Tutankamen, known in some circles as the boy king, was an Egyptian pharaoh who reigned from 1334 to 1325 BC, in the New Kingdom. Tutankamen, whose name means Living Image of Amen (an Egyptian god), was relatively unknown, before his tomb was discovered in 1922, in a richly adorned funerary chamber. His youth at the time of his death has been fertile ground for theories as to why he died. There is a theory for example, that he was murdered by Ay, due to the presence of blows to his skull, after it was reexamined in the late 1960s. (Flux, 2001) Another theory says that the king may have been injured, in battle or when hunting, and the wound, sustained to his leg, became mortal and killed him. There are suggestions that he was even mummified before…show more content… According to him, the injury sustained by Tutankhamen was to an area of the brain that would normally not be injured in an accident, suggesting that someone had to have hit him from behind. This theory has run into problems however, because of the actions of the discoveries of the body back in 1922. They had, in an effort to retrieve the body, dismembered it very badly, leading to the presentation of a body that had a fractured skull. Recent studies have also established that the fractures happened after the body had been prepared for…show more content… There have been more plausible theories that have been advanced, from the suggestions that he was the product of an incestuous relationship, to preliminary findings that he may have had malaria, or suffered from sickle anemia, which was, and still is, prevalent in Egyptian oasis settlements. These theories, however, have not been able to stand serious scientific scrutiny. (Lovgren, 2010)
References
Flux, P. (2001). Ancient Egypt. Oxford: Heinemann Educational.
Lovgren, S. (2010, OCtober 28). King Tut Died From Broken Leg, Not Murder, Scientists Conclude. National Geographic.
Shaer, M. (2014, December). The Controversial Afterlife of King Tut. Retrieved from Smithsonian.com:
