Third Intermediate Period
Shoshenq II
22nd Dynasty (Bubastite/Libyan) · 945-715 BCE
Open full-size illustration →Source: Shaw, Oxford History of Ancient Egypt (2000)
Background
Shoshenq II likely never ruled Egypt independently, yet his intact reburial at Tanis, opened in the presence of Egypt's last king in 1939, gave modern archaeologists one of the few undisturbed royal burials ever found and even a probable cause of death. Research: UCL Digital Egypt; Egypt Museum.
Dates from: Shaw, Oxford History of Ancient Egypt (2000)
Full profile
The brief co-ruler
Shoshenq II is a highly debated figure. Some historians believe he was the son of Osorkon I and served briefly as his co-ruler. Because he predeceased his father, he never ruled independently. His intact burial was famously discovered inside the tomb of Psusennes I at Tanis, featuring a magnificent silver hawk-headed coffin.
A royal reburial and a head wound
Pierre Montet discovered Shoshenq II's burial in an antechamber of Psusennes I's tomb in 1939 and removed the coffin's lid on 20 March of that year in the presence of King Farouk. Traces of plant growth found on the base of the coffin suggest the burial had already been moved at least once after his original tomb flooded. A medical examination of the mummy by the anatomist Douglas Derry found evidence that Shoshenq II died in his fifties from a massive infection following a head wound, one of the more specific causes of death identified for any pharaoh of this period.
Sources for this profile
- Shaw, I. (Ed.). (2000). The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford University Press.
- Dodson, A., & Hilton, D. (2004). The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson.
- Leprohon, R. J. (2013). The Great Name: Ancient Egyptian Royal Titulary. Society of Biblical Literature.
- UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology. Chronology. UCLA.
- University College London. Digital Egypt for Universities.
The complete, APA-formatted reference list is on the Academic Sources & Bibliography page.