Bakenranef

Bakenranef, known to Greek historians as Bocchoris, was the second and final ruler of the Twenty-fourth Dynasty based at Sais. He ruled Lower Egypt from about 725 BC to 720 BC, with dates uncertain by about five years. He inherited the northern throne from his father Tefnakht and governed during a turbulent period marked by the southward retreat of delta power and the aggressive expansion of the Kushite Twenty-fifth Dynasty.

Classical authors remembered Bakenranef as an important administrative reformer who altered debt laws and revised legal customs, though contemporary Egyptian texts shed little light on these domestic policies. His short reign ended when the Kushite kings asserted definitive authority over northern Egypt. Although ancient records associate his burial with the Memphite region at Saqqara, no secure tomb or mummy has been recovered.

Scholars document his rule through contemporary epigraphic evidence, notably official stelae recording the burial of an Apis bull during his reign at the Serapeum of Saqqara.

Monuments

• Serapeum stelae at Saqqara

Explore further

Try the name on the Cartouche Desk, or see where the reign falls on the timeline.