Prisoners of War as a Means of Self-Representation: Documental Evidence from Private Sources of the New Kingdom - CRE XVIII, Naples 3-6 May 2017 (original) (raw)

Several monuments celebrate the numerous military successes obtained by Egypt during the New Kingdom, through texts and images that feature the pharaoh in the act of capturing or deporting enemies. Depicting the "triumphant pharaoh" had a strong ideological and symbolic value and a celebratory purpose; however, in practice these victories had also great effects on the economy and the administration of the country, since large amounts of prisoners and raw materials entered the country and had to be managed. By analysing six biographical texts from private tombs of the XVIIIth dynasty, this paper will track not only the propaganda aspects of the pharaoh’s celebration, but most importantly details of the capturing of prisoners and their management as workers employed by the Temple of Amun-Re at Karnak. Moreover, this investigation will show that privates used prisoners as a means to prove their own personal achievements, representing themselves as loyal and efficient public officials.