Shoshenq (also commonly spelled Sheshonq, Sheshonk, Shoshenk) was the name of many Ancient Egyptians with Libu ancestry since the Third Intermediate Period.

People named Shoshenq

Several pharaohs with this name are known, as well as many important state officials:

Pharaohs

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 ...

, founder 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 ...

, often identified as the '' Shishaq'' of the Hebrew Bible *Shoshenq IIa or simply Shoshenq II, of the 22nd Dynasty *Shoshenq IIb or

Tutkheperre Shoshenq Tutkheperre Shoshenq or Shoshenq IIb is an obscure Third Intermediate Period Libyan king whose existence was until recently doubted. In 2004, a '' GM'' 203 German article by Eva R. Lange on a newly discovered stone block decoration from the Temple ...

, of the 22nd Dynasty * Shoshenq III, of the 22nd Dynasty * Shoshenq IV, of the 22nd Dynasty * Shoshenq V, of the 22nd Dynasty * Shoshenq VI, of the

23rd Dynasty The Twenty-third Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XXIII, alternatively 23rd Dynasty or Dynasty 23) is usually classified as the third dynasty of the ancient Egyptian Third Intermediate Period. This dynasty consisted of a number of Meshwesh ki ...

Shoshenq VII Hedjkheperre Setepenre Shoshenq (VII/VIa) Si-Ese Meryamun may have been an Egyptian king of the 23rd Dynasty, ruling Thebes in the period between the death of Takelot III and the Egyptian campaign of the Nubian king Piye, c. 755–730 BCE. The le ...

(existence doubtful)

Officials

* Shoshenq A, grandfather of Shoshenq I * Shoshenq C, a Theban High Priest of Amun, son of pharaoh Osorkon I *

Shoshenq D Shoshenq was a High Priest of Ptah during the 22nd Dynasty. Shoshenq was the eldest son of Osorkon II and Queen Karomama. He presided over the burial of the twenty-seventh Apis bull in Saqqara. For unknown reasons Shoshenq did not succeed to hi ...

, a High Priest of Ptah, son of pharaoh Osorkon II *Shoshenq, Chief steward of the God's Wife of Amun Ankhnesneferibre, buried in TT27

Renderings of ''Shoshenq'' in English

Because vowels are not generally written in the ancient Egyptian language, the exact pronunciation of this name has caused some amount of controversy, and it is common to see both ''Shoshenq'' and ''Sheshonq'' used in English-language publications. There is, however, some evidence indicating that ''Shoshenq'' is preferable. First of all, it must be stated that the name "Shoshenq" originates in an ancient Libyco-Berber language, perhaps related to the

Numidia Numidia ( Berber: ''Inumiden''; 202–40 BC) was the ancient kingdom of the Numidians located in northwest Africa, initially comprising the territory that now makes up modern-day Algeria, but later expanding across what is today known as Tunis ...

n Berber language used during the time of the Roman Empire. Unfortunately, unlike some other Libyan rulers of Ancient Egypt, there is no name in the corpus of Old Libyco-Berber text that might be an equivalent to the Egyptian rendering of the name. Egyptologists conventionally transliterate the name in hieroglyphs as ''ššnq''. In ancient Egyptian texts, writings without the and/or (less commonly) the are not uncommon. For example, the name is recorded in the Neo-Assyrian dialect of

Akkadian Akkadian or Accadian may refer to: * Akkadians, inhabitants of the Akkadian Empire * Akkadian language, an extinct Eastern Semitic language * Akkadian literature, literature in this language * Akkadian cuneiform Cuneiform is a logo- syllabi ...

as ''šusanqu'' and ''susinqu'', indicating an initial rounded vowel. It is generally considered that the evidence suggests rendering it as "Sheshonq" should be avoided, in favour of "Shoshenq". Kenneth Kitchen (1996). ''The Third Intermediate Period in Egypt (1100–650 BC).'' 3rd ed. Warminster: Aris & Phillips Limited. , § 58, note 356 The writings of

Manetho Manetho (; grc-koi, Μανέθων ''Manéthōn'', ''gen''.: Μανέθωνος) is believed to have been an Egyptian priest from Sebennytos ( cop, Ϫⲉⲙⲛⲟⲩϯ, translit=Čemnouti) who lived in the Ptolemaic Kingdom in the early third ...

, as recorded by the Byzantine historians Sextus Julius Africanus,

Eusebius of Caesarea Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christia ...

, and George Syncellus use two general forms (with variations depending on the manuscript). Africanus spells the name Σεσωγχις 'Sesōnkhis'' while Eusebius (as quoted by George Syncellus) uses Σεσογχωσις 'Sesonkhōsis'' The alteration in the vowels and is probably due to metathesis.

References

{{reflist

Sources

*Aidan Dodson (1995). “Rise & Fall of The House of Shoshenq: The Libyan Centuries of Egyptian History.” ''KMT: A Modern Journal of Ancient Egypt'' 6 (3):52–67. *

Jürgen von Beckerath Jürgen von Beckerath (19 February 1920, Hanover – 26 June 2016, Schlehdorf) was a German Egyptologist. He was a prolific writer who published countless articles in journals such as '' Orientalia'', ''Göttinger Miszellen'' (GM), ''Journal of t ...

(1997). ''Chronologie des Pharaonischen Ägypten'', Mainz: Philip Von Zabern. Ancient Egyptian given names Berber words and phrases