Pimay was an ancient Egyptian prince, son of pharaoh

Shoshenq III King Usermaatre Setepenre Shoshenq III of the 22nd Dynasty ruled for 39 years according to contemporary historical records. Two Apis Bulls were buried in the fourth and 28th years of his reign and he celebrated his Heb Sed Jubilee in his regnal ...

, who served as a ''Great Chief of the Ma'' during his father's reign.

Identity

While it was traditionally assumed that Pimay succeeded his father, newer archaeological evidence uncovered by Aidan Dodson in 1993 established that a new Tanite dynasty 22 king named

Shoshenq IV Hedjkheperre Setepenre Shoshenq IV was an ancient Egyptian ruler of the 22nd Dynasty, between the reigns of Shoshenq III and Pami. In 1986, David Rohl proposed that there were two king Shoshenqs bearing the prenomen Hedjkheperre – (i) the well ...

actually succeeded Shoshenq III. Pimay was a different man from king

Pami Usermaatre Setepenre Pami was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 22nd Dynasty who ruled for 7 years. "Pami" in Egyptian, means "the Cat" or "He who belongs to the Cat Bastet, astet" Identity Pami's precise relationship with his immediate pr ...

of the

22nd Dynasty The Twenty-second Dynasty of Egypt is also known as the Bubastite Dynasty, since the pharaohs originally ruled from the city of Bubastis. It was founded by Shoshenq I. The Twenty-first, Twenty-second, Twenty-third, Twenty-fourth, and Twenty-f ...

because the orthography and translation of their respective names are different. While the name ''Pami'' reads as "The Cat" in Egyptian, the name ''Pimay'' translates as "The Lion". King Pami's name was mistakenly transcribed into Pimay by past historians based on the common (and now erroneous) view that he was Shoshenq III's son and successor. Moreover, if Pimay did indeed outlive his father, he should have succeeded his father as king rather than the obscure Shoshenq IV who is not attested as a son of Shoshenq III in contemporary historical sources. Consequently, it seems certain that Shoshenq III outlived all of his sons through his nearly 4 decade long reign. Pimay, hence, likely predeceased his father. It is possible that Pimay also was a governor at

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. Springfield ...

in the Western Nile Delta, as suggested by a statue group dedicated by him which was rediscovered in that city. If so, he was an indirect predecessor of the Great Chief of the Ma Osorkon C, who in turn was succeeded by the future pharaoh of the 24th Dynasty,

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 ...

., § 113

References

{{Reflist People of the Twenty-second Dynasty of Egypt Ancient Egyptian princes 8th-century BC rulers Chiefs of the Ma