curse of tutankhamun

Became king at the early age of nine.
Died mysteriously at the age of eighteen.
Mysterious curse thought to be responsible for the deaths of almost two dozen people involved with the discovery of his tomb.
Since his tomb was first discovered in 1922, the life of King Tut has continued to mystify and enthrall both historians and amateur sleuths alike. The young age of the ruler, his mysterious death and the curse that continues to be associated with ancient Egypt and King Tut have only increased the world's fascination with King Tut's life history..

Tutankhamun (1341 BC - 1323 BC) was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty (ruled 1333 BC - 1324 BC in the conventional chronology), during the period of Egyptian history known as the New Kingdom. His original name, Tutankhaten, means "Living Image of Aten", while Tutankhamun means "Living Image of Amun." In hieroglyphs the name Tutankhamun was typically written Amen-tut-ankh, because of a scribal custom that placed a divine name at the beginning of a phrase to show appropriate reverence. He is possibly also the Nibhurrereya of the Amarna letters. He was likely the 18th dynasty king 'Rathotis' who, according to Manetho, an ancient historian, had reigned for nine years - a figure which conforms with Flavius Josephus's version of Manetho's Epitome..

The 1922 discovery by Howard Carter of Tutankhamun's intact tomb received worldwide press coverage. It sparked a renewed public interest in ancient Egypt, for which Tutankhamun's burial mask remains the popular symbol. Exhibits of artifacts from his tomb have toured the world. In February 2010, the results of DNA tests confirmed that Tutankhamun was the son of Akhenaten (mummy KV55) and his sister/wife (mummy KV35YL), whose name is unknown but whose remains are positively identified as "The Younger Lady" mummy found in KV35..