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The Twenty-First, Twenty-Second, Twenty-Third, Twenty-Fourth and Twenty-Fifth Dynasties of ancient Egypt are often combined under the group title, Third Intermediate Period.

The Twenty-Fourth Dynasty was a short-lived group of pharaohs who had their capital at Sais in the western Nile Delta. The known rulers, in the History of Egypt, for the Twenty-Fourth Dynasty are as follows:

Tefnakhte I formed an alliance of the Delta kinglets, with whose support he attempted to conquer Upper Egypt; his campaign attracted the attention of the Nubian king, Piye, who recorded his conquest and subjection of Tefnakhte of Sais and his peers in a well-known inscription. Tefnakhte is always called the "Great Chief of the West" in Piye's Victory stela and in two stelas dating to the regnal years 36 and 38 of Shoshenq V. It is uncertain if he ever adopted an official royal title. However, Olivier Perdu,^[1] has now been demonstrated that a certain Shepsesre Tefnakhte of Sais dates to the Nubian era and was not, in fact, Piye's famous nemesis. Perdu published a recently discovered donation stela which came from a private collection; the document is dated to Year 2 of Necho I of Sais and is similar in style, epigraphy and text with the donation stela of Shepsesre. This proves that Shepsesre Tefnkahte was actually Tefnakht II and a close predecessor of Necho I. Both kings ruled as local Saite kings during the Nubian era under Taharqa.

However, Tefnkahte's successor, Bakenranef, definitely assumed the throne of Sais and took the royal name Wahkare. His authority was recognised in much of the Delta including Memphis where several Year 5 and Year 6 Serapeum stelas from his reign have been found. This Dynasty came to a sudden end when Shabaka, the second king of the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty, attacked Sais, captured Bakenrenef and burned him alive.

1. ^ Olivier Perdu, "La Chefferie de Sébennytos de Piankhy à Psammétique Ier", Revue d'Égyptology 55 (2004), pp. 95-111.