“The Story of Tutankhamun” is taken from the writings of Dr. David P. Silverman, exhibition curator, and the text of Dr. Zahi Hawass, as printed in Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs, the companion book to the exhibition.	The Story of King Tut Tut as Pharaoh
		Tutankhamun began life with the name Tutankhaten (“Living Image of the Aten”). Most likely the son of the heretic King Akhenaten and his lesser wife Kiya, the young prince would have grown up at Akhetaten, the controversial new capital city. Near the time of his father’s death, Tutankhaten married Ankhsenpaaten — probably his half-sister and the daughter of Akhenaten by Nefertiti, the famous beauty and chief wife. Tutankhamun’s Early Reign Sometime soon after Akhenaten’s passing, the ten-year-old Tutankhaten ascended the throne of Egypt. His coronation would have been a grand affair, full of pomp and pageantry. One of Tutankhaten’s first actions as pharaoh was to move away from the Amarna religion, because his father's belief in one god, the Aten, had proved to be quite unpopular with the people. Restoring Traditional Beliefs Tutankhaten quickly re-established the orthodox belief in the pantheon of the gods and reopened their temples. By his second year, King Tutankhaten and his queen had changed their names to Tutankhamun and Ankhsenamun. Although they did not abandon Amarna completely, members of the royal family re-established the old capitals and now spent most of their time at the traditional administrative center of Memphis. Continue to Tutankhamun’s Political Role. >>