Ay

Ay was a high-ranking court official who ruled Egypt as pharaoh from about 1323 to 1319 BC, with dates uncertain by about a decade. The son of Yuya and Tjuyu, two influential nobles of the Eighteenth Dynasty, Ay had served as a trusted civil administrator and cavalry officer during the Amarna Period before steering the court of the youthful Tutankhamun.

When Tutankhamun died unexpectedly without an heir, Ay took the crown, legitimising his authority by supervising his predecessor's burial and marrying his widow, Ankhesenamun. During his four-year reign, Ay governed from Memphis and maintained the return to traditional religious worship. He constructed a royal tomb, WV23, in the western branch of the Valley of the Kings and began a mortuary temple at Medinet Habu.

Scholars identify Ay's career through his surviving private tomb at Amarna, temple inscriptions, and the wall paintings inside WV23. His brief rule ended with his death, after which General Horemheb assumed the pharaonic office.

Monuments

• Tomb WV23
• Mortuary temple at Medinet Habu

Explore further

Try the name on the Cartouche Desk, or see where the reign falls on the timeline.