c. 1054 B.C.E., Pinudjem assumed a royal name, Keper-
karé Setepenamun Kanakhhtemeryamun, and elevated
himself to the rank of pharaoh. He usurped the KARNAK
monuments of RAMESSES IIas well. Pinudjem thus became
Smendes’ coregent.
He supervised the reburial of royal mummies found
violated in their tombs in Thebes while governing Upper
Egypt as far south as Aswan, and he married Princess
HENUTTAWY, the daughter of RAMESSES XIand Queen TA N-
TAMUN(1). He also wed ISTEMKHEBE(1), who bore him
MASAHARTA and Djedkhonsufankh. His other sons,
PSUSENNES Iand MENKHEPERRESENB(2), and daughters,
MA’ATKARÉ (1) and Mutnodjmet, were the children of
Henuttawy.
El-HIBAwas the military fortress used by Pinudjem I.
When he died in the seventh year of the reign of his son
PSUSENNES I (1040–992 B.C.E.), he was buried on the
western shore of Thebes in an unusual coffin of TUTHMO-
SIS I. His mummified remains were discovered in the
DEIR-EL-BAHRIcache in 1881, beautifully wrapped and
encased in leather straps. His mummy reportedly has
now disappeared, after being photographed in 1888.
Pinudjem (2)(fl. 11th century B.C.E.) Priestly official of
the Twenty-first Dynasty
He served as high priest of Amun in THEBESin the reign of
PSUSENNESI(1040–992 B.C.E.). Pinudjem was probably the
son of Menkheperresenb (2) and the grandson of Pinud-
jem (1). He married his niece NESKHONSUand his sister
ISTEMKHEBE(3), who was the mother of PSUSENNES II.
Pinudjem faced a terrible scandal among the temple
scribes and other officials when he took office although
details of the affair are not known. He retired to a
temple chamber to meditate upon the matter, and the god
Amun revealed the true miscreants in the temple. Actu-
ally, a scribe named Tuthmosis uncovered the evildoers,
inscribing his role on the wall of a chapel in KARNAK. Pin-
udjem, however, arrested the guilty. He was shown also
making an offering to OSIRISin a beautiful relief.
Neskhonsu died before Pinudjem, and she was
buried in a cliff near DEIR EL-BAHRIat Thebes. Pinudjem
was placed in the same tomb. Istemkhebe’s mummy was
so beautifully wrapped that it was left intact.
Piramesse See PER-RAMESSES.
pirates See SEA PEOPLES.
Pithom (1) This was a site near Ismaila, called Per-
Atum or Per-Tum by the Egyptians. Located beside the
canal leading from the Nile to the Red Sea, started in the
Late Period (712–332 B.C.E.) and refurbished by DARIUS I
(r. 521–486 B.C.E.), the area was once in the control of
the Ramessids. RAMESSES II (r. 1290–1224 B.C.E.) built
extensively on the site.
Pithom (2) It was a site in HELIOPOLIS, called the
“Estate of Atum” and serving as a cultic center for the
combined deities, RÉ-ATUM. HELIOPOLIS, originally called
Iunu, the “pillar,” or On, is now a suburb of modern
Cairo. Pithom contained monuments and temples and
was the source of cosmogonic traditions. Only a single
OBELISK, a monument dating to the reign of SENWOSRET I
(1971–1926 B.C.E.), remains at Pithom in Heliopolis.“Place of Uniting of the Company” It was a myste-
rious site in the temple of EDFU. The site was associated
with the “PRIMEVAL ISLAND OF TRAMPLING” in creation
texts and with thePAY LANDS, the centers of creation.plain of salt This was a natural deposit region near
WADI NATRUNin the western Delta. Salt was recovered
from this plain in all times of Egyptian history.Pneb-tawy He was a divine being of ancient Egypt,
called the son of HORUS the Elder. An obscure deity
whose cult did not survive into later periods, Pneb-tawy
was worshiped with his mother, the equally obscure god-
dess Taseunefer.police They were the peacekeeping units serving the
rulers of Egypt and normally assigned to specified terri-
tories. One of the oldest police groups was a border unit
stationed in various forts or garrisons on the eastern,
western, and southern frontiers of Egypt during every
era. Members of the Bedouin tribes of the Sinai were
part of the border patrol in some historical periods. The
WALL OF THE PRINCE, instituted by AMENEMHET I(r.
1991–1962 B.C.E.) in the Twelfth Dynasty, aided the bor-
der units by providing them garrisons on the eastern
and western borders. The string of fortresses below the
first cataract dating to the same era also served to house
these units.
A state police was developed after the Second Inter-
mediate Period (1640–1550 B.C.E.) composed of the
famed MEDJAYwarriors. There had been other state units
in the past, but this new police team maintained the capi-
tal and served the king personally. The backbone of the
Medjay were Nubian (modern Sudanese) warriors who
served KAMOSE(r. 1550 B.C.E.) and ’AHMOSE(r. 1550–1525
B.C.E.) when they campaigned against the HYKSOSinvaders
and drove them out of Egypt. Starting with the New King-
dom (1550–1070 B.C.E.) ’Ahmose decreed that all foreign-
ers have papers identifying their origins. Customhouses
were also formed to tax imported items.
The TEMPLEpolice units were normally composed of
initiated members of the various cults who were charged
with maintaining the sanctity of the temple complexes.
The regulations concerning sex, behavior, and attitude
during and before all ritual ceremonies demanded vigi-308 Pinudjem