Tutankhamun

Tutankhamun ascended the throne as a child around nine years old, ruling from about 1332 to 1323 BC, with dates uncertain by about a decade. Born during the religious upheaval of the Amarna Period to King Akhenaten, his original name was Tutankhaten. Early in his reign, royal administration abandoned the desert city of Akhetaten and shifted government operations back to traditional administrative centres at Memphis and Thebes, with the young king altering his name to honour the god Amun.

Guided by senior court officials, Tutankhamun took major steps to reverse the religious decrees of his predecessor. His policies were publicly announced on the Restoration Stela, which described Egypt's neglected temples and recorded the lavish restoration of temple estates, priesthoods, and divine statues across the land. The king also resumed architectural projects, adding fine relief carvings to the great colonnade of Luxor Temple and commissioning monuments that celebrated the renewed favour of Egypt's ancestral pantheon.

His reign was cut short when he died around the age of nineteen, having governed for roughly nine years. Because his death was unexpected, he was buried within a relatively modest rock-cut sepulchre in the Valley of the Kings, modern tomb KV62. His early passing left no surviving children with his royal wife Ankhesenamun, precipitating a dynastic transition that soon brought non-royal generals to the throne.

Scholars know Tutankhamun through royal inscriptions, temple reliefs, king lists, and the extraordinary contents of KV62, which survived virtually intact beneath ancient workmens huts, preserving thousands of ceremonial, personal, and artistic treasures alongside his mummified body.

Monuments

• Tomb KV62
• Restoration Stela
• Luxor Temple Colonnade

Explore further

Try the name on the Cartouche Desk, or see where the reign falls on the timeline.