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. Initially, he was believed to be an ephemeral Dynasty 22 Pharaoh since no monuments at Tanis or Lower Egypt could be conclusively linked to his reign, or mentioned his existence, except for the famous Pasenhor Serapeum stela which dates to Year 37 of Shoshenq V. However, since the late 1980's, Egyptologists have assigned several documents mentioning a king Takelot in Lower Egypt to him rather than Takelot II. Takelot I's reign was relatively short when compared to the three decades-long reigns of his father Osorkon I and son, Osorkon II. Takelot I, rather than Takelot II, was the king Hedjkheperre Setepenre Takelot who is attested by a Year 9 stela from Bubastis as well as the owner of a partly robbed Royal Tomb at Tanis which belonged to this ruler. Evidently, both king Takelots used the same prenomen or royal name: Hedjkheperre Setepenre. The main difference between Takelot I and II is that Takelot I never employed the Theban inspired epithet 'Si-Ese' (Son of Isis) in his titulary, unlike Takelot II.

Tomb

Evidence that the Royal Tanite tomb belonged to Takelot I was suggested long ago by the presence of grave goods found within the burial which mentioned his known parents: namely a Gold Bracelet and Alabaster Jar of Osorkon I, and a Ushabti figure of Queen Tashedkhons. In addition, a heart scarab found in the king's burial gave his name simply as "Takelot Meryamun" without the Si-Ese epithet used by Takelot II. Recent confirmation of this circumstantial evidence was published by Karl Jansen-Winkeln in 1987 in Varia Aegyptiaca(VA), whose examination of several inscriptions written on the tomb's walls proved beyond doubt that the person buried here could only be Takelot I, Osorkon II's father.

Osorkon II arranged for this aforementioned inscription to be carved on the Tomb Walls: :"[Made?] by the King of the South & North Egypt, Lord of Both Lands, Usimare Setepenamun, Son of Re, Lord of Crowns, Osorkon II Meryamun, [to furbish] the Osiris (ie: deceased) King Takelot Meryamun in his Mansion which is [an abode] of the Sun-disc: I have caused him to rest in this Mansion in the vicinity of 'Hidden-of Name' (Amun), according to the doing by a son of benefactions for his father, [to] furbish the one who has made his fortune in conformity with that Horus Son-of-Isis, commanded for his father, Wennufer." Above the inscription was carved the cartouche of Osorkon II and the text: "A Son, furbishing the one who created (ie: begot) him." (English translation of Jansen-Winkeln's paper by KA Kitchen, TIPE 1996, xxii-xxiii) This Text shows that Osorkon II honoured his father by burying or reburying him in the Tanite royal tomb complex. Takelot I's final resting place, forms the third chamber of Osorkon II's tomb: ie: Osorkon II interred his father within the walls of his own tomb. Takelot I was buried in an usurped Middle Kingdom sarcophagus that was inscribed with his own cartouche.

Authority

Takelot I's authority was not fully recognised in Upper Egypt, and Harsiese A(=Horus, Son of Isis A), or another local Theban king, challenged his power there. Several Nile Quay Texts at Thebes mention two sons of Osorkon I namely the High Priests Iuwelot and Smendes III in Years 5, 8 and 14, of an anonymous king who can only be Takelot I since Takelot I was their brother. Uniquely, however, the Quay Texts specifically omit any mention of the identity of the king himself. This suggests that there was a dispute in the royal succession following Osorkon I's death in Upper Egypt, which seriously impaired Takelot I's control there. Harsiese A, as the son of the High Priest Shoshenq C and grandson of Osorkon I, or a hypothethical king named Maatkheperre Shoshenq must have appeared as a rival. The Theban priests henceforth, chose to avoid any involvement in this dispute by deliberately leaving the name of the king in the Quay Texts 'Blank' rather than choosing sides, as G. Broekman notes in his study of the Karnak Quay Texts. (JEA 88 (2002), pp.170 & 173) This situation was ultimately resolved by Osorkon II who is clearly attested as Pharaoh at Thebes by his 12th Regnal Year, according to Nile Quay Text No.8 and Text No.9.

References

* Gerard Broekman, "The Nile Level Records of the Twenty-Second and Twenty-Third Dynasties in Karnak," JEA 88(2002), pp.163-178.
* Karl Jansen-Winkeln, "Thronname und Begräbnis Takeloth I," Varia Aegyptica 3, (December 1987), pp.253-258.
* Preface to Kenneth Kitchen's 3rd (1996) edition of 'The Third Intermediate Period in Egypt' [pp. xxii-xxiii] which contains an English transcript of Jansen-Winkeln's VA 3(1987) study of Takelot I's tomb.