Tanutamun, also known as Tantamani (653 BC) was the ruler of the Kingdom of Kush located in Northern Sudan, and the last pharaoh of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Kemet. His royal name was Bakare, which means “Glorious is the Soul of Ra.” He was the son of King Shabaka and the nephew of his predecessor Taharqa. His succession to the throne is recorded in a record known as the Dream Stela of Tanutamun. It was discovered along with the Victory Stela of Piye at Gebel Barkal in 1862, and now resides in the Nubian Museum in Aswan. In his stela, the king is referred to as "Lord of valor like Montu, great of strength like a fierce-eyed lion". It goes on to explain that in the first year of his reign, Tanutamun had a dream of two serpents, one on his right hand and one on his left.
After awakening, the king's advisors interpreted the dream, saying that, "the southland is already thin, seize the northland." Hence, he should rally his allies in Upper Kemet and bring the nation back under control of the Kushite empire. After this passage, another states that Tanutamun then "rose on the throne of Heru (Horus)", a term which may be interpreted as his having ascended the throne. At the time of his accession, Tanutamun was was thought to be at the Temple of Karnak in Upper Kemet, for the text on the stela states that "he went from where he was at Napata, and there was none who stood up to oppose him." He went to the Temple of Amun and was acknowledged as god and king.
Other text within the stela confirms that at this time had gained support from Upper Kemites known as Wasetians (Thebans), and re-established a Kushite-Kemite coalition, but was not yet in control of parts in the north. At the time the nation was fractured and Lower Kemet was under control of the Sais Chieftains of the Delta who had aligned themselves with the Assyrians and enlisted mercenaries from Caria and Greece. This Sais Chieftains were of Libyan origin. The Assyrians created an administration relying on local rulers, and put in place the twelve kinglets who formed a Dodecarchy ruling over the Nile Delta. Soon after the Assyrians had appointed Necho I as a puppet ruler, Tanutamun invaded the Assyrian controlled Kemet in hopes of restoring the Old Kingdom form of governance and vanquishing all foreign influence.
After gaining the support of Upper Kemet and ascending the throne, Tanutamun went north from Nubia, first stopping at Elephantine where he participated in a festival procession of the Netcher (God) Khnum. From there he sailed further north to Waset (Thebes) where he once again participated in the festival. However, after this, he goes further north to Memphis, where Kushite-Kemite forces met the Delta-Assyrian forces and defeated them in battle:
"The sons of revolt rushed forth to fight against his majesty. His majesty made a great slaughter amongst them, and it was not know how many of them were killed."
Necho I also known as Nekau of Sais, a chief of the Delta is thought to have been killed in this battle, but his son, Psamtik I, who pledged fealty to the Assyrians fled to Asia in defeat. During this time Psamtik was given an Assryrian name, Nabu-Shezibanni, before finally being returned to Kemet. He was then recognized by his Assyrian Overlords as King of Kemet, but this was a title at first without substance. He had ruled over Memphis and the Delta, but the heartland of the nation in Upper Kemet was controlled by the Kushite Kings.
After this victory, Tanutamun honored the God, Ptah-Sokar and his wife Sekhmet in the great temple of Memphis, and afterwards ordered the building of a chapel dedicated to Amun at Napata in Nubia. The temple, we know, was to be built of stone overlaid with gold, sections of cedar wood and the leaves of the door plated with electrum. This temple may be associated with parts of the great temple of Amun at Gebel Barkal.
Afterwards, he prepared to attack the Delta:
"His majesty sailed down the river...and he did battle with the princes of the Northland and they went into their huts as rats go into their holes. And his majesty passed many days by them, and not one of them came forth to do battle with his majesty; and his majesty made a sailing up the river to Memphis and he sat down in his palace to think out and plan how he could make his soldiers surround them with mounds. And one said to him: 'These Chieftains have come to where the sovereign is.' And his majesty said, 'Have they come to do battle? Or have they come to pay fealty to me? If they come to pay fealty, they live from this hour'. They said before his majesty: 'They have come to pay fealty to the sovereign, our lord.'
His majesty said,
'Where are they at this moment?' They said 'They wait standing in the court.' Then his majesty went forth from his house and his appearance was like the shining of Ra upon the horizon, and he found them prostrate upon their bellies, smelling the earth before him."
Tanutamun apparently spared the lives of the Delta Chieftains, sending them home, but this victory was short lived. The Assyrians led by Ashurbanipal returned to Kemet in force. Together with Psamtik I’s army, which included Carian mercenaries, they fought a pitched battle in north Memphis, close to the temple of Auset (Isis) and defeated the Kushite-Wasetian coalition.
After the defeat Tanutamun fled south to seek refuge in Upper Kemet. Forty days after the battle, Ashurbanipal’s army arrived in Waset (Thebes). Tanutamun had already left the city for Kom Ombo located in modern Day Aswan. The city of Waset and Temple of Karnak was conquered, “smashed (as if by) a flood storm,” and heavily plundered in the “Sack of Thebes.” This event was recorded in the Assyrian annals, which report that the inhabitants of Waset were deported from Upper Kemet to Nubia. The Assyrians took an ample booty of gold, silver, precious stones, clothes, horses, fantastic animals, as well as two obelisks.
“This city, the whole of it, I conquered it with the help of Ashur and Ishtar. Silver, gold, precious stones, all the wealth of the palace, rich cloth, precious linen, great horses, supervising men and women, two obelisks of splendid electrum, weighing 2,500 talents, the doors of temples I tore from their bases and carried them off to Assyria. With this big booty, I left Thebes. Against Kemet and Kush, I have lifted my spear and shown my power. With full hands, I have returned to Nineveh in good health.”
- Rassam cylinder of Ashurbanipal
We find Psamtik I, who was installed by the Assyrians telling us that:
"In my second campaign, I made straight for Kemet and Kush. Tandamani heard of my campaign and that I trod the soil of Kemet. He abandoned Memphis and fled to Waset to save his life. The kings, princes and mayors whom I had set up in Kemet came and kissed my feet. I took the road after Tandamani and marched to Waset, his stronghold. He saw the approach of my terrible battle array and he fled to Kipkip. Waset in its entirety, I captured it with the help of Assur and Ishtar (Assyrian deities). Silver, gold, precious stones, all the possessions of his palace, many colored clothing, linen, great horses, two obelisks of electrum, the doorposts of the temple door I took from their bases and removed to Assyria. Great booty, beyond counting, I took away from Waset. Against Kemet and Kush I let my weapons rage and I showed my might.”
The "door posts of the temple" may refer to the great gate of electrum erected by Tuthmosis IV and renewed by Shabaka. This attack on the Temple of Karnak and the city of Waset, known as Thebes by the Greeks was one of the great tragedies of the ancient world, and was remembered by a Jewish prophet fifty years later:
"Will you fare better than No-Amon? - She that lay by the streams of the Nile, surrounded by water, whose rampart was the Nile, waters her wall; Kush and Egypt were her strength, and it was boundless. Punt and the Libyans brought her help. Yet she to became an exile and went into captivity. Her infants too were dashed to the ground at every street corner. Her nobles were shared out by lot, and all her great men were thrown into chains."
Necho, Psamtik and the 26th Dynasty Delta Kings are known to every reader of Herotodus. On one hand, these Kings rewarded the Greeks, by allowing them to learn in Egypt, which was the direct cause for the sudden appearance of “Greek minds.” - Moustafa Gadalla, Exiled Egyptians. This act has been seen by some as a great treason of the Delta Kings against the nation of Kemet which weakened its footing on the world stage making it vulnerable to future attacks which would eventually lead to its demise.
Interestingly, Tanutamun seems to have continued to be acknowledged as Nwst (Pharaoh) in Waset and Upper Kemet. There are inscriptions at the Temple of Karnak that date the installation of priests by his name and the Kushites still maintained a large official presence in the city. Piye's daughter, Shepenwepet II we know as God's Wife of Amun, with Taharqa's daughter, Amenirdis II as her designated successor. Even in years following Tanutamun's reign, his cousin remained the High Priest of Amun, and we have other evidence of the Kushite's continued power and influence within Upper Kemet.
Tanutamun in the Hebrew Bible:
The sack of Thebes (Waset) was a momentous event that reverberated throughout the Ancient Near East. It is mentioned in the Book of Nahum chapter 3:8-10:
“Art thou better than populous No, that was situate among the rivers, that had the waters round about it, whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was from the sea? Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength, and it was infinite; Put and Lubim were thy helpers. Yet was she carried away, she went into captivity: her young children also were dashed in pieces at the top of all the streets: and they cast lots for her honorable men, and all her great men were bound in chains.”
A prophecy in the Book of Isaiah refers to the sack as well:
“Just as my servant Isaiah has gone stripped and barefoot for three years, as a sign and portent against Egypt and Cush, so the king of Assyria will lead away stripped and barefoot the Egyptian captives and Cushite exiles, young and old, with buttocks bared—to Egypt's shame. Those who trusted in Cush and boasted in Egypt will be dismayed and put to shame.”
The Assyrian re-conquest effectively ended Nubian control over Egypt, although Tantamani's authority was still recognised in Upper Kemet until his 8th Year in 656 BC. Thereafter, Tanutamun ruled only Nubia (Kush). He died in 653 BC and was succeeded by Atlanersa, a son of Taharqa. He was buried in the family cemetery at El-Kurru. The tomb of Tanutamun was located below a pyramid, now destroyed, at the site of El-Kurru. Only the entrance and the chambers remain, which are beautifully decorated with mural paintings.
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