Meshwesh

The Meshwesh (often abbreviated in ancient Egyptian as Ma) was an ancient Libyan tribe, of Berber origin.

Early records of the Meshwesh date back to the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt from the reign of Amenhotep III (c. 1390 - 1350 BC). During the 19th and 20th dynasties (c. 1295 – 1075 BC), the Meshwesh were in almost constant conflict with the Egyptian state. During the late 21st Dynasty, increasing numbers of Meswesh Libyans began to settle in the Western Delta region of Egypt. They would ultimately take control of the country during the late 21st Dynasty first under Osorkon the Elder. After an interregnum of 38 years, during which the native Egyptian kings Siamun and Psusennes II assumed the throne, the Meshwesh ruled Egypt throughout the 22nd and 23rd Dynasties under many pharaohs as Shoshenq I, Osorkon I, Osorkon II, Shoshenq III and Osorkon III.