Tutankhamen , orig. Tutankhaten, (flourished 14th century bc), Egyptian pharaoh (r. 1333–23 bc) of the 18th dynasty. When he took the throne at about age eight, he was advised to move back to Memphis from Akhetaton, the city of his father-in-law and predecessor, Akhenaton. During his reign the traditional religion was restored after the changes made by Akhenaton. Shortly before he died, while still in his teens, he sent troops to Syria to aid an ally against a group connected with the Hittites. Because his name was among those stricken from the royal lists during the 19th dynasty, his tomb’s location was forgotten and his burial chamber was not opened until 1922, when it was discovered by Howard Carter (1873–1939). Its treasures made Tutankhamen perhaps the best-known of the pharaohs despite his early death and limited accomplishments.
