ARTICLES

Abstract

Shishak’s Karnak relief has been studied repeatedly for its unique compilation of Asiatic place-names, providing a rare insight into the geo-political state of Early Israel. However, the relief itself contains a lengthy inscription and intricate representations which upon close consideration provide ample political information of their own. This is obtained by comparing the triumphal relief to others of its genre, and carefully separating traditional traits from innovative ones. The interpretation of these novelties as ideological markers points to an earlier dating of the military campaign, sometime during the first decade of Shishak’s reign.