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Full Name
Ahkmenrah, 4th King of the 4th Kings
Born
4,000 years ago
Known for
King of Egypt
Home
Ancient Egypt (formerly)
Ahkmenrah's tomb (formerly)
Egyptology Department of Cambridge University (formerly)
Museum of Natural History, New York (formerly)
British Museum, London (currently)
Occupation
Pharaoh
Mummy
Museum exhibit
Portrayed by
- “Too Dark?”
- ―After going off on one
Ahkmenrah is a teenager, physically around 17-19 who in reality is over 4,000+ years old [1][2] former Egyptian Pharaoh who, with his tablet, came to the Museum of Natural History in 1952. Ahkmenrah is the second born son of Merenkahre and Shepseheret, and the younger brother of Kahmunrah. More specifically, he is thought to be the 4th Pharaoh of Egypt, based on a statement from his older brother, in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. Ahkmenrah was gifted his Tablet of Ahkmenrah by his parents, who loved him so much, that they wouldn't let the inevitability of death separate them.
Contents
- 1 Family
- 2 History
- 3 Appearances
- 3.1 Night At The Museum
- 3.2 Battle of the Smithsonian
- 3.3 Secret of the Tomb
- 4 Personality
- 5 Real-Life Basis
- 6 Trivia
- 7 References
Family
Ahkmenrah was favored by his parents, though this could not be said for Kahmunrah. As the first born child, Kahmunrah was to inherit the throne. However, his parents abused and mistreated Kahmunrah, so they gave the throne to Ahkmenrah just because he was their favorite
In contrast to their parents, Kahmunrah loathes Ahkmenrah, carrying on about how he was clearly the "favorite son." He holds a grudge against Ahkmenrah for the special treatment he received from their parents, saying that they "always gave him the best of everything."He was extremely mad for the mistreatment and abuse he got from his parents. As the film's antagonist, he aims to steal Ahkmenrah's tablet for himself. In doing this, he will be able to summon an immortal army from the underworld, so that he may resume his reign and expand his territory to claim the rest of the world.In the original script for Battle of the Smithsonian, it is revealed that Kahmunrah murdered Ahkmenrah to assume the throne.
History
Ahkmenrah's tomb was excavated near the Pyramids of Giza inEgypt,during the Ahkmenrah Expedition of 1938.His sarcophagus, along with his24-carat gold tablet, were broughtto the Egyptology Department of Cambridge University to be displayed. During his time on display, he learned British English, presumably from hearing the students and staff conversing. It could also be assumed that he spent many of these nights outside of his sarcophagus, as he never mentions being trapped while at the university.
After leaving Cambridge in 1952, it was arranged for Ahkmenrah to become a permanent exhibit of the Museum of Natural History in New YorkCity. His sarcophagus rests in the middle of the exhibit, walls of hieroglyphics surrounding it. On the back wall behind the sarcophagus rests the tablet, which glows and activates during the beginning of each night. The entrance is guarded by two Anubis statues, both twenty feet tall. These statues were also excavated from his tomb. Just outside of the exhibit are display cases, filled with other Egyptian artifacts.
Appearances
Night At The Museum
Ahkmenrah's tomb is first seen during daylight as Cecil the previous night guard shows Larry. Larry is then showed the 24 kart gold tablet behind Ahkmenrah that Cecil says is Ahkmenrahs "Most prized possession" and that it was "Worth a fortune". Later when Larry is confused on how everything in the museum is coming to life Theodore Roosevelt shows him the tablet in Ahkmenrah's tomb and explains that it is what brings them all to life. While he does this you can hear Ahkmenrah wailing from inside his sarcophagus and Theodore tells him "Yell all you want Pharaoh, you been in there for 54 years, you're not getting out tonight!" It is thought that the previous night guards told all the free-roaming exhibits not to let Ahkmenrah out with no explanation as to why. That is what lead the other exhibits to fear Ahkmenrah. The next time Larry is at Ahkmenrah's tomb is when he and his son are locked in the tomb by the previous night guards as they steal artifacts. The Anubis, Ahkmenrah's protectors start to attack Larry and his son, Nick. To save their lives Larry slides the stone holding Ahkmenrah in his tomb off and lets the pharaoh out. At first, as Ahkmenrah gets up from his tomb he seems scary with the rags covering his face, however, upon removing the wrappings from his head, Ahkmenrah states " You would not believe how stuffy it is in there" in a British accent, which of course confuses Larry and Nick. Ahkmenrah then explains he was on display at the Egyptology Department at Cambridge University and learned English there. From that point on Larry can tell Ahkmenrah isn't dangerous and has Ahkmenrah help them out of his tomb. later Ahkmenrah translates Hun so that Larry won't be ripped apart by Huns and uses his tablet to summon all the exhibit's back to the museum before dawn so they won't turn to dust. He helps Larry tally up all the animals and exhibits. Then there's a huge dance party the next night where you can see Ahkmenrah playing soccer and dancing.
Battle of the Smithsonian
He makes a brief appearance at the start but has a bigger part at the end where he is giving a lecture on the Tablet to visitors of the Museum. During the film, it is revealed that he had an older brother named Kahmunrah. It's also revealed that his parents favored him more than his older brother, to which Kahmunrah told Larry Daley that their parents gave Ahkmenrah "the best of everything", including the throne, which Kahmunrah was supposed to inherit first. After Ahkmenrah's death, caused by his jealous brother, Kahmunrah ascended to the throne. It can be assumed that his reign had not lasted long due to his sad*stic nature.
Secret of the Tomb
Ahkmenrah and the rest of the Museum residents start acting strangely due to the Tablet losing its magic. The symptoms include freezing back to wax, normally peaceful characters becoming violent, Teddy losing his memory and babbling unintelligibly and Ahkmenrah becoming ill. Ahkmenrah is affected more than anyone else because it is his tablet and is later revealed by his father that the tablet was made with Khonsu's magic to keep the royal family together, even after death, which is why the tablet brings the museum to life. Larry, his son Nick, and a few of the favourites of theNYC gang travel to London, England and to the British Museum to find Ahkmenrah's parents, who know the secrets of the tablet and possibly what is wrong with it. During the film, the young pharaoh steadily gets worse with every tablet flare-up and toward the end he almost reverts back to his dead, full-mummy form where he rapidly begins to rot and turn into 'zombie like' state again.
At the end of the film, it is decided that Ahkmenrah should remain in the British Museum, with his parents. He appeared in the end while dancing. And either Ahkmenrah came to visit the Museum of Natural History one last time and then go back to the one in London afterwards or his tomb at the Museum of Natural History got changed and upgraded a little bit to make room for his parents’ tombs as well.
Personality
He is characterized as a kind-hearted individual, and is implied to be a fair and just ruler. It is officially unknown why the previous night guards kept him locked in his tomb, or why they told the other free-roaming exhibits not to let the young pharaoh out during the night.
Real-Life Basis
Ahkmenrah wasn't an actual pharaoh in Egyptian History. It is confirmed that the basis of Ahkmenrah was taken from King Tutankhamun, the Boy King, another teenaged pharaoh who ruled and died young.
Trivia
- The first film mentions that his tomb was discovered and brought to New York in 1956, however the third film shows that young Cecil discovered his tomb in 1938.
- However, those 18 years may have been the time in which he was on display at Cambridge University.
- In an early version of the script for Battle of the Smithsonian, during a conversation with Larry, Kahmunrah reveals that he murdered Ahkmenrah. He would have been an Egyptian counterpart of William Shakespeare's "Hamlet" character, Claudius if this information was in the final film.
- It's never explained why Ahkmenrah was sealed in his coffin since arriving at the museum. One theory is those night guards before even Cecil Fredericks thought that letting a real person out and about, not a stature or other wax figure, was more unpredictable and dangerous. Besides, pharaohs weren't known for their kind spirits and agreeable natures.
- Although not mentioned in the movies, it is a popular fan theory that Ahkmenrah died at eighteen years old, similar to King Tut.
- Surprisingly this is actually confirmed in the novelisation of "Night At The Museum" when Cecil and Larry first enter Ahkmenrah's tomb, Cecil mentions that King Ahkmenrah "Died Young"[3]; later in the book the scene where Ahkmenrah is freed from his sarcophagus is described "The lid slammed to the floor, causing dust to puff up. Inside was a mummy wrapped in old, dirty linen shrouds. The jacket guards turned and pointed their swords at Larry and Nick, when suddenly, the mummy began kicking and screaming. Without the lid, the screams sounded human. Nick and Larry began unwrapping the mummy. Once the dust cleared, they found themselves face-to-face with King Ahkmenrah. He was a teenage kid."[4]
- The novel version of "Secret of the Tomb" goes on to narrow it down to being eighteen years old at the oldest "Dressed in an ornate tunic and wearing a tall headpiece, the boy looked no more than eighteen years old. Larry knew differently. Ahkmenrah was actually several thousand years old. In truth, he was a mummified pharaoh from ancient Egypt. The power of his magical tablet had restored back to what he once was."[2]
- ↑ Goldman, L., Lennon, T. and Garant, R. (2007).Night at the Museum. Hauppauge, N.Y.: Barron's Educational Series. (Page 109)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Steele, Michael Anthony. (2014). Night At The Museum: Secret of the Tomb.
- ↑ Goldman, L., Lennon, T. and Garant, R. (2007).Night at the Museum. Hauppauge, N.Y.: Barron's Educational Series. (Page 30)
- ↑ Goldman, L., Lennon, T. and Garant, R. (2007).Night at the Museum. Hauppauge, N.Y.: Barron's Educational Series. (Page 109)