King Tut: Who's The Daddy?

The Time Of Tut

King Tut’s tomb was discovered by British archaeologist Howard Carter in the Valley of the Kings in 1922, and the boy king has been the most famous and mysterious Egyptian pharaoh ever since. Although his tomb yielded unmatched gold and other riches, it didn’t reveal the full story of King Tut.  To this day, experts are still hotly debating who his father was.

Tut is thought to have been born in 1341 BC in Akhetaten (modern day el-Amarna) before dying at the age of 19 in 1323 BC.  His reign took place during a period of considerable upheaval in Egypt. His predecessor, Akhenaten, had enraged the population to the point of near revolt by supplanting the traditional priesthood and deities with the god Aten. According to Akhenaten, this previously minor but now all-powerful god could only be served by worshipping Akhenaten himself. Unsurprisingly, like some modern leaders, Akhenaten was considered a dangerous heretic and madman.

The Madness Of King Akhenaten

But could this ancient despot have been the father of King Tut? Many scholars believe so. There is a strong resemblance between the two rulers, who share some unusual and distinctive physical characteristics. Similarities include the distinctive egg-shaped skull, spinal scoliosis, impacted wisdom teeth and cleft palate, and near identical jaw and cheekbones.

Archaeologists are are more confident that Akhenaten was Tut’s father since the discovery of an inscribed fragment of limestone block in Egypt recently. The piece was discovered in el Ashmunein, a village on the west bank of the Nile some 150 miles south of Cairo, and had originally come from el-Amarna. The fragment is thought to be the missing piece in the puzzle of King Tut’s heritage, proving at last that King Tut is Ahkenaten’s son. It also reveals that Tut married his half-sister, Akhenaten’s daughter Ankhesenamun.

Secret History

The block shows Tutankhamun and his wife, Ankhesenamun, seated together. The text identifies Tutankhamun as the 'king's son of his body, Tutankhaten,' and his wife as the 'king's daughter of his body, Ankhesenaten’. According to Zahi Hawass, chief of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, it is known from other sources that Ankhesenamun was the daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti, and so therefore Akhenaten is the only king that the block could refer to. The block proves, then, that Akhenaten was the father of Tut.

But will the finding finally put an end to the question of Tut's lineage? Akhenaten was publically proud of his six daughters to Nefertiti. If he had also had a son, surely he would have celebrated him and, crucially, named him as his successor? Instead, he made no reference to a son, and consciously chose a female co-regent named Neferneferuaten as his successor, rather than Tut.

There have been claims that Tut’s father could have been Akhenaten’s father Amenhotep III. Professor James Allen argues that Tut was more likely to be a son of the short-lived king Smenkhkare.  Evidence suggests that Smenkhkare may also have been the son of Amenhotep III, making him Akhenaten’s natural brother. It would make sense for the physical characteristics of Akhenaten to have been shared by his brother and father, and so Tut’s appearance could link him to any of these rulers. 

The Mummy's Mummy

The confusion over Tut’s father means that we still do not know who his mother was. Many scholars eliminate Nefertiti as she is generally thought to have provided Akhenaten with no sons, and Akhenaten’s secondary wife Kiya is thought more likely to have given birth to Tut. Smenkhkare’s wife was Meritaten, and there is some evidence linking her to Tut. A writing palette bearing an inscription to Meritaten was found in the tomb of King Tut in a position of importance between the paws of the Anubis figure atop the portable shrine-chest found positioned in the doorway of the Treasury.

The recent finding of the limestone block may close the case for some scholars who believe that it provides conclusive evidence that Akhenaten is the father of King Tut. But the alternative potential fathers, Amenhotep III and Smenkhkare, are so close to Akhenaten in time and family relationship that it may never be possible to quell all doubts about his parentage. Bolstered by the mystery of why nobody publicly claimed the title of the boy king’s father, the mystery of the father of King Tut will remain.

Image of Akhenaten by Ed Fladung. Image of King Tut by Sandro Vannini. All rights Reserved.

Written by Iain Martin.

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