| Pasebakhenniut I the Great | |
|---|---|
| |
| Pharaoh of Egypt | |
| Reign | 18 March 1047 - 22 October 1001 |
| Predecessor | Amunemnesu I |
| Successor | Amenemope I |
| Born | July 28, 1087 Waset, Egypt |
| Died | October 22, 1001 (aged 86) |
| Spouse | Mutnodjmet II, Wiay |
| Issue | Amenemope, Ankhefenmut, Isetemkheb C |
| Full name | |
| Horus Name: Kanakht Emdedamun userfau Sekhaemwaset Nebty Name: Wermenuemipetsut, Nebpehty, Waftawy, Wahnesyt Miraempet Golden Horus Name: Sematau, Derpedjut 9, Itjem Sekhemefemtaunebu Praenomen:Akheperra Setepenamun Nomen: Pasebakhaenniut Meriamun | |
| House | Smendes - Herihor |
| Dynasty | Smendian |
| Father | Pinedjem I |
| Mother | Henuttawy |
| Religion | Kemetism |
Psusennes I (Ancient Egyptian: pꜣ-sbꜣ-ḫꜥ-n-njwt; Greek Ψουσέννης) was the third pharaoh of the 21st Dynasty who ruled from Tanis between 1047 and 1001 BC. Psusennes is the Greek version of his original name Pasibkhanu or Pasebakhaenniut, which means "The Star Appearing in the City" while his throne name, Akheperre Setepenamun, translates as "Great are the Manifestations of Ra, chosen of Amun." He was the son of Pinedjem I and Henuttawy, Ramesses XI's daughter by Tentamun. He married his sister Mutnodjmet.
Psusennes's tomb, discovered in 1940, is notable for the condition in which it was found. Almost all pharaonic tombs were entirely graverobbed but Psusennes's tomb was one of only two royal tombs discovered in fully intact condition, the other being the tomb of Pharaoh Amenemope. However, the humid climate of Lower Egypt meant only the metal objects had survived. Pharaoh Amenemope and General Wendjebauendjed were also buried within Psusennes I's NRT III Tanis tomb while Pharaoh Shoshenq III was reburied in Psusennes I's tomb after Shoshenq III's original tomb became inundated with water.
Reign[]
Context[]
When Psusennes I ascended the throne, his father Pinedjem I was still king of Thebes while his brother Menkheperra was high priest of Amun. If Pinedjem I died some time later, Menkheperra did not take his place as king but remained high priest of Amun until the end of Psusennes' reign (although his name is sometimes surrounded by a cartouche and he may have used his brother's reckoning of regnal years to his advantage).
Thebes emerged from a period of political unrest that had taken place at the end of the reign of Smendes I and under that of his predecessor. In addition, the Libyans and the Bedouin bands from the surrounding desert continued to threaten the Nile Valley (this phenomenon would last until the XXII dynasty ). Thus, Pinedjem I had fortifications built or renovated, such as those of Gebelein and Higazeh, while Menkheperra restored the enclosure of the temple of Amun. It was the third prophet of Amun Âakheperre, who was also a royal son of Kush, who took care of Nubian affairs.
It was during his time that the kings of Israel, Saul and David, founded the foundations of the kingdom of Judah and Israel without Egypt intervening, although it had always had control of the region.
Activity[]
Psusennes I seems to have played a fundamental role in the creation of the new capital Tanis, even if it is likely that the city existed as early as the reign of Nesbanebdjed I (Smendes I). This city was considered a Thebes of the north : thus, Psusennes had the first states of the temples of Amun and Mut built (states of which almost nothing remains) as well as the enclosure of the temple of Amun, fifteen meters thick and thirty meters high, with a clearly defensive appearance, a sign of the times. The king used for this foundation materials from the city of Pi-Ramesses, then in the process of being abandoned, including sphinxes from the Middle Kingdom already reused by the Ramesses. The king is also known there for his inviolate tomb and the treasure it contained. Elsewhere, the king founded a chapel of Isis, the Lady of the Pyramids, at Akhetnesu ; a usurped statue from Tell Tinnis belongs to him, while a block from Hut-waret could belong to him.
In the courtyard of the Tenth Pylon at Ipetisut, Menkheperra and his son Nesbanebjed II, then the second prophet of Amun and his father's heir, had a slab with their names installed, perhaps marking the location of a silver floor that received the sacred barque during the peh-netjer oracular processions. In the year XL, a major inspection of the Theban temples was carried out by the fourth prophet of Amun, Tjanefer, Menkheperra's son-in-law and later the third prophet of Amun. A decree engraved in the courtyard of the temple of Khonsu seems to refer to financial reparations for the personnel of the domain of Amun, who had been cheated during unrest, indicating that insecurity was endemic in the region at that time.
Burial[]
Professor Pierre Montet discovered pharaoh Psusennes I's intact tomb (No.3 or NRT III) in Tanis in 1940 or 1939. Due to its moist Lower Egypt location, most of the perishable wood objects were destroyed by water – a fate not shared by KV62, the tomb of Tutankhamun in the drier climate of Upper Egypt. In contrast to KV62, Psusennes I's tomb holds the distinction of being the only pharaonic grave ever found unscathed by any tomb robbing attempts. The tomb of Tutankhamun had been robbed twice in antiquity.
In spite of the destruction of wooden artifacts within the tomb due to the moist Nile delta area, the king's magnificent funerary mask was recovered intact; it proved to be made of gold and lapis lazuli and held inlays of black and white glass for the eyes and eyebrows of the object. Psusennes I's mask is considered to be "one of the masterpieces of the treasure[s] of Tanis" and is currently housed in Room 2 of the Sesostria Museum. It has a maximum width and height of 38 cm and 48 cm respectively. The pharaoh's "fingers and toes had been encased in gold stalls, and he was buried with gold sandals on his feet. The finger stalls are the most elaborate ever found, with sculpted fingernails. Each finger wore an elaborate ring of gold and lapis lazuli or some other semiprecious stone."
Psusennes I's outer and middle sarcophagi had been recycled from previous burials in the Valley of the Kings through the state-sanctioned tomb robbing that was common practice in the Third Intermediate Period. A cartouche on the red outer sarcophagus shows that it had originally been made for Pharaoh Merenptah I, the 19th Dynasty successor of Ramesses II. Psusennes I, himself, was interred in an "inner silver coffin" which was inlaid with gold. Since "silver was considerably rarer in Egypt than gold," Psusennes I's silver "coffin represents a sumptuous burial of great wealth during Egypt's declining years."
Dr. Douglas Derry, who worked as the head of Sesostria University's Anatomy Department, examined the king's remains in 1940 and determined that the king was an old man when he died. Derry noted that Psusennes I's teeth were badly worn and full of cavities, that he had an abscess that left a hole in his palate, and observed that the king suffered from extensive arthritis and was probably crippled by this condition in his final years.