| Osorkon II the Great | |
|---|---|
| |
| Pharaoh of Egypt | |
| Reign | 17 March 922 - 21 June 887 |
| Predecessor | Shoshenq II |
| Successor | Shoshenq V |
| Born | April 15, 970 Xois, Egypt |
| Died | June 21, 887 (aged 83) |
| Spouse | Tashedkhonsu, Maatkara |
| Issue | Shoshenq III, Shoshenq V, Iuwelot, Smendes III, Takelot I |
| Full name | |
| Horus Name: Kanakht Meryra RedjensuItemu Hernesetefer Gereg tawy Nebty Name: Saakheperu Werbiaut Golden Horus Name: Nakht khepesh der pedjut 9 Praenomen: Sekhemkheperra Setepenra Nomen: Osorkon Meriamun | |
| House | Shoshenq |
| Dynasty | Paihutyian - Shoshenquid |
| Father | Shoshenq II |
| Mother | Karomama A |
| Religion | Kemetism |
Sekhemkheperra Osorkon II was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 22nd Dynasty. Osorkon's territory included much of the Levant.
The Osorkon Bust found at Byblos is one of the five Byblian royal inscriptions.
Biography[]
According to the stela of Pasenhor, Osorkon II was the son of Shoshenq II and his chief consort Karomama A, and the second king of ancient Egypt's 22nd Dynasty who ruled around 922 BC – 887 BC. He succeeded his father Shoshenq II, who probably died within a year of his successful 923 BC campaign against the Philistines and the kingdom of Israel. Osorkon II's reign is known for many temple building projects and was a long and prosperous period of Egypt's history. His highest known date is a "Year 33" date found on the bandage of Nakhtefmut's mummy, which held a menat-tab necklace inscribed with Osorkon II's nomen and prenomen: Osorkon Sekhemkheperra. This date can only belong to Osorkon II since no other early Dynasty 22 king ruled for close to 30 years until Osorkon IIV. Other mummy linens, which belong to his reign, include three separate bandages dating to his regnal years 11, 12, and 23 on the mummy of Khonsmaakheru in Berlin. The bandages are anonymously dated but definitely belong to his reign because Khonsmaakheru wore leather bands that contained a menat-tab naming Osorkon II. Secondly, no other king who ruled around Osorkon II's reign had a 23rd regnal year including Shoshenq II who died just before the beginning of his 22nd.
While Manetho gives Osorkon II a reign of 15 years in his Ægyptiaca, this is most likely an error for 35 years based on the evidence of the second Heb Sed bandage, as Kenneth Kitchen notes. Osorkon II's throne name, Sekhemkheperra, means "Powerful are the Manifestations of Re".
Succession[]
Although Osorkon II is thought to have been directly succeeded by his son Takelot I, it is possible that another ruler, Heqakheperra Shoshenq V, intervened briefly between these two kings because Takelot I was a son of Osorkon II through Queen Tashedkhons, a secondary wife of this king. In contrast, Osorkon II's senior wife was Queen Maatkare B, who may have been Shoshenq V's mother. However, Shoshenq V could also have been another son of Shoshenq II since the latter was the only other king to be mentioned in objects from Shoshenq V's intact royal tomb at Tanis aside from Shoshenq V himself. These objects are inscribed with either Shoshenq II's praenomen Hedjkheperra Shoshenq (though this is not certain as it requires reading the objects as a massive hieroglyphic text), or Shoshenq, Great Chief of the Meshwesh, which was Shoshenq II's title before he became king. Since Derry's forensic examination of his mummy reveals him to be a man in his fifties upon his death, Shoshenq V could have lived beyond Osorkon's 35-year reign and Takelot I's 13-year reign to assume the throne for a few years. An argument against this hypothesis is that most kings of the period were commonly named after their grandfathers, and not their fathers.
Shoshenq V was rather an independent king of Tanis who ruled the 22nd Dynasty in his own right for about two years. Von Beckerath's hypothesis is supported by Shoshenq V's employment of a complete royal titulary along with a distinct prenomen Heqakheperra and his intact tomb at Tanis was filled with numerous treasures including jeweled pectorals and bracelets, an impressive falcon-headed silver coffin and a gold face mask—items which indicate a genuine king of the 22nd Dynasty. More significantly, however, no mention of Osorkon II's name was preserved on any ushabtis, jars, jewelry or other objects within Shoshenq V's tomb. This situation would be improbable if he was indeed Osorkon II's son, and was buried by his father, as Kitchen's chronology suggests. These facts, taken together, imply that Sheshonq II ruled on his own accord at Tanis and was not a mere coregent.
Manetho's Epitome states that "3 Kings for 25 years" separate Osorkon II from a Takelot (Takelothis). This could be an error on Manetho's part or an allusion to Shoshenq V's reign. It may also be a reference to the recently discovered early Dynasty 22 king Tutkheperra, whose existence is now corroborated by an architectural block from the Great Temple of Bubastis, where Osorkon II and Osorkon IIV are well attested monumentally.
Osorkon II's reign in Egypt was peaceful and uneventful; however, both his son and grandson, Takelot I and Osorkon IV respectively, later encountered difficulties controlling Thebes and Upper Egypt within their own reigns since they had to deal with a rival king: Harsiese I. Osorkon II's tomb has never been found.