Yennayer

A Berber on the throne of Egypt

In 943 BC, a man named Sheshonq became Pharaoh of Egypt. He was not Egyptian. He was Meshwesh — a Libyan Amazigh. His family had migrated from the western desert into the Nile Delta generations earlier, rising through the military ranks until they controlled the army itself. Sheshonq was commander-in-chief of all Egyptian forces before he ever wore the double crown.

He married his son into the previous royal family to legitimise the transition. He appointed another son as High Priest of Amun at Thebes — the most powerful religious post in Egypt. He chose as his royal name Hedjkheperre Setepenre, and added the epithet meryamun: "Beloved of Amun." A Berber chief, speaking the language of pharaohs.

He founded the 22nd Dynasty. It would rule Egypt for over 200 years — longer than many purely Egyptian dynasties. Four more pharaohs would bear his name. The dynasty is sometimes called the "Bubastite Dynasty" after its seat in Bubastis, or simply the "Libyan Dynasty."

Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem

Around 925 BC, Sheshonq launched a military campaign into the Levant — modern-day Israel and Palestine. The Hebrew Bible records this invasion in the Book of Kings: "Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem" and took the treasures of Solomon's temple and the royal palace.

Sheshonq's own account, carved on the Bubastite Portal at the great Temple of Karnak, lists over 150 conquered towns. A victory stele was erected at Megiddo — the site later mythologised as Armageddon. The relief at Karnak is six metres tall and still visible today, nearly 3,000 years later.

His son Osorkon I would later boast of offering 383 tons of gold and silver to the gods of Egypt. Sheshonq II was buried in a coffin of pure silver. Scholars have wondered where an African dynasty acquired such wealth. One answer: the treasury of Solomon.

The dynasty. The campaign. The celebration.

Six pharaohs. 200 years. Libyan blood on the throne of the Nile.

950 BCE becomes Year 1

In 1980, Algerian scholar Ammar Negadi proposed a formal Amazigh calendar with Sheshonq's accession as its epoch. The choice was political: it anchored Amazigh identity in a moment of sovereignty — a Berber ruling the most powerful civilisation on earth. The calendar counts from that throne.

The word Yennayer itself comes from yan (one) and ayyur (month) — "the first month." It falls on January 12 or 13 in the Gregorian calendar, derived from the old Julian calendar that North African farmers used for centuries to track agricultural seasons.

How Yennayer is celebrated

Yennayer is a feast of the land. The customs vary by region, but the core is the same everywhere: a communal meal richer than everyday fare, prepared from the bounty of the earth, shared from a single bowl. A hidden token — a date pit, an almond — determines who carries the blessing for the year.

From the Delta to the national holiday

The calendar that says: we were here first

The Amazigh calendar is a political act disguised as a date. When Ammar Negadi chose Sheshonq's accession as Year 1, he was not making a claim about ancient history. He was making a claim about present identity. The Amazigh were not conquered people who arrived after the Arabs, the French, or anyone else. They were the people who conquered Egypt.

Every January 13, when families across Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and the Sahara prepare the communal meal, hide the date pit in the porridge, and greet each other with "Aseggas Ameggaz," they are saying something older than any nation-state on the continent: we were here before all of it, and we are still here.

Yennayer 2976 fell on January 13, 2026. The Amazigh calendar is 950 years older than the Gregorian one. It counts from the day a Berber chief from the Nile Delta became the most powerful man on earth.