18. No One Knows Who His Mother Was
Another practice that has long been common among royals is that of kings having multiple wives. They often keep a harem of women who are available at their beck and call, in addition to concubines and multiple, legitimate wives to whom they are married. King Solomon, one of the most famous rulers of ancient Israel, had as many as 700 wives and concubines. King Rama of Siam, who was featured in the movie Anna and the King, had over 60 children, most of whom had different mothers. Often, trying to decide the exact parentage of historical figures is difficult because their fathers had multiple wives.
Pharaoh Akhenaten was no exception. His primary wife was Nefertiti, but there is no way to know for sure if she was King Tut’s mother. In fact, Nefertiti was Akhenaten’s cousin, not his sister. His anonymous mother is often referred to as “the younger lady.” However, DNA research suggests that Nefertiti may have actually been King Tut’s mother. How do these results reconcile with the fact that she was Akhenaten’s cousin, not a sister? Perhaps the family had been so inbred by that point that she was genetically as similar to him as if they were siblings.