Piankh

Who is Piankh?

While the High Priest of Amun Piankh has been assumed to be a son-in-law of Herihor and his heir to the Theban throne of the High Priest of Amun, recent studies by Karl Jansen-Winkeln of the surviving temple inscriptions and monumental works by Herihor and Piankh in Upper Egypt imply that Piankh was actually Herihor's predecessor and father in-law. Piankh’s wife was Hrere, Herihor's daughter, while his son was Pinedjem I. Piankh led an army against Pinehesy, viceroy of Kush, who had conquered large parts of Upper Egypt and succeeded in driving him back into Nubia.

Piankh's name literally means "of life".

Ramses IX reigned from 1100BC to 1070BC. During the turmoil in years 17 to 19, he sent Piankh to deal with Pinhasi. This strengthened Piankh to the point where he was effectively ruler of a separate south. In a letter a decade later, from Butehamun, scribe, and Kar, guardian, they describe their new policy effectively "mining" the royal tombs of Valley of the Kings to finance his regime and wars. Eventually the priests of Amun scoured the valleys to find tombs; tombs and mummies were stripped of valuables, rewrapped and placed in group graves.

Piankh held a number of official positions including High Priest of Amun, King's scribe, King's son of Kush, Overseer of the foreign countries to the South, overseer of the granaries and commander of the archers of the whole of [Upper] Egypt. He was succeeded in office by either Herihor or Pinedjem I, his son.