Ay
Aya
Portrait study thought to be of Ay
Pharaoh of Egypt
Reign	1323–1319 BC or 1327–1323 BC,  18th Dynasty
Predecessor	Tutankhamun
Successor	Horemheb
Royal titulary Prenomen: Kheperkheperure–Irimaat Everlasting are the Manifestations of Re, who does what is rightNomen: Itinetjer Ay God's father, AyHorus name: Kanakht Tekhenkhau The strong bull, the one of glittering crownsNebty name: Sekhempehti dersetet Who is mighty of strength, who subdues the AsiaticsGolden Horus: Heqamaat sekhepertawy The ruler of truth, who creates the two lands
Consort(s)	Tey and Ankhesenamun
Children	Possibly Nefertiti and Mutnedjmet
Died	1319 or 1323 BC
Burial	WV23
Monuments	Amarna Tomb

Ay was the penultimate Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt's 18th dynasty. Pharaoh is the title given in modern parlance to the ancient Egyptian kings of all periods Ancient Egypt was an Ancient Civilization in eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now The creation of a reliable Chronology of Ancient Egypt is a task fraught with problems "Amarna period" redirects here For information on Amarna see Amarna The Eighteenth Dynasty (1550-1292 BC is perhaps the best known of Horemheb was the last Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt 's 18th Dynasty from 1319 BC to late 1292 BC The royal titulary or royal protocol of an Egyptian Pharaoh is the standard naming convention taken by the kings of Ancient Egypt The royal titulary or royal protocol of an Egyptian Pharaoh is the standard naming convention taken by the kings of Ancient Egypt The royal titulary or royal protocol of an Egyptian Pharaoh is the standard naming convention taken by the kings of Ancient Egypt The royal titulary or royal protocol of an Egyptian Pharaoh is the standard naming convention taken by the kings of Ancient Egypt The royal titulary or royal protocol of an Egyptian Pharaoh is the standard naming convention taken by the kings of Ancient Egypt The royal titulary or royal protocol of an Egyptian Pharaoh is the standard naming convention taken by the kings of Ancient Egypt Tey was the wife of Kheperkheprure Ay (occasionally "Aya" who was the penultimate Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt 's 18th dynasty. See also Family tree of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt Born as Ankhesenpaaten (c Nefertiti (pronounced at the time something like *nafratiːta (c The Egyptian noblewoman Mutnedjmet (or Mutnodjmet) was the second wife of Horemheb, the last ruler of the Eighteenth Dynasty. Tomb WV23, located at the end of the Western Valley of the Kings near modern-day Luxor, was the final resting place of Pharaoh Ay of the Southern Tomb 25 at Amarna was intended for the burial of Ay, who later became Pharaoh, after Tutankhamun. Pharaoh is the title given in modern parlance to the ancient Egyptian kings of all periods Ancient Egypt was an Ancient Civilization in eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now "Amarna period" redirects here For information on Amarna see Amarna The Eighteenth Dynasty (1550-1292 BC is perhaps the best known of He held the throne of Egypt for a brief four-year period (probably 1323 – 1319 BC^[1] or 1327 – 1323 BC, depending on which chronology is followed), although he was a close advisor to two and perhaps three of the pharaohs who ruled before him and was the power behind the throne during Tutankhamun's reign. Ay's prenomen or royal name—Kheperkheperure—means "Everlasting are the Manifestations of Ra" while his birth name Ay it-hetjer reads as 'Ay, Father of the God. '^[2] Records and monuments that can be clearly attributed to Ay are rare, not only due to his short length, but also because his successor, Horemheb, instigated a campaign of damnatio memoriae against him and other pharaohs associated with the unpopular Amarna period. Horemheb was the last Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt 's 18th Dynasty from 1319 BC to late 1292 BC Damnatio memoriae is the Latin phrase literally meaning "damnation of memory" in the sense of removed from the remembrance. "Amarna period" redirects here For information on Amarna see Amarna The Eighteenth Dynasty (1550-1292 BC is perhaps the best known of

Origins

Ay is usually believed to be a native Egyptian from Akhmim. Akhmim ( Arabic اخميم, from Egyptian Khent-min, through Coptic Khmin) is a city in During his short reign, he built a rock cut chapel in Akhmim and dedicated it to the local deity there: Min. Min is an Ancient Egyptian god whose cult originated in predynastic times (4th millennium BC ^[3] He may have been the son of Yuya, who served as a member of the priesthood of Min at Akhmin as well as superintendent of herds in this city, and wife Tjuyu. Yuya (sometimes Iouiya) also known as Yaa Ya Yiya Yayi Yu Yuyu Yaya Yiay Yia Yuy was a powerful Egyptian courtier of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt Tjuyu (sometimes transliterated as Thuya or Thuyu) was an Egyptian noblewoman and descendant of Ahmose-Nefertari. ^[4] If so, Ay could have been of partial non-Egyptian, perhaps Syrian blood since the name Yuya was uncommon in Egypt and is suggestive of a foreign background. ^[5] Yuya was an influential nobleman at the royal court of Amenhotep III who was given the rare privilege of having a tomb built for his use in the royal Valley of the Kings presumably because he was the father of Tiye, Amenhotep's chief Queen. Amenhotep III (sometimes read as Amenophis III meaning Amun is Satisfied was the ninth Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty. Tiye (c 1398 BC &ndash 1338 BC also spelled Taia, Tiy and Tiyi) was the daughter of Yuya and Tjuyu (also spelled Thuyu There are also noted similarities in the physical likenesses of monuments attributed to Ay and those of the mummy of Yuya, and both held similar names and titles. ^[6]

Amarna Period

Born a commoner, Ay managed to rise through the hierarchy of Egyptian society under the "heretical" Pharaoh Akhenaten. Akhenaten (often alt: Akhnaten, or rarely Ikhnaton) (In English ˌɑkəˡnɑtən or approximately "AHK-en-AHT-en" his royal name Amenhotep One version of events maintains that he and his wife Tey were the parents of Akhenaten's chief wife, Nefertiti and that another of their daughters, Mutnedjmet, was the wife and queen of Horemheb, Ay's successor. Tey was the wife of Kheperkheprure Ay (occasionally "Aya" who was the penultimate Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt 's 18th dynasty. Nefertiti (pronounced at the time something like *nafratiːta (c The Egyptian noblewoman Mutnedjmet (or Mutnodjmet) was the second wife of Horemheb, the last ruler of the Eighteenth Dynasty. Horemheb was the last Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt 's 18th Dynasty from 1319 BC to late 1292 BC Another version suggests that he was the son of Yuya and Tjuyu, thus being a brother or half-brother of Tiy, brother-in-law of Amenhotep III and maternal uncle of Akhenaten. Yuya (sometimes Iouiya) also known as Yaa Ya Yiya Yayi Yu Yuyu Yaya Yiay Yia Yuy was a powerful Egyptian courtier of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt Tjuyu (sometimes transliterated as Thuya or Thuyu) was an Egyptian noblewoman and descendant of Ahmose-Nefertari. Tiye (c 1398 BC &ndash 1338 BC also spelled Taia, Tiy and Tiyi) was the daughter of Yuya and Tjuyu (also spelled Thuyu Amenhotep III (sometimes read as Amenophis III meaning Amun is Satisfied was the ninth Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty.

The two theories are not mutually exclusive, but either relationship would explain the exalted status to which Ay rose (see below), during Akhenaten's Amarna interlude, when the royal family turned their backs on Egypt's traditional gods and experimented, for a dozen years or so, with monotheism; an experiment that, whether out of conviction or convenience, Ay appears to have followed under the reign of Akhenaten. The site of Amarna (commonly known as el-Amarna or incorrectly as Tel el-Amarna; see below ( Arabic: العمارنة al-‘amārnah) is located For the Celtic Frost album see Monotheist (album In Theology, monotheism (from Greek grc [[wiktμόνος μόνος]]

If Ay was the son of Yuya, who was a senior military officer during the reign of Amenhotep III, then he likely followed in his father's footsteps, finally inheriting his father's military functions upon his death. All that is known for certain was that by the time he was permitted to build a tomb for himself at Akhetaten during the reign of Akhenaten, he had achieved the title of "Overseer of All the Horses of His Majesty", the highest rank in the elite charioteering division of the army, which was just below the rank of General. The site of Amarna (commonly known as el-Amarna or incorrectly as Tel el-Amarna; see below ( Arabic: العمارنة al-‘amārnah) is located ^[7]

Titles

In his Amarna tomb, Ay's titles are give as Companion, Head of the Companions of the King, Father of the Divinity, Fan-bearer on the Right Side of the King, Acting Scribe of the King, beloved by him, and Overseer of All the Horses of His Majesty. Southern Tomb 25 at Amarna was intended for the burial of Ay, who later became Pharaoh, after Tutankhamun. G47-S37-HrZ1-R14-an-M23 Fan-bearer on the Right Side of the King &ndash sometimes also translated as Some of these titles are purely standardised noble ones, but the 'Fan-bearer on the Right Side of the King' is a very important position, and is viewed as showing that the bearer had the 'ear' of the ruler.

Tutankhamun

Ay's reign was preceded by that of Tutankhamun, who ascended to the throne at the age of nine or ten, at a time of great tension between the new monotheism and the old polytheism. He was assisted in his kingly duties by his predecessor's two closest advisors: Grand Vizier Ay and General of the Armies Horemheb. G47-tZ1-A1The vizier was the highest official in Ancient Egypt to serve the king or Pharaoh Horemheb was the last Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt 's 18th Dynasty from 1319 BC to late 1292 BC Tutankhamun's nine-year reign, largely under Ay's direction, saw the gradual return of the old gods – and, with that, the restoration of the power of the Amun priesthood, who had lost their influence over Egypt under Akhenaten. A priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites in particular rites of sacrifice to and propitiation of a deity or deities

Egyptologist Bob Brier suggested that Ay murdered Tutankhamun in order to usurp the throne, a claim which was based on X-ray examinations of the body done in 1968 that found bone fragments inside Tutankhamun's skull. Robert Brier PhD (born December 13, 1943) also affectionately known as Mr Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. He also alleged that Ankhesenamen and the Hittite Prince she was about to marry with were also murdered at his orders, and one can speculate he might be also involved at Ankhesenamen's two miscarriages and even at Akhenaten, Nefertiti and Smenkhare's deaths. See also Family tree of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt Born as Ankhesenpaaten (c Miscarriage or spontaneous abortion is the natural or spontaneous end of a Pregnancy at a stage where the embryo or fetus is incapable of surviving generally defined ^[8] This murder theory was not accepted by all scholars, and more detailed CT-scans of the mummy undertaken by National Geographic (published in late 2005) suggested that Tutankhamun did not die from a blow to his head as Brier had theorized. Computed tomography (CT is a Medical imaging method employing Tomography. The National Geographic forensic researchers instead presented a new theory that Tutankhamun died from an infection caused by a badly broken leg since he is often portrayed as walking with a cane due to spina bifida, a hereditary trait in his family on his father's side. Spina bifida ( Latin: "split spine" is a developmental Birth defect involving the Neural tube: incomplete closure of the Embryonic neural ^[9] The bone fragments found in Tutankhamun's skull were most likely the result of post-mortem damage caused by Howard Carter's initial examination of the boy king "because they show no evidence of being inundated with the embalming fluid used to preserve the pharaoh for the afterlife. "^[10]

When the results of the CT-Scan examination had been published, many scientists accepted its findings, but some still believe the mystery of Tutankhamun's death is far from solved and continue to support the older murder theory. There are books that have subsequently been published that adhere to the original murder theory and dispute the conclusions reached by the CT-Scan team, though also citing other means of murder, such as poisoning. ^{[11] [12]} Noted Egyptologist Zahi Hawass believes that Tutankhamun could have been murdered by poison. Zahi Hawass ( Arabic: زاهي حواس (born 28 May 1947 in Damietta, Egypt) is an Egyptian archaeologist and ^[13]

Rule as Pharaoh

Tutankhamun's untimely death at the age of 18 or 19, together with his failure to produce an heir, left a power vacuum that his Grand Vizier Ay was quick to fill: Ay is depicted conducting the funerary rites for the deceased monarch and assuming the role of heir. The grounds on which Ay based his successful claim to power are not entirely clear. The Commander of the Army, Horemheb, had actually been designated as the "idnw" or "Deputy of the Lord of the Two Lands" under Tutankhamun and was presumed to be the boy king's heir apparent and successor. Horemheb was the last Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt 's 18th Dynasty from 1319 BC to late 1292 BC ^[14] It appears that Horemheb was outmaneuvered to the throne by Ay who married Ankhesenamun, the widow of Tutankhamun, in order to legitimise his claim to the throne. See also Family tree of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt Born as Ankhesenpaaten (c Ay was certainly a powerful figure: he was close to the centre of political power at the royal palace for some 25 years under both Tutankhamun and Akhenaten. But this was probably still not enough, however, to legitimize his claims to the throne in the highly hierarchical society of Ancient Egypt, if he was of non-royal birth especially at a time of domestic upheaval without his marriage to Tutankhamun's widow. Ancient Egypt was an Ancient Civilization in eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now Since he was already advanced in age upon his accession, Ay ruled Egypt in his own right for only four years. During this period, he consolidated the return to the old religious ways that he had initiated as senior advisor and constructed a mortuary temple at Medinet Habu for his own use. A stela of Nakhtmin (Berlin 2074), a military officer under Tutankhamun and Ay—who was Ay's chosen successor— is dated to Year 4, IV Akhet day 1 of Ay's reign. (Urk IV: 2110)

Royal Succession

Prior to his death, Ay designated Nakhtmin to succeed him as pharaoh. However, Ay's plan for his succession went awry since Horemheb instead became the last king of Egypt's 18th Dynasty instead of Nakhtmin. The fact that Nakhtmin was Ay's intended heir is strongly implied by an inscription carved on a dyad funerary statue of Nakhtmin and his spouse which was presumably made during Ay's reign. Nakhtmin is clearly given the titles rpat (Crown Prince) and zA nzw (King's Son). ^[15] The only conclusion which can be drawn here is that Nakhtmin was either a son or an adopted son of Ay and that Ay was grooming Nakhtmin for the royal succession instead of Horemheb. The Egyptologists Aidan Dodson and Dyan Hilton observe that the aforementioned statue:

"is broken after the signs for 'King's Son of', and there has been considerable debate as to whether it continued to say 'Kush', making Nakhtmin a Viceroy of Nubia, or 'of his body', making him an actual royal son. Since there is no other evidence for Nakhtmin as a Viceroy--with another man [Paser I][4]attested in office at this period as well--the latter suggestion seems the most likely. As Nakhtmin donated items to the burial of Tutankhamun without such a title, it follows that he only became a King's Son subsequently, presumably under Ay. This theory is supported by the evidence of intentional damage to Nakhtmin's statue, since Ay was amongst the Amarna pharaohs whose memories were execrated under later rulers. "^[16]

Manetho's Epitome is believed to attribute a reign of 4 years and 1 month to Ay. Manetho (or Manethon) was an Egyptian Historian and Priest from Sebennytos ( Ancient Egyptian: Tjebnutjer) who

Aftermath

It appears that one of Horemheb's undertakings as Pharaoh was to eliminate all references to the monotheistic experiment, a process that included expunging the name of his immediate predecessors—especially Ay—from the historical record. Horemheb desecrated Ay's burial and had most of Ay's royal cartouches in his WV23 Tomb Wall paintings erased while his sarcophagus was smashed into numerous fragments. Tomb WV23, located at the end of the Western Valley of the Kings near modern-day Luxor, was the final resting place of Pharaoh Ay of the ^[17] However, the sarcophagus lid was discovered in 1972 by Otto Schaden—the US Egyptologist who opened Tomb KV63 in the Valley of the Kings in 2006—and still preserved Ay's cartouche; it had been buried under debris in this king's tomb. Dr Otto J Schaden is an American Egyptologist. He is currently the Field Director of the Amenmesse Tomb Project of the University of Memphis KV63 is the most recently opened chamber in Egypt 's Valley of the Kings pharaonic Necropolis. ^[18] Horemheb also usurped Ay's mortuary temple at Medinet Habu for his own use. Uvo Hölscher (1878-1963) who excavated the temple in the early 1930s provides these details concerning the state of Ay-Horemheb's mortuary temple:

'Wherever a cartouche has been preserved, the name of Eye [ie: Ay] has been erased and replaced by that of his successor Harmhab. In all but a single instance had it been overlooked and no change made. Thus the temple, which Eye had begun and finished, at least in the rear rooms with their fine paintings, was usurped by his successor and was thenceforth known as the temple of Harmhab. Seals on stoppers of wine jars from the temple magazines read: "Wine from the temple of Harmhab. "'^[19]

In Fiction

Ay appears as a major character in P. C. Doherty's trilogy of Ancient Egyptian novels, '"An Evil Spirit Out of the West", "The Season of the Hyaena" and "The Year of the Cobra". Paul C Doherty (born 1946 Middlesbrough) is an English Writer, with a doctorate in history from the University of Oxford, who writes historical He is also a character in Mika Waltari's historical novel "The Egyptian" and Wolfgang Hohlbein's Die Prophezeihung (The Prophecy). He is also a major character in Michelle Moran's bestselling novel Nefertiti. Michelle Moran (born August 11 1980 is a bestselling American author.

References

1. ^ Erik Hornung, Rolf Krauss & David Warburton (editors), Ancient Egyptian Chronology (Handbook of Oriental Studies), Brill: 2006, p. 493
2. ^ Peter Clayton, Chronicle of the Pharaohs, Thames & Hudson Ltd, 1994. p. 136
3. ^ [1]
4. ^ Egypt during the reign of Akhenaton
5. ^ Yuya's name was analysed by G. Maspero in "The Tomb of Iouiya and Touiyou" by Theodore M. Davis, Archibald Constable and Co. Ltd, 1907, pp. xiii-xiv
6. ^ Hindley, Marshall. Featured Pharaoh: The God's Father Ay, Ancient Egypt, April/May 2006. p. 26
7. ^ Hindley, Marshall. Featured Pharaoh: The God's Father Ay, Ancient Egypt, April/May 2006. p. 27-28.
8. ^ Hawass, Zahi. "Scanning Tutankhamun", KMT. Volume 16, Number 2. p. 33. Summer 2005.
9. ^ Hawass, Zahi. "Scanning Tutankhamun", KMT. Volume 16, Number 2. p. 34. Summer 2005.
10. ^ [2] [3] King Tut Not Murdered Violently, CT Scans Show, National Geographic, March 8, 2005.
11. ^ Haywood, John. The Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Civilizations p. 56. Penguin. 2005. ISBN 0141014482
12. ^ King, Michael R. , Cooper, Gregory M. Who Killed King Tut?: Using Modern Forensics to Solve a 3300-Year-Old Mystery (with New Data on the Egyptian CT Scan), New Ed. 2006. ISBN 1591024013
13. ^ Hawass, Zahi. Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs, National Geographic Society, 2005. p. 54. ISBN 0792238737
14. ^ Peter J. Brand, The Monuments of Seti I: Epigraphic, Historical and Art Historical Analysis, Brill, NV Leiden, (2000), p. 311
15. ^ Wolfgang Helck, Urkunden der 18. Dynastie: Texte der Hefte 20-21 (Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, 1984), pp. 1908-1910
16. ^ Aidan Dodson & Dyan Hilton, The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt, Thames & Hudson, (2004), p. 151
17. ^ Bertha Porter, Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyph Texts, Vol 1, Part 2, Oxford Clarendon Press, (1960), Tomb 23, pp. 550-551
18. ^ Otto Schaden, Clearance of the Tomb of King Ay (WV 23), JARCE 21(1984) pp. 39-64
19. ^ Uvo Hölscher, Excavations at Ancient Thebes 1930/31, p. 50-51

• Jürgen von Beckerath, Chronologie des Pharaonischen Ägypten, MÄS 46 (Philip von Zabern, Mainz: 1997), pp. Jürgen von Beckerath (born 19 February 1920) is a prominent German Egyptologist. 201

See also

• Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt Family Tree

External links

• The Tomb of Ay