Ankhesenamon
18th
Dynasty
Ankhesenamon was the daughter of Akhenaten
and Queen Nefertiti. She was
originally called Ankhesenpa'aten and was thirteen years
old when she became the queen of Tut'ankhamun
when he was only eight years old. She was born in 'Amarna
to the royal family. Tut'ankhamun succeeded Smenkhkare'
in 1333 BC, but only ruled for 10 years.
When Tut'ankhamun died, Ankhesenamon took some drastic
measures perhaps because she was afraid of the priests
and the power of Horemhab, which was growing. Horemhab
was stirring up opposition to 'Amarna and the worship of
the god Aten. Ankhesenamon wrote to the king of the
Hittites, King Suppiluliumash,
who was an emerging power in the northern Mediterranean.
She offered herself and the throne of Egypt to one of his
sons. Prince Zannanza set out
for Egypt, but was murdered on the border of Egypt. It is
probable that he was killed by Horemhab's military
agents.
The man chosen to succeed Tut'ankhamun was Aya, who
was master of horse in Thebes. Ankhesenamon was given to
Aya as his bride. Some believe that Aya was the father of
Queen Nefertiti, which would have made him Ankhesenamon's
grandfather. Together, they assumed the throne before
Tut'ankhamun was buried. Aya died in 1319 BC, but
Ankhesenamon disappeared before his death. She was
replaced by Aya's wife, Tey.
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