![]() The series has this fact right that the leg is injured – yet, whether this led to his death is worthy of more discussion. In the battle against Tushratta, King of the Mitanni, the young king’s leg is injured and he returns to Egypt with a crippled leg and an infection. In the series, the young Tutankhamun walks with a limp throughout his life, but he is also shown as an athletic, energetic young man. A conclusive explanation still proves elusive, but we know at least that his leg was disabled: Tutankhamun’s legs may indicate a clubfoot on his left leg – Tutankhamun must have suffered from this condition throughout his life. The preservation of his mummy allowed for scientific investigations into his cause of death as early as the 1920s, though a large number of theories have been put forth since then. Tutankhamun is well-known on account of his early death and hasty burial. This relief of a royal couple shows the more peaceful nature of life in an Egyptian palace – the male figure is sometimes identified as Tutankhamun (Photo: Nile Scribes) Fact: Tutankhamun walked with a limp By this point, Ay was already an elderly figure his reign lasted only a few short years before Horemheb seized the throne. ![]() Despite Ay’s close connection to the palace in the later stages of his career, Ay was not a member of the royal family – marrying Ankhesenamun was the surest means of remedying this shortcoming. The female fetuses were between five to seven months of gestation when they were miscarried, giving us a rare glimpse into moments of heartbreak in the royal family.Īfter Tutankhamun’s death, Ankhesenamun seems to have married the new king of Egypt, Ay, an important official and advisor who had served both her husband and her father. The historical reality of this problem can be glimpsed through the contents of Tutankhamun’s tomb: two mummified fetuses in tiny coffins were found beside his belongings. ![]() Vancouver-born Avan Jogia stars as the boy king in Tut (Photo: Spike TV) Fact: Tutankhamun and Ankhesenamun were unable to produce an heirĪ critical problem facing the boy king and his queen in Tut is the issue of their succession: without a male heir, the Eighteenth Dynasty would have to continue with a non-royal on the throne. Egyptian kings of the Eighteenth Dynasty married multiple wives and it was not unusual for them to marry their sisters, such as the famous case of Tutankhamun’s ancestors, Thutmose II and his half-sister Hatshepsut. Whether Ankhesenamun was Tutankhamun’s full sister or half-sister, there was good reason for the practice: marrying close relatives kept the power, wealth, and succession within the immediate family. It remains unclear if Tutankhamun was also one of Nefertiti’s children: a recent DNA study identified the mummified remains of “the Younger Lady” as his mother, but her identity is unknown. No mention of the other princesses was made in Tut, and in fact their famous mother, Queen Nefertiti, does not make an appearance. ![]() It seems likely that the two eldest princesses – Meritaten and Mekitaten – had already died by the time Ankhesenamun became Tutankhamun’s queen. In reality, Tutankhamun had six sisters known to us, including Ankhesenamun, who seems to have been the third-born of Akhenaten and Nefertiti. In the series, Tutankhamun marries his only sister, Ankhesenamun, with whom he will rule Egypt until his untimely death. This week, the Nile Scribes review the highly fictionalised miniseries Tut and discuss the “facts” of the boy king’s famous life.Īnkhesenamun and Tutankhamun walk through their palace in Tut (Photo: Spike TV) Fact: Tutankhamun married his sister Ankhesenamun The life and times of Tutankhamun’s royal court made their way into a three-part series created for Spike TV in 2015, but not always accurately. Tutankhamun’s reign is the perfect setting for an action-packed drama: the return to religious tradition, a brother and sister ruling as king and queen, and issues of succession in the palace. ![]()
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