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Gold burial mask of King Psusennes I, discovered 1940 by Pierre Montet.

21st Dyn.—Psusennes I in hieroglyphs
praenomen or throne name
nomen or birth name

Psusennes I, Pseusennes I or [Greek Ψουσέννης], or Hor-Pasebakhaenniut I [Egyptian ḥr-p3-sb3-ḫˁỉ--nỉwt] was the third king of the Twenty-first dynasty of Egypt who ruled between 1039 BC – 990 BC. His birth name Pseusennes means "The Star Appearing in the City" while his prenomen, Akheperre Setepenamun, translates as "Great are the Manifestations of Re, chosen of Amun."^[1]

Professor Pierre Montet discovered Psusennes' intact tomb (No. 3 or NRT III in Tanis) in 1940.[1] Unfortunately, due to its moist Lower Egypt location, most of the "perishable" wood objects were destroyed by water — a fate not shared by KV62, the tomb of Tutankhamun in the drier climate of Upper Egypt. Psusennes' outer and middle sarcophagi had been recycled from previous burials in the Valley of the Kings, a state-sanctioned tomb-robbing that was common practice in the Third Intermediate Period. A cartouche on the red outer sarcophagus shows that it was originally made for the Pharaoh Merneptah, the nineteenth dynasty successor of Ramses II.

Dr. Douglass Derry, who worked as the head of Cairo University's Anatomy Department, examined the king's remains in 1940.^[2] Derry noted that Psusennes I's teeth were badly worn and full of cavities, and observed that the king suffered from extensive arthritis and was probably crippled by this condition in his final years. Psusennes' precise reign length is unknown because different copies of Manetho's records credit him with a reign of 41 to 46 Years. Some Egyptologists have proposed raising the 41 year figure by a decade to 51 years to more closely match Psusennes' known historical dates. However, his reign was certainly long since he is attested by at least two separate Year 49 dates from Thebes and Kom Ombo.^[3] Psusennes I is believed to have initiated a brief coregency with his son, Amenemope for c.2 years. This coregency is attested on a Mummy bandage – now lost – which equates "[Year X] of Amenemopet to Year 49 [of Psusennes I]."^[4] Psusennes I's reign is significant because it marked the first time that a son of one of the Theban High Priests of Amun--Pinedjem I--became king in Lower Egypt. Psusennes I, hence, enjoyed cordial family ties with other serving High Priests in Thebes during his long reign.

While some authors, including New Chronology followers claim that Psusennes I may actually be identical with Psusennes II, this is impossible because Psusennes II is clearly distinguished from Psusennes I by Manetho and is given an independent reign of 14/15 years in the author's Epitome. Moreover, Psusenness II's royal name has been found associated with his successor, Shoshenq I in a graffito from tomb TT18, and in an ostracon from Umm el-Qa'ab.^[5] This shows that Shoshenq I was Psusennes II's successor. In contrast, Psusennes I died almost 40-45 years before Shoshenq I's appearance as Chief of the Ma (the Meshwesh), let alone King of Egypt.

1. ^ Peter Clayton, Chronicle of the Pharaohs, Thames & Hudson Ltd, 1994., p.178
2. ^ Douglass Derry, Volume 40(1940) of ASAE
3. ^ K.A. Kitchen The Third Intermediate Period in Egypt (1100-650 BC), Aris & Philips Ltd. 3rd ed, 1996. p.421 & 573
4. ^ Kitchen, op. cit., pp.24-25 & pp.29-31
5. ^ Aidan Dodson, "Psusennes II and Shoshenq I," JEA 79(1993), pp.267-268

• Bob Brier, Egyptian Mummies: Unraveling the Secrets of an Ancient Art, William Morrow & Co, (1994), pp.146-147.
• Jean Yoyotte, BSSFT 1(1988) 46 n.2.