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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 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 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.

Tut was 10 or 11 when he came to 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>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> Ay, Tut's vizier, succeeded him as pharaoh.

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.

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 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 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 and 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.

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