2012/06/14 by Ahad Eshraghian, Bart Loeys · 1 citation
Arts and Humanities · Medicine · #Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies #Paleopathology and ancient diseases #Autopsy Techniques and Outcomes #Medicine #Ancient history #History
paper · pdf · doi:10.7196/samj.5916
openalex publication_date 2012/06/14 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/11
The presence of a familial disease among royal members of 18th dynasty of the new kingdom who ruled in Egypt from the mid-16th to the early 11th centuries BC has been established, largely prompted by the bizarre body shape of Akhenaten (the iconoclastic pharaoh of this dynasty) and his family, as demonstrated in statues and artwork. It had been thought previously that this was an expression of a revolutionised artistic style that followed radical reforms by Akhenaten of Egyptian society, but recent studies on mummies confirmed the presence of a constellation of corresponding pathologies. Several illnesses have been suggested to solve this enigma; we propose Loeys-Dietz syndrome as a probable diagnosis for this genetic affliction within the royal family.