Kay () was an

Ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

ian official living most likely in the Fifth Dynasty. He is mainly known for his

mastaba A mastaba ( , or ), also mastabah or mastabat) is a type of ancient Egyptian tomb in the form of a flat-roofed, rectangular structure with inward sloping sides, constructed out of mudbricks or limestone. These edifices marked the burial sites ...

Saqqara Saqqara ( : saqqāra ), also spelled Sakkara or Saccara in English , is an Egyptian village in the markaz (county) of Badrashin in the Giza Governorate, that contains ancient burial grounds of Egyptian royalty, serving as the necropolis for ...

North. Kay held a high number of important titles making him the most powerful person of his time, only second to the king. His main office was that of a

vizier A vizier (; ; ) is a high-ranking political advisor or Minister (government), minister in the Near East. The Abbasids, Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was at first merely a help ...

. Besides being vizier, he also held many other important titles, such as

Overseer of the treasuries The overseer of the treasuries (alternative translation: overseer of the two treasuries; ) was a title and important role in the ancient Egyptian court of the Old Kingdom of Egypt, Old and New Kingdom of Egypt, New Kingdom. The title is also atte ...

Overseer of Upper Egypt The Overseer of Upper Egypt was an important Ancient Egyptian title during the Old and Middle Kingdom periods. The title appears first in the early Fifth Dynasty. The first title holder is the vizier Kay, who possibly lived during the reigns of ...

, ''overseer of the scribes of the king's document'', ''overseer of the six big houses'' and ''overseer of all royal works of the king.'' His mastaba in Saqqara was recorded by

Gaston Maspero Sir Gaston Camille Charles Maspero (23 June 1846 – 30 June 1916) was a French Egyptologist and director general of excavations and antiquities for the Egyptian government. Widely regarded as the foremost Egyptologist of his generation, he be ...

who assigned to it the number D 19. Kay bore 51 titles, making him the vizier with the highest number of titles. Kay was the first Egyptian official with the title of ''overseer of the six big houses''. The office became one of the most important at the royal court in the later Fifth Dynasty and continued to be so during the subsequent

Sixth Dynasty The Sixth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (notated Dynasty VI), along with the Third Dynasty of Egypt, Third, Fourth Dynasty of Egypt, Fourth and Fifth Dynasty of Egypt, Fifth Dynasty, constitutes the Old Kingdom of Egypt, Old Kingdom of Dynastic Egyp ...

. The dating of Kay is uncertain. No biography is preserved in his tomb, and no king's name is mentioned. A date in the middle of the Fifth Dynasty has been proposed. Others prefer a date in the early Fifth Dynasty.

References

Literature

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kay Viziers of the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt Overseer of the treasury Ancient Egyptian overseers of royal works 3rd-millennium BC births 3rd-millennium BC deaths