The famous king of ancient Egypt
Tutankhamun - also known as King Tut - was perhaps the most famous of the ancient Egyptian Pharaohs. He ruled for 9 years, becoming king at the age of 8 or 9. Because he became king at a very young age, the king may have had powerful nearts by his side, believed to include General Horemheb and General Ay.
Tutankhamun's father - Amenhotep IV - also known as Akhenaten, ordered that Egypt would no longer worship as many deities as it has worshiped for thousands of years, launching what is called the Amarna Revolution, which took place in the 18th dynasty more than 3,000 years ago, establishing worship for the god Aten - the god of the Sun.
When Akhenaten died, tutankhamun in his third year in power canceled changes made throughout his father's reign, restored the old order, and brought traditional polygamy and art back. He ended the worship of thepon and restored the noble position of the god Amun. The capital was moved back to Thebes and the city of Akhetaten was abandoned.
Although tutankhamun is today venerated as one of the great masters, his lifetime was not so venerable. Egyptians can only date Tutankhamun because his mausoleum, in the Valley of the Kings, has been overlooked by ancient and contemporary tomb thieves. This is because it is relatively small, poorly built and decorated.
Explaining the mystery
The question of why the tomb of a great pharaoh was not suitable for a king has been confusing Egyptians for decades.
Aliaa Ismail - an Egyptian academic appearing in the documentary "The Loss of Egyptian Treasures" on National Geographic - believes that she has discovered why.
tutankhamun's successor - the great general - actually deported him from Egyptian history, took his body to a small and poorly decorated tomb.
Ms. Ismail checked Ay's mausoleum to find out details about why he may have deported tutankhamun.
Inside, she found some similarities between the two paintings, with most of the paintings on the wall almost identical.
She said: "Both Tut and Ay chose the same scene, almost like the same person decorating the grave. It shows that a common hand has worked in both tombs. However, only Ay's mausoleum is suitable for a pharaoh. It is very similar to Tutankhamun's mausoleum, from style, artwork to coffin. But it's much bigger."
Ms. Ismail noted that the artistic style of the two tombs shows that Ay may have been responsible for decorating both.
Some Egyptian archaeologists suspect that, when tutankhamun died unexpectedly, the lavish mausoleum he built was still unfinished. It is possible that Ay had grasped the moment and ordered the burial in a smaller grave. After that, Ay continued working on Tut's real grave, and used it for himself.
" Ay buryed tutankhamun in a smaller grave so that he could have a larger grave for himself," Ms. Ismail added.
The pharaohs later basically defamed Tutankhamun, defaming him of the son of a hermit. He was not found until British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered his mausoleum on November 4, 1922.
When Howard Carter and archaeologist George during the 5th crusade of Carnarvon entered the room inside Tut's mausoleum 100 years ago, he was reborn as one of the great men of ancient Egypt.
A massive excavation followed and Carter spent several years exploring Tut's mausoleum. During his work, he discovered an incredible collection of thousands of artifacts from the ancient Egyptian world. Most notably, a stone coffin containing three coffins crammed together.
The final coffin was made of solid gold, and contained the remains of the young king, tutankhamen, which had been preserved in the dark for more than 3,000 years.
The discovery of Howard Carter and George during the search for Tutankhamun's almost intact mausoleum caused a stir around the world. It has resurgited public interest in ancient Egypt, and the Tutankhamun nameless mask, now in the Cairo Museum, has become a famous symbol. Exhibitions of artifacts from his tomb have taken place all over the world.
In February 2010, DNA testing confirmed that he was the son of Akhenaten (kscribed KV55) with an older sister and also the wife of Akhenaten (kscribed KV35YL), who has not yet been identified and is known as the "young Lady". Her body was found in the grave of KV35.
