The founder of the Twentieth Dynasty is an obscure figure, though it is possible that he had some familial connection with the kings of the Nineteenth Dynasty. He came to power in the aftermath of the unsatisfactory period marked by the presence of the Chancellor Bay and Queen Twosret, the widow of King Seti II, as the rulers of Egypt. He evidently died suddenly as no tomb was ready for him. His mummy was eventually found in the cache in KV 35.

His brief reign is referred to in the Great Harris Papyrus, dated to the end of the reign of Ramesses III and prepared by Ramesses IV.