Hedjkheperre Setepenre Takelot II Si-Ese served as a Twenty-Third Dynasty pharaoh of Ancient Egypt in Middle and Upper Egypt (840 – 815 BC). He has been identified as the High Priest of Amun Takelot F, son of the High Priest of Amun Nimlot C at Thebes and, thus, the grandson of Osorkon II according to the latest academic research.^[1] Most Egyptologists today including Aidan Dodson^[2], Gerard Broekman^[3], Jürgen von Beckerath^[4], M.A. Leahy and Karl Jansen-Winkeln accept David Aston's hypothesis^[5] that Shoshenq III was Osorkon II's actual successor at Tanis, rather than Takelot II. As Aidan Dodson and Dyan Hilton note in their comprehensive 2004 book on the Royal Families of Ancient Egypt: The Twenty-third dynasty of Egypt was a separate regime of Meshwesh Libyan kings, who ruled ancient Egypt. ... Pharaoh is a title used to refer to any ruler, usually male, of the Egyptian kingdom in the pre-Christian, pre-Islamic period. ... Khafres Pyramid (4th dynasty) and Great Sphinx of Giza (c. ... Centuries: 10th century BC - 9th century BC - 8th century BC Decades: 890s BC 880s BC 870s BC 860s BC 850s BC - 840s BC - 830s BC 820s BC 810s BC 800s BC 790s BC Events and Trends 845 BC - Pherecles, King of Athens dies after a reign of 19 years and... Centuries: 10th century BC - 9th century BC - 8th century BC Decades: 860s BC 850s BC 840s BC 830s BC 820s BC - 810s BC - 800s BC 790s BC 780s BC 770s BC 760s BC Events and trends 817 BC - Pedubastis I declares himself king of Egypt, founding the Twenty-third Dynasty. ... Amun (also spelt Amon, Amoun, Amen, and rarely Imenand, and spelt in Greek as Ammon, and Hammon) was the name of a deity, in Egyptian mythology, who gradually rose to become one of the most important deities, before fading into obscurity. ... Thebes For the ancient capital of Boeotia, see Thebes, Greece. ... Osorkons cartouche from his tomb in Tanis Usimare Setepenamun Osorkon II was a pharaoh of the Twenty-second Dynasty of Ancient Egypt and the son of Takelot I and Queen Kapes. ... Egyptologist is the designation given to an archaeologist or historian who specialises in Egyptology, the scientific study of Ancient Egypt and its antiquities. ... Jürgen von Beckerath (born 19 February 1920) is a prominent German Egyptologist. ... King Usimare Setepenamun Shoshenq III ruled Egypts 22nd Dynasty for 39 Years according to contemporary historical records. ... or Tanis (Τάνις), the Greek name of ancient Djanet (modern صان الحجر Ṣān al-Ḥaǧar), is a city in the north-eastern Nile delta of Egypt (). It lays on the Tanitic branch of the Nile (now silted up), and it was the supposed site of some of the action in the film...

"Takelot II is likely to have been identical with the High Priest Takelot F, who is stated in [the] Karnak inscriptions to have been a son of Nimlot C, and whose likely period of office falls neatly just before Takelot II's appearance."^[6]

Takelot II rather ruled a separate kingdom – Dynasty 23 – in Middle and Upper Egypt which was distinct from the Tanite 22nd Dynasty which only controlled Lower Egypt. Takelot F, the son and successor of the High Priest of Amun Nimlot C, served for a period of time under Osorkon II as a High Priest of Amun before he proclaimed himself as king Takelot II in the final 3 Years of Osorkon II's reign. This situation is attested by the relief scenes on the walls of Temple J at Karnak which was dedicated by Takelot F – in his position as High Priest – to Osorkon II, who is depicted as the celebrant and king. (Aston, JEA 75, p.147) All the documents which mention Takelot II Si-Ese and his son, Osorkon B, originate from either Middle or Upper Egypt(none from Lower Egypt) and a royal tomb at Tanis which named a king Hedjkheperre Setepenre Takelot along with a Year 9 stela from Bubastis are now recognised as belonging exclusively to Takelot I. While both Takelot I and II used the same prenomen, Takelot II added the epithet Si-Ese (or Son of Isis) to his royal titulary both to affiliate himself with Thebes and to distinguish his name from Takelot I. Hedjkheperre Setepenre Takelot I was a son of Osorkon I and Queen Tashedkhons, and the father of Osorkon II. He ruled Egypt for 13 Years according to Manetho. ...

The Crown Prince Osorkon

Takelot II controlled Middle and Upper Egypt during the final 3 Years of Osorkon II and the first 2 decades of Shoshenq III. The majority of Egyptologists today concede that king Osorkon III was the illustrious Crown Prince and High Priest Osorkon B, son of Takelot II. A misunderstanding arose over his identity because in the Crown Prince's famous chronicle document, which was carved on the Bubastite Portal at Karnak, Osorkon dates his actions by both his Takelot II's Regnal Years (Years 11 to 24)--with a short Year 25 not noted – and then by those of the Tanite king, Shoshenq III (from Year 22 to 29).^[7] While Kenneth Kitchen has interpreted this to mean that Shoshenq III succeeded Takelot II at Tanis, in fact Takelot II and Shoshenq III were likely close contemporaries because, immediately after the death of his father in Year 25 of Takelot II, Osorkon B started dating his activities from Year 22 – and not Year 1 – of Sheshonq III onwards. Consequently, there was never a 22 year break in Osorkon B's struggle to regain control of Thebes (from Year 1 to Year 22 of Sheshonq III) as Kitchen's TIPE Chronology implies because Year 25 of Takelot II is equivalent to Year 22 of Sheshonq III.^[8] Osorkon B did not immediately ascend to his father's throne presumably because he was involved in a prolonged civil war with his rival Pedubast I, and later Shoshenq VI, for control of Thebes. Instead, he merely dated his activities to the serving Dynasty 22 Pharaoh at Tanis: Shoshenq III. The Crown Prince Osorkon B was not outmaneuvered to the throne of Tanis by Shoshenq III because both individuals ruled over separate kingdoms with the 22nd Dynasty controlling Lower Egypt, and Takelot II/Osorkon B ruling over most of Middle and Upper Egypt from Herakleopolis to Thebes, where they are monumentally attested. In 1983, a donation stela was discovered by Japanese excavators (Heian Museum 1983) at Tehna which reveals that Osorkon III was once a High Priest of Amun himself. This person can only be the well-known High Priest Osorkon B since no other Theban High Priests named Osorkon are known until the reign of Takelot III half a century later when the latter's son Osorkon F served in this office.^[9] Osorkons cartouche from his tomb in Tanis Usimare Setepenamun Osorkon II was a pharaoh of the Twenty-second Dynasty of Ancient Egypt and the son of Takelot I and Queen Kapes. ... King Usimare Setepenamun Shoshenq III ruled Egypts 22nd Dynasty for 39 Years according to contemporary historical records. ... Usimare Setepenamun Osorkon III Si-Ese was the famous Crown Prince and High Priest of Amun Osorkon B, son of Takelot II by Queen Karomama-Merytmut. ... Pedubastis I or Pedubast I (fl c. ... Shoshenq VI is known to be Pedubast Is immediate successor at Thebes based upon the career of the Letter Writer to Pharaoh Hor IX, who served under Osorkon II and Pedubast I (see Hor IXs statue--CGC 42226--which is explicitly dated to Pedubasts reign). ... Known rulers, in the History of Egypt, for the Twenty-Second Dynasty. ... Usimare Setepenamun Takelot III Si-Ese was Osorkon IIIs eldest son and successor. ...

Theban Uprising and Conflict

In Year 11 of Takelot II, an insurrection began under Pedubast I whose followers challenged this king's authority at Thebes. Takelot reacted by dispatching his son, Osorkon B, to sail southwards to Thebes and quell the uprising. Osorkon B succeeded in retaining control of the city and then proclaimed himself as the new High Priest of Amun. Some of the rebel's bodies were deliberately burned by Osorkon to permanently deny their souls any hope of an afterlife. However, just four years later, in Year 15 of Takelot II, a second major revolt broke out and this time Osorkon B's forces were expelled from Thebes by Pedubast I. This caused a prolonged period of turmoil and instability in Upper Egypt as a prolonged struggle broke out between the competing factions of Takelot II/Osorkon B and Pedubast I/Shoshenq VI for control of Thebes. This conflict would last for 27 long years – from Year 15 to Year 25 of Takelot II and then from Year 22 to Year 39 of Shoshenq III when Osorkon B finally defeated his enemies and conquered this great city. Osorkon B proclaimed himself as king Osorkon III sometime after his victory. On other matters, the Chronicle of Prince Osorkon B, which is carved on the Bubastis Portal at Karnak, records Osorkon's activities between Year 11 to Year 24 of his father and then from Year 22 to 29 of Shoshenq III. However, Takelot II's brief 25th Year is attested by a donation stela made by his son in his position as High Priest at Thebes shortly before Takelot died. No tomb or final resting place has been found for this ruler. Pedubastis I or Pedubast I (fl c. ... This portal gate is located in Karnak, within the Precinct of Amun-Re temple complex, between the temple of Ramesses III and the second pylon. ... Map of Karnak, showing major temple complexes Interior of Temple Al-Karnak (Arabic الكرنك) is a small village in Egypt, located on the banks of the River Nile some 2. ...

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