Tutankhamun, an Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty, ruled from approximately 1332 BC to 1323 BC and is known for restoring the worship of the god Amun after his father Akhenaten's reign. He ascended the throne at a young age, married his half-sister, and faced health issues that likely contributed to his early death at 19. The discovery of his nearly intact tomb by Howard Carter in 1922 provided significant insights into the royal burial customs of ancient Egypt and confirmed his lineage, linking him to Akhenaten and his sister as parents.

2. Tutankhamun was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th
dynasty.
He ruled ca. 1332 BC – 1323 BC in the conventional
chronology, during the period of Egyptian history known as
the New Kingdom. He is popularly referred to as King Tut.
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.
He is possibly also the Nibhurrereya of the Amarna letters
, and likely the 18th dynasty king Rathotis who, according
to Manetho, an ancient historian, had reigned for nine
years—a figure that conforms with Flavius Josephus's
version of Manetho's Epitome.

3. Tutankhamun was the son of Akhenaten (formerly
Amenhotep IV) and one of Akhenaten's sisters, or perhaps
one of his cousins. As a prince he was known as
Tutankhaten.
He ascended to the throne in 1333 BC, at the age of
nine or ten, taking the throne name Nebkheperure. His
wet-nurse was a woman called Maia, known from her
tomb at Saqqara A teacher was most likely Sennedjem.
When he became king, he married his half-sister,
Ankhesenpaaten, who later changed her name
to Ankhesenamun.
They had two daughters, both stillborn.Computed
tomography studies released in 2011 revealed that one
daughter died at 5–6 months of pregnancy and the other at
9 months of pregnancy. No evidence was found in either
mummy of congenital anomalies or an apparent cause of
death.

4. Given his age, the king probably had very powerful
advisers, presumably including General Horemheb and the
Vizier Ay. Horemheb records that the king appointed him
"lord of the land" as hereditary prince to maintain law.
He also noted his ability to calm the young king when his
temper flared. In his third regnal year, Tutankhamun
reversed several changes made during his father's reign.
He ended the worship of the god Aten and restored the
god Amun to supremacy.
The ban on the cult of Amun was lifted and traditional
privileges were restored to its priesthood. The capital was
moved back to Thebes and the city
of Akhetaten abandoned.
This is when he changed his name to Tutankhamun,
"Living image of Amun", reinforcing the restoration of
Amun.

5. The king initiated building projects, in particular at Thebes and Karnak, where he
dedicated a temple to Amun.
Many monuments were erected, and an inscription on his tomb door declares the
king had "spent his life in fashioning the images of the gods".
The traditional festivals were now celebrated again, including those related to
the Apis Bull, Horemakhet, and Opet.

6. The country was economically weak and in turmoil
following the reign of Akhenaten
Diplomatic relations with other kingdoms had
been neglected, and Tutankhamun sought to restore
them, in particular with the Mitanni.
Evidence of his success is suggested by the gifts
from various countries found in his tomb. Despite his
efforts for improved relations, battles
with Nubians and Asiatic were recorded in his
mortuary temple at Thebes.
His tomb contained body armor and folding stools
appropriate for military campaigns. However, given
his youth and physical disabilities, which seemed to
require the use of a cane in order to walk (he died c.
age 19), historians speculate that he did not
personally take part in these battles.

7. There are no surviving records of Tutankhamun's final days. What caused
Tutankhamun's death has been the subject of considerable debate. Major studies have
been conducted in an effort to establish the cause.
Although there is some speculation that Tutankhamun was assassinated, the
consensus is that his death was accidental. A CT scan taken in 2005 shows that he had
badly broken his leg shortly before his death, and that the leg had become infected.
DNA analysis conducted in 2010 showed the presence of malaria in his system. It is
believed that these two conditions (malaria and leiomyomata) combined, led to his
death. He was buried in the Valley of the Kings. Two mummified fetuses were found in
coffins that had been sealed by his name. These are believed to have been his children
that were born prematurely.

8. BBC - February 16, 2010
The Egyptian "boy king" Tutankhamun may well have died
of malaria after the disease ravaged a body crippled by a
rare bone disorder, experts say. The findings could lay to
rest conspiracy theories of murder. The scientists in Egypt
spent the last two years scrutinizing the mummified
remains of the 19-year old pharaoh to extract his blood and
DNA.
National Geographic - February 16, 2010
A new DNA study says, King Tut was a frail pharaoh, beset
by malaria and a bone disorder - his health possibly
compromised by his newly discovered incestuous
origins."He was not a very strong pharaoh. He was not
riding the chariots," said study team member Carsten
Pusch, a geneticist at Germany's University of Tubingen.
"Picture instead a frail, weak boy who had a bit of a club
foot and who needed a cane to walk.“

9. Like the majority of the wealthy and royal population in ancient Egypt, Tutankhamun
was mummified. Mummification was considered essential for the spiritual part of
someone's body to continue on into the afterlife.
Tutankhamun's mummy has never left the Valley of Kings, since his mummification.
When he died, there were many pieces of jewelry found inside his body. British
archaeologist, Howard Carter discovered his tomb on November 4, 1922.
Tutankhamun's tomb is now protected by climate-control to make sure nothing
happens to his mummy.

10. How to Mummify
1. They laid the body in a bed of natron, a combination of salt and baking
soda to dry out the flesh. This material was also stuffed into the body cavity.
2. Then, resins were applied to the leathery skin to soften it.
3. The brain was removed through the nostrils because they didn't know the
importance of the it and believed that it wasn't important. A long, metal hook
was used to pull it out.
4. The lungs, liver, stomach, and intestines were removed through an
"surgery" in the left side of the body. They would cut a hole in the left side of
the body, so they could see inside. Each of these organs were dried in salts, then
smeared with oils. After this, they were wrapped. Finally, they were put in a
solid, gold coffin.
5. Golden cylinders were put over the king's fingers and toes

11. King Tutankhamen's treasures were replicas of the treasures of
the Pharaoh before him, and each Pharaoh’s treasures were replicas of the
treasures of their predecessor Pharaoh, back to the beginning of the dynasty.

12. The treasures of Tutankhamun have been marveled at since their discovery by
Howard Carter on November 4, 1922.
It was the first, and to this day the only, royal tomb in the history of Egyptology to be
found practically untouched, even though in ancient times it had been the object of no
less than two attempts at robbery.
The emptying of Tutankhamun's tomb lasted several years and made possible the
recovery of about 3500 articles, confirming the tomb as the most exceptional
archeological discovery ever made in Egypt.

13. One of the two calcite lamps found in Tutankhamun's burial chamber.
The cup takes the form of an open lotus flower and is flanked on both sides by rich,
openwork decoration in which the god Heh is depicted kneeling on a number of
papyrus plants with his arms raised.

14. The gilded wood Canopic Shrine contained the Canopic Chest pictured above.
The outer canopy of this shrine consists of four corner posts supporting a cavetto
cornice surmounted by a continuous frieze of uraei inlaid with colored glass and
faience.
Between the posts, on each of the four sides, stands an elegant guardian goddess of
gilded wood - Isis, Nephthys, Neith and Selkis, each identified by the hieroglyph upon
her head.

15. In 2008, a team began DNA research on Tutankhamun and the mummified remains
of other members of his family.
The results from the DNA samples finally put to rest questions about Tutankhamun's
lineage, proving that his father was Akhenaten, but that his mother was not one of
Akhenaten's known wives. His mother was one of his father's five sisters, although it is
not known which one.
The team was able to establish with a probability of better than 99.99 percent
that Amenhotep III was the father of the individual in KV55, who was in turn the father
of Tutankhamun.
The young king's mother was found through the DNA testing of a mummy
designated as 'The Younger Lady' (KV35YL), which was found lying beside Queen
Tiye in the alcove of KV35. Her DNA proved that, like his father, she was a child of
Amenhotep III and Tiye; thus, Tutankhamun's parents were brother and sister.[.
Queen Tiye held much political influence at court and acted as an adviser to her son
after the death of her husband. Some geneticists dispute these findings, however, and
"complain that the team used inappropriate analysis techniques.

16. Discovery of the mummy
Under the commission of George Herbert, 5th Earl of
Carnarvon, who is commonly called just Lord Carnarvon,
Howard Carter and his team set out to Egypt in 1922 to
discover the tomb of Tutankhamun, and because of other
recent discoveries during that time in a particular area of the
Valley of the Kings, Carter believed he had a good idea of
where he would find it. Theodore M. Davis, a contemporary
archeologist of Carter, discovered pottery with Tutankhamun's
name a short distance from where Carter would on November
4, 1922 discover KV62.
The location at the Valley of the Kings was significant to the
New Kingdom because it is where the pharaohs of the time
and some other important people to the king were buried. The
idea behind burying them there was that it was supposed to be
a hidden location in a remote area since tomb robbing was a
constant problem during Ancient Egyptian times.

17. King Tutankhamun, whose famous sarcophagus has traveled far more than the “boy
king” did in his 19-year lifetime, had buckteeth, a receding chin, and a slim nose,
according to 3D renderings of his mummy.
His weird skull shape is just within range of normal and was probably genetic—his
father, Akhenaten, had a similarly shaped head. Tut’s body also had a broken leg,
indicating he may have died from falling off a horse or chariot.

19. Much of what is known about Tutankhamun, better known today as King Tut, derives
from the discovery of his tomb in 1922. British archaeologist Howard Carter had begun
excavating in Egypt in 1891, and after World War I he began an intensive search for
Tutankhamun's tomb in the Valley of the Kings.
On November 26, 1922, Carter and fellow archaeologist George Herbert, the Earl of
Carnarvon, entered the interior chambers of the tomb. To their amazement, they
found much of its contents and structure miraculously intact. Inside one of the
chambers, murals were painted on the walls that told the story of Tutankhamun's
funeral and his journey to the afterworld. Also in the room were various artifacts for
his journey—oils, perfumes, toys from his childhood, precious jewelry, and statues of
gold and ebony.
The most fascinating item found was the stone sarcophagus containing three coffins,
one inside the other, with a final coffin made of gold. When the lid of the third coffin
was raised, King Tut's royal mummy was revealed, preserved for more than 3,000
years. As archaeologists examined the mummy, they found other artifacts, including
bracelets, rings and collars. Over the next 17 years, Carter and his associates carefully
excavated the four-room tomb, uncovering an incredible collection of thousands of
priceless objects.

20. The royal bloodline that Tutankhamun's family shared ended with the death of the
young pharaoh, and with that came a question of the legitimacy of the following
rulers.
His tomb was the only one discovered that was not very disturbed by grave robbers,
which allowed Carter to uncover many artifacts and the untouched mummy.
It gave amazing insight into the royal burials, mummification, and tombs of the New
Kingdom's 18th Dynasty. Since its discovery and widespread popularity, it has led to
DNA testing done on it and other mummies from the time period that now give a
proven family tree for many of the royalty during the 18th Dynasty.
Since his death was unexpected and either poorly recorded or simply the records
were lost over the years, with the discovery of his mummy and advances in modern
technology, there is now strong and supported evidence as to Tutankhamun's death,
and with that one of Egypt's most popular mysteries appears to have been solved.
As of October 2010, the mummy of Tutankhamun is located in his original resting
spot in KV62 in the Valley of the Kings.

21. Sources : www.google.com
www.wikipedia.com