Ay (Kheperkheperure)

Seizing the throne

Ay was an elderly, highly influential vizier under Tutankhamun. When the young king died unexpectedly without an heir, the throne was contested between Ay and the supreme military commander Horemheb. Because Horemheb was away fighting the Hittites in the Levant, Ay quickly seized the opportunity to crown himself pharaoh.

The Hittite letter

To legitimize his rule, Ay likely forced Tutankhamun's widow, Ankhesenamun, to marry him. Desperate to avoid marrying a "servant" three times her age, she secretly wrote to the Hittite king requesting one of his sons for marriage. A Hittite prince was sent, but he was assassinated en route to Egypt—likely by Ay's agents. Ay ruled for only four years before his death.