PLEASE NOTE: There is now a QR code that has been placed near
the geocache. This is NOT the geocache, but rather a game piece to
Munzee. YOU CANNOT USE THE QR TO CLAIM THE FIND FOR GEOCACHING!
Tutankhamun (alternately spelled with Tutenkh-,
-amen, -amon), Egyptian twt-?n?-i?mn;
tVwa:t-?a:n?x-?a?ma:n (1341
BC – 1323 BC) was an Egyptian pharaoh of the
18th dynasty (ruled 1333
BC – 1324 BC in the conventional chronology), during the
period of Egyptian
history known as the New
Kingdom. His original name, Tutankhaten, means
"Living Image of Aten", while Tutankhamun means "Living
Image of Amun." In hieroglyphs the name
Tutankhamun was typically written Amen-tut-ankh, because of a
scribal custom that placed a divine name at the beginning of a
phrase to show appropriate reverence.
Life
Significance
Tutankhamun was nine years old when he became pharaoh and
reigned for approximately ten years. In historical terms,
Tutankhamun's significance stems from his rejection of the radical
religious innovations introduced by his predecessor and father,
Akhenaten. Secondly, his
tomb in the Valley of the
Kings was discovered by Carter almost completely
intact — the most complete ancient Egyptian royal tomb
ever found. As Tutankhamun began his reign at such an early age,
his vizier and eventual successor Ay
was probably making most of the important political decisions
during Tutankhamun's reign.
Tutankhamun was one of the few kings worshiped as a god and
honored with a cult-like following in his own lifetime. A stela discovered at
Karnak and dedicated to Amun-Re and Tutankhamun indicates that the
king could be appealed to in his deified state for forgiveness and
to free the petitioner from an ailment caused by wrongdoing.
Temples of his cult were built as far away as in Kawa and Faras in Nubia. The title
of the sister of the Viceroy of Kush included a reference to the
deified king, indicative of the universality of his cult.
Parentage
Tutankhamun's most probable lineage based
on recent genetic tests; names provided where known, along with the
tomb location in which they were found
After years of speculation, an extensive DNA analysis publicized
in February 2010 confirmed that Tutankhamun was the biological son
of Akhenaten (formerly
Amenhotep IV) and the mummy known as
The Younger
Lady who was found in KV35, and who was also a
biological sister of Akhenaten His grandfather was the pharaoh
Amenhotep
III, and Queen Tiye has also been shown
to be his grandmother, who in turn was the daughter of the nobleman
Yuya and his wife
Thuya.
Previously, speculations about Tutankhamun's parents were
abundant because of the piecemeal evidence available before DNA
testing. Tutankhamun had been thought to be the son of his
grandparents, Amenhotep III and his Great Royal
Wife Queen Tiye. Others claimed that
he may have been a son of Amenhotep III, although not by Queen
Tiye since she would have
been around 50 at the time of his birth. Professor James Allen
argued that Tutankhamun was more likely to be a son of the
short-lived king Smenkhkare rather than
Akhenaten.
One common theory not eliminated now is that Tutankhamun's
mother was Kiya, a minor wife of
Akhenaten. Queen Kiya's title was "Greatly Beloved Wife of
Akhenaten," and images in Akhenaten's Armana tomb show a royal fan
bearer standing next to Kiya's death bed, fanning someone who may
be a princess. Researchers also thought the figure was a wet
nurse holding a baby, considered to be the boy
king-to-be.
More evidence of the incestuous nature of Egyptian royal
marriages was discovered when Zahi
Hawass, Secretary General of the Egyptian
Supreme Council of
Antiquities, announced the recovery of a part of
a limestone block depicting Tutankhamun and his wife Ankhesenamen,
along with text. These identify both Tutankhamun and his wife
Ankhesenpaaten as
"children of the king's body" or the biological son and daughter of
Akhenaten.