The Kingship of Tutankhamun from the Perspective of His Officialdom

Abstract

During Tutankhamun’s reign, the role of the king is subsumed. He may have been a symbolic centrality to Egypt, but in reality, he was a political puppet, probably due to his youth and forces beyond his control. Accordingly, Tutankhamun’s high officials were strongly expressed both in texts and images, which suggests that the high officials’ influence was, to some extent, unprecedented in Egyptian history. It is apparent that Tutankhamun’s government was controlled by a council of high officials who seized power behind the king. The most important men, such as Horemheb, Ay, and Maya, took on royal prerogatives expressed in texts and images. These suggest that the powers of the court officials seem to have increased during Tutankhamun’s reign, while the king was theoretically a symbolic centrality to Egypt.