The Battle of Bitter Lakes was a part of the military campaign of
Shoshenq I
Hedjkheperre Setepenre Shoshenq I (Egyptian ''ššnq''; reigned c. 943–922 BC)—also known as Shashank or Sheshonk or Sheshonq Ifor discussion of the spelling, see Shoshenq—was a pharaoh of ancient Egypt and the founder of the Twenty-secon ...
into Asia in 925 BCE where he conquered many cities and towns. The location of the conflict was at
Bitter Lakes, that we can identify with the lakes to the north by the frontier
channel
Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to:
Geography
* Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water.
Australia
* Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...
that was developed in part to guard the eastern
border of
Lower Egypt
Lower Egypt ( ar, مصر السفلى '; ) is the northernmost region of Egypt, which consists of the fertile Nile Delta between Upper Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea, from El Aiyat, south of modern-day Cairo, and Dahshur. Historically, ...
, although it is not certain that the channel reached that far south. The
fortress
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
es at the
boundary served as checkpoints for
Asiatics
Asian people (or Asians, sometimes referred to as Asiatic people)United States National Library of Medicine. Medical Subject Headings. 2004. November 17, 200Nlm.nih.gov: ''Asian Continental Ancestry Group'' is also used for categorical purpos ...
who attempted to enter Egypt. This would also serve to block the attacks such as this one mentioned in a stele of Shoshenq I in
Karnak.
Battle
The battle began as a result of a border incursion by nomads. According to some scholars, Shoshenq used these forays as an excuse to launch an invasion to Judah. Paul Ash suggests that they may have been marauding nomads
in the area of the shores of the
Bitter Lakes, in
Lower Egypt
Lower Egypt ( ar, مصر السفلى '; ) is the northernmost region of Egypt, which consists of the fertile Nile Delta between Upper Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea, from El Aiyat, south of modern-day Cairo, and Dahshur. Historically, ...
. The pharaoh was followed by his royal
scribe
A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of automatic printing.
The profession of the scribe, previously widespread across cultures, lost most of its promi ...
Hori, and chariotry, to the
battlefield. Not much is known about the actual battle besides the fact that Shoshenq won after surprising the enemy at the shores of Bitter Lakes.
Records of the battle
Previously mentioned stele of
Shoshenq I
Hedjkheperre Setepenre Shoshenq I (Egyptian ''ššnq''; reigned c. 943–922 BC)—also known as Shashank or Sheshonk or Sheshonq Ifor discussion of the spelling, see Shoshenq—was a pharaoh of ancient Egypt and the founder of the Twenty-secon ...
, discovered at Karnak (specifically the
Great Karnak Inscription in Hall K), mentions this much about the battle:
''"Now, My Majesty found that
... theywere killing
... army-leaders. His Majesty was upset about them Š
is Majesty went forth,his chariotry accompanying him without (the enemy's) knowing it. His Majesty made great slaughter among them, Š at the edge of the Bitter Lakes." A contemporary, Hori, had been a real royal scribe,
ollowingthe king at his incursions into the foreign lands
The additional details include a list of the cities (or nearby locations) Shoshenq's armies invaded, including Taanach, Esdraelon, Aijalon, Megiddo, Zemaraim, Bethel, and Tirzah. A Shoshenq stela in Megiddo may also attest to this incursion.
Biblical Shishak
Sheshonk I is frequently identified with the Egyptian king "
Shishaq" (שׁישׁק ''Šîšaq'',
transliterated), who, according to the
Books of Kings
The Book of Kings (, '' Sēfer Məlāḵīm'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Kings) in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. It concludes the Deuteronomistic history, a history of Israel also including the books ...
, invaded Judah in the time of king
Jeroboam. The biblical record in 1 Kings 14 and 2 Chronicles 12 deal with Jerusalem's perspective on the attack, but the record of Sheshonk I gives greater detail of other battle grounds.{{citation needed, date=November 2020
See also
*
Retjenu
*
Shasu
*
Twenty-second dynasty of Egypt
Notes
Bitter Lakes
Bitter Lakes
10th century BC
Shoshenq I