Pharaoh Tutankhamun or King Tut was the Egyptian king of the 18th dynasty. He was the youngest pharaoh and ruled for only 10 years. Tutankhamun died at a young age of 18, leaving many puzzles to archival history scholars. Many records of ancient Egypt claim that the young king was a righteous ruler with great prospects for the future. But his untimely death cut short people’s expectations.
Researchers still investigate how Pharaoh Tutankhamun died
Tutankhamun was mummified and buried according to accepted rituals in ancient Egypt. In 1922, the tomb of Tutankhamun was found with all its things, and quite well preserved.
In 2010, DNA analysis confirmed that he was the son of Akhenaten, whose remains were also found in a nearby grave. Since the king died at such a tender age under suspicious circumstances, the researchers began an investigation into the death of Tutankhamun.
There are many theories regarding the death of Tutankhamun, and now this has become one of the mysteries of history, which has been studied a lot. While some researchers believe that he was killed for power hunger, others believe that he died due to a fall from a chariot or illness. Let’s look at some of the theories:
Tutankhamun’s Theory of Murder
Some evidence points to servants close to Tutankhamun who may have been responsible for the murder of their king. Their motives could be greed or external power. Perhaps they were not happy with the changing situation after Akhenaten’s death.
During his reign Akhenaten made many changes, one of which was the promotion of the idea of one God. This put the priests in ancient Egypt in opposition to him and his family. Akhenaten forced many priests to close their temples and worship one god.
Amid this hostile environment, Pharaoh Tutankhamun ascended the throne after his father. Since he was young, he was helped by many, especially Ay and Horemheb. These two people were close to him, so there are many conspiracy theories surrounding these people.
Assassin Theory: King Tut was very dependent on Ay. He was one of the closest people to the king. It is said that Ay had all motives to kill Tutankhamun. By killing the king, he will be able to inherit the throne and become the next pharaoh of Egypt. In fact, after the pharaoh died at the age of 18, Ay inherited the throne.
The theory of murder is reinforced by a crack found at the base of Tutankhamun’s skull. The ring, discovered in Cairo in 1931, stated that Ankhesenamun (Tutankhamun’s wife) and Ay got married shortly after the death of the young king.
Ankhesenamun was forced to marry, as some tablets found during this period depict a queen asking from the Hittites (enemies of Egypt) to save the throne of Tutankhamun. She was also unhappy with Ay’s desire to marry her. And she writes: I will never choose my servant and make him my husband. I’m afraid!
“I will never choose a servant for myself and make him my husband.” I’m afraid!
Horemheb, killer theory: Horemheb was the deputy king, and the young Tutankhamun made all the royal decisions after discussing with him. When the king grew up and began to make his own decisions, Horemheb’s influence gradually faded away.
Since the king gained independence, and the help of Horemheb was no longer needed, he could oppose Tutankhamun. He was also against the new thinking of one god, promoted by Akhenaten. Although Horemheb did not receive the throne immediately after the death of King Tutankhamun, he became a pharaoh after the death of Ay. After becoming a pharaoh, he returned to the original form of religious worship in Egypt.
Many Egyptologists believe that Horemheb was a traditionalist and wanted to convert Tutankhamun to his line of faith. But when the king grew up, he had the same thought as his father, which upset Horemheb.
During his reign, Horemheb removed the name of Pharaoh Tutankhamun from many places and replaced it with his own name. This shows the hatred that has found its place in the heart of Horemheb towards the young king.
Natural causes of death
Another group of Egyptologists and historians believes that there is not much evidence that Tutankhamun was killed. They see his death from natural ailments. A panel of forensic experts examining King Tut’s body concluded that he might have died due to infection. According to them, a crack in the head could be caused by mummification or during the excavations themselves.
Another study conducted on the remains of the pharaoh showed that his leg was broken, which could cause his death. Researchers discovered a left leg fracture that could have occurred a few days before the king’s death.
Based on these findings, a group of scientists came to the conclusion that the king fell from the chariot in one of his hunting expeditions. Wounds and fractures, infection, a crack in the base of the skull – all this led to the death of the king.
Today it is difficult to establish and confirm the true cause of Tutankhamun’s death. Too many years have passed since that era. However, historical secrets give rise to many assumptions and legends about events in the life of courtiers.
