Merneferre Ay
| Merneferre Ay | |
|---|---|
| Aya, Eje, Aye, Iy, Mernoferre | |
A inscribed section for the pyramidion of king Merneferre Ay's tomb.
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| Pharaoh | |
| Reign | 23 years, 8 months and 18 days, 1701–1677 BC, 1695–1685 BC, 1684–1661 BC(13th Dynasty) |
| Predecessor | Wahibre Ibiau |
| Successor | Merhotepre Ini |
| Consort | Ineni? |
Merneferre Ay (also spelled Aya or Eje) was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the mid 13th Dynasty. The longest reigning pharaoh of the 13th Dynasty, he ruled a fragmented Egypt for over 23 years in the early to mid 17th century BC. A pyramidion bearing his name shows that he possibly completed a pyramid, probably located in the necropolis of Memphis.
Merneferre Ay is the last pharaoh of the 13th dynasty to be attested outside Upper Egypt and in spite of his long reign the number of artefacts attributable to him is comparatively small. This may point to problems in Egypt at the time and indeed, by the end of his reign, "the administration [of the Egyptian state] seems to have completely collapsed". It is possible that the capital of Egypt since the early Middle Kingdom, Itjtawy was abandoned during or shortly after Ay's reign. For this reason, some scholars consider Merneferre Ay to be the last pharaoh of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt.
The relative chronological position of Merneferre Ay as a king of the mid 13th Dynasty is well established by the Turin canon, a king list redacted during the early Ramesside period (1292–1069 BC) and which serves as the primary historical source for the Second Intermediate Period. The king list records Ay's name on column 8 line 3 (column 6 line 3 in Alan Gardiner's reading of the Turin canon and entry 7.3 in von Beckerath's reading) and establishes that Merneferre Ay was preceded by Wahibre Ibiau and succeeded by Merhotepre Ini, who was possibly his son.
The precise chronological placement of Merneferre Ay varies between scholars, with Jürgen von Beckerath and Aidan Dodson seeing him as the 27th king of the dynasty 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 and Schneider's 1684–1661 BC.
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