King Tut Theories

For centuries, there is much confusion, and many theories as to how King Tutankhamun may have died. It was a big discovery to everyone when King Tut was discovered, but there are still many theories. Even though two prevalent theories involve King Tutankhamun dying in a chariot crash and being murdered, King Tut, in fact, died from a combination of incest and natural diseases.

DNA research suggests that King Tut’s bloodline is of other powerful pharaohs. While not completely confirmed, it is very likely that King Tut was the son of Akhenaton and the grandson of Amenhotep II (Tutankhamen). Additionally, DNA tests show that his parents were siblings and his wife may have been his half-sister. He was also the last heir to a powerful family, which left him a lot of riches (King Tut Revealed). His history gave him a lot of power as a pharaoh, despite his young age.

While his heritage put him in a lot of power, it also may have given him a bad reputation. His father, Akhenaten, attempted to challenge the millennium-old Egyptian religion and convert everybody to monotheism. This idea did not go over very well and failed. Akhenaton also instituted a new capital at Amarna, rather than Thebes. (Tutankhamen).

King Tut acquired power just like any other pharaoh, however

his complexion, hobbies and age were not ordinary. Furthermore, he was tall and frail. Interestingly, one of King Tut’s hobbies was archery, but not many specifics are known about it (Tutankhamen). After Akhenaten's demise, two intervening pharaohs ruled briefly before being followed by nine year-old Tut (Tutankhamen). King Tut was put into a position with a tremendous amount of power at a very young age.
Howard Carter’s discovery changed the world with the information that was revealed. Tutankhamen ruled for ten years, and died around the age of 19 (in 1324 B.C.E.) before being discovered in 1922 (Tutankhamen). King Tut ruled for a short amount of time at a very young age. However, there was a large gap in the time between his death and his tomb’s discovery, so his tomb and its contents may have changed. The tomb was filled with over five-thousand artifacts including furniture, chariots, weapons, clothing, and 130 walking sticks for his disability (Tutankhamen). King Tutankhamun’s tomb revealed a lot about the royal life of Ancient Egypt. Because of his walking sticks, it shows that King Tut was disabled. King Tut obviously inherited many riches from his short-lived rule.
The riches found in King Tut’s tomb tell us a lot about King Tut. King Tut’s mummy was inside of a granite sarcophagus, three golden coffins, and had a twenty-four pound solid gold portrait mask (Tutankhamen). King Tut was a well respected pharaoh, and that is shown by the amount of riches he amassed. However, a pharaoh's’ treasure doesn’t show much about their accomplishments. When Tut died, it was rather sudden and he was placed in a tomb that was not originally intended for him; because of the haste, his mummy was in appalling condition and was damaged even more when Howard Carter stripped the body of its jewelry (Shaer 1). The rushed burial suggests that his death was not expected. Howard Carter could have injured King Tut after his death due to his roughness with the mummy. Thanks to Howard Carter, we now know a lot more about the royal life of ancient Egypt.
There are many theories as to how King Tut died, but only a few are widely accepted. One prominent theory of how King Tut died is a possible deliberate blow to the head (RNSA Press Release). Many scholars believe that someone intentionally assassinated King Tut. The damage found could possibly have been from an embalming method. CT scans show that the skull is damaged, but that is most likely from Howard Carter’s acrimony (RNSA Press Release). Howard Carter was rather violent with Tut’s mummy in order to get the jewelry. There is a lot to suggest that the injury did not happen during King Tut’s lifetime. Nothing is completely proven, however either an embalming method or Howard Carter’s harshness seem like the most logical explanation.
Another widely accepted theory involves Tut dying in combat. Paintings and murals in his tomb depict that Tut was a war-like fighter and loved to hunt. (King Tut Revealed) As stated previously, Tut had an interest in archery. There are no obvious wounds that could be related to war. Additionally, there is a painting on his sarcophagus of Tut defending Egypt (King Tut Revealed). Paintings in tombs tend to glorify the pharaoh; what is conveyed through the art is not always true. As the walking sticks in his possession show, he is unable to engage in battle. Based off of the evidence, it isn’t plausible for Tut to have died in battle.
While there many theories out there, it is evident that the death can be attributed to a combination of diseases.

Researchers were able to find multiple infections of malaria tropica, which is a mosquito-born disease (Shaer 2). In that time, there wasn’t many medicines for diseases, let alone ways to detect it. Being virtually unseeable, this could have been a major contribution to his death. Posthumously, King Tut also was diagnosed with a degenerative bone condition (Shaer 2). His bones grew weaker with his age, crippling him. This condition possibly contributed to his death and caused his debility. King Tut was not a very healthy person, but without access to modern day treatments, there wasn’t much to

do.
Not only was it the diseases that killed him, but also made King Tutankhamun’s life miserable. An autopsy shows that Tut possibly suffered from severe epilepsy (Shaer 2). While epilepsy probably did not kill him, it could have contributed to his death in someway. Tut could possibly have had a seizure at a bad time and injured himself. Köhler disease was also found and caused him pain, swelling, and a pronounced limb (Shaer 2). This would have made it hard to do simple things like walking. Being in pain everywhere you go would not make Tut’s life very enjoyable. Tut had to go through pain and suffering for almost his whole life from a number of diseases.
With all of Tut’s diseases, it is apparent that he died from a combination of more that one cause. King Tut’s parents are believed to be siblings, and his wife was his half-sister which could have killed him, or at least weakened him (Shaer 2). Incest is a very probable cause for being susceptible to many diseases. While it may not have caused his death, it definitely contributed to it and allowed Tut to contract diseases very easily. Embalming was a rough method and could have caused a number of the visible damages to his body (Shaer 1). Without much knowledge of the human body, there were not many precautions taken to keep it in-tact. During the embalming process, parts of bone could have been chipped or other injuries sustained. Incest and embalming may explain his susceptibleness to sickness and his infirmities.
In conclusion, there isn’t much more research to do. With modern day equipment, advanced as it is, it isn’t enough. There needs to be more equipment with more capabilities for new information to be discovered. It could take a decade for the needed technology to be invented. At the time, there will not be sure answer and the question as to how King Tutankhamun died remains unanswered.