Thaindian News

By Gina Gomez
Feb 17, (THAINDIAN NEWS) According to latest researches, Tutankhamun, one of the most celebrated pharaohs, had died of malaria and also sported a club foot. The genetic researches proved the powerful and majestic ruler image of Tutankhamun wrong. The tests found evidence that Tutankhamun was infected with plasmodium falciparum, the parasite which often causes a very dangerous form of malaria.

Many scholars had earlier researched that Tutankhamun had apparently died of an accident. It had been speculated that he had possibly fallen from the chariot, been murdered by a blow on the back of his head, was poisoned, or had been kicked by a horse or some animal. The genetic fingerprinting scans revealed that he had various disorders which he inherited from his predecessors, like club foot and bone disease.

The scientific researches depicted that Tutankhamun was apparently “a young but frail king who needed canes to walk.” The study said he suffered from bone-necrotic and the Koehler disease II. He was also inflicted in the right foot with oligodactyly or hypophalangism and his left foot was clubbed.

Researchers from Italy, Germany, Egypt tested DNA from 11 mummies which included that of the boy king Tutankhamun. The tests showed that it seems quite improbable that he or his father had feminine physiques, as has been depicted in the artifacts from that era. Tutankhamun, who died at the age of 19, probably died in his “immuno-deficit state.” According to reports, Tutankhamun even fathered two children, who were girls. Both of them probably died in the womb. The new genetic analysis of Tutankhamun is a step toward the bringing together of history and science, and yet another triumph for molecular genealogy.