Editing Dynastic Egypt (section)

== 23rd to 25th Dynasties ==
The Twenty-Third, Twenty-Fourth, and Twenty-Fifth Dynasties of Egypt form a tightly interwoven sequence in the late Third Intermediate Period, spanning roughly the 830s–656 BCE. They are less “sequential dynasties” in the neat Manethonian sense and more overlapping polities: multiple centers of power operating at the same time, with rival kings claiming pharaonic titulary. Together, they reflect the centrifugal disintegration of Libyan-based kingship and the southward surge of Nubian power that would soon reunify Egypt.

'''The Twenty-Third Dynasty (ca. 837–728 BCE)'''

The Twenty-Third Dynasty emerges not as a separate ruling house supplanting the Twenty-Second but as a parallel line of kings, primarily based in Upper Egypt. It reflects the inability of the Tanite-Bubastite line (22nd Dynasty) to maintain cohesive authority across the Two Lands. Kings of the 23rd, such as Pedubast I, Iuput I, Shoshenq VI, and Osorkon III, reigned contemporaneously with Twenty-Second kings in the Delta. Their centers were often at '''Leontopolis''' or '''Herakleopolis''', but their power base lay in '''Thebes''', where they competed with or controlled the '''High Priesthood of Amun'''.

Osorkon III, a former high priest of Amun who assumed kingship, exemplifies the blurred boundaries between priestly and royal power in this period. His sons Takelot III and Rudamun also claimed kingship, but their reigns were short and contested. The Twenty-Third Dynasty demonstrates the proliferation of kingship: multiple rulers simultaneously wielding titulary, each commanding a fragment of territory, with no single monarch able to project authority across all Egypt. This fragmentation reflects the persistence of Libyan tribal structures, where dynastic lines split into collateral branches, each claiming legitimacy.

'''The Twenty-Fourth Dynasty (ca. 732–720 BCE)'''

The Twenty-Fourth Dynasty is short-lived but significant. It arises in the western Delta at '''Sais''', with '''Tefnakht I''' as its most important ruler. Tefnakht, originally a local prince and military commander, expanded his control over much of the western Delta and Lower Egypt. He adopted full pharaonic titulary, presenting himself as a restorer of order. His power was challenged by the Kushite kings advancing from Nubia (the nascent Twenty-Fifth Dynasty).

The key episode of the Twenty-Fourth Dynasty is Tefnakht’s confrontation with the Nubian king '''Piye''' (also called Piankhi). Piye’s Victory Stela, erected at Jebel Barkal in Nubia, recounts his campaign into Egypt ca. 728 BCE. The stela lists Tefnakht and other Delta rulers forming a coalition against Piye, but the Nubian king marched north, captured Memphis, and received the submission of most local rulers. Tefnakht himself, though not personally captured, was forced to submit from a distance. The stela presents Piye as the divinely sanctioned unifier of Egypt under Amun, in contrast to the divided Libyan princes.

After Tefnakht, the line continued briefly under '''Bakenranef''' (Bocchoris), who ruled from Sais. Greek sources such as Manetho and Diodorus later remembered him as a lawgiver, but his reign was cut short when he was captured and executed by Shabaka, the Kushite king of the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty. Thus the Twenty-Fourth Dynasty ends abruptly, subsumed into the Nubian order.

'''The Twenty-Fifth Dynasty (ca. 747–656 BCE)'''

The Twenty-Fifth Dynasty, known as the '''Kushite Dynasty''', originates in Nubia, with its royal house based at '''Napata''' near Jebel Barkal. These kings (Kashta, Piye, Shabaka, Shebitku, Taharqa, and Tanutamun) represent a complete reconstitution of Egyptian kingship from the south. Unlike the Libyan dynasts of the 22nd–24th, who often ruled fragmentary territories, the Kushite kings presented themselves as restorers of Egypt’s unity, divinely sanctioned by Amun of Thebes. Their reign marks both the '''reunification of Egypt''' and its '''integration into a broader Nubian imperial identity'''.

'''Kashta''' first penetrated Upper Egypt, installing his daughter '''Amenirdis''' as “God’s Wife of Amun” at Thebes, effectively securing Theban allegiance. His successor '''Piye''' then marched north, as recorded on the famous Victory Stela. Piye’s conquest was framed as a religious mission: he purifies temples, denounces Libyan rulers as impious, and asserts himself as chosen by Amun. His conquest '''extended Kushite rule over all of Egypt''', though local dynasts continued to govern under his supremacy.

'''Shabaka''' consolidated this rule, executing Bakenranef of the 24th Dynasty and bringing the western Delta under Nubian control. He also promulgated the so-called '''Shabaka Stone''', a theological inscription preserving the “Memphite Theology,” emphasizing '''Ptah’'''s primacy. Shebitku and especially '''Taharqa''' further expanded Kushite power, engaging in massive building projects. Taharqa’s reign (ca. 690–664 BCE) is the apogee of the dynasty: he restored temples at Karnak, built colossal monuments at Nubia, and presided over a renaissance of archaism, reviving Old and Middle Kingdom styles. His reign also brought Egypt into direct confrontation with the Neo-Assyrian Empire.

Assyrian expansion under Esarhaddon and '''Ashurbanipal''' eventually overwhelmed Kushite Egypt. Memphis was sacked in 671 BCE, and Taharqa retreated to Nubia. His successor '''Tanutamun''' attempted to reassert control but was defeated; Thebes was sacked in 663 BCE by the Assyrians. After this, Kushite rulers retreated permanently to Nubia, where their line continued at '''Napata''' and later '''Meroë''' for centuries, but their control of Egypt ended.