The History of Egypt Podcast

Securing the halls. In the 8th year of Horemheb's reign, a royal official named Maya visited a tomb in the Valley of the Kings. He was there to inspect the burial of Thutmose IV, t…

Back in the village. In regnal year 7, Horemheb's officials turn up in western Thebes (Waset). They began reorganising the village of the tomb-builders, Set-Ma'at "The Place of Tru…

On August 13th, 2022, The Guardian (UK) ran a headline "Howard Carter stole Tutankhamun’s treasure, new evidence suggests." What's going on, exactly? We dive into the new informati…

Horemheb vs Ay, Tutankhamun, and others. Everyone talks about Horemheb "erasing" Akhenaten. But the King demolished monuments of several rulers, and erased the names of others. Wha…

To build his magnificent pylons at Karnak, Horemheb dismantled other monuments. Within the masonry of these pylons, archaeologists found nearly fifty thousand blocks from temples o…

Horemheb at Karnak (Part 2). There are secrets beneath the sand of Karnak. Horemheb's architects significantly changed the temple's landscape. In some cases, they even relocated ol…

Horemheb at Karnak (Part 1). Before his ascent, Horemheb had managed building projects for Tutankhamun. Now, as pharaoh, Horemheb went all out. He invested in one of the largest bu…

Karnak had experienced a tumultuous time, in the three decades preceding Horemheb's reign... Dates: c.1362 - 1300 BCE. Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com. Support t…

Queen Mutnodjmet is a curious case. For some scholars, she may be the lost sister of Nefertiti. This hypothesis has kicked around for over 100 years. Why can’t we resolve it? Epis…

Revisionist history in the age of pharaohs. King Horemheb (“Horus in Celebration”) came to power in unusual circumstances. To justify his rule, the new pharaoh set about “retelling…

The Coronation of King Hor-em-heb. A few months after he took power, Egypt's new pharaoh Horemheb ("Horus in Celebration") celebrated his rule. It was a magnificent party...  Epis…

Inheritance and vengeance. King Ay had his own plans for the succession. He promoted his relative, Nakht-Min, to great power and prominence. But when Ay died, Nakhtmin found himsel…

Check out Casting Through Ancient Greece, a chronological deep dive on the world of the Aegean. From the earliest ages, through epic tales and archaeological discovery, Casting Gre…

A tale in two parts. The elderly pharaoh, Kheper-kheperu-Ra Ay, probably died in his fourth or fifth year of power (c. 1331 / 1330 BCE). Officially, his reign was short. But in the…

Building Legacies. It is easy to overlook Ay, as a minor figure in the history of ancient Egypt. However, when we step back, and view his entire career (including pre-royal achieve…

Keeping up with the Kadeshians. In the past, historians thought the Egyptian government was passive (or even "pacifist") in the days of Akhenaten, Tutankhamun, and Ay. However, new…

The servant ascends. Considering his background, it's not surprising that King Ay turned out to be quite "conservative." His early deeds continued the policies of Tutankhamun (a re…

A difficult decision. Events in this period are murky. But if Ankhesenamun was the "Daḫamunzu" of Hittite record, then her attempt to find a new husband (of royal blood) had failed…

He said, she said. Around 1334 BCE (give or take), the King of Hatti received a curious message. While on campaign, King Suppiluliuma got word that Egypt's pharaoh (someone called…

Face-to-face with the legends. Christina Riggs is a Professor (History of Visual Culture) at Durham University. In 2021, her book Treasured: How Tutankhamun Shaped a Century took a…