Tefnakht

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tefnakht

Tefnakht on his year 8 stela

Pharaoh of Egypt

Reign

732–725 BC, 24th Dynasty

Predecessor

Interregnum-Osorkon IV-23rd Dynasty unrest, civil war

Successor

Bakenranef

Royal titulary

Prenomen: Shepsesre
Špss-Rˁ
Noble is Ra
Nomen: Tefnakht^[1]T3y-[.f]-nḫt
Horus name: Siakhet[hor]
Sj3-ẖt
Son of Khet
Nebty name: Siakhetnebty
Sj3-ẖt
Son of the two ladies' body

Shepsesre Tefnakht (in Greek known as Tnephachthos), was a prince of Saïs and founder of the relatively short Twenty-fourth dynasty of Egypt who rose to become a Chief of the Ma at his home city. He is thought to have reigned roughly 732 BCE - 725 BCE or 7 years. Tefnakht I first began his career as the "Great Chief of the West" and Prince of Saïs, and was a late contemporary of the last ruler of the 22nd dynasty: 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.^[2] A recently discovered statue dedicated by Tefnakht I to Amun-Re reveals important details about his personal origins.^[3] The statue's text states that Tefnakht was the son of a certain Gemnefsutkapu and the grandson of Basa, a priest of Amun near Sais.^[4] Consequently, Tefnakht was not actually descended from a line of Chiefs of the Ma and Libu tribes as traditionally believed but rather came from a family of priests. Tefnakht's royal name, Shepsesre, translates as "Noble like Re" in Egyptian.^[5]

Biography

Tefnakht erected two donation stelas in Years 36 and 38 of Shoshenq V as a Prince at Saïs. His Year 38 stela from Buto is significant not only because Tefnakht employs the rather boastful epithet of "Great Chief of the entire land" but due to its list of his religious titles as prophet of Neith, Edjo and the Lady of Imay.^[6] This reflects his control over Sais, Buto to the north and Kom el-Hish to the southwest even prior to the end of the 22nd Dynasty—with the death of Shoshenq V—and reflects Tefnakht's political base in the Western Delta region of Egypt. The 22nd Dynasty was politically fragmenting even prior to the death of Shoshenq V. Tefnakht established his capital at Sais, 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 Tefnakht considerably more powerful than any of his predecessors in either the 22nd or 23rd dynasties.

Tefnakht was not a member of the Tanite based 22nd Dynasty of Egypt since Tanis is located in the Eastern Delta whereas his local city of Sais was situated in the Western Delta closer to Libya. His modest title 'Great chief of the West' also hints at a non-royal background. Prior to assuming the title of "Great Chief of the West", Tefnakht 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 soon checked any further advances by Tefnakht's coalition into Piye's Middle Egyptian territories, and Memphis was soon recaptured by Piye. After further campaigns, Tefnakht's allies surrendered to Piye and Tefnakht soon found himself isolated. He finally dispatched a letter formally submitting his loyalty and swearing his loyalty to Piye. Tefnakht, however, was the only Lower Egyptian prince to avoid seeing Piye face to face. These details are recounted in the Great Victory stela of Piye which this Nubian ruler erected on the New Year's Day of his 21st regnal year. Shortly afterwards, Piye returned home to Nubia at Gebel Barkal, and never returned to Lower Egypt again.

Kingship

Complete stele of Tefnakht

Despite this setback, Tefnakht was left alone as the local prince of his local region of Sais. He managed, over time, to soon reestablish his kingdom's control in the Delta region from the political vacuum which resulted after Piye's departure from this region. It is generally believed that prince Tefnakht officially proclaimed himself as king Shepsesre Tefnakht I and adopted a royal title sometime after Piye's departure from Lower Egypt. His successor at Sais was Bakenranef.

While most scholars such as Kenneth Kitchen have equated Manetho's Tefnakht with the king Shepsesre Tefnakht of Sais who is attested by the Year 8 Athens donation stela, a recent article by Olivier Perdu^[7] has suggested that this Tefnakht was rather Tefnakht II, a much later king of Sais who ruled in the mid-680's BCE during the late Nubian 25th Dynasty. In his paper, Perdu published a newly discovered stela dating from the second year of Necho I's reign, which he contends is similar in style, text and content to the Year 8 stela of Shepsesre Tefnakht. Perdu, thus, infers that that these two kings of Sais—Necho I and Tefnakht II—were close contemporaries. However, his arguments are not currently accepted by most Egyptian scholars such as Dan'el Kahn or Kenneth Kitchen who still believe that the Year 8 Athens stela of king Shepsesre Tefnakht likely belongs to Tefnakht I rather than a hypothethical Tefnakht II who would then have assumed power in 685 BC at Sais—early during the reign of Taharqa, one of the most powerful Nubian rulers of Egypt. Kahn has also stressed at an Egyptological Conference at Leiden that Perdu's epigraphic criteria here in the famed Athens stela—such as the use of the tripartite wig, the method through which the falcon-headed god keeps his head upright in the same stela and on temple wall reliefs contemporary with Tefnakht I's time, the decoration of the stela scene: Heaven supported by wAs scepters--appear already in use in the 24th or early 25th Nubian dynasty during Piye, Shabaka or Bakenranef's reign.^[8] The invisible back side of the tripartite wig can be found on the donation stela of Shebitku from Pharbaitos and on the Bakenranef/Bocchoris vase dating to the last days of Piye and the beginning of Shabaka--all appear close in time to the presumed reign of Tefnakht I. Moreover, the head of the falcon-headed god Horus is, as Perdu himself noted, similar in style to the stela of Tefnakht, chief of the Meshwesh and Piye's chief rival.^[9]

Unlike Necho I, neither of this king's presumed Saite royal predecessors, a certain Nekauba and Tefnakht II, are monumentally attested in Lower Egypt. Hence, the latter two kings who appear in the records of Manetho's Epitome may well be fictitious. Moreover, it is improbable that Taharqa, perhaps one of the most powerful Kushite kings of the Nubian 25th dynasty for the first 18 years of his reign, would have tolerated the existence of a rival line of native Egyptian kings at Sais during the first half of his reign when he exercised full control over Memphis and the Delta region. After all, the 24th dynasty Saite rulers Tefnakht had fought Taharqa's father Piye and Bakenranef resisted the Shabaka's expansion of Kushite power into the Delta region.

References

↑ Tefnakht
↑ KA Kitchen, The Third Intermediate Period in Egypt (1100–650 BC), 3rd ed. 1996, Aris & Phillips Limited., pp.351 & p.355
↑ P.R. Del Francia, "Di una statuette dedicate ad Amon-Ra dal grande capo dei Ma Tefnakht nel Museo Egizio di Firenze", S. Russo (ed.) Atti del V Convegno Nazionale di Egittologia e Papirologia, Firenze, 10-12 dicembre 1999, Firenze, 2000, 63-112, 76-82
↑ Del Francia, pp.63-112 & 76-82
↑ Peter A. Clayton, Chronicle of the Pharaohs: The Reign-by-Reign Record of the Rulers and Dynasties of Ancient Egypt, Thames and Hudson, London, 1994. p.188
↑ Kitchen, The Third Intermediate Period in Egypt, p.362
↑ Olivier Perdu, "La Chefferie de Sébennytos de Piankhy à Psammétique Ier", Revue d'Égyptology 55 (2004), pp. 95-111.
↑ Dan'el Kahn, The Transition from Libyan to Nubian Rule in "Egypt: Revisiting the Reign of Tefnakht, THE LIBYAN PERIOD IN EGYPT, Historical and Cultural Studies into the 21st - 24th Dynasties: Proceedings of a Conference at Leiden University 25-27 October 2007," G.P.F. Broekman, R.J. Demarée & O.E. Kaper, (eds.), pp.139-48
↑ Olivier Perdu, De Stéphinates à Nécho ou les débuts de la XXVIe Dynastie, académie des Inscriptios & belles-lettres – Comptes rendus (CRAIBL), 2002. p.1229, n. 73

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tefnakht.

Pharaohs (list)

Dynastic genealogies: 4^th
12^th
18^th
19^th
20^th
21^st
25^th
26^th
27^th
31^st
Ptolemaic

Protodynastic Period
(prior to 3150 BC)

Lower Egypt	Hsekiu Khayu Tiu Thesh Neheb Wazner Mekh Double Falcon

Upper Egypt	Scorpion I Iry-Hor Ka Scorpion II Narmer

Early Dynastic Period
(3150–2686 BC)

Dynasty I	Narmer Hor-Aha Djer Djet Merneith♀ Den Anedjib Semerkhet Qa'a Sneferka Horus Bird

Dynasty II	Hotepsekhemwy Raneb Nynetjer Ba Nubnefer Horus Sa Weneg-Nebty Wadjenes Senedj Seth-Peribsen Sekhemib Neferkara I Neferkasokar Hudjefa I Khasekhemwy

Old Kingdom
(2686–2181 BC)

Dynasty III	Nebka Djoser Sekhemkhet Sanakht Khaba Qahedjet Huni

Dynasty IV	Snefru Khufu Djedefre Khafre Bikheris Menkaure Shepseskaf Thamphthis

Dynasty V	Userkaf Sahure Neferirkare Kakai Shepseskare Neferefre Niuserre Menkauhor Djedkare Unas

Dynasty VI	Teti Userkare Pepi I Merenre Pepi II

1^st Intermediate Period
(2181–2040 BC)

Dynasties VII & VIII	Wadjkare Qakare Iby

Dynasties IX & X	Wakhare Khety I Meryibre Khety Merykare Kaneferre Nebkaure Akhtoy

Middle Kingdom
(2040–1802 BC)

Dynasty XI	Mentuhotep I Intef I Intef II Intef III Mentuhotep II Mentuhotep III Mentuhotep IV

Dynasty XII	Amenemhet I Senusret I Amenemhet II Senusret II Senusret III Amenemhet III Amenemhet IV Sobeknefru♀

2^nd Intermediate Period
(1802–1550 BC)

Dynasty XIII	Sekhemre Khutawy Sobekhotep Sonbef Nerikare Sekhemkare Amenemhat V Ameny Qemau Hotepibre Iufni Ameny Antef Amenemhet VI Semenkare Nebnuni Sehetepibre Sewadjkare Nedjemibre Khaankhre Sobekhotep Renseneb Hor Sekhemrekhutawy Khabaw Sebkay Sedjefakare Wegaf Khendjer Imyremeshaw Sehetepkare Intef Seth Meribre Sobekhotep III Neferhotep I Sihathor Sobekhotep IV Merhotepre Sobekhotep Khahotepre Sobekhotep Wahibre Ibiau Merneferre Ay Merhotepre Ini Sankhenre Sewadjtu Mersekhemre Ined Sewadjkare Hori Merkawre Sobekhotep Mershepsesre Ini II Sewahenre Senebmiu Sewadjare Mentuhotep Seheqenre Sankhptahi

Dynasty XIV	Qareh Khawoserre 'Ammu Ahotepre Maaibre Sheshi Nehesy Wazad Merdjefare Yaqub-Har

Dynasty XV	Sakir-Har Khyan Apepi I Khamudi

Dynasty XVI	Djehuti Sobekhotep VIII Neferhotep III Mentuhotepi Nebiryraw I Nebiriau II Semenre Bebiankh Sekhemre Shedwast Dedumose I Dedumose II Montuemsaf Merankhre Mentuhotep Senusret IV Pepi III

Abydos Dynasty	Senebkay Wepwawetemsaf Pantjeny Snaaib

Dynasty XVII	Rahotep Nebmaatre Sobekemsaf I Sobekemsaf II Intef V Intef VII Senakhtenre Tao Kamose

New Kingdom
(1550–1070 BC)

Dynasty XVIII	Ahmose I Amenhotep I Tuthmosis I Tuthmosis II Tuthmosis III Hatshepsut♀ Amenhotep II Tuthmosis IV Amenhotep III Akhenaten Smenkhkare Neferneferuaten♀ Tutankhamun Ay Horemheb

Dynasty XIX	Ramesses I Seti I Ramesses II Merneptah Amenmesses Seti II Siptah Twosret♀

Dynasty XX	Setnakhte Ramesses III Ramesses IV Ramesses V Ramesses VI Ramesses VII Ramesses VIII Ramesses IX Ramesses X Ramesses XI

3^rd Intermediate Period
(1069–664 BC)

Dynasty XXI	Smendes I Amenemnisu Psusennes I Amenemope Osorkon the Elder Siamun Psusennes II

Dynasty XXII	Sheshonq I Osorkon I Sheshonq II Takelot I Osorkon II Sheshonq III Pami Sheshonq V Osorkon IV

Dynasty XXIII	Harsiese A Takelot II Pedibastet Sheshonq IV Osorkon III Takelot III Rudamon Menkheperre Ini

Dynasty XXIV	Tefnakht Bakenrenef

Dynasty XXV	Piankhi Shabaka Shebitku Taharqa Tanutamun

Late Period
(664–332 BC)

Dynasty XXVI	Psamtik I Nekau Psamtik II Wahibre Ahmose II Psamtik III

Dynasty XXVII	Cambyses II Darius I Xerxes Artaxerxes I Darius II

Dynasty XXVIII	Amyrtaeus

Dynasty XXIX	Nefaarud I Hakor

Dynasty XXX	Nectanebo I Teos Nectanebo II

Dynasty XXXI	Artaxerxes III Arses Darius III

Hellenistic Period
(332–30 BC)

Argead Dynasty (XXXII)	Alexander the Great Philip III Arrhidaeus Alexander IV

Ptolemaic Dynasty	Ptolemy I Soter Ptolemy II Philadelphus Ptolemy III Euergetes Ptolemy IV Philopator Ptolemy V Epiphanes Ptolemy VI Philometor Ptolemy VII Neos Philopator Ptolemy VIII Euergetes Ptolemy IX Soter Ptolemy X Alexander I Ptolemy XI Alexander II Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysos Berenice IV♀ Cleopatra♀ Ptolemy XV Caesarion

♀ indicates female pharaoh

Persondata
Name	Tefnakht
Alternative names
Short description	Egyptian Pharoah
Date of birth
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.