242: The Year of Two Pharaohs (Sety II vs Amenmesse)

242: The Year of Two Pharaohs (Sety II vs Amenmesse)

From The History of Egypt Podcast by Dominic Perry

September 7, 2026 · 32 min

About this episode

This episode discusses the conflict between Sety II and Amen-messe during a tumultuous period in ancient Egyptian history.

Between 1215 and 1211 BCE, Egypt was divided. A rebellion in the south, launched by Amen-messe "Born of Amun" disrupted the succession of Sety II, son of Merneptah. Records from this shadowy period hint at violence and corruption in Waset/Luxor, as the usurper took control and established a new regime. The impact of this conflict would have long-lasting ramifications for the 19th Dynasty... Music: Luke Chaos. Logo: An unnamed statue head from Karnak, probably depicting Sety II or Amenmesse (Metropolitan Museum of Art, public domain). Was Amenmesse the Viceroy Messuy? Below are scenes from Amada in Nubia, where Messuy carved scenes of himself before royal cartouches. Prof. Aidan Dodson suggests that the Viceroy has cobra/uraei on his forehead, though other scholars suggest this is mere weathering. What do you think? Photos (high-res) https://www.flickr.com/photos/184518985@N04/ Bibliography Brand, P. J. (2009). Usurped Cartouches of Merenptah at Karnak and Luxor. In P. J. Brand & L. Cooper (Eds.), Causing His Name to Live: Studies in Egyptian Epigraphy and History in Memory of William J. Murnane (pp. 29–48). Brill. http://history.memphis.edu/murnane/Brand.pdf Caminos, R. A…

People in this episode

Host: Dominic Perry

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Metropolitan Museum of Art

Books & works: Papyrus Salt 124

Places: Waset/Luxor, Amada

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