Strange How Certain Figures Throughout the History

¶ … strange how certain figures throughout the history of man become the figures of such intrigue and mystery (Meyerson, 2009). Alexander the Great, Attila the Hun, Charlemagne are examples of such figures. These are all men that led full lives and accomplished great things but sharing the same level of notoriety is young man from ancient Egypt who died at 19 accomplishing very little other than becoming Pharaoh. For whatever reason, King Tutankhamen (King Tut) has been the center of much discussion and theorizing since his nearly intact tomb was discovered in 1922. Among the many areas of concern regarding King Tutankhamen has been the cause of his death. Even in ancient Egypt, death at 19 was unusual and for someone so privileged it would be exceedingly so.

There has been no shortage of theories offered to explain how King Tut died. Some have suggested that he was killed falling from a chariot while others suspect that there may have been some foul play (King, 2006). A particularly interesting theory is that he died of a congenital disease that he inherited from his family. In the nearly one hundred years since his tomb was discovered and opened, scientists and other experts have used whatever evidence they could to discern the cause of King Tut's death and, today, even with the benefits of DNA the speculation continues.

The most credible theory, and the most recent one offered, is one that has appeared in recent years through the work of Egypt's chief archaeologist, Dr. Zahi Hawass (Hawass, 2010). Dr. Hawass, using modern technology such as DNA testing and CAT scans has determined that the cause of King Tut's early demise was a combination of factors including an improperly healed leg fracture, an inherited bone disease, and malaria. Dr. Hawass and his team of scientists theorize that King Tut's unfortunate leg fracture touched off a series of events that ultimately resulted in Tut's being unable to withstand a bout with malaria. Hawass' team speculates that shortly before King Tut's death he fractured his leg and that the bone did not heal properly. Due to the complications of the healing, the young King was left frail and easily susceptible to infection and when he was exposed to the malaria he succumbed to its effects. The basis of Hawass' theory is that DNA traces of malaria parasite were found in Tut's blood.

In offering this new theory as to the cause of King Tut's death, Dr., Hawass also dispelled some of the other theories. For instance, he argues that the blow to the head theory is invalid due to the fact that the hole found in the back of Tut's skull was the result of the mummification process and not the result of trauma. The study also eliminated the theory that Tut suffered from Marfan syndrome which some have speculated led to his early demise. The CT scans conclusively determined that there is no evidence of such syndrome existing in Tut's family (Pusch, 2010).