Ankhesenamun married her brother, Tutankhamun (r. 1332-1323 BC), son of Akhenaten and stepson of Nerfertiti. His mother was likely Nebetah, and his grandmother Queen Tiye.
Ankhesenamun’s father, Akhenaten (r. 1351-1334 BC), was the son of Amenhotep III and Tiye.
Ankhesenamun’s mother (and mother-in-law), Nefertiti, is said to have possibly been the daughter of Pharaoh Ay. His Great Royal Wife, Tey, is known to have been her wet-nurse.
Tutankhamun ascended the throne around the age of nine following the short reigns of his predecessors Smenkhkare (r. 1335-1334 BC) and Neferneferuaten (r. 1334-1332 BC). It’s likely that he was guided by several key figures including Ay, Grand Vizier and maternal grandfather, and Horemheb (c. 1319-1292 BC), the commander-in-chief of the military.
Since the two children of Tutankhamun and Queen Ankhesenamun were both stillborn (317a and 317b), Tutankhamun was the last of the royal male siblings and there was no immediate heir apparent to assume the throne as Ankhesenamun's husband.
Tutankhamun died at age 18 or 19. A small bone fragment on the inside of his skull initially led some historians to believe that he was murdered by a blow to the back of his head.
A document was found in the ancient Hittite capital of Hattusa dating back to the Amarna period in which Ankhesenamun requests that the Hittite king, Suppiluliuma I (c. 1350-1322 BC), send her a son to marry so that she is not forced to marry her “subject.”
Suppiluliuma I agreed to send Zannanza, the second-youngest of his five sons, to Egypt.
Zannanza never made it past the Egyptian border. Suppiluliuma I accused the Egyptians of murdering him. Pharaoh Ay, denied the murder, but acknowledged the death.
Zannanza’s disappearance under mysterious circumstances caused a diplomatic incident between the Hittites and Egyptian Empire, resulting in a war that ultimately resulted in the death of Suppliluliuma I and a long-lived rivalry between Egypt and the Hittites.
She then married Ay, shortly before disappearing from history,
When Ay assumed the throne after the death of Tutankhamen, Tey became his Great Royal Wife. Prior to his rule, he had been the vizier of both Akhenaten, Tutankhamun and possibly Smenkhkare (r. 1335-1334 BC).
Nakhtmin, Ay's chosen successor, was likely his son or grandson. Nakhtmin's mother Iuy, may have been Ay's first wife.
The Commander of the Army, Horemheb, had been designated as the "Deputy of the Lord of the Two Lands" under Tutankhamun and was presumed to be his apparent successor.
It appears that Horemheb was outmaneuvered to the throne by Ay, who legitimized his claim to the throne by burying Tutankhamun, as well as marrying Ankhesenamun, Tutankhamun's widow.
Horemheb had no relation to the preceding royal family other than by marriage to Mutnedjmet, who is thought to have been the daughter of Pharaoh Ay.
Pharaoh Ay was succeeded by Horemheb (c. 1319-1292 BC), who was then succeeded by Ramesses I (c. 1292-1290 BC).
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Like this post? Stop by and read “Queens & Consorts of 18th Dynasty Egypt: Ankhesenamun, Wife of Tutankhamun (r. 1332-1323 BC).” Queen Ankhesenamun, wife of Pharaohs Tutankhamun and Ay, was the daughter of Pharaoh Akhenaten (r. 1351-1334 BC) and Queen Nefertiti. Tutankhamun (r. 1332-1323 BC) was succeeded by Ay (c. 1323-1319 BC), who was then succeeded by Horemheb (c. 1319-1292 BC).
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