Tutankhamun
From ArchaeoWiki
Tutankhamun was the twelfth ruler of the Eighteenth Dynasty of ancient Egypt and the last male pharaoh of that dynastic bloodline. With his death, the throne of Egypt passed to two of the king's officials in turn, firstly Ay, followed by Horemheb.
Although a boy when he became ruler, dying after a short reign of 9-10 years, Tutankhamun nonetheless today remains one of the best known pharaohs on account of the almost intact nature of his modest tomb and burial in the Valley of the Kings, designated KV 62 and discovered by the English archaeologist Howard Carter in 1922. In keeping with other personages of the Amarna Period, the reign of Tutankhamun remains evocative and somewhat obscure: before the discovery of his tomb only sparse details of the boy king's reign were known; now, more information is extant, but seemingly raising as many questions as it might answer.
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Birth, Childhood and Parentage
The parentage of Tutankhamun remains somewhat obscure—neither his father nor his mother are explicitly named in any extant Egyptian text.
An inscribed building block from the site of Hermopolis preserves the most concrete evidence of Tutankhamun before his accession as Egyptian ruler, referring to the "beloved son of the king of his own body, Tutankhaten". As the name of the boy retains the Atenist form of his name—Tutankhaten, "living image of the Aten"—his royal father is almost certainly to be identified with Akhenaten.
In later texts, Tutankhamun refers to Amenhotep III as his father. This should not be taken literally, however; as Tutankhamun ruled nine years before dying at age 19 or 20, such a filiation would necessitate a very long coregency between Akhenaten and Amenhotep III for the latter king to indeed be his biological father, rather than his grandfather.
The name of Tutankhamun's mother in nowhere preserved. A scene in Akhenaten's tomb at Amarna has been suggested as depicting the death of his wife Kiye whilst giving birth to Tutankhamun, without actual confirmation.
No evidence remains extant to illuminate Tutankhamun's childhood or education prior to his accession as ruler of Egypt at about age 9.
Accession and Royal Titulary
Sometime in the second year of his reign, Tutankhaten altered the form of his name to Tutankhamun, signalling his break with the Atenist cult and the restoration of the cult of Amun in the most personal manner. Simultaneously, the wife of Tutankhamun, Ankhesenpaaten, a daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti, altered her own name Ankhesenamun.
Government
At the same time that the renewed titulary of royal names was adopted, Tutankhamun made physical the break with the preceding order by abandoning the new city of Akhetaten and restoring the administrative and cultural pre-eminence of Thebes and Memphis.
Religion
One of the primary concerns within the program of Tutankhamun's reign was the restoration of the former cults after the Atenist 'heresy'—the achievements and future intentions of the boy king were spelled out in the so-called Restoration Stela. The change in Tutankhamun's name—from the former Tutankhaten—powerfully symbolised the return to full religious orthodoxy.
Death and Burial
Tutankhamun was buried in a modest tomb within the Valley of the Kings, KV 62.
Bibliography
- Allen, James P. [2006], "The Amarna Succession", in Causing His Name to Live: Studies in Egyptian Epigraphy and History in Memory of William J. Murnane, University of Memphis, 2006. pdf
- Berlandini, Jocelyne, "Le protocole de Toutankhamon sur les socles du dromos du Xe pylône à Karnak", GM 22, pp.13-20.
- Carlotti, J.-F. [2003], "Essai de datation de l'aggrandissement à cinq barres de portage du pavois de la barque processionelle d'Amon-Re", Cahiers de Karnak 11 (2003), pp.235-254.
- Connoly, R. C., Harrison R.G. and Ahmed, S. [1976], "Serological Evidences for the Parentage of Tut'ankhamun and Smenkhkare", JEA 62 (1976), pp.184-186.
- Darnell, John Coleman [2003], "A Stela of the Reign of Tutankhamun from the Region of Kurkur Oasis", SAK 31 (2003), pp.73-91.
- Darnell, John Coleman and Manassa, Colleen [2007], Tutankhamun's Armies. Battle and Conquest during Ancient Egypt's Late Eighteenth Dynasty, Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2007. ISBN 9780471743583
- Eaton-Krauss, Marianne [1984], "Die Throne Tutanchamuns: Vorläufige Bemerkungen", GM 76 (1984), pp.7-10.
- [1987], "The Titulary of Tutankhamun", in Osing, F. and Dreyer, G. (eds), Form und Mass, Festschrift für Gerhard Fecht, [Ägypten und Altes Testament 12], Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1987, pp.110-123.
- [1988], "Tutankhamun at Karnak", MDAIK 44 (1988), pp.1-11.
- Gabolde, Luc [1989], "Les temples «mémoriaux» de Thoutmosis II et Toutânkhamon", BIFAO 89 (1989), pp.139-144.
- Pinch Brock, Julia [1998], "Tutankhamun in the 'King's House' at Amarna? Cairo SR 11575/20647", BACE 9 (1998), pp.7-17.
- Redford, Donald B. [1979], "Once Again the Filiation of Tutankhamun", JSSEA 9 (1979), pp.111-115.
- Reeves, Nicholas [1990], The Complete Tutankhamun: the King, the Tomb, the Royal Treasure, London: Thames and Hudson, 1990. ISBN 0500050589 (cloth) ISBN 0500278105 (paper, 1995)
- Roeder, G. [1969], Amarna-Reliefs aus Hermopolis, Hildesheim: Gerstenberg, 1969.
- Schaden, Otto [1980], "The Granite Colossi of Amun and Amonet at Karnak", GM 38 (1980), pp.69-73.
- Van Dijk, Jan and Eaton-Krauss, Marianne [1986], "Tutankhamun at Memphis", MDAIK 42, 1986, pp.35-44.
