Talk:Bay (chancellor)

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See article on Irsu

Chancellor Bay is thought by many to be identical to Irsu or Iarsu, a title meaning "self made", used by the 1st Pharaohs of the 20th Dynasty, Setnakhte Userkhaure Setepenre, and his son Rameses III Usermaatre Meryamun, to refer to this Chancellor of Egypt in the closing stages of the 19th Dynasty.

Irsu, Iarsu or Bay seems to have begun his career as vizier and secretary to Seti II Userkheperure Setepenre, crown prince and preferred son of Merenptah Baenre Merynetjeru.

Origins
Bay/Irsu is called a Syrian (Hurru = Hurrian or Harran-born) Asiatic, and may have entered Egyptian service during the reign of Merenptah or even Rameses II Usermaatre Setepenre. At this period many Asiatics enterred the Egyptian royal harem to be held as hostage to their father's good behaviour and raised as loyal servants to their Egyptian masters.

It is even possible that Bay/Irsu may have been taken to Egypt following Merentah's victories as outlined in the Merenptah or Israel Stele

"The princes are prostrate saying: "Shalom!" Not one of the Nine Bows lifts his head: Tjehenu is vanquished, Khatti at peace, Canaan is captive with all woe. Ashkelon is conquered, Gezer seized, Yanoam made nonexistent; Israel is wasted, bare of seed, Hurru is become a widow for Egypt. All who roamed have been subdued. By the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Banere-meramun, Son of Re, Merenptah, Content with Maat, Given life like Re every day." []

Bay may also have witnessed the events of the great near Eastern Famine, which saw nomadic Semites from Edom, possible remnants expelled by the kings campaign, petitioning the king to be allowed to water their livestock in the "land of Goshen, the fields of Tanis", near the royal capital of Per Rameses, the Hyksos capital of Avaris, as recorded in the Anastasi Papyrus.


 * There is a possibility that Siptah was the son not of Seti II but of Amenmesse. (See the article on Siptah), based on the Munich decapitated statuette of Siptah sitting on the lap of another Pharaoh, who has been interpreted by Aidan Dodson to be Amenmesse, not Seti II. 203.59.153.65 10:37, 11 March 2007 (UTC)

Career
Whatever his origins, Irsu/Bay may have first entered service as a priest to the temple at Heliopolis, where a small statue of him has been found.

By the time of the death of Seti II, Irsu/Bay had risen to the post of Chancellor and took the role of "kingmaker", for he made the claim referring to Siptah Akhenre Setepenre, that it was he who "established the king on the throne of his father". [] Siptah was only a boy, and suffered the indignity of also having had polio (with very deformed feet), so tended to take guidance from the Chancellor and the powerful queen mother, the regent (Siptah's step-mother) Twosret Sitre Meryamun.

Bay was permitted to use the cult facilities in the mortuary temple of Siptah.


 * Irsu/Bay also oversaw the construction of Siptah's tomb KV47, which was probably also used as the resting place of Queen Tiaa, the king's mother.


 * During Siptah's reign, work was started on a tomb for himself in the Valley of the Kings (KV13), he being one of the few commoners, and certainly the only foreigner ever to have been granted the privalege.


 * The tomb of Queen Twosret, KV14 was also started, and built as part of a threesome with those of Siptah and Irsu/Bay, during the same period. The tombs of Bay and Twosret (2nd building phase) are smaller copies of the royal tomb.

Like the other two, his name was later removed from the tomb, possibly by the new Pharaohs of the 20th Dynasty, who did not recognise the his legitimacy, nor that of any of the monarchs of the later 19th Dyansty. Some have even considered that during this period Twosret and Irsu Bay to have been or to have become lovers, encouraging her to take the throne as a full Pharaoh on the death of her step-son. If tradition is to be believed, Bay seduced the pharaoh's widow, who then gave him total control of Egypt's treasury.

Fate
Irsu/Bay seems to have predeceased his royal mistress, perhaps falling from power, and was to have been buried in style. However, his tomb was subsequently usurped in the 20th Dynasty for prince Mentuherkhepshef, son of Rameses III [] and Bay's body presumably destroyed.

After the death of Twosret, Egypt seems to have fallen into anarchy, with many temples being looted by Asiatic followers of Irsu/Bay. The Harris papyrus for instance states

"The land of Egypt was overthrown from without and every man was thrown out of his right; they had no chief for many years formerly until other times. The land of Egypt was in the hands of chiefs and of rulers of towns; one slew his neighbor great and small. Other times having come after it, with empty years, Iarsu, a certain Syrian was with them as chief. He set the whole land tributary before him together; he united his companions and plundered their possessions. They made the gods like men and no offerings were presented in the temples."

Stenakhte's Elephantine stela also records how he expelled Asiatic rebels who, on their flight from Egypt, left behind the gold, silver and copper they had stolen from Egypt, and with which they had intended to hire reinforcements among the Asiatics.

Memory
It is possible that memories of these events were distortedly reported in the third century BCE by the Hellenistic Egyptian historian and priest, Manetho, who claimed that a certain Egyptian priest from Heliopolis called Osarseph, led leprous Asiatics out of Egypt, in an Exodus later reporedly that of Moses, although Irsu/Bay's career has a greater resemblance to that of the Biblical Joseph (Yusuf). Nevertheless, Manetho's claim was a claim vigorously denied by Josephus.

Reference

 * Clayton, Peter A. Chronicle of the Pharaohs (The Reign-By-Reign Record of the Rulers and Dynasties of Ancient Egypt) (ISBN 0-500-05074-0)


 * Pierre Grandet, "L'execution du chancelier Bay O. IFAO 1864," BIFAO 100(2000) pp.339-345

Memory
Removed comment that Chancellor Bay bears resemblance to Joseph (son of Jacob). This comment is not sourced. Elliot Svensson mr.svensson@gmail.com

As the author of this suggestion, there are sources, Elliot. For example C. Hauret (1959) "MoÏse était-il PrÊtre?" - Biblica, 1959 - JSTOR, amongst others. This is also the era of the tale of "The Eloquent Peasant", a novella with similarity to the story of Joseph. For this reason I propose we restore the link.John D. Croft (talk) 05:41, 22 December 2014 (UTC)