Tefnakht

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Dynasty XXIV Shepses-Rā – Tafnekht I in hieroglyphs
praenomen or throne name
nomen or birth name

Tefnakht I or Tefnakhte (in Greek known as Tnephachthos), was a Libyan-descended king and founder of the relatively short Twenty-fourth dynasty of Egypt. He is thought to have reigned roughly 725 BCE - 720 BCE, as the "Great Chief of the West" and Prince of Saïs, and was a contemporary of the late 22nd dynasty king, Shoshenq V. Tefnakht I was actually the second ruler of Saïs; he was preceded by Osorkon C, who is attested by several documents mentioning him as this city's Chief of the Ma and Army Leader, according to Kenneth Kitchen. (TIPE, p.351 & p.355)

He erected two stelas in regnal years 36 and 38 of Shoshenq V as a Prince at Saïs. Tefnakhte established his capital at Sais (where he was prince between 742 - 727 BCE), and formed an alliance with other minor kings of the Delta region in order to conquer Middle and Upper Egypt, which was under the sway of the Nubian king Piye. He was able to capture and unify many of the cities of the Delta region, thus making Tefnakhte considerably more powerful than any of his predecessors in either the 22nd or 23rd dynasties.

Prior to assuming the modest non-royal title of "Great Chief of the West", Tefnakhte managed to extend his control southward, capturing the city of Memphis and besieging the city of Herakleopolis, which was an ally of the Kushite king Piye of Nubia. This caused him to face considerable opposition from Piye, especially after Nimlot, the local ruler of Hermopolis defected from Piye's sphere of influence, to his side. A pair of naval engagements in Middle Egypt soon checked any further advances by Tefnakhte's coalition into Piye's territories, and Memphis was soon recaptured by Piye. After further campaigns, Tefnakhte's allies surrendered to Piye and Tefnakhte found himself isolated. He finally submitted to Piye and swore loyalty to him, but refused to see Piye face to face. These details are recounted in the Great Victory stela which Piye erected on New Year's Day in his 21st Regnal Year. Shortly afterwards, Piye returned home to Nubia at Gebel Barkal, and never returned to Egypt.

Despite this setback, Tefnakhte was left alone as the king of his region and, over time, he managed to reassert his kingdom's control in the Delta region. It is unclear, however, if he ever formally adopted an official royal title -- unlike his successor, (and probable son), Wahkare Bakenranef at Sais.

While some scholars such as Kenneth Kitchen have argued that Tefnakhte was the king Shepsesre Tefnakht II who is attested by the Year 8 Athens donation stela, a recent article by Olivier Perdu^[1] has shown that this Shepsesre was a much later king of Sais who ruled during the Nubian 25th Dynasty era. In his paper, Perdu published a newly discovered stela from the second year of Necho I's reign, which is very similar in style, text and format with the Year 8 stela of Shepsesre Tefnakht thereby demonstrating that these two kings of Sais were close contemporaries. With this new evidence, Shepsesre Tefnakht II, an unknown king Nekauba (678-672 BCE), and Necho I would all be local rulers of Sais. These kings are all mentioned by name3 in Manetho's Epitome and assigned individual reign lengths of seven, six and eight years respectively.

[edit] Reference

1. ^ Olivier Perdu, "La Chefferie de Sébennytos de Piankhy à Psammétique Ier", Revue d'Égyptology 55 (2004), pp. 95-111.

• Kenneth Kitchen, The Third Intermediate Period in Egypt (1100–650 BC), 3rd ed. Warminster: 1996, Aris & Phillips Limited.

[edit] External links

• Egyptian Pharaohs: Third Intermediate Period: Dynasty 24: Tefnakht I

Preceded by: Shoshenq V

Pharaoh of Egypt Twenty-fourth dynasty

Succeeded by: Bakenranef