Dynasty 0 (original) (raw)
Related papers
An interdisciplinary analysis on the state formation and kingship in the Predynastic Egypt
One of the most debated topics in the study of Early Dynastic Egypt is the origin of the state and the kingship. The understanding of this historical process cannot rely only on theories or field data. This dissertation presents a social evolutionary theory on the formation of the Egyptian state, the elite's development from chieftainship to kingship, and the evolution in social complexity. It is based on archaeological data, theoretical studies, iconography and written sources, using a methodological approach that employ both theory and archaeological data in order to develop a hypothesis for Egyptian state formation. The theoretical part provides a broad ‘database’ of knowledge constituted by various theories of social complexity and state formation, possible archaeological indicators for such processes, as well as cross-cultural comparisons that offer varying viewpoints, interpretations, and ideas. At the end, a list of criteria are provided in order to better clarifying whether a society is a state, chiefdom or a stage in between the two. In the second part, the archaeological evidences are presented and analysed dividing them in three main categories: economy; administration and delegation of power; religion and ideology. The information used comes mostly from necropolis and settlements in both Upper and Lower Egypt, taking in consideration all the archaeological data provided by the excavations: objects (such as labels, seals and seal impressions, vessel, mace-heads, palettes and annals), architectures, iconographic motives, and on rock-art. Regarding the three main groups, they represent the macro-topic necessary to analyse the features of a society and its structure. A state needs of an organized and complex economical structure, in order to create enough surplus to maintain the apparatus of the state, in the thesis the evidences for a system of production, storage, redistribution, taxation are analysed and presented. Administration itself is not exclusivity of a state entity, even chiefdoms or analogues could have a bureaucratic apparatus, but the difference is in the complexity of it and the necessity of an administration based on not only the kin, but also opened to extra-kin members. Also for ideology and religion is important to understand when there is a shift in them with the introduction of new rites and goods, for instance, or the evolution of the role of the ruler in cosmological ideas in order to legitimize its power. The analysis of the data in correlation with the theories brought to the conclusion that the process of state formation started at the beginning of the First Dynasty and were brought during the Second Dynasty to a higher complexity, close to the paradigm of a state. Only from the Third Dynasty onwards, Egypt became a state, with most of the traits that would be present during the following centuries.
M.J. Adams, Manetho’s 23rd Dynasty and the Legitimization of Kushite Rule over Egypt
Antiguo Oriente, 2011
This paper considers the identification of the kings in the epitomes of Manetho’s Twenty-third Dynasty and their function in the historiographical traditions of ancient Egypt. Despite the long-standing rejection of Manetho’s Twenty-third Dynasty as ahistorical, it is here argued that the names preserved in the Twenty-third Dynasty are part of an authentic historiographical tradition originating with the Kushite king, Taharka. The paper goes further to suggest specific reasons why, and an historical reconstruction of the process whereby, the Twenty-third Dynasty became integrated with other the king-list traditions. Additionally, it identifies specific functions for the as-yet unidentified names Psammous and Zet in Julius Africanus’ version of the epitome of Manetho. The argument considers the political and cultural perspective of the Kushite kings who were responsible for a strand of king-list tradition and offers some interpretations of Kushite royal practices in light of these conclusions.
Building upon the introduction of my dissertation last year, this presentation will explore a specific topic, namely the roles of women in the religious cult, with a particular emphasis on the New Kingdom period. In this presentation, we will explore the historical evidence that sheds light on the active engagement of women in the religious dynamics of ancient Egyptian society, emphasizing their contributions during the New Kingdom period. During the talk, we will discuss how the ideal religious scenario envisioned the king and queen as central figures, but practicality necessitated a division of responsibilities, creating two distinct levels of ritual performance. Our discussion will also extend to the significance of the priesthood within ancient Egyptian society, with its evolving hierarchy and multifaceted roles in temple rituals, offerings, liturgy, and more. We will then explore the historical evidence revealing the active roles played by women in these religious practices. Women held titles like 'Hm.t-nTr' in the Old Kingdom and 'wAb.t' in the Middle Kingdom. The New Kingdom period saw women actively participating in music-related roles during funerary processions and festivals. Within the temple context, women held pivotal roles in ritual execution, contributing through recitations, rhythm maintenance, dance, and acrobatics. Their prominent positions, sometimes depicted even closer to the king than male-priests, shed light on their elevated status. Moreover, they were found within the inner chambers of the temple, a privilege typically reserved for the purified individuals. The discussion will extend to the role of the 'god's wife',
The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, 1997
PREFACE This collaborative effort of several Egyptologists from the United States, Canada, Egypt, and England began, not as a publication project, but as an international symposium, sponsored by the Denver Museum of Natural History. That institution had invited several scholars to speak at the museum during the time that it was hosting the exhibition, Ramesses II: The Great Pharaoh and His Times. Barbara Stone, the Curator of Collections in Denver, organized the conference with a focus on kingship in ancient Egypt, since this topic was particularly relevant to the accom panying exhibition. In addition it represented an area of interest to the public and was a subject that was clearly in need of new investigation. The symposium took place in Denver from October 30-November 1, 1987, and at its conclusion, all of those who attended the sessions agreed that the lecturers, whose areas of expertise included amongst others archaeology, language, ancient history, religion, anthropology, and art, had provided significant coverage of the fundamental aspects of kingship, within the confines of the conference. Ms. Stone, therefore, strongly urged the participants to consider the possibility of using their original oral contribu tions as the basis for a new publication on the subject of kingship. Each of the scholars, John Baines of Oxford University, Zahi Hawass of the Egyptian Antiquities Organization, William J.
Current Research in Egyptology 2014 Proceedings of the Fifteenth Symposium, 2015
During the late New Kingdom and the Third Intermediate Period, Ancient Egypt experienced increasing influence from outside the Nile valley, culminating in rule by kings of Libyan and Kushite origin. At the height of these foreign influences, during the Libyan Twenty-First, Twenty-Second and Twenty-Third dynasties, there was increasing political fragmentation, culminating in numerous kings, Great Chiefs and others ruling from different towns throughout the Nile Valley. One explanation for this fragmentation, and the apparently peaceful co-existence between the different territories, has been the Libyans’ origins in a series of nomadic tribes. Utilising an inter-disciplinary approach, this paper will examine whether the supposed effects of this foreign rule, in particular the political fragmentation, can be ascribed to the ‘tribal’ background of the rulers of this period and their apparent lack of assimilation. It will also ascertain if these should instead be ascribed to alternative causes, using observations on societal structure drawn from other subjects. As a result, this paper will also seek to refine the understanding of the political processes that occurred in the Libyan Period.
Nb Twy: A Comparison of Egyptian Kingship Narratives Before and After Decentralization
Aleph Undergraduate Research Journal, 2019
Although there is no lack of analysis within the wealth of ancient Egyptian literature (including everything from stelae and monumental inscriptions to personal letters) with respect to Pharaonic rule, this review will identify temporal changes in language related to the nature of kingship and the ways in which it was legitimated. As we understand the transition from the Old Kingdom to the First Intermediate Period to be a time of great change in the organization of power, so too may we argue that the religious and economic significance of the kingship required rapid and discursive redefinition at the end of the 6 th Dynasty. This review is important in its acknowledgement of heterogenous narratives-that regionalism continued during periods of
Sovereignty and Theology in New Kingdom Egypt: Some Cases of Tradition
Saeculum, 1996
Often the present-argued dichotomies of freedom versus regimentation, theology against politics, or church-state are invoked in order to explain social developments in ancient societies. 1 That the practitioners of such bimodalities are not at all naive in their assumptions has, interestingly enough, been the rule rather than the exception. Nevertheless, in an effort to challenge the received data from temple inscriptions and scenes, one cannot but draw attention to the classical antitheses which have been part and parcel of our world. And when it has been a question of the garb which an Egyptian ruler wears it appears that alltoo-often modern scholars have preferred to adopt this approach although they have realized the overtly stark nature of their methodologies. When one turns to New Kingdom history, especially at the point of viewing the nascent 18th Dynasty, all types of questions centered around the king and his relation to Amun appear. On the one hand the temple of Karnak and its god, Amun, father of the king, is already there; in fact, before Ahmose in a pregnant sense. On the other hand there was a growing intellectualization of society, a process which can be best witnessed in the solar theology, but also in the introduction and expansion of numerous books of the Underworld, in astronomy-calendrics, and in the concepts of royalty itself. 2 By the end of the 18th Dynasty a movement to ' See most recently J. Assmann, Politische Theologie zwischen Ägypten und Israel, Carl von Siemens Stiftung, Themen LII (1991). He extensively uses the epoch-making studies of Carl Schmitt, Political Theology, trs. G. Schwab (Cambridge MA-London 1985) and E. Peterson, Der Monotheismus als politiches Problem (Lepizig 1935). One way out of the the scholarly dilemma of opposing religion and politics is to employ the term "ideology" as a meta-word situated above the former two concepts. Although all three (ideology, religion, and politics) have specific meanings in our present world constellation, at least this arrangement allows us to avoid the simplistic dichotomies of state versus church and the like without bringing into question the (dubious) idea of a "progress" from religion to politics. Two common abbreviations will be used in this study: KRI'for K. A. Kitchen, Ramesside Inscriptions I-VIII (Oxford 1975-90) and Urk. IV for K. Sethe, Urkunden der 18. Dynastie (Leipzig 1927-30). 2 I have adumbrated this situation in my forthcoming review of J. von Beckerath, Chronologie des ägyptischen Neuen Reiches, Hildesheimer Ägyptologische Beiträge 39 (Hildesheim 1994), which will appear in Bibliotheca Orientalis. In particular, I pointed out that the Senenmut ceiling forms a major source for a new thinking in Egyptian calendrics and provides useful data concerning a new intellectual outlook in early Dynasty 18: "All that is necessary is to remark upon the drawing, the 217