Hippopotamus, pain reliever and disgruntled wife: what killed the pharaohs of Egypt and their relatives

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Ancient Egyptian civilization in popular culture is covered with an aura of mystery. At the same time, in fact, it is one of the most studied civilizations of antiquity. This is due to the fact that the Egyptians were very fond of writing, drawing and carving statues. Although much in the life of ordinary Egyptians and their rulers is still hidden by the veil of centuries, Egyptologists still managed to study and learn a lot about how the Egyptians lived and how they died.

And most of all the information remained, of course, on the pharaohs and their loved ones: their deeds, circumstances of birth and death were entered in the annals. In addition, many mummies remained from them, which can be studied using tomography and DNA analysis.

One of the most famous rulers of Ancient Egypt is the young Tutankhamun. The death mask of the king was a portrait of a handsome youth. They immediately began to speculate and create legends around the personality of Tutankhamun. Such an early death of the king was especially intriguing.

Assumptions included conspiracy murder and injury from falling from a chariot along the way. The second version could explain the fact that Tutankhamun's right hand was missing fingers, and traces of fractures were found on his legs.

The latest study revealed that just before his death, the young man suffered from malaria. Taking into account the fact that medicines for malaria were put in his tomb, it is most likely that he died from it.

As for lameness and lack of fingers, the pharaoh's body was gradually undermined by necrosis of the limbs due to genetic problems caused by generations of incest in his dynasty. Incest between ancestors could also be the reason that Tutankhamun was born with a "cleft palate." He himself was married either to his own, or to a cousin.

In any case, the dynasty ended on Tutankhamun: his children were born dead, so he left no heirs.

But the mother of Tutankhamun, one of the daughters of Amenhotep III, the sister of the pharaohs Akhenaten and Smekhkara and, probably, the wife of Akhenaten, clearly did not die of her own accord. At first, archaeologists believed that the deep wound on the queen's face was the work of grave robbers, but later research showed that it was this wound that became fatal for Tutankhamun's mother. Whether it was an accident or a murder is still unclear. But the queen died at about 25 years old.

As for Akhenaten himself, he was probably poisoned: there are records of an attempt on his life, and the pharaoh himself lived less than forty years.

Whether it is Ramses II from the next dynasty! That's who exactly died of old age, having lived to about 90 years. During his life, he managed to become the father of one hundred and eleven boys and fifty girls. In addition to his active politics, hot temper and red hair, Ramses II was known for constantly training on the run. The fact is that once every thirty years he participated in a kind of ritual race with the sacred vessels in his hand. If the pharaoh could not run the distance, it would be considered a bad omen. But Ramses himself knew perfectly well that it was all about training.

By the way, the ancient Egyptians were generally known as fast runners.

His namesake from the next dynasty, Ramses III, also lived for quite a long time, but was killed as a result of a conspiracy by one of his disgruntled wives. For a long time it was unclear exactly how he died. Poisoning or a deep but initially non-fatal wound that was poorly treated was suggested. Finally, a tomogram of the neck put everything in its place. Ramses was slashed in the throat with a knife. He died almost instantly.

The conspirators were tried. One of them, a young prince, the son of the same wife, who, perhaps, stabbed his father, was sentenced to a name change. The annals also indicate that he committed suicide out of shame, but a modern autopsy revealed that the prince was tied up and strangled. Then he was hastily embalmed, wrapped in "unclean" goatskin and buried in a simple coffin.

It is still unknown how the famous Nefertiti died. This is not in the annals, and the queen's mummy has not yet been found. It is only clear that Akhenaten, who at first was delighted with his wife, lost interest in her by about her 30 years. Her story can hardly be called a story of great love and family happiness.

For a long time it was suspected that the ruling queen Hatshepsut was killed by her successor and stepson, Thutmose III. He hated her so much that, becoming pharaoh, he ordered to erase all references to her. Of course, it won't erase everything.

However, analysis of the queen's remains revealed that she was an obese woman in her fifties, suffered from arthritis, dental problems and diabetes, and died of liver cancer. The cancer probably developed from a very dangerous substance that was used to make pain relievers. The queen most likely rubbed herself with medicine to relieve pain in her teeth and joints.

There is another version: Hatshepsut did not have time to die of cancer, because she died of blood poisoning after she had a bad tooth pulled out.

Not all pharaohs died in the palace. So, the kings of Senebkai and Sekenenra, although they lived at different times, both died in a battle with the invaders from the Hyksos tribe. Senebkai fought on horseback and was first knocked out of the saddle. Sekenenra fought on foot. It seems that the Hyksos were a constant headache for the Egyptians.

And Pharaoh Menes was ingloriously trampled by a hippopotamus during the pharaohs' favorite pastime - hunting hippos.

Although the deaths of the pharaohs were different, there was something in common between them: just like the Vikings, they wore makeup and, like the Europeans of the Gallant Age, they wore wigs.