Shoshenq II
Encyclopedia
Heqakheperre 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 II on March 20, 1939, in the presence of king Farouk of Egypt
himself. It proved to contain a large number of jewel
-encrusted bracelets and pectoral
s, along with a beautiful hawkheaded silver coffin
and a gold funerary mask. The gold facemask had been placed upon the head of the king. Montet later discovered the intact tombs of two Dynasty 21 kings—Psusennes I
and Amenemope a year later in February and April 1940 respectively. Shoshenq II's prenomen, Heqakheperre Setepenre, means "The Manifestation of Re rules, Chosen of Re."
. Two bracelets from Shoshenq II's tomb mention king Shoshenq I while a pectoral
was inscribed with the title 'Great Chief of the Ma
Shoshenq,' a title which Shoshenq I employed under Psusennes II
before he became king. These items may be interpreted as either evidence of a possible filial link between the two men or just mere heirlooms.
A high degree of academic uncertainty regarding the parentage of this king exists: some scholars today contend that Shoshenq II was actually a younger son of Shoshenq I
--who outlived Osorkon I and Takelot I—due to the discovery of the aforementioned items naming the founder of the 22nd Dynasty within his intact royal Tanite tomb. As the German Egyptologist Karl Jansen-Winkeln observes in the recent (2005) book on Egyptian chronology: "The commonly assumed identification of this king with the (earlier) HP and son of Osorkon I does not appear to be very probable." A forensic examination of Shoshenq II's body by Dr. Douglas Derry, the head of Cairo Museum's anatomy department, reveals that he was a man in his fifties when he died. Hence, Shoshenq II could have easily survived Osorkon I
's 35 year reign and ruled Egypt for a short while before Takelot I
came to power. Moreover, Manetho
's Epitome explicitly states that “3 Kings” intervened between Osorkon I and Takelot I. Unfortunately, Manetho's suggested position for these three kings cannot be presently verified due to the paucity of evidence for this period and the brevity of their reigns. Another of these poorly known rulers must be the mysterious Tutkheperre Shoshenq
who was an early Dynasty 22 ruler since he is now monumentally attested in both Lower and Upper Egypt at Bubastis and Abydos respectively Evidence that Shoshenq II was a predecessor of Osorkon II is indicated by the fact that his hawk-headed coffin is stylistically similar to "a hawk-headed lid" which enclosed the granite coffin of king Harsiese A
, from Medinet Habu
. Harsiese A was an early contemporary of Osorkon II and likely Takelot I too since the latter did not control Upper Egypt in his reign. This implies that Shoshenq II and Harsiese A were near contemporaries since Harsiese A was the son of the High Priest of Amun
Shoshenq C
at Thebes
and, thus, the grandson of Osorkon I.
Harsiese's funerary evidence places Shoshenq II roughly one or two generations after Osorkon I and may date him to the brief interval between Takelot I and Osorkon I at Tanis. In this case, the objects naming Shoshenq I in this king's tomb would simply be heirlooms, rather than proof of an actual filial relation between Shoshenq I and II. This latter interpretation is endorsed by Jürgen von Beckerath
, in his 1997 book, Chronologie des Pharaonischen Ägypten who believes Shoshenq II was actually an elder brother of Takelot I. The view that Shoshenq II was an elder brother of Takelot I is also endorsed by Norbert Dautzenberg in a GM 144 paper. Von Beckerath, however, places Shoshenq II between the reigns of Takelot I and Osorkon II at Tanis.
Kenneth Kitchen
, in his latest 1996 edition of '’The Third Intermediate Period in Egypt (c.1100–650 BC)’', maintains that Shoshenq II was the High Priest of Amun Shoshenq C
, son of Osorkon I
and Queen Maatkare, who was appointed as the junior coregent to the throne but predeceased his father. Kitchen suggests such a coregency is reflected on the bandages of the Ramesseum
mummy
of Nakhtefmut, which contain the dates "Year 3 [Blank]" and "Year 33 Second Heb Sed" respectively. The “Year 33” date mentioned here almost certainly refers to Osorkon I since Nakhtefmut wore a ring which bore this king's prenomen
. Kitchen infers from this evidence that Year 33 of Osorkon I is equivalent to Year 3 of Shoshenq II, and that the latter was Shoshenq C
himself.
Unfortunately, however, the case for a coregency between Osorkon I and Shoshenq II is uncertain because there is no clear evidence that the Year 3 and Year 33 bandages on Naktefmut's body were made at the same time. These two dates were not written on a single piece of mummy linen—which would denote a true coregency. Rather, the dates were written on two separate and unconnected mummy bandages which were likely woven and used over a period of several years, as the burial practices of the Amun priests show. A prime example is the Mummy of Khonsmaakheru in Hamburg which contains separate bandages dating to Years 11, 12, and 23 of Osorkon I
—or a minimum period of 12 Years between their creation and final use. (Altenmüller: 2000) A second example is the mummy of Djedptahiufankh
, the Third or Fourth Prophet of Amun, which bears various bandages from Years 5, 10, and 11 of Shoshenq I
, or a spread of six years in their final use for embalming purposes. As these two near contemporary examples show, the temple priests simply reused whatever old or recycled linens which they could gain access to for their mummification rituals. The Year 3 mummy linen would, hence, belong to the reign of Osorkon's successor. Secondly, none of the High Priest Shoshenq C
's own children—the priest Osorkon whose funerary papyrus
, P. Denon C, is located in the Russian National Library
in St. Petersburg or a second priest named Harsiese (likely king Harsiese A
) who dedicated a Bes
statue in memory of his father, now in Durham Museum
—give royal titles to their father on their own funerary objects. The priest Osorkon only calls himself the "son of the High Priest Shoshenq", rather than the title "King's Son" in his funerary papyri, which would presumably have been created long after his father's death.
On Harsiese, Jacquet-Gordon notes that "there is no good evidence to suggest that the 1st prophet Shoshenq C
ever claimed or was accorded royal rank." She observes that Harsiese designated his father as a High Priest of Amun on a Bes
statue without any accompanying royal name or prenomen and stresses that if Shoshenq C
"had [even] the slightest pretensions to royal rank, his son would not have omitted to mention this fact. We must therefore conclude that he had no such pretensions." This implies that the High Priest Shoshenq C was not king Shoshenq II. While Shoshenq C's name is indeed written in a cartouche on the Bes statue, no actual royal name or prenomen is ever given. An example of a king's son who enclosed his name in a cartouche on a monument but never inherited the throne was Wadjmose, a son of the New Kingdom king Thutmose I
.
and Takelot I
, for instance, employed grave goods
which mentioned their parent's names in their own tombs. This suggests that Heqakheperre Shoshenq II was not a son of Osorkon I but someone else, perhaps Shoshenq I. Karl Jansen-Winkeln writes in the most recent book on Egyptian chronology that:
Since this pharaoh's funerary objects such as his silver coffin, jewel pectorals, and cartonnage all give him the unique royal name Heqakheperre, he was most likely a genuine king of the 22nd Dynasty in his own right, and not just a minor coregent. Jürgen von Beckerath
adopts this interpretation of the evidence and assigns Shoshenq II an independent reign of 2 years at Tanis. In the most recent 2005 academic publication on Egyptian chronology, the Egyptologists Rolf Krauss and David Alan Warburton also ascribed Shoshenq II an independent reign of between 1 to 2 years in the 22nd dynasty although they place Shoshenq II's brief reign between that of Takelot I and Osorkon II. The exclusive use of silver for the creation of Shoshenq II's coffin is a potent symbol of his power because silver "was considerably rarer in Egypt than gold."
of the 21st Dynasty
. Scientists have found evidence of plant growth on the base of Sheshonq II's coffin which suggests that Shoshenq II's original tomb had become waterlogged; hence, the urgent need to rebury him and his funerary equipment in Psusennes' tomb instead. As Aidan Dodson writes:
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...
king of the 22nd dynasty
Twenty-second dynasty of Egypt
The 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:...
of Egypt. He was the only ruler of this Dynasty whose tomb was not plundered by tomb robbers
Grave robbing
Grave robbery, grave robbing, or tomb raiding is the act of uncovering a tomb or crypt to steal artifacts or personal effects. Someone who engages in this act is a grave robber or tomb raider...
. His final resting place was discovered within Psusennes I
Psusennes I
Psusennes I, or Greek Ψουσέννης], Pasibkhanu or Hor-Pasebakhaenniut I Egyptian ḥor-p3-sib3-ḫˁỉ--niwt] was the third king of the Twenty-first dynasty of Egypt who ruled from Tanis between 1047 – 1001 BC...
's tomb at Tanis
Tanis, Egypt
Tanis , the Greek name of ancient Djanet , is a city in the north-eastern Nile delta of Egypt. It is located on the Tanitic branch of the Nile which has long since silted up.-History:...
by Pierre Montet
Pierre Montet
Pierre Montet was a respected French Egyptologist.-Biography:Montet first began his studies under Victor Loret at the University of Lyon....
in 1939. Montet removed the coffin lid of Shoshenq II on March 20, 1939, in the presence of king Farouk of Egypt
Farouk of Egypt
Farouk I of Egypt , was the tenth ruler from the Muhammad Ali Dynasty and the penultimate King of Egypt and Sudan, succeeding his father, Fuad I, in 1936....
himself. It proved to contain a large number of jewel
Gemstone
A gemstone or gem is a piece of mineral, which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments...
-encrusted bracelets and pectoral
Pectoral (Ancient Egypt)
The Pectorals of ancient Egypt were a form of jewellery, often represented as a brooch. This was mostly worn by richer people.One type, was the pectoral with a necklace, as a form of attachment, to be suspended from the neck, but to lay upon the breast...
s, along with a beautiful hawkheaded silver coffin
Coffin
A coffin is a funerary box used in the display and containment of dead people – either for burial or cremation.Contemporary North American English makes a distinction between "coffin", which is generally understood to denote a funerary box having six sides in plan view, and "casket", which...
and a gold funerary mask. The gold facemask had been placed upon the head of the king. Montet later discovered the intact tombs of two Dynasty 21 kings—Psusennes I
Psusennes I
Psusennes I, or Greek Ψουσέννης], Pasibkhanu or Hor-Pasebakhaenniut I Egyptian ḥor-p3-sib3-ḫˁỉ--niwt] was the third king of the Twenty-first dynasty of Egypt who ruled from Tanis between 1047 – 1001 BC...
and Amenemope a year later in February and April 1940 respectively. Shoshenq II's prenomen, Heqakheperre Setepenre, means "The Manifestation of Re rules, Chosen of Re."
Shoshenq II's enigmatic identity
There is a small possibility that Shoshenq II was the son of Shoshenq IShoshenq I
Hedjkheperre 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...
. Two bracelets from Shoshenq II's tomb mention king Shoshenq I while a pectoral
Pectoral (Ancient Egypt)
The Pectorals of ancient Egypt were a form of jewellery, often represented as a brooch. This was mostly worn by richer people.One type, was the pectoral with a necklace, as a form of attachment, to be suspended from the neck, but to lay upon the breast...
was inscribed with the title 'Great Chief of the Ma
Meshwesh
The Meshwesh were an ancient Libyan tribe from beyond Cyrenaica where the Libu and Tehenu lived according to Egyptian references and who were probably of Central Berber ethnicity. Herodotus placed them in Tunisia and said of them to be sedentary farmers living in settled permanent houses as the...
Shoshenq,' a title which Shoshenq I employed under Psusennes II
Psusennes II
Titkheperure or Tyetkheperre Psusennes II Greek Ψουσέννης] or Hor-Pasebakhaenniut II Egyptian ḥr-p3-sb3-ḫˁỉ--nỉwt], was the last king of the Twenty-first dynasty of Egypt. His royal name means "Image of the transformation of Re" in Egyptian. Psusennes II is often considered the same person as...
before he became king. These items may be interpreted as either evidence of a possible filial link between the two men or just mere heirlooms.
A high degree of academic uncertainty regarding the parentage of this king exists: some scholars today contend that Shoshenq II was actually a younger son of Shoshenq I
Shoshenq I
Hedjkheperre 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...
--who outlived Osorkon I and Takelot I—due to the discovery of the aforementioned items naming the founder of the 22nd Dynasty within his intact royal Tanite tomb. As the German Egyptologist Karl Jansen-Winkeln observes in the recent (2005) book on Egyptian chronology: "The commonly assumed identification of this king with the (earlier) HP and son of Osorkon I does not appear to be very probable." A forensic examination of Shoshenq II's body by Dr. Douglas Derry, the head of Cairo Museum's anatomy department, reveals that he was a man in his fifties when he died. Hence, Shoshenq II could have easily survived Osorkon I
Osorkon I
The 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...
's 35 year reign and ruled Egypt for a short while before Takelot I
Takelot I
Hedjkheperre 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...
came to power. Moreover, Manetho
Manetho
Manetho was an Egyptian historian and priest from Sebennytos who lived during the Ptolemaic era, approximately during the 3rd century BC. Manetho wrote the Aegyptiaca...
's Epitome explicitly states that “3 Kings” intervened between Osorkon I and Takelot I. Unfortunately, Manetho's suggested position for these three kings cannot be presently verified due to the paucity of evidence for this period and the brevity of their reigns. Another of these poorly known rulers must be the mysterious Tutkheperre Shoshenq
Tutkheperre Shoshenq
Tutkheperre 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...
who was an early Dynasty 22 ruler since he is now monumentally attested in both Lower and Upper Egypt at Bubastis and Abydos respectively Evidence that Shoshenq II was a predecessor of Osorkon II is indicated by the fact that his hawk-headed coffin is stylistically similar to "a hawk-headed lid" which enclosed the granite coffin of king Harsiese A
Harsiese A
King Hedjkheperre Setepenamun Harsiese or Harsiese A, is viewed by the Egyptologist Kenneth Kitchen in his Third Intermediate Period in Egypt, to be both a "High Priest of Amun" and the son of the High Priest of Amun Shoshenq C. The archaeological evidence does suggest that he was indeed Shoshenq...
, from Medinet Habu
Medinet Habu (temple)
Medinet Habu is the name commonly given to the Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III, an important New Kingdom period structure in the location of the same name on the West Bank of Luxor in Egypt...
. Harsiese A was an early contemporary of Osorkon II and likely Takelot I too since the latter did not control Upper Egypt in his reign. This implies that Shoshenq II and Harsiese A were near contemporaries since Harsiese A was the son of the High Priest of Amun
Amun
Amun, reconstructed Egyptian Yamānu , was a god in Egyptian mythology who in the form of Amun-Ra became the focus of the most complex system of theology in Ancient Egypt...
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...
at Thebes
Thebes, Egypt
Thebes is the Greek name for a city in Ancient Egypt located about 800 km south of the Mediterranean, on the east bank of the river Nile within the modern city of Luxor. The Theban Necropolis is situated nearby on the west bank of the Nile.-History:...
and, thus, the grandson of Osorkon I.
Harsiese's funerary evidence places Shoshenq II roughly one or two generations after Osorkon I and may date him to the brief interval between Takelot I and Osorkon I at Tanis. In this case, the objects naming Shoshenq I in this king's tomb would simply be heirlooms, rather than proof of an actual filial relation between Shoshenq I and II. This latter interpretation is endorsed by Jürgen von Beckerath
Jürgen von Beckerath
Jürgen von Beckerath is a prominent German Egyptologist. He is a prolific writer who has published countless articles in journals such as Orientalia, Göttinger Miszellen , Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt , Archiv für Orientforschung and Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur among...
, in his 1997 book, Chronologie des Pharaonischen Ägypten who believes Shoshenq II was actually an elder brother of Takelot I. The view that Shoshenq II was an elder brother of Takelot I is also endorsed by Norbert Dautzenberg in a GM 144 paper. Von Beckerath, however, places Shoshenq II between the reigns of Takelot I and Osorkon II at Tanis.
Kenneth Kitchen
Kenneth Kitchen
Kenneth 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...
, in his latest 1996 edition of '’The Third Intermediate Period in Egypt (c.1100–650 BC)’', maintains that Shoshenq II 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
Osorkon I
The 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 Queen Maatkare, who was appointed as the junior coregent to the throne but predeceased his father. Kitchen suggests such a coregency is reflected on the bandages of the Ramesseum
Ramesseum
The Ramesseum is the memorial temple of Pharaoh Ramesses II . It is located in the Theban necropolis in Upper Egypt, across the River Nile from the modern city of Luxor...
mummy
Mummy
A mummy is a body, human or animal, whose skin and organs have been preserved by either intentional or incidental exposure to chemicals, extreme coldness , very low humidity, or lack of air when bodies are submerged in bogs, so that the recovered body will not decay further if kept in cool and dry...
of Nakhtefmut, which contain the dates "Year 3 [Blank]" and "Year 33 Second Heb Sed" respectively. The “Year 33” date mentioned here almost certainly refers to Osorkon I since Nakhtefmut wore a ring which bore this king's prenomen
Fivefold Titulary
The royal titulary or royal protocol of an Egyptian Pharaoh is the standard naming convention taken by the kings of Ancient Egypt. It symbolises worldly power and holy might and also acts as a sort of mission statement for the reign of a monarch .The full titulary, consisting of five names, did not...
. Kitchen infers from this evidence that Year 33 of Osorkon I is equivalent to Year 3 of Shoshenq II, and that the latter was 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...
himself.
Unfortunately, however, the case for a coregency between Osorkon I and Shoshenq II is uncertain because there is no clear evidence that the Year 3 and Year 33 bandages on Naktefmut's body were made at the same time. These two dates were not written on a single piece of mummy linen—which would denote a true coregency. Rather, the dates were written on two separate and unconnected mummy bandages which were likely woven and used over a period of several years, as the burial practices of the Amun priests show. A prime example is the Mummy of Khonsmaakheru in Hamburg which contains separate bandages dating to Years 11, 12, and 23 of Osorkon I
Osorkon I
The 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...
—or a minimum period of 12 Years between their creation and final use. (Altenmüller: 2000) A second example is the mummy of Djedptahiufankh
Djedptahiufankh
Djedptahiufankh served as the Third or Fourth Prophet of Amun and was the husband of Nestanebtishru during the reign of pharaoh Shoshenq I, founder of the 22nd Dynasty of Egypt. Consequently, he was one of the most important state officials at Thebes after this king's own son, the High Priest of...
, the Third or Fourth Prophet of Amun, which bears various bandages from Years 5, 10, and 11 of Shoshenq I
Shoshenq I
Hedjkheperre 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...
, or a spread of six years in their final use for embalming purposes. As these two near contemporary examples show, the temple priests simply reused whatever old or recycled linens which they could gain access to for their mummification rituals. The Year 3 mummy linen would, hence, belong to the reign of Osorkon's successor. Secondly, none of the High Priest 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...
's own children—the priest Osorkon whose funerary papyrus
Papyrus
Papyrus is a thick paper-like material produced from the pith of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus, a wetland sedge that was once abundant in the Nile Delta of Egypt....
, P. Denon C, is located in the Russian National Library
Russian National Library
The National Library of Russia in St Petersburg, known as the State Public Saltykov-Shchedrin Library from 1932 to 1992 , is the oldest public library in Russia...
in St. Petersburg or a second priest named Harsiese (likely king Harsiese A
Harsiese A
King Hedjkheperre Setepenamun Harsiese or Harsiese A, is viewed by the Egyptologist Kenneth Kitchen in his Third Intermediate Period in Egypt, to be both a "High Priest of Amun" and the son of the High Priest of Amun Shoshenq C. The archaeological evidence does suggest that he was indeed Shoshenq...
) who dedicated a Bes
Bes
Bes was an Egyptian deity worshipped in the later periods of dynastic history as a protector of households and in particular mothers and children. In time he would be regarded as the defender of everything good and the enemy of all that is bad...
statue in memory of his father, now in Durham Museum
Durham Museum
The Durham Museum is located at 801 South 10th Street in downtown Omaha, Nebraska. The museum is dedicated to preserving and displaying the history of the United States' western region...
—give royal titles to their father on their own funerary objects. The priest Osorkon only calls himself the "son of the High Priest Shoshenq", rather than the title "King's Son" in his funerary papyri, which would presumably have been created long after his father's death.
On Harsiese, Jacquet-Gordon notes that "there is no good evidence to suggest that the 1st prophet 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...
ever claimed or was accorded royal rank." She observes that Harsiese designated his father as a High Priest of Amun on a Bes
Bes
Bes was an Egyptian deity worshipped in the later periods of dynastic history as a protector of households and in particular mothers and children. In time he would be regarded as the defender of everything good and the enemy of all that is bad...
statue without any accompanying royal name or prenomen and stresses that if 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...
"had [even] the slightest pretensions to royal rank, his son would not have omitted to mention this fact. We must therefore conclude that he had no such pretensions." This implies that the High Priest Shoshenq C was not king Shoshenq II. While Shoshenq C's name is indeed written in a cartouche on the Bes statue, no actual royal name or prenomen is ever given. An example of a king's son who enclosed his name in a cartouche on a monument but never inherited the throne was Wadjmose, a son of the New Kingdom king Thutmose I
Thutmose I
Thutmose I was the third Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt. He was given the throne after the death of the previous king Amenhotep I. During his reign, he campaigned deep into the Levant and Nubia, pushing the borders of Egypt further than ever before...
.
Independent Reign
More significantly, Shoshenq II's intact burial did not contain a single object or heirloom naming Osorkon I—an unlikely situation if Osorkon did indeed bury his own son. Kitchen notes that this king's burial goods included a pectoral that was originally inscribed for the Great Chief of the Ma Shoshenq I—before the latter became king—and "a pair of bracellets of Shoshenq I as king but no later objects." This situation appears improbable if Shoshenq II was indeed Shoshenq C, Osorkon I's son who died and was buried by his own father. Other Dynasty 21 and 22 kings such as AmenemopetAmenemopet
Pharaoh Amenemope was the son of Psusennes I. Amenemope/Amenemopet's birth name or nomen translates as "Amun in the Opet Feast." He served as a junior co-regent at the end of his father's final years according to the evidence from a mummy bandage fragment. All surviving versions of his Manetho's...
and Takelot I
Takelot I
Hedjkheperre 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...
, for instance, employed grave goods
Grave goods
Grave goods, in archaeology and anthropology, are the items buried along with the body.They are usually personal possessions, supplies to smooth the deceased's journey into the afterlife or offerings to the gods. Grave goods are a type of votive deposit...
which mentioned their parent's names in their own tombs. This suggests that Heqakheperre Shoshenq II was not a son of Osorkon I but someone else, perhaps Shoshenq I. Karl Jansen-Winkeln writes in the most recent book on Egyptian chronology that:
- "As the individuals interred in the [Tanite] royal tombs often bore objects belonging to their parents, this king (Shoshenq II) is probably a son of Shoshenq I."
Since this pharaoh's funerary objects such as his silver coffin, jewel pectorals, and cartonnage all give him the unique royal name Heqakheperre, he was most likely a genuine king of the 22nd Dynasty in his own right, and not just a minor coregent. Jürgen von Beckerath
Jürgen von Beckerath
Jürgen von Beckerath is a prominent German Egyptologist. He is a prolific writer who has published countless articles in journals such as Orientalia, Göttinger Miszellen , Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt , Archiv für Orientforschung and Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur among...
adopts this interpretation of the evidence and assigns Shoshenq II an independent reign of 2 years at Tanis. In the most recent 2005 academic publication on Egyptian chronology, the Egyptologists Rolf Krauss and David Alan Warburton also ascribed Shoshenq II an independent reign of between 1 to 2 years in the 22nd dynasty although they place Shoshenq II's brief reign between that of Takelot I and Osorkon II. The exclusive use of silver for the creation of Shoshenq II's coffin is a potent symbol of his power because silver "was considerably rarer in Egypt than gold."
Death and Burial
Dr. Derry's medical examination of Shoshenq II's mummy reveals that the king died as a result of a massive septic infection from a head wound. The final resting place of Shoshenq II was certainly a reburial because he was found interred in the tomb of another king, Psusennes IPsusennes I
Psusennes I, or Greek Ψουσέννης], Pasibkhanu or Hor-Pasebakhaenniut I Egyptian ḥor-p3-sib3-ḫˁỉ--niwt] was the third king of the Twenty-first dynasty of Egypt who ruled from Tanis between 1047 – 1001 BC...
of the 21st Dynasty
Twenty-first dynasty of Egypt
The 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:...
. Scientists have found evidence of plant growth on the base of Sheshonq II's coffin which suggests that Shoshenq II's original tomb had become waterlogged; hence, the urgent need to rebury him and his funerary equipment in Psusennes' tomb instead. As Aidan Dodson writes:
- "It is abundantly clear that the presence of Shoshenq II within NRT III (Psusennes IPsusennes IPsusennes I, or Greek Ψουσέννης], Pasibkhanu or Hor-Pasebakhaenniut I Egyptian ḥor-p3-sib3-ḫˁỉ--niwt] was the third king of the Twenty-first dynasty of Egypt who ruled from Tanis between 1047 – 1001 BC...
's tomb) was the result of a reburial. Apart from the presence of the [king's] coffinettes within an extremely mixed group of secondhand jars, the broken condition of the trough of the king's silver coffin showed that it had received rough handling in antiquity."
Further reading
- Altenmüller, HartwigHartwig AltenmüllerHartwig Altenmüller is a German Egyptologist. He became professor at the Archaeological Institute of the University of Hamburg in 1971...
. (2000). "Lederbänder und Lederanhänger von der Mumie des Chonsu-maacheru" and "Die Mumienbinden des Chonsu-maacheru" in Alt-Ägypten 30, pp. 73-76, 88-89, 102-114.http://www.holos-verlag.de/books/540.htm ISBN 3-86097-540-4