Osorkon II.

Name of Osorkon II.
Statuette of Osorkons II as Osiris (center), accompanied by Isis and Horus ; Louvre , Paris
Horus name	[ ] Ka-Nacht-meri-Maat Secha (i) -su [Re] -er-nesu-taui k3-nḫt-mrj-M3ˁt sḫˁ (j) -sw [Rˁ] -r-nsw-t3wj Strong bull, lover of Maat , which Re made king of the two countries (or as king to equip the two countries)
Throne name	User-maat-Re-setep-en-Amun wsr.M3ˁt-Rˁ-stp.n-Jmn Rich in Maat, one of the Re, chosen by Amun
Proper name	Osorkonsabastetmeriamun (Osorkon sa Bastet meri Amun) Wsrkn s3 B3stt mrj Jmn Osorkon, son of Bastet , lover of Amun

Osorkon II. Sibaste ruled from 881/880 BC. BC to 852/851 BC As the 5th ancient Egyptian pharaoh (king) of the 22nd Dynasty ( Third Intermediate Period ).

Title

Cartouche of Osorkon II from his grave in Tanis

• Nebti name : who unites the two (land) parts like the son of Isis (additions: by uniting the two crowns in peace ; who satisfies the gods with the actions of the mate )
• Gold name : With great power that beats the Asians, great in reputation

family

Osorkon II was the son of Takelot I and the Cape. Osorkon II had three wives. His first wife Karoma has three daughters and two sons (Scheschonq D and Hornacht B), his second wife Djedmutiues is the high priest of Amun of Thebes Namilt (II) , father of the wife Takelots II. His third wife was called Isetemachbit. Apparently he had no children with her.

Domination

To consolidate his power, he had high positions occupied by his sons. With the appointment of Harsiese , whether from Osorkon II himself or from his father Takelot I is unclear, the rule that no one should become high priest whose father had already been high priest was possibly broken . They wanted to prevent competing ruling dynasties. Harsiese then also seized power in the south. After his death, Takelot I appointed his son Namilt (II), high priest and general in Herakleopolis , as his successor. High priest of Ptah in Memphis was his eldest son Scheschonq D; The high priest of Amun-Re von Tanis was Hornacht B, who died as a youth and for whom a (usurped) statue was erected in Saqqara.

From his third year of reign (879 BC) comes an inscription from the temple of Luxor , which is a festival on August 1st ^. ( 12. Tybi ) mentioned on the occasion of the flood of the Nile . Amun-Re was thanked as the “Bringer of the Nile Flood”.

Construction activity

In Tanis he added a forecourt with a gate to the temple of Amun and another sanctuary was built to the east of this temple area. His grave lies within the walls of this temple of Amun (grave V). It was robbed by Pierre Montet when it was discovered in 1939. Harnacht was also buried in it.

In a cycle in the festival portal of the Temple of Bubastis he had the Sedfest , which was celebrated in its 22nd year, depicted. Usually the Sedfest was not celebrated until the 30th year of a ruler, so that it can be assumed that it was taken as a reference point for counting the reign of Takelot I, as he is said to have ruled for about seven years.

Representations

In addition to numerous relief depictions that always show him in a youthful and idealized way, for example in his burial chamber in Tanis, on several temple blocks and a naos from Bubastis, as well as on land foundation steles, Osorkon II is also known for his statues. However, all of his larger-sized stone statues - including the so-called "Philadelphia / Cairo statue of Osorkon II", which is often depicted - are merely works from earlier times that were reworked for Osorkon II . Only a fragmentary statuette from Bubastis (a knee figure without a torso made of baked soapstone, Cairo JE 41678) is an original work of his reign. In addition, there are some bronze knee figures that can be assigned to Osorkon II. A small group of figures made of gold and lapis lazuli, which can be used as an amulet pendant and is labeled "Osorkon II", probably shows Osorkon II as Osiris (see picture above).

Foreign policy

Following the example of Scheschonq I and Osorkon I , he donated an (older, reworked) statue to Byblos . An alabaster vessel from the palace of Omri and Ahab in Samaria testifies to the relationship between the two countries. They probably formed a common defense against the Assyrian Empire under Assurnasirpal II and Shalmaneser III. At the Battle of Qarqar in 853 BC. BC, in which Hamath , Damascus , Israel and other principalities (including Byblos) were able to fight back Assyria , an Egyptian contingent of 1,000 soldiers fought.

His death

Osorkon II died shortly after the battle of Qarqar, the Sedfest and the burial of the Apis bull . His successor in Lower Egypt was Scheschonq III. whose ancestry is unclear, but who was probably not a son of Osorkon II. The son of Osorkon II, named Sheschonq (a high priest of Ptah of Memphis) apparently survived his father, but he did not come to rule. He was demonstrably under Scheschonq III. buried as high priest. Takelot II, on the other hand, ruled, parallel to Scheschonq III, exclusively in Upper Egypt.

literature

• Karl Jansen-Winkeln: More about the grave of Osorkon II. In: Göttinger Miszellen . (GM) Volume 102, Göttingen 1988, pp. 31-40 ( online ).
• Karl Jansen-Winkeln : The Chronology of the Third Intermediate Period: Dyns 22-24. In: Erik Hornung, Rolf Krauss, David A. Warburton (eds.): Ancient Egyptian Chronology (= Handbook of Oriental studies. Section One. The Near and Middle East. Volume 83). Brill, Leiden / Boston 2006, ISBN 90-04-11385-1 , pp. 234-264 ( online ).
• E. Lange: The Sed-Festival of Osorkon II at Bubastis - New Investigations. In: The Libyan Period in Egypt. Historical and chronological problems of the Third Intermediate Period, at Leiden University, October 25-27, 2007. 2008.
• Edouard Naville : The Festival Hall of Osorkon II. In the Great Temple of Bubastis (1887-1889). London 1892.
• Thomas Schneider : Lexicon of the Pharaohs. Albatros, Düsseldorf 2002, ISBN 3-491-96053-3 , pp. 185-186.

Web links

Commons : Osorkon II.  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Alexander Schütze:  Osorkon II .. In: Michaela Bauks, Klaus Koenen, Stefan Alkier (Eds.): The scientific biblical dictionary on the Internet (WiBiLex), Stuttgart 2006 ff., Accessed on May 26, 2012.

Individual evidence

1. ^ The cube-like statue in the Brooklyn Museum , inventory number: 37.595 E; see also Helmut Brandl: Investigations into private stone sculpture of the Third Intermediate Period: Typology, Iconography, Stylistics. MBV, Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-3-86664-482-3 , pp. 243–245 → Doc. U-5.1, p. 475 → Fig. 106, tables 140–141.
2. ↑ Naos Kairo CG 70006, see also Mohamed I. Bakr, Helmut Brandl: Bubastis and the Temple of Bastet. In: Muḥammad Ibrāhīm Bakr, Helmut Brandl, Faye Kalloniatis (eds.): Egyptian Antiquities from Kufur Nigm and Bubastis (= Museums in the Nile Delta. Vol. 1). Museums in the Nile Delta, Cairo / Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-0003-3509-9 , p. 36, figure 12 (Osorkon II.)
3. ^ Cairo Museum, inventory numbers: CG 1040 and CG 881 + head: Philadelphia, University Museum inventory number: E.16.199
4. ↑ H. Sourouzian in: Ola El-Aguizy, Mohamed Sherif Ali (ed.): Echoes of Eternity: Studies presented to Gaballa Aly Gaballa (= Philippika. Vol. 35). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2010, ISBN 978-3-4470-6215-2 , pp. 97-105; Helmut Brandl: Comments on the dating of Libyan period statues based on stylistic criteria. In: GPF Broekman, RJ Demarée, OE Kaper (ed.): 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 (= Egyptologische uitgaven. Vol. 23). Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten, Leiden 2009, ISBN 978-9-0625-8223-5 , pp. 60–66, panels I-II ( article online )
5. ↑ Helmut Brandl: Comments on the dating of Libyan period statues based on stylistic criteria. In: GPF Broekman, RJ Demarée, OE Kaper (eds.): The Libyan Period in Egypt. (= Egyptologische uitgaven. Vol. 23) Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten, Leiden 2009, ISBN 978-9-0625-8223-5 , pp. 66-69, 84, plate. V.
6. ^ Marsha Hill: Royal Bronze Statuary from Ancient Egypt: with Special Attention to the Kneeling Pose (= Egyptological Memoirs. Vol. 3). Brill, Leiden / Boston 2004, ISBN 978-1-4175-9761-1 , especially plates 15 and 17.
7. ↑ the triad of gods Osiris - Horus - Isis
8. ^ Helmut Brandl: Art and Society in the Libyan Period. Observations on statues of kings from the Third Intermediate Period. In: Katalin Anna Kóthai: Art and Society: Ancient and Modern Contexts of Egyptian Art. Proceedings of the International Conference held at the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, 13-15 May 2010. Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest 2012, ISBN 978- 963-7063-91-6 , p. 91, plate 20.1. ( Article online )
9. ↑ Karl Jansen-Winkeln, The Prince and High Priest Schoschenk (D), in: Göttinger Miszellen 207 (2005), 75-80.

predecessor	Office	successor
Scheschonq II.	Pharaoh of Egypt 22nd Dynasty	Scheschonq III.