Who was Tutankhamun?

Although the treasures of Tutankhamun have made this young king known world wide, we really know very little about his life. We are not even sure who his parents were. Indeed, his parentage is one subject which keeps scholars busy, year after year, hence there are always new theories.

Perhaps the most convincing and currently acceptable is that he was the son of the heretic king Akhenaten. His mother was not Akhenaten's famous wife Nefertiti, but probably a minor wife of the king. Another popular theory makes Tutankhamun the half brother of Akhenaten, as son of the Pharaoh Amenophis III and his queen Tiye. Whoever his parents were, it is certain that he was of the Royal House of Amarna, and that his claim to the throne was strong enough for him to succeed as Pharaoh of all Egypt in about 1333 BC, when he was only nine years old.