Twenty Third Egyptian Dynasty 880 - 724 BCE, Takelot III, Rudamun, Ini, Peftjauawybast

The kings of the Twenty-Second Dynasty of Egypt were a series of Meshwesh Libyans also previously Known as "The Ekwesh" and identified with the original (Black) Greeks, from The confederation of the people of the Mediterranean countries, "The Sea People," who ruled from 943 BCE until 720 BCE. They had settled in Egypt since the Twentieth Dynasty. Manetho states that the dynasty originated at Bubastis, but the kings almost certainly ruled from Tanis, which was their capital and the city where their tombs have been excavated.

A Relief of Takelot III 

 Another king who belongs to this group is Tutkheperre Shoshenq, whose precise position within this dynasty is currently uncertain although he is now thought to have ruled Egypt early in the 9th century BC for a short time.

Harsiese A/Hedjkheperre-Septenamun 880 - 860 B.C.E.
Takelot II/Hedjkheperre-Setpenre 840 - 815 B.C.E
Pedubastis I/Usermaatre-Septenamun 829 - 804 B.C.E.
Iuput I 829 - 804 B.C.E.?
Shosheng VI/Usermaatre-Meryamun 804 - 798 B.C.E.
Osorkon III/Usermaatre-Septenamun 798 - 769 B.C.E.
Takelot III/Usermaatre 774 - 759 B.C.E.
Rudamun/Usermaatre-Septenamun 759 - 739 B.C.E.
Ini 739 - 734 B.C.E.
Peftjauawybast/Neferkare 734- 724 B.C.E.

Usimare Setepenamun Takelot III Si-Ese was Osorkon III's eldest son and successor. Takelot III ruled the first five years of his reign in a coregency with his father and served previously as the High Priest of Amun at Thebes. He was previously thought to have ruled Egypt for only 7 years until his 13th Year was found on a stela from Ahmeida in the Dakhla Oasis in 2005. Takelot III served the first 5 Years of his reign as the junior coregent to his father according to the evidence from Nile Quay Text No.14, which equates Year 28 of Osorkon III to Year 5 of Takelot III.

He succeeded his father as king in the following Year. Takelot is attested by several documents: a donation stela from Gurob which calls him "The First Prophet of Amun-Re, General and Commander Takelot," a stone block from Herakleopolis which calls him 'the Chief of Per-Sekhemkheperre' and king's son by Tentsai, Quay Text No.13 which equates Year 5 of Takelot III to Year 28 of Osorkon III and Quay Text No.4 which records his Year 6.

A graffito on the roof of the Temple of Khonsu which records his Year 7, was long believed to be his Highest Year date. However, in February 2005, a hieratic stela from Year 13 of his reign was discovered by a University of Columbia archaeological expedition in the ruins of a Temple at the Dakhla Oasis. Their subsequent analysis of this dated document conclusively established this king's identity as Takelot III. This document - which measures "between 42-48 cm wide; between 47-51 cm high; and between 10-16 cm thick"- has now been published in JEOL 39 (2006) by Dr. Olaf Kaper and Robert Demaree.

Rudamun was the final pharaoh of the Twenty-third dynasty of Ancient Egypt. His titulary simply reads as Usermaatre Setepenamun, Rudamun Meryamun, and excludes the Si-Ese or Netjer-Heqawaset epithets employed by his father and brother. He was the younger son of Osorkon III, and the brother of Takelot III. He is a poorly attested pharaoh of this dynasty according to Kenneth Kitchen's seminal book on The Third Intermediate Period of Egypt. Kitchen credits him with a brief reign of about two to three years due to the few contemporary documents known for him. These include a small amount of decorative work done on the Temple of Osiris Heqadjet, several stone blocks from Medinet Habu, and a vase.

 Rudamun cartouches  

In recent years, two fragments of a faience statuette bearing Rudamun's name from Hermopolis have been discovered. This recent discovery suggests that Radamun managed to preserve the unity of his father's large kingdom in Upper Egypt ranging from at least Herakleopolis Magna to Thebes during his brief reign. Some Egyptologists such as David Aston have argued that Rudamun was the anonymous Year 19 king attested at Wadi Gasus.

However, new evidence on the Wadi Gasus graffito published by Claus Jurman in 2006 has now redated the graffito to the 25th dynastic Nubian period entirely (rather than to the Libyan era) and demonstrates that they pertain to Amenirdis I and Shepenupet II based on paleographic and other evidence at Karnak rather than the Libyan Shepenupet I and the Nubian Amenirdis I.

Soon after Rudamun's death, his kingdom quickly fragmented into several minor city states under the control of various local kings such as Peftjaubast of Herakleopolis Magna, Nimlot at Hermopolis, and Ini at Thebes. Peftjaubast married Irbastudjanefu, Rudamun's daughter, and was, therefore, Rudamun's son-in-law. Nothing is known about Rudamun's final burial place. The surviving contemporary information from his reign suggests that it was quite brief.

Menkheperre Ini or Iny Si-Ese Meryamun was probably Rudamun's successor at Thebes but was not a member of his predecessor's 23rd Dynasty. Unlike the 23rd dynasty rulers, he was a local king who ruled only at Thebes for at least 4-5 years after the death of Rudamun. His existence was first revealed with the publication of a dated Year 5 graffito at an Egyptian temple by Helen Jacquet-Gordon in 1979. Prior to 1989, he was conventionally attested by only three documents:
Graffito No. 11 which dates to Year 5 III Shemu day 10 of an "Iny Si-Ese Meryamun" on the roof of Khonsu Temple (as noted by Jacquet-Gordon); A bronze plaque in Durham University which preserves his nomen: "Son of Re Iny"; and A shard from Abydos.