* 874 BC: Osorkon II succeeds Takelot I as king of the Twenty-second dynasty of Egypt.

* 850 BC: Takelot II succeeds Osorkon II as King of Egypt.

* 730 BC — Osorkon IV succeeds Pedubast II as king of the Twenty-second Dynasty of Egypt.

* 872 BC — Osorkon II succeeds Shoshenq II as king of the Twenty-second dynasty of Egypt.

The invasion, and its implied time-frame, means that the traditional view was to consider this Zerah to have actually been Osorkon II or Osorkon I, both being rulers of Egypt.

In addition, Asa's reign is traditionally dated to have ended in 873BC, making it impossible for the biblical text to be accurate if Osorkon II was Zerah, since Osorkon II's reign hadn't even begun until one year later-872BC.

There are remains of the temples built by Osorkon II and Nectanebo II.

It included a chapel dedicated to Ptah by a prince Shoshenq, son of Osorkon II, whose tomb was found in Saqqara in 1942.

Volume 1: Les constructions et le tombeau d ’ Osorkon II à Tanis.

Rohl finds confirmation of this scenario of parallel dynasties in the royal burial ground at Tanis where it appears that the tomb of Osorkon II of the 22nd Dynasty was built before that of Psusennes I of the 21st Dynasty.

* Osorkon II ( Usermaatre-setepenamun ) 873-838

After the reign of Osorkon II the country had again splintered into two states with Shoshenq III of the Twenty-Second Dynasty controlling Lower Egypt by 818 BC while Takelot II and his son ( the future Osorkon III ) ruled Middle and Upper Egypt.

Piye then marched north and achieved complete victory at Herakleopolis, conquering the cities of Hermopolis and Memphis among others, and received the submission of the kings of the Nile Delta including Iuput II of Leontopolis, Osorkon IV of Tanis and his former ally Nimlot at Hermopolis.

The sum of the highest attested regnal dates for Osorkon II, Takelot I, Osorkon I, and Shoshenq I, added to 841 BC as year 1 of Shoshenq III, yields 938 BC at the latest for year 1 of Shoshenq I ...

It stated that Takelot II succeeded Osorkon II at Tanis, whereas most Egyptologists today accept it was Shoshenq III.

Furthermore, Cushite refers to Kush ( historic Ethiopia ), and it is unclear why either Osorkon should be described as a Cushite, since the assertion would be unjustified.

There is some mystery as to the identity of this king of Egypt: some scholars have argued that So refers to the Egyptian city Sais ( as the New English Bible suggests ), and thereby refers to king Tefnakht of the 24th Dynasty ; however the principal city of Egypt at this time was Tanis, which suggests that there was an unnecessary correction of the text and Kenneth Kitchen is correct in identifying " So " with Osorkon IV of the 22nd Dynasty.

However, this interpretation is weakened by the fact that no objects from Shoshenq II's intact burial at Tanis bears Osorkon I's name.

The identification of the aforementioned Psusennes with Psusennes II is certain since the same fragmentary annal document next records — in the following line — the induction of Hor, the son of Nesankhefenmaat, into the priesthood of the chapel of Amun-Re at Karnak in Year 3 the second month of Akhet day 14 of king Osorkon I's reign just one generation later .-- with Shoshenq I's 21 year reign being skipped over.

This situation is attested by the relief scenes on the walls of Temple J at Karnak which was dedicated by Takelot F – in his position as High Priest – to Osorkon II, who is depicted as the celebrant and king.

Consequently, there was never a two decade long break in Osorkon B's struggle to regain control of Thebes ( from Year 1 to Year 22 of Sheshonq III ) as Kitchen's chronology implies because year 25 of Takelot II is equivalent to year 22 of Sheshonq III.

On other matters, the Chronicle of Prince Osorkon B, which is carved on the Bubastis Portal at Karnak, records Osorkon's activities between regnal years 11 and 24 of his father and then from regnal years 22 through 29 of Shoshenq III.

demonstrates that the High Priest Harsiese who served is attested in statue CGC 42225 – which mentions this High Priest and is dated explicitly under Osorkon II – was, in fact, Harsiese B.

Osorkon II died around 837 BC and is buried in Tomb NRT I at Tanis.

While Osorkon II's precise reign length is unknown, some Egyptologists such as Jürgen von Beckerath – in his 1997 book Chronology of the Egyptian Pharaohs – and Aidan Dodson have suggested a range of between 38 to 39 years.

The respected English Egyptologist, Kenneth Kitchen in a recent 2006 Agypten und Levante article now accepts that if Nile Level Text 14 is correctly attributed to Year 29 of Osorkon II, then the reference to Osorkon's Sed Festival jubilee should be amended from Year 22 to Year 30.

Osorkon II is known to have had at least three wives.

Osorkon I's reign is known for many temple building projects and was a long and prosperous period of Egypt's History.

His highest known date is a " Year 33 Second Heb Sed " inscription found on the bandage of Nakhtefmut's Mummy which held a bracellet inscribed with Osorkon I's praenomen: Sekhemkheperre.

While Manetho gives Osorkon I a reign of 15 Years in his Ægyptiaca, this is most likely an error for 35 Years based on the evidence of the second Heb Sed bandage, as Kenneth Kitchen notes.

Although Osorkon I is thought to have been directly succeeded by his son Takelot I, it is possible that another ruler, Heqakheperre Shoshenq II, intervened briefly between these two kings because Takelot I was a son of Osorkon I through Queen Tashedkhons, a secondary wife of this king.

This person can only be the well-known High Priest Osorkon B since no other Theban High Priests named Osorkon are known until the reign of Takelot III half a century later when the latter's son Osorkon F served in this office.

The evidence that the royal Tanite tomb belonged to Takelot I was suggested long ago by the presence of grave goods found within the burial which mentioned his known parents: " namely a Gold Bracelet ( Cairo JE 72199 ) and an alabaster Jar ( Cairo JE 86962 ) of Osorkon I, and a Ushabti figure of Queen Tashedkhons.

Another of these poorly known rulers must be the mysterious Tutkheperre Shoshenq who was an early Dynasty 22 ruler since he is now monumentally attested in both Lower and Upper Egypt at Bubastis and Abydos respectively Evidence that Shoshenq II was a predecessor of Osorkon II is indicated by the fact that his hawk-headed coffin is stylistically similar to " a hawk-headed lid " which enclosed the granite coffin of king Harsiese A, from Medinet Habu.

For instance, in a GM 154 ( 1996 ) paper, he examined and published a privately owned and poorly known stela, which dated to Year 22 of Osorkon II's reign and has frequently been called a Jubilee stela by academics ( GM 154, pp. 19 ).

Shoshenq VI is known to be Pedubast I's immediate successor at Thebes based upon the career of the Letter Writer to Pharaoh Hor IX, who served under Osorkon II and Pedubast I ( see Hor IX's statue -- CGC 42226 -- which is explicitly dated to Pedubast's reign ).

Secondly, Lange notes that Tutkheperre Shoshenq is documented at the Temple of Bubastis where other early Dynasty 22 monarchs such as Osorkon I and Osorkon II are well known for their building projects there.

Kitchen, in turn, suggests that Osorkon II would have died shortly after in his Year 31.

David Aston has convincingly argued in a JEA 75 ( 1989 ) paper that Osorkon II was succeeded by Shoshenq III at Tanis rather than Takelot II Si-Ese as Kitchen assumed because none of Takelot II's monuments have been found in Lower Egypt where other genuine Tanite kings such as Osorkon II, Shoshenq III and even the short-lived Pami ( at 6-7 Years ) are attested on donation stelas, temple walls and / or annal documents.

Shoshenq III must, hence, have wished to associate himself with his predecessor – Osorkon II.

In contrast, Osorkon I's senior wife was Queen Maatkare B, who may have been Shoshenq II's mother.

There is much debate surrounding this dynasty, which may have been situated at Herakleopolis Magna, Hermopolis Magna, and Thebes but monuments from their reign show that they controlled Upper Egypt in parallel with the Twenty-second dynasty of Egypt shortly before the death of Osorkon II.

Harsiese A, as the son of the High Priest Shoshenq C and grandson of Osorkon I, or a hypothethical king named Maatkheperre Shoshenq must have appeared as a rival.

Hence, Shoshenq II could have easily survived Osorkon I's 35 year reign and ruled Egypt for a short while before Takelot I came to power.

The priest Osorkon only calls himself the " son of the High Priest Shoshenq ", rather than the title " King's Son " in his funerary papyri, which would presumably have been created long after his father's death.

Beckerath revealed, however, that this document did not mention any Sed festival or Jubilee celebrations for Osorkon II in this year as one would have expected if he had indeed celebrated his massive Jubilee Feast at this time.

Harsiese B consequently served in office for almost 3 decades under Osorkon II ( final 3 Years ), Shoshenq III ( first 7-8 Years ) and Pedubast I ( at least 18-19 Years ), and must have been Crown Prince Osorkon B's chief rival for this office at Thebes since he was affiliated with Osorkon's rival.

While Harsiese A may have become king at Thebes prior to Year 4 of Osorkon II, contra Kitchen, he certainly ruled Thebes during the first decade of Osorkon II's reign as Kitchen notes.

While his precise location in the framework of the 22nd Dynasty is a mystery, he may have been one of the unknown " 3 Kings "-- apart from Shoshenq II -- who ruled Egypt between Osorkon I and Takelot I, as Manetho's Epitome states.