The name "Tutankhamun" is derived from the
hieroglyphs
which translate as Tut-ankh-amun meaning the "Living Image of Amun."
Today,
many people refer to him as Tut.
When Tut was born, he was given the name Tutankhaten meaning the "Living Image of the Aten" - the Aten was the single god worshipped during the rule Akhenaten, the heretic king who is believed to have been the father of Tutankhamun.
Not long after Tutankhaten became Pharaoh, there was a restoration of the previously-deposed state god Amun and Tut's name was changed to Tutankhamun.
These days, Tut's name is found with differing
spellings, including Tutankhamun, Tutankhamen and Tutankhamon. In
reality,
we cannot be sure how the ancient Egyptians pronounced the name as they
did not write vowels. (Some hieroglyphs are transliterated as vowels,
since
they are weak consonants). Egyptologists add vowels to assist in
communicating
information.
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| Tutankhamun's Curse |
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| NOTE:
Some very good Tutankhamun-related books are listed under Rigby's Egypt Bookshop. |
Copyright © 1998-2006 Mark T. Rigby
