20 Things You Somehow Missed In The Mummy (1999)
16. There Are Some Minor Historical Inaccuracies
It goes without saying The Mummy takes major liberties with Egyptian history. The movie depicts Imhotep as an evil priest who specialises in dark magic. In real life, Imhotep was an architect for the pyramids who... probably didn't resurrect himself as an immortal god.
Of course, drastic changes like this shouldn't be a problem. The Mummy is a blockbuster, not a documentary.
However, the story does get some basic facts regarding Egyptian mythology and culture wrong. Instead of reading the hieroglyphics from right to left, the so-called experts read them from left to right.
Also, Dr. Terrence Bay (Erick Avari) mentions that Imhotep is afraid of cats since they're the guardians of the underworld. Being a historian, Bay should know the underworld is protected by Osiris, who was the god of the afterlife, resurrection, and the dead. There is a cat-god called Bastet in Egyptian lore but she represents pregnancy and childbirth.