His Egyptian nomen or birth name was actually Nesbanebdjed[5] meaning "He of the Ram, Lord of Mendes",[6] but it was translated into Greek as Smendes by later classical writers such as Josephus and Sextus Africanus.

If Hrere was Smendes' mother, then he was a brother of Nodjmet and through her brother-in-law of the High Priests Herihor and Piankh.

However, since Karl Jansen-Winkeln has proposed to reverse the order of the High Priests of Amun Herihor and Piankh, this ascription has become disputed.

[9] With the pontificate of Herihor falling later than that of Piankh, who is attested in year 7 of the Renaissance,[10] the date in the heading of Wenamun should rather refer to the successor of Ramesses XI.

Smendes' nominal authority over Upper Egypt is attested by a single inscribed stela found in a quarry at Ed-Dibabiya, opposite Gebelein on the right bank of the Nile, as well as by a separate graffito inscription on an enclosure Wall of the Temple of Monthu at Karnak, the Temple that was originally constructed during the reign of Thutmose III.

The sole funerary object linked to Smendes is a Canopic jar of his, that once contained his liver, that currently resides in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (acc.