Egyptian scientists have revealed that a Pharaoh, who ruled Egypt over 3,600 years ago, was killed in action.
The study suggests that the ruler died in an "execution ceremony" by the Hyskos, Asian invaders who captured him on the battlefield.
Egyptian scientists have established that a pharaoh died in battle after X-raying his more than 3,600-year-old mummy, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal
Frontiers of Medicine
.
Séqénenrê Taa II, nicknamed "the Courageous", reigned over Egypt nearly 1,600 years before our era, during the 17th dynasty (-1625 to -1549).
He notably led the Egyptian troops against the Asian invaders Hyksos, the first foreigners to have conquered the Nile Delta.
Relying in particular on three-dimensional images, the study conducted by archaeologist Zahi Hawass and professor of radiology at Cairo University Sahar Salim, suggests that the pharaoh was killed by his opponents during a " execution ceremony, "after being taken prisoner on the battlefield, said a statement from the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities.
40 years old at the time of his death
The analysis of weapons (ax, spear and daggers) that belonged to the Hyksos indicated their "compatibility with the wounds" of the mummy and new bruises, until then hidden by the work of the embalmers, have been discovered, a- he continued.
Thanks to careful study of his skeleton, Egyptian scientists estimated that he "was 40 years old at the time of his death."
For decades, researchers have tried to determine the circumstances of the death of this king, whose mummy - discovered at the end of the 19th century and kept in Cairo - bears visible marks of wounds on the face, using imagery from the 1960s onwards. medical on his remains.
According to different theories, the pharaoh was either killed by the king of the Hyksos himself or assassinated in his sleep by conspirators.
Others suggest that the mummy condition in which the mummy is found could indicate that it was hastily embalmed, far from the royal mummification workshop.