Pharaoh of Egypt Tutankhamun belongs to the eighteenth dynasty of Egyptian rulers. He reigned from 1347 to 1337 BC. The degree of his relationship with his predecessor Amenhotep IV is still a mystery to scientists. It is possible that the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun was the younger brother of Akhenaten and the son of the latter's father, Amenhotep III. There are those who believe that he was the king's son-in-law. After all, he was not yet ten years old, and he was already married to one of the daughters of Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti.
Years of government
Pharaoh Tutankhamen received the throne at the age of nine. He was brought up in the spirit of atonism. This is the cult of the sun god Aton, which was introduced into Egypt by Amenhotep IV. However, in reality, the rule in the country passed to two educators and regents of the young pharaoh - Eya and Horemheb, former associates of Akhenaten, who betrayedanathema to the teachings of his former patron immediately after his death.
Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamen, who ascended the throne early, did not leave a significant mark on history: historians only know that during his reign, the process of restoration of religious cults began in the country. Many of them were rejected for the sake of the supreme Aten. It was Tutankhamun, whose name originally sounded "Tutankhaton", who canceled it, proving his desire to revive the ancient cult of Amun.
To new gods
This became known when archaeologists managed to decipher the text of a large stele erected by him in the main temple of this god in Karnak. From there, it became known that Pharaoh Tutankhamun not only returned to his former cult, but also returned to the priests worshiping Amun, all their rights and property.
True, the changes did not happen immediately. The first four years after his accession to the throne and, according to historians, under the influence of Queen Nefertiti, Pharaoh Tutankhamun still continued to rule from Akhetaten. And only after the death of his mother, the supporters of the former cult of religion managed to finally take over.
But, having left the territory of Akhetaton, the court of the pharaoh did not return to Thebes, but moved to Memphis. Of course, Pharaoh Tutankhamen from time to time called in this southern capital. There he even participated in the main city festivities in honor of Amun. However, for reasons unknown to historians, he chose Memphis as his permanent residence.
Restoring the cult of all the old gods, including Amun, Pharaoh Tutankhamun did notsubjected the previous priests to persecution. Images of the Sun and Akhenaten, he ordered to be left untouched. Moreover, in some inscriptions, the ruler called himself “the son of Aten.”
Foreign policy
During his reign, Egypt began to gradually restore its international influence, which was pretty shaken under the previous pharaoh-reformer. Thanks to the determination of the commander Horemhebu, who soon after his mysterious death became the last ruler of the eighteenth dynasty, Tutankhamun managed to strengthen the position of his state in Syria and Ethiopia. It is possible that the domestic "pacification" achieved under this young king through the efforts of his inner circle, headed by Aye, did a lot to strengthen the country's external position. In honor of the victory over Syria, the arrival of the royal ship was even depicted in Karnak, on which the prisoners were in a cage.
Achievements
According to historians, at the same time, Egypt fought successful military battles in Nubia. Some researchers claim that Pharaoh Tutankhamun enriched his temples with trophies from military booty. From the inscription in the tomb of Amenhotep, the governor of Nubia, who was abbreviated as Khai, it became known that some tribes paid tribute.
During the reign of Pharaoh Tutankhamun, whose photo of the funeral mask is even in school textbooks, led an intensive restoration of many sanctuaries of the former gods destroyed under his predecessor. Moreover, he did this not only in Egypt, but also in the Nubian cityKushe. It is known for certain about several temples, including those in Kava and Faras. However, later Horemheb and Aye ruthlessly erased the cartouches of Tutankhamun, usurping everything that had been erected under him.
He clearly had a bright future, but he died quite unexpectedly, without even having time to leave behind an heir.
Circumstances of death
Despite the fact that this famous Egyptian ruler lived more than thirty-three centuries ago, the mystery that covers the history of Pharaoh Tutankhamen, the mystery of his death and mummification still continues to interest scientists.
The death of Pharaoh Tutankhamen - the ruler of the New Kingdom - overtook at a very early age. At the time of his death, he was barely nineteen years old. Such an early death has long been considered sufficient reason to call it unnatural. Some historians believe that Pharaoh Tutankhamun was killed on the orders of his own regent Aye, who then became the new ruler.
The mystery of death
Recent research, however, gives some hope that the mystery of this boy-king's death may be found. The discovery of his tomb in 1922 was a real sensation. Among those few burials that have survived thousands of years later in a relatively original form, the tomb of the pharaoh Tutankhamen struck with we alth. It was stuffed with ivory and gold, as well as various ornaments. Among them wasthe famous funeral mask of Pharaoh Tutankhamun.
However, the way the king was buried seems very strange. Perhaps this suggests that not everything is “clean” in his death. Most of all, scientists are suspicious of the young man's grave itself. Its small size and unfinished decoration indicate that this young ruler died suddenly. It is this circumstance and a number of others that lead to the idea that his death is of a violent nature.
Investigation
3300 years after the mysterious death of Pharaoh Tutankhamun, British film producer Anthony Geffen is investigating this ancient mystery. To this end, he even hired two modern detectives - former FBI investigator Greg Cooper and director of forensics from the Ogden Police Department (Utah) Mike King.
A vast amount of material was placed at the disposal of the detectives. These were not only scientific works or photos of the tomb of Tutankhamun, x-ray analyzes of his mummy and the conclusions of many experts. Based on all this, the detectives tried to unravel the mystery of the death of the pharaoh using the methods of modern forensics. And they, surprisingly, managed to prove that Pharaoh Tutankhamun was killed. Moreover, they, according to them, were even able to figure out the killer. However, many well-known Egyptologists consider the conclusions of these detectives to be complete nonsense. Moreover, they believe that Cooper and King's research is concocted from old theories and therefore cannot be taken seriously.
Amazing tomb
The tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamen, which experts callobject KV62, located in the "Valley of the Kings". This is practically the only tomb that is almost not looted. That is why it reached scientists in its original form, despite the fact that it was opened twice by tomb thieves.
It was discovered in 1922 by famous Egyptologists: British Howard Carter and amateur archaeologist Lord Carnarvon. The tomb they found was simply amazing: the decorations were perfectly preserved in it, but most importantly, it contained a sarcophagus with a mummified body.
In the eyes of historians and archaeologists, Tutankhamen remained a minor little-known pharaoh. Moreover, even doubts were expressed in general about the reality of the existence of such a pharaoh. This misconception continued until the early twentieth century. Therefore, the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun began to be regarded as the greatest event.
Opening of the century
On November 4th, 1922, when the entrance to his tomb was cleared, the seals on the doors were found intact. This gave hope for one of the largest archaeological discoveries of the century.
On November 26 of the same year, Carter and Carnarvon descended into the tomb for the first time in three millennia.
After several months of excavations, on February 16, 1923, Carter finally managed to descend into the "holy of holies" - into the burial chamber. It was called the "Golden Hall" - the place where the sarcophagus and the mummy of Pharaoh Tutankhamun were located. Among the numerous utensils and objects buried with the ruler, many samples of art were found that bore the sealcultural influences of the Amarna period.
Fame
The owner of all these treasures, then a completely unknown and unexplored young Egyptian ruler, immediately turned into an object that attracted increased attention around the world. And this phenomenal discovery itself not only turned his name into a well-known one, but also caused a surge of interest in all other traces of this ancient civilization in the modern world.
The Curse of Pharaoh Tutankhamen
After the discovery of this tomb in the "Valley of the Kings" by Egyptologists Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter, the history of the mummy began to be shrouded in many secrets and fears.
Less than two months after the pharaoh Tutankhamen's mummy was found, on April 5, 1923, the 57-year-old Lord Carnarvon died in the Continental Hotel in Cairo. As it was said in the conclusion, death overtook him as a result of a “mosquito bite”. But that was only the beginning. This was followed by the death of several more people - participants in the excavations. They all descended into the tomb of Tutankhamen. They turned out to be: Wood, a radiologist who scanned the mummy directly in the tomb, La Fleur, a professor of literature from England, Mace, a conservation specialist, and Howard Carter's assistant, Richard Befil. Journalists started talking about the curse that brings the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun.
The death of Lord Carnarvon was really strange: he allegedly died of pneumonia, which began after a mosquito bite. However, by mystical coincidence,At the moment of his death, the lights in all of Cairo went out completely, and in his homeland - in distant London - the lord's dog whined plaintively. A few minutes later, she dropped dead.
But the curse of Pharaoh Tutankhamun did not end there either. According to information sources, many Egyptians - local residents who participated in the excavations died shortly after the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun was opened.
Mystics were added by the death of five Europeans, who were also directly related to the find. One of them died suddenly from a fever, others from a heart attack or from exhaustion.
There is no curse
The British took all the treasures of the tomb of Tutankhamun and sent them to their museums. But when they began to talk around the world that the curse of the pharaohs overtakes anyone who was involved in the "defilement" of their graves, films and novels began to be made on this topic.
But even if it did exist, for some reason it did not affect everyone. For example, the same Howard Carter lived to old age and died at the age of sixty-four, having lived for seventeen years after the opening of the sarcophagus.
In contrast to the mystical explanation of this curse, some near-scientific sources began to try to logically substantiate the causes of death of all those people who visited the tombs or came into contact with mummies. There are three possible versions. This is the effect of poisons present in the sarcophagus and laid down during burial, the effect of certain radioactive elements or a fungus that multiplies ingrave mold.
In addition, Egyptologists point out that in the religious and magical practice of this civilization there was no such thing as a "curse", and many people involved in the study of other tombs did not experience any problems with mysticism. Therefore, scientists blame journalists for creating this legend, who made a sensation out of each of the deaths of those who were associated with the tomb of Tutankhamen.
