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The old priesthood exerted their influence and were able to restore the old religion after the brief reign of Amenhotep's successor, the boy king Tutankhamun. (It was his unspoiled tomb that was discovered by Harold Carter in the Valley of the Kings during 1922, perhaps the most famous discovery in all of archeology.) Tutankhamun became pharaoh when he was a boy of about 9 years of age. He is believed to be Akhenaten's younger half brother. [Aldred, p. ?] He married his older half sister Ankhes-en-Amun. Normally little is known about minor pharaohs like Tutankhamun, but the fact that his tomb was never disturbed makes him one of the best known pharaohs. Tutankhamun's tomb is very small. It was probably built for some one of lower rank. Tutankhamun's early death may have caused it to have been pressed in to service for the young pharaoh as no more suitable tomb was ready for him. The tomb did not have elaborate paintings like many pharaonic tombs. The only part of his tomb complex that had wall paintings was the actual Burial Chamber. One of the scenes shows the "Opening of the Mouth Ceremony" where the senses of the deceased are restored. The person performing this duty is Ay, who succeeded Tutankhamun as pharaoh. Many of Egypt's imperial possessions were lost as a result of the disorders associated with the reign of Amenhotep IV and Tutankhamun.
The old priesthood exerted their influence and were able to restore the old religion after the brief reign of Amenhotep IV's successor, the boy king Tutankhamun. He was forced to change his name from Tutankhaten which like Akhenaten, honored the sun god Aten. The resurgence of the Amun hierarchy swept away the new Aten religion. The temples of Amun were restored. Tutankhamun as a boy of 9 would have been powerless to oppossed this or even fully understand what was happening.
It was Tutankhamun's unlooted tomb that was discovered by Harold Carter in the Valley of the Kings during 1922, perhaps the most famous discovery in all of archeology. While his tomb was not looted, it apparently was not unspoiled. The cluttered arrangement of the items suggest that looters were discovered and the items carelessly replaced in antiquity. Normally little is known about minor pharaohs like Tutankhamun, but the fact that his tomb was never disturbed makes him one of the best known pharaohs. Tutankhamun's tomb is very small. It was probably built for some one of lower rank. Tutankhamun's early death may have caused it to have been pressed in to service for the young pharaoh as no more suitable tomb was ready for him. The tomb did not have elaborate paintings like many pharaonic tombs. The only part of his tomb complex that had wall paintings was the actual Burial Chamber. One of the scenes shows the "Opening of the Mouth Ceremony" where the senses of the deceased are restored. The person performing this duty is Ay, who succeeded Tutankhamun as pharaoh.
Amenhotep IV/Akhenaten and his chief wife, Nefertiti, had six daughters. As the crown was past on to the eldest son, this appears to have been rather a colossal stroke of bad dynastic luck. Akhenaten and Nefertiti produced no son to succeed him as pharaoh. Although Egyptian pharaohs had many wives, it is clear that his relationship with Nefertiti was fundamental. Family scenes always show Akhenaten with Nefertiti and their daughters. He is never pictured with Tutankhamun or Tutankhaten as he was first known. Tutankhamun became pharaoh when he was a boy of about 9 years of age on the death of Akhenaten. There is some debate as to just who his parents were. Most Egyptologists believe that he was Akhenaten's son, but there are also some who believe that he may have been his younger half brother and that Amenhotep III was his father. [Aldred, pp. 68, 97-99.]
Tutankhamun's mother is not known with any certainty. Many Egyptologists now believe that Akhenaten fathered Tutankhamun by a lesser wife, Kiya. Researchers now believe they have constructed the most definitive family tree produced for Tut. They confirm that his father is probably Akhenaten. His mother appears to have been one of Akhenaten's sisters. [AMA article]
While Nefertiti, Akhanaten's Chief Wife or Queen, was clearly not his mother, she appears to have taken an interest in the young prince, taking him into her palace. [Aldred, p. 68.] This interest was no doubt because all of her six children were girls. The fact that the prince married to Nefertiti's third (second surviving) daughter Ankgesenpaaten was another reason for Nefertiti to care for the boy. Both were still children at the time of their marriage. We have no idea what happened to Tutankhamun's natural mother. When on Akhenaten's death, Tutankhamen became pharaoh, Nefertiti became one of the young prince's primary advisors. With her death after a year or slightly more, the resurgence of the old religion appears to have begun in earnest.
Virtually nothing is known of Tutankhamun's early life as the focus of royal art under his father was on the family with Nefertiti and their six daughters. As a young prince, he would have lived in Akhenaten's palace. Little attention may have been paid to him, but as Queen Nefertiti had more and more daughters, increasing attention may have been given to him. He was no doubt tutored, perhaps with other young princes by the women of Akhenaten's palace. Lessons may have included a range of skills and subjects including religion, riding, hunting, and reading and writing.
Tutankhamun married his older half sister Ankhesenpaaten , one of the six daughters of Akhenaten and Nefertiti. While only a male heir could become pharaoh, a daughter of pharaoh seems to have conveyed possession of the imperial throne. This is one of the reasons that pharaohs so often married within the family and why daughters of pharaohs were not married to foreign princes. [Aldred, p. ?.] Ankhesenpaaten's name was changed to Ankhes-en-Amun to reflect the return of the old religion. Tutankhamun and Ankhes-en-Amun produced two stillborn female babies. Two mummified fetuses were found in Tutankhamun's tomb.
The archeological record of Tutankhamun's reign is limited, in part because of the removal of his name from official records that Horemheb later ordered when he became pharaoh. Had his tomb not have been discovered intact, we would known little or nothing about him. A shadowy figure exists in the early days of Tutankhamun's reign--Smenkhkare. He appears to have been a co-ruler. He almost certainly was Tutankhamun's brother, probably by the same father and mother. Tutankhamun is generally seen as a minor unimportant king as is suggested by his most common description--"the Boy King". It is true that in terms of length and lack of military conquest, his reign does seem of only minor importance. It should be noted, however, that during his reign the old cults were restored. This is hardly a minor development. The precise year of succession is unknown. The years of his reign are dated from his co regency. Archeologists believe, however, based on his mummy that he would have been no more than 9 years old when Akhebaten died. Egypt at Akhenaten's death would have thus been governed by a regent. The Aten cult appears to have continued in the first year of Tutankhamun's reign. Artifacts in his tomb still depict the young pharaoh with the Aten. After Nefertiti's death, however, a return to religious orthodoxy was possible beganand seems to have begun during Tutankhamun's reign. [Aldrid, p. 88.]
Historians speculate that the depictions of Akhenaten suggest a genetic disease that gave feminine attributes (royal men with prominent breasts, elongated heads and flared hips) and misshapen bones. Some researchers reject the theory that the family suffered from this rare disorder and speculate that the depictions were more likely a contemporary artistic style. [AMA article]
Tutankhamun died about the 9th year of his reign. Probably around 1325 B.C. Archaeologists from the time Howard Carver discovered him have debated the cause of death. He may have been involved in an accident. Some suggest murder. There is some forensic evidence of an injury to the skull which had had time to partially heal. Archeologists now a argue that the so-called scull injury was a hole made as part of the mummification process. This suggests an accident rather than murder. Perhaps he fell from a horse or chariot. Recent studies have revealed a great deal of information about Tut. Dr Zahi Hawass removed King Tut from his stone sarcophagus to study his DNA (2007). Tests revealed the king was a sickly youth. Researchers concluded that Tut suffered a range of debilitating conditions, including a cleft palate and a club foot. It is now believed that he died from malaria, after complications resulting from a broken leg. [AMA article] We know that Ay oversaw his burial arrangements and they lasted 70 days.
Some fascinating political and diplomatic steps are known to history following Tutankhamun's death. His wife Ankhesenamun desired to remain on the throne. She and Tutankhamun had produced no heirs. She apparently took the unprecedented step of writing to the Hittite King Suppiluliumas I, the chief rival to Egypt at the time. She asked that he send one of his sons to marry her and thus become Pharaoh. Records of this correspondence was uncovered at the Hittite capital located near the modern city of Boghaz Keui in Turkey. One wonders if she may have also been influenced by her father's faith in Aten and commitment to a kind of one world pacifism. Suppiluliumas was apparently suspicious as Egypt had never accepted foreign princes before or allowed Egyptian princess to marry foreigners. Finally he sent Prince Zennanza who was promptly murdered in transit. [Aldred, p. 85.] The most likely culprit here would be Horemheb, commander of the Egyptian army who probably would have had the most to lose is a Hittite prince became pharaoh. King Suppiluliumas in retaliation attacked and defeated Egyptian forces in Lebanon, bringer Hittite forces closer to Egypt itself.
The identity of Ay is a subject of great debate among Egyptologists. He was an important military official and priest in Akhenaten's court. Many Egyptologists are convinced that his importance was founded on blood ties to the royal family. [Aldred, pp. 88-89.] This is, however, a matter of some conjecture. Some believe that he was also Nefertiti's father. These ties may explain his increasing importance on the death of Akhenaten's. He was apparently one of the great survivors in history, rather like an ancient Tallyrand. Even after the death of Nefertiti, he again survived as he had become Tutankhamen's principal advisor. As the pharaoh was so young, Ay became the virtual ruler of Europe, a kind of Vizier. It was during the reign of Tutankhamen, despite Ay's connections with Akhenaten, Ay appears to have organized the return to the old Atum cult. This was undoubtedly a factor in his survival. As part of the return to orthodoxy, Ay returned the pharaoh's court to Thebes. Ay was an aging man by the time of Tutankhamen death. Even so he married Ankhesenamun and became pharaoh. This marriage further confirms the supposition that Ay was related to the royal family. This is the last we here of Ankhesenamun. [Aldrid, p. 68.] Ay probably because of his family ties and support from the army was able to succeed Tutankhamen. He reigned for onlt 4 years before his death.
Horemheb as military commander was a key official in the court of Turkmenistan. He was appointed Deputy Pharaoh. With control of the army, he seized power on the death of Ay. He began a massive campaign to destroy any evidence of the reigns of Akhenaten, Tutankhamen, and Ay--referred to as the Cure of Horemeb. His name was substituted for their names when possible on monuments throughout Egypt. In that regard he would have had the support of the Atum cult priesthood which despised Akhenaten. [Aldred, p.86.]
Napoleon's expedition to Egypt (1798) led to Egyptomania in Europe. At the time there were not many museums, but they began to open and Egyptian artifacts were some of the most popular exhibits. Howard Carter finding Tutankhamun's unopened tomb (1922) launched another wave of Egyptomania. By this time there were museums with Egyptain displays. And there was all kinds of popular mass media to feed the public interest in Egypt. This incuded newspaper and magazine articles illustrated with photographs, movies, and radio. There were newsreels in the movies. Egyptomania affected fashion, jewellery, art, and architecture. The Egyptian influence is especially notable in the Art Deco style of design appaering in the 1920s. Art Deco emerged first in France, but soon spread to other countruies. Egyptomnia was primarily an European development in the 19th century. After Carter found Tutankhamen's undisturbed tomb, America got caught up in the excitement. This included Art Deco. Art Deco style easily identifiable. It uses angular forms like trapezoids and zigzags, as well as tandard geometric shapes. Sunbursts were also popular.
Aldred, Cyril. Akhenaten: Pharaoh of Egypt--A New Study (McGraw-Hill: New York, 1968), 272p.
Journal of the American Medical Association (February 2010). This article was based on 2 years of DNA testing and CT scans on 16 mummies.
Williams, Maynard Owen. "At the tomb of Tutankhame," National Geopgraphic Magazine (Februray 1923).
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