Ay: Encyclopedia II - Ay - Rule as Pharaoh

Ay - 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 was quick to fill: Ay is depicted in the famous treasures of the boy king's tomb conducting the funerary rights for the deceased monarch and assuming the role of heir. The grounds on which Ay based his claim to the throne are not entirely clear. He was certainly a powerful figure under Tutankhamun, as he had been under Akhenaten: in some records he is referred to as "regent", and he had been close to the center of power for some 25 years. This was probably still not enough, however, to legitimize his claims to the throne in the highly hierarchical society of Ancient Egypt, particularly at a time of upheaval. To strengthen his rule, Ay appears to have married Tutankhamun's widow Ankhesenpaaten (by then known as Ankhesenamun). 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 Tutankhamun's senior advisor. He was succeeded, at the end of the dynasty, by Horemheb rather than his intended heir, Nakhtmin.

Tombs and Reign Length

Ay had tombs prepared for himself in both Amarna and Thebes. The former (known as Southern Tomb 25), still visible today, is well preserved and provides some excellent examples of the distinctive style of art that flourished during the Amarna period. It was never finished, however, or used for his burial. Ay's Accession date has been determined by Jürgen von Beckerath to be the Month of III Peret while his Highest Year date is a Year 4, IV Akhet day 1 stela which is now located in the Berlin Museum(stela No.2074). Thus, Ay's reign length was almost certainly the figure of 4 Years and 1 Month which Manetho attributes to him. He was ultimately buried in his second tomb (designated WV23) in the western branch of the Valley of the Kings.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Rule as Pharaoh", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki