The temple wall depicts a list of city states conquered by Shoshenq I in his Near Eastern military campaigns.
The Bubastite Portal gate is located in Karnak, within the Precinct of Amun-Re temple complex, between the temple of Ramesses III and the second pylon. It records the conquests and military campaigns c. 925 BC of Shoshenq I, of the Twenty-second Dynasty.[1] Shoshenq has been identified with the biblical Shishaq, such that the relief is also known as the Shishak Inscription or Shishaq Relief.[2]
History
Champollion's 1829 drawing of a cartouche showing the name "ydhmrk". Champollion's 1829 read of this name as "King of Judah" has been discredited by modern scholars, who generally accept that the phrase refers to "Yad Hemmelek" ("Hand of the King"), although it has also been interpreted as "Juttah of the King"[3]
This gate was erected by the kings of the Twenty-second Dynasty of Egypt, also known as the "Bubastite Dynasty". It is located to the south-east side of the Temple of Ramesses III.
Although Karnak had been known to Europeans since the end of the Middle Ages, the possible significance of the Bubastite Portal was not apparent prior to the decipherment of hieroglyphs. Jean-François Champollion visited Karnak in 1828, six years after his publication of the Rosetta Stone translation. In his letters he wrote:
"In this wonderful palace, I have contemplated the portraits of most of the old Pharaohs known for their great deeds, and these are true portraits.... one sees Mandoueï fighting the enemies of Egypt, and returning as triumphator to his homeland; farther along [in the series of images, one sees] the campaigns of Ramses-Sesostris; elsewhere, [one sees] Sésonchis hanging about at the feet of the Theban trinity (Amun, Mut and Khonsu), [and] the chiefs of more than thirty conquered nations, among which I found, as it should have been, fully spelled out, Ioudahamalek, "the kingdom of the Jews," or "[the kingdom] of Judah". There is in that [inscription] a commentary to connect to chapter 14 of the third book of Kings, which recounts in effect the arrival of Sésonchis (Sheshonq) at Jerusalem and his success [there]: thus, the identity that we have established between the Egyptian Sheschonck, the Sésonchis of Manetho and the Shishak or Scheschôk of the Bible is confirmed in the most satisfactory manner."
One facade shows King Shoshenq I, Takelot I, and Osorkon I of the Twenty-second Dynasty of Egypt making offerings to the gods and goddesses. Another scene shows Shoshenq grasping a group of captives by the hair and smiting them by his mace. Behind and below him are the names of Canaanite towns in several rows. Many of these are lost, but initially, there were 156 names, and one of the most exciting names mentioned is 'The Field of Abram.' The inscriptions give no details about this expedition and mention only the victory over the Asiatics (ꜥꜣm.w).[citation needed]
Transliterations and translations
Below is a translation of the one hundred fifty-five names on the inscription.[5]
Section One
Row I - Listing of the Nine bows
1. tꜣ rsy - Southern Land (i.e. Upper Egypt)
2. tꜣ mḥw = Northern Land (i.e. Lower Egypt)
3. jwn.tjw = Tribesmen
4. ṯhnw = Tjehenu
5. sḫt[-jꜣmw] - Field [of tents]
6. mn[.tjw] = Bedouin
7. pḏ[.tjw swt] = Bow[men of the feather]
8. šꜣt = Swamp (Upper Nubia)
9. ḥꜣ[.w-n]b.w = Northerners
Section Two - Coastal plain, Shephelah, Meggido plain and Jezreel plain
10. mj.tj ꜥ[r.t] = Copy of the [scroll]
11. g[...] = unknown
12. m[]ꜣ[] = Makkedah
13. rwbꜣ = Rubate
In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, because they had been unfaithful to the LORD, Shishaq king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem with 1,200 chariots and 60,000 horsemen. And the people were without number who came with him from Egypt— Libyans, Sukkiim, and Ethiopians. And he took the fortified cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem. Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and to the princes of Judah, who had gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, "Thus says the LORD, 'You abandoned me, so I have abandoned you to the hand of Shishaq.'" Then the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, "The LORD is righteous." When the LORD saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah: "They have humbled themselves. I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance, and my wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by the hand of Shishaq. Nevertheless, they shall be servants to him, that they may know my service and the service of the kingdoms of the countries."
So Shishaq king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. He took away the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king’s house. He took away everything. He also took away the shields of gold that Solomon had made, and King Rehoboam made in their place shields of bronze and committed them to the hands of the officers of the guard, who kept the door of the king’s house. And as often as the king went into the house of the LORD, the guard came and carried them and brought them back to the guardroom. And when he humbled himself the wrath of the LORD turned from him, so as not to make a complete destruction. Moreover, conditions were good in Judah.[8]
The account of Shishak carrying off treasures from Jerusalem is thought by some scholars to be of dubious historicity;[9]: 175 see Shishak § Biblical narrative.
^Lettres ecrites d'Egypte et de Nubie en 1828 et 1829 In the original French: "Dans ce palais merveilleux, j'ai contemplé les portraits de la plupart des vieux Pharaons connus par leurs grandes actions, et ce sont des portraits véritables; représentés cent fois dans les bas-reliefs des murs intérieurs et extérieurs, chacun conserve une physionomie propre et qui n'a aucun rapport avec celle de ses prédécesseurs ou successeurs; là, dans des tableaux colossals, d'une sculpture véritablement grande et tout héroïque, plus parfaite qu'on ne peut le croire en Europe, on voit Mandoueï combattant les peuples ennemis de l'Égypte, et rentrant en triomphateur dans sa patrie; plus loin, les campagnes de Rhamsès-Sésostris; ailleurs, Sésonchis traînant aux pieds de la Trinité thébaine (Ammon, Mouth et Khons) les chefs de plus de trente nations vaincues, parmi lesquelles j'ai retrouvé, comme cela devait être, en toutes lettres, Ioudahamalek, le royaume des Juifs ou de Juda (Pl. 2.) C'est là un commentaire à joindre au chapitre XIV du troisième livre des Rois, qui raconte en effet l'arrivée de Sésonchis à Jérusalem et ses succès: ainsi l'identité que nous avons établie entre le Sheschonck égyptien, le Sésonchis de Manéthon et le Sésac ou Scheschôk de la Bible, est confirmée de la manière la plus satisfaisante. J'ai trouvé autour des palais de Karnac une foule d'édifices de toutes les époques, et lorsque, au retour de la seconde cataracte vers laquelle je fais voile demain, je viendrai m'établir pour cinq ou six mois à Thèbes, je m'attends à une récolte immense de faits historiques, puisque, en courant Thèbes comme je l'ai fait pendant quatre jours, sans voir même un seul des milliers d'hypogées qui criblent la montagne libyque, j'ai déjà recueilli des documents fort importants."
^Junkkaala, Eero. "Three conquests of Canaan: a comparative study of two Egyptian military campaigns and Joshua 10-12 in the light of recent archaeological evidence." (2006).
