Shabaka

Pharaoh Infobox
Name=Shabaka


Caption=Donation stela of Shabaka, on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
NomenHiero=SA-E10-kA
Nomen="Shabaka" [ [http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/chronology/shabako.html] King Shabako]
PrenomenHiero=ra-nfr-kA
Prenomen="Neferkare" Beautiful is the Soul of Re
GoldenHiero= -s-b-q:N17:N17-
Golden="Sebeqtawy"
NebtyHiero=s-b-q:N17:N17
Nebty="Sebeqtawy"
HorusHiero=s-b-q:N17:N17
Horus="Sebeqtawy"
Reign=721–707/6 BC
Predecessor=Piye
Successor=Shebitku
Spouse=Abar
Children=Tantamuni
Dynasty=25th Dynasty
Father=
Mother=
Born=
Died=707 or 706 BC
Burial=el-Kurru
Monuments=Shabaka Stone
Alt=|

Shabaka (or "Shabaka Neferkare", 'Beautiful is the Soul of Re') was a Kushite pharaoh of the Twenty-fifth dynasty of Egypt, between (721 BC – 707/706 BC). He succeeded his brother Piye on the throne, and adopted th throne name of the 6th-dynasty ruler Pepi II. Shabaka's reign was initially dated from 716 BC to 702 BC by Kenneth Kitchen. However, new evidence indicates that Shabaka died around 707 or 706 BC because Sargon II (722-705 BC) of Assyria states in an official inscription at Tang-i Var (in Northwest Iran)--which is datable to 706 BC--that it was Shebitku, Shabaka's successor, who extradited Iamanni of Ashdod to him as king of Egypt. [G. Frame, The Inscription of Sargon II at Tang-i Var, Orientalia 68 (1999), pp.31-57] [Dan'el Kahn, "The Inscription of Sargon II at Tang-i Var and the Chronology of Dynasty 25," "Orientalia" 70 (2001), pp.1-3] This view has been accepted by many Egyptologists today such as Aidan Dodson, ["Journal of Egyptian Archaeology" 88 (2002) p.182] Rolf Krauss, David Aston, and Karl Jansen-Winkeln among others because there is no concrete evidence for coregencies or internal political/regional divisions in the Nubian kingdom during the Twenty-fifth Dynasty. All contemporary records suggest that the Nubian Pharaohs ruled Egypt with only a single king on the throne, while Taharqa states explicitly on one of his Kawa stelas that he assumed power only after the death of his brother, Shebitku. [Kawa Stela V, line 15]

Shabaka's reign is significant because he consolidated the Nubian Kingdom's control over all of Egypt from Nubia down to the Delta region. It also saw an enormous amount of building work undertaken throughout Egypt, especially at the city of Thebes. In Karnak he erected a pink granite statue of himself wearing the twin crowns of Egypt. Through architecture and his military might, Shabaka proved to the world that the Nubians were here to stay. Shabaka succeeded in preserving Egypt's independence from outside foreign powers especially the Assyrian empire under Sargon II. The most famous relic from Shabaka's reign is the Shabaka stone which records several Old Kingdom documents that the king ordered preserved. [ [http://www.maat.sofiatopia.org/shabaka.htm Shabaka stone] ] Despite being relative newcomers to Egypt, Shabaka and his family were immensely interested in Egypt's past and the art of the period reflects their tastes which harked back to earlier periods. Shabaka would grant refuge to king Iamanni of Ashdod after the latter fled to Egypt following the brutal suppression of his revolt by Assyria in 712 BC.

Death

Shabaka is assumed to have died in his 15th regnal year based on BM cube statue 24429, which is dated to Year 15, II Shemu day 11 of Shabaka's reign. [Kitchen, Kenneth A. (1996)."The Third Intermediate Period in Egypt (1100–650 BC)", 3rd edition (Warminster: Aris & Phillips), pp.153-54] From the evidence of the Tang-i Var inscription, Shabaka was already dead by 707 or 706 BC. [Karl Jansen-Winkeln, "The Third Intermediate Period" in Erik Hornung, Rolf Krauss & David Warburton (editors), Ancient Egyptian Chronology (Handbook of Oriental Studies), Brill, 2006. p.259] He was buried in a pyramid at el-Kurru and was succeeded by his nephew Shebitku, Piye's son, following the Kushite tradition of succession from brother to brother, to son of the first brother. Shebitku would eventually be succeeded by Tantamuni--a son of Shabaka.

References