Shoshenq
Encyclopedia
Shoshenq is the name given in English transcription to a number of Egypt
ian pharaoh
s of Libyan
origin who ruled during the Third Intermediate Period.
A number of other kings named "Shoshenq" have been proposed as well, though their acceptance by Egyptologists is varied. The only certainly attested king in this category is Shoshenq VI
who was Pedubast I's successor at Thebes. His royal name was 'Usermaatre Meryamun Shoshenq.' Shoshenq VI
's Year 4 and Year 6 are attested in an inscription at the Temple of Monthu at Karnak and in Nile Quay Text No.25 respectively. In addition to the various kings named Shoshenq, there were important state officials including High Priests bearing the same name from the Third Intermediate Period to the Ptolemaic Period
. One of the most important of these people was the High Priest of Amun Shoshenq C
, son of Osorkon I, who served in office during his father's reign at Thebes.
, the exact pronunciation of this name has caused some amount of controversy, and it is common to see both Shoshenq and Sheshonq used in English-language publications. There is, however, some evidence indicating that Shoshenq is preferable.
First of all, it must be stated that the name "Shoshenq" originates in an ancient Libyco-Berber
language, perhaps related to the Numidia
n Berber language used during the time of the Roman Empire
. Unfortunately, unlike some other Libyan rulers of Ancient Egypt
, there is no name in the corpus of Old Libyco-Berber text that might be an equivalent to the Egyptian rendering of the name.
In the ancient Egyptian language
, the name was generally written (with variants):
SA:SA-n:q
Egyptologists conventionally transliterate
this as ššnq. In ancient Egyptian texts, writings without the and/or (less commonly) the
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian pharaoh
Pharaoh
Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...
s of Libyan
Ancient Libya
The Latin name Libya referred to the region west of the Nile Valley, generally corresponding to modern Northwest Africa. Climate changes affected the locations of the settlements....
origin who ruled during the Third Intermediate Period.
- 22nd DynastyTwenty-second dynasty of EgyptThe Twenty-First, Twenty-Second, Twenty-Third, Twenty-Fourth and Twenty-Fifth Dynasties of ancient Egypt are often combined under the group title, Third Intermediate Period.-Rulers:...
- Shoshenq IShoshenq IHedjkheperre Setepenre Shoshenq I , , also known as Sheshonk or Sheshonq I , was a Meshwesh Berber king of Egypt—of Libyan ancestry—and the founder of the Twenty-second Dynasty...
: most Egyptologists identify as the Shishaq of the Hebrew BibleHebrew BibleThe Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
(though others dispute this) - Shoshenq IIShoshenq IIHeqakheperre Shoshenq II was an Egyptian king of the 22nd dynasty of Egypt. He was the only ruler of this Dynasty whose tomb was not plundered by tomb robbers. His final resting place was discovered within Psusennes I's tomb at Tanis by Pierre Montet in 1939. Montet removed the coffin lid of...
- Shoshenq IIIShoshenq IIIKing Usermaatre Setepenre or Usimare Setepenamun Shoshenq III ruled Egypt's 22nd Dynasty for 39 years according to contemporary historical records. Two Apis Bulls were buried in the fourth and 28th years of his reign and he celebrated his Heb Sed Jubilee in his regnal year 30...
- Shoshenq IVShoshenq IVHedjkheperre Setepenre Shoshenq IV ruled Egypt's 22nd Dynasty between the reigns of Shoshenq III and Pami. This Pharaoh's existence was first argued by David Rohl but the British Egyptologist Aidan Dodson settled the issue in a seminal GM 137 article. Dodson's arguments here for the existence of a...
- Shoshenq VShoshenq VShoshenq V was the final king of the Twenty-second dynasty of Egypt of Meshwesh Libyans which controlled Lower Egypt. He was the son of Pami according to a Year 11 Serapeum stela from his reign. His prenomen or throne name, Akheperre, means "Great is the Soul of Re."The burial of two Apis Bulls is...
- Tutkheperre ShoshenqTutkheperre ShoshenqTutkheperre Shoshenq or Shoshenq IIb is an obscure Third Intermediate Period Libyan king whose existence was doubted until recently. However, in 2004, a GM 203 German article by Eva R...
: a new Dynasty 22 king who is attested at Bubastis and Abydos. He may be one of the unknown "3 kings" that Manetho places between Osorkon IOsorkon IThe son of Shoshenq I and his chief consort, Karomat A, Osorkon I was the second king of Egypt's 22nd Dynasty and ruled around 922 BC – 887 BC. He succeeded his father Shoshenq I who probably died within a year of his successful 923 BC campaign against the kingdoms of Israel and Judah...
and Takelot ITakelot IHedjkheperre Setepenre Takelot I was a son of Osorkon I and Queen Tashedkhons who ruled Egypt for 13 Years according to Manetho. Takelot would marry Queen Kapes who bore him Osorkon II...
, the other being Shoshenq IIShoshenq IIHeqakheperre Shoshenq II was an Egyptian king of the 22nd dynasty of Egypt. He was the only ruler of this Dynasty whose tomb was not plundered by tomb robbers. His final resting place was discovered within Psusennes I's tomb at Tanis by Pierre Montet in 1939. Montet removed the coffin lid of...
.
- Shoshenq I
A number of other kings named "Shoshenq" have been proposed as well, though their acceptance by Egyptologists is varied. The only certainly attested king in this category is Shoshenq VI
Shoshenq VI
Shoshenq VI is known to be Pedubast I's immediate successor at Thebes based upon the career of the Letter Writer to Pharaoh Hor IX, who served under Osorkon II and Pedubast I...
who was Pedubast I's successor at Thebes. His royal name was 'Usermaatre Meryamun Shoshenq.' Shoshenq VI
Shoshenq VI
Shoshenq VI is known to be Pedubast I's immediate successor at Thebes based upon the career of the Letter Writer to Pharaoh Hor IX, who served under Osorkon II and Pedubast I...
's Year 4 and Year 6 are attested in an inscription at the Temple of Monthu at Karnak and in Nile Quay Text No.25 respectively. In addition to the various kings named Shoshenq, there were important state officials including High Priests bearing the same name from the Third Intermediate Period to the Ptolemaic Period
Ptolemaic dynasty
The Ptolemaic dynasty, was a Macedonian Greek royal family which ruled the Ptolemaic Empire in Egypt during the Hellenistic period. Their rule lasted for 275 years, from 305 BC to 30 BC...
. One of the most important of these people was the High Priest of Amun Shoshenq C
Shoshenq C
Shoshenq C was the eldest son of the 22nd Dynasty pharaoh Osorkon I and queen Maatkare, the daughter of Psusennes II, and served as the High Priest of Amun at Thebes during his father's reign. Consequently, he was the most important official in Upper Egypt after the king himself...
, son of Osorkon I, who served in office during his father's reign at Thebes.
The Renderings of Shoshenq in English
Because vowels are not generally written in the ancient Egyptian languageEgyptian language
Egyptian is the oldest known indigenous language of Egypt and a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. Written records of the Egyptian language have been dated from about 3400 BC, making it one of the oldest recorded languages known. Egyptian was spoken until the late 17th century AD in the...
, the exact pronunciation of this name has caused some amount of controversy, and it is common to see both Shoshenq and Sheshonq used in English-language publications. There is, however, some evidence indicating that Shoshenq is preferable.
First of all, it must be stated that the name "Shoshenq" originates in an ancient Libyco-Berber
Berber languages
The Berber languages are a family of languages indigenous to North Africa, spoken from Siwa Oasis in Egypt to Morocco , and south to the countries of the Sahara Desert...
language, perhaps related to the Numidia
Numidia
Numidia was an ancient Berber kingdom in part of present-day Eastern Algeria and Western Tunisia in North Africa. It is known today as the Chawi-land, the land of the Chawi people , the direct descendants of the historical Numidians or the Massyles The kingdom began as a sovereign state and later...
n Berber language used during the time of the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
. Unfortunately, unlike some other Libyan rulers of Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
, there is no name in the corpus of Old Libyco-Berber text that might be an equivalent to the Egyptian rendering of the name.
In the ancient Egyptian language
Egyptian language
Egyptian is the oldest known indigenous language of Egypt and a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. Written records of the Egyptian language have been dated from about 3400 BC, making it one of the oldest recorded languages known. Egyptian was spoken until the late 17th century AD in the...
, the name was generally written (with variants):
Egyptologists conventionally transliterate
Transliteration of ancient Egyptian
In the field of Egyptology, transliteration is the process of converting texts written in the Egyptian language to alphabetic symbols representing uniliteral hieroglyphs or their hieratic and demotic counterparts...
this as ššnq. In ancient Egyptian texts, writings without the
are not uncommon. For example, the name is recorded in the Neo-Assyrian dialect of AkkadianAkkadian languageAkkadian is an extinct Semitic language that was spoken in ancient Mesopotamia. The earliest attested Semitic language, it used the cuneiform writing system derived ultimately from ancient Sumerian, an unrelated language isolate...
as šusanqu and susinqu, indicating an initial rounded vowel. It is generally considered that the evidence suggests rendering it as "Sheshonq" should be avoided, in favour of "Shoshenq". See also Kitchen [1996], §58, note 356.
The writings of ManethoManethoManetho was an Egyptian historian and priest from Sebennytos who lived during the Ptolemaic era, approximately during the 3rd century BC. Manetho wrote the Aegyptiaca...
, as recorded by the ByzantineByzantine EmpireThe Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
historians Sextus Julius AfricanusSextus Julius AfricanusSextus Julius Africanus was a Christian traveller and historian of the late 2nd and early 3rd century AD. He is important chiefly because of his influence on Eusebius, on all the later writers of Church history among the Fathers, and on the whole Greek school of chroniclers.His name indicates that...
, Eusebius of CaesareaEusebius of CaesareaEusebius of Caesarea also called Eusebius Pamphili, was a Roman historian, exegete and Christian polemicist. He became the Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine about the year 314. Together with Pamphilus, he was a scholar of the Biblical canon...
, and George SyncellusGeorge SyncellusGeorge Syncellus was a Byzantine chronicler and ecclesiastic. He had lived many years in Palestine as a monk, before coming to Constantinople, where he was appointed syncellus to Tarasius, patriarch of Constantinople...
use two general forms (with variations depending on the manuscript). Africanus spells the name Σεσωνχις [Sesōnkhis], while Eusebius (as quoted by George Syncellus) uses Σεσονχωσις [Sesonkhōsis]. The alteration in the vowels [o] and [e] is probably due to metathesisMetathesis (linguistics)Metathesis is the re-arranging of sounds or syllables in a word, or of words in a sentence. Most commonly it refers to the switching of two or more contiguous sounds, known as adjacent metathesis or local metathesis:...
.
Sources
- Dodson, Aidan M. 1995. “Rise & Fall of The House of Shoshenq: The Libyan Centuries of Egyptian History.” KMT: A Modern Journal of Ancient Egypt 6 (3):52–67.
- Kenneth Kitchen
Kenneth KitchenKenneth Anderson Kitchen is Personal and Brunner Professor Emeritus of Egyptology and Honorary Research Fellow at the School of Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology, University of Liverpool, England...
[1996]. The Third Intermediate Period in Egypt (1100–650 BC). 3rd ed. Warminster: Aris & Phillips Limited. ISBN 0-85668-298-5
- Von Beckerath, J. [1997]. Chronologie des Pharaonischen Ägypten, Mainz: Philip Von Zabern.