Aidan Dodson explores the mysteries of the origins of the usurper-king
Amenmeses and the career of the 'king-maker' of the period, the
chancellor Bay. Having helped to install at least one pharaoh on the
throne, Bay's life was ended by his abrupt execution, ordered by the
woman with whom he had shared the regency of Egypt for the young and
disabled King Siptah. Finally, the author considers how that
woman--Tawosret--became the last true female pharaoh, and how she
finally lost her throne to the founder of the Twentieth Dynasty,
Sethnakhte.