Tutankhamun

About Tutankhamun

Tutankhamun, the Boy King of the 18th Dynasty, ruled Egypt for roughly a decade during the 14th century BCE. Though his reign was brief and his impact during his lifetime relatively minor-leading to his historical obscurity until the early 20th century-his near-intact tomb, discovered by Howard Carter, cemented his enduring fame. MIT's Pantheon project recognizes this lasting cultural resonance, ranking him #161 in overall historical importance.

Despite this high historical ranking, Tutankhamun's modern internet attention is relatively modest, garnering 1.5 million Wikipedia views in 2025. This results in an attention gap indicating +3x overattention relative to his actual historical influence score, suggesting his fame is disproportionately sustained by the drama of his tomb's discovery rather than his political or religious actions. For comparison, the much more historically important Gautama Buddha (#2 HPI) receives only about 410K views, creating a significant disconnect between the ancient past and current search interest.

Interest in the pharaoh does appear stable and growing, with a year-over-year increase of +3.4% and a strong Q1 vs Q3 momentum increase of +9% in 2025, indicating sustained contemporary curiosity.