Quick Facts
- Reign 1332–1323 BCE
- Dynasty 18th Dynasty
- Predecessor Akhenaten (father)
- Successor Ay (advisor)
- Known for The 1922 discovery of his nearly intact tomb by Howard Carter; his golden funerary mask
- Where to see his treasures Grand Egyptian Museum, Giza; his tomb, KV62, Valley of the Kings
In 1922, when Howard Carter’s lantern lit up a sealed doorway in the Valley of the Kings, he was looking at a tomb no one had touched in over 3,000 years. The king inside had ruled for less than a decade and left almost no political legacy — but the sheer intactness of his burial made him the most recognizable pharaoh in the world.
A Child King Rebuilding a Broken Kingdom
Tutankhamun was born around 1341 BCE, the son of Akhenaten, whose religious revolution had thrown Egypt’s temples, priesthood, and political order into disarray. He became pharaoh at around nine years old, in a kingdom his advisors Ay and Horemheb effectively ran while he grew into the throne.
Reversing His Father’s Revolution
Tutankhamun’s decade on the throne, from 1332 to 1323 BCE, wasn’t defined by conquest or construction — it was defined by undoing. Under Ay and Horemheb’s guidance, the temples of Amun that Akhenaten had shut reopened, traditional rituals resumed, and the priesthood regained the influence it had lost. It was quiet, largely administrative work, but it’s exactly what a fractured Egypt needed after over a decade of religious upheaval. He died before adulthood, before any of it could become a legacy of his own making.
A Death Still Debated
Tutankhamun died at 18 or 19, and the cause remains genuinely unresolved. CT scans and DNA testing have found signs of a clubfoot, other possible genetic conditions, and evidence consistent with malaria. Competing theories point to a chariot accident or, based on skull damage once read as a wound, murder — though the murder theory has largely fallen out of favor among Egyptologists working from the more recent imaging data.
Howard Carter’s Discovery
British archaeologist Howard Carter found Tutankhamun’s tomb in the Valley of the Kings in 1922 — sealed and, unlike nearly every other royal tomb, essentially untouched by ancient robbers. The discovery triggered “Tutmania,” a wave of global fascination with ancient Egypt that has never fully faded, along with the enduring (and largely mythical) “Curse of the Pharaohs,” fueled by the deaths of a handful of people connected to the excavation team.
What the Tomb Held
Over 5,000 objects came out of Tutankhamun’s tomb — jewelry, chariots, weapons, furniture, games, and the single artifact most people picture when they think of ancient Egypt: his golden funerary mask, inlaid with lapis lazuli and colored glass. Together, the objects offer one of the most complete pictures archaeology has of royal life, and afterlife preparation, in the New Kingdom. His successor, Ay, and later the general Horemheb, closed out the 18th Dynasty. Neither left an heir, so the throne passed to another soldier, Ramesses I, founding the 19th Dynasty that would run through Seti I, Ramesses II, and eventually Merneptah — the last reign in this line of New Kingdom pharaohs.
Visiting Today
Tutankhamun’s full collection — all 5,398 pieces, shown together for the first time — is now displayed at the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) near the Giza Pyramids, which opened to the public in November 2025. Tickets must be booked online in advance for a timed entry slot; there’s no on-site ticket sale. Budget at least 3–4 hours for the highlights, or a full day if you want to see all twelve permanent galleries. For current admission prices, hours, and a full breakdown of the collection, see our GEM visiting guide and Tutankhamun’s Grand Egyptian Museum collection.
His actual burial chamber, KV62 in the Valley of the Kings, is a separate add-on ticket beyond the general Valley admission. It’s worth knowing before you pay extra: the tomb itself is small and modestly decorated compared to grander tombs like Seti I’s — the mummy is still there, but the treasures that made it famous are now in Cairo, not Luxor. For the current add-on price, see the KV62 tomb guide.