Shepenupet I

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Shepenupet I
Shapenewpet I
Divine Adoratrice of Amun
Reign 754–714 BC,  23rd Dynasty
Predecessor N/A
Successor Amenirdis I
Father Osorkon III
Mother Queen Karoadjet

Shepenupet I (or sometime Shapenewpet I) was the first of the "hereditary" God's Wife or Divine Adoratrice of Amun to wield political power in ancient Thebes and its surrounding region. She was the daughter of Osorkon III and Queen Karoadjet, and the half-sister of Takelot III and Rudamun. When Kashta, a monarch of the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty, extended his influence to the Theban area, she was compelled to adopt Kashta's daughter Amenirdis I as her successor and name her as her chosen heir. Shepenupet is known to have survived into the reign of Shebitku since she is depicted on a section of a wall Temple J which was decorated under this Nubian king.