Osorkon III was the great-grandson of the second of the name. He was initially High Priest of Amun at Thebes, an office which, despite its apparently religious character, also required its incumbent to lead the armies. He became king in Leontopolis (though some commentators rather see him as king in Tanis) in the Delta on the death of Sheshonq IV; his mother was Queen Kamama. In a time of extreme insecurity in the kingship in Egypt, Osorkon contrived to contain the influence of his rivals in the south by the skillful manipulation of ecclesiastical appointments, one of the marks of the age. Two of his sons, Takelot III, who succeeded him, and Rudamun became kings. He died a very old man.