VICEROY OF KUSH. The Egyptian title was “King’s Son of Kush.” The first viceroy was appointed by Kamose and the office continued until the end of the 20th Dynasty. Egyptologists once assumed that the office ceased with the problems in Upper Egypt and Nubia in the reign of Ramesses XI, but there is now evidence from excavations at Abu (Elephantine) for its continuance. These officials of the Third Intermediate Period combined the duties of viceroy with other religious and civil positions associated with Aswan. It is likely that the title then signified some control over the region immediately to the south, perhaps the origin of the Dodekaschoinos, but certainly an area far smaller than that controlled by their New Kingdom predecessors.
The earliest viceroys were military officers, one of the first being the commander of Buhen. Later their administrative functions were emphasized, the military commander being the Overseer of Bowmen of Kush. Viceroys did command military expeditions, and these are attested for Nehi in the reign of Thutmose III and Dhutmose under Akhenaten (against Ikayta). Setau led an army against Irem in the reign of Ramesses II and also captured Libyans in one of the oases of Lower Nubia.
Another title used by Viceroys, Overseer of Southern Foreign Lands, was once considered to be nothing more than a poetic variant. The title was used by a number of officials and actually appears to have designated a specific group comprising the Viceroy, the Overseer of Bowmen, and some local rulers who were responsible for the frontier region between the Third and Fourth Cataracts.