamun appears as a 10-year-old mummy in the ] show ]. | |||
], as played by ], was a villain on the ] aired in 1966-1968. Mild-mannered Egyptologist William Omaha McElroy, after suffering a concussion, came to believe he was the reincarnation of Tutankhamun. His response to this knowledge was to embark upon a crime spree that required him to fight against the "Caped Crusaders", ] and ]. | |||
==Gallery depicting kin of Tutankhamun== | |||
<gallery> | |||
Image:QueenTiy01-AltesMuseum-Berlin.png|A wooden statue head of Queen Tiye, thought to be Tutankhamun's Grandmother, part of the ] collection | |||
Image:GD-EG-Caire-Musée061.JPG|Fragmentary statue of Akhenaten, perhaps Tutankhamun's father, on display at the ] | |||
Image:FaceOfAYoungAmarnaWoman-ThutmoseWorkshop_MetropolitanMuseum.png|Plaster face of a young Amarna-era woman, thought to represent Queen Kiya, the likely mother of Tutankhamun, on display at the ], New York City | |||
Image:KV55-CanopicJar-AmarnaQueen-CloseUp_MetropolitanMuseum.png|Canopic jar depicting an Amarna-era Queen, usually identified as being Queen Kiya, on display at the ], New York City | |||
Image:Nefertiti bust (front).jpg|The iconic image of Queen Nefertiti, perhaps the step-mother of Tutankhamen, part of the ] collection | |||
Image:StatueHeadOfNefertiti01.png|Another statue head depicting ], now part of the ] collection | |||
Image:Ankhesenpaaten-StatuetteHead_BrooklynMuseum.png|Fragmentary statue thought to represent Ankhesenamun, sister and wife to Tutankhamun, on display at the ] | |||
Image:UnfinishedStatueOfAmarnaPrincess.png|Statue of an unnamed Amarna-era princess, likely a sister (or step-sister) to Tutankhamun, part of the ] collection | |||
</gallery> | |||
==References== | |||
{{reflist}} | |||
==Further reading== | |||
* Howard Carter, Arthur C. Mace, ''''. Courier Dover Publications, June 1, 1977, ISBN 0-486-23500-9 ''The semi-popular account of the discover and opening of the tomb written by the archaeologist responsible'' | |||
* C. Nicholas Reeves, ''The Complete Tutankhamun: The King, the Tomb, the Royal Treasure''. London: Thames & Hudson, November 1, 1990, ISBN 0-500-05058-9 (hardcover)/ISBN 0-500-27810-5 (paperback) ''Fully covers the complete contents of his tomb'' | |||
* T. G. H. James, ''Tutankhamun''. New York: Friedman/Fairfax, September 1, 2000, ISBN 1-58663-032-6 (hardcover) ''A large-format volume by the former Keeper of Egyptian Antiquities at the ], filled with colour illustrations of the funerary furnishings of Tutankhamun, and related objects'' | |||
* Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt, Sarwat Okasha (Preface), ''Tutankhamen: Life and Death of a Pharaoh''. New York: New York Graphic Society, 1963, ISBN 0-8212-0151-4 (1976 reprint, hardcover) /ISBN 0-14-011665-6 (1990 reprint, paperback) | |||
* Thomas Hoving, ''The search for Tutankhamun: The untold story of adventure and intrigue surrounding the greatest modern archeological find''. New York: Simon & Schuster, October 15, 1978, ISBN 0-671-24305-5 (hardcover)/ISBN 0-8154-1186-3 (paperback) ''This book details a number of interesting anecdotes about the discovery and excavation of the tomb'' | |||
* Bob Brier, ''The Murder of Tutankhamen: A True Story''. Putnam Adult, April 13, 1998, ISBN 0-425-16689-9 (paperback)/ISBN 0-399-14383-1 (hardcover)/ISBN 0-613-28967-6 (School & Library Binding) | |||
* ], ''Treasures of Tutankhamun''. New York: ], 1976, ISBN 0-345-27349-4 (paperback)/ISBN 0-670-72723-7 (hardcover) | |||
* Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, ''The Mummy of Tutankhamen: the CT Scan Report'', as printed in ''Ancient Egypt'', June/July 2005. | |||
* Michael Haag, "The Rough Guide to Tutankhamen: The King: The Treasure: The Dynasty". London 2005. ISBN 1-84353-554-8. | |||
*John Andritsos, Social Studies of ancient Egypt: Tutankhamen. Australia 2006 | |||
==External links== | |||
{{commons|Tutankhamen}} | |||
* by Dennis Forbes (KMT 8:3 . FALL 1997, KMT Communications) | |||
* (Mark R Nelson, ''British Medical Journal'' 2002;325:1482 | |||
* at the ], ] | |||
* Article published in British newspaper '''The Independent''', the 20th October 2007 sea also the British TV documentary on the findings of the Egyptian team of archaeologists in | |||
{{Ancient Egyptians}} | |||
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Revision as of 16:13, 2 December 2007
King Tut redirects here. For the song, see King Tut (song).Tutankhamen | |
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Tutankhaten, Tutankhamon, possibly Nibhurrereya (as referenced in the Amarna letters) | |
Pharaoh | |
Reign | 1333 BC – 1324 BC |
Predecessor | Smenkhkare? or Neferneferuaten? |
Successor | Ay |
Royal titulary
| |
Consort | Ankhesenamen |
Burial | KV62 |
Dynasty | 18th Dynasty |
Nebkheperure Tutankhamen (alternately spelled with Tutenkh-, -amen, -amon), Egyptian twt-ˁnḫ-ı͗mn; *tuwt-ʕankh-yamān (1341 BC – 1323 BC) was a Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty (ruled 1333 BC – 1322 BC in the conventional chronology), during the period of Egyptian history known as the New Kingdom. His original name, Tutankhaten, meant "Living Image of Aten", while Tutankhamen meant "Living Image of Amun". He is possibly also the Nibhurrereya of the Amarna letters. He was likely the eighteenth dynasty king 'Rathotis', who according to Manetho, an ancient historian, had reigned for nine years—a figure which conforms exactly with Flavius Josephus' generally accurate version of Manetho's Epitome. Tutankhamen is, in modern times, one of the most famous of the pharaohs, and the only one to have a nickname in popular culture (King Tut)
Significance
Tutankhamen was only 9 years old when he became pharaoh. He died 9 years later, at age 18. In historical terms, Tutankhamen is of only moderate significance, and most of his modern popularity stems from the fact that his tomb in the Valley of the Kings was discovered almost completely intact. However, he also is significant as a figure among those who managed the beginning of the transition from the heretical Atenism of his predecessors Akhenaten and perhaps Smenkhkare back to the familiar Egyptian religion. As Tutankhamen began his reign at such an early age, his vizier and eventual successor Ay was probably making most of the important political decisions during Tutankhamun's reign. The 1922 discovery by Howard Carter of Tutankhamen received worldwide press coverage and sparked a renewed public interest in ancient Egypt, for which Tutankhamen's burial mask remains the popular face.
Parentage
Tutankhamen's parentage is uncertain. An inscription calls him a king's son, but it is not clear which king was meant. Most scholars think that he was probably a son either of Amenhotep III (although probably not by his Great Royal Wife Tiye), or more likely a son of Amenhotep III's son Akhenaten around 1342 BC. However, Professor James Allen argues that Tutankhamen was more likely to be a son of the short-lived king Smenkhkare rather than Akhenaten. Allen argues that Akhenaten consciously chose a female co-regent named Neferneferuaten as his successor rather than Tutankhamen which would have been unlikely if the latter had been his son. Tutankhamen was married to Ankhesenpaaten (possibly his sister), and after the re-establishment of the traditional Egyptian religion the couple changed the –aten ending of their names to the –amun ending, becoming Ankhesenamun and Tutankhamen. They are known to have had two children, both died as babies (may have been stillborn) girls—whose mummies were discovered in his tomb. The "boy king" died by reasons still disputed.Some believe that he was murdered by his advisors, but it is also possible that he died from injuries suffered in an accident or while at war. A recent CT scan of his mummy show a very bad injury to one of his knees so some scientists now think he died of infection. The muder theory is also unlikely now because of the scan. He was buried in the Valley of the Kings, in a small tomb today known as KV62, that was not intended for a king.
The first theory was that he was a son of Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye. This theory seems unlikely since Tiye would have been more than fifty years old at the time of Tutankhamen's birth. Another theory is that Tutankhamun was the son of Smenkhkare and Meritaten. This is possible, but not plausible. Smenkhkare came on the scene when Akhenaten entered year 14 of his reign and it is thought that during this time Meritaten married Smenkhkare. So, if Smenkhkare is the father of Tutankhamen, he would have needed at least a three year reign, because if it had been shorter, Tutankhamun would have been barely seven when he came to the throne. However, if there had been lengthy co-regency between Amenhotep III and Akhenaten, Amenhotep definitely could be Tutankhamun's father.
The current theory is that he was the son of Akhenaten and his minor wife Kiya. Queen Kiya's title was "Greatly Beloved Wife of Akhenaten" so it is possible that she could have borne him an heir. Supporting this theory, images on the tomb wall in the tomb of Akhenaten show that a royal fan bearer standing next to Kiya's death bed, fanning what is either a princess or more likely a wet nurse holding a baby, which would indicate that the wet nurse was holding the boy-king-to-be.
Reign
During Tutankhamun's reign, Akhenaten's Amarna revolution (Atenism) was being reversed. Akhenaten had attempted to supplant the traditional priesthood and deities with a god who was until then considered minor, Aten. In Year 3 of Tutankhamun's reign (1331 BC), when he was still a boy at the age eleven and probably under the influence of two older advisors (Akhenaten's vizier Ay and perhaps Nefertiti), the ban on the old pantheon of deities and their temples was lifted, the traditional privileges were restored to their priesthoods, and the capital was moved back to Thebes. The young pharaoh adopted the name Tutankhamun, changing it from his birth name Tutankhaten. Because of his age at the time these decisions were made, it is generally thought that most if not all the responsibility for them falls on his advisors. Also, King Tutankhamun restored all of the traditional deities and restored order to the chaos that his relative had caused. Many temples devoted to Amun-Ra were built. And even though Tutankhamun's wooden box depicts him going to war against Hittites and Nubians and he is shown wearing the blue war crown, it is doubted that he ever went to war.
Events after his death
A now-famous letter to the Hittite king Suppiluliuma I from a widowed queen of Egypt, asking for one of his sons as a husband, has been attributed to Ankhesenamun (among others). The royal lineage of Egypt was carried by its women. Marriage to a woman of the royal line was essential for a male pharaoh, even if he came from outside the lineage. Suspicious of this good fortune, Suppiluliumas I first sent a messenger to make inquiries about the truth of the young queen's story. After receiving reports that the situation was as related to Suppiluliuma I, he sent his son, Zannanza, accepting her offer. However, Zannanza got no further than the border before he was killed, according to the Hittite archives. If Ankhesenamun were the queen in question, and his death a strategic murder, it was probably at the orders of either Horemheb or Ay, who both had the opportunity and the motive to kill him.
Name
Horus name |
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Kanakht Tutmesut The strong bull, pleasing of birth | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nebti name |
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Neferhepusegerehtawy Wer-Ah-Amun Neb-r-Djer One of perfect laws, who pacifies the two lands; Great of the palace of Amun; Lord of all | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Golden Horus name |
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Wetjeskhausehetepnetjeru Heqa-maat-sehetep-netjeru Wetjes-khau-itef-Re Wetjes-khau-Tjestawy-Im Who wears crowns and pleases the gods; Ruler of Truth, who pleases the gods; Who wears the crowns of his father, Re; Who wears crowns, and binds the two lands therein | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Prenomen |
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Nebkheperure Lord of the forms of Re | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Son of Re |
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Tutankhamun Hekaiunushema Living Image of Amun, ruler of Upper Heliopolis |
Under Atenism, Tutankhamun was named Tutankhaten, which in Egyptian hieroglyphs is:
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Technically, this name is transliterated as twt-ˁnḫ-ỉtn.
At the reintroduction of the old pantheon, his name was changed. It is transliterated as twt-ˁnḫ-ỉmn ḥq3-ỉwnw-šmˁ, and often realized as Tutankhamun Hekaiunushema, meaning "Living image of Amun, ruler of Upper Heliopolis". On his ascension to the throne, Tutankhamun took a praenomen. This is translated as nb-ḫprw-rˁ, and realized as Nebkheperure, meaning "Lord of the forms of Re". The name Nibhurrereya in the Amarna letters may be a variation of this praenomen.
Cause of death
For a long time the cause of Tutankhamun's death was unknown, and it is still the root of much speculation. How old was the king when he died? Did he suffer from any physical abnormalities? Had he been murdered? Some of these questions were finally answered in early 2005 when the results of a set of CT scans on the mummy were released, but many still remain to be unsolved.
The body originally was inspected by Howard Carter’s team in the early 1920s, although they were primarily interested in recovering the jewelry and amulets from the body. To remove these objects from the body, which often were stuck fast by the hardened embalming resins used, Carter's team cut up the mummy into various pieces: the arms and legs were detached, the torso cut in half and the head was severed. Hot knives were used to remove it from the golden mask to which it was cemented by resin.
Since the body was placed back in its sarcophagus in 1926, the mummy has subsequently been X-rayed three times: first in 1968 by a group from the University of Liverpool, then in 1978 by a group from the University of Michigan, and finally in 2005 a team of Egyptian scientists led by Secretary General of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, Dr. Zahi Hawass, who conducted a CT scan on the mummy.
X-rays of his mummy, which were taken previously, in 1968, had revealed a dense spot at the lower back of the skull. This had been interpreted as a subdural hematoma, which would have been caused by a blow. Such an injury could have been the result of an accident, but it also had been suggested that the young pharaoh was murdered. If this were the case, there are a number of theories as to who was responsible. One popular candidate was his immediate successor Ay and other candidates included his wife and chariot-driver. Interestingly, there seem to be signs of calcification within the supposed injury, which if true, meant Tutankhamun lived for a fairly extensive period of time (on the order of several months) after the injury was inflicted.
Much confusion had been caused by a small loose sliver of bone within the upper cranial cavity, which was discovered from the same X-ray analysis. Some people have suggested this visible bone fragment for the supposed head injury. In fact, since Tutankhamun's brain was removed post mortem in the mummification process, and considerable quantities of now-hardened resin introduced into the skull on at least two separate occasions after that, had the fragment resulted from an injury while he was alive, some scholars, including the 2005 CT scan team, say it almost certainly would not still be loose in the cranial cavity.
2005 findings
On March 8, 2005, Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass revealed the results of a CT scan performed on the pharaoh's mummy. The scan uncovered no evidence of a blow to the back of the head and no evidence suggesting foul play. There was a hole in the head, but it appeared to have been drilled, presumably by embalmers. A fracture to Tutankhamun's left thighbone was interpreted as evidence that the pharaoh badly broke his leg before he died and his leg became severely infected; however, members of the Egyptian-led research team recognized, as a less likely possibility, that the fracture was caused by the embalmers. Altogether 1,700 images were produced of Tutankhamun's mummy during the 15-minute CT scan.
Much was learned about the young king's life. His age at death was estimated at nineteen years, based on physical developments that set upper and lower limits to his age. The king had been in general good health and there were no signs of any major infectious disease or malnutrition during his childhood. He was slight of build, and was roughly 170 cm (5 ft 7 in) tall. He had large front incisor teeth and the overbite characteristic of the Thutmosid royal line to which he belonged. He also had a pronounced dolichocephalic (elongated) skull, although it was within normal bounds and highly unlikely to have been pathological. Given the fact that many of the royal depictions of Akhenaten (possibly his father, certainly a relative), often featured such an elongated head, it is likely an exaggeration of a family trait, rather than a distinct abnormality, and not related to Marfan Syndrome as some have speculated. The research also showed that the pharaoh had cleft palate. A slight bend to his spine also was found, but the scientists agreed that there was no associated evidence to suggest that it was pathological in nature, and that it was much more likely to have been caused during the embalming process. This ended speculation based on the previous X-rays that Tutankhamun had suffered from scoliosis. (However, it was subsequently noted by Dr. Zahi Hawass that the mummy found in KV55, provisionally identified as Tutankhamun's father, exhibited several similarities to that of Tutankhamun—a cleft palate, a dolichocephalic skull and slight scoliosis.)
The 2005 conclusion by a team of Egyptian scientists, based on the CT scan findings, confirmed that Tutankhamun died of gangrene after breaking his leg. After consultations with Italian and Swiss experts, the Egyptian scientists found that the fracture in Tutankhamun's left leg most likely occurred only days before his death, which had then become gangrenous and led directly to his death. The fracture was not sustained during the mummification process or as a result of some damage to the mummy as claimed by Howard Carter. The Egyptian scientists also have found no evidence that he had been struck on the head and no other indication that he was murdered, as had been speculated previously. Further investigation of the fracture led to the conclusion that it was severe, most likely caused by a fall from some height—possibly a chariot riding accident due to the absence of pelvis injuries—and may have been fatal within hours.
Despite the relatively poor condition of the mummy, the Egyptian team found evidence that great care had been given to the body of Tutankhamun during the embalming process. They found five distinct embalming materials, which were applied to the body at various stages of the mummification process. This counters previous assertions that the king’s body had been prepared carelessly and in a hurry. In November 2006, at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, Egyptian radiologists stated that that CT images and scans of the king's mummy revealed Tutankhamun's height to be 180 centimetres or 5 feet 11 inches tall, a revision upward from the earlier estimates.
Michael R. King continues to dispute these findings, claiming that the king was murdered. He argues that the loose sliver of bone was loosened by the embalmers during mummification, but that it had been broken before. He argues that a blow to the back of the head (from a fall or an actual blow) may have caused the brain to move forward, hitting the front of the skull, breaking small pieces of the bone right above the eyes.
Discovery of KV62
Main article: KV62Tutankhamun seems to have faded from public consciousness in Ancient Egypt within a short time after his death, and he remained virtually unknown until the early twentieth century. His tomb was robbed at least twice in antiquity, but based on the items taken (including perishable oils and perfumes) and the evidence of restoration of the tomb after the intrusions, it seems clear that these robberies took place within several months at most of the initial burial. Eventually the location of the tomb was lost because it had come to be buried by stone chips from subsequent tombs, either dumped there or washed there by floods. In the years that followed, some huts for workers were built over the tomb entrance, clearly not knowing what lay beneath. When at the end of the twentieth dynasty the Valley of the Kings burials were systematically dismantled, the burial of Tutankhamun was overlooked, presumably because knowledge of it had been lost and even his name may have been forgotten.
For many years, rumors of a "Curse of the Pharaohs" (probably fueled by newspapers seeking sales at the time of the discovery) persisted, emphasizing the early death of some of those who had first entered the tomb. However, a recent study of journals and death records indicates no statistical difference between the age of death of those who entered the tomb and those on the expedition who did not. Indeed, most lived past seventy.
Ancient Egyptian senet games similar to the one displayed at the right, were found in the tomb.
Some of the treasures in Tutankhamen's tomb are noted for their apparent departure from traditional depictions of the boy king. Certain cartouches where a king's name should appear have been altered, as if to reuse the property of a previous pharaoh—as often occurred. However, this instance may simply be the product of "updating" the artifacts to reflect the shift from Tutankhaten to Tutankhamun. Other differences are less easy to explain, such as the older, more angular facial features of the middle coffin and canopic coffinettes. The most widely accepted theory for these latter variations is that the items were originally intended for Smenkhkare, who may or may not be the mysterious KV55 mummy. Said mummy, according to craniological examinations, bears a striking first-order (father-to-son, brother-to-brother) relationship to Tutankhamun.
2007 discoveries in Tutankhamen's tomb
On September 24, 2007, it was announced that a team of Egyptian archaeologists led by Zahi Hawass, discovered eight baskets of 3,000 year old doum fruit in the treasury of Tutankhamun's tomb. Doum comes from a type of palm tree native to the Nile Valley. The doum fruit are traditionally offered at funerals.
Fifty clay pots bearing Tutankhamen's official seal were also discovered. According to Dr Hawas, the containers probably contained money that were destined to travel with the pharaoh to the afterlife. He said the containers will soon be opened. The objects were originally discovered, but not opened or removed from the tomb, by Howard Carter.
King Tutankhamen still rests in his tomb in the Valley of the Kings, in a temperature-controlled glass case. On November 4, 2007, 85 years to the day since Howard Carter's discovery, the actual face of the 19-year-old pharaoh was put on view in his underground tomb at Luxor, when the linen-wrapped mummy was removed from its golden sarcophagus for display in a climate-controlled glass box. This was done to prevent the heightened rate of decomposition caused by the humidity and warmth from tourists visiting the tomb.
Tutankhamen in popular culture
Main article: Egypt in the European imaginationIf Tutankhamun is the world's best known pharaoh, it is partly because his tomb is among the best preserved, and his image and associated artifacts the most-exhibited. He also has entered popular culture—he has, for example, been commemorated in the whimsical song "King Tut" by the American comedian Steve Martin with a backup group he called "The Toot Uncommons". He was also the namesake of one of Batman's arch enemies played by Victor Buono in the 1960s American television series "Batman" with Adam West.
In 1939, slapstick comedy trio the Three Stooges filmed We Want Our Mummy, in which they explored the tomb of the midget King Rutentuten (pronounced "rootin'-tootin'") and his Queen, Hotsy Totsy. A decade later, they were crooked used chariot salesmen in Mummy's Dummies, in which they ultimately assist a different King Rootentootin (Vernon Dent) with a toothache.
As a side effect, the interest in this tomb and its alleged "curse" led to horror movies featuring a vengeful mummy. As Jon Manchip White writes, in his forward to the 1977 edition of Carter's The Discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamun, "The pharaoh who in life was one of the least esteemed of Egypt's kings has become in death the most renowned."
Tutankhamun's appearance and controversy
See also: Racial characteristics of ancient EgyptiansIn 2005, three teams of scientists (Egyptian, French, and American), in partnership with the National Geographic Society, developed a new facial likeness of Tutankhamun. The Egyptian team worked from 1,700 three-dimensional CT scans of the pharaoh's skull. The French and American teams worked plastic moulds created from these—but the Americans were never told who the subject of the reconstruction was. All three teams created silicone busts of their interpretation of what the young monarch looked like.
Skin tone
Although modern technology can reconstruct Tutankhamun's facial structure with a high degree of accuracy based on CT data from his mummy, correctly determining his skin tone is impossible. The problem is not a lack of skill on the part of Ancient Egyptians. Egyptian artisans distinguished quite accurately among different ethnicities, as can be seen clearly in the image, above at "Reign", where the enemies being vanquished are displayed under the rampant lioness with Tutankhamun's head. Sometimes they depicted their subjects in totally unreal colors, the purposes for which aren't completely understood. The colours may have had ritual significance. There is no consensus on King Tut's skin tone.
Terry Garcia, National Geographic's executive vice president for mission programs, said, in response to some protesters of the King Tut reconstruction—
- The big variable is skin tone. North Africans, we know today, had a range of skin tones, from light to dark. In this case, we selected a medium skin tone, and we say, quite up front, 'This is midrange.' We will never know for sure what his exact skin tone was or the colour of his eyes with 100% certainty. … Maybe in the future, people will come to a different conclusion.
Exhibitions
The splendors of Tutankhamun's tomb are among the most traveled artifacts in the world. They have been to many countries, but probably the best-known exhibition tour was the Treasures of Tutankhamun tour, which ran from 1972-1979. This exhibition was first shown in London at the British Museum from 30 March until 30 September 1972. More than 1.6 million visitors came to see the exhibition, some queueing for up to eight hours and it was the most popular exhibition ever in the Museum. The exhibition moved on to many other countries, including the USA, USSR, Japan, France, Canada, and West Germany. The exhibition in the United States was organized by the Metropolitan Museum of Art and ran from from 17 November, 1976 through 15 April, 1979. It was attended by more than eight million people in the United States.
An excerpt from the site of the American National Gallery of Art:
- "...55 objects from the tomb of Tutankhamun included the boy-king's solid gold funeral mask, a gilded wood figure of the goddess Selket, lamps, jars, jewelry, furniture, and other objects for the afterlife. This exhibition established the term 'blockbuster.' A combination of the age-old fascination with ancient Egypt, the legendary allure of gold and precious stones, and the funeral trappings of the boy-king created an immense popular response. Visitors waited up to 8 hours before the building opened to view the exhibition. At times the line completely encircled the West Building."
In 2005, hoping to inspire a whole new generation of museum visitors, Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, in partnership with Arts and Exhibitions International and the National Geographic Society, launched a new tour of Tutankhamun's treasures, this time called "Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs." It was expected to draw more than three million people.
The exhibition started in Los Angeles, California, then moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Chicago. The fourth location is Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the fifth will be London before finally returning to Egypt in August 2008. Subsequent events have propelled an encore of the exhibition in the United States, beginning with the Dallas Museum of Art in October of 2008. The tour will continue on to two other U.S. cities which have yet to be named.
The exhibition includes 80 exhibits from the reigns of Tutankhamun's immediate predecessors in the eighteenth dynasty, such as Hatshepsut, whose trade policies greatly increased the wealth of that dynasty and enabled the lavish wealth of Tutankhamun's burial artifacts, as well as 50 from Tutankhamun's tomb. The exhibition does not include the gold mask that was a feature of the 1972-1979 tour.
In fiction
Tutankhamun/Tutankhaten appears in P. C. Doherty's trilogy of Ancient Egyptian novels, An Evil Spirit Out of the West (2003), The Season of the Hyaena (2005) and The Year of the Cobra (2005).
Tutankhamun is also the major character in a series of historical novels by the American author Lynda Robinson.
The historical novel Tutankhamun-Speak my Name (2005) ISBN 1-4120-6325-6 by Anthony Holmes is the comprehensive (678 page) story of the life of the young king from his birth to Kiye, the concubine of Akhenaten, until his death 6,666 days later and beyond into the afterlife of his KA in the tomb eventually discovered by Howard Carter.
Tutankhamun appears as a 10-year-old mummy in the Discovery Kids show Tutenstein.
King Tut, as played by Victor Buono, was a villain on the Batman TV series aired in 1966-1968. Mild-mannered Egyptologist William Omaha McElroy, after suffering a concussion, came to believe he was the reincarnation of Tutankhamun. His response to this knowledge was to embark upon a crime spree that required him to fight against the "Caped Crusaders", Batman and Robin.
Gallery depicting kin of Tutankhamun
- A wooden statue head of Queen Tiye, thought to be Tutankhamun's Grandmother, part of the Ägyptisches Museum Berlin collection
- Fragmentary statue of Akhenaten, perhaps Tutankhamun's father, on display at the Cairo Museum
- Plaster face of a young Amarna-era woman, thought to represent Queen Kiya, the likely mother of Tutankhamun, on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City
- Canopic jar depicting an Amarna-era Queen, usually identified as being Queen Kiya, on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City
- The iconic image of Queen Nefertiti, perhaps the step-mother of Tutankhamen, part of the Ägyptisches Museum Berlin collection
- Another statue head depicting Nefertiti, now part of the Ägyptisches Museum Berlin collection
- Fragmentary statue thought to represent Ankhesenamun, sister and wife to Tutankhamun, on display at the Brooklyn Museum
- Statue of an unnamed Amarna-era princess, likely a sister (or step-sister) to Tutankhamun, part of the Ägyptisches Museum Berlin collection
References
- Clayton, Peter A. Chronicle of the Pharaohs: The Reign-by-Reign Record of the Rulers and Dynasties of Ancient Egypt. p.128. Thames & Hudson. 2006. ISBN 0-500-28628-0
- "Manetho's King List".
-
Allen, James P. (2006). "The Amarna Succession". Causing His Name to Live: Studies in Egyptian Epigraphy and History in Memory of William J. Murnane (Online publication in PDF). Memphis, TN: University of Memphis. pp. pp. 7, 12–14. Retrieved 2006-08-05.
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suggested) (help) - "Digital Egypt for Universities: Tutankhamun". University College London. Retrieved 2006-08-05.
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(help) - Bob Brier, The Murder of Tutankhamen: A True Story, 1999
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Handwerk, Brian (March 8, 2005). "King Tut Not Murdered Violently, CT Scans Show". National Geographic News. p. 2. Retrieved 2006-08-05.
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(help) - Nefertiti and the Lost Dynasty, National Geographic Channel 2007.
- Michael R. King, Gregory M.Cooper, Who Killed King Tut?: Using Modern Forensics to Solve a 3300-Year-Old Mystery (With New Data on the Egyptian CT Scan), New Ed edition,13 Sep 2006
-
"Welcome to Senet". Texas Humanities Resource Center. December 17, 2004. Retrieved 2006-08-05.
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(help) - C. Nicholas Reeves, The Complete Tutankhamun: The King, the Tomb, the Royal Treasure, London: Thames & Hudson, November 1, 1990
- ^ The Plateau, Official website of Dr. Zahi Hawass.
- 3,000 years old: the face of Tutankhamun
-
Handwerk, Brian (May 11, 2005). "King Tut's New Face: Behind the Forensic Reconstruction". National Geographic News. Retrieved 2006-08-05.
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(help) - "discovery reconstruction".
- Science museum images
-
Henerson, Evan (June 15, 2005). "King Tut's skin colour a topic of controversy". U-Daily News - L.A. Life. Retrieved 2006-08-05.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - "NGA - Treasures of Tutankhamun (11/1976)". National Gallery of Art. Retrieved 2006-08-05.
- "King Tut exhibition. Tutankhamun & the Golden Age of the Pharaohs. Treasures from the Valley of the Kings". Arts and Exhibitions International. Retrieved 2006-08-05.
- Return of the King (Times Online)
- Dallas Museum of Art Website
- Associated Press, "Tut Exhibit to Return to US Next Year"
- http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article409075.ece?token=null&offset=12
Further reading
- Howard Carter, Arthur C. Mace, The Discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamen. Courier Dover Publications, June 1, 1977, ISBN 0-486-23500-9 The semi-popular account of the discover and opening of the tomb written by the archaeologist responsible
- C. Nicholas Reeves, The Complete Tutankhamun: The King, the Tomb, the Royal Treasure. London: Thames & Hudson, November 1, 1990, ISBN 0-500-05058-9 (hardcover)/ISBN 0-500-27810-5 (paperback) Fully covers the complete contents of his tomb
- T. G. H. James, Tutankhamun. New York: Friedman/Fairfax, September 1, 2000, ISBN 1-58663-032-6 (hardcover) A large-format volume by the former Keeper of Egyptian Antiquities at the British Museum, filled with colour illustrations of the funerary furnishings of Tutankhamun, and related objects
- Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt, Sarwat Okasha (Preface), Tutankhamen: Life and Death of a Pharaoh. New York: New York Graphic Society, 1963, ISBN 0-8212-0151-4 (1976 reprint, hardcover) /ISBN 0-14-011665-6 (1990 reprint, paperback)
- Thomas Hoving, The search for Tutankhamun: The untold story of adventure and intrigue surrounding the greatest modern archeological find. New York: Simon & Schuster, October 15, 1978, ISBN 0-671-24305-5 (hardcover)/ISBN 0-8154-1186-3 (paperback) This book details a number of interesting anecdotes about the discovery and excavation of the tomb
- Bob Brier, The Murder of Tutankhamen: A True Story. Putnam Adult, April 13, 1998, ISBN 0-425-16689-9 (paperback)/ISBN 0-399-14383-1 (hardcover)/ISBN 0-613-28967-6 (School & Library Binding)
- Iorwerth Eiddon Stephen Edwards, Treasures of Tutankhamun. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1976, ISBN 0-345-27349-4 (paperback)/ISBN 0-670-72723-7 (hardcover)
- Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, The Mummy of Tutankhamen: the CT Scan Report, as printed in Ancient Egypt, June/July 2005.
- Michael Haag, "The Rough Guide to Tutankhamen: The King: The Treasure: The Dynasty". London 2005. ISBN 1-84353-554-8.
- John Andritsos, Social Studies of ancient Egypt: Tutankhamen. Australia 2006
External links
- End Paper: A New Take on Tut's Parents by Dennis Forbes (KMT 8:3 . FALL 1997, KMT Communications)
- The mummy's curse: historical cohort study (Mark R Nelson, British Medical Journal 2002;325:1482
- Original photographs and descriptions of objects found in the tomb by Carter and his team at the Griffith Institute, Oxford University
- A 3,000-year-old mystery is finally solved: Tutankhamen died in a hunting accident Article published in British newspaper The Independent, the 20th October 2007 sea also the British TV documentary on the findings of the Egyptian team of archaeologists in in the History page of The-Maker.net
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- Pharaohs of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt
- Amarna Period
- Atenism
- Curses
- Mummies
- Accidental deaths
- Human remains (archaeological)
- Historical deletion in ancient Egypt