After the collapse of the Nineteenth Dynasty, the so-called Ramesside kings, Egypt descended into another period of political chaos. This chaos literally began during the kingship of the last Ramesside king, Ramsses XI. After the death of Ramsses XI, a man named Smendes, who lived in the town of Tanis, claimed the throne. From this point on, no-one was really in charge of Egypt.

For a brief time, Libyans controlled Egypt. These Libyan chiefs made up the Twenty-second Dynasty and ruled Egypt at the same time as the kings of the Twenty-third Dynasty