As television has dusted off the mystifying King Tutankhamen for the mini-series Tut (2015), they have once again muddied the waters of fact and fiction. Tutankhamen is played by the handsome Avan Jogia and carries none of the defects that marred the true boy king. Portrayed as a sensual yet warring king, trying to gain the acceptance of his people, the mini-series creates an intriguing story based mostly on fantasy.
The real Tut was nothing like what we have seen in the movies. He wasn’t beautiful or mesmerizing. He was far some sensual or erotic. He wasn’t a great king of history and he certainly never rose out of his tomb to become a walking mummy.
So, who was the real King Tutankhamen? Egyptian historians and scientists are still making discoveries into the life and times of this minor king of ancient Egypt. So far, however, there are plenty of known and recently discovered facts about him that would rival any modern day soap opera.
A Product of Incest
While it has always been assumed that Tut was a product of incest, recent DNA tests done in 2010 confirmed the belief. Tut was not only the grandson of pharaoh Amenhotep II, he was also the son of pharaoh Akhenaten and one of Akhenaten’s sisters, possibly Nefertiti.
Inbreeding was common among the ancient Egyptian bloodlines. Royalty believed that they themselves were sacred and came from the bloodline of the gods. In order to preserve this true lineage, marriage and inbreeding was common among them and led to the muddled bloodlines of the pharaohs. Of course, aside from the ick factor, the incest among family members created a host of physical problems for Tut.
Physical Deformities
Tut was far from healthy. Inbreeding had made sure of that. He had a club foot which means that his foot was deformed and that the sole of his foot did not rest flat on the ground. He walked with a cane and an image from his tomb shows him seated while practicing archery. He had full hips, similar to those of a woman. CT scans show that he had an overbite where his top teeth heavily overlapped his lower teeth, causing them to stick out. He also had a cleft palate where the two sides of the palate in the roof of the mouth did not come together while he was in the womb.
It is also worth noting that Tut had a misshapen head. There is debate among many as to what this may mean. His skull is over six inches wide, leading some to believe he may be a descendant of another pharaoh who hasn’t been identified yet. Others feel that he suffered from Antley-Bixler syndrome because his skull is also slightly elongated. As our scientific equipment becomes more advanced, there will no doubt be new revelations about the health and deformities of the boy king.
Boy King
Tut is commonly referred to as the boy king of Egypt because he became the pharaoh of Egypt when he was a mere 8 or 9 years old. Born around 1341 B.C.E., his father, Akhenaten, attempted to force the population to change their worship from multiple gods to just one god. After an unpopular 17 year reign, Akhenaten was removed from power and his son, Tutankhamen, eventually took his place. He reigned for a short 10 years before he died.
He Was a Minor King
In death, Tut has gained a popularity he never received during his life. Because he was so young when he became pharaoh, it is believed that the priests, his advisors, took charge and were the ones responsible for restoring their traditional religion for the people. Little more is known of Tut’s reign, other than its shortness, and there were no major campaigns during his reign. When Tut died, he was buried and forgotten, until his tomb was discovered in 1922.
Married His Half Sister
You have probably heard the saying, “Keep it in the family.” Well, the ancient Egyptians, especially those within the royal bloodline, took their family business very seriously. Not only was Tut’s parents brother and sister, but Tut himself was married to his half sister, Ankhesenamun. Ankhesenamun was a daughter that Tut’s father had with a different wife. By having Tut marry his sister, they were able to keep the power within the family, instead of bringing in a wife from the outside to form an alliance with a foreigner.
Stillborn Daughters
It may surprise you that Tut and his sister were able to produce any offspring at all, considering how inbred their bloodlines were, but it is true. Tut and his sister wife, Ankhesenamun, were able to produce two daughters. Sadly, however, both children were stillborn. Both of his offspring were placed in small coffins and were found inside Tut’s burial chamber. Both offspring had fatal congenital disorders. Tut fathered no living heirs to his throne.
He Walked On His Enemies
Now here is a unique discovery that smacks of middle school behavior. Inside of Tut’s tomb was discovered a well preserved pair of his sandals. On the soles of the sandals were name images of the then current enemies of Egypt. Whenever Tut would wear this pair of sandals and walk around in them, he was symbolically walking on his enemies. I can almost imagine kids writing the names of bullies on the bottom of their sneakers so that they could magically crush them, and then I am reminded that Tut himself was just a boy when he reigned over ancient Egypt.
Died in His Late Teens
Tut became pharaoh when he was a boy and he died roughly 10 years later at the age of nineteen. For such a short life, it is little wonder that so little is really known about him. For many years it was believed that Tut may have been assassinated, but a resent CT scan and DNA testing show that he probably died suddenly from a leg infection. What caused the infection is, of course, under debate.
Buried 70 Days After He Died
Tut was buried roughly 70 days after his death. This is the common amount of time needed for the process of mummification. However, there is plenty of evidence that suggests that Tut’s death was unexpected and unprepared for. He was buried quickly in what is described as a tomb sized for a lesser noble. Also, all of his treasures appear to have been hastily dropped into his burial chamber. So far, no written records of Tut have been found after his death. He was simply forgotten.
Mummified Erect Penis
Now this is truly weird. While Tut was undergoing the mummification process, a straw was inserted into his penis to give him a “permanent” erection. His penis, a little over 2 inches in length, was mummified this way, a procedure not found with other mummified pharaohs. Resin was poured over his body and erected penis and, some believe, it may have been separately wrapped during the process.
