logo
episode-header-image
May 2022
25m 51s

160: Succession Crisis(?)

DOMINIC PERRY
About this episode

Inheritance and vengeance. King Ay had his own plans for the succession. He promoted his relative, Nakht-Min, to great power and prominence. But when Ay died, Nakhtmin found himself at odds with Egypt's mighty general, Horemheb. What would happen, to the feuding leaders?


Episode details:


Select Bibliography:

  1. A. Dodson, ‘Crown Prince Djhutmose and the Royal Sons of the Eighteenth Dynasty’, The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 76 (1990), 87–96.
  2. A. Dodson, Amarna Sunset: Nefertiti, Tutankhamun, Ay, Horemheb, and the Egyptian Counter-Reformation (2nd edn, Cairo, 2017).
  3. M. Gabolde, Toutankhamon (Paris, 2015).
  4. N. Kawai, ‘Studies in the Reign of Tutankhamun’, Unpublished PhD. Thesis, Johns Hopkins University (2005).
  5. N. Kawai, ‘Ay versus Horemheb: The Political Situation in the Late Eighteenth Dynasty Revisited’, Leiden, The Netherlands Journal of Egyptian History 3 (2010), 261–92.
  6. N. Kawai, ‘The Time of Tutankhamun: What New Evidence Reveals’, Scribe: The Magazine of the American Research Center in Egypt Spring 2022 (2022), 44–53.
  7. A. R. Schulman, ‘Excursus on the “Military Officer” Nakhtmin’, Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 3 (1964), 124–6.
  8. A. R. Schulman, ‘Some Observations on the Military Background of the Amarna Period’, Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 3 (1964), 51–69.
  9. A. R. Schulman, ‘The Berlin “Trauerrelief” (No. 12411) and Some Officials of Tutʿankhamūn and Ay’, Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 4 (1965), 55–68.
  10. J. Van Dijk, ‘Horemheb and the Struggle for the Throne of Tutankhamen’, Bulletin of the Australian Centre for Egyptology 7 (1996), 29—42.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Up next
Today
Ramesses' Wild West with Prof. Steven Snape
Heart of Darkness at Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham. Far from the Nile Valley, on Egypt’s northern coastline, Ramessid soldiers and civilians constructed a significant fortress to control the maritime roads. This remote garrison faced off against Libyan tribes coming from the far west (e. ... Show More
1h 7m
Jul 4
NSFW Not Safe for Water (Did Pharaohs Masturbate into the Nile?)
Explicit content. There's a factoid floating around on the internet. It claims that, to ensure fertility and good harvest, pharaohs would annually masturbate into the River Nile. This claim is total bubkis, but where did it come from? Which deities and myths were most closely ass ... Show More
14m 30s
Jun 27
Hapi Days (or, Ramesses in DeNile)
Hapi was Egypt. The life-giving waters of the annual flood (inundation) were his work; and thanks to these waters, Egypt flourished, its people were fed, the gods received their offerings, and the social order was maintained. From the New Kingdom, papyrus and ostraca record songs ... Show More
20m 15s
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2022
Tutankhamun | 1. Unearthing the boy king’s lost tomb
One hundred years ago, in 1922, Egyptologist Howard Carter made one of the most spectacular discoveries in the history of archaeology, when he unearthed the tomb of Tutankhamun in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings. In the first episode in our new series on the life, death and legacy of ... Show More
47m 30s
Jan 2024
114. The Persian Renaissance
After conquering much of Eurasia, Timur showed no interest in building institutions and so after his death, like the Mongol Empire before it, the Timurid Empire soon fragmented and collapsed. However, some of Timur’s grandchildren took over parts of the Empire and ushered in eras ... Show More
44m 27s
Mar 2024
133. Cleopatra: Queen of the Nile
Born in the romantic splendour of Ptolemaic Egypt, not far from the Library of Alexandria, Cleopatra was destined for greatness. She ascended to the throne at 18 and very quickly asserted her authority across Egypt as her extraordinary mind and legendary charisma captivated all. ... Show More
47m 1s
Apr 2024
138. The Graceful Reed: Ruling the Islamic Empire
Sold as a slave to the great Abbasid Caliph, al-Khayzuran quickly rose to the very top of the pyramid. Through marriage and motherhood, she became wife of the caliph and then Queen Mother and in both instances she wielded extraordinary power. In the court at Baghdad - the very he ... Show More
43m 18s
Dec 2020
Ancient Egypt & Geopolitics
One of the luxuries of living in Ancient Egypt was that you were surrounded by massive deserts, protecting you from people who wanted to cut your head off. Well, at some point between 1650 – 1550 BC (who knows really), the Kingdom is invaded by barbarian hill people. The occupati ... Show More
1h 39m
Dec 2023
105. The Last Great War of Antiquity
Eurasia is divided into two great superpowers. Khusrow II rules the Sassanian Empire. Maurice, the last of the Justinian dynasty, rules their mighty rivals, the Byzantines. When he is overthrown, Khusrow looks to capitalise upon the chaos, invades his neighbour, and begins to swe ... Show More
47m 49s
Mar 2023
A History of Coronations: From Ancient to Modern Times
Please take my listener survey to help improve the podcast: www.surveymonkey.com/r/airwave Since ancient times, placing a crown upon a monarch’s head was a powerful symbol. It was believed to bestow a heavenly mandate to rule, or even transform a monarch into a living god. Most p ... Show More
30m 11s
Jan 2024
113. Timur: Scourge of God
Timur, known to many as Tamburlaine the Great from the iconic Marlowe play. Despite having a limp and struggling to get onto a horse, he erupted from what is now Uzbekistan at the head of a mounted army to conquer Persia and much of Eurasia. He delved deep into Russia, reached th ... Show More
42m 27s
Mar 2024
Cleopatra ❤️ Caesar
Julius Caesar intervened to put his lover and ally Cleopatra on the Egyptian throne on 27th March, 47 BC - cementing their position as the world’s premier Power Couple. But Cleo's ascent to power was not just a power play. Rather, it was a desperate bid for survival - as she had ... Show More
12m 47s
Apr 2024
139. Mrs Genghis Khan
Börte came from a powerful nomadic tribe and in many ways her marriage to Genghis Khan set him up to become the great conqueror we know. They married young and when they were twenty, he brought his new bride back to his camp. But their newlywed life was turned upside down when Bö ... Show More
47m 10s