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Pharaoh Akhenaten, Cairo Museum
A small bust of Akhenaten (r. 1353-1336 BCE), pharaoh of Egypt in the 18th Dynasty. He is wearing the crown of Egypt.
Cairo Museum.
Questions & Answers
When did Tutankhamun rule Egypt?
- Tutankhamun ruled Egypt between c. 1336 and c. 1327 BCE.
What did Tutankhamun do during his reign?
- Tutankhamun began the process of dismantling his father's monotheistic belief system and returning Egypt to the polytheistic practices of the past. He died before he could finish this work, and it was accomplished by Horemheb, who then erased Tutankhamun's name and claimed the credit for himself.
Why is Tutankhamun so famous?
- Tutankhamun is famous because of the discovery of his nearly intact tomb in 1922, which was world news, and because of the "curse of the mummy" that became popularized in 1923 and was associated with the opening of the tomb.
Is there any basis in fact for the "curse of Tutankhamun"?
- No. The "curse of Tutankhamun" was based on a misinterpretation of an inscription found in the tomb and then the death of Howard Carter's patron, Lord Carnarvon in 1923. Carter knew there was no curse but allowed the story to circulate because it scared people away from the tomb so he could work in peace and also caused those who had illegally taken or purchased ancient Egyptian artifacts to return them, hoping to distance themselves from the "curse".
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Based on Wikipedia content that has been reviewed, edited, and republished.
Original image by John Bodsworth. Uploaded by Mark Cartwright, published on 29 July 2016. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: Creative Commons Attribution. This license lets others distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon your work, even commercially, as long as they credit you for the original creation. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.
