| Intro | Egyptian ruler |
| Is | Ruler |
| From | Egypt |
| Type | Military |
| Gender | male |
| Birth | 1 January 800 |
| Death |
1 January 800 |
Nimlot was an ancient Egyptian ruler (“king”) of Hermopolis during the 25th Dynasty.
Biography
It is possible that Nimlot was a son of king Osorkon III of the 23rd Dynasty, and is likely that he was installed as a governor of Hermopolis by this king, around 754 BCE. He was married to a “queen”, Nestanetmeh, and proclaimed himself King around 749 BCE.
At the time of Nimlot’s rule, the Kushite king and pharaoh Piye was launching a campaign of conquest against Middle and Lower Egypt (c. 729-728 BCE).
At first, Nimlot was an ally/vassal of Piye, but later he pulled back and joined the coalition led by Tefnakht. This volte-face caused Piye’s immediate reaction: he marched northward and besieged Hermopolis until Nimlot’s capitulation. After the conquest of the city, Nimlot had to give rich tributes to Piye, including a horse and a precious sistrum; Piye also blamed him for his defection and for neglecting his stables.
After Nimlot’s submission, the situation turned more favorable for Piye, and he managed to defeat Tefnakht’s coalition. On Piye’s Victory stele, Nimlot is one of the four Delta kings subdued by the Nubian conqueror – the others are Iuput II of Leontopolis, Osorkon IV of Tanis and Peftjauawybast of Herakleopolis; among the quartet, Nimlot is depicted standing instead of kneeling, since Piye chose him as interlocutor, while the others were considered “impure” due to the fact that they ate fishes. Nimlot’s charges were reconfirmed by Piye before the latter’s return in the South.
Later, around 725 BCE, Nimlot was succeeded by Djehutyemhat.
Nimlot should not be confused with his later successor called Nimlot E (or Lamintu in Akkadian) who was ruling the city of Hermopolis when the Assyrians led by Ashurbanipal invaded Egypt in 667/666 BCE.