Ay - Royal Succession

Royal Succession

Prior to his death, Ay designated Nakhtmin to succeed him as pharaoh. However, Ay's plan for his succession went awry since Horemheb became the last king of Egypt's 18th Dynasty instead of Nakhtmin. The fact that Nakhtmin was Ay's intended 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 rpat (Crown Prince) and zA nzw (King's Son). The only conclusion which can be drawn here is that Nakhtmin was either a son or an adopted son of Ay and that Ay was grooming Nakhtmin for the royal succession instead of Horemheb. The 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 is no other evidence for Nakhtmin as a Viceroy--with another man 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 was amongst the Amarna pharaohs whose memories were execrated under later rulers."