Editing Tutankhamun (section)

==Succession==
[[File:Gilded Wooden Sceptre of Tutankhamun.jpg|thumb|Tutankhamun's ritual [[Sekhem scepter]]]]
Since the two children of Tutankhamun were either stillborn or did not survive long after birth, and Tutankhamun was presumably the last of the royal male siblings, there was no immediate [[heir apparent]] to assume the throne. Records in Horemheb's tomb state that Tutankhamun appointed him "lord of the land" as [[Iry-pat]] (heir designate), which is essentially the [[heir presumptive|designated hereditary prince]] to maintain law. However, some have argued that queen Ankhesenamun may have been able to transfer kinship to a husband, but would have preferred to not marry someone of lesser status than royal queen status. Horemheb was a militaryman of peasant birth and was, as the military commander-in-chief, technically a servant of queen Ankhesenamun. The vizier [[Ay (pharaoh)|Ay]], while of some royal blood, was an established vizier, and also technically a servant of queen Ankhesenamun. Ankhesenamun's assumed spousal preferences may have ignited a series of disruptions in the fulfillment of what some have argued may have been king Tutankhamun's preference on throne heirship.<ref>Kawai, N. (2010). Ay versus horemheb: the political situation in the late eighteenth dynasty revisited. Journal of Egyptian History, 3(2), 261–292.</ref>

=== Reign of vizier Ay ===

Seeking to resolve her spousal dilemma, Ankhesenamun may have inadvertently generated a predicament involving the Hittite king [[Suppiluliuma I]] and his son, prince [[Zannanza]], known as the [[Šuppiluliuma I#Zannanza affair|Zannanza affair]], although Ankhesenamun's identification as the Egyptian queen in question is not definite. Meanwhile, Tutankhamun's vizier may have maneuvered in the midst of Tutankhamun's death to intercept the throne, circumventing Horemheb's heirship, possibly marrying Ankhesenamun towards the onset of this Hittite-Egyptian negotiation period, unbeknownst to Hittites. The fact that Ay is depicted presiding over Tutankhamun's funeral, which is customary for the successor pharaoh, and the fact that Horemheb appears to have been absent at Tutankhamun's funeral aligns with this.<ref>Booth, C. (2009). Horemheb: the forgotten pharaoh. Amberley Publishing Limited.</ref>

The pharaoh Ay's reign was short and his death again appears to have left a vacancy in the throne with no royal bloodline heir because Ay is presumed to have not had children with queen Ankhesenamun. Toward the end of Ay's reign, Ay named his son, military [[generalissimo]] [[Nakhtmin]], to be successor to the throne. However, Nakhtmin died before he could become pharaoh.<ref name="Kawai 2010 p. ">{{cite journal | last=Kawai | first=Nozomu | title=Ay versus horemheb: the political situation in the late eighteenth dynasty revisited | journal=Journal of Egyptian History | volume=3 | issue=2 | date=2010 | pages=261–292 | doi=10.1163/187416610X541727 | issn=1874-1657 | url=https://www.academia.edu/395389 | access-date=2024-03-30}}</ref>

=== Horemheb Iry-pat fulfillment ===
Horemheb succeeded the throne as pharaoh after Ay's death. As pharaoh, Horemheb saw to it that the restoration of the traditional ancient Egyptian religion that Tutankhamun was previously spearheading was completed, restabilizing the nation. Notably, during the standard [[damnatio memoriae]] process that each new Egyptian pharaoh undertakes, Horemheb defaced Ay's tomb, but left Tutankhamun's untouched, presumably out of respect.<ref name="Booth 2009">{{cite book | last=Booth | first=Charlotte | title=Horemheb | publisher=Amberley Publishing Limited | date=2009-10-15 | isbn=978-1-4456-0885-3}}</ref>

In due course, Horemheb had selected then civilian military officer, [[Ramesses I]], as heir to the throne. Ramesses I's grandson, [[Ramesses II]], would go on to found the Ramesside dynasty and become the greatest pharaoh of ancient Egypt.<ref name="Booth 2009"/> This initiated a new royal bloodline, replacing the royal bloodline that ended with the death of Tutankhamun.