Ay (pharaoh)

Lore & Background

Ay, the penultimate pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty, ruled for only about four years near the end of the 14th century BC. His prenomen, Kheperkheperure, translates as "Everlasting are the Manifestations of Ra," while his nomen, Ay it-netjer, means "Ay, Father of the God." Prior to becoming pharaoh, he served as a close advisor to at least two other rulers—Akhenaten and Tutankhamun—and possibly to Smenkhare and Neferneferuaten as well. He is speculated to have been the power behind the throne during Tutankhamun’s minority, though no direct evidence supports this. Records and monuments clearly attributable to Ay are rare, partly because his reign was brief and partly because his successor, Horemheb, initiated a campaign of *damnatio memoriae* against him and other pharaohs tied to the unpopular Amarna Period. Ay is believed to have come from Akhmim, where he built a rock-cut chapel dedicated to the local god Min. He may have been the son of the courtier Yuya and his wife Thuya, which would make him a brother of Tiye and Anen; this theory rests on circumstantial evidence, including shared titles and a noted physical resemblance between Yuya’s mummy and Ay’s statuary. Ay’s Great Royal Wife was Tey, known as the wet-nurse to Nefertiti, and it is often theorized that Ay was Nefertiti’s father, though no source calls Ay and Tey her parents. Nakhtmin, Ay’s chosen successor, was likely his son or grandson; his mother Iuy, a priestess of Min and Isis in Akhmim, may have been Ay’s first wife.

Reader's Guide

Ay's significance lies in his transition from a high-ranking advisor and vizier under Akhenaten and Tutankhamun to pharaoh himself, filling the power vacuum left by Tutankhamun's death. He is depicted conducting the funerary rites for the young king, a unique explicit depiction of a succeeding king performing the Opening of the Mouth ceremony. His reign was short, and records and monuments clearly attributable to him are rare, partly due to his successor Horemheb's campaign of damnatio memoriae against him and other pharaohs associated with the Amarna Period. Ay consolidated the return to traditional religious practices and constructed a mortuary temple at Medinet Habu. The precise length of his reign is unknown, with a Year 4 stela of his chosen successor Nakhtmin providing a minimum, but Manetho's Epitome assigning four years and one month to Horemheb has been reinterpreted. Ay's legacy is thus intertwined with the turbulent end of the 18th Dynasty and the erasure of Amarna-era rulers.

Did You Know?

• Ay's prenomen Kheperkheperure means 'Everlasting are the Manifestations of Ra'.
• He is depicted on a wall of Tutankhamun's burial chamber performing the Opening of the Mouth ceremony, a unique explicit depiction.
• Egyptologist Bob Brier suggested Ay murdered Tutankhamun to usurp the throne, but CT scans in 2005 found no evidence of a blow to the head.
• Ay's mummy has not been located, though fragmentary skeletal remains from his tomb may represent it.

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