King Tut: Royal Lineage

First and foremost, one of the most interesting facts about King Tut is his royal lineage. King Tut was confirmed by genetic tests to be the great-grandson of Amenhotep III and probably certainly the son of Akhenaten, a contentious figure in the 18th dynasty of Egypt's New Kingdom (c.1550-1295 B.C.). Akhenaten relocated Egypt's religious center from Thebes to Amarna, upending a long-standing religious order in favor of worshiping the sun god Aten. Before the 9-year-old prince, then known as Tutankhaten, ascended to the throne after the passing of Akhenaten, two interim pharaohs briefly held the kingdom.

Early in his reign, Tutankhamun undid Akhenaten's reforms, restoring Amun worship, Thebes as a center of religion, and modifying the last part of his name to signify royal fealty to the creator god Amun. He also collaborated with his strong advisors Horemheb and Ay, who would both become pharaohs, to elevate Egypt's standing in the area.