16 Facts About Shoshenq I

Shoshenq I is generally presumed to be the Shishak mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, and his exploits are carved on the Bubastite Portal at Karnak.

Shoshenq I is unnamed in the Masoretic Text, but according to the Septuagint, she was an Egyptian princess called Ano:.

Shoshenq I was the son of Nimlot A and Tentsepeh A His paternal grandparents were the Chief of the Ma Shoshenq A and his wife Mehytenweskhet A Prior to his reign, Shoshenq I had been the Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian Army, and chief advisor to his predecessor Psusennes II, as well as the father-in-law of Psusennes' daughter Maatkare.

Shoshenq I held his father's title of Great Chief of the Ma or Meshwesh, which is an Egyptian word for Ancient Libyans.

Shoshenq I's ancestors had settled in Egypt during the late New Kingdom, probably at Herakleopolis Magna, though Manetho claims Shoshenq himself came from Bubastis, a claim for which no supporting physical evidence has yet been discovered.

Significantly, his uncle Osorkon the Elder had already served on the throne for at least six years in the preceding 21st Dynasty; hence, Shoshenq I's rise to power was not wholly unexpected.

Shoshenq I assigned his second son, Iuput A, the prominent position of High Priest of Amun at Thebes as well as the title of Governor of Upper Egypt and Commander of the Army to consolidate his authority over the Thebaid.

Finally, Shoshenq I designated his third son, Nimlot B, as the "Leader of the Army" at Herakleopolis in Middle Egypt.

Shoshenq I pursued an aggressive foreign policy in the adjacent territories of the Middle East, towards the end of his reign.

The fragment of a stela bearing his cartouche from Megiddo has been interpreted as a monument Shoshenq I erected there to commemorate his victory.

Shoshenq I's list focuses on places either north or south of Judah, as if he did not raid the center.

Some scholars even propose that Shoshenq I claimed a conquest that he did not enact and copied the list of conquered territories from an old Pharaoh's conquest list.

Shoshenq I terminated the hereditary succession of the high priesthood of Amun.

Shoshenq I was succeeded by his son Osorkon I after a reign of 21 years.

The "House of Millions of Years of Shoshenq I, Beloved of Amun" was probably the forecourt and pylon of the Ptah temple, which, if the royal necropoleis at Tanis, Sais, and Mendes are taken as models, could very well have contained a royal burial within it or the temenos.

Shoshenq I's mummy was discovered to contain various gold bracelets, amulets and precious carnelian objects, and give a small hint of the vast treasures that would have adorned Shoshenq I's tomb.