Tutankhamun, or better known as King Tut, is an 18th dynasty pharaoh who inherited the throne at a young age. His reign was short-lived and upon his death he quickly faded into the sands of Egypt. Once forgotten, King Tut now remains one of Egypt’s grandest icons. He continues to hold the world’s fascination and yet he still continues to puzzle the world's leading experts. So many stories surround this pharaoh that at times it can be daunting.
According to the most important document of Tutankhamun's reign, the Restoration Stele, his father's supposed reforms left the country in a bad state. Consequently the traditional gods, seeing their temples in ruins and their cults abolished, had abandoned Egypt to chaos. When Tutankhamun came to the throne, his administration restored the old religion and moved the capital from Akhetaten back to its traditional home at Memphis. He changed his name from Tutankhaten - 'living image of Aten [the sun god]'
Although the reign of Tutankhamun is often thought to have little historical importance, his monuments tell a different story. He began repairing the damage inflicted upon the temples of Amun during Akhenaten's iconoclastic reign. He constructed his tomb in the Valley of the Kings, near that of Amenophis III, and one colossal statue still survives of the mortuary temple he began to build at Medinet Habu. He also continued construction at the temple of Karnak and finished the second of a pair of red granite lions at Soleb.
Uncertainty still surrounds his death. He may have been assassinated, or died as the result of an injury received while hunting.