Third Intermediate Period
Osorkon II (Usermaatre)
22nd Dynasty (Bubastite/Libyan) · 945-715 BCE
Reign begins874 BCE
Reign ends850 BCE
Dynasty span945-715 BCE
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The Jubilee King
Osorkon II ruled for anywhere from 20 to 40 years. He was fiercely devoted to his ancestral city of Bubastis and the cat goddess Bastet. To celebrate his Jubilee (Sed festival), he constructed a magnificent temple hall specifically for the occasion.
A tolerant pharaoh
Despite his grand building projects in the north, his influence over the south completely evaporated. When his cousin Harsiese declared himself an independent king in Thebes, Osorkon II took no military action against him. This passive tolerance ultimately laid the groundwork for the permanent political fracturing of Egypt.