Ahkmenrah

Ahkmenrah

• Casual
• Mummy
• Decomposed/Decaying
• Video Game

Full Name

Ahkmenrah, 4th King of the 4th King

Born

circa 4,000 years ago, circa 2000 BC

Known for

Pharoah of Ancient Egypt

Home

Ancient Egypt (formerly)
Tomb of Ahkmenrah (formerly)
Egyptology Department of Cambridge University (formerly)
Museum of Natural History, New York (formerly)
British Museum, London (currently)

Occupation

Pharaoh
Museum exhibit

Portrayed by

Rami Malek

“At their size they’ll bake like tiny little scarabs in the Sinai. ”

―Ahkmenrah

Ahkmenrah is a supporting character in Night at the Museum, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian and the tritagonist of Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb. The Tablet of Ahkmenrah, associated with him, is a powerful and important magical artifact that makes it possible for the characters to come alive, the main driving force of the franchise.

He is a teenager, around 16-18 (it’s been confirmed he is 18 at the oldest) who in reality is over 4,000+ years old. To be specific, during the day he’s 4000+ years old. At night, when the tablet brings him to life again, his youth is restored as well. Which as was mentioned before, makes him a teenager, canonically 18 at the oldest. Ahkmenrah is a 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 and its powers of immortality, by his parents, who loved him so much that they would not let the inevitability of death separate them.

Family Relations

Ahkmenrah was favored over his older brother Kahmunrah by their parents. As the first born child, Kahmunrah was to inherit the throne. However, Kahmunrah was likely not seen as a suitable heir to the throne, most likely due to his short temper and tendency to throw tantrums if he didn’t get what he wanted. Ahkmenrah was instead made heir to the throne of Egypt.

In contrast to their parents, Kahmunrah loathes Ahkmenrah, carrying on about how he was 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." There is no evidence that he was actually mistreated or abused by his parents as was previously stated here, he just holds a grudge because they apparently favoured Ahkmenrah over him. 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.

It’s noticeable in the third film that physically, Ahkmenrah resembles their mother, while Kahmunrah resembles their father.

History

Ahkmenrah lived roughly 4000 years ago, and was a pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. His exact date of birth is unknown, and it is unknown which dynasty he came from. After his death, him and his parents were buried and entombed near the Nile River, Egypt with his tablet positioned specifically so it can be rejuvenated with moonlight/Khonsu's light every night, to ensure immortality among them. His tomb would eventually be discovered by a young Cecil Fredericks and his father Robert Fredericks thousands of years later, during the Ahkmenrah Expedition of 1938. The first known location his sarcophagus, and his 24-carat gold tablet were displayed at was the Egyptology Department of Cambridge University. There, he learned English, presumably from hearing the students and staff conversing. Little is known about his time spent at Cambridge.

After leaving Cambridge in 1952, it was arranged for Ahkmenrah to become a permanent exhibit of the Museum of Natural History in New York City. 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, which he has command over. These statues were also excavated from his tomb. Just outside of the exhibit are display cases, filled with other Egyptian artifacts.

During an older Cecil, Gus, and Reginald's time serving as night guards at the museum, they never let Ahkmenrah out of his sarcophagus. The reason is yet unknown. Ahkmenrah would remain in a torturous state, trapped there and screaming for most nights until the events of the 1st movie, where Larry Daley lets him out for the first time in a bid to help him take back the/his tablet after Cecil, Gus and Reginald stole it with the intention of keeping it for its properties of immortality.

Subsequently, Ahkmenrah, together with Larry, his son Nicholas Daley, Theodore Roosevelt, Sacagawea, Attila the Hun, Jedediah, Octavius, and Dexter become good friends and the main characters of the franchise.

Physical Appearance

A boy of around late adolescence, he is light-olive-skinned and has short brown hair, though for the most part, it's hidden behind his Red Crown, or Deshret. His general color palette is orange with mostly blue and teal jewels, wearing an Usekh collar adorned with gold and beads, as well as a Shendyt kilt fastened with a cloth belt, also elaborately decorated. A shawl cape is draped over his shoulders and back. And lastly, he wears decorated gold bracelets on both wrists. Barely visible or ever seen too are his sandals. He is also occasionally seen wearing what seems to be eyeliner. Overall, an outfit displaying power.

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 karat gold tablet behind Ahkmenrah that Cecil says is Ahkmenrah’s "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, although it has been said that they might have told the others that he would curse them. 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, it becomes clear he’s just a young boy, not the scary mummy they were expecting to see. Ahkmenrah states " You would not believe how stuffy it is in there" in an English 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 exhibits 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 refereeing the soccer game, and dancing. 

Battle of the Smithsonian

Ahkmenrah returns in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian as one of supporting characters of the film, due to making 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 has an older brother named Kahmunrah, also the main antagonist of the film. It's also revealed that his parents favored him more than his older brother, to which Kahmunrah told Larry that their parents gave Ahkmenrah "the best of everything", including the throne, which Kahmunrah was supposed to inherit first. Only in the original script of the film, it is revealed Kahmunrah murdered him in a bid to take the throne.

When Larry returns to the Museum after learning of renovations and a move to ship most of the museum exhibits, including most of his friends away to the Federal Archives of the Smithsonian, he also learns that Ahkmenrah and his tablet, as well as Teddy Roosevelt, are to remain in the museum. Meaning the others will not be brought to life after this night. However, Larry later receives a call from Jedediah informing him that Dexter stole the tablet while they were on their way to the Smithsonian, and that they were then battling Kahmunrah and his warriors. Kahmunrah later explains he seeks to get his hands on the tablet in order to be able to summon his army from the "Land of the Dead", or the underworld.

At the end of the film, a special night program is set up at the Museum of National History, with Larry as its head. The museum now operates on extended night hours, with the characters, including Ahkmenrah, being allowed to roam free and interact with the visitors, under the guise that everybody thinks they're animatronics, special effects, or cosplayers. Ahkmenrah is seen lecturing a group of people about his precious tablet with Dexter, attempting to convince 2 young girls of the tablet's true magic, but to no avail as they don't believe him.

Secret of the Tomb

The opening scene of the film is a flashback that shows the discovery of the tomb of Ahkmenrah and his parents in the 1938 Ahkmenrah expedition, after a young Cecil Fredericks accidentally falls into it, leading his archaeologist father, Robert Fredericks to discover it as well. His parents and his sarcophagi, along with the Tablet of Ahkmenrah and other artefacts, are seen being hurriedly shipped away, resulting in part of the tablet being chipped off. The locals warn Robert and Cecil that they musn't disturb the tomb, or else "the end will come".

In the present day, Ahkmenrah and the rest of the museum residents start acting strangely, with him informing Larry it is due to the tablet beginning to corrode and lose its magic in some way. Such symptoms include freezing back to wax, loss of memory, unintelligible babbling, a return to less civilized roots, and for Ahkmenrah, decaying/decomposing. Ahkmenrah is affected more than anyone else because he is the only human historical character that isn't a wax-figure representation, but himself, and unlike the others, would turn back to his corpse-like state by sunrise.

Larry, his son Nick, and a few of the favourites of the NYC gang travel to London, England and to the British Museum to find Ahkmenrah's parents, who themselves know the secrets of the tablet and possibly what is wrong with it. When they eventually meet his parents, Merenkahre and Shepseheret, brought to life for the first time in decades because of the tablet's close proximity to them, Merenkahre explains that their tomb back in Egypt was specifically built to channel Khonsu's light to shine onto the tablet, rejuvenating its powers every night, and that because their tomb, and the tablet's position was discovered and disturbed, the tablet has been away from Khonsu's light for too long. Larry and the gang then set out to make sure the tablet gets moonlight before sunrise. During the film, Ahkmenrah gradually gets weaker and weaker, his skin rotting further with every tablet flare-up and towards the end, he almost reverts back to his dead, full-corpse form where he rapidly begins to rot and is in a 'zombie like' state again.

The tablet's powers are rejuvenated and he regains his youth when Sir Lancelot finally relinquishes the tablet to Larry in order to get it moonlight.

At the end of the film, it is decided that Ahkmenrah should remain in the British Museum, with his parents. Three years after this, Ahkmenrah and his tablet came back to the Museum of Natural History as a travelling exhibit. After the event, it is presumed he is returned to the British Museum, or a possibility is that he stays, and his tomb/exhibit at the Museum of Natural History could have been upgraded to incorporate his parents’ tombs as well.

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (Video Game)

Wii/PC/Xbox 360

In the majority of the consoles for the Night at the Museum game that is based off the second movie, Ahkmenrah is more of a supporting character, being the tutor for Larry to show him the different powers of the tablet.

Ahkmenrah asking Larry if he has an evil brother.

Ahkmenrah is first heard calling out for Larry to let him out of the scahjd that he is in, leading to Larry to push the lid out the way way, where a cutscene starts. He welcomes Larry back, saying that its good to see him before saying that he'll miss everyone, revealing that he isn't going with the other exhibits to the Federal Archives. When Larry questions him about this, he states that its good that he's not going due to his evil brother Kahmunrah currently residing at the Smithsonian. He also says that it'd be catastrophic if his brother ever got ahold of the tablet, leading Larry to ask if he has an evil brother, to which Ahkmenrah states that that yes he does and says- "Don't you?" to Larry, assuming that he also had an evil brother. Larry states that he has an evil cousin before Ahkmenrah explains how Kahmunrah was evil, saying that his older brother did so to try and impress their mother before describing how mad his brother got when Ahk had become the guardian of the tablet and not him, before stating that it is ancient history.

Ahkmenrah brings up how Larry is now the guardian and that he has brought his- 'Ritual Tools of Office', referring to his keychain and flashlight. He then states that those are how to direct the power to the tablet before telling Larry to shine his flashlight on it. This is where the cutscene ends and the tutorial begins.

During the beginning of the tutorial, Ahkmenrah explains the powers that each ingot on the tablet brings, stating the meaning of eight of the nine ingots before saying that he doesn't fully know what the meaning of the last one is, seeing as it was a secret that his father kept from both him and his brother. This is where Ahk says that his brother may have learned more after his death but tells Larry to pull out his flashlight, starting the actual tutorial for how the player can use each power that the tablet has to offer. After the tutorial, Ahkmenrah states that these powers from the tablet only work when he is close to the tablet, and that when he is fair away, Larry's keychain and flashlight will go back to normal.

After this, Larry says his goodbyes to Ahkmenrah due to the time and thanks him for letting him know about the powers that the tablet holds, leading Ahk to bid him farewell. After this, we don't see Ahkmenrah in the main playthrough. Even though we don't see him anymore, anytime Larry collects an ingot during his adventures, we hear Ahkmenrah's voice more more, explaining the powers of the ingot.

Personality

He is characterized as a kind-hearted and soft-spoken individual, though little is known about what he was like as ruler of Ancient Egypt. He’s described as a ‘good kid’, something that even his older brother agrees to in the second film (despite this being something he’s almost definitely not happy about.)

However, he is shown to have a bit of a darker side to him, such as during Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, where he deadpans that Jedediah and Octavius, who have fallen through a heating vent, will "bake like tiny little scarabs in the Sinai", before asking everyone if it was too dark of a joke. He’s very much like your average teenager, he has quite a sassy side, and a slightly dark sense of humour, except for the drastic difference in time period.

Real-Life Basis

Ahkmenrah wasn't an actual pharaoh in Egyptian History. It can be assumed that the inspiration behind Ahkmenrah was taken from the famous King Tutankhamun, or the Boy King, and 13th pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Ancient Egypt. He too, was rather young, around 8 or 9, when he ascended the throne, ruling for almost a decade before his untimely death, aged around 18 or 19 circa 1323 BC, brought on by what is likely a bout of malaria, coupled with health complications he already had from his inbred ancestry. Tutankhamun's death marked the cessation of the dynasty's royal line. Tutankhamun became famous for his tomb, filled with priceless artifacts, when it was discovered in the Valley of the Kings, near the Nile river in 1922 by British archaeologist and Egyptologist Howard Carter.

Interestingly, the fourth Pharaoh of the fourth dynasty of Egypt was a notable figure: Khafre (Greek: Χεφρῆν, Khephren). He was the son of Khufu, who built the Great Pyramid of Giza. Khafre himself built the second of the Great Pyramids, as well as the Great Sphinx, which is believed to bare his face.

Likewise, the Tablet of Ahkmenrah wasn't an actual ancient Egyptian artifact. Though tablets are no rarity among Ancient Egyptian artifacts, and though there were tablets found in Tutankhamun's tomb, none bear remotely striking resemblance to Ahkmenrah's tablet.

Mannequin found in Tutankhamun's tomb depicting him

Trivia

• In the first film, Teddy says that the tablet (and therefore Ahkmenrah himself) came to the museum in 1952. The third film then shows that young Cecil discovered his tomb in 1938. So those 14 years may have been the time in which he was on display at Cambridge University.
• Outside of English, which he learned while on display at Cambridge, he hasn't forgotten how to speak Ancient Egyptian as he seemingly does an incantation to his tablet in order to herd everyone back into the museum at the end of the first film. He can also speak Hun for reasons still unknown, as he mentions before helping to translate Attila's speech for Larry to hear.
• 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.
  • Along with this, Ahkmenrah actually appears in an early version of the script for the second movie. He is the one who banishes Kahmunrah into the Underworld in the script, not Larry, during the 'Battle of the Smithsonian'.
• 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"; 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 jackel 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."
  • 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 him back to what he once was."

• In Kahmunrah Rises Again, Ahkmenrah's exhibit and his tablet appear in the movie, but he never does.
  • Along with this, Ahkmenrah's exhibit appears to be on the first floor, while in the movie and video game, his exhibit is on the second floor.
  • This is rather ironic because in both movies where Kahmunrah appears in, he does not. At the very least, Ahk and his brother never meet face to face in either movie.

Gallery

Check out Ahkmenrah/Gallery for his gallery page.