Third Intermediate Period (Egypt)
The Ancient Egypt
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| Timeline | |
| Prehistory : | before 4000 BC Chr. |
| Predynastic time : |
approx. 4000-3032 BC BC 0. Dynasty |
| Early Dynastic Period : |
approx. 3032-2707 BC Chr. 1st-2nd Dynasty |
| Old Empire : |
approx. 2707-2216 BC Chr. 3rd to 6th Dynasty |
| First intermediate time : |
approx. 2216-2137 BC Chr. 7th to 11th Dynasty |
| Middle Kingdom : |
approx. 2137–1781 BC Chr. 11 to 12th Dynasty |
| Second split time : |
approx. 1648–1550 BC BC 13th to 17th Dynasty |
| New Kingdom : |
approx. 1550-1070 BC Chr. 18 to 20 Dynasty |
| Third intermediate time : |
approx. 1070–664 BC BC 21st to 25th Dynasty |
| Late period : |
approx. 664-332 BC Chr. 26 to 31 Dynasty |
| Greco-Roman time : | 332 BC Chr. To 395 AD |
| Data based on Stan Hendrickx and Jürgen von Beckerath | |
| Summary | |
| History of Ancient Egypt | |
| Further information | |
| Portal Egyptology | |
The Third Intermediate Period of Ancient Egypt spans the period from 1075 to 652 BC. BC and marks the transition from the New Kingdom to the decline of traditional pharaoh rule .
General
In this epoch of Egyptian history it is not easy to separate the individual dynasties precisely. In the Nile Valley in particular, various royal families emerged that resided in the cities of Memphis , Tanis , Bubastis , Herakleopolis , Hermopolis and Leontopolis . Then came the Nubian incursions in the south, where the Nubian / Kushite rulers established themselves alongside the Theban priesthood .
The Third Intermediate Period actually ends with the beginning of the Nubian rule, but the resulting 25th Dynasty is completely integrated here for the sake of completeness.
The Theban priesthood
Under Ramses XI. the influence of the Amun priests in Thebes probably reached its climax. They are generals who legitimize their power with the title of Amun priest.
The first of them is Pianch , followed by his son-in-law Herihor . Herihor appears sometime between the 12th and 19th year of Ramses XI's reign. in inscriptions. He swung himself up to be Viceroy of Nubia and held the office of vizier . His great position of power is shown by the fact that he had his name written in a cartouche . This can be seen on the temple walls of the Temple of Chon in Karnak , which he had built.
Egyptologists suspect that his wife Nodjmet was a sister of Ramses XI. was. This could explain its creeping rise.
Pinudjem I , Herihor's successor, made a name for himself through the restoration of old royal mummies on which his name appears. He was a priest of Amun during the reign of Smendes I. His greatest usurpation is probably his name on the colossal seated statue of Ramses II in the forecourt of the temple of Karnak. Pinodjem I was married to Henuttaui , a daughter of Ramses XI., And was the father of several sons and daughters. Psusennes I , the third king of the 21st Dynasty, was one of his sons. Mencheperre and Masaharta , two other sons, succeeded them in the priesthood.
21st dynasty
According to recent studies, the 21st dynasty is considered the Libyan dynasty . Although in the earlier literature only the 22nd dynasty was referred to as the "Libyan", in the meantime several Egyptologists (including Jansen-Winkeln ) have pointed to sources that testify that during the 21st dynasty both the Lower Egyptian royal house and the high priests and military leaders in Thebes must be of (at least partially) Libyan descent. The Egyptologist Jan Assmann noted that the cultural break was not clearly visible between the 21st and 22nd, but between the 20th and 21st.
In contrast to the Cushites , the Libyan rulers did not adapt to the ancient Egyptian culture, which is why the Libyan pharaohs are also referred to as "foreign rulers" in Egyptology. The accession of Smendes I to the throne around 1075 BC. BC can be seen as the beginning of the 21st dynasty. Nothing is known about his direct origin, but it is possible that his legitimation was obtained through the marriage to one of the daughters of Ramses XI. attained. He presumably ruled from Memphis for at least a while before moving his residence to Tanis .
The most famous king of this dynasty is without a doubt Psusennes I , whose gold mask can be seen in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo . He seems to have had good relations with the Theban priesthood, because his outer sarcophagus belonged to Merenptah , the successor of Ramses II.
22nd dynasty
The 22nd Dynasty is often referred to as the Bubastid Dynasty. Manetho gives the royal lineage with the city of Bubastis in the eastern Nile Delta. Its founder Scheschonq I came from Libya. Through clever family policy, he managed to unite the empire under his power. Scheschonq I. installed family members such as his sons and his brother in high offices, u. a. to the priesthood in Thebes.
Scheschonq I was able to expand his power into the Levant . In a campaign around 925 BC He took parts of the Kingdom of Judah , which paid him tribute.
853 BC The Assyrians threatened under Shalmaneser III. the Egyptian north, so that King Osorkon II felt compelled to enter into a brotherhood in arms with Byblos in order to repel the Assyrian army. They succeeded in the battle of Quarqar on the Orontes .
Under Takelot II it came in 839 BC. To a revolt of the Theban priesthood, which was mercilessly suppressed by him. But a few years later the uprising flared up again and it took about ten years for the waves to calm down.
After Takelots II's death a rather confused time began, in which his sons fought for the vacant throne. The younger declared himself King Scheschonq III. and ruled for 53 years. His older brother Osorkon IV was mentioned 20 years later as the high priest of Thebes.
23rd Dynasty
During the reign of Scheschonq III. Prince Petubastis I founded a new dynasty in the central Nile delta that ruled Leontopolis. The legitimation of the new dynasty can be seen in the fact that the Amun priests in Thebes accepted two sons of this dynasty into their service. In addition, the 23rd dynasty was also closely related to the 22nd dynasty.
24th dynasty
The 24th dynasty also ruled the Nile Delta at the same time as the 22nd and 23rd dynasties. Their most famous king is Tefnachte from Sais , who succeeded in making an alliance with the other dynasties against the Nubians advancing in the south . However, they lost around 727 BC. At Herakleopolis of the armed forces of the Nubians under Pianchi .
25th Dynasty
The Nubian priesthood
The cult of Amun had also established itself in Nubia during the Egyptian New Kingdom and produced a powerful priesthood. Like their counterpart in Thebes, they began to write their names in cartouches and ruled like kings. An official kingdom called Napata was even established. The center of the Amun cult in Nubia was the rock of Gebel Barkal .
The march north
The Nubian Amun priest Pije swung himself through marriage with the daughter of the 7th king of Napata around 748 BC. Chr. Himself to the ruler. Due to the troubled conditions in Upper and Lower Egypt , he and his armed forces moved north in his 21st year of reign to restore Amun's omnipotence.
When he arrived in Thebes, he drew the local priesthood on his side by having the Divine Worshiper of Amun Schepenupet I adopt his sister as his successor. Then he celebrated the Opet festival there .
Finally he moved on and at Herakleopolis defeated the alliance of the other dynasties, which submitted to him. However, they were allowed to continue to administer their old territories as governors.
The successors
A special feature of the 25th dynasty is the preference for horses, which were particularly valued by the Assyrian kings as welcome gifts or tribute payments and were used there as chariots. However, there was no real trade in their own horses or chariots. The mention of over 1,000 Egyptian horses that came to Nineveh comes from Asarhaddon's spoils of war . Previous suspicions that the amount indicated is evidence of a horse trade are therefore no longer tenable.
The 25th Dynasty ruled the empire (mainly Upper Egypt) from Napata. Schabaka , Pianchi's brother, ruled for 14 years after his death, followed by Pianchi's sons Schebitko and Taharqa . Taharqa's reign in particular was repeatedly marked by the threat from the Assyrians from the east. 669 BC The Assyrians under Azarhaddon invaded Egypt massively, conquered Memphis and took almost the entire royal family prisoner. Taharqa himself was able to flee south, however. The Assyrians followed and subsequently also conquered Thebes.
Taharqa's successor Tanotamun succeeded in recapturing Egypt as far as Memphis, but shortly afterwards the Assyrians under Assurbanipal fought back decisively. They penetrated as far as the Nubian border and devastated during this campaign in 652 BC. Thebes heavy and robbed it of all its treasures. The 25th dynasty was characterized by its attempts to build on old traditions, in that the rulers named themselves after earlier pharaohs and the inscription language was partly based on the Egyptian of the Old Kingdom.
See also
literature
- KA Kitchen : The Third Intermediate Period in Egypt. 1100-650 BC . 4th edition. Aris & Phillips, Warminster 2009, ISBN 0-85668-768-5 , (The 600-page basic work on the Third Intermediate Period, but at times very controversial).
- Karl Jansen-Winkeln : The end of the New Kingdom . In: Journal of Egyptian Language and Antiquity. Volume 119, 1992, ISSN 0044-216X , pp. 22-37 ( online ).
- Karl Jansen-Winkeln: The inscriptions of the late period. Part II: The 22.-24. Dynasty . Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2007, ISBN 978-3-447-05582-6 .
