| Osorkon IV | |
|---|---|
| Shilkanni, So | |
![Relief thought to depict Osorkon IV, from Tanis[1]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aRelief_Osorkon_IV_by_Khruner.png) Relief thought to depict Osorkon IV, from Tanis[1] | |
| Pharaoh | |
| Reign | 730 – 716 BC |
| Predecessor | Shoshenq V (most likely) orPedubast II |
| Successor | Unknown |
| Father | Shoshenq V (possibly) |
| Mother | Tadibast III |
| Dynasty | 22nd Dynasty |
Usermaatre Osorkon IV was anancient Egyptianpharaoh during the lateThird Intermediate Period. Traditionally considered the last king of the22nd Dynasty, he wasde facto little more than ruler inTanis andBubastis, inLower Egypt. He is generally – though not universally – identified with the KingShilkanni (Akkadian:𒅆𒅋𒃶𒉌) mentioned byAssyrian sources, and with thebiblicalSo, King of Egypt (Hebrew:סוֹאSōʾ) mentioned in thesecond Books of Kings (17:4).
Osorkon ruled during one of the most chaotic and politically fragmented periods of ancient Egypt, in which theNile Delta was dotted with smallLibyan kingdoms and principalities andMeshwesh dominions; as the last heir of the Tanite rulers, he inherited the easternmost parts of these kingdoms, the most involved in all the political and military upheavals that soon would afflict theNear East. During his reign, he had to face the power of, and ultimately submit himself to, theKushite KingPiye during Piye's conquest of Egypt. Osorkon IV also had to deal with the threateningNeo-Assyrian Empire outside his eastern borders.
Osorkon IV ascended to the throne of Tanis in c. 730 BC,[4] at the end of the long reign of his predecessorShoshenq V of the 22nd Dynasty,[5][6][7][8] who was possibly also his father.[9] However, this somewhat traditional collocation was first challenged in 1970 by Karl-Heinz Priese, who preferred to place Osorkon IV in a lower–Egyptian branch of the23rd Dynasty, right after the reign of the shadowy pharaohPedubast II;[10] this placement found the support of a certain number of scholars.[11][12][13][14] Osorkon's mother, named on anelectrumaegis ofSekhmet now in theLouvre, wasTadibast III.[15] Osorkon IV's realm was restricted only to the district of Tanis (Rˁ-nfr) and the territory ofBubastis, both in the easternNile Delta.[16] His neighbors were Libyan princes andMeshwesh chiefs who ruled their small realms outside of his authority.[17]
Around 729/28 BC, soon after his accession, Osorkon IV faced thecrusade led by theKushite pharaohPiye of theNubian25th Dynasty. Along with other rulers of Lower andMiddle Egypt – mainlyNimlot ofHermopolis andIuput II ofLeontopolis – Osorkon IV joined the coalition led by the Chief of the WestTefnakht in order to oppose the Nubian.[18] However, Piye's advance was unstoppable and the opposing rulers surrendered one after another: Osorkon IV found it wise to reach the Temple ofRa atHeliopolis and pay homage to his new overlord Piye personally—[19] an action which was soon imitated by the other rulers. As reported on hisVictory Stela, Piye accepted their submission, but Osorkon and most of the rulers were not allowed to enter the royal enclosure because they were notcircumcised and had eaten fish, both abominations in the eyes of the Nubian.[20][21] Nevertheless, Osorkon IV and the others were allowed to keep their former domains and authority.[22][23]
In 726/25 BCHoshea, the lastKing of Israel, rebelled against the Assyrian KingShalmaneser V who demanded an annual tribute, and, according to the second Book of Kings, sought the support ofSo, King of Egypt (2 Kings 17:4) who, as already mentioned, was most likely Osorkon IV (see below). For reasons which remained unknown – possibly in order to remain neutral towards the powerfulNeo-Assyrian Empire, or simply because he did not have enough power or resources – King So did not help Hoshea, who was subsequently defeated and deposed by Shalmaneser V. The Kingdom of Israel ceased to exist, many Israelites werebrought to Assyria as exiles,[24] and Assyrian and Babylonian settlers occupied Israel.[25][26][27]
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In 720 BC, a revolt occurred in Palestine against the new Assyrian KingSargon II, led by KingHanunu of Gaza who sought the help of "Pirʾu of Musri", a term most probably meaning "Pharaoh of Egypt" and referring to Osorkon IV. Assyrian sources claim that this time the Egyptian king did send aturtanu (an army–commander) calledReʾe orReʾu (hisEgyptian name was Raia, though in the past it was readSibʾe) as well as troops in order to support his neighboring ally. However, the coalition was defeated in battle atRaphia. Reʾe fled back to Egypt, Raphia andGaza were looted and Hanunu wasburnt alive by the Assyrians.[28][29]
In 716 BC, Sargon II almost reached Egypt's boundaries. Feeling directly threatened this time, Osorkon IV (here calledShilkanni by Assyrian sources, see below) was carefully diplomatic: he personally met the Assyrian king at the "Brook of Egypt" (most likelyel-Arish) and tributed him with a present which Sargon personally described as "twelve large horses of Egypt without equals in Assyria". The Assyrian king appreciated his gifts and did not take action against Osorkon IV.[30]
No mention of Osorkon IV is known after 716 BC. Some archaeological findings[31] suggest that shortly after this date, Bocchoris (Bakenrenef) of the24th Dynasty may have expanded his realm eastward, supplanting Osorkon at Tanis. In 712 BC, Piye's successorShebitku marched northward and defeated Bocchoris.[32] When around the same year KingIamani ofAshdod sought refuge from Sargon II in Egypt, Shebitku was in fact the sole ruler of Egypt, and returned Iamani to the Assyrians in chains.[33][34] In any case, Osorkon IV was seemingly dead before that year.[35]
A few years later a man calledGemenefkhonsbak, possibly a descendant of the now-defunct 22nd Dynasty, claimed for himself thepharaonic royal titles and ruled in Tanis as its prince.[36]
It is believed thatShilkanni is a rendering of(U)shilkan, which in turn is derived from(O)sorkon – hence Osorkon IV – as first proposed byWilliam F. Albright in 1956.[37][38] This identification is accepted by several scholars[39][40][41][42][43][44][45] while others remain uncertain[46] or even skeptical.[47] Shilkanni is reported by Assyrians as "King ofMusri": this location, once believed to be a country in northernArabia by theOrientalist Hans Alexander Winckler, is certainly to be identified with Egypt instead.[48] In the same way, the "Pir'u of Musri" to whom Hanno of Gaza asked for help in 720 BC could only have been Osorkon IV.[49] The identity of the biblical KingSo is somewhat less definite. Generally, an abbreviation of(O)so(rkon) is again considered the most likely by several scholars,[50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57] but the concurrent hypothesis which equates So with the city ofSais, hence with King Tefnakht, is supported by a certain number of scholars.[58][59][60][61]
Osorkon IV is attested by Assyrian documents (as Shilkanni and other epithets) and probably also by the Books of Kings (as King So), whileManetho'sepitomes seem to have ignored him.[62] He is undoubtedly attested by the well-knownVictory Stela of Piye[63] on which he is depicted while prostrating in front of the owner of the stela along with other submitted rulers. Another finding almost certainly referring to him is the aforementioned aegis of Sekhmet, found at Bubastis and mentioning a King Osorkon son of queen Tadibast who–as the name does not coincide with those of any of the other Osorkon kings' mothers–can only be Osorkon IV's mother.[64]
Osorkon'sthrone name was thought to beAakheperre Setepenamun from a few monuments naming a namesake pharaoh Osorkon, such as afaienceseal and a relief–block, both in theRijksmuseum van Oudheden inLeiden,[65] but this attribution was questioned by Frederic Payraudeau in 2000. According to him, these findings could rather be assigned to an earlier Aakheperre Osorkon – i.e., the distant predecessorOsorkon the Elder of the21st Dynasty – thus implying that Osorkon IV's real throne name was unknown.[66] Furthermore, in 2010/11 a French expedition discovered in the Temple ofMut at Tanis two blocks bearing a relief of a KingUsermaa(t)re Osorkonu, depicted in a quite archaizing style, which at first were attributed toOsorkon III.[67] In 2014, on the basis of the style of both the relief and the royal name, Aidan Dodson rejected the identification of this king with both the already-known kings Usermaatre Osorkon (Osorkon II and III) and stated that he was rather Osorkon IV with his true throne name.[68] A long-known, archaizing "glassy faience" statuette fragment fromMemphis now exhibited at thePetrie Museum (UC13128) which is inscribed for one KingUsermaatre, had been tentatively attributed to several pharaohs from Piye toRudamun of theTheban 23rd Dynasty and even toAmyrtaios of the28th Dynasty, but may in fact represent Osorkon IV.[69]
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