Pharaoh Tutankhamun. Tomb of Tutankhamun

Pharaoh of Egypt Tutankhamun belongs to the eighteenth dynasty of Egyptian rulers. He reigned from 1347 to 1337 BC. The degree of his kinship with the predecessor Amenhotep IV for scientists is still a mystery. It is possible that the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun was the younger brother of Akhenaten and the son of the latter's father, Amenhotep III. There are also those who believe that he was a royal son-in-law. After all, he was not yet ten years old, and he was already married to one of Akhenaten's daughters and his wife Nefertiti.

Years of government

Pharaoh Tutankhamun received the throne at the age of nine. He was brought up in the spirit of atonism. It is the cult of the sun god Aton, which was introduced in Egypt by Amenhotep IV. However, in reality, the board in the country passed to two educators and regents of the young pharaoh - Aye and Horemhebu, former associates of Akhenaten, who anathematized the teachings of his former patron immediately after his death.

Early on the throne, the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun did not leave a significant trace in history: historians only know that during the reign of the country, the process of restoration of religious cults began. Many of them were rejected for the sake of the Supreme Aton. It was Tutankhamun, whose name originally sounded "Tutankhaton," abolished it, proving his desire to revive the ancient cult of Amun.

To the new gods

This became known when archaeologists were able to decipher the text of a large stele erected by him in the main temple of this god in Karnak. From there it became known that Pharaoh Tutankhamun not only returned to the former cult, but also returned to the priests, who worshiped Amon, all their rights and assets.

True, the changes did not happen immediately. The first four years after his accession to the throne and, according to historians, under the influence of Queen Nefertiti, Pharaoh Tutankhamun still continued to rule from Ahetaton. And only after the death of his mother the supporters of the former cult of religion managed to finally gain the upper hand.

But leaving the territory of Ahetaton, Pharaoh's court did not return to Thebes, but moved to Memphis. Of course, Pharaoh Tutankhamun occasionally visited this southern capital. There he even participated in the main city festivities in honor of Amun. Nevertheless, for reasons unknown to historians, he chose Memphis as his permanent residence.

Restoring the cult of all the old gods, including Amun, Pharaoh Tutankhamun did not subject the previous priests to persecution. Images of the Sun and Akhenaten he ordered to leave untouched. Moreover, in some inscriptions the ruler called himself "the son of Aten".

Foreign policy

During his reign Egypt began to gradually restore its international influence, which was fairly shaken under the previous pharaoh reformer. Thanks to the determination of the commander Horemhebu, who soon after his mysterious death became the last ruler of the eighteenth dynasty, Tutankhamun succeeded in strengthening his state's positions in Syria and Ethiopia. Perhaps the domestic "pacification" achieved with this young tsar by the efforts of his closest associates, led by Eyé, contributed a lot to the external situation of the country strengthened. In honor of the victory over Syria in Karnak, it was even depicted the arrival of the royal ship, in which prisoners were held in the cage.

Achievements

According to historians, at the same time, Egypt waged successful military battles in Nubia. Some researchers claim that Pharaoh Tutankhamen enriched his temples with trophies from military booty. From the inscription in the tomb of Amenhotep, the governor of Nubia, who was abbreviated as Hai, it became known that some tribes paid tribute.

During the reign of Pharaoh Tutankhamun, whose photo of the funerary mask is even in school textbooks, reinforced the restoration of many of the former gods destroyed by his predecessor. And he carried out this not only in Egypt, but also in the Nubian city of Kush. For certain it is known about several temples, including in Cava, and in Faras. However, later Horemheb and Aye ruthlessly wiped Tutankhamun's cartouches, usurping everything that had been erected with him.

He was clearly expecting a brilliant future, but he died unexpectedly, even before he could leave the heir.

Circumstances of doom

Despite the fact that this famous Egyptian ruler lived more than thirty-three centuries ago, the mystery covered by the story of Pharaoh Tutankhamun, the mystery of his death and mummification still continues to interest scientists.

The death of Pharaoh Tutankhamun - ruler of the New Kingdom - overtook at the earliest age. At the time of his death, he was barely nineteen. Such early death for a long time was considered a sufficient reason to call it unnatural. Some historians believe that Pharaoh Tutankhamun was killed by order of his own regent Ey, who after that became the new ruler.

The solution of death

Recent research, however, gives some hope that the mystery of the death of this boy-king can be found. The discovery of his tomb in 1922 was a real sensation. Among the few burials that were preserved after thousands of years in a relatively primitive form, the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun amazed with wealth. It was stuffed with ivory and gold, and also with various ornaments. Among them was the famous funerary mask of Pharaoh Tutankhamun.

Nevertheless, the way the king was buried seems very strange. Perhaps, this says that in his death, not everything is "clean." Most of all the suspicion of scientists is caused by the very tomb of the young man. Its small size and unfinished finish indicate that this young ruler died suddenly. It is this circumstance and a number of others that lead to the thought that his death is violent.

Investigation

After 3300 years after the mysterious death of Pharaoh Tutankhamun British film producer Anthony Jeffen took up the investigation of this ancient mystery. To this end, he even hired two modern detectives - former FBI investigator Greg Cooper and Mike King, director of the forensic department at Ogden Police in Utah.

At the disposal of the detectives was transferred a vast amount of materials. These were not only scientific works or photos of Tutankhamun's tomb, X-ray analyzes of his mummy and the conclusions of many experts. Based on all this, the detectives tried to unravel the mystery of the death of the pharaoh using the methods of modern criminalistics. And they, surprisingly enough, managed to prove that Pharaoh Tutankhamun was killed. Moreover, they, they said, could even calculate the killer. However, many well-known Egyptologists consider the findings of these detectives as complete nonsense. Moreover, they believe that the studies of Cooper and King are concocted from old theories, and therefore can not be taken seriously.

Amazing Tomb

The tomb of the pharaoh Tutankhamun, which experts call the object KV62, is in the Valley of the Kings. This is practically the only tomb, which is almost not plundered. Therefore, it reached the scientists in its original form, despite the fact that it was also discovered twice by the tomb thieves.

It was discovered in 1922 by famous Egyptologists: Englishmen Howard Carter and archaeologist-lover Lord Carnarvon. The tomb, which they found, was simply striking: it perfectly preserved the ornaments, but most importantly - it contained a sarcophagus with a mummified body.

In the eyes of historians and archaeologists, Tutankhamun remained a minor little-known pharaoh. Moreover, even doubts were even expressed in the reality of the existence of such a pharaoh. This delusion continued until the beginning of the twentieth century. Therefore, the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun began to be regarded as the greatest event.

Opening of the century

On November 4, 1922, when the entrance to his tomb was cleared, it was discovered that the seals on the doors were untouched. This gave us hope for one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the century.

On the twenty-sixth of November of the same year, Carter and Carnarvon for the first time in three millennia descended into the tomb.

After several months of excavations, on February 16, 1923, Carter finally managed to descend into the "holy of holies" - into the funerary chamber. It was called the "Golden Devil" - the place where the sarcophagus and mummy of Pharaoh Tutankhamun was. Among the numerous utensils and objects that were buried together with the ruler, many art samples were discovered that bear the stamp of the influence of the culture of the Amarna period.

Fame

The owner of all these treasures, then the completely unknown and unexplored young Egyptian ruler, immediately turned into an object that attracted increasing attention around the world. And this phenomenal discovery not only turned his name into a well-known one, but also caused a surge of interest in all other traces of this ancient civilization in the modern world.

The Curse of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun

After the Egyptologists, Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter, discovered this tomb in the Valley of the Kings, the history of the mummy began to be enveloped in multiple secrets and fears.

Less than two months after the mummy of the pharaoh Tutankhamun was found, on April 5, 1923, the 57-year-old Lord Carnarvon died in the Cairo Hotel Continental. As it was said in conclusion, death overtook him as a result of a "mosquito bite". But this was only the beginning. Then came the end of several more people - participants in the excavations. They all descended into the tomb of Tutankhamun. They turned out to be: Wood - a radiologist who shone through the mummy directly in the tomb, La Fleur is a professor of literature from England, Mace is a conservative specialist, and Assistant Howard Carter is Richard Bethil. Journalists started talking about the curse brought by the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun.

The death of Lord Carnarvon was indeed strange: he allegedly died of pneumonia, which began after the bite of a mosquito. However, according to the mystical coincidence at the time of his death, light was completely extinguished throughout Cairo, and in his homeland - in distant London - the lord's dog plaintively whimpered. A few minutes later she fell dead.

But even on this the curse of Pharaoh Tutankhamun did not end. As reported in the information sources, many Egyptians - local residents who participated in the excavations, died shortly after the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun was opened.

Mystics added and the death of five Europeans, who also had a direct relationship to the find. One of them suddenly died of fever, others from a heart attack or exhaustion.

There is no curse

All the treasures of the tomb of Tutankhamun, the British were taken out and sent to their museums. But when the world began to say that the curse of the pharaohs overtakes anyone who is involved in the "desecration" of their graves, films and novels have been shot on this topic.

But even if it did exist, it did not affect everyone, for some reason. For example, the same Howard Carter lived to his old age and died at sixty-four, having lived seventeen years after the opening of the sarcophagus.

Contrary to the mystical explanation of this curse, some near-scientific sources began to try to substantiate logically the reasons for the death of all those people who had visited the tombs or had come into contact with the mummies. There are three possible versions. This action of poisons, present in the sarcophagus and laid down during burial, the impact of some radioactive elements or fungus that reproduces in the grave mold.

In addition, Egyptologists point out that in the religious and magical practice of this civilization there was no such thing as a "curse", and many people engaged in the study of the remaining tombs did not experience any problems with mysticism. Therefore, in the creation of this legend, scientists accuse journalists, who made a sensation from each of the deaths of those who were associated with the grave of Tutankhamun.