Who Was King Ay

King Ay was the Pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, who reigned from 1325 BC to 1321 BC He was the successor of Tutankhamun who ruled from 1334 BC to 1325 BC. Ay was succeeded by Horemheb (1321 – 1292 BC). Ay was also given a royal name, i.e. Kheperkheperure which meant "Everlasting is the Manifestations of Re" (tripod.com).
When Akhenaten was ruling, Ay came to be known as ‘Master of Horses’. Later, he used to serve as the Grand Vizier when Tutankhamun was in power. He had much influence over the king. After the death of Tutankhamen, Ay got married to his widow and seized the throne from the heir of Tutankhamun. The religion and ideals that were started by Akhenaten were sustained by Ay. These ideals had transformed Egypt to monotheism
She made the trade networks that were previously destroyed during the rule of Hykos in the Second Intermediate Period. In this way wealth of the eighteenth dynasty was rebuilt by her. The project of ‘Land of Punt’ was also overseen by her. She prepared and gathered funds for that project. This expedition of trade took place when Hatshepsut’s ninth year of rule was ongoing. Five ships were sailed in Hatshepsut’s name. Every ship was 21 metres long and had many sails. 210 men could be accommodated in it including sailors and 30 rowers. The trade goods that were brought over in Punt by this ship were frankincense and myrrh. 31 live trees of myrrh were brought by the delegation. This was the incident when for the first time in Egypt, foreign trees were transplanted. These trees were planted in Hatshepsut’s mortuary temple complex’s courts. Furthermore, other gifts were also brought in for the Queen by the delegate. Out of Frankincense, kohl eyeliner was made, which is recorded to be the first ever use of the resin (The History of Somalia,
The architect, Ineni, who had previously worked by her father, husband and steward Senemut, was hired by her.
The statutory produced by her in her reign was in such great number that they were found in every big museum of the world. For instance, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City has a corner named, ‘Hatshepsut Room’, which is only devoted to Hatshepsut’s pieces.
Much like other pharaohs, Hatshepsut got monuments built at the Temple of Karnak. Moreover, she reinstated the Precinct of Mut, which was Egypt’s ancient great goddess. It was previously destroyed by the rule of foreigners when Hyksos was in rule.
Karnak’s Red Chapel was another project by Hatshepsut, also known as Chapelle Rouge. It was planned to be a barque shrine. It is thought that this rouge originally used to lie between her two obelisks. Carved stones were used to line it. These carved lines portrayed Hatshepsut’s important life events.
Furthermore, two other obelisks were ordered to be made by her. This was in the celebration of her completing the sixteen years of rule. One of which collapsed while construction was ongoing, hence another one was placed in place of it. The one that had collapsed still lies there in Aswan and is known as ‘The Unfinished Obelisk’ (Tyson,