The Story of Young King Tutankhamun

King Tutankhamun

King Tut born in 1341 B.C.E. He was the 12th king of the 18th Egyptian dynasty. During his reign, his powerful advisers restored the traditional Egyptian religion which was ignored by his father Akhenaten, who had led the "Amarna Revolution". Amarna revolution which also known as "Horizon of the Aten" was an era of Egyptian history where Amenhotep IV changed his name to Akhenaten (1353-1336 BC) to reflect the dramatic changes in Egypt's polytheistic religion where the sun disc, Aten must be worshiped over all the other gods. However, the religion is not monotheistic where Aten was not solely worshiped but other gods worshiped in a lesser degree. Recent research published in the journal Antiquity shows that people of Amarna suffered from nutritional deficiencies and high juvenile mortality rate. Even the children faced stunted growth due to lack of nutrition as commoners daily intake is beer and bread. Researchers also found that more than three quarters of the adults living in Amarna had degenerative joint disease likely it results from hauling heavy loads. There are adults who faced at least one broken bone. After the death of Akhenaten, Amarna was abandoned as people moved back to Thebes and worship of the Aten was rejected in favor of polytheism and the worship of Egypt's traditional gods. The temple of Aten was completely destroyed. Arkenaten's cause of death was still remain unclear where there are speculation of he was assassinated and died because of health problem.

King Tut and his wife

Akhenaten

King Tutankhamun or birth name 'Tutankhaton' was the son of Akhenatan and queen Kiya. After his father's death the throne was passed to Smenkhkare. Smenkhkare most probably the son of Akhenatan. Later after 1332 BCE, King Tutankhamun took over his father's throne at a young age, It is estimated that he was about eight or nine years old when he take over the throne. During that time, Egypt was in turmoil due to his father's religious movement. This religious change had triggered anger in citizens and priests. 

Overall, King Tutankhamun was left with an angry and chaotic Egypt to rule. King Tutankhamun wed to his half-sister Ankhensenpaaton, the daughter of Nefertiti and Akhenaten. After few years later, King Tutankhamun started to bring back gods which were forbidden by his father, Akhenaten. Later, both of them changed their names from Tutankhaton to Tutankhamun and Ankhensenpaaton to Ankhesenamum. Their names were changed to reflect their belief towards Amun-Ra thinking that it might ease the angry priests. King Tut and Ankhesenamun soon left Amarna and relocated to a new capital in Memphis and Thebes. This relocation probably suggested by Ay who is believed to be high ranking official and advisor of King Tut. With the ancient beliefs restored and the movement of the new capital, King Tut threw grand parties to show his support for Amun-Ra. Question arises on how could a child make decision at this magnitude? It appears his adviser Ay most likely made all the major decisions for him. Ay and Hermhab were probably the sole drive behind the throne.

Family tree of King Tut

King Tutankhamun and Ankhesenamun ruled Egypt over ten years. During that period, Ankhesenamun had gave birth to two children; both are girls. Both girls born premature and died. One of the children had a condition called Spengel's deformity in conjunction with spina bifida and scoliosis. The two mummies were buried together with King Tutankhamun. In addition, Ay most likely took advantage of the fact that King Tut and Ankhesenamun were very young. As Tutankhamun and Ankhesenamun began to mature, Tutankhamun suddenly died for no apparent reason. People believed that he died because of malaria, chariot race accident and some believed it was assassination by Ay.

Motive for a Murder

King Ay

As King Tut grew older he had an increasing desire to handle his own affairs and started to make his own decisions without Ay's help. Ay was pushed back and decided to be the new Pharaoh. He arranged a hired killer; helped him to pass through the palace security and into the King Tut's quarters. The hired killer believed to strike the king down as he slept. Ay plan was a success. It is proved where he painted himself wearing the Pharaoh's head dress during Tutankhamun's funeral as pictured on the wall of the Tutankhamun's tomb.

Aye in King Tut burial chamber

With King Tut out of the way, leaving no heir to take his throne, Ay was in the position to put pressure on the King Tut's wife Ankhesenamun to marry him. So that, Ay can be the next pharaoh. As Ankhesenamun was not yet 20 years old, she disagree to marry a man as old as Ay ( who was about the same age as her grandfather). Ankhesenamun wrote a letter to the king of Hittites requested to send his son to marry her so that she is not forced to marry her subject. The Hittite prince, Zannanza who traveled to Egypt was believed to be murdered before he reached the palace. Based on a article written by Zahi Hawass, it is suspected that Ay and Horemheb both involved in the killing of Hittite prince and most probably both of them aimed for the throne. Ultimately, Ay was able to force the Queen to marry him and after the wedding she disappeared. The prove of their wedding was the blue-grass finger ring which engraves the names of Ay and Ankhesenamun. However, Ankhesenamun was not mentioned in Ay's tomb. She may be also his one of the victim to reach the throne. But history says that Ankhesenamun had married four pharoahs in her short lifetime; Akhenaten (her father), Smenkhkare (her half-brother), Tutankhamun ( her half-brother) and Ay ( her grandfather). 

Ay ruled for three years and having no heir after his death, Horemheb had took the throne in c. 1320 BCE. According to historian Margaret Bunson, he returned all of the properties of the temples to their rightful priests, lands which confiscated by Pharoah Akhenaten. His reign also marked by building programs, including the restorations and the start of additions to Karnak, Nubian shrines, a temple to Ptah and tombs at Memphis and Thebes. Horemheb main goal is to restore back Egypt to the grandeur which was known under Amenhotep III's rule. He was so successful in achieving his goals where Egyptians believed he was the successor of Amenhotep III and had simply continued that king's policies. Horemheb reigned for 28 years and he had no heir to take his throne; thus, he appointed his vizier and former comrade-in-arms Paramesse as next heir to the throne. Paramesse took the name of Rameses I and continued ruling 19th dynasty of Egypt. Eventually, Akhenatan, Tutankhamun and Ay was soon forgotten by history until they were surfaced inexcavations in the late 19th and mid 20th centuries that they believed it never existed.

Discovery of King Tut's Tomb

Egypt's Valley of the Kings is a desolate place which located near the Nile river across the modern Luxor. This is the place The Egyptian pharaohs of over 3000 years chose to buried beneath the lifeless landscape in a luxurious tomb. Surrounded by unimaginable treasures, grave robbers pillaged all of the buried tombs in the valley except for one that is King Tutankhamen who died around 1346 B.C. But, there are evidence saying that intruders did locate his tomb but they were discovered before any damage is done. The priests guarding the valley reburied his tomb and it had remained undisturbed for more than 3000 years. King Tut encased in a coffin which is made up of pure gold, he lay in the darkness, surrounded by silence. Howard Carter, an English Egyptologist had guess that Tutankhamun lay beneath the Valley of the Kings. In 1914, supported by his British benefactor Lord carnarvon, Carter began his search operation. For seven years his effort was kept on failed. In November 1922, during the last season of exploration a group of Egyptian labors discovered a series of steps leading down to a sealed door. They break the sealed door, Carter found a passageway filled with stone and rubble. After clearing this passageway it revealed another sealed door marked the royal impression of King Tutankhamun. Carter was sure he had found the tomb but he was afraid it might have been pillaged and its contents been removed. On November 26th Carter and Lord Carnavon started to break the second sealed door. Candle tests were applied as precaution against possible foul gases present inside the room. Lord Carnavon, Lady Evelyn( Lord Carnavon's daughter) and Callender (an assistant) went into the chamber with a candle. The 17 feet by 11 feet and 9 feet high structure filled the entire area of the chamber. From top to bottom it was overlaid with pure gold and its sides were inlaid with blue faience panels which were represented and repeated, the magic symbols believed to ensure its strength and safety. Around the shrine, there were a number of funerary emblems and at the north end, the seven magic oars the king would need to direct himself across the waters of the underworld.

Contents of King Tut's Tomb

The tomb of King Tut was hastily prepared due to the untimely death of the young pharaoh, it is much smaller than the normal royal tombs measuring 3.68 m or 12.07 ft high, 7.86 m or 25.78 ft wide and 30.79 m or 101.01 ft long. The antechamber was piled high, in disarray, with gold-covered furniture and dismantled chariots. The annex was full of more gold covered furniture, jars of precious oils and ointments and also food and wine. The burial chamber contained the gold covered shrines and coffins of Tutankhamun including the fabulous solid gold coffin and the famous Death Mask of King Tut. The 'Treasury' was guarded by the magnificent statue of the god Anubis and contained jewel chests containing priceless jewelry, model boats and the golden shrine which contained the canopic jars which housed the internal organs of King Tut.

The following content list describes the breathtaking treasure and different types of objects, many of which were made of gold and silver and encrusted with precious jewels, which were found in the tomb of  King Tutankhamun:

King Tut original tomb

• Jewelry including Bracelets, Anklets, Buckles, Scarabs, Amulets, Pendants, Pectorals, Necklaces, Earrings, Collars, Ear Studs and Rings
• 6 Chariots
• Couches
• Chairs
• 2 Thrones
• Ritual beds and Headrests
• Anthropoid (man-shaped) Gilded Coffins and the Solid Gold coffin
• Shrines - Canopic shrine and Burial shrines
• Funeral Equipment
• Naos covered with gold lamina- a shrine in which statues were kept - this naos was empty but decorated with scenes of daily life and hunting
• Gilded statues - Anubis and life size sentry statues and other statuettes
• Chests
• Daggers and other weapons and shields
• Musical Instruments
• Scribal Equipment
• Lamps
• Ornaments
• Caskets, Vases and jars
• 139 ebony, ivory, silver, and gold walking sticks
• Clothing made of the finest linen - 50 garments including tunics, kilts, gloves, scarves and headdresses
• Ostrich fans and Golden Fans
• Games - Ebony gaming boards including Senet
• Food and Wine - 30 jars of wine
• Perfume, oils and ointments

The Curse of King Tut

This curse of King Tutankhamun is believed to kept alive till now in form of stories and in our imagination. But, what is the truth that lies behind this curse? It all started in 1922 newspapers, at the very time when King Tut's tomb was discovered by Howard Carter and his financier Lord Carnavon. There existed the rumors on King Tut's curse where people like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle were adding credence to the curse at that time. The Curse of Tutankhamun which was believed to found on his tomb states that:

"It is I who hinder the sand from choking the secret chamber, and who repel that one who would repel him with the desert-flame. I have set aflame the desert. I have caused the path to be mistaken.
I am for the protection of the Osiris. This is to repel the enemy of Osiris, in whatever form he may come."

It can be interpret to:

"Anyone who disturbs the tomb of Tutankhamun will die a terrible death"

These curses are believed to be invoked for any acts of violation and threats against the judgement in this life and the underworld. Lord Carnavon, who financed Howard Carter for the discovery of King Tut's tomb was the first victim of the curse. The number eventually increased to 26. These 26 people believed to present at the opening of the tomb. Out of 26 people who were there during the opening of King Tut's tomb only 6 died within 10 years. A total of 22 people who present at the opening of King Tut's sarcophagus which only 2 of them died within 10 years. A total of 10 people present when mummy was unwrapped and none of them died until next 10 years. If we consider that the curse would harm everyone who disturbs the tomb of King Tut, the curse should have been on Howard Carter. But, he lived for another 17 years then he died for natural causes when he was 6 years old.

The Victims of the Curse of King Tut

Audrey Herbert

1. Lord Carnavon, the man who financed the excavation of King Tut's tomb, was the first to get the curse. He accidentally tore a mosquito bite open while shaving and ended up dying of blood poisoning shortly thereafter. This occurred a few months after the tomb was opened.It was reported that when he died, all of the lights in the house mysteriously went out.

2. Lord Carnarvon's brother, Audrey Herbert suffered from King Tut's curse. Herbert had no such health problems before but became totally blind. It was believed that his rotten and infected teeth were somehow interfering with his vision and had every single tooth pulled from his head in an effort to regain his sight. Needless to say, it didn't work. He died because of blood poisoning from  the result of the surgery, just five months after the death of his cursed brother.

Lady Evelyn White

3. George Benedite, tomb visitor of the Lourve. He died in 1926 at age of 69 most probably he died because of natural causes.

4. Hugh Evelyn-White was an archaeologist who helped during excavation. After seeing death sweep over his fellow crew members in 1923, Evelyn-White wrote "I have succumbed to a curse which forces me to disappear," and hanged himself. One account says he wrote this in his own blood.

5. Richard Bethell, who was Howard Carter's secretary and the first person behind Carter to enter the tomb, died in 1929. He apparently died of respiratory failure at the young age of 35. Possible for the curse to somehow present here.

6. Richard Bethell's father Lord Westbury died plunging from seven floors to his death from his St.James Apartment, where he reportedly kept tomb artifacts which are believed gift from his son to him.

7. Archibald Douglas Reed merely performed X-Ray on King Tut's mummy before he ended up in the Museum of Cairo. He got sick the next day and was dead three days later.

8. Arthur Mace, another archaeologist leading member of the expedition went into coma at Hotel Continental after complaining of tiredness. He died soon afterwards.

9. George Jay Gould was a wealthy financier who visited the tomb of Tutankhamun" and fell sick afterward. He never really recovered and died of a high fever a few months later.

10. Joel Woolf is a leading British industrialist, he visited the site and eventually he was found dead a few months later from a fever.

11. Muhammad Ibrahim, Egypt's director of antiquities in 1966 argued with the government against letting the treasures from the tomb leaving Egypt for an exhibition in Paris. He pleaded the authorities to allow the relics to stay in Cairo because he had suffered terrible nightmares of what would happen to him if they left the country. Ibrahim left a final meeting with the government officials, he crossed a road which appeared to be clear to him, hit by a car and died instantly.

12. Gamal Mehrez,  Ibrahim's successor in Cairo as director of antiquities. He scoffed at the legend, saying that his whole life had been spent in Egyptology and that all the deaths and misfortune through the decades is just 'pure coincidence'. He died the night after he supervised the packaging of the relics for transport to England by a Royal Air Force plane.

13. Rick Laurie, a flight lieutenant who was carrying the package died in 1976 from a heart attack. His wife declared that 'It's the curse of Tutankhamun, the curse has killed him'.

14. Ian Lansdown, a Chief Technical Officer accidentally kicked the crate contained the death mask of the King Tut. Later when he was going on another mission, a ladder mysteriously broke beneath him and the leg he kicked the crate was badly injured and broken. 

15. Jim Webb, flight lieutenant who was abroad in the aircraft with Rick; lost everything that he owned after a fire devastated his home.

16. Brian Rounsfall, a steward who was abroad in the aircraft confessed that he was playing cards on the sarcophagus of Tutankhamun on the flight. He suffered from two heart attacks. 

Howard Carter and Lord Carnavon

17. Howard Carter, who discovered the tomb, gave a had paperweight to a friend,Sir Bruce Ingham, as a gift. The paperweight believed consisted of a mummified hand wearing a bracelet that was supposedly inscribed with "Cursed be he who moves my body. Soon after receiving the gift, Ingham house was burned to the ground and when he tried to rebuilt the house it was hit with a flood.

18. American Egyptologist Aaron Ember died in 1926, when his house burned down "“ he could have exited safely, but was trying to save a book he had been working on: The Egyptian Book of the Dead.

19. James Henry Breasted, an Egyptology was working with Carter when the tomb was opened. Shortly thereafter, he allegedly returned home to find that his pet canary had been eaten by a cobra and the cobra was still occupying the cage. Since the cobra is a symbol of the Egyptian monarchy "One that kings wore on their heads to represent protection "“ this was a pretty ominous sign. 

20. Howard Carter died of cancer at the age of 64. Howard Carter loved researching archaeology and Egypt; he would have been deeply respectful of his subjects. In my personal opinion, if the curse is indeed true, I would conclude that those who died may have did or said something which insulted the memory of the mummy.