1070-712 B.C.
After Ramses XI, Egypt again entered a period of divided power. First rulers from Avaris (Tanis) and Thebes were in the ascendant during the 21st Dynasty (c.1070-945 B.C.); then in 945, a Libyan family gained power in Dynasty 22 (c.945-712 B.C.). The first of this dynasty was Sheshonq I who is described as sacking Jerusalem, in the Bible. The 23rd Dynasty (c.818-712 B.C.) again ruled from the eastern Delta, starting in about 818, but within a century there were several small, local rulers, who united against a Nubian threat from the south. The Nubian king was successful and ruled Egypt for 75 years.Source: Allen, James, and Marsha Hill. "Egypt in the Third Intermediate Period (1070-712 B.C.)". In Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000-. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/tipd/hd_tipd.htm (October 2004).
Also see National Geographic's February 2008 feature article Black Pharaohs.
