A mystery has remained as to how King Tut died. Was he murdered? If so, why? Was his death a natural cause? Was it a fatal accident?
King Tut could have been murdered out of greed or because of an unstable environment created in Egypt by his father, Akhenaten. Akhenaten believed in only one god, unlike the belief in many gods before his time. He made everyone else believe this also, and historians believe that this created an unstable environment.
One theory of Tut's death is that his advisor, Ay, murdered him to inherit the throne. A crack was discovered on the back of Tut's skull which could be how he was murdered. Evidence that Ay murdered him is that the queen, Ankhesenamun, was later married to Ay, even though on some tablets that she sent to the Hittites she said “Never shall I pick out a servant of mine and make him my husband. I am afraid!”. She could have been talking about Ay. She asked the Hittites to send a man to wed her and the man that was sent was assassinated on the way. Ay could also be to blame for this.
Another theory is that Horemheb, the king's deputy, murdered him. As Tut got older, he became more independent of Horemheb in his decision making. Horemheb did not inherit the throne after Tut died, Ay did, but Horemheb inherited the throne after Ay died. Horemheb restored Egypt to its original beliefs of many gods rather than just one. Some people discharge this theory because Tut may have been working on restoring Egypt to its original beliefs, just like Horemheb wanted to do.
A reason that people believe Tut may have been murdered is the crack in his skull. Some people point out that it could have been made in the mummification process, if his skull had accidentally been dropped.
With new scans it has been revealed that Tut had a broken leg before he died. Whatever caused this injury could have also caused his death. His death may have just been an accident. The injury on his leg could have also caused infection, which may have been fatal.
Some people look at his broken leg and think that he may have fallen from his chariot to his death. This would explain the broken leg and his death at such a young age.
As they put it on www.kingtutone.com, "With... centuries of forgotten facts, one thing is certain—there will continue to be many theories as to how King Tut died." Though we may never know for sure, examining his death and his body help us to learn more about our history.
Very cool!
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