Psusennes I

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21st Dyn.—Psusennes I in hieroglyphs
praenomen or throne name
nomen or birth name

Akheperre Psusennes I, Pseusennes I or [Greek Ψουσέννης], or Hor-Pasebakhaenniut I [Egyptian ḥr-p3-sb3-ḫˁỉ-<n>-nỉwt], is the third king of the Twenty-first dynasty of Egypt, ruling around 1039 BC – 990 BC. His name means "The Star Appearing in the City".

Professor Pierre Montet discovered Psusennes' intact tomb (No. 3 in Tanis) in 1940. Unfortunately, due to its moist Lower Egypt location, most of the "perishable" objects were destroyed by water — a fate not shared by KV62, the tomb of Tutankhamun in the drier climate of Upper Egypt. Psusennes' outer and middle sarcophagi had been recycled from previous burials in the Valley of the Kings, a state-sanctioned tomb-robbing that was common practice in the Third Intermediate Period. A cartouche on the red outer sarcophagus shows that it was originally made for the Pharaoh Merneptah, the nineteenth dynasty successor of Ramses II. Douglass Derry, who worked in the Cairo University's Anatomy Department, examined his remains in 1940^[1]. He noted that Psusennes I's teeth were badly worn and full of cavities, and observed that the king suffered from extensive arthritis and was probably crippled by this condition in his final years. His precise reign length is unknown because different copies of Manetho's records credit him with a reign of 41 to 46 Years. Some Egyptologists have proposed raising the 41 year figure by a decade to 51 years to more closely match Psusennes' known historical dates. However, his reign was certainly long since he is attested by at least two separate Year 49 dates. Psusennes I initiated a brief coregency with his son, Amenemopet for c.2 years. This coregency is attested on a Mummy bandage – now lost – which equates "[Year X] of Amenemopet to Year 49 [of Psusennes I]."^[2].

While some authors, including New Chronology followers claim that Psusennes I may actually be identical with Psusennes II, this is impossible because Psusennes II is clearly distinguished from Psusennes I by Manetho and is given an independent reign of 14/15 years in the author's Epitome. Moreover, Psusenness II's royal name has been found associated with his successor, Shoshenq I in a graffito from tomb TT18, and in an ostracon from Umm el-Qa'ab according to Dodson. This shows that Shoshenq I was Psusennes II's successor. In contrast, Psusennes I died almost 40-45 years before Shoshenq I's appearance as Chief of the Ma (the Meshwesh), let alone King of Egypt.

[edit] References

1. ^ Douglass Derry, Volume 40(1940) of ASAE
2. ^ K.A. Kitchen, The Third Intermediate Period in Egypt (c.1100-650 BC), Warminster 3rd ed: 1996., pp.24-25 and p.29

• Aidan Dodson, "Psusennes II and Shoshenq I," JEA 79(1993), pp.267-268.
• Bob Brier, Egyptian Mummies : Unraveling the Secrets of an Ancient Art, William Morrow & Co, (1994), pp.146-147.
• K.A. Kitchen 'The Third Intermediate Period in Egypt', 3rd ed, (Warminster: 1996), Aris & Phillips Limited
• Jean Yoyotte, BSSFT 1(1988) 46 n.2.

Preceded by Amenemnisu

Pharaoh of Egypt Twenty-first dynasty

Succeeded by Amenemopet