A Divided Crown

Narration

For almost four centuries, a single king rarely sat on the throne of all Egypt. Yet temples were still built, bronze still cast, and priests still protected the bodies of ancient kings. This is an age of many centres.

What the evidence says

Probable

The Third Intermediate Period runs c. 1069–664 BCE, covering the Twenty-first to Twenty-fifth Dynasties.

Scholarly note: Some of these dynasties overlapped in time, ruling different regions simultaneously.

Ian Shaw (ed.) (2000) “The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt” Oxford University Press, Chronology
K. A. Kitchen (1986) “The Third Intermediate Period in Egypt (1100–650 BC), 2nd edition” Aris & Phillips, Warminster

Editorial status: Published — Editorial draft built from the cited sources, awaiting review by a specialist in the Third Intermediate Period. (Last reviewed: 2026-11-15)