While the High Priest of Amun Piankh (or Payankh) has been assumed to be a son-in-law of Herihor and his heir to the Theban office of the High Priest of Amun, recent studies by Karl Jansen-Winkeln of the surviving temple inscriptions and monumental works by Herihor and Piankh in Upper Egypt imply that Piankh was actually Herihor's predecessor.[1][2]
Piankh held a number of official positions including High Priest of Amun,[3] King's scribe, King's son of Kush, Overseer of the foreign countries to the South, overseer of the granaries and commander of the archers of the whole of [Upper] Egypt.[4] He was succeeded in office by either Herihor or his son Pinedjem.
Family
The identity of Piankh's wife has not been established beyond doubt. In the Temple of Luxor there is a graffito of which only rudimentary traces of the beginning of her name have survived. These have been interpreted as either an "h" (Gardiner's Sign List V28, supporting Hrere) or as "ndjm" (Gardiner's Sign List M29).[5] The latter solution would favour a model in which Piankh was married to a lady Nodjmet. Recently it has been argued that there were actually two ladies called Nodjmet: the first one, Nodjmet A, the wife of Piankh and mother of Herihor; the second one, Nodjmet B, the wife of Herihor.[6] Whereas the identity of his wife remains uncertain, it is beyond doubt that he had a son called Pinedjem.[7]
Military activity
In year 10 of the Whm Mswt Piankh, in his position as Viceroy of Kush, led an army into Nubia with the apparent aim to 'meet' a certain Pinehesy, probably the former Viceroy of Kush. Some ten years earlier, just before the start of the Whm mswt, Pinehesy had been chased out of the Thebaid, following his role in suppressing the High Priest of Amun Amenhotep. It is believed that since then he lived in Nubia as an enemy of the state. Although it is often postulated that it was the aim of this expedition to fight Pinehesy,[8] this is by no means certain.
The sources are actually ambiguous on this point and the political climate may well have changed over the years. There is some evidence that at this time Piankh may no longer have been a loyal servant of Ramesses XI, which allows for the possibility that he was secretly negotiating with Pinehesy,[9][10] possibly even plotting against the reigning king.
E. Wente wrote: "One has the impression that the viceroy and his Nubian troops were loyalists, for the remarks made by his opponent Piankh in letter No. 301 are quite disparaging of the pharaoh, Ramesses XI."[11] In this letter, better known as LRL no. 21, Piankh remarks:[12]
As for Pharaoh, l.p.h., how shall he reach this land? And of whom is Pharaoh, l.p.h., superior still?
In the same letter and two others (LRL no. 34 and no. 35) Piankh gives the order to the Scribe of the Necropolis Tjaroy (=Dhutmose), Nodjmet and a certain Payshuuben to secretly arrest and question two Medjay policemen about certain things they had apparently said:[13]
If they find out that (it is) true, you shall place them (in) two baskets and (they) shall be thrown (into) this water by night. But do not let anybody in the land find out.
It has been argued that, given Piankh's prominent position at the time, the secrecy can only have concerned the king.[14][15] If this is correct, it follows that the political situation of the time must have been very complex. Unfortunately, due to the very limited nature of the sources, the exact relationships between the three main protagonists, Piankh, Pinehesy and Ramesses XI remain far from clear. Some scholars believe that the Nubian campaign was part of an ongoing power struggle between the High Priest of Amun and the Viceroy of Kush.[16] However, it is equally possible that Piankh came to the rescue of Pinehesy against some common enemy. The verb often translated as "to attack" only means "to meet/ to go to".[17] In fact, neither the aim of the expedition nor its outcome are beyond doubt. It has also been argued that shortly afterwards Piankh disappeared off the stage with the Viceroy Pinehesy being reinvested in his former position as Viceroy, which would only be possible with the consent of Ramesses XI, either willingly or not.[18]
Piankh and the Theban Necropolis
It seems that, under Piankh's pontificate, a beginning was made with locating and opening old tombs, either with the aim of protecting them against tomb violation or in order to use their buried treasures to finance affairs of the state.[19] Eventually the priests of Amun scoured the valleys to find tombs; tombs and mummies were stripped of valuables, rewrapped and placed in group graves (caches).
References
^Karl Jansen-Winkeln, Das Ende des Neuen Reiches, ZAS 119 (1992), pp.22-37
^Ian Shaw, The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, p.309
^Taylor, in: Eyre (ed.), Proceedings of the 7th International Congress of Egyptologists, 1149.
^Ad Thijs, Nodjmet A, Daughter of Amenhotep, Wife of Piankh and Mother of Herihor, ZÄS 140 (2013), 54-69
^Michael Rice, Who's Who in Ancient Egypt, Routledge 1999, pp.153f.
^László Török, The Kingdom of Kush: Handbook of the Napatan-Meriotic Civilization, Brill Academic Publishers 1997
^A. Niwiński, in: I. Gamer-Wallert & W. Helck (eds), Gegengabe (Festschrift Emma Brunner-Traut), Tübingen 1992, 257-258
^Ad Thijs, "I was thrown out from my city" -Fecht's views on Pap. Pushkin 127 in a new light, SAK 35 (2006), 323-324, this is a paragraph which erroneously got dropped from SAK 31 (2003), 299
^E. Wente, Letters from Ancient Egypt, Atlanta 1990, 171; the number 301 is only given to this letter in this particular publication
^E. Wente, Late Ramesside Letters, SAOC 33, 1967, 53.
^E. Wente, Late Ramesside Letters, SAOC 33, 1967, 53.
^Ad Thijs, The Troubled Careers of Amenhotep and Panehsy: The High Priest of Amun and the Viceroy of Kush under the Last Ramessides, SAK 31 (2003), 301-302
^e.g. Jennifer Palmer, Birmingham Egyptology Journal 2014.2, 11
^E. Wente, Late Ramesside Letters, SAOC 33, 1967, 24, 25
^Ad Thijs, The Troubled Careers of Amenhotep and Panehsy: The High Priest of Amun and the Viceroy of Kush under the Last Ramessides, SAK 31 (2003), 289-306
^Nicholas Reeves and Richard Wilkinson, The Complete Valley of the Kings, Thames & Hudson, p. 205
Further reading
Morris L. Bierbrier, Hrere, Wife of the High Priest Paiankh, JNES 32 (1973), 311
Gerard P.F. Broekman, The founders of the twenty-first dynasty and their family relationships, GM 191 (2002), 11-18
Arno Egberts, Piankh, Herihor, Dhutmose and Butehamun: a fresh look at O. Cairo CG 25744 and 25745, GM 160 (1997), 23-25
Jeremy Goldberg, Was Piankh the Son of Herihor After All?, GM 174 (2000), 49-58
Steven R.W. Gregory, Piankh and Herihor: Art, Ostraca, and Accession in Perspective, Birmingham Egyptology Journal 2013, 1: 5-18
Karl Jansen-Winkeln, Das Ende des Neuen Reiches, Zeitschrift für Ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde ZÄS 119 (1992), 22-37
Jennifer Palmer, The High Priests of Amun at the End of the Twentieth Dynasty, Birmingham Egyptology Journal 2014.2, 1-22
V. Poláček, Quelques remarques sur les <<Procès Secrets>> en Ancienne Égypte, CdÉ 37 (1962), 23-30
Ramadan El-Sayed, Piankh, Fils de Hérihor, BIFAO 78 (1978), 199-218
John Taylor, Nodjmet, Payankh and Herihor: The end of the New Kingdom reconsidered, in Christopher J. Eyre (ed), Proceedings of the Seventh International Congress of Egyptologists, Leuven 1998, 1143-1155
Ad Thijs, Piankh's second Nubian campaign, GM 165 (1998), 99-103
Ad Thijs, The Troubled Careers of Amenhotep and Panehsy: The High Priest of Amun and the Viceroy of Kush under the Last Ramessides, SAK 31 (2003), 289-306
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Payankh.
January 20, 2023
piankh, high, priest, amun, during, 21st, dynasty, payankhfunerary, stele, drawn, auguste, mariette, high, priest, amunreign1074, 1070, concurrent, with, 21st, dynasty, successorherihor, pinedjem, iroyal, titularyconsorthrere, nodjmetchildrenpinedjem, hekanefe. Piankh was a High Priest of Amun during the 21st Dynasty PiankhPayankhFunerary stele of Piankh drawn by Auguste Mariette High Priest of AmunReign1074 1070 BC Concurrent with the 21st Dynasty SuccessorHerihor or Pinedjem IRoyal titularyConsortHrere or NodjmetChildrenPinedjem I Hekanefer Hekamaat Ankhefenmut Faienmut Contents 1 Chronological and genealogical position 2 Family 3 Military activity 4 Piankh and the Theban Necropolis 5 References 6 Further readingChronological and genealogical position EditWhile the High Priest of Amun Piankh or Payankh has been assumed to be a son in law of Herihor and his heir to the Theban office of the High Priest of Amun recent studies by Karl Jansen Winkeln of the surviving temple inscriptions and monumental works by Herihor and Piankh in Upper Egypt imply that Piankh was actually Herihor s predecessor 1 2 Piankh held a number of official positions including High Priest of Amun 3 King s scribe King s son of Kush Overseer of the foreign countries to the South overseer of the granaries and commander of the archers of the whole of Upper Egypt 4 He was succeeded in office by either Herihor or his son Pinedjem Family EditThe identity of Piankh s wife has not been established beyond doubt In the Temple of Luxor there is a graffito of which only rudimentary traces of the beginning of her name have survived These have been interpreted as either an h Gardiner s Sign List V28 supporting Hrere or as ndjm Gardiner s Sign List M29 5 The latter solution would favour a model in which Piankh was married to a lady Nodjmet Recently it has been argued that there were actually two ladies called Nodjmet the first one Nodjmet A the wife of Piankh and mother of Herihor the second one Nodjmet B the wife of Herihor 6 Whereas the identity of his wife remains uncertain it is beyond doubt that he had a son called Pinedjem 7 Military activity EditIn year 10 of the Whm Mswt Piankh in his position as Viceroy of Kush led an army into Nubia with the apparent aim to meet a certain Pinehesy probably the former Viceroy of Kush Some ten years earlier just before the start of the Whm mswt Pinehesy had been chased out of the Thebaid following his role in suppressing the High Priest of Amun Amenhotep It is believed that since then he lived in Nubia as an enemy of the state Although it is often postulated that it was the aim of this expedition to fight Pinehesy 8 this is by no means certain The sources are actually ambiguous on this point and the political climate may well have changed over the years There is some evidence that at this time Piankh may no longer have been a loyal servant of Ramesses XI which allows for the possibility that he was secretly negotiating with Pinehesy 9 10 possibly even plotting against the reigning king E Wente wrote One has the impression that the viceroy and his Nubian troops were loyalists for the remarks made by his opponent Piankh in letter No 301 are quite disparaging of the pharaoh Ramesses XI 11 In this letter better known as LRL no 21 Piankh remarks 12 As for Pharaoh l p h how shall he reach this land And of whom is Pharaoh l p h superior still In the same letter and two others LRL no 34 and no 35 Piankh gives the order to the Scribe of the Necropolis Tjaroy Dhutmose Nodjmet and a certain Payshuuben to secretly arrest and question two Medjay policemen about certain things they had apparently said 13 If they find out that it is true you shall place them in two baskets and they shall be thrown into this water by night But do not let anybody in the land find out It has been argued that given Piankh s prominent position at the time the secrecy can only have concerned the king 14 15 If this is correct it follows that the political situation of the time must have been very complex Unfortunately due to the very limited nature of the sources the exact relationships between the three main protagonists Piankh Pinehesy and Ramesses XI remain far from clear Some scholars believe that the Nubian campaign was part of an ongoing power struggle between the High Priest of Amun and the Viceroy of Kush 16 However it is equally possible that Piankh came to the rescue of Pinehesy against some common enemy The verb often translated as to attack only means to meet to go to 17 In fact neither the aim of the expedition nor its outcome are beyond doubt It has also been argued that shortly afterwards Piankh disappeared off the stage with the Viceroy Pinehesy being reinvested in his former position as Viceroy which would only be possible with the consent of Ramesses XI either willingly or not 18 Piankh and the Theban Necropolis EditIt seems that under Piankh s pontificate a beginning was made with locating and opening old tombs either with the aim of protecting them against tomb violation or in order to use their buried treasures to finance affairs of the state 19 Eventually the priests of Amun scoured the valleys to find tombs tombs and mummies were stripped of valuables rewrapped and placed in group graves caches References Edit Karl Jansen Winkeln Das Ende des Neuen Reiches ZAS 119 1992 pp 22 37 Ian Shaw The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt p 309 Petrie A History of Egypt Part Three p 203 Cerny Ostraca Hier CGC pp 75 76 Taylor in Eyre ed Proceedings of the 7th International Congress of Egyptologists 1149 Ad Thijs Nodjmet A Daughter of Amenhotep Wife of Piankh and Mother of Herihor ZAS 140 2013 54 69 Michael Rice Who s Who in Ancient Egypt Routledge 1999 pp 153f Laszlo Torok The Kingdom of Kush Handbook of the Napatan Meriotic Civilization Brill Academic Publishers 1997 A Niwinski in I Gamer Wallert amp W Helck eds Gegengabe Festschrift Emma Brunner Traut Tubingen 1992 257 258 Ad Thijs I was thrown out from my city Fecht s views on Pap Pushkin 127 in a new light SAK 35 2006 323 324 this is a paragraph which erroneously got dropped from SAK 31 2003 299 E Wente Letters from Ancient Egypt Atlanta 1990 171 the number 301 is only given to this letter in this particular publication E Wente Late Ramesside Letters SAOC 33 1967 53 E Wente Late Ramesside Letters SAOC 33 1967 53 Ad Thijs The Troubled Careers of Amenhotep and Panehsy The High Priest of Amun and the Viceroy of Kush under the Last Ramessides SAK 31 2003 301 302 Jennifer Palmer Birmingham Egyptology Journal 2014 2 10 11 e g Jennifer Palmer Birmingham Egyptology Journal 2014 2 11 E Wente Late Ramesside Letters SAOC 33 1967 24 25 Ad Thijs The Troubled Careers of Amenhotep and Panehsy The High Priest of Amun and the Viceroy of Kush under the Last Ramessides SAK 31 2003 289 306 Nicholas Reeves and Richard Wilkinson The Complete Valley of the Kings Thames amp Hudson p 205Further reading EditMorris L Bierbrier Hrere Wife of the High Priest Paiankh JNES 32 1973 311 Gerard P F Broekman The founders of the twenty first dynasty and their family relationships GM 191 2002 11 18 Arno Egberts Piankh Herihor Dhutmose and Butehamun a fresh look at O Cairo CG 25744 and 25745 GM 160 1997 23 25 Jeremy Goldberg Was Piankh the Son of Herihor After All GM 174 2000 49 58 Steven R W Gregory Piankh and Herihor Art Ostraca and Accession in Perspective Birmingham Egyptology Journal 2013 1 5 18 Karl Jansen Winkeln Das Ende des Neuen Reiches Zeitschrift fur Agyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde ZAS 119 1992 22 37 Jennifer Palmer The High Priests of Amun at the End of the Twentieth Dynasty Birmingham Egyptology Journal 2014 2 1 22 V Polacek Quelques remarques sur les lt lt Proces Secrets gt gt en Ancienne Egypte CdE 37 1962 23 30 Ursula Rossler Kohler Piankh Nedjemet Anchefenmut eine Kleinigkeit GM 167 1998 7 8 Ramadan El Sayed Piankh Fils de Herihor BIFAO 78 1978 199 218 John Taylor Nodjmet Payankh and Herihor The end of the New Kingdom reconsidered in Christopher J Eyre ed Proceedings of the Seventh International Congress of Egyptologists Leuven 1998 1143 1155 Ad Thijs Piankh s second Nubian campaign GM 165 1998 99 103 Ad Thijs The Troubled Careers of Amenhotep and Panehsy The High Priest of Amun and the Viceroy of Kush under the Last Ramessides SAK 31 2003 289 306 Wikimedia Commons has media related to Payankh Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Piankh amp oldid 1049820654, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
