6 THINGS YOU (PROBABLY) DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT... TUTANKHAMUN

Professor Joyce Tyldesley shares some lesser-known facts about the life, death and legacy of Egypt's famous 'boy king'

- Joyce Tyldesley

Tutankhamun was born in c1344 BC, possibly at Amarna, the city of his father, Akhenaten (though Tutankhamun's parentage is hotly disputed). His mummy shows that he died when he was around 18 years old, but the exact cause of his demise is not known. Tutankhamun's body suffered damage at various stages - immediately before or immediately after death; during the curiously hasty mummification process; within the tomb (where a chemical reaction caused it to ignite); and while being extracted from its three coffins in the years following its 1922 discovery by Howard Carter.

Damage to Tutankhamun's chest and legs indicates that the cause of death was accidental - perhaps the result of an injury sustained while riding a chariot or out hunting. Others, meanwhile, have suggested that Tutankhamun may have been murdered or died on the battlefield.

Today, Tutankhamun is ancient Egypt's most famous pharaoh. But how much do you really know about the boy king?

1 HIS ORIGINAL NAME WAS NOT TUTANKHAMUN

Tutankhamun was originally named Tutankhaten. This name, which literally means 'living image of the Aten', reflected the fact that Tutankhaten's parents worshipped a sun god known as 'the Aten'.

After a few years on the throne, the young king changed his religion, abandoned the Aten, and started to worship the god Amun (who was revered as king of the gods). This caused him to change his name to Tutankhamun, or living image of Amun'.

Tutankhamun was not, however, the name by which his people knew him. Like all of Egypt's kings, Tutankhamun actually had five royal names. These took the form of short sentences that outlined the focus of his reign.

Officially, he was:

(1) Horus Name: Image of births

(2) Two Ladies Name: Beautiful of laws who quells the Two Lands/ who makes content all the gods