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Smenkhare and Tuankhamon
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Smenkhare and Tutankhamun
These
two very special Pharaohs were possibly brothers or half brothers and together
they mark the transition from and end of the Amarna period.
However, they both pose a mystery almost as great as that of Akhenaton.
There is much physical evidence that pieces together a good mystery
regarding Tutankhamun, including his actual body which to any detective is an
essential element in the equation. As
for Smenkhare we have a body and a tomb but very little else!
The
young Smenkhare was the Co-regent of Akhenaton after the disappearance of
Nefertiti but he reigned for only a few months after the ‘departure’ of his
predecessor. He was succeeded
by the nine-year-old Tut-ankh-ATON . This
boy was more than likely a very
close blood relative, possibly his brother, or at least half brother.
Influenced by the high priest Aye to change his name to Tut-ankh-AMON, he
brought into effect the restoration of the old worship. The
mystery of Smenkhare is so bizarre that in reality it is perhaps the most
horrible thing that could ever happen to an Ancient Egyptian.
He was buried in a tomb without any inscriptions.
Even his face was defaced and the cartouches on the mummy form coffin
were removed. This meant that he
was condemned to an existence for eternity in the tomb. He quite literally could not escape. Aye had ritually buried the Aton and entombed it forever! It
was more than likely that Smenkhare was murdered by the connivance of Aye and
possibly Horemhab. However, there
is even greater evidence for the murder of Tutankhamun by Aye, for he stole the
young boy king’s tomb and forced his young widow to marry him so he could
ascend the throne. The
reason for Tutankhamun's murder was that according to the evidence of his
new throne, which bore the sacred image of the Aton, he was reverting back to
the worship of the Aton. As he
reached adolescence he wanted to be free of the restraints placed upon him by
the ageing Aye. He perhaps longed
for the beauty and freedom of Amarna where he undoubtedly spent his infancy and
boyhood. That must have been
paradise compared with the stuffy pomp of Thebes with the priests of Karnak
wanting to rule the country through him in the name of Amon. Tutankhamun
was given a reasonably lavish burial in a hurriedly made vault in the Valley of
the Kings. Howard Carter only found
it because its entrance was used as a dumping ground for rubble during the
construction of the nearby tomb for Horemhab who succeeded Aye after his short
reign of 4 years. What
we must note is that very many of the artifacts found in the tomb of the boy
king are in fact items belonging to his brother, Smenkhare.
Compare the faces on the two coffin lids, they are totally different.
The second, more elaborate one bears the features of Smenkhare whilst the
solid gold coffin bears the likeness of its occupier Tutankhamun! Aye, not wanting to waste anything from the despoiled tomb of Smenkhare. He simply had the cartouches changed for the new recipient. A simple deception that ensured nothing went to waste, especially as very few people would ever see the middle of the three coffins, so as long as the solid gold innermost and the outermost coffins bore the real likeness then none would be any the wiser. |
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