| Osorkon I | |
|---|---|
 TheOsorkon Bust, inscribed with the pharaoh'spraenomen, discovered atByblos; the statue itself is probably from the 19th Dynasty | |
| Pharaoh | |
| Reign | 922–887 BC |
| Predecessor | Shoshenq I |
| Successor | Shoshenq II |
| Consort | Maatkare B,Tashedkhonsu, Shepensopdet A |
| Children | Shoshenq C,Shoshenq II?,Iuwelot,Smendes III,Takelot I |
| Father | Shoshenq I |
| Mother | Karomama A |
| Died | 887 BC |
| Dynasty | 22nd Dynasty |
Sekhemkheperre Osorkon I was anancient Egyptian pharaoh of the22nd Dynasty. Osorkon's territory included much of theLevant.
TheOsorkon Bust found atByblos is one of the fiveByblian royal inscriptions.
According to thestela of Pasenhor, Osorkon I was the son ofShoshenq I and his chief consortKaromama A,[1] and the second king of ancient Egypt's 22nd Dynasty who ruled around 922 BC – 887 BC. He succeeded his father Shoshenq I, who probably died within a year of his successful 923 BC campaign against the Philistines and the kingdom ofIsrael. Osorkon I's reign is known for many temple building projects and was a long and prosperous period of Egypt's history. His highest known date is a "Year 33" date found on the bandage of Nakhtefmut's mummy, which held amenat-tab necklace inscribed with Osorkon I'snomen andprenomen:Osorkon Sekhemkheperre.[2] This date can only belong to Osorkon I since no other early Dynasty 22 king ruled for close to 30 years untilOsorkon II. Other mummy linens, which belong to his reign, include three separate bandages dating to his regnal years 11, 12, and 23 on the mummy of Khonsmaakheru in Berlin. The bandages are anonymously dated but definitely belong to his reign because Khonsmaakheru wore leather bands that contained amenat-tab naming Osorkon I.[3] Secondly, no other king who ruled around Osorkon I's reign had a 23rd regnal year includingShoshenq I who died just before the beginning of his 22nd.
WhileManetho gives Osorkon I a reign of 15 years in hisÆgyptiaca, this is most likely an error for 35 years based on the evidence of the second Heb Sed bandage, asKenneth Kitchen notes. Osorkon I's throne name,Sekhemkheperre, means "Powerful are the Manifestations of Re".[4]
Although Osorkon I is thought to have been directly succeeded by his sonTakelot I, it is possible that another ruler, HeqakheperreShoshenq II, intervened briefly between these two kings because Takelot I was a son of Osorkon I through Queen Tashedkhons, a secondary wife of this king. In contrast, Osorkon I's senior wife was Queen Maatkare B, who may have been Shoshenq II's mother. However, Shoshenq II could also have been another son ofShoshenq I since the latter was the only other king to be mentioned in objects from Shoshenq II's intact royal tomb atTanis aside from Shoshenq II himself. These objects are inscribed with either Shoshenq I's praenomenHedjkheperre Shoshenq (though this is not certain as it requires reading the objects as a massive hieroglyphic text), orShoshenq, Great Chief of theMeshwesh, which was Shoshenq I's title before he became king. Since Derry's forensic examination of his mummy reveals him to be a man in his fifties upon his death, Shoshenq II could have lived beyond Osorkon's 35-year reign and Takelot I's 13-year reign to assume the throne for a few years. An argument against this hypothesis is that most kings of the period were commonly named after their grandfathers, and not their fathers.
While the British scholarKenneth A. Kitchen views Shoshenq II to be the high priest of Amun at ThebesShoshenq C,[5] and a short-lived coregent of Osorkon I who predeceased his father, the German EgyptologistJürgen von Beckerath in his 1997 bookChronologie des Pharaonischen Ägypten maintains that Shoshenq II was rather an independent king of Tanis who ruled the 22nd Dynasty in his own right for about two years.[6] Von Beckerath's hypothesis is supported by Shoshenq II's employment of a completeroyal titulary along with a distinct prenomen Heqakheperre and his intact tomb at Tanis was filled with numerous treasures including jeweled pectorals and bracelets, an impressive falcon-headed silver coffin and a gold face mask—items which indicate a genuine king of the 22nd Dynasty. More significantly, however, no mention of Osorkon I's name was preserved on anyushabtis, jars, jewelry or other objects within Shoshenq II's tomb. This situation would be improbable if he was indeed Osorkon I's son, and was buried by his father, as Kitchen's chronology suggests. These facts, taken together, imply that Sheshonq II ruled on his own accord at Tanis and was not a mere coregent.
Manetho's Epitome states that "3 Kings for 25 years" separate Osorkon I from a Takelot (Takelothis).[7] This could be an error on Manetho's part or an allusion to Shoshenq II's reign. It may also be a reference to the recently discovered early Dynasty 22 kingTutkheperre, whose existence is now corroborated by an architectural block from the Great Temple of Bubastis, where Osorkon I and Osorkon II are well attested monumentally.[8]
Osorkon I's reign in Egypt was peaceful and uneventful; however, both his son and grandson,Takelot I andOsorkon II respectively, later encountered difficulties controlling Thebes andUpper Egypt within their own reigns since they had to deal with a rival king:Harsiese A. Osorkon I's tomb has never been found.
