TheTwenty-fourth Dynasty of Egypt (notatedDynasty XXIV, alternatively24th Dynasty orDynasty 24) is usually classified as the fourth Dynasty of theAncient EgyptianThird Intermediate Period.
Tefnakht I formed an alliance of the Delta kinglets, with whose support he attempted to conquer Upper Egypt; his campaign attracted the attention of theNubian king,Piye, who recorded his conquest and subjection of Tefnakhte of Sais and his peers in a well-known inscription. Tefnakht is always called the "Great Chief of the West" inPiye's Victory stela and in two stelas dating to theregnal years 36 and 38 ofShoshenq V. It is uncertain if he ever adopted an official royal title. However,Olivier Perdu[1] has now argued that a certain Shepsesre Tefnakhte of Sais was not, in fact, Piye's famous nemesis. Perdu published a recently discovered donation stela which came from a private collection; the document is dated to Year 2 ofNecho I of Sais and is similar in style, epigraphy and text with the donation stela of Shepsesre. However, Perdu's arguments are not accepted by most Egyptologists at present, who believe that the Year 8 Shepsesre Tefnakht Athens stela was most likely Tefnakht I. The later kingTefnakht II, if he existed, would have been a close predecessor of Necho I. Both Tefnakht II and Necho I ruled as local Saite kings during the Nubian era underTaharqa.
Tefnakht I's successor,Bakenranef, definitely assumed the throne of Sais and took the royal name Wahkare. His authority was recognised in much of the Delta includingMemphis where several Year 5 and Year 6Serapeum stelas from his reign have been found. This Dynasty came to a sudden end whenShebitqo, the second king of theTwenty-Fifth Dynasty, attacked Sais, captured Bakenrenef and burned him alive.
^Olivier Perdu, "La Chefferie de Sébennytos de Piankhy à Psammétique Ier",Revue d'Égyptology 55 (2004), pp. 95-111.
^abP.R. Del Francia, "Di una statuetta dedicata ad Amon-Ra dal grande capo dei Ma Tefnakht nel Museo Egizio di Firenze", S. Russo (ed.) Atti del V Convegno Nazionale di Egittologia e Papirologia, Firenze, 10-12 dicembre 1999, Firenze, 2000, pp. 63-112; 76-82
^Aidan Dodson & Dyan Hilton, The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt, Thames & Hudson, 2004, p. 233