New Kingdom
Siptah (Akhenre)
19th Dynasty · 1295-1186 BCE
Open full-size illustration →Source: Shaw, Oxford History of Ancient Egypt (2000)
Background
Siptah came to the throne as a physically disabled child under the control of the official who had made him king, and the CT-scan evidence from his own mummy has told historians more about his life than any inscription he left behind. Research: UCL Digital Egypt; Springer Neurological Sciences.
Dates from: Shaw, Oxford History of Ancient Egypt (2000)
Full profile
The boy king and the kingmaker
Siptah was a sickly child who ascended the throne around the age of ten. Medical analysis of his mummy indicates he likely suffered from polio. Born to a Canaanite mother, his exact paternal lineage is disputed. Because he was young and his mother was of low birth, his rule was heavily dependent on a powerful Canaanite official named Bay. Bay effectively operated as a kingmaker, openly claiming he placed Siptah on the throne. However, in the fifth year of Siptah's reign, the young king ordered Bay's execution for treason. Siptah died shortly after.
What his mummy reveals
Siptah's tomb, KV47, was found in 1905, but his mummy had already turned up earlier among the royal cache hidden in KV35. Modern X-ray and CT analysis shows he died around age 20, standing only about 5 feet 3 inches tall, with a shortened, wasted left leg and a foot twisted into a clubfoot-like position. Because the deformity affected only one side of his body and shows the muscle-wasting pattern typical of nerve damage rather than a condition present from birth, most paleopathologists now favor childhood polio as the likely cause over congenital clubfoot.
Sources for this profile
- Baker, D. D. (2008). The Encyclopedia of the Pharaohs: Volume 1. Stacey International.
- Shaw, I. (Ed.). (2000). The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford University Press.
- University College London. Kings of the New Kingdom.
- Reeves, N., & Wilkinson, R. H. (1996). The Complete Valley of the Kings. Thames & Hudson.
- Dodson, A., & Hilton, D. (2004). The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson.
The complete, APA-formatted reference list is on the Academic Sources & Bibliography page.