The History of Egypt

158: What Ay Did

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Building Legacies. It is easy to overlook Ay, as a minor figure in the history of ancient Egypt. However, when we step back, and view his entire career (including pre-royal achievements), we can see things more clearly. As pharaoh, Ay continued many projects started under Tutankhamun. But since Ay had been a major advisor / courtier for that king, we can recognise these projects as part of a larger, longer trend. After the death of Akhenaten, the royal household radically reshaped many of its priorities. Since he first appeared on the scene, Ay was at the heart of those decisions…


Episode details:

  • Date: c.1331 BCE.
  • Kings: Kheper-kheperu-Ra Ay, “Who Repels the ‘Asiatics.’”
  • Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com.
  • Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast.
  • Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.
  • Episode logo: A colossal statue in Cairo Museum. Often attributed to Tutankhamun but excavated from the Memorial Temple of Ay.
  • Music: “Lament of Isis and Nephythys on the Death of Osiris,” by Jeffrey Goodman www.jeffreygoodmanmusic.com.
  • Additional music interludes by Luke Chaos https://twitter.com/Luke_Chaos.


    • Select Bibliography:

    • King Ay at the St Louis University website.
    • Colossal statue of Ay (Tutankhamun?) in Berlin.
    • Colossal statue of Ay (Tutankhamun?) in Chicago.
    • B. G. Davies, Egyptian Historical Records of the Later Eighteenth Dynasty, VI (Warminster, 1995).
    • A. Dodson, Amarna Sunset: Nefertiti, Tutankhamun, Ay, Horemheb, and the Egyptian Counter-Reformation (2nd edn, Cairo, 2017).
    • M. Gabolde, Toutankhamon (Paris, 2015).
    • U. Hölscher, The Excavation of Medinet Habu II: The Temples of the Eighteenth Dynasty (Chicago, 1939). Free download available from The University of Chicago website.
    • R. J. Leprohon, The Great Name: Ancient Egyptian Royal Titulary (Wilson, 2013).
    • W. J. Murnane, Texts from the Amarna Period in Egypt (Atlanta, 1995).
    • O. Schaden, ‘The God’s Father Ay’, PhD Thesis, University of Minnesota (1977).
    • O. J. Schaden, ‘Clearance of the Tomb of King Ay (WV-23)’, Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 21 (1984), 39–64.

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      The History of EgyptBy Dominic Perry
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