KING TUT THE BOY PHARAOH

Tutankhamun, or better known as King Tut, is an 18th dynasty pharaoh who inherited the throne at a young age. His reign

was short-lived and upon his death he quickly faded into the sands of Egypt. Once forgotten, King Tut now remains one of

Egypts grandest icons. He continues to hold the worlds fascination and yet he still continues to puzzle the world's leading experts. So many stories surround this pharaoh that at times it can be daunting.

TUTANKHAMUNS (KING TUT) LIFE

The birth name of Tutankhamun was Tutankhaton, which meant Living Image of the Aten. His father, which remains a mystery, is believed to be Akhenaten, although some evidence points to Amenhotp III. His mother remains a mystery as well but she is believed to be Kiya.

After his fathers death, Tutankaton was given the throne. After acquiring the throne he began to uphold his fathers beliefs, which was the worship of one god -- the Aton. A few years later Tutankaton started to bring back gods that were forbidden by Akhenaten. He soon changed his name to Tutankhamun along with changing his wifes name to Ankhesenamun. Their names were changed to reflect their beliefs towards Amun and probably to ease the angry priests who missed their old Egypt. They soon decided to leave their fathers capital Amarna and relocated to a new capital in Memphis and Thebes. This movement was probably suggested by Ay (a high ranking official and advisor) to show the Egyptians and priests that things were slowly returning to the original ways.

With the ancient beliefs restored and the movement of the new capital, King Tutankhamun threw lavish parties to show his support for Amun. Tuankhamun was only a child while the old gods were being reinstated, but could a child make decisions of this magnitude at such a young age?

It doesnt appear so, and it appears that his adviser Ay most likely made major decisions for him. Ay and Hermhab were probably the sole drive behind the throne. Could this be why old gods were reinstated and King Tut changed his name? It could have been a great possibility due to the records left behind, which showed Egypt was in a poor state after Akhenaten. Sometime during his tenth year of reigning, Egypt was at war with the Hittites. During this confrontation Tutankhamun suddenly died. How he died remains a mystery; however, its believed he was murdered

THE DISCOVERY OF KING TUT'S TOMB

King Tuts tomb was a major discovery of the 19th century. It was discovered November 4,1922 in the Valley of the Kings by Howard Carter. It was a phenomenal discovery that made headlines across the world. Up until the discovery of King Tuts tomb, it was believed that all royal tombs had been robbed and drained of their treasure.

For the first time, a tomb, which was almost intact, had been discovered and remained hidden from robbers for thousands of years. The tomb revealed an elaborate lifestyle that many people could only dream about as well as providing clues and insight into King Tuts life and how he lived.

Examining the Body In the early months of 1924, Howard Carter had opened the gilded shrines that surrounded Tutankhamuns mummy and removed the lid from the huge stone sarcophagus. However, the tomb had then been shut again for almost a year while Carter and the Egyptian government battled over ownership of the

tomb and artifacts. In January 1925, Carters team returned to Luxor and opened the outermost coffin to reveal the second coffin. The linen shroud that covered its gilded surface showed damage from humidity, giving the team their first clue that the mummy might not be in perfect condition

THE CURSE OF THE MUMMY

The curse of the mummy began when many terrible events occurred after the discovery of King Tut's tomb. Legend has it that anyone who dared to open the tomb would suffer the wrath of the mummy. Because mummies have been associated with many magical powers throughout history, some of the mummies found from Egypt were ground into a fine powder and sold as mystical mummy powder. It's believed the powder had magical healing powers and it wasn't until the discovery of King Tut and the hype of the media that things would change forever.