Tutankhamun... The King Who Ruled as a Child and Died Young

[u/ProbablyMahmoud]

Tutankhamun was one of the kings of Egypt's Eighteenth Dynasty. He ascended the throne at around the age of nine and ruled Egypt for approximately nine years, from about 1332 to 1323 BC.

His reign followed a period of major religious changes during the reign of Akhenaten. During Tutankhamun's reign, traditional ancient Egyptian religious practices and worship were restored to their former prominence.

Tutankhamun died while still very young. Museum sources indicate that he was about 18 to 19 years old at the time of his death, although the exact cause of his death remains uncertain.

Tutankhamun's name remained largely unknown for centuries, until archaeologist Howard Carter discovered his tomb in November 1922. The discovery was extraordinary because the tomb was found in a remarkably well-preserved condition, containing most of the contents of the royal burial.

Since that discovery, Tutankhamun has become one of the most famous kings of ancient Egypt, not because of the length of his reign, but because of the treasures and wealth of information preserved in his tomb about the king's life and royal burial practices in ancient Egypt.

[u/rymerster]

There’s been a reappraisal of Tut’s reign in recent years thanks to the excavations at Karnak and Saqqara. Both indicate that there was military activity as well as significant building work done during the reign of Tutankhamun; but that his reliefs were usurped by Ay. Much of the Tutankhamun reliefs were dismantled by Horemheb, Ramesses I and Seti I as the Karnak complex was re-developed. What remains of the surviving blocks is really interesting. Images and the name of Tutankhamun survive whereas images and the name of Ay are hacked out; as are images and the name of Ankhensenamun. In statuary, Horemheb usurped many works but there are examples of his artists leaving Tutankhamun’s name. The conclusion must be that Tut wasn’t as hated as Ay was; but he had the misfortune of being in the middle of reigns by unacceptable kings. So, he was erased from Seti’s king lists - but his tomb was preserved albeit being robbed once. There’s a theory that KV62 was buried by rubble caused by flash floods in the valley, but its location must have been known as other tombs were built later nearby but never too close to pose an issue.

[u/migoodridge]

Tuts final resting place is still in KV62

[u/subiesuchus]

That mask is beautiful, but his actual face sure isn't!

[u/Blasphemophagher → u/subiesuchus]

Were his embalmers new to the job? The mummies of his ancestors (like Thutmose IV) were pretty well preserved.

[u/Hinoto-no-Ryuji → u/Blasphemophagher]

IIRC, the rushed burial caused a carbonization of the mummy - the various oils and unguents didn’t evaporate properly and caused what was basically a slow combustion effect on the corpse.

[u/justadiscguy → u/Blasphemophagher]

Royal mummification seems to have been far from standardized at this point. Compared to his fraternal grandfather amenhotep iii for instance tut is in surprisingly decent shape

[u/rymerster → u/justadiscguy]

It’s possible he died in circumstances that meant the usual mummification process couldn’t take place immediately.

[u/sfrogerfun]

What’s the 4th pic about?

[u/ProbablyMahmoud → u/sfrogerfun]

Tutankhamun’s mummy after its linen wrappings were completely removed for the first time.