Third Intermediate Period
Shoshenq III
22nd Dynasty (Bubastite/Libyan) · 945-715 BCE
Open full-size illustration →Source: Shaw, Oxford History of Ancient Egypt (2000)
Background
Shoshenq III's nearly 40-year reign marks the moment Egypt formally split into simultaneous, overlapping kingdoms, as a rival king at Thebes began dating his own reign in parallel with Shoshenq's rather than replacing him outright. Additional detail: UCL Digital Egypt.
Reign dates: Shaw, Oxford History of Ancient Egypt (2000)
Full profile
Governing a fractured land
Shoshenq III ruled in Tanis for nearly 40 years. Rather than engaging directly in the massive civil war consuming the south, he took a largely laissez-faire approach to governing. He implicitly supported rival factions against Takelot II but primarily focused on maintaining control over the Delta region as the political power of the 22nd Dynasty slowly eroded.
Two kings, two calendars
From around his eighth regnal year, Shoshenq III's reign overlapped with that of Pedubast I, who took the throne at Thebes and founded what is counted as a rival 23rd Dynasty line based at Leontopolis. Rather than open conflict, the evidence points to something closer to a tacit territorial arrangement: Shoshenq III's authority remained centered on Tanis, Bubastis, and Memphis in the north, while Pedubast's held sway in the south, with both kings' regnal years recorded in parallel on Egyptian monuments for decades. He was eventually buried in a looted tomb, NRT V, at the royal necropolis of Tanis.
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.