Pharaohs were ancient Egyptian rulers who were both religious leaders and heads of state. Their importance in Ancient Egypt is undeniably paramount. Early Egyptian rulers were called kings but over time the name 'Pharaoh' became commonly used. The Pharaoh represents a middle intermediary between the Egyptians and the Gods. They are considered divine supreme beings.
Many of these images show either statues or death masks of Ancient Egyptian Pharaohs. Statues commemorated the Pharaoh that had passed. Death masks were created for souls to be able to recognize their bodies and return to them safely in the afterlife.
The Bridgeman archive is rich with Egyptian imagery, explore these exceptional images of some of the most famous Pharaohs in Ancient Egyptian History.
king of Egypt:
Who Was King Tut?
Genetic testing has verified that King Tut was the grandson of the great pharaoh Amenhotep III, and almost certainly the son of Akhenaten, a controversial figure in the history of the 18th dynasty of Egypt’s New Kingdom (c.1550-1295 B.C.). Akhenaten upended a centuries-old religious system to favor worship of a single deity, the sun god Aten, and moved Egypt’s religious capital from Thebes to Amarna.
After Akhenaten’s death, two intervening pharaohs briefly reigned before the nine-year-old prince, then called Tutankhaten, took the throne.
Did you know? Carter’s patron, Lord Carnarvon, died four months after first entering the tomb, leading journalists to popularize a “Curse of the Pharaohs,” claiming that hieroglyphs on the tomb walls promised swift death to those who disturbed King Tut. More than a dozen deaths have been attributed to the curse, but studies have shown that those who entered the tomb on average lived just as long as their peers who didn’t enter.
King Tut: Mummy and Tomb
After he died, Tutankhamun was mummified according to Egyptian religious tradition, which held that royal bodies should be preserved and provisioned for the afterlife. Embalmers removed his organs and wrapped him in resin-soaked bandages, a 24-pound solid gold portrait mask was placed over his head and shoulders and he was laid in a series of nested containers—three golden coffins, a granite sarcophagus and four gilded wooden shrines, the largest of which barely fit into the tomb’s burial chamber.
Because of his tomb’s small size, historians suggest King Tut’s death must have been unexpected and his burial rushed by Ay, who succeeded him as pharaoh. The tomb’s antechambers were packed to the ceiling with more than 5,000 artifacts, including furniture, chariots, clothes, weapons and 130 of the lame king’s walking sticks.
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