Twenty-fourth dynasty of Egypt
Encyclopedia
The Twenty-First, Twenty-Second, Twenty-Third, Twenty-Fourth and Twenty-Fifth Dynasties of ancient Egypt are often combined under the group title, Third Intermediate Period.
s who had their capital at Sais
in the western Nile
Delta
. The known rulers, in the History of Egypt
, for the Twenty-Fourth Dynasty are as follows:
n king, Piye
, who recorded his conquest and subjection of Tefnakhte of Sais and his peers in a well-known inscription. Tefnakht is always called the "Great Chief of the West" in Piye's Victory stela and in two stelas dating to the regnal year
s 36 and 38 of Shoshenq V
. It is uncertain if he ever adopted an official royal title. However, Olivier Perdu, has now argued that a certain Shepsesre Tefnakhte of Sais was not, in fact, Piye's famous nemesis. Perdu published a recently discovered donation stela which came from a private collection; the document is dated to Year 2 of Necho I
of Sais and is similar in style, epigraphy and text with the donation stela of Shepsesre. However, Perdu's arguments are not accepted by most Egyptologists at present who believe that the Year 8 Shepsesre Tefnakht Athens stela was most likely Tefnakht I. The later king Tefnakht II
, if he existed, would have been a close predecessor of Necho I. Both Tefnakht II and Necho I ruled as local Saite kings during the Nubian era under Taharqa
.
, definitely assumed the throne of Sais and took the royal name Wahkare. His authority was recognised in much of the Delta including Memphis
where several Year 5 and Year 6 Serapeum
stelas from his reign have been found. This Dynasty came to a sudden end when Shabaka
, the second king of the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty
, attacked Sais, captured Bakenrenef and burned him alive.
Rulers
The Twenty-Fourth Dynasty was a short-lived group of pharaohPharaoh
Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...
s who had their capital at Sais
Sais, Egypt
Sais or Sa el-Hagar was an ancient Egyptian town in the Western Nile Delta on the Canopic branch of the Nile. It was the provincial capital of Sap-Meh, the fifth nome of Lower Egypt and became the seat of power during the Twenty-fourth dynasty of Egypt and the Saite Twenty-sixth dynasty of Egypt ...
in the western Nile
Nile
The Nile is a major north-flowing river in North Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is long. It runs through the ten countries of Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Egypt.The Nile has two major...
Delta
River delta
A delta is a landform that is formed at the mouth of a river where that river flows into an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, flat arid area, or another river. Deltas are formed from the deposition of the sediment carried by the river as the flow leaves the mouth of the river...
. The known rulers, in the History of Egypt
History of Egypt
Egyptian history can be roughly divided into the following periods:*Prehistoric Egypt*Ancient Egypt**Early Dynastic Period of Egypt: 31st to 27th centuries BC**Old Kingdom of Egypt: 27th to 22nd centuries BC...
, for the Twenty-Fourth Dynasty are as follows:
Tefnakht I
Tefnakht I formed an alliance of the Delta kinglets, with whose support he attempted to conquer Upper Egypt; his campaign attracted the attention of the NubiaNubia
Nubia is a region along the Nile river, which is located in northern Sudan and southern Egypt.There were a number of small Nubian kingdoms throughout the Middle Ages, the last of which collapsed in 1504, when Nubia became divided between Egypt and the Sennar sultanate resulting in the Arabization...
n king, Piye
Piye
Piye, was a Kushite king and founder of the Twenty-fifth dynasty of Egypt who ruled Egypt from 747 BCE to 716 BCE according to Peter Clayton. He ruled from the city of Napata, located deep in Nubia, Sudan...
, who recorded his conquest and subjection of Tefnakhte of Sais and his peers in a well-known inscription. Tefnakht is always called the "Great Chief of the West" in Piye's Victory stela and in two stelas dating to the regnal year
Regnal year
A regnal year is a year of the reign of a sovereign, from the Latin regnum meaning kingdom, rule.The oldest dating systems were in regnal years, and considered the date as an ordinal, not a cardinal number. For example, a monarch could have a first year of rule, a second year of rule, a third, and...
s 36 and 38 of Shoshenq V
Shoshenq V
Shoshenq V was the final king of the Twenty-second dynasty of Egypt of Meshwesh Libyans which controlled Lower Egypt. He was the son of Pami according to a Year 11 Serapeum stela from his reign. His prenomen or throne name, Akheperre, means "Great is the Soul of Re."The burial of two Apis Bulls is...
. It is uncertain if he ever adopted an official royal title. However, Olivier Perdu, has now argued that a certain Shepsesre Tefnakhte of Sais was not, in fact, Piye's famous nemesis. Perdu published a recently discovered donation stela which came from a private collection; the document is dated to Year 2 of Necho I
Necho I
Necho I was the prince or governor of the Egyptian city of Sais. He was the first attested local Saite king of the twenty-sixth dynasty of Egypt who reigned for 8 years, according to Manetho's Epitome. Egypt was reunified by his son, Psamtik I...
of Sais and is similar in style, epigraphy and text with the donation stela of Shepsesre. However, Perdu's arguments are not accepted by most Egyptologists at present who believe that the Year 8 Shepsesre Tefnakht Athens stela was most likely Tefnakht I. The later king Tefnakht II
Tefnakht II
Tefnakht II may have been a native Saite king who ruled Sais during the 25th Nubian Dynasty of Ancient Egypt or merely a local mayor of Sais who was erroneously assigned a kingship by the later kings of the Twenty-sixth dynasty of Egypt...
, if he existed, would have been a close predecessor of Necho I. Both Tefnakht II and Necho I ruled as local Saite kings during the Nubian era under Taharqa
Taharqa
Taharqa was a pharaoh of the Ancient Egyptian 25th dynasty and king of the Kingdom of Kush, which was located in Northern Sudan.Taharqa was the son of Piye, the Nubian king of Napata who had first conquered Egypt. Taharqa was also the cousin and successor of Shebitku. The successful campaigns of...
.
Bakenranef
Tefnakht I's successor, BakenranefBakenranef
Bakenranef, known by the ancient Greeks as Bocchoris, was briefly a king of the Twenty-fourth dynasty of Egypt. Based at Sais in the western Delta, he ruled Lower Egypt from c. 725 to 720 BC. Though the Ptolemaic period Egyptian historian Manetho considers him the sole member of the Twenty-fourth...
, definitely assumed the throne of Sais and took the royal name Wahkare. His authority was recognised in much of the Delta including Memphis
Memphis, Egypt
Memphis was the ancient capital of Aneb-Hetch, the first nome of Lower Egypt. Its ruins are located near the town of Helwan, south of Cairo.According to legend related by Manetho, the city was founded by the pharaoh Menes around 3000 BC. Capital of Egypt during the Old Kingdom, it remained an...
where several Year 5 and Year 6 Serapeum
Serapeum
A serapeum is a temple or other religious institution dedicated to the syncretic Hellenistic-Egyptian god Serapis, who combined aspects of Osiris and Apis in a humanized form that was accepted by the Ptolemaic Greeks of Alexandria...
stelas from his reign have been found. This Dynasty came to a sudden end when Shabaka
Shabaka
Shabaka or Shabaka Neferkare, 'Beautiful is the Soul of Re', was a Kushite pharaoh of the Twenty-fifth dynasty of Egypt, between according to Peter Clayton .-Family:...
, the second king of the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty
Twenty-fifth dynasty of Egypt
The twenty-fifth dynasty of Egypt, known as the Nubian Dynasty or the Kushite Empire, was the last dynasty of the Third Intermediate Period of Ancient Egypt....
, attacked Sais, captured Bakenrenef and burned him alive.