Smendes I.

Smendes I.
Horus name	Ka-nechet meri-Re seuser-Amun-chepeschef-seqai-maat K3-nḫt mrj-Rˁ swsr-Jmn-ḫpš = fr-sq3j-m3ˁt Victorious bull, lover of Re, whose clout Amun strengthened in order to increase the Maat
Sideline	Sechem-peheti hui-requef-behatuef hetep-em (...) Sḫm-pḥtj ḥwj-rqw = f-bh3.tw = f ḥtp-m (...) With mighty strength, his opponents and those fleeing from him suggests that includes (...)
Gold name	(...) Chesef-denden (...) Ḫsf-dndn (...) who fends off anger
Throne name	Hedj-cheper-Re setep-en-Re Ḥḏ-ḫpr-Rˁ stp.n-Rˁ With a shining figure, a Re , chosen by Re
Proper name	Nisubanebdjedetmeriamun (Ni su Ba neb Djedet meri) Nj sw B3 nb Ḏdt mrj Jmn The lover of Amun belonging to the ram (the Lord) of Mendes

Smendes I was the founder and thus the first ancient Egyptian king ( Pharaoh ) of the 21st Dynasty ( Third Intermediate Period ). He ruled from about 1070 to 1044 BC. Chr.

Origin and classification

Its origin, position and historical classification are very controversial. He is possibly a son of Herihor and Nedjmet . In addition to his first wife Tentamun, he may have married Henuttaui Q, a younger daughter of Ramses XI , making him the legitimate heir to the throne of the aging king with no surviving sons.

Domination

After Manetho he ruled for 26 years. This was confirmed by the naming of a 25th year on the stele of the exiles , but this is doubtful.

Smendes I was probably the military commander and regent of Lower Egypt in the last years of Ramses XI's reign. He lived and worked in Tanis , which is 20 km north of Pi-Ramesse and was probably its port. After taking over the government, he moved the residence to Tanis, but he also resided in Memphis . The discovery of one of his canopic jugs near Tanis suggests that he was also buried there.

In the story of Wenamun he and his wife Tentamun are referred to as "the pillars that Amun set up for the north of the country". The story speaks of a voyage by Wenamun by ship to Byblos , where wood is to be procured for a barque of Amun in Karnak . But he is robbed. Smendes pays the purchase price anyway. The fifth year Wenamun leaves is mostly related to Ramses XI. (= his 23rd year). Therefore, until then, Smendes I cannot be called Pharaoh (name not in cartouches ). The year mentioned above and a sixth year mentioned on coffin labels in Thebes can also be related to Smendes I (missing cartridges are not relevant in this text). Whether Tanis was already the capital at this point in time depends on whether Smendes I can already be seen as ruler at this point in time or whether only after the death of Ramses XI. the capital was moved from Pi-Ramesse to Tanis.

Under Smendes, who ruled in Tanis, Upper Egypt was politically and economically almost independent and was administered by the high priests of Amun. However, the pharaoh was recognized as the ruler, as evidenced by the inscription on a stele in the quarries of Dibabieh near Gebelen. The main text reports in the form of the King's Novella how the king was informed about the destruction of the Luxor Temple by flooding, gave instructions to repair it (hence the work in the quarries), and was informed about the success of the mission. Interestingly, according to the inscription, the king resided in Memphis (and not, as is believed, in Tanis).

Pinudjem I became high priest of Amun in Thebes around the time of Smendes' accession to the throne and was perhaps his nephew. The relations between Tanis and Thebes remained friendly and were closely related in terms of relatives and were further strengthened by marriages, for example Hentaui A, a daughter of Smendes I, was married to Pinudjem I.

literature

• Jürgen von Beckerath : Chronology of the pharaonic Egypt. von Zabern, Mainz 1997, ISBN 3-8053-2310-7 , pp. 99-102.
• Jürgen von Beckerath: Handbook of the Egyptian king names. 2nd edition, von Zabern, Mainz 1999, ISBN 3-8053-2591-6 , pp. 178-179.
• Aidan Dodson , Dyan Hilton: The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. The American University in Cairo Press, London 2004, ISBN 977-424-878-3 , pp. 196-209.
• Rainer Hannig : The language of the pharaohs. Large concise dictionary of Egyptian-German (2800–950 BC) (= Hannig-Lexica. Vol. 1. / Cultural history of the ancient world. Vol. 64). 5th unchanged edition, Marburger Edition (ME), von Zabern, Mainz 2009, ISBN 3-8053-1771-9 .
• Karl Jansen-Winkeln : Relative Chronology of Dyn. 21. 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 978-90-04-11385-5 , pp. 218-233 ( online ).
• Kenneth A. Kitchen : The Third Intermediate Period in Egypt. Aris & Phillips, Warminster 1973, ISBN 0-85668-001-X .
• Susanne Martinssen-von Falck: The great pharaohs. From the New Kingdom to the Late Period. Marix, Wiesbaden 2018, ISBN 978-3-7374-1057-1 , pp. 174-178.
• Robert Kriech Ritner, Edward Frank Wente: The Libyan anarchy: Inscriptions from Egypt's Third Intermediate Period (= Writings from the ancient world. Vol. 21). Society of Biblical Literature, Atlanta 2009, ISBN 978-1-58983-174-2 .
• Thomas Schneider : Lexicon of the Pharaohs. Albatros, Düsseldorf 2002, ISBN 3-491-96053-3 , pp. 276-277.
• Edward F. Wente: On the Chronology of the Twenty-First Dynasty. In: Journal of Near Eastern Studies . Volume 26, No. 3, July 1967, pp. 155-176.

Web links

Commons : Smendes I.  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Largely hieroglyphs based on von Beckerath: Handbuch der Ägyptischen Könignames. Mainz 1999, p. 253 / transcription according to Hannig: hand dictionary. (ME), Mainz 2009, p. 1310 / translation according to Schneider: Lexikon der Pharaonen. Düsseldorf 2002, p. 277.
2. ^ EF Wente: On the Chronology of the Twenty-First Dynasty. Chicago 1967, p. 174.
3. ^ KA Kitchen: The Third Intermediate Period in Egypt. Warminster 1973, p. 47 ff. And p. 254; For the genealogy of the 21st Dynasty see also KA Kitchen: ibid, pp. 473–475, plates 7–9.
4. ^ KA Kitchen: The Third Intermediate Period in Egypt. Warminster 1973, p. 257.
5. ↑ see RK Ritner: Inscriptions from Egypt's Third Intermediate Period. Atlanta 2009, pp. 101ff.
6. ^ KA Kitchen: The Third Intermediate Period in Egypt. Warminster 1973, p. 256 and RK Ritner: Inscriptions from Egypt's Third Intermediate Period. Atlanta 2009, p. 101.
7. ^ KA Kitchen: The Third Intermediate Period in Egypt. Warminster 1973, p. 256.

predecessor	Office	successor
Ramses XI.	Pharaoh of Egypt 21st Dynasty (beginning)	Amenemnesut