Editing Tutankhamun (section)

===Religiopolitical countermand===
{{See also | Atenism}}

[[File:Spaziergang im Garten Amarna Berlin.jpg|thumb|right|Egyptian art of the Amarna period]]
At the beginning of Tutankhaten's reign, the royal court was still located at Amarna, and evidence from his tomb shows that the Aten was still acknowledged.{{sfn|Dodson|2009|pp=48–49}} But several pieces of evidence suggest that his court was trying to reconcile Atenism with the traditional religion,{{sfn|Reeves|1990|p=153}}{{sfn|Hornung|1999|p=117}}{{sfn|Dodson|2009|p=48}} and activity at Amarna decreased during the first four years of his reign.{{sfn|Dodson|2009|p=49}}

These years saw dramatic reversals of Akhenaten's policies, which, given the king's young age, must have been instigated by his advisors.{{sfn|Dodson|2009|pp=64–65}} In the third year of Tutankhaten's reign, his name was changed to "Tutankhamun", and that of his queen to "Ankhesenamun".{{sfn|Hornung|1999|p=116}}{{sfn|Dodson|2009|p=61}} The [[Restoration Stela]], dated to Year 4 of Tutankhamun's reign, characterizes the Amarna Period as a time of [[disaster]], saying:

<blockquote>
"Temples and the estates of the gods and goddesses from [[Elephantine]] to the marshes of the [[Nile Delta|Delta]] had fallen into ruin… If you asked a god for advice, he would not attend; and if one spoke to a goddess likewise she would not attend."{{sfn|Dodson|2009|p=63}}</blockquote>

The stela proclaims the rebuilding of the traditional cults;{{sfn|Dodson|2009|p=64}} priests and other members of temple staffs were restored to their former positions.{{sfn|Darnell|Manassa|2007|page=49}}

Around this time, the royal court abandoned Amarna.{{sfn|Tyldesley|2012|p=207}} Memphis became the main seat of royal administration,{{sfn|Tyldesley|2012|p=207}} continuing a trend that dated back to Akhenaten's predecessors, toward administering the country from that central location rather than the more outlying site of Thebes.{{sfn|Hornung|1999|p=64–66}} With Amun restored as Egypt's preeminent deity, Thebes once again became its greatest center of religious activity.{{sfn|Tyldesley|2012|p=207}}

Tutankhamun enriched and endowed the priestly orders of two important cults, initiated a restoration process for old monuments that were damaged during the [[Amarna Period]], and reburied his father's remains in the [[Valley of the Kings]]. Egyptologist Raymond Johnson has argued that it was in fact Tutankhamun himself, and not his successors, began reversing his Akhenaten's religious changes on a large scale.<ref name="m530"></ref>

[[File:Tutankhamun oriental institute Chicago.jpg|thumb|left|[[Quartzite]] statue thought to be of Tutankhamun from temple complex at [[Medinet Habu]]]]
In his third [[regnal year]] Tutankhamun reversed several changes made during his father's reign. He ended the worship of the god Aten and restored the god [[Amun]] to supremacy. The ban on the cult of Amun was lifted and traditional privileges were restored to its priesthood. The capital was moved back to [[Thebes, Egypt|Thebes]] and the city of [[Akhetaten]] was abandoned.<ref>[[Erik Hornung]], ''Akhenaten and the Religion of Light'', Translated by David Lorton, Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 2001, {{ISBN|0-8014-8725-0}}. p.</ref> As part of the restoration of the traditional cults, the king initiated building projects, in particular at [[Karnak]] in Thebes, where he laid out the [[sphinx]] avenue leading to the temple of [[Mut]]. The sphinxes were originally made for Akhenaten and Nefertiti; they were given new ram heads and small statues of the king.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Forbes |first1=D. C. |title=Seven Battered Osiride Figures in the Cairo Museum and the Sphinx Avenue of Tutankhamen at Karnak |journal=Amarna Letters |year=2000 |volume=4 |pages=82–87}}</ref> At Luxor temple he completed the decoration of the entrance colonnade of Amenhotep III.{{sfn|Dodson|2009|page=70}} Tutankhamun made several endowments that enriched and added to the priestly numbers of the cults of Amun and [[Ptah]]. He commissioned new statues of the deities from the best metals and stone and had new processional [[Barque#Barques and barque shrines in Ancient Egypt|barques]] made of the finest [[Cedar of Lebanon|cedar from Lebanon]] and had them embellished with gold and silver.{{sfn|Darnell|Manassa|2007|page=50}}

A building called the Temple-of-Nebkheperure-Beloved-of-Amun-Who-Puts-Thebes-in-Order, which may be identical to a building called Temple-of-Nebkheperre-in-Thebes, a possible mortuary temple, used recycled [[talatat]] from Akhenaten's east Karnak Aten temples indicating that the dismantling of these temples was already underway.{{sfn|Dodson|2009|pages=66–67}} Many of Tutankhamun's construction projects were uncompleted at the time of his death and were completed by or usurped by his successors, especially Horemheb. The sphinx avenue was completed by his successor Ay and the whole was usurped by Horemheb. The Restoration Stele was usurped by Horemheb; pieces of the Temple-of-Nebkheperure-in-Thebes were recycled into Horemheb's own building projects.{{sfn|Dodson|2009|pages=66–68}}

====During-life deification====
{{See also | List of pharaohs deified during lifetime}}

In ancient Egypt, pharaohs were venerated after their deaths through [[mortuary cult]]s and associated temples as [[List of people who have been considered deities|deities]]. This form of [[apotheosis]] was typically reserved for deceased pharaohs, but Tutankhamun was one of the few pharaohs who was worshiped in this manner during his lifetime.{{sfn|Redford|2003|page=85}} Temples of his cult were built as far away as in [[Kawa, Egypt|Kawa]] and [[Faras]] in [[Nubia]]. The title of the sister of the [[Viceroy of Kush]] included a reference to the deified king, indicative of the universality of his cult.{{sfn|Booth|2007|p=120}}
[[File:Tutankhamun cartouches.svg|150px|thumb|left|[[Cartouche]] left: ''[[Nomen (ancient Egypt)|Nomen]]'' "Tutankhamun, ruler of Upper Heliopolis".{{sfn|Robinson|2009|pages=90–91}}{{sfn|Collier|Manley|2003|page=28}} Right: ''[[Prenomen (Ancient Egypt)|Prenomen]]'' "Nebkheperura".{{sfn|Collier|Manley|2003|page=28}}]]

The [[Amenhotep called Huy#Stela of Huy|Stela of Huy]] from Karnak Temple is also evidential of the [[List of pharaohs deified during lifetime|lifetime deification of pharaoh Tutankhamun]]. It contains a hymn directed to the deified form of Tutankhamun. Below is an English translation

<blockquote>
Give praises the [[Ancient Egyptian conception of the soul|ka]] of [[Amun]], lord of Karnak homage to Amun, by whom swear the Two Lands<br>
and ... to the royal ka of Tutankhamun:<br>
that they may give a happy lifetime and a body, joyful, every day, to the ka of the royal son of Kush, the overseer of the countries of the south, Huy<br>
</blockquote>

The hymn clearly regards Tutankhamun with equivalent divinity as the god [[Amun]].<ref name="u966">{{cite web | title=Vol 40, fasc. 1: Annales du Service des Antiquités de l'Égypte (1940) : Service des Antiquités de l'Égypte : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive | website=Internet Archive | date=2016-10-23 | url=https://archive.org/details/ASAE-40-1-1940/page/n27/mode/2up | access-date=2025-01-31}}</ref>