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55-641: However, in recent years it has been noted that Dahamunzu may be the Hittite phonetic rendition of the Egyptian ta hemet nesu , 'the king's wife', and thus is simply the equivalent of addressing her as the equivalent of 'queen'. If so, then Dahamanzu is not a proper name at all and thus not a mysterious synonym for any of the queens discussed here, and is instead only a title. See below on this page. The episode in The Deeds of Suppiluliuma that features Dakhamunzu

110-433: A daughter who married the pharaoh Akhenaten, possibly being the father of Akhenaten's chief wife Nefertiti . Ultimately there is no evidence to definitively prove either hypothesis. The two theories are not mutually exclusive, but either relationship would explain the exalted status to which Ay rose during Akhenaten's Amarna interlude , when the royal family turned their backs on Egypt's traditional gods and experimented, for

165-507: A dozen years or so, with an early form of monotheism ; an experiment that, whether out of conviction or convenience, Ay appears to have followed under the reign of Akhenaten. The Great Hymn to the Aten is also found in his Amarna tomb which was built during his service under Akhenaten. His wife Tey was born a commoner but was given the title Nurse of the Pharaoh's Great Wife . If she were

220-644: A hostage, but [king] you will not make him! Nevertheless, after further negotiations with the Egyptian messenger and consultation of an earlier peace treaty between the Hittites and Egypt, Suppiluliuma agrees to send one of his sons to Egypt. But this prince, named Zannanza , is killed, possibly before he even reaches Egypt. As the annals make clear, the Hittites accuse the Egyptians for this murder: They spoke thus: "The people of Egypt killed Zannanza and brought word: ‘Zannanza died!’ And when [Suppiluliuma] heard of

275-465: A military officer under Tutankhamun who was Ay's chosen successor—is dated to "Year 4, IV Akhet day 1" of Ay's reign. Manetho 's Epitome assigns a reign length of four years and one month to Horemheb, and this was usually assigned to him based on this Year 4 dated stela; however, it is now believed that figure should be raised by a decade to fourteen years and one month and attributed to Horemheb instead, as Manetho intended. Hence, Ay's precise reign length

330-468: A more likely candidate for Nibhururiya, although Smenkhkare cannot be entirely ruled out due to their prenomen being missing. Comparison between the probable times of death for Akhenaten (after the vintaging of wine, i.e. at the end of September or the start of October) and Tutankhamun (in December, based on floral and faunal evidence from his tomb) with the account found in the Hittite annals (which places

385-411: A more thorough comparison with Yuya cannot be made. Therefore, the theory that he was the son of Yuya rests entirely on circumstantial evidence. Ay's Great Royal Wife was Tey , who was known to be the wet-nurse to Nefertiti . It is often theorised that he was the father of Nefertiti as a way to explain his title 'God's Father' as it has been argued that the term designates a man whose daughter married

440-449: A plague brought to Hattusa by the prisoners from Amqu. Initially, the name Dakhamunzu was believed to be a misreading of Sankhamun , a supposed version of Ankhesenamun , Tutankhamun 's widow. However, it has been demonstrated that Dakhamunzu is a Hittite rendering of the Egyptian title ta hemet nesu ( Egyptian : tꜣ ḥmt nswt , literally "the king's wife", probably pronounced contemporaneously as /taʔ ˈħiːmaʔ ʔənˈsiːʔəʔ/) instead of

495-439: A possible co-regency between Nefertiti and Tutankhamun. In such a scenario, Tutankhamun may be identified as the unnamed pharaoh from Suppiluliuma's letter, supplanting Nefertiti on the Egyptian throne. Others, however, maintain that Nefertiti predeceased her husband and therefore identify Dakhamunzu/Akhenaten's female co-regent as Meritaten. In this scenario, Smenkhare may be identified as the new unnamed pharaoh, who would then be

550-607: A rock-cut chapel in Akhmim and dedicated it to the local deity Min . He may have been the son of the courtier Yuya and his wife Thuya , making him a brother of Tiye and Anen . This connection is based on the fact that both Yuya and Ay came from Akhmim and held the titles 'God's Father' and 'Master of Horses'. A strong physical resemblance has been noted between the mummy of Yuya and surviving statuary depictions of Ay. The mummy of Ay has not been located, although fragmentary skeletal remains recovered from his tomb may represent it, so

605-487: A woman with the name Mutnodjimet. Ay's reign was preceded by that of Tutankhamun , who ascended to the throne at the age of eight or nine, 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 . Tutankhamun's nine-year reign, largely under Ay's direction, saw

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660-411: Is no other evidence for Nakhtmin as a Viceroy—with another man [Paser I] 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

715-524: Is often referred to as the Zannanza affair , after the name of a Hittite prince who was sent to Egypt to marry her. The Dakhamunzu episode should be seen against the background of Egypt's relations with the other major powers in Western Asia during the second half of the 14th century BC, more specifically the three-cornered struggle for power between Egypt, Mitanni and the newly arising power of

770-430: Is unknown and he could have ruled for as long as seven to nine years, since most of his monuments and his funerary temple at Medinet Habu were either destroyed or usurped by his successor, Horemheb . Prior to his death, Ay attempted to sideline Horemheb from the royal succession. Horemheb, who was the general in charge of Egypt's armies and previously held the title of jrj-pꜥt or "Hereditary Prince" under Tutankhamun,

825-468: The Amqu region, at that time an Egyptian vassal state. At this point the annals inform us that: [The Egyptians] were afraid. And since, in addition, their lord Nibhururiya had died, therefore the queen of Egypt, who was Dakhamunzu, sent a messenger to [Suppiluliuma]. The annals then recount the message the Egyptian widow queen wrote to Suppiluliuma: My husband died. A son I have not. But to thee, they say,

880-400: The pharaoh of Egypt , and because his death caused a diplomatic incident between the Hittite and Egyptian empires, resulting in warfare. The Egyptian Queen Dakhamunzu , who could have been Meritaten or Nefertiti , but is most often identified as Ankhesenamun , asked Suppiluliuma I to send over a son during the late Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt because she had recently been widowed by

935-515: The East Valley of the Kings ( KV62 ). Depending on the chronology followed, Ay served as pharaoh between 1323 and 1319 BC, 1327–1323 BC, or 1310–1306 BC. Tutankhamun's death around the age of 18 or 19, together with the fact he had no living children, left a power vacuum that his Grand Vizier Ay was quick to fill: he is depicted conducting the funerary rites for the deceased monarch and assuming

990-468: The Egyptian court at the time he sent his son there. This new pharaoh might be seen either as a servant to whom Dakhamunzu was married against her own wish or as supplanting her on the throne, depending on the identification of the individuals involved (see below). The deaths of both Suppiluliuma and his immediate successor Arnuwanda II are a direct result of the Zannanza affair because both succumbed to

1045-596: The Hitties, further supporting evidence that 'Nibḫururiya' is referring to Tutankhamun. It is also assumed that the situation at the Egyptian court (i.e. the lack of male royal offspring) fits better with the period after Tutankhamun's death. In this case Dakhamunzu should be identified as Ankhesenamun, while the anonymous pharaoh from Suppiluliuma's draft letter can be identified as Ay , a servant Dakhamunzu did not want to marry. Alternative Egyptian and Hittite chronologies based on recorded astronomical phenomena make Akhenaten

1100-451: The Hittites under Suppiluliuma I. During the late-Amarna period and its immediate aftermath we are almost totally dependent on the Hittite records for information on these matters. While involved in war with Mitanni, the Hittites were attacked by Egyptian forces in the region of Kadesh , which had only recently come under Hittite control. Suppiluliuma retaliated by simultaneously besieging Mitanni forces at Carchemish and sending forces into

1155-557: The Manifestations of Ra", while his nomen Ay it-netjer reads as "Ay, Father of the God". Records and monuments that can be clearly attributed to Ay are rare, both because his reign was short and because his successor, Horemheb , instigated a campaign of damnatio memoriae against him and the other pharaohs associated with the unpopular Amarna Period . Ay is believed to have been from Akhmim . During his short reign, he built

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1210-522: The Right Side of the King , Acting Scribe of the King, beloved by him , and God's Father . The 'Fan-bearer on the Right Side of the King' was a very important position, and is viewed as showing that the bearer had the 'ear' of the ruler. The final God's Father title is the one most associated with Ay, and was later incorporated into his royal name when he became pharaoh. This title could mean that he

1265-399: The Zannanza affair as further evidence for Nefertiti's continuing importance in the late-Amarna period. In this case it is believed that, in spite of her changed role at the Egyptian court, to the outside world she would have remained known as the king's wife . Supporters of this theory draw a parallel between the co-rule between Hatshepsut and Tuthmosis III earlier in the 18th dynasty, and

1320-438: The death of Nibhururia (possibly Akhenaten , but more likely Tutankhamun ), and had borne no heir. Her letter reads, My husband has died and I have no son. They say about you that you have many sons. You might give me one of your sons to become my husband. I would not wish to take one of my subjects as a husband... I am afraid. It was extraordinary that a consort from outside of Egypt would be sought, however, so Suppiluliuma

1375-619: The death of Nibhururiya occurs near the end of Suppiluliuma's life and therefore conventional Egyptian chronology favours Tutankhamun. Linguistic analysis has demonstrated that 'Nibḫururiya' is an accurate Hittite rendering of Tutankhamun's throne name Nebkheperure. In addition, the Amarna letters , which contain Diplomatic correspondence between Egypt and its neighbors, always refer to Akhenaten as 'Napḫurureya' (Hittite rendering of Akhenaten's throne name Neferkheperure) in letters received from

1430-433: The draft for a letter written by Suppiluliuma might shed more light on the matter. This letter is addressed to an unnamed pharaoh, generally considered Ay , written in response to an earlier letter from this pharaoh to Suppiluliuma. From this correspondence, it appears that this pharaoh came to the throne of Egypt at some time before the murder of Zannanza, and that Suppiluliuma seems to have been unaware of this development at

1485-487: The identity of Dakhamunzu because besides his great royal wife Nefertiti, Meritaten seems to have held the title ta hemet nesu in relation to her father as well. In this case, the identity of Dakhamunzu is largely depended on the identity of Akhenaten's co-regent and successor . Those who see evidence for a gradually changing role for Nefertiti (from great royal wife, over co-regent to sole ruler after Akhenaten's death) will naturally identify Dakhamunzu as Nefertiti, and see

1540-430: The king of Egypt is given to anyone . Suppiluliuma is therefore surprised and suspicious, the annals report his reaction: Such a thing has never happened to me in my whole life! Intrigued, he sends his chamberlain to Egypt to investigate the matter. He orders him: Go and bring thou the true word back to me! Maybe they deceive me! Maybe (in fact) they do have a son of their lord! In the meantime, Suppiluliuma concludes

1595-434: The king. However, nowhere are Ay and Tey referred to as the parents of Nefertiti. Nakhtmin , Ay's chosen successor, was likely his son or grandson. Nakhtmin's mother was Iuy, a priestess of Min and Isis in Akhmim. She may have been Ay's first wife. All that is known for certain was that by the time he was permitted to build a tomb for himself ( Southern Tomb 25 ) at Amarna during the reign of Akhenaten , he had achieved

1650-413: The last king of Egypt's 18th Dynasty instead of Nakhtmin. The fact that Nakhtmin was Ay's intended political 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 "Crown Prince" ( jrj-pꜥt ) and "King's Son" ( zꜣ-nswt ). The only conclusion which can be drawn here is that Nakhtmin

1705-436: The mother of Nefertiti she would be expected to have the royal title Mother of the Pharaoh's Great Wife instead; had Ay been the father of Nefertiti, then Tey would have been her stepmother. In several Amarna tomb chapels there is a woman whose name begins with "Mut" who had the title Sister of the Pharaoh's Great Wife . This could also be a daughter of Ay's by his wife Tey, and it is known that his successor Horemheb married

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1760-548: The murder, but acknowledged the death. Angry letters were passed between the two nations, but the matter ended inconclusively. Hittite forces subsequently attacked Egyptian settlements in Syria. Sick prisoners of war brought back to the Hittite Empire after these attacks caused a deadly epidemic that spread rapidly throughout the empire. As a result, Suppiluliuma I himself died from the epidemic. Ay (pharaoh) Ay

1815-460: The name of a queen. As a consequence Dakhamunzu has variously been identified as either Nefertiti , Meritaten or Ankhesenamun. Nibhururiya, the name of the recently deceased pharaoh as it is recorded in the annals, has been seen as a Hittite rendering of the prenomen of either Akhenaten (Neferkheperure) or Tutankhamun (Nebkheperure) and the flexibility of the chronology of the period admits both possibilities. The chronology of events requires that

1870-571: The presence of this letter there suggests he cannot have been the recently deceased pharaoh from the annals. The recently proposed identification of an Egyptian official named Armaa, who appears in a Hittite document relating events from Mursili II's regnal years 7 and 9, as Horemheb in his function of viceroy and commander in Asia (i.e. before his ascent to the throne) would also rule out Tutankhamun as possible candidate for Nibhururiya. The identification of Nibhururiya as Akhenaten does however complicate

1925-479: The reception of Dakhamunzu's first letter in late autumn) also seems to favour the identification of Nibhururiya with Akhenaten. Further evidence to support this identification might come from one of the Amarna letters which seems to deal with the same military actions against Amqu that are reported in the Hittite annals. Since the Amarna archives seem to have been abandoned and closed by the end of Tutankhamun's reign,

1980-515: The 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. 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. He also alleged that Ankhesenamun and the Hittite prince she was about to marry were also murdered at his orders. This murder theory

2035-562: The role of heir. The grounds on which he 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. It appears that Horemheb was outmaneuvered to the throne by Ay, who legitimized his claim to

2090-458: The servant Dakhamunzu was unwilling to marry, although the identification of Smenkhkare as Zannanza is also suggested as a (more unlikely) possibility. In the event that Smenkhkare was Nibhururiya, Meritaten is again identified as Dakhamunzu. Zannanza Zannanza (died c. 1324 BC ) was a Hittite prince, son of Suppiluliuma I , king of the Hittites . He is best known for almost becoming

2145-403: The siege of Carchemish, then returns to his capital Hattusa for the winter. The following spring his chamberlain and a messenger from Egypt return to him, bringing a further letter of the queen: Why didst thou say “they deceive me” in that way? Had I a son, would I have written about my own and my country's shame to a foreign land? Thou didst not believe me and hast even spoke thus to me! He who

2200-413: The slaying of Zannanza, he began to lament for Zannanza and to the gods he spoke thus: 'Oh gods! I did no evil, yet the people of Egypt did this to me, and they also attacked the frontier of my country". This leads to recriminations on behalf of Suppiluliuma, who again attacks Amqu, drives the Egyptians from it, and returns with prisoners to Hattusa. Nothing is told of the eventual fate of Dakhamunzu, but

2255-428: The sons are many. If thou wouldst give me one son of thine, he would become my husband. Never shall I pick out a servant of mine and make him my husband. I am afraid. Such an offer to marry a female member of the Egyptian royal family is unprecedented; as Amenhotep III made clear in his correspondence with a foreign king, the gift of women in marriage was, for Egypt, a one-way trade: From time immemorial no daughter of

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2310-411: The state of Ay-Horemheb's mortuary temple: Wherever a cartouche has been preserved, the name of Eye [i.e., 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

2365-466: The temple of Harmhab. Seals on stoppers of wine jars from the temple magazines read: "Wine from the temple of Harmhab". Nozomu Kawai describes Horemheb's actions as a damnatio memoriae since once he became king, Horemheb "started erasing all depictions of [king] Ay on the monuments of Tutankhamun, as well as those on Ay's royal monuments and those of his entourage. This action must be understood as damnatio memoriae. Horemheb desecrated Ay's tomb (KV 23) in

2420-431: The throne by burying Tutankhamun, as well as possibly marrying Ankhesenamun , Tutankhamun's widow. Since Ay was already advanced in age upon his accession, he 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),

2475-493: 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 . Prior to this promotion he appears to have been first a Troop Commander and then a "regular" Overseer of Horses, titles which were found on a box thought to have been part of the original furnishings for his tomb. Other titles listed in this tomb include Fan-bearer on

2530-440: Was amongst the Amarna pharaohs whose memories were execrated under later rulers. 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 erased while his sarcophagus

2585-593: Was caused by sickle cell disease . Ay buried his young predecessor, as depicted on the wall of Tutankhamun's burial chamber. The explicit depiction of a succeeding king conducting the "Opening of the Mouth" ceremony of another is unique; the depictions are usually more generic. Ay was buried in the tomb intended for Tutankhamun in the West Valley of the Kings ( WV23 ), and Tutankhamun was interred in Ay's intended tomb in

2640-421: Was cautious. After sending an envoy to verify her claim, he obliged her. His son, Zannanza, was chosen and sent to Egypt to become the new pharaoh. This could have led to efforts to make Egypt part of the Hittite Empire. Zannanza never made it past the Egyptian border, though exactly what became of him and how he died is unknown. His father accused the Egyptians of murdering him. The new king of Egypt, Ay , denied

2695-450: Was either a son or an adopted son of Ay's, and that Ay was grooming Nakhtmin for the royal succession instead of Horemheb. The British 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

2750-457: Was my husband has died. A son I have not! Never shall I take a servant of mine and make him my husband! I have written to no other country, only to thee have I written! They say thy sons are many: so give me one son of thine! To me he will be husband, but to Egypt he will be king. Suppiluliuma however remains suspicious and he tells the Egyptian messenger: ...You keep asking me for a son of mine (as if it were my) duty. [H]e will in some way become

2805-587: Was not accepted by all scholars, and further analysis of the x-rays, along with CT scans taken in 2005, found no evidence to suggest that Tutankhamun died from a blow to the head as Brier had theorized. In 2010, a team led by Zahi Hawass reported that the young king had died from a combination of a broken leg, malaria and Köhler disease but another team from the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine in Hamburg believes his death

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2860-501: Was replaced in the succession by General Nakhtmin under king Ay. In fact, two separate men were designated jrj-pꜥt or "Hereditary Prince" under Ay's short reign namely: Nay and Nakhtmin. Nozomu Kawai writes that Nay built his TT271 tomb at the hill of Qurnat Murai , facing Ay's mortuary temple at Medinet Habu where he holds the titles of: In contrast, the case of general Nakhtmin is quite different than that of Nay. As Kawai writes: Ay's succession plans went awry, as Horemheb became

2915-402: Was smashed into numerous fragments. However, the intact sarcophagus lid was discovered in 1972 by Otto Schaden . The lid had been buried under debris in this king's tomb and still preserved Ay's cartouche. 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 interesting details concerning

2970-550: Was the father-in-law of the pharaoh, suggesting that he was the son of Yuya and Thuya , thus being a brother or half-brother of Tiye , brother-in-law to Amenhotep III and the maternal uncle of Akhenaten. Instead, the title may indicate that Ay was the tutor of Tutankhamun. 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. Alternatively, it could also mean that he may have had

3025-413: Was the penultimate pharaoh of ancient Egypt 's 18th Dynasty . He held the throne of Egypt for a brief four-year period in the late 14th century BC. Prior to his rule, he was a close advisor to two, and perhaps three, other pharaohs of the dynasty. It is speculated that he was the power behind the throne during child ruler Tutankhamun 's reign. His prenomen Kheperkheperure means "Everlasting are

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