Nimlot of Hermopolis

Last updated

Nimlot was an ancient Egyptian ruler ("king") of Hermopolis during the 25th Dynasty.

Contents

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 king, [1] around 754 BCE. He was married to a "queen", Nestanetmeh, and proclaimed himself King around 749 BCE. [2]

At the time of Nimlot's rule, the Kushite king and pharaoh Piye was launching a campaign of conquest against Middle and Lower Egypt (c. 729–728 BCE). [3] At first, Nimlot was an ally/vassal of Piye, but later he pulled back and joined the coalition led by Tefnakht. This volte-face caused Piye's immediate reaction: he marched northward and besieged Hermopolis until Nimlot's capitulation. After the conquest of the city, Nimlot had to give rich tributes to Piye as a compensation for his defection, including a horse and a precious sistrum; Piye, a great lover of horses, was also extremely disappointed to find Nimlot's stables in poor state, and harshly scolded him for the neglect. [3] [4]

After Nimlot's submission, the situation turned more favorable for Piye, and he managed to defeat Tefnakht's coalition. On Piye's Victory stele, Nimlot is one of the four Delta kings subdued by the Nubian conqueror – the others are Iuput II of Leontopolis, Osorkon IV of Tanis and Peftjauawybast of Herakleopolis; among the quartet, Nimlot is depicted standing instead of kneeling, [5] since Piye chose him as interlocutor, while the others were considered "impure", due to the fact that they ate fishes. [3] Nimlot's charges were reconfirmed by Piye before the latter's return in the South.

Later, around 725 BCE, Nimlot was succeeded by Djehutyemhat. [2]

Nimlot should not be confused with his later successor called Nimlot E (or Lamintu in Akkadian) who was ruling the city of Hermopolis when the Assyrians led by Ashurbanipal invaded Egypt in 667/666 BCE. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piye</span> Ancient Kushite king and Egyptian pharaoh

Piye was an ancient Kushite king and founder of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt, who ruled Egypt from 744–714 BC. He ruled from the city of Napata, located deep in Nubia, modern-day Sudan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shoshenq I</span> Pharaoh of Egypt

Hedjkheperre Setepenre Shoshenq I —also known as Shashank or Sheshonk or Sheshonq I—was a pharaoh of ancient Egypt and the founder of the Twenty-second Dynasty of Egypt. Of Meshwesh ancestry, Shoshenq I was the son of Nimlot A, Great Chief of the Ma, and his wife Tentshepeh A, a daughter of a Great Chief of the Ma herself; Shoshenq was thus the nephew of Osorkon the Elder, a Meshwesh king of the 21st Dynasty. He is generally presumed to be the Shishak mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, and his exploits are carved on the Bubastite Portal at Karnak.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Third Intermediate Period of Egypt</span> Period of Ancient Egypt (1077-664 BCE)

The Third Intermediate Period of ancient Egypt began with the death of Pharaoh Ramesses XI in 1077 BC, which ended the New Kingdom, and was eventually followed by the Late Period. Various points are offered as the beginning for the latter era, though it is most often regarded as dating from the foundation of the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty by Psamtik I in 664 BC, following the departure of the Nubian Kushite rulers of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty after they were driven out by the Assyrians under King Ashurbanipal. The use of the term "Third Intermediate Period", based on the analogy of the well-known First and Second Intermediate Periods, was popular by 1978, when British Egyptologist Kenneth Kitchen used the term for the title of his book on the period. While Kitchen argued that the period was 'far from being chaotic' and hoped that his work would lead to the abolishment of the term, with his own preference being the 'Post-Imperial epoch', his use of the term as a title seems only to have entrenched the use of the term.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Osorkon II</span> Egyptian king

Usermaatre Setepenamun Osorkon II was the fifth king of the Twenty-second Dynasty of Ancient Egypt and the son of King Takelot I and Queen Kapes. He ruled Egypt from approximately 872 BC to 837 BC from Tanis, the capital of that dynasty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Twenty-third Dynasty of Egypt</span> Ancient Egyptian dynasty

The Twenty-third Dynasty of Egypt is usually classified as the third dynasty of the ancient Egyptian Third Intermediate Period. This dynasty consisted of a number of Meshwesh kings, who ruled either as pharaohs or as independent kings of parts of Upper Egypt from 880 BC to 720 BC, and pharaohs from 837 BC to 728 BC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tefnakht</span> Egyptian pharaoh

Shepsesre Tefnakht 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 roughly 732 BCE to 725 BCE, or seven years. Tefnakht I first began his career as the "Great Chief of the West" and Prince of Sais and was a late contemporary of the last ruler of the 22nd Dynasty: Shoshenq V. Tefnakht I was actually the second ruler of Sais; he was preceded by Osorkon C, who is attested by several documents mentioning him as this city's Chief of the Ma and Army Leader, according to Kenneth Kitchen, while his predecessor as Great Chief of the West was a man named Ankhhor. A recently discovered statue, dedicated by Tefnakht I to Amun-Re, reveals important details about his personal origins. The statue's text states that Tefnakht was the son of a certain Gemnefsutkapu and the grandson of Basa, a priest of Amun near Sais. Consequently, Tefnakht was not actually descended from either lines of Chiefs of the Ma and of the Libu as traditionally believed but rather came from a family of priests, and his ancestors being more likely Egyptians rather than Libyans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shoshenq IV</span> Egyptian pharaoh

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-known founder of the dynasty, Hedjkheperre Shoshenq I, and (ii) a later pharaoh from the second half of the dynasty, whom Rohl called Hedjkheperre Shoshenq (b) due to his exact position in the dynasty being unknown. Following a proposal, the British Egyptologist Aidan Dodson in 1993 supported the new king's existence by demonstrating that the earlier Hedjkheperre Shoshenq bore simple epithets in his titulary, whereas the later Hedjkheperre Shoshenq's epithets were more complex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tefnakht II</span>

Tefnakht II 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 of Egypt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rudamun</span> Final pharaoh of the Twenty-third Dynasty of Egypt

Rudamun was the final pharaoh of the Twenty-third Dynasty of Egypt. His titulary simply reads as Usermaatre Setepenamun, Rudamun Meryamun, and excludes the Si-Ese or Netjer-Heqawaset epithets employed by his father and brother.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Osorkon IV</span> Egyptian pharaoh

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 generally – though not universally – identified with the King Shilkanni mentioned by Assyrian sources, and with the biblical So, King of Egypt mentioned in the second Books of Kings (17:4).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nimlot C</span>

Nimlot C was a High Priest of Amun at Thebes during the reign of pharaoh Osorkon II of the 22nd Dynasty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iuput II</span>

Iuput II was a ruler of Leontopolis, in the Nile Delta region of Lower Egypt, who reigned during the 8th century BC, in the late Third Intermediate Period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Twenty-fourth Dynasty of Egypt</span> Ancient Egyptian dynasty

The Twenty-fourth Dynasty of Egypt is usually classified as the fourth Dynasty of the Ancient Egyptian Third Intermediate Period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Djehutyemhat</span>

Djehutyemhat, or Thotemhat, was an ancient Egyptian ruler ("king") of Hermopolis during the 25th Dynasty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peftjauawybast</span> Egyptian ruler

Peftjauawybast or Peftjaubast was an ancient Egyptian ruler ("king") of Herakleopolis Magna during the 25th Dynasty.

Ammeris was a governor of Sais attributed to the so-called "Proto-Saite Dynasty" of ancient Egypt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iuwelot</span>

Iuwelot or Iuwlot was a High Priest of Amun at Thebes and military commander during the reign of pharaohs Osorkon I and Takelot I of the 22nd Dynasty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smendes III</span>

Smendes III was a High Priest of Amun at Thebes during the reign of pharaoh Takelot I of the 22nd Dynasty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nimlot B</span>

Nimlot B, also Nemareth was an ancient Egyptian prince, general and governor during the early 22nd Dynasty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pi-Sekhemkheperre</span> Ancient Egyptian stronghold

Pi-Sekhemkheperre or Per-Sekhemkheperre, was an ancient Egyptian stronghold. Its name means "The estate of Sekhemkheperre", a reference to Sekhemkheperre Osorkon I, the pharaoh of the early 22nd Dynasty who founded the fortress during his reign. It has been suggested that its erection may be a symptom of the state of general insecurity in the country during the period.
Pi-Sekhemkheperre is at yet undiscovered but it is believed that it lies somewhere at the entrance of the Faiyum, just north to Herakleopolis Magna in Middle Egypt.

References

  1. 1 2 Kitchen, op. cit., § 313
  2. 1 2 3 Kitchen, op. cit., table 16
  3. 1 2 3 Kitchen, op. cit., § 325-7
  4. T.G.H. James, op. cit., pp. 684ff.
  5. Alan B. Lloyd (ed), A companion of Ancient Egypt, vol. 1, Wiley-Blackwell 2010, p. 135.
  6. Kitchen, op. cit., § 358.

Bibliography