Bakenkhons I was High Priest of Amun towards the end of the reign of Ramesses II

Ramesses II

Ramesses II , referred to as Ramesses the Great, was the third Egyptian pharaoh of the Nineteenth dynasty. He is often regarded as the greatest, most celebrated, and most powerful pharaoh of the Egyptian Empire...

 in ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...

. He had become the 4th, 3rd, 2nd, then 1st Priest, the 'High Priest'; he lived under long-lived Ramses II, and paralleled his pharaonic rule.

Family

Bakenkhonsu was the son of Roma, the High Priest of Amun and his wife who was also called Roma.
Bakenkhons' wife was named Meretseger. She held the titles of Chief of the Harem of Amun

Amun

Amun, reconstructed Egyptian Yamānu , was a god in Egyptian mythology who in the form of Amun-Ra became the focus of the most complex system of theology in Ancient Egypt...

.

Autobiographical Texts

Bakenkhons has left autobiographical inscriptions on statues from Karnak

Karnak

The Karnak Temple Complex—usually called Karnak—comprises a vast mix of decayed temples, chapels, pylons, and other buildings, notably the Great Temple of Amun and a massive structure begun by Pharaoh Ramses II . Sacred Lake is part of the site as well. It is located near Luxor, some...

, one of which is now in a museum in Munich.

Bakenkhons outlines his life as follows:

• I spent 4 years as a promising youngster
• I spent 11 years as a youngster, when I was a trainee Stablemaster of King Menmare
• I was a wab-priest of Amun for 4 years
• I was a God's Father of Amun for 12 years
• I was a Third Prophet of Amun for 15 years
• I was a Second Prophet of Amun for 12 years
• He showed me favor, because he recognized the worth of my character. He appointed me High Priest of Amun for 27 years (already).

On another statue - from Cairo (CGC 42155) - Bakenkhons mentions that he came from Thebes and that his parents also were Thebans. He spent some years at the scribal school in the Temple of the Lady of Heaven, and he was taught to be a wab-priest by his own father in the House of Amun.

Burial

Bakenkhons was buried in TT35

TT35

The Theban Tomb TT35 is located in Dra Abu el-Naga, part of the Theban Necropolis, on the west bank of the Nile, opposite to Luxor. It is the burial place of the Ancient Egyptian noble named Bakenkhons I, who lived during the 19th Dynasty, during the reign of Ramesses II. Bakenkhons was a High...

 in Thebes. In the hallway there are several depictions of Bakenkhons and his wife Meretseger. A niche contains seated statues of Bakenkhons and his wife. The tomb also had a pyramid associated with it.

The sarcophagus from the tomb is now in the Liverpool museum (M13864). Other finds from the tomb include a wooden scribe's palette in the form of a hes vase which is now in the Louvre

Louvre

The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...

(N 3018) and a statue of Bakhenkhons which is now in the Munich Glyptotek.