Accession and Genealogy
Tutankhamun ascended the throne of Egypt during the New Kingdom's 18th Dynasty around 1332 BC, becoming Pharaoh at approximately nine years old. He succeeded the enigmatic and brief reign of Neferneferuaten (often identified with the mysterious Pharaoh Smenkhare), who ruled for about a year following the death of Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV).
The young Pharaoh's genealogy, once highly debated, has been substantially clarified by DNA analysis (published in 2010). It is now established that:
Tutankhamun was the son of Pharaoh Akhenaten.
His mother was Akhenaten's sister, known as The Younger Lady (whose mummy was found in KV35).
Therefore, Tutankhamun was the product of a brother-sister union, a practice common within the Egyptian royal family, which is now strongly linked to his numerous health issues.
The Religious Restoration
Tutankhamun was born with the name Tutankhaten ("Living Image of the Aten"), reflecting his father Akhenaten's radical religious reform, which promoted the Aten (the solar disk) as the sole, supreme deity and closed the temples of the traditional pantheon.
Crucially, early in his reign (by Year 3), the young king presided over the restoration of the traditional Egyptian religion. His name was formally changed to Tutankhamun ("Living Image of Amun"), signifying the return of the powerful cult of the god Amun-Ra. The court quickly abandoned Akhenaten's purpose-built capital, Akhetaten (modern Amarna), moving first to Memphis (the administrative capital) and later fully restoring Thebes (Amun's religious capital) as the heart of the country. This shift was largely overseen by his influential regents.
Regency and Power Dynamics
Due to his minority, Tutankhamun never truly exercised autonomous power. The affairs of state were managed by a powerful council, which effectively served as a regency. The two most dominant figures in this council were:
Ay: The elderly vizier, likely Akhenaten's father-in-law, who held immense civil and religious authority.
Horemheb: The supreme commander of the army, a powerful military figure responsible for foreign policy and securing Egypt's borders.
Following Tutankhamun's premature death, Ay succeeded him as Pharaoh, and was in turn succeeded by Horemheb. These two men were, in fact, the last two kings of the prolific 18th Dynasty.
Premature Death and Health
Tutankhamun died suddenly around the age of 18 or 19. The exact cause remains a subject of intense historical and scientific debate. Early theories, including assassination, have largely been dismissed. Analysis of his mummy revealed several compounding factors:
Numerous ailments: He suffered from a serious case of malaria (evidenced by DNA traces of Plasmodium falciparum), a deformity in his left foot (Köhler disease), and potentially a cleft palate.
A broken leg: The most probable terminal event was a severe fracture of his left leg, sustained shortly before his death. This injury, compounded by his already compromised immune system and malaria infection, likely led to a fatal infection.
The overall physical weakness and susceptibility to disease are strongly attributed to the genetic effects of the intrafamilial marriage that produced him.
The Sensational Discovery of the Tomb
The discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb (KV62) in the Valley of the Kings on November 4, 1922, by archaeologist Howard Carter and his financial backer, Lord Carnarvon, is arguably the most famous archaeological find in history.
The tomb intended for Tutankhamun was likely a grander structure; however, his successor, Ay, appropriated it for himself. Consequently, Tutankhamun was interred in a small, hastily converted tomb—the smallest in the Valley designed for royalty. This particular and seemingly disadvantageous collocation proved to be the city's greatest protection: the small entrance was eventually covered by debris from later constructions (specifically, the tomb of Ramesses VI), effectively hiding it from the systematic tomb robbers that plagued the Valley for millennia, allowing its treasures to be preserved intact for over 3,000 years.
