The history of the next two hundred and fifty years (B.C. 1050-800) is full of difficulty. When the rule of the priest-kings of Thebes came to an end the Kingdom of the South appears to have passed into the hands of a series of weak and incapable men, not one of whom succeeded in making himself “King of the South and North.” On the death of the last Tanite king of the XXIst dynasty (about B.C. 950), the Kingdom of the North was seized by Shashanq, a descendant of a Libyan chief, who established his seat of power at Bubastis. He and his descendants formed the XXIInd dynasty, which lasted till about B.C. 760. About this time the priests of Ȧmen departed from Thebes to Nubia, and soon afterwards the supreme power in the North was seized by local chiefs dwelling at Tanis (XXIIIrd dynasty), who made a league with all the feudal lords in the Delta, with the view of taking possession of the whole country. When news of this reached Piānkhi, king of Nubia, he forthwith invaded Egypt and conquered it. After his return to Nubia, a Nubian dynasty was established at Thebes, and a local chief of Saïs became King of the North, about B.C. 733. He represents the XXIVth dynasty. The kings of the XXVth dynasty (about B.C. 700) were Nubians, and the kings of the XXVIth dynasty were descendants of the chiefs of Saïs who were conquered by the Nubian king Piānkhi, about B.C. 740. [Illustration: PLATE XLI. Vignettes from the Papyrus of Queen Netchemet. Ḥer-Ḥeru and Netchemet praying. The rising sun on the horizon. The Ape-gods and Isis and Nephthys adoring the rising sun. [Southern Egyptian Gallery, No. 758.] Presented by His Majesty the King, 1903.] Twenty-Second Dynasty. From Bubastis. _About_ B.C. 950.