Why is King Tut so crucial to our modern understanding of the Ancient Egyptians?
Tutankhamun was only 9 years old when he became pharaoh. He died 9 years later, at age 18. In historical terms, Tutankhamun is of only moderate significance, and his modern fame and popularity stems from the fact that his tomb in the Valley of the Kings was discovered almost completely intact, and is still the most complete ancient Egyptian tomb ever yet found. However, he also is significant as a figure among those who managed the beginning of the transition from the heretical Atenism of his predecessors Akhenaten and perhaps Smenkhkare back to the familiar Egyptian religion. As Tutankhamun began his reign at such an early age, his vizier and eventual successor Ay was probably making most of the important political decisions during Tutankhamun’s reign. The 1922 discovery by Howard Carter of Tutankhamun received worldwide press coverage and sparked a renewed public interest in ancient Egypt, for which Tutankhamun’s burial mask remains the popular face.
