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[[Image:Tut_mask.jpg|right|thumb|The funeral mask of Tutankhamun]]'''Tutankhamun''', or '''King Tut''', was a [[pharaoh]] of [[Egypt]]'s Eighteenth Dynasty who reigned from 1336-1327 [[B.C.]] Although he died at 19 and had few accomplishments to boast of, he is Egypt's best-known pharaoh. This is because his spectacular tomb was discovered intact.

[[Image:Tut_mask.jpg|right|thumb|The funeral mask of Tutankhamun]]'''Tutankhamun''', or '''King Tut''', was a [[pharaoh]] of [[Egypt]]'s Eighteenth Dynasty who reigned from 1336-1327 [[B.C.]] Although he died at 19 and had few accomplishments to boast of, he is Egypt's best-known pharaoh. This is because his spectacular tomb was discovered intact.

There has been much controversy concerning Tut's lineage. He 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 primacy of the cult of Amun.

There has been much controversy concerning Tut's lineage. He was most likely a 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 primacy of the cult of Amun.

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. Genetic testing showed that Tut had two children by mummy KV21A, presumably Ankhesenamun.<ref name="Hawas" /> They were both girls and were both still born.<ref>The usual solution to this problem is to assert that KV21A was Ankhesenamen and that Tut and Ankhesenamen were brother and sister. However, genetic testing has established that the two still born girls were not the product of brother-sister incest. See [http://www.kv64.info/2010/03/dna-shows-that-kv55-mummy-probably-not.html Phizackerley].</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. Genetic testing showed that Tut had two children by mummy KV21A, presumably Ankhesenamun.<ref name="Hawas" /> They were both girls and were both still born.<ref>The usual solution to this problem is to assert that KV21A was Ankhesenamen and that Tut and Ankhesenamen were brother and sister. However, genetic testing has established that the two still born girls were not the product of brother-sister incest. See [http://www.kv64.info/2010/03/dna-shows-that-kv55-mummy-probably-not.html Phizackerley].</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.