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Timeline › 24th Dynasty

Tefnakht c. 727–720 BC

Tefnakht, chief of Sais in the western Delta, united the northern princes and pushed south until the Kushite king Piye defeated him, as Piye's victory stela in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo tells. He later ruled at Sais as king Shepsesre. A donation stela of his year 8, now in Athens, is usually given to him, though one scholar dates it to a later Tefnakht.

Throne name: Shepsesre

špss-rꜥ: “Noble like Ra”

Sign by sign

  1. Sun N5rꜥ The sun, the sun god Ra. Day.
  2. Noble on a chair holding a flail A51šps Determinative for nobles. Read šps 'noble, august'.
  3. Folded cloth S29s The sound s.
  4. Folded cloth S29s The sound s.
Now draw this cartouche yourself

Birth name: Tefnakht

tꜣ.f-nḫt

Sign by sign

  1. Bread loaf X1t The sound t. Also the feminine ending.
  2. Egyptian vulture G1ꜣ The sound ꜣ. Often read as 'a' in names.
  3. Horned viper I9f The sound f. Also means 'he, his'.
  4. Ripple of water N35n The sound n. Also means 'of, to'.
  5. Branch M3ḫt Wood, tree.
  6. Placenta Aa1ḫ The sound ḫ.
  7. Bread loaf X1t The sound t. Also the feminine ending.
Now draw this cartouche yourself

Where to see Tefnakht'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.

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).