Tutankhamun (; alternatively spelled with
Tutenkh-,
-amen,
-amon) was an Egyptian
pharaoh of the
18th dynasty (ruled c. 1332–1323 BC in the
conventional chronology), during the period of
Egyptian history known as the
New Kingdom. He is colloquially referred to as
King Tut. His original name,
Tutankhaten, means "Living Image of
Aten", while Tutankhamun means "Living Image of
Amun". In
hieroglyphs, the name Tutankhamun was typically written Amen-tut-ankh, because of a scribal custom that placed a divine name at the beginning of a phrase to show appropriate reverence. He is possibly also the
Nibhurrereya of the
Amarna letters, and likely the 18th dynasty king Rathotis who, according to
Manetho, an ancient historian, had reigned for nine years—a figure that conforms with
Flavius Josephus's version of Manetho's
Epitome.