How did Tutankhamun die?
No one knows for certain how **Tutankhamun**, often called **King Tut**, died. He became Pharaoh of Egypt when he was about nine years old and died when he was only about eighteen or nineteen.
For many years, people believed that King Tut had been murdered. Early X-rays seemed to show a blow to the back of his head, and some people thought an enemy had killed him. However, later CT scans showed that the damage to his skull probably happened after his death, during mummification or when archaeologists examined his mummy. Today, most experts no longer believe he was murdered.
Scientists have discovered that Tutankhamun had a badly broken leg. The break happened shortly before he died and had not begun to heal. Without modern medicines or antibiotics, such an injury could easily have become infected.
DNA tests also showed that Tutankhamun had suffered from malaria. Malaria would have weakened his body and made it much harder for him to recover from a serious injury.
Some historians think the broken leg may have happened when Tutankhamun fell from a chariot while hunting or travelling. Others think he may simply have fallen or been injured in another accident. There is no evidence to prove exactly how the leg was broken.
So what is the most likely answer?
Today, many Egyptologists think that Tutankhamun probably died from **a combination of a badly broken leg and malaria**, which together proved too much for his young body. Although we may never know the exact cause, modern scanning and DNA testing have helped solve much of the mystery.
**Did you know?** More than 130 walking sticks were found in Tutankhamun's tomb. Some experts think he may have had problems walking, while others believe the sticks were symbols of royal power or were used on hunting trips. Historians are still studying the evidence.
