Siamun

Siamun was the sixth pharaoh of the Twenty-first Dynasty of Egypt, reigning during the Third Intermediate Period, circa 1001–982 BC or 970–950 BC. His name translates as "Son of Amun," and his prenomen, Netjerkheperre-Setepenamun, means "Divine is The Manifestation of Ra, Chosen of Amun." He is regarded as one of the most powerful and effective rulers of this fragmented dynasty after Psusennes I, known for extensive building projects in Lower Egypt.

Siamun's reign was characterized by relative stability and extensive construction works. He built significantly at cities like Heliopolis and Piramesse. At Memphis, he dedicated a new temple to the god Amun, featuring six stone columns. In Upper Egypt, while Thebes was managed by the High Priests of Amun, Siamun's high priest there, Pinedjem II, was busy organizing the essential task of moving and reburying many New Kingdom royal mummies into hidden caches, such as the Deir el-Bahari cache (DB320), to protect them from widespread tomb looting.

A notable relief from the Temple of Amun at Tanis depicts Siamun smiting foreign enemies with a mace. This image has led some historians, notably Kenneth Kitchen, to hypothesize that Siamun undertook a military campaign against the Philistines and conquered the city of Gezer, which the biblical narrative suggests was later given as a dowry when an Egyptian pharaoh's daughter married King Solomon of Israel. While archaeological evidence confirms Gezer was destroyed around that general era, some scholars dispute the direct connection to Siamun's relief scene, noting that the artistic convention of a pharaoh smiting generic enemies was common regardless of actual battles fought. Siamun's original tomb has never been definitively located, but his mummy was found in the Deir el-Bahari cache.