section_path: Succession/Reign of vizier Ay
section_name: Reign of vizier Ay
paragraph_text: Reign of vizier Ay
  
  Seeking to resolve her spousal dilemma, Ankhesenamun may have inadvertently generated a predicament involving the Hittite king Suppiluliuma I and his son, prince Zannanza, known as the Zannanza affair, although Ankhesenamun's identification as the Egyptian queen in question is not definite. Meanwhile, Tutankhamun's vizier may have maneuvered in the midst of Tutankhamun's death to intercept the throne, circumventing Horemheb's heirship, possibly marrying Ankhesenamun towards the onset of this Hittite-Egyptian negotiation period, unbeknownst to Hittites. The fact that Ay is depicted presiding over Tutankhamun's funeral, which is customary for the successor pharaoh, and the fact that Horemheb appears to have been absent at Tutankhamun's funeral aligns with this.
  
  The pharaoh Ay's reign was short and his death again appears to have left a vacancy in the throne with no royal bloodline heir because Ay is presumed to have not had children with queen Ankhesenamun. Toward the end of Ay's reign, Ay named his son, military generalissimo Nakhtmin, to be successor to the throne. However, Nakhtmin died before he could become pharaoh.