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THE BOY KING
WORLD HISTORY PLAY
The discovery of a long-iost tomb made a teenage king who lived more than 3,000 years ago an international superstar
Narrator A: His name is world-famous: Tut, short for Tut-ankhamun [too-tong-KAH-mun]. He lived a long time ago, about 1300 B.C. He's known as the boy-king because he became the leader of Egypt when he was only 9 years old. Today, people know a lot about Tut's life and the lives of Egyptians at that time. But until 1922-less than a century ago-almost no one knew that he had ever existed.
Narrator B: In 1922, a British archaeologist named Howard Carter found Tut's tomb. The discovery gave historians-and the world-a breathtaking glimpse into the past.
Narrator C: Who was Tut and why do we remember him? His story begins in the mid-1300s B.C. A man named Akhenaton is Egypt's pharaoh [FAIR-oh], or king. The people consider Akhenaton and all other pharaohs to be sons of their sun god.
SCENE 1
Narrator D: Akhenaton rules a people who believe in many gods and goddesses: sacred figures who rule the sun, the winds, the mighty river Nile, even the afterlife. But Akhenaton has other ideas. One day in his royal residence, in the city of Amarna…
Akhenaton: I've called in the priests and generals and made my commands clear. From this moment on, all temples not dedicated to Aton [AH-ton], god of the sun, are to be closed. Our people will worship only one god: Aton!
Nefertiti: Won't this anger all the other gods? Our children, your brothers, our city, the empire-all will suffer!
Akhenaton: No! I moved our country's capital from Thebes and built this beautiful new capital of Amarna to honor Aton. I changed my name to Akhenaton, which means "it goes well with Aton," and call my little brother Tutankh-aton, meaning "the living image of Aton." But that isn't enough-everyone must honor Aton!
Nefertiti: Our people already pray to Aton, and they honor you as his son. But we must pray to the other gods too. They keep our crops growing and the river Nile flowing.
Akhenaton (angrily): Enough! Everyone must praise Aton, and Aton alone. We'll be fine!
Narrator E: Throughout the land, Akhenaton's declaration sets off shock waves. In Abydos [uh-BYE-dus], at the temple of Osiris, the god of the dead…
Priest 1: How could a pharaoh make a rule like this? The sun god has always been important, but everyone knows that Amun is chief of the gods!
Priest 2: Every day, people come and ask me, "Can the news be true? How could Pharaoh close the temples? What should we do?"
SCENE 2
Narrator A: When Akhenaton was growing up, the pharaoh's word was obeyed without question. He's surprised to encounter so much resistance to his order to close the temples. Perhaps hoping to gain greater public support, he appoints his younger brother Smenkhara [smenk-KAR-ay] as co-pharaoh.
Narrator B: As the two older brothers cope with matters of state, Tutankhaton is busy being a normal kid (a normal royal kid, that is). One day, when he is 9…
Nefertiti: Hello, little brother! What have you been up to today?
Tutankhaton: My tutor gave me hours of lessons in geography, mathematics, and military strategy. Then I practiced horseback riding and using a bow and arrows.
Nefertiti: You've been doing all that since you were 4.
Tut: Yes, but it's a lot of work!
Narrator C: A messenger dashes into the room.
Nefertiti: What is it? Speak, boy!
Messenger: You and the young prince must come at once, Great Queen. Your husband and his brother are dead!
Narrator D: It's true-Akhenaton and Smenkhara are dead. Were they poisoned? No one knows for sure who killed them. Usually, the pharaoh's son becomes the next pharaoh, but Akhenaton and Nefertiti had only daughters. So Tut, as the pharaoh's oldest living brother, must take the throne.
Tut: I'm only 9! How can I rule an empire?
Nefertiti: I'll help you. So will the priest Ay, and Horemheb [HOH-rem-heb], our armies' top general.
Tut: Now I see why I had to study so hard.
Nefertiti: Tomorrow, the priests will present you to the people as pharaoh, Son of the Sun. Then, following tradition, you'll marry a member of the royal family-another descendant of the sun.
Tut: My father married outside the family. My mother, Queen Tiya [TEE-yuh], was from Nubia, the region south of our empire.
Nefertiti: Yes, but too many traditions have been broken lately. The priests and the people want things back to normal. You're going to marry Ankhesenamun, daughter of Akhenaton and me.
SCENE 3
Narrator E: Tut marries Akhena-ton's daughter, and they become king and queen of Egypt. Advisers and priests encourage Tutankhaton to change his name, which he does: He becomes Tutankhamun. The new name honors Amun, the traditional chief god, rather than Aton. Tut moves the capital back to the city of Thebes. The people are free to worship all gods again.
Narrator A: Until Tut is older, Horemheb and Ay wield the real power. But the gentle boy king is much loved by his people. As Tut nears his 18th birthday …
Ankhesenamun: What do you wish for your birthday, dear one? Tut: We have no descendants yet, but I'm sure the gods will bless us with many children to rule Egypt when we're gone. But you and I are still young. We'll live and prosper for many years to come.
Ankhesenamun: Of course! But you're wise to have planned for your journey into the afterlife. Your tomb is already built. Now workers are filling it with objects that will please and comfort you for all time.
Narrator B: For Tut, the afterlife comes sooner than expected. He dies at age 18, of causes still unknown. His body is mummi-fied-preserved as all wealthy Egyptians of his day are. When the mummy is ready, it's placed in his tomb in the Valley of the Kings-a site kept secret to protect the tomb from grave robbers. The tomb is filled with everything a king might need in the afterlife, including gold, jewels, and other treasures. Then it's sealed, leaving Tut to make his way to the afterlife.
Narrator C: A few years later, Horemheb takes over as pharaoh. One of the first things he does is wipe out all signs that his predecessors ever existed. He orders all monuments to Tutankhamun, Akhenaton, and Smenkhara hidden or destroyed. As the years go by, the reign and name of the boy king Tutankhamun are forgotten.
SCENE 4
Narrator D: About 3,000 years later, in the summer of 1922, a man named Howard Carter is fighting to hold on to a dream.
Lord Carnarvon: Like you, Mr. Carter, I believe that somewhere out there lies the undiscovered tomb of a little-known pharaoh named Tut. I've given you a great deal of money to look for it, but your work has turned up nothing.
Howard Carter: Please don't cut off your support yet, Lord Carnarvon! I'm sure that we're on the right track. No one has looked ' below the tomb of Ramses VI yet!
Lady Evelyn: Why would they build one tomb on top of the other?
Carter: The pharaohs ruled Egypt for thousands of years. Centuries of wind and sand eventually covered even the tallest tombs. So much time went by, the location of Tuft tomb was forgotten.
Carnarvon: But we know that Tut existed, and we know that every pharaoh was grandly buried. So his tomb must be out there!
Narrator E: Carnarvon agrees to support Carter's search a while longer. Carter and his crew work hard but find nothing. Then, on November 4…
Ahmed Gurgar: Mr. Carter, come quickly! We've found something! (They run to the site.) Look!
Carter (digging further): It's a step! Call in the men-we'll dig all night if we have to!
Narrator A: They find more steps-and a doorway beyond. Carter sends word to Carnarvon to come at once.
SCENE 5
Narrator B: On November 26, 1922, all is ready. Carter drills through the doors till he has room to stick a candle and his head inside. Behind him, the others hold their breaths in suspense. Silence. Then . . .
Carnarvon (anxiously): Can you see anything?
Carter (in amazement): Yes! Wonderful things.
EPILOGUE
Narrator C: At that moment, Carter was gazing at objects unseen for more than 3,000 years. The candle's flame picked up the gleam of gold everywhere. They found hundreds of objects in that first room alone; in all, four rooms were found.
Narrator D: In the 92 years since, experts have studied every item found in Tuft tomb. Carter's amazing discovery gave a huge boost to our knowledge of ancient Egypt-and secured young Tut's place in history for all time.
Characters
AKHENATON lah-ken-AH-tonl, pharaoh and Tuts oldest brother
NEFERTITI (neh-fur-TEE-tee), Akhenatons wife
*PRIEST 1, faithful to Amun (AH-mun), Egyptian god of the wind
*PRIEST 2, feithful to Osiris (oh-SY-rus), Egyptian god of the dead
TUTANKHATON (too-tong-KAH-ton), a boy of royal birth Hater known as Tutankhamun)
* MESSENGER, a young boy
ANKHESENAMUN (onk-ess-en-AH-mun), one of Akhenaton and NefertitiS daughters
LORD CARNARVON, a wealthy British nobleman
HOWARD CARTER, a British archaeologist
LADY EVELYN, Lord Carnarvon's daughter
AHMED GURGAR, the foreman of a team of Egyptian laborers
NARRATORSA-E
*Indicates a fictional or composite character. All others were real people.
The jewel-and-crystal-encrusted golden coffin of Egypt's King Tut
Experts carefully tend to Tut's mummy as they move it from its stone coffin to a climate-controlled glass box
British archaeologist Howard Carter (far right) at King Tut's tomb in 1923. Below: Artwork on Tut's golden throne show him with his wife Ankhesenamun.
