Ankhhor or Ankh-Hor was an

ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

ian “Great Chief of the

Libu The Libu (; also transcribed Rebu, Libo, Lebu, Lbou, Libou) were an Ancient Libyan tribe of Berber origin, from which the name ''Libya'' derives. Early history Their tribal origin in Ancient Libya is first attested in Egyptian language texts ...

” during the late

22nd Dynasty The Twenty-second Dynasty was an Ancient Egyptian dynasty of ancient Libyan origin founded by Shoshenq I. It is also known as the Bubastite Dynasty, since the pharaohs originally ruled from the city of Bubastis. The Twenty-first, Twenty-se ...

Rule

He is attested as Great Chief on a stela dating to the regnal year 37 of pharaoh

Shoshenq V Aakheperre Shoshenq V was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the late 22nd Dynasty. Despite having enjoyed one of the longest reigns of the entire dynasty – 38 years – and having left a fair amount of attestations, little is known about Shoshenq ...

(c. 731 BCE), and was probably the successor of the Great Chief Rudamun, who is attested in year 30 of the same pharaoh., § 316; revised table 21A The year 37 stela was found in the

Serapeum of Saqqara The Serapeum of Saqqara was the ancient Egyptian burial place for sacred bulls of the Apis cult at Memphis. It was believed that the bulls were incarnations of the god Ptah, which would become immortal after death as ''Osiris-Apis'', a name w ...

, and was one among several stelae issued to commemorate the death of an

Apis bull In ancient Egyptian religion, Apis or Hapis, alternatively spelled Hapi-ankh, was a sacred bull or multiple sacred bulls worshiped in the Memphis region, identified as the son of Hathor, a primary deity in the pantheon of ancient Egypt. Initi ...

, the most famous among these being the

Stela of Pasenhor The Stela of Pasenhor, also known as Stela of HarpesonBreasted, op. cit., § 785-786. in older literature, is an ancient Egyptian limestone stela dating back to the Year 37 of pharaoh Shoshenq V of the 22nd Dynasty (c.730 BCE). It was found in the ...

. The aforementioned stela was offered by a priest of

Ptah Ptah ( ; , ; ; ; ) is an ancient Egyptian deity, a creator god, and a patron deity of craftsmen and architects. In the triad of Memphis, he is the husband of Sekhmet and the father of Nefertem. He was also regarded as the father of the ...

named Pasherenptah on behalf of both king Shoshenq V and Ankhhor, as well as the latter's son Horbes. This was interpreted as a sign of growing power of the Great Chiefs of the Libu which has exceeded their realm in the western

Nile Delta The Nile Delta (, or simply , ) is the River delta, delta formed in Lower Egypt where the Nile River spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of the world's larger deltas—from Alexandria in the west to Port Said in the eas ...

up to

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Mem ...

., § 34 Ankhhor is also attested on a stela from Thebes. On it, it is known that he was married with a lady Tjankhebi, and that he sent their daughter Nebetnehutmehut south to

Karnak The Karnak Temple Complex, commonly known as Karnak (), comprises a vast mix of temples, pylons, chapels, and other buildings near Luxor, Egypt. Construction at the complex began during the reign of Senusret I (reigned 1971–1926 BC) in the ...

in order to make her become a chantress of

Amun Amun was a major ancient Egyptian deity who appears as a member of the Hermopolitan Ogdoad. Amun was attested from the Old Kingdom together with his wife Amunet. His oracle in Siwa Oasis, located in Western Egypt near the Libyan Desert, r ...

to serve the

God's Wife of Amun God's Wife of Amun ( Egyptian: ''ḥm.t nṯr n ỉmn'') was the highest-ranking priestess of the Amun cult, an important religious institution in ancient Egypt. The cult was centered in Thebes in Upper Egypt during the Twenty-fifth and Twen ...

Shepenupet I Shepenupet I or Shapenewpet I was God's Wife of Amun during the Twenty-third Dynasty of Egypt., p.231 Biography She was the first “hereditary” God's Wife or Divine Adoratrice of Amun to wield political power in ancient Thebes and its surrou ...

. Nebetnehutmehut's burial chamber was eventually found within Shepenupet's tomb at

Medinet Habu Medinet Habu (; ; ; ) is an archaeological locality situated near the foot of the Theban Hills on the West Bank of the River Nile opposite the modern city of Luxor, Egypt. Although other structures are located within the area and important disco ...

. Ankhhor's rule, however, was not recognized by everyone. Already in Shoshenq V's regnal year 36 – a year before Ankhhor's Serapeum stela – the unrelated, pp. 76-82 prince of

Sais Sais (, ) was an ancient Egyptian city in the Western Nile Delta on the Canopic branch of the Nile,Mish, Frederick C., Editor in Chief. "Saïs." '' Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary''. 9th ed. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster Inc., 19 ...

Tefnakht Shepsesre Tefnakht (in ) was a prince of Sais and founder of the relatively short Twenty-fourth Dynasty of Egypt; he rose to become a Chief of the Ma in his home city. He is thought to have reigned roughly 732 BCE to 725 BCE, or seven years. T ...

, was already claiming for himself the title of “Great Chief of the Libu”, a claim renewed two years later in Shoshenq's year 38. Since then, Ankhhor disappeared from records, and in a few years Tefnakht would claim the pharaonic titles, founding the

24th Dynasty The Twenty-fourth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XXIV, alternatively 24th Dynasty or Dynasty 24) is usually classified as the fourth Dynasty of the Ancient Egyptian Third Intermediate Period. History The Twenty-Fourth Dynasty was a short- ...

.Kitchen, op. cit., §§ 316; 324

References

{{Reflist 8th-century BC monarchs People of the Twenty-second Dynasty of Egypt Ancient Egyptian officials