Editing Tiye (section)

==Influence at court==
[[File:Relief of Queen Tiye, wearing the vulture headdress and uraeus. From the mortuary temple of Amenhotep III at Western Thebes, Egypt, c. 1375 BCE. Neues Museum.jpg|thumb|left|Relief of Queen Tiye, wearing the vulture headdress and uraeus. From the mortuary temple of Amenhotep III at Western Thebes, Egypt, c. 1375 BCE. Neues Museum]]
Tiye wielded a great deal of power during both her husband's and son's reigns. Amenhotep III became a fine sportsman, a lover of outdoor life, and a great statesman. He often had to consider claims for Egypt's gold and requests for his royal daughters in marriage from foreign kings such as [[Tushratta]] of Mitanni and [[Kadashman-Enlil I]] of Babylon. The royal lineage was carried by the women of Ancient Egypt and marriage to one would have been a path to the throne for their progeny. Tiye became her husband's trusted adviser and confidant. Known for her intelligence and strong personality, she was able to gain the respect of foreign dignitaries. Foreign leaders were willing to deal directly with her. She continued to play an active role in foreign relations and was the first Egyptian queen to have her name recorded on official acts.{{sfn|Tyldesley|2006|p=118}}
[[File:KV55 shrine panel 02.jpg|thumb|Portion of gilded shrine panel from KV55. It depicts Queen Tiye sprinkling incense on offerings before the rays of the Aten]]
Tiye may have continued to advise her son, Akhenaten, when he took the throne. Her son’s correspondence with [[Tushratta]], the king of [[Mitanni]], speaks highly of the political influence she wielded at court. In [[Amarna letter EA 26]], Tushratta, corresponded directly with Tiye to reminisce about the good relations he enjoyed with her then deceased husband and extended his wish to continue on friendly terms with her son, Akhenaten.

Amenhotep III died in Year 38 or Year 39 of his reign (1353 BC/1350 BC) and was buried in the [[Valley of the Kings]] in [[WV22]]; however, Tiye is known to have outlived him by as many as twelve years. Tiye continued to be mentioned in the [[Amarna letters]] and in inscriptions as queen and beloved of the king. Amarna letter EA 26, which is addressed to Tiye, dates to the reign of Akhenaten. She is known to have had a house at Akhetaten (Amarna), Akhenaten's new capital and is shown on the walls of the tomb of Huya – a "steward in the house of the king's mother, the great royal wife Tiyi" – depicted at a dinner table with Akhenaten, Nefertiti, and their family and then being escorted by the king to her ''sunshade''.{{sfn|O'Connor|Cline|1998|p=23}} In an inscription approximately dated to November 21 of Year 12 of Akhenaten's reign (1338 BC), both she and her granddaughter [[Meketaten]] are mentioned for the last time. They are thought to have died shortly after that date. This information is corroborated by the fact that the shrine which Akhenaten created for her—which was later found transported from Amarna to tomb [[KV55]] in Thebes—bore the later form of the Aten's name which was only used after Akhenaten's Year 9.<ref>Joyce Tyldesley, Nefertiti: Egypt's Sun Queen, Penguin UK, 2005</ref>

If Tiye died soon after Year 12 of Akhenaten's reign (1338 BC), this would place her birth around 1398 BC, her marriage to Amenhotep III at the age of eleven or twelve, and her becoming a widow at the age of forty-eight to forty-nine. Suggestions of a co-regency between Amenhotep III and his son Akhenaten lasting for up to twelve years continue, but most scholars today either accept a brief co-regency lasting no more than one year<ref>Reeves, Nicholas. ''Akhenaten: The False Prophet'', pp. 75-78</ref> or no co-regency at all.{{sfn|O'Connor|Cline|1998|p=23}}