Osorkon IV

Usermaatre Osorkon, designated Osorkon IV, was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh during the late Third Intermediate Period. Long considered the last king of the 22nd Dynasty, he was de facto little more than ruler in Tanis and Bubastis, in Lower Egypt and is now generally grouped in the Tanite 23rd Dynasty. He is generally – though not universally – identified with the King Shilkanni (Akkadian: 𒅆𒅋𒃶𒉌) mentioned by Assyrian sources, and with the biblical So, King of Egypt (Hebrew: סוֹא Sōʾ‍) mentioned in the second Books of Kings (17:4). Osorkon ruled during one of the most chaotic and politically fragmented periods of ancient Egypt, in which the Nile Delta was dotted with small Libyan kingdoms and principalities and Meshwesh dominions; as the last heir of the Tanite rulers, he inherited the easternmost parts of these kingdoms, the most involved in all the political and military upheavals that soon would afflict the Near East. During his reign, he had to face the power of, and ultimately submit himself to, the Kushite King Piye during Piye's conquest of Egypt. Osorkon IV also had to deal with the threatening Neo-Assyrian Empire outside his eastern borders.