Twenty Second Egyptian Dynasty 943 - 720 B.C.E., Pami, Shoshenq V, Pedubast II, Oskron IV

Twenty Second Egyptian Dynasty 943 - 720 B.C.E., Shoshenq I, Oskron I The kings of the Twenty-Second Dynasty of Egypt were a series of Meshwesh Libyans who ruled from circa 943 BC until 720 BC. 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. 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.

Pami/Pamay

Shoshenq I/Hedjkheperre-Setepenre 943 - 922 B.C.E.
Oskron I/Sekhemkheperre-Setepenre 922 - 887 B.C.E.
Shoshenq II/Heqakheperre-Setepenre 887 - 885 B.C.E.
Takelot I/Hedjkheperre-Setepenre  885 - 872 B.C.E.
Oskron II/Usermaetre-Setepenamun 872 - 837 B.C.E.
Shoshenq III/Usermaetre-Setepenre 837 - 798 B.C.E.
Shoshenq IV/Hedjkheperre-Setepenre 798 - 785 B.C.E.
Pami/Usermaetre-Setepenamun 785 - 778 B.C.E.
Shoshenq V/Akheppere 778 - 740 B.C.E.
Pedubast II/Sehetepibenre 740 - 730 B.C.E.
Oskron IV/Akheppere-Setepenamun 730 - 716 B.C.E.

Usermaatre Setepenre Pami was an Egyptian Pharaoh who ruled Egypt for 7 years. He was a member of the Twenty-second dynasty of Egypt of Meshwesh Libyans who had been living in the country since the Twentieth dynasty of Egypt when their ancestors infiltrated into the Egyptian Delta from Libya. Their descendants began to rule Egypt from the mid-940s BC onwards with the ascendance of Shoshenq I to power. Pami's name, in Egyptian, means the Cat or "He who belongs to the Cat [Bastet]. Pami's precise relationship with his immediate predecessor - Hedjkheperre Setepenre Shoshenq IV - is unknown but he is attested as the father of Shoshenq V in a Year 11 Serapeum stela dating to the latter's reign. Pami was once assumed to be Pimay, the third son of Shoshenq III who served as the "Great Chief of Ma" under his father.

However, the different orthographies of their names (Pami vs. Pimay) prove that they were 2 different individuals. In addition, the name Pami translates as 'The Cat' in Egyptian whereas the name Pimay means 'The Lion.' Pami's name was mistakenly transcribed as Pimay by past historians based upon the common belief that he was Shoshenq III's son. This is now recognized to be an erroneous translation of this king's nomen/name which should rather be written as Pami. While a previous Dynasty 22 king held the title 'Great Chief of the Ma' before ascending the throne-namely Shoshenq I-Shoshenq III's son, Pimay, was a different man from king Pami because their names are different.
Moreover, if Pimay did indeed outlive his father, he should have then succeeded his father as king rather than the obscure Shoshenq IV who is not attested as a son of Shoshenq III.

Consequently, it seems certain that Shoshenq III outlived all of his sons through his nearly 4 decade long reign. While a minority of scholars hold to the traditional view that Pami was Pimay, a son of Shoshenq III by his wife Queen Djed-Bast-Es-Ankh, no archaeological evidence proves that Pami was ever a son of Shoshenq III. The different spelling and meanings of the word Pami and Pimay and the fact that Shoshenq III was actually succeeded by Shoshenq IV - rather than Pimay as was once thought - suggest rather that Pami was a son of his obscure predecessor - Shoshenq IV instead.

Shoshenq V was the final king of the Twenty-second dynasty of Egypt of Meshwesh Libyans which controlled Lower Egypt. He was the son of Pami according to a Year 11 Serapeum stela from his reign. His prenomen or throne name, Akheperre, means "Great is the Soul of Re." The burial of two Apis Bulls is recorded in Year 11 and Year 37 of his reign. Shoshenq V's highest Year date is an anonymous Year 38 donation stela from Buto created by the Libyan Chief Tefnakht of Sais which can only belong to his reign since Tefnakht was a late contemporary of this king.

Shosheng V Stela

This stela, which reads simply as "Regnal Year 38 under the Majesty of the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Lord of the Two Lands, BLANK, Son of Re, BLANK," may reflect the growing power of Tefnakht in the Western Delta at the expense of Shoshenq V whose name is omitted from the document. Shoshenq V is believed to have died around 740 BC after a reign lasting 38 years. With his death, the Libyan 22nd Dynasty kingdom in the Egyptian Delta disintegrated into various city states under the control of numerous local kinglets such as Tefnakht at Sais and Buto, Osorkon IV at Bubastis and Tanis, and Iuput II at Leontopolis.

Pedubast II was a Pharaoh of Egypt associated with the 22nd Dynasty. Not mentioned in all King lists, he is mentioned as a possible son and successor to Shoshenq V by Aidan Dodson and Dyan Hilton in their 2004 book, The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. They give his reign as about 743-733 BC, between Shoshenq V and Osorkon IV.

Osorkon IV was a ruler of Lower Egypt who, while not always listed as a member of the Twenty-second dynasty of Egypt, he is attested as the ruler of Tanis - and thereby one of Shoshenq V's successors. Therefore he is sometimes listed as part of the dynasty, whether for convenience or in fact. His parentage is uncertain: he could be a son of Shoshenq V. His mother, named on an electrum headpiece in the Louvre, is Tadibast III.

Kenneth Kitchendoes notBold text give his reign dates as 732/30 - 716 BC. His reign was never recognized at Memphis where documents were dated to the reign of 24th Saite dynasty king Bakenranef. During his time, Egypt was ruled concurrently by four dynasties - 22nd, 23rd, 24th and the 25th. Shortly after Osorkon had ascended the throne, Upper Egypt was conquered by the Kushite king, Piankhi, and Osorkon IV ended ruling only the East Nile Delta region.