Bubastite Portal (Shishak/Shoshenq I Relief)

A monumental gateway at the Temple of Amun at Karnak in Thebes, Egypt, constructed by Pharaoh Shoshenq I (reigned approximately 943-922 BCE), who is widely identified with the biblical "Shishak." The portal walls contain a triumphal relief depicting Shoshenq's military campaign into the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, listing approximately 150 place names of cities he claims to have conquered or received tribute from. This campaign is recorded in 1 Kings 14:25-26: "In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. He took away the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king's house. He took away everything." The relief confirms that an Egyptian pharaoh conducted a major military campaign into the region during the period described in the Bible, providing extra-biblical corroboration of the biblical account of the divided monarchy period.