7 Facts About Tutankhamun You Probably Didn't Know
6. Tutankhamun's Chief Adviser Married His Widow
Given evidence that Tutankhamun died unexpectedly and from potentially suspect circumstances, it left a power vacuum at the very top of the Egyptian pyramid (excuse the pun). This idea of a power vacuum was made even more predominant because Tutankhamun had no living children at the time of his death.
Because of this, Ay, the chief adviser for both King Tut and his father, Akhenaten, ended up succeeding Tutankhamun after his demise. According to historians, the throne of Egypt should actually have been passed to the chief of the Egyptian military, Horemheb, but Ay managed to outmanoeuvre him and gain the throne for himself.
To strengthen his legitimacy to the throne, Ay married Tutankhamun's wife, Ankhesenamun, and ancient documents discovered in the remnants of the Hittite Empire prove this. A series of letters discovered tell how an Egyptian Queen wrote to King Suppiluliuma of the Hittite Empire, saying that her husband had died and she had no sons (these documents clearly talk of Tut's death). When the Hittite King sent one of his sons to marry the queen, they were suspiciously killed during their travels. Just weeks later, Ay married Tut's widow.