Last Egyptian pharaoh of the 25th Dynasty, Tirhakah is mentioned only once in the OT, though in two parallel reports (2 Ki 19:9 and Isa 37:9) of him making trouble for the Assyrian superpower of the mid-7th Cent BC.
As already noted elsewhere, by the time Israel was settling down in the Promised Land, Egypt had already seen its great days of glory. In 716/5 the Ethiopians siezed power in Egypt and established the 25th Dynasty, and took Eqypt—for a short time—to heights of glory not seen in the land for nearly a thousand years. Once established they itched to expand their influence eastward into Palestine and Syria, providing encouragement for the principalities there to rebel against their Assyrian suzerain. For a time they succeeded. It is in this context—of Tirhakah encouraging Hezekiah to rebel—that Tirhakah is reported in the OY. The Assyrians, quite naturally, did not take this lying down. After one failed attempt in 674/3, Eshahaddon won a decisive victory over Tirhakah three years later, his troops managing to occupy Memphis and siezing the royal treasury. Tirhakah, however, managed to escape, fleeing south seeking not only refuge among his Ethiopian compatriots, but stirring up rebellion elsewhere. Esarhaddon was forced thus to take further action. He died enroute and was succeeded by his son, Ashurbanipal (668-627), who did manage to quash the rebellion and had the rebel princes executed. Tirhakah, who had, again, managed to escape, meanwhile passed away. When his successor, Tanutamun continued to stir up trouble, the Assyrians march on him as far south as the ancient capital Thebes, which they destroyed. What was left of the 25th Dynasty retreated back to Nubia, opening the way for Psammeticus to established heir own dynasty, the 26th over Egypt. How Tirhakah ended his life remains unknown.
Tirhakah leading his royal entourage in a festival procession in Nubia.
Resources & Further Reading:
Robert Draper, "Black Pharaohs," National Geographic (Feb 2008): 35-59.
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