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Timeline › 23rd Dynasty

Osorkon III c. 777–749 BC

Before he became king, Osorkon was High Priest of Amun at Thebes, and his own account of those years is carved on the Bubastite Portal at Karnak. As king of Upper Egypt he ruled about 28 years, the last few with his son Takelot III, and the two decorated the small chapel of Osiris Heqadjet at Karnak. Scholars still disagree on his dates by twenty years or more and on how his line fits beside the kings of the north.

Throne name: Usermaatre Setepenamun

wsr-mꜣꜥt-rꜥ stp-n-imn: “The justice of Ra is strong, chosen of Amun”

Sign by sign

  1. Sun N5rꜥ The sun, the sun god Ra. Day.
  2. Head and neck of a canine F12wsr Strong, powerful.
  3. Goddess Maat C10mꜣꜥt The goddess Maat: truth and cosmic order.
  4. Flowering reed M17i The sound i.
  5. Game board Y5mn To remain, to endure (as in Amun).
  6. Ripple of water N35n The sound n. Also means 'of, to'.
  7. Adze U21stp To choose (as in 'chosen of Ra').
  8. Ripple of water N35n The sound n. Also means 'of, to'.
Now draw this cartouche yourself

Birth name: Osorkon Si-Ese Meryamun

wsrkn sꜣ-ꜣst mry-imn: “Osorkon, son of Isis, beloved of Amun”

Osorkon is a Libyan name with no Egyptian meaning. The epithets before it say whose son and whose beloved he is.

Sign by sign

  1. Flowering reed M17i The sound i.
  2. Game board Y5mn To remain, to endure (as in Amun).
  3. Ripple of water N35n The sound n. Also means 'of, to'.
  4. Hoe U7mr To love (as in 'beloved of Amun').
  5. Egg H8 Egg. Ends the names of goddesses and queens.
  6. Single stroke Z1 Means 'this very thing'. Also the number one.
  7. Seat Q1st Seat, place. The goddess Isis.
  8. Lasso V4wꜣ The sounds wꜣ.
  9. Uncertain object Aa18sꜣ Back, behind (a variant of Aa17).
  10. Flowering reed M17i The sound i.
  11. Mouth D21r The sound r. Also means 'mouth'.
  12. Basket with handle V31k The sound k. Also means 'you, your'.
  13. Ripple of water N35n The sound n. Also means 'of, to'.
Now draw this cartouche yourself

Where to see Osorkon III's name today

Museum

Egyptian Museum, Cairo

The Egyptian Museum on Tahrir Square holds some of the most important inscribed objects in Egypt, from the Narmer Palette, with one of the first royal names, to the Merneptah Stela, with the first mention of Israel. You can follow the script here from its beginnings to long New Kingdom texts.

Site

Karnak Temple

Karnak has more royal hieroglyphs in one place than anywhere else in Egypt: battle texts, obelisks, chapels and the cartouches of dozens of pharaohs. It was the great temple of the god Amun, built and rebuilt for about 2,000 years.

Names of gods (Ra, Amun, Ptah) are written first out of respect, even when they are read later. Dates are approximate; we follow Ian Shaw (ed.), The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt (2000).