by
Damien F. Mackey
The Ay[e] and Horemheb combination seems to recur approximately
half a dozen times between the C14th and C11th’s BC, conventional dating.
[Dates given below are only approximate, favouring round figures]
We begin with:
- Ay and Horemheb (c. 1325-1290 BC)
The pair is generally considered to have concluded Egypt’s Eighteenth Dynasty.
Ay was the penultimate Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt's 18th dynasty. He held the throne of Egypt for a brief four-year period (probably 1323–1319 BC or 1327–1323 BC, depending on which chronology is followed), although he was a close advisor to two and perhaps three of the pharaohs who ruled before him and was said to be the power behind the throne during Tutankhamun's reign. Ay's prenomen or royal name—Kheperkheperure—means "Everlasting are the Manifestations of Ra" while his birth name Ay it-netjer reads as 'Ay, Father of the God.'
Records and monuments that can be clearly attributed to Ay are rare, not only due to his short length of reign, but also because his successor, Horemheb, instigated a campaign of damnatio memoriae against him and other pharaohs associated with the unpopular Amarna Period.
[End of quote]
- Ramses I and Seti I (c. 1290-1280 BC)
The pair is generally considered to have inaugurated Egypt’s Nineteenth Dynasty.
the similarly brief-reigning Ramses I “came from a long line of soldiers …”. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/mummy/rameses.html
- Amenmesse and Seti II (c. 1200-1195 BC)
This pair has been situated (wrongly, I believe) towards the end of the Nineteenth Dynasty.
Amenmesse’s short reign length is compatible with that of Ay. Also compatible with Ay’s subsequent damnatio memoriae is the fact that Amenmesse “was later considered a usurper”. Thus N. Grimal (A History of Ancient Egypt, p. 269): “According to Papyrus Salt 124, Amenmesse reigned for five years, but since he was later considered a usurper it is somewhat difficult to trace his career …”.
Meanwhile, Seti (“Sethos”) II is lacking records of the military and building exploits of which he boasted (these to be found in the records of Seti I). N. Grimal again (ibid., pp. 269-270): “Sethos II claims to have undertaken an extensive building campaign, but there is little indication that his words were transformed into actions”.
- Bay and Siptah (c. 1190 BC)
This pair has been situated (wrongly, I believe) right at the end of the Nineteenth Dynasty.
Ay probably rears his ugly head here again as Chancellor Bay, he likewise (as with Ramses I) “also called Ramesses”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bay_(chancellor)
Did Bay, like Ay, suffer damnatio memoriae, like Amenmesse as a ‘usurper’?
That is likely, since he was “an usurper” according to phouka:
“Chancellor Bay is a shadowing figure who was coregent for Siptah along with Tawosret. He may have ruled by himself for a year or so after Tawosret's death in 1185 or so, accoridng to Piccione. Most egyptologists relegate him to the background, ruling from behind the throne while Tawosret sat in it. He was originally a scribe, and is referred to as "The Kingmaker" and "The self-made Man", which may imply that he was an usurper”.
Bay’s epithet, “The Kingmaker”, is also a perfect description of Ay.
But it may even be that the ‘usurper’ was, not just exiled, but executed by the new pharaoh:
“According to the information in Ostraca IFAO 1864, which is composed of two inscribed potsherd fragments that were reunited in February 2000, Bay was executed on or shortly before Year 5, III Shemu day 27 of Siptah, on the king's orders. The recto of the ostracon is essentially a public announcement to the workmen of Deir el-Medina and reads thus:
Year 5 III Shemu the 27th. On this day, the scribe of the tomb Paser came announcing 'Pharaoh LPH, has killed the great enemy Bay.(sm3 Pr-‘3 ‘.w.s. khrw ‘3 B3y)'[10]”
[End of quotes]
Pharaoh Siptah has also, for his part, the names ‘Merenptah’ and ‘Ramses’, the first of which we have met in the combination, Seti Merenptah, and the second of which we shall encounter again in 7. below, with ‘Ramses-Psusennes’.
- ‘Usurper’ and Seti-nakhte (c. 1185 BC)
Conventional Egyptology does it all over again, with Seti (here Seti-nakhte) and ‘the usurper’ here emerging at the very beginning of the so-called Twentieth Dynasty:
“Sethnakhte is relatively unknown, with only a few written records attesting to his reign. He ruled over a chaotic period in Egypt, after the (possible) reign of Chancellor Bay, an usurper to the throne. Sethnakhte claims to have "Driven out the usurper", and he restored law and order to Egypt. It is possible that he took the throne directly from Tawosret”.
The little known Seti-nakhte (Setnakhte), a hero to his successors, was, like Horemheb, like Seti I, a reformer, one who had “restored law and order to Egypt” – and he becomes far better known when he is properly attached to his alter egos (Horemheb and Seti).
“Setnakhte”, according to Grimal (op. cit., p. 271), “kept Hori son of Kama in office as Viceroy of Kush”.
This “Hori” may perhaps be an important connection with the renowned Herihor (see next).
- Amenhotep and Ramses XI (c. 1100-1070 BC)
The Twentieth Dynasty has, like the Nineteenth, a ‘Seti’ type at its beginning (Seti-nakhte) and one at the end (Ramses XI), the latter’s being another restorative period including whm mswt. I tentatively suggest that the “chief priest Amenhotep sent into exile” (Grimal, op. cit., p. 291) was the same as the too-big-for-his boots Ay: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ay
“Ay is wearing the Leopard skin worn by Egyptian High Priests”.
Herihor, “an Egyptian army officer and High Priest of Amun at Thebes (1080 BC to 1074 BC) during the reign of Pharaoh Ramesses XI” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herihor), may possibly be the same person as Setnakhte’s high official, Hori, as already mentioned.
- Amenemnisu and ‘Ramses-Psusennes’ (c. 1050-1000 BC)
Now in the so-called Third Intermediate Period, the Twenty-First Dynasty, we encounter a name, Amenemnisu, very similar to that of our ‘usurper’ in 3., Amenmesse.
The reign length of Amenemnisu, “4 years”, is the same as that estimated for Ay, and very close to the “five years” given for Amenmesse. Nor are we surprised to read of his close association with another of our ‘Seti’ types, Psusennes: http://www.touregypt.net/21dyn02.htm
“Amenemnisu was the second ruler of the Twenty-first Dynasty. He is though to have ruled for 4 years possibly as the co-regent with Psusennes I”.
Conclusion:
Our ‘Dynastic patterns for Ay[e] and Horemheb’ span (c. 1325- 1000 BC) a massive 325 years.
And that is without our yet even including Psusennes so-called II (= I?) (d. 940 BC).
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