Ty (Tai)

last update: 26.03.2008

Historical Data

Name Title   Origin Tomb
Ty (Tai)*

&jj (&Aj)

 
Count, Treasurer of the King of Lower Egypt, Sole Friend, Chief of the Treasures, "the one concerned with the booty"      
Wife:        
Parents        
Father: unknown        
Mother: unknown        
Brother(s):        
none known        
Sister(s):        
none known        
* the reading Ty (&jj) by Habachi, 1957, differs from that of Tai (&Aj) by Blumenthal et al., 1984; the hieroglyphic writing in the header of this page was copied from Sethe, Urk. IV Vol. 3, p. 886

Ty is testified by a graffito at Sehel, an inscription at Serabit el-Khadim dated into regnal year 25 of Thutmosis III,  and two letters which are now in the Louvre. Obviously nothing is known about his origin or his tomb.

Graffito of Ty at Sehel (from: Habachi, L., JNES 16, 1957). With the exception of the royal name in the cartouche the graffito shows no further destructions. The remaining signs inside the cartouche can easily completed to read "Maat-ka-Ra". Die horizontal line of text below inscription tells that the inscription was made by a draughtsman of Amun, Amenmesse.

The "Count, Treasurer of the King of Lower Egypt, Sole Friend, Chief Treasurer, the one concerned with the booty", Ty, wrote in his graffito on the island Sehel:
I followed the Good God, His Majesty [.....] may she live. I have seen (H.M.) overthrowing the  Iwn-[...] , (and that) he brought their chiefs home as living prisoners . 
I saw him destroying the country of NHs, while I was in the following of His Majesty. I was a royal messenger doing what is said..."
According to this graffito one must assume that this Ty participated "...I was in the following of His Majesty.." in the campaign - most likely not serving in the military operations but as a civil official - and was an eyewitness.
 
 

The name Ty was not very popular. Therefore, one may suppose that the Ty who is mentioned on a stela (No. 196) at Serabit el-Khadim is the same person, because he carries the same titles "Count, Treasurer of the King of Lower Egypt, Sole Friend, Chief  Treasurer" - only the last title "the one concerned with the booty" is missing.

The sligthly damaged stela shows in the upper of three resgisters a winged sundisk, below the sundisk the date is given "Year 25 under the majesty of". Below this a scene shows Thutmosis III offering to small vessels with water to Hathor, behind him Ty is depicted bearing a censer (taken from: ČERNƯ, J., The Inscriptions of Sinai by Alan H. Gardiner and T. Eric Peet. 2nd ed, London 1952; modified).

The date given on the stela is regnal year 25 of Thutmosis III but it is to be considered that this number includes the years in which he reigned together with Hatshepsut. There ist no further reference to Ty on the stela.
However, the fact that Ty is mentioned on this stela show that he was still holding office 3 years after the death of Hatshepsut - another document for the fact that after the death of the queen Thutmosis did not "fire" all high-ranking officials. Many still enjoyed full favor, among them unambiguously Ty - what also explains why his name was left untouched in the graffito on Sehel while that of Hatshepsut was was erased.
 

 

Copyright: Dr. Karl H. Leser (Iufaa)