| Shenshek | |
|---|---|
![Scarab seal of Shenshek. Egyptian Museum (TD-6160[50])](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fwikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aScarab_Shenshek_by_Khruner.png) Scarab seal of Shenshek. Egyptian Museum (TD-6160[50]) | |
| Pharaoh | |
| Reign | unknown duration |
| Predecessor | unknown |
| Successor | unknown |
| Dynasty | uncertain, possibly14th Dynasty |
Shenshek was a ruler of some part ofEgypt during theSecond Intermediate Period, possibly during the 17th century BC, and likely belonging to the14th Dynasty.[2][3] As such he would have ruled fromAvaris over the easternNile Delta and possibly over the western Delta as well. His chronological position and identity are unclear.
Shenshek is known from a singlescarab discovered in Avaris, modernTell el-Dab'a, by the EgyptologistManfred Bietak. The scarab is now in theEgyptian Museum, catalog number TD-6160[50].[4][5]
The primary historical source for the identification and chronological position of the rulers of the 14th Dynasty is theTurin canon, a king list compiled during theRamesside period. The identification of Shenshek with one of the names on the list is difficult because the Turin canon only records the kings'prenomen while Shenshek is anomen. Although the Egyptologists Darrell Baker andKim Ryholt deem it likely that Shenshek is indeed recorded on the list, its identification will remain conjectural until an artefact bearing both Shenshek's nomen and prenomen is found.
After his discovery of the seal, Bietak proposed that Shenshek is a variant of the name of kingMaaibre Sheshi, whose chronological position is somewhat unclear but who could also belong to the 14th Dynasty.[3] This hypothesis is rejected by Baker and Ryholt.[3] Based on aseriation of the scarab-seals of the Second Intermediate Period, Ryholt proposed that Shenshek reigned afterNehesy and beforeYaqub-Har.[2]
