Horemheb-Pharaoh of Egypt

During the last years of ancient Egypt's 18th Dynasty, after the death of Tutankhamun, Horemheb was named to succeed the boy Pharaoh, but his claim was usurped by the priest and vizier, Ay. Ay, however, named his own son to assume the throne after his death, circumventing any claim Horemheb might still have. Since Ay was quite old, he only ruled for about four years before dying and as commander of the army, Horemheb apparently was able to successfully prevent Ay's son was claiming the throne and became Pharaoh.

Horemheb continued to restore the Egyptian gods that Akhenaten had denied, to power. This was a popular decision since the people had disliked Akhenaten's view of monotheism. Horemheb set up a government system of judges and regional viziers in upper and lower Egypt, which divided the legal power, rather than keep it limited. He saw the problems with the Amun priests, who were restored to their all-powerful positions during Ay's reign, and set about replacing the existing priests with loyal men from his own army.

In addition to rebuilding the infrastructure of Egypt, he constructed monuments and was responsible for the second, ninth and tenth pylons in the Karnak Temple complex. His tomb is KV57, the 57th tomb discovered in the Kings Valley. It is believed that Horemheb ruled for about 27 or 28 years, because several statues and monuments have been found with these particular year dates mentioned on them. It's thought that these dates indicated his 'accession' date, or the date he died. Without an heir, he was the last of the Amarna era 18th Dynasty kings.

One of Horemheb's wives had apparently died prior to giving birth, since her mummified remains were discovered along with the bones of a fetus. The tomb had been plundered by grave robbers and the mummy smashed, so it's unclear whether the child had been born or not. Even though Horemheb's wives had not been successful in giving him an heir, he declared that his trusted vizier, Paramesse, should rule after him. Paramesse was a solid choice to carry on since he already had a son and a grandson. Once assuming the throne, Paramesse took the name Ramesses I and started a new Dynasty.

Horemheb was a very capable and fair Pharaoh, with a good, solid ideal about how the country should be run. With his keen military sense and dedication to his people, he was well liked and had created a more settled life for the people after the upsetting years of Akhenaten. His insight and naming of the future Ramesses as his successor showed him as a responsible and intelligent man.