Head Office : 145 Praed Street London W2 1RL
|
Representation Office in Cairo Tel : + 2 010 1077438 Fax : + 2 02 2635253 Head Office in London : Tel : + 44 (0) 20 7706 0900 Fax :+ 44 (0) 20 7706 1991 |
|
|
Pharos & Queens
|
Head Office : 145 Praed Street London W2 1RL
Pharos & Queens
|
|
|
Egypt Hotels Nile Cruises Special Offers
Tutankhamun (ruled 1361-52 BC) The most famous Egyptian pharaoh today is, without doubt, Tutankhamun. The boy king died in his late teens and remained at rest in Egypt's Valley of the Kings for over 3,300 years. He was only about 18 years old when he died, and as a pharaoh of Egypt he had
no great claim to fame. Tutankhamun (originally Tutankhaten) owes his place in
history mostly to the discovery of his tomb completely intact and not violated
by grave robbers in 1922. The remarkable artifacts from the tomb, including the
beautiful golden mask, Carter had been searching for the tomb for a number of years and Carnarvon had decided that enough time and money had been expended with little return. However, Carter managed to persaude his patron to fund one more season and within days of resuming the tomb was found. Today, the tomb still contains the pharaoh's remains, hidden from view inside the outermost of three coffins. He is the only pharaoh still residing in the Valley of the Kings - as far as we know! The tomb itself is very small and appears to have been destined for someone of lesser importance. Tutankhamun's unexpected early demise saw the tomb's rushed modification to accommodate the pharaoh. (tomb layout illustration).
The only part of the complex that contains wall paintings is the Burial Chamber. One of the scenes, shown below, depicts the Opening of the Mouth Ceremony where the senses are restored to the deceased Tutankhamun. In this case the person performing this duty is Ay, who became the next pharaoh. (Photograph of wall painting - non-copyright postcard.)
It contained four gilded shrines nested one inside the other. The innermost of these covered a stone sarcophagus. Inside that were three coffins - the innermost being made of 110 kilograms of solid gold. Inside that lay the pharaoh himself wearing the famous gold mask.
Innermost Coffin Adjacent to the Burial Chamber was the so-called Treasury which was home to much of the supporting equipment for Tutankhamun's afterlife. It contained a dazzling array of boats, gilded figures and the canopic chest within which were various internal organs belonging to the ancient king. Gathered around the chest in their protective stance were four beautiful gilded figures of goddesses. Just inside the entrance to the room was the protective black figure of Anubis in the form of a recumbant jackal. The Antechamber contained dismantled chariots, containers of food, various funeral couches, thrones, and two black guardian figures at the entrance of the Burial Chamber. It was this area that was first seen when Carter made a hole in the blocked-off far end of the entry passage. A small Annex was a jumble of other equipment. Carter concluded that the tomb had been broken into on two occasions soon after the pharaoh was buried. After each break-in the tomb was resealed by officials of the necropolis. Fortunately, the tomb robbers did not get away with too much and much of the material sealed in with Tutankhamun may now be viewed in Cairo's Egyptian Museum with a few items in the Luxor Museum.
CLEOPATRA (69-30 BC)
Cleopatra was of Greek heritage and culture, one of the Ptolemy line set on the throne of Egypt after the conquest of Alexander the Great . Her father, Ptolemy XII, named her and his elder son, Ptolemy, joint rulers. Cleopatra came to the throne in 51 BC. Three years later young Ptolemy supporters had Cleopatra driven into exile. In 48 BC Caesar appeared in Egypt in pursuit of his rival, Pompey. When Cleopatra heard that Caesar was in the palace in Alexandria, she had one of her attendants carry her to him, rolled up in a rug offered as a gift. Captivated by her charm, the 52-year-old Roman helped her regain her throne. Ptolemy XIII was drowned, and Caesar made Cleopatra's younger brother, Ptolemy XIV, joint ruler with her. Cleopatra bore Caesar a son, called Caesarion, meaning "little Caesar." When Caesar returned to Rome, she followed him with their baby and lived in Caesar's villa outside of Rome, where he visited her constantly. After Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC, Cleopatra returned to Egypt. Soon after, Ptolemy XIV died, and the queen named her son Caesarion co-ruler with her as Ptolemy Caesar. Civil war followed Caesar's assassination, and the Roman Empire was divided. Marc Antony, as ruler of the eastern empire, summoned Cleopatra to Tarsus, in Asia Minor, to answer charges that she had aided his enemies . The queen arrived, dressed as Venus,on a magnificent river barge. She welcomed Antony with feasting and entertainment. Fascinated by her, he followed her to Alexandria. After a festive winter with Cleopatra, Antony returned to Rome. He married Octavia, sister of Octavian (later called Augustus), though he still loved Cleopatra, who had borne him twins. When he went east again, in an expedition against the Parthians, he sent for her and they were married. Octavian was furious and declared war on Cleopatra . Antony and Cleopatra assembled 500 ships. Octavian blockaded them off the west coast of Greece, and the famous 31 BC battle of Actium followed. Cleopatra slipped through the blockade and Antony followed her, but his fleet surrendered. The next year Octavian reached Alexandria and again defeated Antony. Cleopatra took refuge in the mausoleum she had had built for herself. Antony, informed that Cleopatra was dead he, in true Roman fashion, fell upon his sword. Soon another messenger arrived, saying Cleopatra still lived. Antony insisted on being carried to her and died in her arms. Later Cleopatra committed suicide tradition says by the bite of a poisonous asp.
In the 14th century BC the Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep IV undertook a religious reform by displacing all the traditional deities with the sun-god Aton . In the god's honor, the pharaoh changed his name to Akhenaton, which means "It is well with Aton." Akhenaton (also Ikhnaton) ruled from 1379 to 1362 BC. His queen, Nefertiti (also Nofretete), was one of the most famous women in Egyptian history. On his death, he was succeeded by the boy-king Tutankhamun, the discovery of whose tomb in 1922 was an archaeological sensation. Akhenaton's reform was one of the earliest attempts to enforce monotheism, the belief in one god. Images and inscriptions of other gods were all removed. To further enforce his views, Akhenaton moved the country's capital from Thebes to a site 200 miles (300 kilometers) north, which he called Akhetaton (now called Tell el Amarna). Akhenaton's reforms, and the artistic and literary revival that accompanied them, did not survive for long. So much of his time was devoted to religion that the powerful Egyptian Empire began to disintegrate. This, combined with the opposition of the priests of the displaced gods, worked to undermine the new religion. After Akhenaton's death the capital was moved back to Thebes and the former gods restored.
Nefertiti was the queen-consort of the controversial Egyptian king AKHENATEN (r. 1380-1362 BC) of the 18th dynasty. She appears to have lost favor with her husband after the 14th year of his reign. A famous bust of Nefertiti, dating from c.1363-1343 BC and made of painted limestone, is now in the Staatliche Museen, Berlin. It is a masterpiece of the new, naturalistic style in Egyptian art of the Amarna period. The Cairo Museum contains an unfinished quartzite head of the same period; it is also believed to represent Nefertiti.
Home (Egypt Hotel Reservation Centre)
|
|
Link to our head
office in London
www.londonreservation .com
Copyright © 1999 - 2008 Egypt Hotel Reservation Centre |
are on
display at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Tutankhamun was possibly the son of
Amenhotep III, an earlier 18th-dynasty king, and his wife Tiy. Tutankhamun
became king after the death of Akhenaton the religious reformer who died in 1362
BC. He married Akhenaton's third daughter to solidify his claim to the throne.
During most of his rule he resided at ancient Memphis, near present-day Cairo.
The religious reforms of Akhenaton were reversed, though there was no
persecution of followers of Aton, Akhenaton's god. During a war with the Hittite
people, Tutankhamun suddenly died, leaving no heirs. He was buried in the Valley
of the Tombs of the Kings in southern Egypt north of Luxor. All tombs were meant
to be secret, but of the 60 known tombs in the valley only that of Tutankhamun
was not discovered and its treasures stolen. It was not discovered earlier in
part because his name, along with that of other pharaohs of his dynasty, 
was
removed from the royal lists during the 19th dynasty. In the 20th dynasty, when
the tomb of Ramses VI was carved immediately above his, rubble covered his
burial place. The burial chamber was not entered until found in 1922 by British
Egyptologist Howard Carter after several years of searching.
One of the most fascinating women of all time was
Cleopatra VII, queen of Egypt. She had great intelligence and beauty, and she
used both to further Egypt's political aims.
