Merneferre Ay

scarab of Merneferre Ay, British Museum. As a king of the mid 13th Dynasty, Merneferre Ay reigned over Middle and Upper Egypt concurrently with the 14th Dynasty, which controlled at least the Eastern Nile Delta. The egyptologists Kim Ryholt and Darrell Baker contend that Mernferre usurped the throne at the expense of his predecessor Wahibre Ibiau. while Kim Ryholt and Darrell Baker place him in the 32nd and 33rd positions, respectively. Similarly, the absolute datation of Ay's reign is debated and varies by 17 years between Ryholt's 1701–1677 BC while both Alan Gardiner and Kenneth Kitchen maintained it should be read as 23 years. The dispute was settled in the latest study of the Turin canon by Kim Ryholt who confirms that Merneferre Ay's reign length as recorded on the papyrus is "23 years, 8 months and 18 days". Ryholt insists that "the tick that distinguishes 20 and 30 from 10 is preserved and beyond dispute. Accordingly, 23 years or, less likely, 33 years must be read." bearing his name are known, 51 of which are of unknown provenance. Among the scarabs of known provenance, three are from Lower Egypt, more precisely one from Bubastis and two from Heliopolis. a ball dedicated to Sobek, an inscribed limestone block, part of a lintel, discovered in 1908 by Georges Legrain in Karnak and a pyramidion. ==Death and Burial==

Pyramidion The pyramidion was confiscated from robbers by the Egyptian police in 1911 at Faqus, close to the ancient city of Avaris. It is carved with the name of Ay and shows him offering to Horus "Lord of heaven", demonstrating that a pyramid was built for him during his long reign. The fact that the pyramidion was probably discovered by the robbers in modern-day Khatana, part of the ancient city of Avaris (modern-day Qantir) is important since it was likely the capital of the 14th Dynasty during Ay's lifetime. Egyptologists believe that the pyramidion originates in fact from Memphis, in the necropolis of which Ay's pyramid must be located. Accordingly, this suggests that the pyramid was looted at the time of the Hyksos invasion 1650 BC and the pyramidion taken to Avaris at this moment. This is vindicated by the "damaged text on the pyramidion [which] originally invoked four gods" two of whom were Ptah and Re-Horus (for Ra-Horakhty). The cults of these gods were based in the Memphite necropolis, not in Avaris. Other objects which suffered the same fate include two colossal statues of the 13th Dynasty king Imyremeshaw. ==Legacy==

Even though Merneferre Ay is well attested, the number of objects attributable to him is relatively small given his nearly 24 year-long reign. This analysis is rejected by Ryholt and Baker however, who note that the stele of Seheqenre Sankhptahi, reigning toward the very end of the 13th Dynasty, strongly suggests that he reigned over Memphis. Unfortunately, the stele is of unknown provenance. ==See also==