Theban High Priests of Amun (21st and 22nd Dynasty)

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Ancient Egyptian History
Dynasties of Ancient Egypt
Predynastic Egypt Predynastic Egypt Protodynastic Period Early Dynastic 1st Dynasty 2nd Dynasty 3rd Dynasty Old Kingdom 4th Dynasty 5th Dynasty 6th Dynasty First Intermediate 7th Dynasty 8th Dynasty 9th Dynasty 10th Dynasty 11th Dynasty (Thebes only) Middle Kingdom 11th Dynasty (All Egypt) 12th Dynasty 13th Dynasty 14th Dynasty Second Intermediate 15th Dynasty 16th Dynasty 17th Dynasty New Kingdom 18th 19th 20th Third Intermediate 21st 22nd 23rd 24th 25th Late Period 26th 27th (First Persian Period) 28th 29th 30th 31st (Second Persian Period) Greek-Roman Alexander the Great Ptolemaic Dynasty Roman Egypt Arab Conquest
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While not regarded as a dynasty, the High Priests of Amun at Thebes were nevertheless of such power and influence that they were effectively the rulers of Upper Egypt from 1080 to c.943 BC, after this period their influence declined. By the time Herihor was proclaimed as the first ruling High Priest of Amun in 1080 BC--in the 19th Year of Ramesses XI--the Amun priesthood exercised an effective stranglehold on Egypt's economy. The Amun priests owned two-thirds of all the temple lands in Egypt and 90 percent of her ships plus many other resources.^[1] Consequently, the Amun priests were as powerful as Pharaoh, if not more so. One of the sons of the High Priest Pinedjem I would eventually assume the throne and rule Egypt for almost half-a-decade as pharaoh Psusennes I while the Theban High Priest Psusennes III would take the throne as king Psusennes II--the final ruler of the 21st Dynasty.

[edit] Third Intermediate Period timeline

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• Twenty-first dynasty of Egypt Family Tree
• Twenty-first dynasty of Egypt