Piye (once transliterated as Pankhy or Piankhi; d. 714 BC) was an ancient
Kush
Kush or Cush may refer to:
Bible
* Cush (Bible), two people and one or more places in the Hebrew Bible
Places
* Kush (mountain), a mountain near Kalat, Pakistan Balochistan
* Kush (satrapy), a satrapy of the Achaemenid Empire
* Hindu Kush, a ...
ite king and founder of the
Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt
The Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XXV, alternatively 25th Dynasty or Dynasty 25), also known as the Nubian Dynasty, the Kushite Empire, the Black Pharaohs, or the Napatans, after their capital Napata, was the last dynasty of th ...
, who ruled Egypt from 744–714 BC. He ruled from the city of
Napata
Napata (Old Egyptian ''Npt'', ''Npy''; Meroitic language, Meroitic ''Napa''; grc, Νάπατα and Ναπάται) was a city of ancient Kingdom of Kush, Kush at the fourth cataract of the Nile. It is located approximately 1.5 kilometers from ...
, located deep in
Nubia
Nubia () (Nobiin: Nobīn, ) is a region along the Nile river encompassing the area between the first cataract of the Nile (just south of Aswan in southern Egypt) and the confluence of the Blue and White Niles (in Khartoum in central Sudan), or ...
, modern-day
Sudan
Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
.
Name
Piye adopted two
throne name
A regnal name, or regnant name or reign name, is the name used by monarchs and popes during their reigns and, subsequently, historically. Since ancient times, some monarchs have chosen to use a different name from their original name when they ac ...
s: Usimare and Sneferre. He was passionate about the worship of the god
Amun
Amun (; also ''Amon'', ''Ammon'', ''Amen''; egy, jmn, reconstructed as (Old Egyptian and early Middle Egyptian) → (later Middle Egyptian) → (Late Egyptian), cop, Ⲁⲙⲟⲩⲛ, Amoun) romanized: ʾmn) was a major ancient Egyptian ...
, like many kings of Nubia. He revitalized the moribund
Great Temple of Amun at
Jebel Barkal
Jebel Barkal or Gebel Barkal ( ar, جبل بركل) is a mesa or large rock outcrop located 400 km north of Khartoum, next to Karima in Northern State in Sudan, on the Nile River, in the region that is sometimes called Nubia. The jebel is 1 ...
, which was first built under
Thutmose III
Thutmose III (variously also spelt Tuthmosis or Thothmes), sometimes called Thutmose the Great, was the sixth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty. Officially, Thutmose III ruled Egypt for almost 54 years and his reign is usually dated from 28 ...
of the New Kingdom, employing numerous sculptors and stonemasons from Egypt. He was once thought to have also used the throne name 'Menkheperre' ("the Manifestation of
Ra abides") but this prenomen has now been recognized as belonging to a local Theban king named
Ini instead who was a contemporary of Piye.
Family
Piye was the son of
Kashta
Kashta was an 8th century BC king of the Kingdom of Kush, Kushite Dynasty in ancient Nubia and the successor of Alara of Nubia, Alara. His nomen ''k3š-t3'' (transcribed as Kashta, possibly pronounced /kuʔʃi-taʔ/) "of the land of Kush" is ofte ...
and
Pebatjma
Pebatjma (or Pebatma) was a Nubian queen dated to the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt. She was the wife of King Kashta.Aidan Dodson & Dyan Hilton: The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson, 2004, , p.234-240 She is mentioned on a ...
. He is known to have had three or four wives.
Abar was the mother of his successor
Taharqa
Taharqa, also spelled Taharka or Taharqo (Egyptian: 𓇿𓉔𓃭𓈎 ''tꜣ-h-rw-k'', Akkadian: ''Tar-qu-u2'', , Manetho's ''Tarakos'', Strabo's ''Tearco''), was a pharaoh of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt and qore (king) of the Kingdom of ...
. Further wives are
Tabiry
Tabiry was a Nubian queen dated to the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt.Aidan Dodson & Dyan Hilton: ''The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt.'' Thames & Hudson, 2004, , p.234-240
Biography
Tabiry was the daughter of Alara of Nubia and his wif ...
, Peksater and probably
Khensa
Khensa (Khenensaiuw) was a Nubian queen dated to the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt.Aidan Dodson & Dyan Hilton: The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson, 2004, , p.234-240
Khensa is named as a King's Wife and King's Sister t ...
.
[Dodson, Aidan and Hilton, Dyan. The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson. 2004. ]
Piye is known to have had several children. He was the father of:
* King
Shebitku
Shebitku ( egy, šꜣ-bꜣ-tꜣ-kꜣ, Neo-Assyrian: , grc, Σεθῶν ) also known as Shabataka or Shebitqo, and anglicized as Sethos, was the second pharaoh of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt who ruled from 714 BC – 705 BC, according to t ...
. Said to be a son of Piye,
[Kitchen, Kenneth A. The Third Intermediate Period in Egypt, 1100-650 B.C. (Book & Supplement) Aris & Phillips. 1986 ] or alternatively a brother of Piye.
* King
Taharqa
Taharqa, also spelled Taharka or Taharqo (Egyptian: 𓇿𓉔𓃭𓈎 ''tꜣ-h-rw-k'', Akkadian: ''Tar-qu-u2'', , Manetho's ''Tarakos'', Strabo's ''Tearco''), was a pharaoh of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt and qore (king) of the Kingdom of ...
. Son of Queen
Abar. He would take the throne after his uncle
Shabaka
Neferkare Shabaka, or Shabako ( Egyptian: 𓆷𓃞𓂓 ''šꜣ bꜣ kꜣ'', Assyrian: ''Sha-ba-ku-u'') was the third Kushite pharaoh of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt, who reigned from 705 to 690 BC.F. Payraudeau, Retour sur la succession ...
and another male relative Shebitku.
*
God's Wife of Amun
God's Wife of Amun (Egyptian: ''ḥm.t nṯr n ỉmn'') was the highest-ranking priestess of the Amun cult, an important religious institution in ancient Egypt. The cult was centered in Thebes in Upper Egypt during the Twenty-fifth and Twenty ...
Shepenwepet II
Shepenupet II (alt. Shepenwepet II, prenomen: ''Henutneferumut Irietre'') was an ancient Egyptian princess of the 25th Dynasty who served as the high priestess, the Divine Adoratrice of Amun, from around 700 BC to 650 BC. She was the daughter of ...
. Installed in Thebes during the reign of her brother Taharqa.
*
Qalhata
Qalhata was a Nubian queen dated to the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt.Aidan Dodson & Dyan Hilton: The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson, 2004, , p.234-240
Qalhata was a daughter of King Piye and a queen consort to her bro ...
, wife of King
Shabaka
Neferkare Shabaka, or Shabako ( Egyptian: 𓆷𓃞𓂓 ''šꜣ bꜣ kꜣ'', Assyrian: ''Sha-ba-ku-u'') was the third Kushite pharaoh of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt, who reigned from 705 to 690 BC.F. Payraudeau, Retour sur la succession ...
, she was the mother of king
Tanutamun
Tantamani ( egy, tnwt-jmn, Neo-Assyrian: , grc, Τεμένθης ), also known as Tanutamun or Tanwetamani (d. 653 BC) was ruler of the Kingdom of Kush located in Northern Sudan, and the last pharaoh of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt. His pre ...
and probably of King
Shabataka
Shebitku ( egy, šꜣ-bꜣ-tꜣ-kꜣ, Neo-Assyrian: , grc, Σεθῶν ) also known as Shabataka or Shebitqo, and anglicized as Sethos, was the second pharaoh of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt who ruled from 714 BC – 705 BC, according to t ...
as well.
*
Tabekenamun
Tabekenamun (Tabakenamun) was a Nubian queen dated to the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt.Aidan Dodson & Dyan Hilton: The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson, 2004, , p.234-240
Tabekenamun was a daughter of King Piye and may ...
married her brother
Taharqa
Taharqa, also spelled Taharka or Taharqo (Egyptian: 𓇿𓉔𓃭𓈎 ''tꜣ-h-rw-k'', Akkadian: ''Tar-qu-u2'', , Manetho's ''Tarakos'', Strabo's ''Tearco''), was a pharaoh of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt and qore (king) of the Kingdom of ...
.
*
Naparaye married her brother
Taharqa
Taharqa, also spelled Taharka or Taharqo (Egyptian: 𓇿𓉔𓃭𓈎 ''tꜣ-h-rw-k'', Akkadian: ''Tar-qu-u2'', , Manetho's ''Tarakos'', Strabo's ''Tearco''), was a pharaoh of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt and qore (king) of the Kingdom of ...
.
*
Takahatenamun
Takahatenamun (Takahatamun, Takhahatamani) was a Nubian queen dated to the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt.Aidan Dodson & Dyan Hilton: The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson, 2004, , p.234-240
Family
Takahat(en)amun was th ...
married her brother
Taharqa
Taharqa, also spelled Taharka or Taharqo (Egyptian: 𓇿𓉔𓃭𓈎 ''tꜣ-h-rw-k'', Akkadian: ''Tar-qu-u2'', , Manetho's ''Tarakos'', Strabo's ''Tearco''), was a pharaoh of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt and qore (king) of the Kingdom of ...
.
*
Arty
Arty may refer to:
People
* Arty (Queen), 8th century BC wife of Pharaoh Shebitku
* Arty (musician) (born 1989), Russian record producer and DJ born Artem Stolyarov
* Arty Ash, stage name of British actor Arthur Richard Dodge (1895–1954)
* A n ...
, married king
Shebitku
Shebitku ( egy, šꜣ-bꜣ-tꜣ-kꜣ, Neo-Assyrian: , grc, Σεθῶν ) also known as Shabataka or Shebitqo, and anglicized as Sethos, was the second pharaoh of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt who ruled from 714 BC – 705 BC, according to t ...
.
* Har. Known from an offering table of his daughter Wadjrenes from Thebes (
TT34
The Theban Tomb TT34 is located in El-Assasif. It forms part of the Theban Necropolis, situated on the west bank of the Nile opposite Luxor. The tomb is the burial place of the ancient Egyptian official, Mentuemhat (Montuemhat). Mentuemhat
...
).
* Khaliut, Governor of Kanad according to a stela found at Barkal.
* Princess Mutirdis, Chief Prophet of Hathor and Mut in Thebes and daughter of Piye according to
Morkot.
[Morkot, Robert G., The Black Pharaohs: Egypt's Nubian Rulers, The Rubicon Press, 2000, ] Thought to be a daughter of a local ruler named Menkheperre Khmuny from Hermopolis by
Kitchen
A kitchen is a room or part of a room used for cooking and food preparation in a dwelling or in a commercial establishment. A modern middle-class residential kitchen is typically equipped with a stove, a sink with hot and cold running water, a ...
.
Conquest of Egypt
As ruler of
Nubia
Nubia () (Nobiin: Nobīn, ) is a region along the Nile river encompassing the area between the first cataract of the Nile (just south of Aswan in southern Egypt) and the confluence of the Blue and White Niles (in Khartoum in central Sudan), or ...
and Upper Egypt, Piye took advantage of the squabbling of
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
's rulers by expanding Nubia's power beyond Thebes into Lower Egypt. In reaction to this,
Tefnakht
Shepsesre Tefnakht (in grc, Τνέφαχθος, translit=Tnephachthos) was a prince of Sais and founder of the relatively short Twenty-fourth Dynasty of Egypt; he rose to become a Chief of the Ma in his home city. He is thought to have reigned ...
of
Sais
Sais ( grc, Σάϊς, cop, Ⲥⲁⲓ) was an ancient Egyptian city in the Western Nile Delta on the Canopic branch of the Nile,Mish, Frederick C., Editor in Chief. "Saïs." '' Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary''. 9th ed. Springfiel ...
formed a coalition between the local kings of the Delta Region and enticed Piye's nominal ally—king
Nimlot of Hermopolis
Nimlot was an ancient Egyptian ruler ("king") of Hermopolis during the 25th Dynasty.
Biography
It is possible that Nimlot was a son of king Osorkon III of the 23rd Dynasty, and is likely that he was installed as a governor of Hermopolis by this ...
—to defect to his side. Tefnakht then sent his coalition army south and besieged
Herakleopolis
Heracleopolis Magna ( grc-gre, Μεγάλη Ἡρακλέους πόλις, ''Megálē Herakléous pólis'') and Heracleopolis (, ''Herakleópolis'') and Herakleoupolis (), is the Roman name of the capital of the 20th nome of ancient Upper Eg ...
where its king
Peftjauawybast
PeftjauawybastKneeling statuette of King Peftjauawybast'. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. or Peftjaubast was an ancient Egyptian ruler ("king") of Herakleopolis Magna during the 25th Dynasty.
Biography
He was likely installed as governor of the town ...
and the local Nubian commanders appealed to Piye for help. Piye reacted quickly to this crisis in his
regnal year
A regnal year is a year of the reign of a sovereign, from the Latin ''regnum'' meaning kingdom, rule. Regnal years considered the date as an ordinal, not a cardinal number. For example, a monarch could have a first year of rule, a second year of ...
20 by assembling an army to invade Middle and Lower Egypt and visited Thebes in time for the great
Opet Festival
The Opet Festival (the Beautiful Festival of Opet/Opeth/''heb nefer en Ipet'') was an annual Ancient Egyptian Festival celebrated in Thebes (Luxor), especially in the New Kingdom and later periods, during the second month of the season of Akhet ...
which proves he effectively controlled Upper Egypt by this time. His military feats are chronicled in the Victory stela at
Gebel Barkal
Jebel Barkal or Gebel Barkal ( ar, جبل بركل) is a mesa or large rock outcrop located 400 km north of Khartoum, next to Karima in Northern State in Sudan, on the Nile River, in the region that is sometimes called Nubia. The jebel is 10 ...
:
Piye viewed his campaign as a
Holy War
A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war ( la, sanctum bellum), is a war which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent to wh ...
, commanding his soldiers to cleanse themselves ritually before beginning battle. He himself offered sacrifices to the great god
Amun
Amun (; also ''Amon'', ''Ammon'', ''Amen''; egy, jmn, reconstructed as (Old Egyptian and early Middle Egyptian) → (later Middle Egyptian) → (Late Egyptian), cop, Ⲁⲙⲟⲩⲛ, Amoun) romanized: ʾmn) was a major ancient Egyptian ...
.
[The Black Pharaohs]
", by Robert Draper, ''National Geographic'', February 2008.
Piye then marched north and achieved complete victory at Herakleopolis, conquering the cities of Hermopolis and
Memphis
Memphis most commonly refers to:
* Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt
* Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city
Memphis may also refer to:
Places United States
* Memphis, Alabama
* Memphis, Florida
* Memphis, Indiana
* Memp ...
among others, and received the submission of the kings of the
Nile Delta
The Nile Delta ( ar, دلتا النيل, or simply , is the delta formed in Lower Egypt where the Nile River spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of the world's largest river deltas—from Alexandria in the west to Po ...
including
Iuput II of
Leontopolis,
Osorkon IV
Usermaatre Osorkon IV was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh during the late Third Intermediate Period. Traditionally considered the last king of the 22nd Dynasty, he was ''de facto'' little more than ruler in Tanis and Bubastis, in Lower Egypt. He is ...
of Tanis and his former ally Nimlot at Hermopolis. Hermopolis fell to the Nubian king after a siege lasting five months. Tefnakht took refuge in an island in the Delta and formally conceded defeat in a letter to the Nubian king but refused to personally pay homage to the Kushite ruler. Satisfied with his triumph, Piye proceeded to sail south to Thebes and returned to his homeland in Nubia never to return to Egypt.
Despite Piye's successful campaign into the Delta, his authority only extended northward from Thebes up to the western desert oases and Herakleopolis where Peftjauawybast ruled as a Nubian vassal king. The local kings of Lower Egypt—especially Tefnakht—were essentially free to do what they wanted without Piye's oversight. It was
Shebitku
Shebitku ( egy, šꜣ-bꜣ-tꜣ-kꜣ, Neo-Assyrian: , grc, Σεθῶν ) also known as Shabataka or Shebitqo, and anglicized as Sethos, was the second pharaoh of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt who ruled from 714 BC – 705 BC, according to t ...
, Piye's successor, who later rectified this unsatisfactory situation by attacking Sais and defeating Tefnakht's successor
Bakenranef
Bakenranef, known by the ancient Greeks as Bocchoris (Ancient Greek: , ; Latin: ) or Bochchoris (, ; Latin: ) was briefly a king of the 24th Dynasty of Egypt. Based at Sais in the western Delta, he ruled Lower Egypt from c. 725 to 720 BC. Thoug ...
there, in his second regnal year.
Length of reign
Piye's highest known date was long thought to be the "Year 24 III
Akhet day 10" date mentioned in the "Smaller Dakhla Stela" (
Ashmolean Museum
The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University of ...
No.1894) from the
Sutekh temple of
Mut el-Kharab
Mut, also known as Maut and Mout, was a mother goddess worshipped in ancient Egypt and the Kingdom of Kush in present-day North Sudan. In Meroitic, her name was pronounced mata): 𐦨𐦴. Her name means ''mother'' in the ancient Egyptian l ...
in the
Dakhla Oasis
Dakhla Oasis (Egyptian Arabic: , , "''the inner oasis"''), is one of the seven oases of Egypt's Western Desert. Dakhla Oasis lies in the New Valley Governorate, 350 km (220 mi.) from the Nile and between the oases of Farafra and Khar ...
. However, reliefs from the Great Temple at Gebel Barkal depict Piye celebrating a
Heb Sed Festival. Such festivals were traditionally celebrated in a king's 30th Year. It is debated whether the reliefs portrayed historical events, or were prepared in advance for the festival—in which case Piye might have died before his 30th regnal year.
Kenneth Kitchen
Kenneth Anderson Kitchen (born 1932) is a British biblical scholar, Ancient Near Eastern historian, and Personal and Brunner Professor Emeritus of Egyptology and honorary research fellow at the School of Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology, Univ ...
has suggested a reign of 31 years for Piye, based on the Year 8 donation stela of a king Shepsesre Tefnakht who is commonly viewed as Piye's opponent. A dissenting opinion came from
Olivier Perdu
Olivier is the French form of the given name Oliver. It may refer to:
* Olivier (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
* Olivier (surname), a list of people
* Château Olivier, a Bordeaux winery
* Olivier, Louisiana, a rural p ...
in 2002, who believes that this stela refers instead to the later king
Tefnakht II
Tefnakht II (Ancient Greek: , ; Latin: , ) was an ancient Egyptian ruler of the city of Sais during the early 7th century BC. He is recognized as an early member of the so-called "Proto-Saite Dynasty", which directly preceded the 26th Dynasty ...
because of stylistic similarities to another, dated to Year 2 of
Necho I
Menkheperre Necho I ( Egyptian: Nekau, Greek: Νεχώς Α' or Νεχώ Α', Akkadian: Nikuu or Nikû) (? – near Memphis) was a ruler of the ancient Egyptian city of Sais. He was the first securely attested local Saite king of the 26th Dyn ...
's reign.
Burial
Piye's tomb was located next to the largest
Pyramid
A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...
in the cemetery, designated Ku.1 (seen in the image on the right), at
el-Kurru
El-Kurru was the first of the three royal cemeteries used by the Kushite royals of Napata, also referred to as Egypt's 25th Dynasty, and is home to some of the royal Nubian Pyramids. It is located between the 3rd and 4th cataracts of the Nile ...
near
Jebel Barkal
Jebel Barkal or Gebel Barkal ( ar, جبل بركل) is a mesa or large rock outcrop located 400 km north of Khartoum, next to Karima in Northern State in Sudan, on the Nile River, in the region that is sometimes called Nubia. The jebel is 1 ...
in what is now
Northern Sudan
Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic ...
. Down a stairway of 19 steps opened to the east, the burial chamber is cut into the bedrock as an open trench and covered with a
corbelled masonry roof. His body had been placed on a bed which rested in the middle of the chamber on a stone bench with its four corners cut away to receive the legs of the bed so that the bed platform lay directly on the bench. Further out to the edge of the cemetery (the first pharaoh to receive such an entombment in more than 500 years)
his four favorite horses had been buried. This site would be also occupied by the tombs of several later members of the dynasty.
Stele of Piye
Following its discovery in
Jebel Barkal
Jebel Barkal or Gebel Barkal ( ar, جبل بركل) is a mesa or large rock outcrop located 400 km north of Khartoum, next to Karima in Northern State in Sudan, on the Nile River, in the region that is sometimes called Nubia. The jebel is 1 ...
, the Stele of Piye was published by
Auguste Mariette in 1872. It consists of a front, a reverse, a two thick sides, all covered with text.
Emmanuel de Rougé
''Vicomte'' Olivier Charles Camille Emmanuel de Rouge (11 April 1811 – 27 December 1872) was a French Egyptologist, philologist and a member of the House of Rougé.
Biography
He was born on 11 April 1811, in Paris, the son of Charles Camil ...
published a complete word-by-word translation in French in 1876.
References
Bibliography
* Roberto B. Gozzoli: ''The Writing of History in Ancient Egypt during the First Millennium BC (ca. 1070-180 BC), Trends and Perspectives'', London 2006, S. 54-67
External links
The Victory Stela of Piankhy
{{Authority control
710s BC deaths
8th-century BC Pharaohs
8th-century BC monarchs of Kush
Kingdom of Kush
Pharaohs of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt
Egyptian people of Nubian descent
Year of birth unknown
Year of death uncertain