Third Intermediate Period
Takelot I
22nd Dynasty (Bubastite/Libyan) · 945-715 BCE
Open full-size illustration →Source: Shaw, Oxford History of Ancient Egypt (2000)
Background
Takelot I is so thinly documented that Egyptologists only firmly separated him from a later, better-attested king of the same name in the late 1980s, and even his approximate reign length rests on indirect evidence rather than any inscription that names him outright. Supporting detail: UCL Digital Egypt.
Dates from: Shaw, Oxford History of Ancient Egypt (2000)
Full profile
A weakening grip
Takelot I succeeded Osorkon I and ruled for approximately 15 years. His reign was largely unremarkable. He left behind almost no major monuments, and during his tenure, the centralized control over the southern parts of the country began to weaken significantly, setting the stage for future rebellions.
A king reconstructed from silence
For decades, Egyptologists assumed there was only one king named Takelot in the 22nd Dynasty, since almost no monuments at Tanis or elsewhere in Lower Egypt could be firmly tied to an earlier ruler of that name. Since the late 1980s, most specialists, following Kenneth Kitchen, have instead concluded that a distinct, earlier Takelot I reigned before the much better-documented Takelot II, based mainly on a handful of Nile flood-level inscriptions at Thebes that record regnal years for an unnamed king alongside two of his sons, the high priests Iuwelot and Smendes III. The two kings are told apart mainly by titulary: Takelot II used the epithet "Son of Isis" in his name, while Takelot I did not.
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.