The pharaoh, or king, named Tutankhamen ruled over ancient Egypt in the 14th century BC. He took the throne at a young age and died ten years later, at the age of about 18. He is famous mainly for the treasures found in his tomb in the 20th century.

Reign

The pharaohs of ancient Egypt were grouped into 30 dynasties. Tutankhamen was a pharaoh of the 18th dynasty. It is thought that he was the brother of Smenkhkare, who ruled Egypt together with King Akhenaton (or Ikhnaton). Tutankhamen became pharaoh after Akhenaton and Smenkhkare died. He married one of Akhenaton's daughters, making his claim to the throne even more secure.

Because Tutankhamen was only about 8 years old when he became pharaoh, he depended heavily on advisers. Under their direction he reversed changes that Akhenaton had introduced to the religion of Egypt. Tutankhamen restored the temples, images, and priests of the old gods. During the ninth year of his reign, the Egyptians marched into Syria to fight the Hittites. Tutankhamen died in the war. He left no heirs. Ay, his chief adviser, succeeded him as king.

Tutankhamen's tomb

Tutankhamen was buried in the Valley of the Tombs of the Kings in southern Egypt. His tomb remained undiscovered for thousands of years. This happened in part because in the 19th dynasty Tutankhamen's name was removed from the royal lists and the location of his tomb forgotten. The tomb of Ramses VI, of the 20th dynasty, was built immediately above that of Tutankhamen, and the young king's tomb was buried under the resulting rubble. Many of the other tombs in the area were later robbed, but because his was hidden, Tutankhamen's remained untouched.

In 1922 Howard Carter, a British archaeologist, located the tomb. When it was opened, Tutankhamen's mummy was found lying within a nest of three coffins. The innermost coffin was of solid gold, and the two outer coffins were of gold hammered over wooden frames. A magnificent golden portrait mask and many pieces of jewelry were found on the mummy. The coffins were surrounded by four shrines of hammered gold over wood, covered with texts, which practically filled the burial chamber. Additional rooms were filled with furniture, statues, clothes, a chariot, weapons, staffs, and various other objects. Because of these finds Tutankhamen became better known than other pharaohs who had lived longer and were more important in the history of Egypt.