Was King Tut Murdered?
Was King Tut murdered or did he die from an illness? King Tut’s
death has puzzled both historians and Egyptologists for many years. If
King Tut was indeed murdered, some research and evidence point to a few
limited servants or contacts that could have been responsible for King
Tut’s death. But who were these potential people that could have
been responsible for such a scandalous act? What motives might the murderers
have had if the pharaoh was killed? Why is it believed that King Tut
was murdered? What about the prospect of King Tut dying due to an illness?
Could this be possible? With all these questions and with the latest
research we hope to shed some light into his death.
In 1968, Ronald Harrison (British scientist) took X-rays of King Tut’s
skull. While doing an examination he discovered fragments of bone inside the
skull possibly indicating trauma to the head. The damages to the head could
have been caused after death; however, it is highly unlikely. A trauma specialist
from Long Island University insisted that this injury could not have been from
a natural cause. The specialist stated, “The blow was to a protected
area at the back of the head which you don't injure in an accident, someone
had to sneak up from behind.” So who would have carried out this “sneak-attack” if
this truly occurred? Why would someone want to kill King Tut?
Moving forward to a more recent time, in 1994, Bob Brier, an Egyptologist from
Long Island University insisted that Tutankhamen was murdered by Ay (a high
ranking official). Mr. Brier revealed his findings January 17, 1997 in a conference
held in California.
Why would Brier suggest it was Ay who killed the pharaoh? This answer is found
after King Tut’s death—Ay succeeded the throne. So now that we
have a possible motive that’s obvious, how did Ay become king if he was
the vizier and not a royal family member? This answer was found through a ring.
A ring discovered in Cairo in 1931 shed light into Ay’s tactic used to
attain the throne. Ankhesenamun (King Tut’s wife) was forced to marry
Ay after King Tut’s death. This gave Ay the right to step into kingship.
This marriage was not a happy event as evidence found some points of distress
and despair on Ankhesenamum’s part.
Some Egyptologists believe that Ankhesenamun could have made a desperate plea
for help. But why would they believe this? Some tablets, which are dated towards
the end of the Amarna period, were discovered. These tables appeared to be
from Ankhesenamum to the Hittites asking for help. The Hittites were enemies
of Egypt at the time.
These tablets, dating back to the end of the 18th dynasty, revealed a possible
last plea for intervention to the Hittites revealing a potential scandal in
the making. Some Egyptologist’s strongly associate this letter with Ankhesenamun
as a last resort in the hopes of saving her throne and her status. She informed
the Hittite king, Suppiluliumas, to send a son to wed her. She clearly stated
her humiliation and her feelings of being worried. The queen pointed out the
loss of her husband and stated, “Never shall I pick out a servant of
mine and make him my husband. I am afraid!” Was this servant Ay she was
talking about?
The Hittite son who was sent to be married never made it to Egypt. He was assassinated.
Could Ay have been responsible for this? Ankhesenamun was eventually forced
to marry Ay but what transpired for this to occur still remains a mystery.
But is Ay the only suspect in the murder of King Tut?
Mohamed El-Saghir, head of Upper Egyptian Antiquities, believes that Horemheb could not have committed the murder of the pharaoh. Mohamed El-Saghir believes that because King Tut was restoring Egypt to its traditional ways, Horemheb would not have had a reason to kill him. He does find it interesting that Horemheb removed King Tut’s name from several items and replaced it with his. Even so, it’s still not enough evidence.
Ay is also ruled out by Mohamed El-Saghir. According to Mohamed El-Saghir, Ay would not have killed the king as Ay assisted the pharaoh with personal and important rituals. He goes on to say, "There is insufficient evidence that he is guilty. He was the high priest and was, moreover, the one who wrote Tutankhamen's negative confession and performed his ‘opening of the mouth’ ceremony.” If Ay and Horemheb are ruled out, then how else might have King Tut died?
Other theories as well have come to light though scientific examination. Forensic experts from Egypt did an examination on King Tut. It was found that he may have been poisoned. They believed the blow to the head could have happened during mummification. "His body might have been dropped on the floor and his head hit the flagstones; there is no trace of bleeding around the blow," said the experts.
Just recently, new CT scans of King Tut have been performed and the results shed new light into King Tut’s death. The scans revealed a broken leg that may have been responsible for the death of King Tut. Doctor Zahi Hawass says, "We found that he had a fracture on the left leg. And that fracture proved to have happened a few days before he died. It was before mummification, and therefore it could happen, we are not sure, it could (have) happened that he died because of this accident." So King Tut might have not been murdered after all.
If King Tut was murdered, which the evidence points in that direction, it could never be solved due to many years of tarnish. King Tut was the son of the “Heretic” Pharaoh—Akhenaten. This could have bred many angry individuals who wanted nothing or anything to do with Akhenaten. If it had not been his advisors or confidants, it surly must have been the priests who were forced to shutdown temples because of Akhenaten. One thing is for sure, the quest for answers to King Tut’s death, continue to remain a mystery and they may always remain an unknown.