Monday! Today we will learn about the death of King Tut.
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...or does it?
Much has been written about the discovery of King Tut's tomb. But what of the short life and death of the boy-king himself?
A reconstruction of King Tut
The Death Or Murder of King Tut
Was King Tut murdered or did he die from an illness? This age old question has continued to puzzle historians, Egyptologists, and scientists for many years. There are many different theories as to how he died and all of them continue to be controversial topics. Some will argue King Tut was likely murdered due to greed and power, while others believe he fell from his chariot or died from an illness. So many theories surround his death that it’s impossible to rule out an exact cause of King Tut’s death. With that information at hand, and centuries of forgotten facts, one thing is certain—there will continue to be many theories as to how King Tut died.
We do know that he became king at a very young age, probably 7 or 8, upon the death of his father. And he died at the age of either 17 or 18. But I had not been aware of this:
King Tut's father, Akenaten, formerly Amenhotep IV. He was married to the great beauty Nefertiti, as well as Kiya, who was probably King Tut's mother. Nefertiti was the mother of King Tut's wife and possibly the daughter of Ay.
It was a known fact that Akhenaten brought about a major change in Egypt. He had pushed the idea of one god and this concept went against everything the Ancient Egyptians believed in. Though it is not known how Akhenaten transitioned Egypt into this new thinking, many believed the transition could have been hostile. Priests, who had temples, spent their whole life’s worshiping and honoring their beloved gods. When Akhenaten acquired the throne he changed their thinking and he might have forced them to shut down their temples and revert to his religion—which was unheard of at the time. As result of this radical movement, many historians believed this created an unstable environment that might have upset Akhenaten’s royal court and its citizens—the change was drastic and must have required a firm stance to change hundreds of years of thinking.
Akhenaten died when King Tut was a child and he was given the throne at a young age. If Akhenaten did create a hostile environment, his son would’ve had to deal with the new state of Egypt. To make matters worse, King Tut was a child and probably did not have the intellect to run Egypt. This would’ve meant that more experienced subjects of King Tut would have helped him—mainly Ay and Horemheb. Because these two officials had such a strong presence in King Tut’s life and had direct access to him, many stories surround them.
Ankhesenamun
Ay (who was also possibly the grandfather of King Tut's wife, if he was Nefertiti's father) may have murdered King Tut out of greed. There is a crack at the base of King Tut's skull, which may or may not be an indication of murder. Ay apparently married King Tut's wife,
Ankhesenamun, and did become Pharaoh. This marriage may not have been entirely consensual. Tablets dating from the end of the Amarna period have been discovered. Ankhesenamun apparently asked the Hittites (who were, at the time, enemies of Egypt) for help to save her throne. She asked the Hittite king, Suppiluliumas, to send one of his sons to marry her. She told him that she would never wed a servant (Ay??) and that she was afraid. Sadly, the king's son was set upon and murdered during his journey. Ankhesenamun seems to have just vanished from history. The mummies of two premature babies were discovered in Tut's tomb. They were apparently the children of Tut and his bride, who was also his half-sister.
Source
The king's deputy, Horemheb, became Pharaoh after Ay. He restored the ancient ways during his reign. This leads some Egyptologists to dismiss him as a possible murderer, because King Tut was apparently also beginning to restore the worship of many gods to Egypt.
Technological advances have lead to to other theories. The crack in the skull was apparently caused after death, during the mummification process. It was also discovered that King Tut had broken his leg just a few days before death, possibly in a fall from a chariot. He may also have contracted an infection (from the broken leg?) that contributed to or possibly caused his death. He also had contracted malaria at some point.
More
Or maybe he just...spontaneously combusted???
Archaeologist Chris Naunton, director of the Egypt Exploration Society, recently came across comments in Carter's original notes stating that King Tut's body appeared to have been burned, the Independent reports. Naunton then contacted Egyptologist Robert Connolly of Liverpool University, who had small samples of Tutankhamun's bones and flesh in his office.
When the team examined the pharaoh's remains under an electron microscope, they found that the pharaoh's flesh did, indeed, burn after he was laid to rest inside a sealed tomb — an extremely odd event, given the meticulous attention usually afforded the mummification of a king.
Investigators were able to determine that the young pharaoh was on his knees when a horrific chariot accident smashed his rib cage, shattered his pelvis and crushed many of his internal organs, including his heart, according to the Guardian. This may explain why his heart was never found in his mummified body.
Source
Well, there might be another cause of that combustion. King Tut did, allegedly/apparently/perhaps, burn whilst in his coffin.
The usually perfect process of mummification, allowing these bodies to be preserved for eternity, had somehow been a botch job in Tutankhamun’s case. The oils used on him had combined with the linen of the shroud and oxygen inside of the casket, resulting in a fiery combustion. If he had not already been dead he would have been fried alive. This now explains why his body had no heart in it. It would have been destroyed in the intense heat of over 200 degrees Celsius. The poor kid was mummy-fried.Unknown-5
Taking this new information and creating a simulation of the chariot accident, the research scientists have arrived with a highly detailed account of the accident that catapulted young Tutankhamun out of his life and into immortal fame. It seems he was kneeling at the time of the smash, his pelvis and rib cage shattered on impact and his heart would have been crushed. This “virtual autopsy” determines, beyond question, what actually happened to kill this teenage boy so very many thousands of years ago.
Dr. Naunton finds it incredible that Tutankhamun is so familiar and yet much of the evidence about him has previously been bypassed. The odd condition that the body was found in has never been looked at before. DNA tests have also certified his parentage. He was the son of Akhenaten, for a long-time this was suspected but never before confirmed. In this verification, a darker secret comes to surface; this was an ancient case of incest – Akhenaten’s wife was also his sister.
Mystery finally solved?
No, maybe not....
To begin with, Tut's mummy survives.
Does that mean the fire was serious enough to make him sizzle and char but not so hot that he was reduced to ashes? According to reports about the TV show, the researchers believe the fire burned at about 390°F (200°C). A modern cremation is much hotter, occurring at 1400 to 1800°F (760 to 982°C).
But even if mere charring were possible, the burial holds more evidence that argues against a fire.
His beaded cap survived. The garlands--made of plants picked 3000 years ago--survived. No scorch marks on the coffins. His jewelry survived. Et cetera, et cetera. So...did he spontaneously combust? He also could have been gored by a hippo. The young king apparently suffered massive chest injuries.
One possibility that Dr. Harer ruled out is that of a chariot accident.
“If he fell from a speeding chariot going at top speed you would have what we call a tumbling injury – he’d go head over heels. He would break his neck. His back. His arms, legs. It wouldn’t gouge a chunk out of his chest.”
Instead, at his Toronto lecture, Harer brought up another, more exotic possibility - that Tut was killed by a hippo.
It’s not as far out an idea as it sounds, hippos are aggressive, quick and territorial animals, and there is an artefact in Tut’s tomb which appears to show him hunting one of them.
It would also explain why there is no account of Tut’s death since being killed by a hippo would be a pretty embarrassing way for a pharaoh to die.
New research
Howard Carter examining King Tut's mummy
I was unable to decide upon a definite conclusion. But it was an interesting piece of research. Hope that everyone has a good Monday!
Just for fun...President Obama as the reincarnation of Akhenaten