SHESHONK I

flourished 10th century BC also spelled Shoshenq, or Shishak, first king (reigned 945924 BC) of the 22nd dynasty of Egypt. Sheshonk came from a line of princes or sheikhs of Libyan tribal descent whose title was great chief of the Meshwesh and who appear to have settled in Heracleopolis in Middle Egypt, although another tradition placed the line in Bubastis in the eastern Nile River delta. Sheshonk probably ascended the throne without a struggle, making Bubastis his residence and marrying his son Osorkon to a daughter of Psusennes II, the last king of the previous dynasty. According to the Old Testament, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem (1 Kings 14:2526) in about 930 BC in support of Jeroboam, the pretender who challenged the right of Solomon's son Rehoboam to succeed to the Israelite throne. Sheshonk's victories in Palestine were celebrated by reliefs and inscriptions at Karnak. Although the biblical account reported the looting of the palace and Temple, the name Jerusalem did not survive in the Egyptian record. A fragment bearing Sheshonk's name was found at Megiddo.