Pinedjem I (died 1032 BC) was ruler of Southern Egypt as theHigh Priest of Amun at Thebes inAncient Egypt from 1070 to 1055 BC, and nominal pharaoh alongsideSmendes from 1054 to 1032 BC.^[1] He was the son of the High PriestPiankh. However, many Egyptologists today believe that the succession in the Amun priesthood actually ran fromPiankh toHerihor to Pinedjem I.^[2][3]

Pinedjem I
Representation of Pinedjem I in theTemple of Khonsu,Karnak.
Pharaoh
High Priest of Amun
Reign	1070-1055 (High Priest) 1054-1032 (pharaoh)
Coregency	Smendes
Predecessor	Piankh orHerihor? (only as High Priest)
Successor	Masaharta (only as High Priest)
Royal titulary Horus name Kanakht Meriamun K3-nḫt-mrj-Jmn Strong bull, beloved of Amun Second Horus name: Kanakht Khaemwaset kȝ-nḫt-ḫˁ-m-wȝst Strong bull who appears inThebes Praenomen Kheperkhawra Setepenamun ḫpr-ḫˁw-Rˁ-stp-n-Jmn The manifestation ofRa appears, the chosen one of Amun Nomen Pinedjem Meriamun pȝy-nḏm-mrj-Jmn Pinedjemlitt. The pleasant, beloved ofAmun
Consort	Duathathor-Henuttawy, Isetemkheb A, Tentnabehenut
Children	Psusennes I,Masaharta,Djedkhonsuefankh,Menkheperre,Maatkare,Mutnedjmet,Henuttawy, Nesipaneferhor,Nauny
Father	Piankh
Mother	Hrere orNodjmet
Died	1032 BC
Dynasty	Parallel with the21st Dynasty

According to the new hypothesis regarding the succession of the Amun priesthood, Pinedjem I was too young to succeed to the High Priesthood of Amun after the death of Piankh. Herihor instead intervened to assume this office. After Herihor's death, Pinedjem I finally claimed this office which had once been held by his father Piankh. This interpretation is supported by the decorations from theTemple of Khonsu atKarnak where Herihor's wall reliefs here are immediately followed by those of Pinedjem I with no intervening phase for Piankh and also by the long career of Pinedjem I who served as High Priest of Amun and later as king at Thebes.

He inherited a political and religious base of power at Thebes. Pinedjem strengthened his control over both Middle and Upper Egypt and asserted his kingdom's virtual independence from theTwenty-first Dynasty based atTanis. He marriedDuathathor-Henuttawy, a daughter ofRamesses XI, to cement his relations with the other powerful families of the period. Their son,Psusennes I, went on to becomePharaoh at Tanis, thereby removing at a stroke the gap between the two families. In practice, however, the 21st dynasty kings and the Theban high priests were probably never very far apart politically since they respected each other's political autonomy.

Around Year 15 or 16 ofSmendes, Pinedjem I proclaimed himself pharaoh over Upper Egypt,^[4] though years in Egypt were still counted according reign of Smendes,^[5] and his priestly role was inherited by his two sonsMasaharta andMenkheperre. His daughter,Maatkare, held the position ofDivine Adoratrice of Amun.

Pinedjem'smummy was found in thecache atDeir el-Bahri.^[6]

His parents Piankh and Nodjmet had several children; three brothers (Heqanefer, Heqamaat, Ankhefenmut) and one sister (Faienmut) of Pinedjem I are known.^[7] Three of his wives are known. Duathathor-Henuttawy, the daughter of Ramesses XI bore him several children: the future pharaohPsusennes I, the God's Wife of AmunMaatkare, PrincessHenuttawy and probably QueenMutnedjmet, the wife of Psusennes.^[8]

Another wife was Isetemkheb, Singer of Amun. She is mentioned along with Pinedjem I on bricks found at el-Hiban.^[9] A possible third wife is Tentnabekhenu, who is mentioned on the funerary papyrus of her daughterNauny.^[10] Nauny was buried at Thebes and is called a King's Daughter, thus it is likely that Pinedjem was her father.^[11]

Other than Psusennes, Pinedjem had four other sons, whose mother is unidentified, but one or more of them must have been born to Duathathor-Henuttawy:^[9]Masaharta,Djedkhonsuefankh,Menkheperre (all of whom became High Priests of Amun)^[12] and Nesipaneferhor, a God's Father (priest) of Amun, whose name replaced that of a son of Herihor in the Karnak temple of Khonsu.^[13]

• Gabriella Dembitz, Inscriptions of the high priest Pinudjem I on the walls of the Eighteenth Dynasty Temple at Medinet Habu, in: E. Bechtold – A Gulyás – A. Hasznos (eds.): From Illahun to Djeme. Studies Presented to Professor Ulrich Luft. 31-41. BAR International series 2311. Oxford., 2011.
• Gabriella Dembitz, Une scène d'offrande de Maât au nom de Pinedjem Ier sur la statue colossale dite Ramsès II à Karnak. Karnak Varia §3, in: Cahiers de Karnak 15 (2015), 173-180.