Ancient Egypt

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Tutankhamun, the Boy King or Pharaoh, was born around 1367 BC. His birth name was Tutankhaten which means 'Living image of Aton'. At the age of nine, in 1358 BC, he acceded to the Egyptian throne, the last but one Pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty. He was the son of Kiya, a lesser wife of the Pharaoh. The marriage between Tutankhaten and his half-sister Ankhesenpa'aten had already taken place. They shared the same father, Akhenaten the Heretic, who was responsible for changing the religion of the Egyptians from the worship of many gods, to monotheism, the worship of one god. The god he chose was the Solar Disc, Aten (or Aton).

Tutankhamun's Queen: Ankhesenpa'aten was the daughter of Nefertiti, Queen of Egypt and the beloved wife of Akhenaten. Princess Ankhesenpa'aten changed her name to Ankhesenamun upon the restoration of the old religions. It is known that the young couple had at least two offspring, but unfortunately they were stillborn. The mummified foetuses were found in Tutankhamun's tomb. Once widowed, the young Queen was forced to marry Ay, her maternal grandfather, to assure his accession to the Egyptian throne. Her fate after this is unknown.

Tutankhamun's Reign: After Tutankhamun became Pharaoh, he set about restoring the old deities, reverting to the old religions and thus giving the power back to the priests of Amun. This is when he changed his name to Tutankhamun. Exact pronunciation of Egyptian names is not known because vowels were not written down. His name has a variety of spellings including: Tutankhamen, Tutankhamon and Tutankhamun. Another name he was known by was Nebkheperu, as Egyptian Pharaohs had two names. Tutankhamun also reinstated Thebes (Luxor) as capital of Egypt. Thebes had been relegated in favour of a new city built especially for his beloved wife. The new city, Akhetaten (Amarna) was never accepted as capital of Egypt by the Egyptian people. During a battle in 1350 BC, Tutankhamun was killed or murdered; Ay claimed Queen Ankhesenamun as his wife but ruled for only four years...

A review of studies performed on Egyptian mummies over the past 30 years has revealed that the ancient Egyptians suffered from a plethora of dental problems as well asseveral other diseases and disorders."Worn teeth, periodontal diseases, abscesses and cavities tormented the ancient Egyptians, according to the first systematic review of all studies performed on Egyptian mummies in the past 30 years."

View: Full Article | Source: Discovery News.

The first scientific autopsy on an ancient Egyptian mummy probably got the cause of death wrong, research suggests. Dr Augustus Bozzi Granville caused a sensation when he described the autopsy to the Royal Society of London in 1825. He concluded the mummified woman, Irtyersenu, died of ovarian cancer.

But a University College London study, published in the Royal Society journal Biological Sciences, strongly suggests she died of tuberculosis. Italian-born Dr Granville, a surgeon and a gynaecologist, had practised medicine across the world, and had survived malaria, bubonic plague and yellow fever. In the mid 19th century interest in Egyptian mummies was intense. So when one of Dr Granville's patients told him he had brought back a mummy from the necropolis at Thebes, still sealed in its coffin, he jumped at the chance to investigate further.

He carried out a long-lasting and exhaustive study of the tissues.

By studying the thinning of the pelvic bone, he established the woman was 50-55 when she died. He also determined that she was a mother, and overweight.

He then found that she had an ovarian tumour, and concluded that this - a condition he called ovarian dropsy - probably caused her death.

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Controversial new research aimed at determining the exact date on which the Great Pyramid of Giza had started construction has come up with August 23, 2470 BC as the mostlikely answer."The Egyptians started building the Great Pyramid of Giza on August 23, 2470 B.C., according to controversial new research that attempts to place an exact date on the start of the ancient construction project."

View: Full Article | Source: National Geographic.