Tutankhamun

Auteur

Martin Bommas is an Egyptologist and former Professor and Museum Director at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. He previously taught Egyptology at universities in Germany, Switzerland, Italy and the UK. Research fellowships include Harvard University (2013) and the John P. Getty Center, Los Angeles, USA (201617). He is the founding director of the Qubbet el-Hawa Research Project.

Résumé

Over a century after his discovery, this comprehensive biography of Tutankhamun explores a wealth of evidence, including archaeological and ancient textual sources, DNA analysis and CT scanning, bringing to life a pharaoh who has remained elusive apart from his grandiose tomb treasures.

For the first time, this volume identifies the names of Tutankhamun's biological parents, tracing the footsteps of his short life that was marked by genetic defects and physical deterioration. Between his early days and his untimely death, Tutankhamun (previously Tutankhaten) appears as a child of his time; he was torn between the cult of the Aten and the restoration of the cult of Amun, a campaign in which he personally played a leading role. Equipped with a thorough education, gifted with a brilliant mind and living mostly in solitude, readers will follow in detail how Tutankhamun secured the survival of the 18th Dynasty. This book traces Tutankhamun's involvement in processes which can still be felt in Egypt today. His complex personality is reconstructed based on archaeological evidencesome of which has never been discussed previouslyand conclusions drawn from both scientific research and a deep understanding of the context in which he lived. By also considering the lives of those who were close to the teenage king, this book delivers a comprehensive source-based biography of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh. Complete with intensive references to international scholarship, visual sources and maps, and excluding the tomb treasures created after his physical death, this book is a fresh and original approach to understanding the lifenot afterlifeof the most popular pharaoh of modern times.

Tutankhamun: A Biography is suitable for students, scholars and non-specialist readers interested in the life of Tutankhamun, as well as those working on ancient Egyptian history and religion more broadly, particularly that of New Kingdom Egypt.

Contenu

Introduction; 1. The Empire at Its HeightFrom Thutmosis III to Amenhotep III; 2. Aten on the Horizon; 3. Life Under the Living Aten; 4. An Unlikely King is Born; 5. An Unhappy Childhood; 6. Unwinding in the Palace; 7. Unwrapping Tutankhamun; 8. Uncovering Tutankhaten's First Steps as a King; 9. Unboxing in Memphis; 10. Being Tutankhamun; 11. Tutankhamun Makes the Temples Festive With Offerings; 12. Untimely Death; Chronology.