The Twenty-third Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XXIII, alternatively 23rd Dynasty or Dynasty 23) is usually classified as the third Dynasty of the ancient Egyptian Third Intermediate Period. This Dynasty consisted of several Meshwesh kings, who ruled either as pharaohs or independent kings of parts of Upper Egypt from 880 BC to 720 BC and pharaohs from 837 BC to 728 BC.

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History of the Twenty-third Dynasty of Ancient Egypt
Pharaohs and Kings of the 23rd Dynasty
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History of the Twenty-third Dynasty of Ancient Egypt

Much debate surrounds this Dynasty, which may have been situated at Herakleopolis Magna, Hermopolis Magna, and Thebes. Monuments from their reign show that they controlled Upper Egypt in parallel with the Twenty-second dynasty, shortly before the death of Osorkon II.

While the Twenty-third Dynasty is considered a Tanite dynasty, as it originated from the city of Tanis, it never reigned from there. The Twenty-second Dynasty, coming from Bubastis, took over Tanis and Memphis and retained these cities almost until the end of their Dynasty. As a result, the Twenty-third Dynasty originated from Tanis, being more or less an offshoot of the Twenty-second Dynasty.

Instead, as mentioned above, most historians argue that they used Leontopolis as their capital. This is confirmed by Piankhy’s stela, located in Iuput II in Leontopolis. However, some historians say that Iuput II should not be considered a Twenty-third Dynasty king at all, as it has not been proven that the Twenty-third Dynasty ruled from Leontopolis, merely that Iuput II ruled from somewhere in the Delta. If Iuput II is the only connection between the Twenty-third Dynasty and Leontopolis, this viewpoint would eliminate Piankhy’s stela as proof of Leontopolis being the capital of the Twenty-third Dynasty.

Another reason there is much debate is that, in addition to the conflicts between Lower and Upper Egypt that existed, there were now conflicts in the Delta. Part of these conflicts were succession struggles, but another part was the High Priests of Amun at Thebes, who for a period during the Twenty-first Dynasty effectively ruled Upper Egypt despite not being regarded as a separate dynasty (however, some did become pharaohs as part of a dynasty, like Psusennes I).

Although their power declined after the Twenty-first Dynasty, the High Priests of Amun remained powerful and influential, and marriages into the royal family were not unusual. As a result, multiple reigns within the Twenty-third Dynasty and between the Twenty-second and Twenty-third Dynasties overlap. This is because some members of the Twenty-third Dynasty reigned as independent kings (like Harsiese A) and as a separate dynasty after Osorkon II’s (of the Twenty-second Dynasty) death. Some historians argue that the Twenty-third Dynasty started with Takelot II and consider Pedubastis I a separate, independent (and short-lived) part of that Dynasty. Others believe Takelot II’s line was a different independent part of the Twenty-second Dynasty and consider Pedubastis I’s a short-lived line as the Twenty-third Dynasty.

When Osorkon II died, crown prince Shoshenq had already died, so his younger brother, Takelot II, took the throne at Tanis. The high priest of Amun at that moment was Nimlot, Takelot II’s half-brother. Osorkon II appointed Nimlot, and Nimlot married his daughter, Karomama Merytmut II, to Takelot II. As a result, Nimlot would be the children’s grandfather and, thus, heir to the throne, Takelot II. When Nimlot died in the eleventh Year of Takelot II, a fight for his succession broke out. Takelot II chose Prince Osorkon, but Harsiese, the grandson of the chief priest, disagreed. Thebes revolted at his hand, but Prince Osorkon crushed the revolt.

This relative peace lasted four years; civil war broke out in Takelot II’s fifteenth Year. This conflict lasted almost ten years, and after another two years of relative peace, the Thebans again revolted. Takelot II died before this new conflict was resolved, and with Prince Osorkon far from Tanis, his younger brother Shoshenq III seized power. While this helped resolve the dispute with Thebes because they accepted Shoshenq III as king, a new conflict started. Instead of a conflict between royal families, this was from within the royal family. Prince Pedubastis proclaimed himself king and reigned from Leontopolis simultaneously with Shoshenq III.

While Prince Osorkon was usurped by his brother Shoshenq III, Shoshenq reappointed him as Amun’s chief priest. Because Harsiese, the one from the Theban revolt mentioned before, disappeared in the twenty-ninth Year of Shoshenq III’s reign, Prince Osorkon effectively controlled Upper Egypt for about a decade as chief priest of Amun. Meanwhile, Shoshenq III was and remained more powerful than the kings in Leontopolis. By this time, Pedubastis and his son Iuput, whom he had appointed co-regent, had already died in the same Year (804 BC). Shoshenq VI had succeeded Pedubastis, but not for long, as Prince Osorkon succeeded him six years later as Osorkon III, reigning simultaneously with Shoshenq III for the last years of his reign.

At Herakleopolis, a Twenty-second Dynasty king named Shoshenq V was still in power around 766 BC. However, Osorkon III installed his eldest son Takelot there, which allowed him to be chief priest of Amun at the same time. When Osorkon III died, Takelot had already co-reigned with his father and was thus now the sole ruler. As a result, the Twenty-second Dynasty’s role in the Theban area was significantly reduced.

Takelot III had given up his role as a chief priest when he became pharaoh. His sister, Shepenwepet I, seems to have taken over that role and been appointed Divine Adoratrice of Amun. As a result, she effectively ruled over the Theban region with her brother. Takelot III also gave up his rule of Herakleopolis to Peftjauawhybastet, who was married to the daughter of Rudamon, Takelot’s brother. Rudamon succeeded Takelot III but was followed by Iuput II (also known as Ini/Iny) shortly after. Under his reign, the region became more divided again, as Peftjauawybastet and Nimlot, governor of Hermopolis, adopted royal titles. Rudamon and Iuput II only reigned over Thebes in the final phase of the Twenty-third Dynasty, as Piankhy, king of Napata, ended the so-called ‘Libyan anarchy’.

Pharaohs and Kings of the 23rd Dynasty

Harsiese A

King Hedjkheperre Setepenamun Harsiese, or Harsiese A, is viewed by the Egyptologist Kenneth Kitchen in his Third Intermediate Period of Egypt as 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 C’s son. However, recently published studies by the German Egyptologist Karl Jansen-Winkeln in JEA 81 (1995) have demonstrated that all the monuments of the first (king) Harsiese show that he was never a High Priest of Amun in his own right. Rather, Harsiese A and his son […du] – whose existence is known from inscriptions on the latter’s funerary objects at Coptos – are only attested as Ordinary Priests of Amun.

Instead, while Harsiese A was undoubtedly an independent king at Thebes during the first decade of Osorkon II’s kingship, he was a different person from a second person who was also called Harsiese: Harsiese B. Harsiese B was the genuine High Priest of Amun, who is attested in the office late in Osorkon II’s reign, in the regnal year 6 of Shoshenq III and regnal years 18 and 19 of Pedubast I, according to Jansen-Winkeln.

Takelot II

Hedjkheperre Setepenre Takelot II Si-Ese was a pharaoh of the Twenty-third Dynasty of Ancient Egypt in Middle and Upper Egypt. He has been identified as the High Priest of Amun Takelot F, son of the High Priest of Amun Nimlot C at Thebes and, thus, the son of Nimlot C and grandson of King Osorkon II according to the latest academic research. Based on two lunar dates belonging to Takelot II, this Upper Egyptian pharaoh is today believed to have ascended to the throne of a divided Egypt in either 845 BC or 834 BC. Egyptologists today, including Aidan Dodson, Gerard Broekman, Jürgen von Beckerath, M.A. Leahy and Karl Jansen-Winkeln, also accept David Aston’s hypothesis that Shoshenq III was Osorkon II’s actual successor at Tanis, rather than Takelot II.

Pedubast I

Pedubastis I or Pedubast I was an Upper Egyptian Pharaoh of ancient Egypt during the 9th century BC. Based on lunar dates which are known to belong to the reign of his rival Takelot II in Upper Egypt and the fact that Pedubast I first appeared as a local king at Thebes around Year 11 of Takelot II’s rule, Pedubast I is today believed to have had his accession date in either 835 BC or 824 BC.

Iuput I

Iuput I (or Auput I) was an ancient Egyptian co-regent of his father, pharaoh Pedubast I, during the early 23rd Dynasty.

Shoshenq VI

Shoshenq VI is known to be Pedubast I’s immediate successor at Thebes based upon the career of the Letter Writer to Pharaoh Hor IX, who served under Osorkon II and Pedubast I (see Hor IX’s statue—CGC 42226—which is explicitly dated to Pedubast’s reign). Since Shoshenq VI’s prenomen is inscribed on Hor IX’s funerary cones, this indicates that Hor IX outlived Pedubast I and made his funeral arrangements under Shoshenq VI instead. Shoshenq VI’s High Priest of Amun was a certain Takelot, who first appeared in office in Year 23 of Pedubast I. His prenomen or royal name was “Usermaatre Meryamun Shoshenq”, which is unusual because it is the only known example where the epithet “Meryamun” (Beloved of Amun) appears within a king’s cartouche.

Osorkon III

Usermaatre Setepenamun Osorkon III Si-Ese was Pharaoh of Egypt in the 8th Century BC. He is the same person as the Crown Prince and High Priest of Amun Osorkon B, son of Takelot II by his Great Royal Wife Karomama II. Prince Osorkon B is best attested by his Chronicle—a series of texts documenting his activities at Thebes—on the Bubastite Portal at Karnak. He later reigned as king in Upper Egypt for twenty-eight years after defeating the rival forces of Pedubast I/Shoshenq VI, who had resisted the authority of his father here. Osorkon ruled the last five years of his reign in coregency with his son, Takelot III, according to Karnak Nile Level Text No. 13. Osorkon III’s formal titulary was long and elaborate: Usermaatre Setepenamun, Osorkon Si-Ese Meryamun, Netjer-Heqa-waset.

Takelot III

Usermaatre Setepenamun Takelot III Si-Ese (reigned 774–759 BC) was Osorkon III’s eldest son and successor. Takelot III ruled the first five years of his reign in a coregency with his father, according to the evidence from Nile Quay Text No.13 (which equates Year 28 of Osorkon III to Year 5 of Takelot III), and succeeded his father as king the following Year. He served previously as the High Priest of Amun at Thebes. He was once thought to have ruled Egypt for only seven years until his 13th Year. His name was found on a stela from Ahmeida in the Dakhla Oasis in 2005.

Rudamun

Rudamun was the final pharaoh of the Twenty-third Dynasty of Egypt. His titulary reads as Usermaatre Setepenamun, Rudamun Meryamun, and excludes the Si-Ese or Netjer-Heqawaset epithets employed by his father and brother.

Shoshenq VII

Hedjkheperre Setepenre Shoshenq (VII/VIa) Si-Ese Meryamun may have been an Egyptian king of the 23rd Dynasty, ruling Thebes between the death of Takelot III and the Egyptian campaign of the Nubian king Piye c. 755–730 BCE. His reign has been estimated variously as between five and twenty-five years. He is poorly attested, and his existence remains a matter of dispute. Still, it is supported by leading experts on the Third Intermediate Period, such as Gerard Broekman and Kenneth Kitchen.