King Tut, facts and information

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• HISTORY & CULTURE

Ever since his glittering tomb was discovered a hundred years ago, King Tut has been surrounded by mystery and fascination. Here’s what you need to know.

A close view of the gold funerary mask of the pharaoh Tutankhamun.Photograph by Kenneth Garrett, Nat Geo Image CollectionByAmy McKeeverLast updated July 22, 2025

King Tut, or Tutankhamun, is one of the most famous rulers who ever lived thanks to the 1922 discovery of the pharaoh’s tomb in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings. The find stirred the imaginations of millions who were fascinated by the boy king’s golden-masked mummy.

But what do we really know about King Tut? Although many details of his reign remain lost to time, historians have spent years trying to piece together the pharaoh’s life and legacy. Here’s what they’ve learned—and the biggest questions that remain.

King Tut’s rise to the throne

Born during ancient Egypt’s 18th Dynasty—which stretched from 1550 B.C. to 1295 B.C.—Tut began his life under a different name: Tutankhaten.

In the years before Tut rose to the throne, Egypt was going through a period of great upheaval. King Amenhotep IV, who is believed to be Tut’s father, had turned away from his culture’s many gods to worship a sun god called the Aten. In honor of the new deity, he changed his own name to Akhenaten and named his son Tutankhaten, meaning “living image of Aten.”

But around 1336 B.C., King Akhenaten died after about 17 years on the throne—and nine-year-old Tut ascended to power. The boy king restored the old ways of the kingdom, bringing back its many gods and opening new temples.

(See the enduring power of King Tut as never before.)

The son of Akhenaten also changed his name to Tutankhamun, which meant the “living image of Amun,” the Egyptian god of the air. He also took on the throne name, Nebkheperure, which was a nod to the old sun god Re, or Ra.

He married a woman named Ankhesenamun, a daughter of Akhenaten and Queen Nefertiti. While the couple are not thought to have left any surviving children, two mummified fetuses found in Tut’s intact tomb were likely their stillborn daughters.

(Learn about King Tut’s family secrets)

Tutankhamun’s tomb

The rest of Tut’s short reign was fairly unremarkable. Ruling for only about nine years, Tutankhamun was one of the lesser known pharaohs of his time.

Some scholars theorize that royal advisers and priests may have even used the boy king as a puppet to reclaim power for themselves.

Others suggest that Tut’s successors removed his name from monuments and records because of his association with his reviled father, Akhenaten.

Technicians use state-of-the-art equipment to scan a wall in King Tut’s burial chamber.Photograph by Kenneth Garret, Nat Geo Image Collection

But there was one upside to that erasure: While most of the tombs in the Valley of the Kings were looted over the centuries that followed, Tut’s royal tomb was left relatively unspoiled.

When its treasures were finally brought to light, they inspired modern investigations into the young king’s life and what it reveals about the time of the ancient Egyptians.

(How was King Tut’s tomb found? Through grit and luck.)

Afterlife in the Pharaohs’ Valley

Egypt’s later pharaohs were believed to begin their ­journey to the afterlife in the Valley of the Kings, just west of the religious hub of Thebes. Most of the valley’s 64 known tombs were looted over the centuries. But in 1922, British archaeologist Howard Carter made an astonishing discovery when he opened tomb KV 62: the treasures and mummified remains of the 18th dynasty pharaoh Tutankhamun.

Cairo

EGYPT

Valley of

the Kings

Minor King in an Epic Dynasty

Tutankhamun ruled for about nine years and died young. He was one of the lesser known pharaohs of his era, but the discovery of his relatively unspoiled tomb elevated King Tut’s modern stature.

18th Dynasty

1550-1295

3000

B.C.

2500

B.C.

1000

B.C.

2000

B.C.

1500

B.C.

500

B.C.

Late Period

664-332

Early

Dynastic

3000-2686

Old

Kingdom

2686-2160

Middle

Kingdom

2055-1650

New

Kingdom

1550-1069

Second

Intermediate

Period

1650-1550

Third

Intermediate

Period

1069-664

First

Intermediate

Period

2160-2055

Greco-Roman

332 B.C.-A.D. 395

Ahmose

Thutmose I

Thutmose IV

Thutmose III

Smenkhkare

1504-1492

1550-1525

1479-1425

1400-1390

Amenhotep I

Thutmose II

Queen

Hatshepsut

Amenhotep II

Amenhotep III

Horemheb

1492-1479

1525-1504

1427-1400

1390-1352

1323-1295

1473-1458

Akhenaten

Ay

1352-1336

1327-1323

Tutankhamun

Entombed

18th Dynasty official

Tomb number

KV 5

1336-1327

200 ft

160

40 m

220

160

Contour interval:

20 meters

180

KV 1

180

N

180

Yuya

and

Tuyu

KV 2

KV 3

KV 46

200

KV 4

180

200

220

KV 5

KV 45

KV 44

KV 7

200

Horemheb

KV 28

180

Sit-Ra

240

KV 8

KV 57

KV 60

KV 6

KV 55

KV 27

Akhenaten; Smenkhkare

Tutankhamun

KV 9

KV 21

KV 62

260

KV 63

KV 16

KV 56

KV 54

KV 17

KV 12

KV 19

KV 18

Amenhotep II;

Younger Lady

KV 58

200

KV 10

KV 48

KV 49

KV 50,51,52

KV 11

KV 20

KV 35

Thutmose IV

220

KV 61

KV 43

Thutmose I;

Hatshepsut

Maiherpri

KV 29

KV 36

240

KV 40

KV 13

KV 26

KV 47

KV 30

KV 59

200

260

KV 31

KV 14

Tiaa

KV 37

220

KV 32

KV 33

KV F

Thutmose I

KV 38

Thutmose III

280

KV 15

KV 34

260

Hatshepsut-

Meryetre

KV 42

Matthew W. Chwastyk, NGM Staff

Sources: Theban Mapping Project;

The Oxford history of Ancient Egypt,

Oxford University Press

(How was King Tut’s tomb found? Through grit and luck.)

King Tut’s mysterious death and lasting fame

One of the puzzles that has most vexed historians and scientists alike is how King Tut died.

Theories have abounded ever since British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered Tut’s tomb in 1922. Some suspect that he was murdered or died from malaria or another devastating disease.

Others have hypothesized that Tut’s chest—which is missing ribs and a sternum—might have been crushed in an accident or fall from his chariot.

Still others argue that he likely died an invalid, pointing to evidence of a clubfoot and canes that he may have used to walk.

(Discover King Tut's 5,000 treasures, by the numbers.)

Many of Tut’s treasures, including this figurine, were kept until recently at the cramped Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Artifacts long hidden in storage will be displayed—some for the first time—at the Grand Egyptian Museum.Photograph by Paolo Verzone, National Geographic

One thing scholars do know is that Tut was young when he died—still a teenager by most accounts—and his death was unexpected.

Tut’s final resting place was in fact an unfinished burial chamber intended for some other courtier, and evidence suggests that it was prepared for the king’s body in a hurry.

(The last missing tomb from this wealthy Egyptian dynasty has been found)

It’s unclear whether we will ever fully understand the life of Tutankhamen, the boy king. But centuries after his short reign, King Tut’s memory continues to captivate the world, not just at the Valley of the Kings, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1979. Artifacts for King Tutankhamun exhibits attract attention to the newly opened Grand Egyptian Museum.

5 fascinating facts about King Tut

King Tut was buried with golden sandals bearing images of his enemies, indicating that he “trampled” has foes wherever he went.

Scientists using digital imaging and DNA testing found that King Tut had a broken leg and likely died from an infection or a disease like malaria.

King Tut was buried in a golden coffin nested inside two other coffins.

Although King Tut’s tomb wasn’t ransacked like others in the Valley of the Kings, it had been broken into before. Only small items were stolen and ancient officials resealed the tomb.

King Tut was buried with more than 5,000 treasures, which took Howard Carter and his team 10 years to catalog.