Changes

[[Image:Tut_mask.jpg|right|thumb|The funeral mask of Tutankhamun]]'''Tutankhamun''', or '''King Tut''', was a [[pharaoh]] of [[Egypt]]'s 18th dynasty who reigned from 1336-1327 [[B.C.]] There has been much controversy over his lineage over the years. Tut was most likely the son of Smenkhkare, his immediate predecessor as pharaoh. Smenkhkare was a brother of [[Akhenaten]] who ruled briefly in 1336 BC and may have been assassinated.<ref name=Allen>Allen, James, "[https://web.archive.org/web/20120301142642/http://cassian.memphis.edu/history/murnane/Allen.pdf The Amarna Succession]," ''Causing His Name to Live: Studies in Egyptian Epigraphy and History in Memory of William J. Murnane,'' University of Memphis, 2007.</ref> Akhenaten, the "heretic pharaoh," replaced Egypt's traditional [[polytheism]] with the monotheistic cult of [[Aten]]. Tutankhamun restored polytheism and the cult of Amun.

[[Image:Tut_mask.jpg|right|thumb|The funeral mask of Tutankhamun]]'''Tutankhamun''', or '''King Tut''', was a [[pharaoh]] of [[Egypt]]'s 18th dynasty who reigned from 1336-1327 [[B.C.]] There has been much controversy over his lineage over the years. Tut was most likely the son of Smenkhkare, his immediate predecessor as pharaoh. Smenkhkare was a brother of [[Akhenaten]] who ruled briefly in 1336 BC and may have been assassinated.<ref name=Allen>Allen, James, "[https://web.archive.org/web/20120301142642/http://cassian.memphis.edu/history/murnane/Allen.pdf The Amarna Succession]," ''Causing His Name to Live: Studies in Egyptian Epigraphy and History in Memory of William J. Murnane,'' University of Memphis, 2007.</ref> Akhenaten, the "heretic pharaoh," replaced Egypt's traditional [[polytheism]] with the monotheistic cult of [[Aten]]. Tutankhamun restored polytheism and the cult of Amun.

Tut was only 10 or 11 when he came to the throne.<ref name=Allen /> He married Ankhesenamun, a daughter of Akhenaten and [[Nefertiti]]. Meritaton, Tut's mother, was also a daughter of Akhenaten. On the paternal side, the royal couple were first cousins. On the maternal side, they were aunt and nephew. Both of their children were girls who were born prematurely and died immediately.<ref>"[http://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-places-africa/tragedy-queen-ankhesenamun-sister-and-wife-tutankhamun-001555 The tragedy of Queen Ankhesenamun, sister and wife of Tutankhamun]"</ref> Tut named army commander [[Horemheb]] as his successor. However, Horemheb was away on campaign when Tut died unexpectedly. Tut was 19 years old when he died.<ref name=Allen /><ref name=Hawas /> Ay, Tut's vizier, succeeded him as pharaoh.

Tut's mother and father were bother and sister.<ref name=Hawas>Hawass, Z., Y. Gad, et al., "[http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=185393 Ancestry and Pathology in King Tutankhamun’s Family]" (2010), ''Journal of the American Medical Association''.</ref> He was only 10 or 11 when he ascended the throne.<ref name=Allen /> He married Ankhesenamun, a daughter of Akhenaten and [[Nefertiti]]. The royal couple were thus first cousins on both the paternal and maternal sides. Tut had two children by unidentified mummy KV21A.<ref name="Hawas" /> They were both girls and were both still born.<ref>"[http://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-places-africa/tragedy-queen-ankhesenamun-sister-and-wife-tutankhamun-001555 The tragedy of Queen Ankhesenamun, sister and wife of Tutankhamun]"</ref> Tut named army commander [[Horemheb]] as his successor. However, Horemheb was away on campaign when Tut died unexpectedly. Tut was 19 years old when he died.<ref name=Allen /><ref name=Hawas /> Ay, Tut's vizier, succeeded him as pharaoh.

It was once thought that the fracture in the king's skull was the result of a chariot accident. It is now believed that the skull was damaged by mishandling after death.<ref>[http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/king-tutankhamun-latest-tests-prove-boy-pharaoh-was-product-incest-1470735 Virtual autopsy reveals Pharaoh Tutankhamun was the ugly outcome of incest]</ref> A 2010 forensic study gave the cause of death as "avascular bone necrosis in conjunction with the malarial infection."<ref name=Hawas>Hawass, Z., Y. Gad, et al., "[http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=185393 Ancestry and Pathology in King Tutankhamun’s Family]" (2010), ''JAMA''.</ref>

It was once thought that the fracture in the king's skull was the result of a chariot accident. It is now believed that the skull was damaged by mishandling after death.<ref>[http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/king-tutankhamun-latest-tests-prove-boy-pharaoh-was-product-incest-1470735 Virtual autopsy reveals Pharaoh Tutankhamun was the ugly outcome of incest]</ref> A 2010 forensic study gave the cause of death as "avascular bone necrosis in conjunction with the malarial infection."<ref name=Hawas>Hawass, Z., Y. Gad, et al., "[http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=185393 Ancestry and Pathology in King Tutankhamun’s Family]" (2010), ''JAMA''.</ref>

In the 19th dynasty, Akhenaten, Smenkhkare, Tut, and Ay were all treated as illegitimate rulers. Their names are omitted from the Abydos king list and an effort was made to remove all mention of them in records and on monuments. In 19th century, the history of this period was reconstructed by archeologists.

In the 19th dynasty, Akhenaten, Smenkhkare, Tut, and Ay were all treated as illegitimate rulers. Their names are omitted from the Abydos king list and an effort was made to remove all mention of them in records and on monuments. In 19th century, the history of this period was reconstructed by archeologists.

Tut's tomb was discovered intact by [[Howard Carter]] in 1922, still filled with gold, virtually untouched by looters. In 2010, genetic testing established that mummy KV55, discovered in 1907, is Tut's father, and that mummy KV35YL ("the Younger Lady"), discovered in 1898, is his mother. The large wound on the left side of the Younger Lady's face was made while she was still alive, so it appears that she was murdered.<ref name="Hawas" /> If Smenkhkare and his wife were assassinated together, that could explain why his reign was so short. The tests also showed that the two mummies are close relatives. (Smenkhkare and Meritaton were uncle and niece.)

Tut's tomb was discovered intact by [[Howard Carter]] in 1922, still filled with gold, virtually untouched by looters. In 2010, genetic testing established that mummy KV55, discovered in 1907, is Tut's father, and that mummy KV35YL ("the Younger Lady"), discovered in 1898, is his mother. The large wound on the left side of the Younger Lady's face was made while she was still alive, so it appears that she was murdered.<ref name="Hawas" /> If Smenkhkare and his wife were assassinated together, that could explain why his reign was so short.

==References==

==References==