High Priests of Amun

The god Amun in Karnak.

High Priest of Amun ḥm nṯr tpj n jmn in hieroglyphs

The High Priest of Amun or First Prophet of Amun (ḥm nṯr tpj n jmn) was the highest-ranking priest in the priesthood of the ancient Egyptian god Amun.^[1] The first high priests of Amun appear in the New Kingdom of Egypt, at the beginning of the Eighteenth Dynasty.

History

The priesthood of Amun rose in power during the early Eighteenth dynasty through significant tributes to the god Amun by ruler such as Hatshepsut and more importantly Thutmose III.^[2] The Amun priesthood in Thebes had four high-ranking priests:^[3]

• The Chief Prophet of Amun at Karnak (ḥm nṯr tpj n jmn), also referred to as the Chief Priest of Amun.
• The Second Prophet of Amun at Karnak (ḥm nṯr snnw n jmn), also referred to as the Second Priest of Amun.
• The Third Prophet of Amun at Karnak (ḥm nṯr ḫmtnw n jmn khemet-nu), also referred to as the Third Priest of Amun.
• The Fourth Priest of Amun at Karnak (ḥm nṯr jfdw n jmn), also referred to as the Fourth Priest of Amun.

The power of the Amun priesthood was temporarily curtailed during the Amarna period. A high priest named Maya is recorded in year 4 of Akhenaten. Akhenaten has the name of Amun removed from monuments during his reign as well as the names of several other deities. After his death, Amun was restored to his place of prominence among the cults in Egypt. The young pharaoh Tutankhaten changed his name to Tutankhamun to signal the restoration of the Amun to his former place of prominence.^[4]

The Theban High Priest of Amun was appointed by the King. It was not uncommon for the position to be held by dignitaries who held additional posts in the pharaoh's administration. Several of the high priests from the time of Ramesses II also served as Vizier.^[5]

At the end of the New Kingdom, the Twentieth Dynasty priesthood of Amun is for a large part dominated by Ramessesnakht. His son, Amenhotep, eventually succeeded his father and found himself in conflict with the Viceroy of Kush, Panehesy. Panehesy took his troops north and besieged Thebes. After this period, generals by the name of Herihor and Piye served as High Priest.

Herihor

By the time Herihor was proclaimed as the first ruling High Priest of Amun in 1080 BCE—in the 19th Year of Ramesses XI—the Amun priesthood exercised an effective stranglehold on Egypt's economy. The Amun priests owned two-thirds of all the temple lands in Egypt and 90 percent of her ships plus many other resources.^[6] Consequently, the Amun priests were as powerful as Pharaoh, if not more so. The High Priests of Amun at Thebes from the 21st dynasty were of such power and influence that they were effectively the rulers of Upper Egypt from 1080 to c. 943 BC. They are however not regarded as a ruling dynasty with pharaonic prerogatives, and after this period the influence of the Amun priesthood declined. One of the sons of the High Priest, Pinedjem I, would eventually assume the throne and rule Egypt for almost half-a-decade as pharaoh Psusennes I while the Theban High Priest Psusennes III would take the throne as king Psusennes II—the final ruler of the Twenty-first Dynasty.

Notable High Priests of Amun from Thebes

Senenu, High Priest of Amūn at Deir El-Baḥri, grinding grain, ca. 1352-1292 B.C. (to the end of the 18th dynasty), Limestone, Brooklyn Museum.

21st dynasty and later

• Theban High Priests of Amun
• Family tree of the Twenty-first, Twenty-second, and Twenty-third Dynasties of Egypt
• Twenty-first Dynasty of Egypt

Pinudjem II as High Priest

References