The most famous Egyptian pharaoh today is, without doubt, Tutankhamun.

However, before the spectacular discovery of his almost intact tomb in the Valley of the Kings in November 1922, Tutankhamun was only a little known figure of the late 18th Dynasty

Tutankhamun was only eight or nine when hebecame ruler of Eygpt. As King at such a young age, most of the decision-making was made by two senior figures, likely to have been Ay (father of Nefertiti) and Horemheb, an army commander.

 Tutankhamun was

only King for about ten years before dying in his late teens. It was estimated that he ruled from 1333 BC to 1324 BC.

Over the years, scientists have used available technology to determine the cause of Tutankhamun's death. The two most popular theories about his death are that he suffered a blow to the back of the head, either accidentally or deliberately (in other words, murder), or that he broke or fractured his leg which became infected an infection that led to his death possibly only days later.

 The small tomb contained hundreds of objects (now

housed in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo), many richly decorated and covered in gold, that would be needed by the king in his afterlife.Tutankhamun's Treasures Over 3,000 treasures were placed in the tomb to help Tutankhamen in his afterlife, and the walls of the burial chamber were painted with scenes of his voyage to the afterworld.

 There are different variations of the spelling

of Tutankhamun. It can be spelt asTutankhamon or Tutankhamen.

 Despite being one of the most well-known of the

Egyptian pharoahs to modern people, evidence of Tutankhamun's reign was obliterated shortly after his death. The ruler of Eygpt after the death of Tutankhamun's successor was Horemheb, who replaced Tutankhamun's name with his own on many monuments bearing Tutankhamun's name.

 Tutankhamun's tomb was

discovered on 4th November 1922 by Egyptologist Howard Carter. It was was so well-preserved that we are able to get a more complete insight of Tutankhamun's life due. Tutankhamun's remains are still contained in his tomb in the Valley of the Kings at Luxor, Egypt. His famous burial mask is on public display in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo (in the only air-conditioned room in the building!).

 CAT scans on Tutankhamun's body in 2005 revealed

that the King was about 5 foot, 8 inches tall (180 cm). He was of slight build but was well nourished.

 Tutankhamun was buried in a hastily prepared tomb

in the Valley of the Kings at Thebes, the traditional burial place of his predecessors. The person responsible for his burial, and shown on one of the walls in Tutankhamun's tomb, was Ay who succeeded him on the Egyptian throne

 Certain strange events are said to have happened after the discovery of

Tutankhamun's tomb and removal of items from it. The media at the time put this down to The Curse of Tutankhamun or the Pharaoh's Curse. Financial support for the the project that later led to Howard Carter's discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb came from Lord Carnarvon. However, in April 1923, seven weeks after the official opening of Tutankhamun's burial chamber, Carnarvon died after a mosquito bite on his cheek became infected. After lifting Tutankhamun's death mask, it was found that the pharaoh himself had a lesion in the same place on his cheek. At the same time of Carnarvon's death, the lights in Cairo went out (although this apparently was a fairly common occurrence) and back at home in England, Lord Carnarvon's dog Susie howled and dropped dead. Also quite spooky was the fact that Howard Carter's pet canary was eaten by a snake on the day of the opening of the tomb. The media speculated that a number of people involved with the opening of Tutankhamun's tomb died shortly afterwards, but tend to ignore the fact the the majority actually survived to a ripe old age, and most of those that died shortly afterwards were quite elderly or in poor health anyway.