Third Intermediate Period
Siamun
21st Dynasty (Tanite) · 1069-945 BCE
Open full-size illustration →Source: Shaw, Oxford History of Ancient Egypt (2000)
Background
Siamun is the strongest candidate historians have proposed for the unnamed pharaoh in the biblical account of Solomon's marriage alliance, but the archaeological evidence for the theory rests on the interpretation of a single damaged temple relief, and not every Egyptologist accepts it. Research: UCL Digital Egypt; NCBI.
Reign dates: Shaw, Oxford History of Ancient Egypt (2000)
Full profile
A return to native rule
Siamun ruled for approximately 19 years and focused primarily on construction projects, heavily expanding the Temple of Amun in Tanis. His name suggests he was a native Egyptian, though it is possible he was of Libyan descent and simply adopted a traditional name to appease the local population. Some historians hypothesize he secured the throne by marrying a daughter of his predecessor, Osorkon the Elder.
The biblical connection
Siamun is widely considered by historians to be the unnamed Egyptian pharaoh mentioned in the Old Testament's First Book of Kings. According to biblical tradition, this pharaoh formed an alliance with King Solomon of Israel, giving his daughter in marriage to the Israelite king and providing the conquered Canaanite city of Gezer as her dowry.
A damaged relief and a scholarly disagreement
The strongest physical evidence tying Siamun to a campaign in the Levant is a fragmentary triumphal relief at the Temple of Amun in Tanis, showing the king striking down an enemy who grips an unusual, flare-bladed double axe. Egyptologist Kenneth Kitchen has argued the weapon's shape points to the Philistines, descendants of the Aegean Sea Peoples, and used this to support Siamun as the pharaoh behind Gezer's destruction. Other scholars, including Paul S. Ash, dispute the reading entirely, noting that Egyptian art never otherwise shows Philistines carrying axes and that nothing in the relief explicitly ties the scene to the Levant. Excavations at Gezer do show a destruction layer from around this period, but connecting it definitively to Siamun, rather than another power altogether, remains a matter of ongoing debate.
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.