what were the beliefs of ancient egyptian people in context of king tut mummy
Answers
Tutankhamun (also known as Tutankhamen and `King Tut') is the most famous and instantly recognizable Pharaoh in the modern world. His golden sarcophagus is now a symbol almost synonymous with Egypt. His name means `living image of [the god] Amun’. He was born in the year 11 of the reign of Pharaoh Amenhotep IV (better known as Akhenaten) c. 1345 BCE and died, some claim mysteriously, in 1327 BCE at the age of 17 or 18. He became the celebrity pharaoh he is today in 1922 CE when the archaeologist Howard Carter discovered his almost-intact tomb in the Valley of the Kings. While it was initially thought that Tutankhamun was a minor ruler, whose reign was of little consequence, opinion has changed as further evidence has come to light. Today Tutankhamun is recognized as an important pharaoh who returned order to a land left in chaos by his father's political-religious reforms and who would no doubt have made further impressive contributions to Egypt's history if not for his early death.
TUTANKHAMUN'S YOUTH & RISE TO POWER
Tutankhamun's father was Amenhotep IV (reigned 1353-1336 BCE) of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt whose wife, Nefertiti, is as equally famous and recognizable as her step-son. Tutankhamun's mother was the Lady Kiya, one of Amenhotep's lesser wives, and was not Nefertiti (though this is a common misconception). It has also been suggested that Tutankhamun was the son of Amenhotep III and his queen Tiye but most scholars reject this theory. Amenhotep III ruled over a land whose priesthood, centered on the god Amun, had been steadily growing in power for centuries. By the time Amenhotep IV came to power, the priests of Amun were on almost equal standing with the royal house in terms of wealth and influence. In either the 9th or the 5th year of his reign, Amenhotep IV outlawed the old religion, closed the temples, and proclaimed himself the living incarnation of a single, all-powerful, deity known as Aten. He moved his seat of power from the traditional palace at Thebes to one he built at the city he founded, Akhetaten (`The Horizon of Aten', later known as Amarna) and proceeded to concentrate on his new religion, often to the detriment of the people of Egypt. Akhenaten’s religious reforms, and their impact during his reign, would also define the later rule of his son.