Biographical Texts from Ramessid Egypt

by Elizabeth Frood, John Baines

Overview

The Ramessid period in Egypt (ca. 1290-1075 B.C.E.) corresponds to the Late Bronze Age, a time of great change both in Egypt and the Near East. This period of empire, dominated by the figure of Ramesses II, witnessed crucial developments in art, language, and religious display. Biographical Texts from Ramessid Egypt offers insights into these cultural transformations through the voices of forty-five priests, artists, civil officials, and military men who served under the kings of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Dynasties. Sixty-five biographical texts, which were inscribed in tombs, on statues and stelae in temples, and exceptionally on temple walls, give details of their careers and character. The metrically arranged translations are introduced by descriptions of the texts monumental contexts and, where possible, summaries of the careers of their owners. The volume provides an introduction to the historical background of the Ramessid period, drawing together key themes and interpretive issues raised by the texts and their contexts. These include the representation of relationships to deities and the king, the thematization of the priestly life, and implications of changes in the texts media, including new decorative programs of nonroyal tombs. This integration of text with context sheds light on the meaning of biographical writing in ancient Egypt as a whole.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781589832107
Publisher:	Society of Biblical Literature
Publication date:	12/31/2007
Series:	Writings from the Ancient World Series , #26
Pages:	324
Product dimensions:	6.43(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Elizabeth Frood is University Lecturer in Egyptology at the Faculty of Oriental Studies and fellow of St Cross College, University of Oxford. She is co-author of Woodcutters, Potters and Doorkeepers: Service Personnel of the Deir el-Medina Workmen (Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten).

Table of Contents

Chronological Table     xi
Abbreviations     xiii
Explanation of Signs     xv
Acknowledgments     xvii
List of Figures     xix
Introduction     1
Translations
The Priesthood and Related Offices
The High Priests of Amun     35
The Theban Tomb of Nebwenenef     35
Two Block Statues of Bakenkhons from Karnak     39
Munich Statue     40
Cairo Statue     43
The Block Statues and Inscriptions of Roma from Karnak     46
Small Block Statue     47
Granodiorite Statue     48
Limestone Statue     50
The Inscriptions of Roma on the Eighth Pylon in Karnak     54
The Inscriptions of Amenhotep from Karnak     59
The Scribe Statue of Amenhotep     60
The Inscription of Amenhotep in the Temple Interior     61
Inscriptions of Amenhotep on the Side Door to the Court of the Eighth Pylon     64
The Reward Tableau of Amenhotep     68
The Inscription of Amenhotep on the Back of the Thutmosid Shrine     77
An Inscription of Amenhotep from Karnak North     81
Other Priesthood and Temple Staff in Thebes     84
The Statue Base of a wab-priest     84
The Tomb of Samut, Assessor of Cattle of the Domain of Amun     84
Biography     85
Legal Text     89
The Tomb of Djehutyemheb, Overseer of Fieldworkers of the Domain of Amun     91
Hymn to Hathor     92
Hathor's Reply     93
The Tomb of Tjanefer, Third Priest of Amun     95
The Abydos Priesthood     97
The Statue and Stela of Wenennefer, High Priest of Osiris     97
Standing Pillar Statue     97
Stela from the Small Western Temple     100
The Stela of Paser, wab-priest of Osiris     101
The Statue of Nebenmaat, Priest of Abydos     103
The Stela of Wenennefer, High Priest of Isis     104
The Priesthood of Onuris     107
The Tomb of the High Priest of Onuris, Anhurmose, at el-Mashayikh     107
Artists
The Memorial Chapel of the Chief Sculptor, Userhat     117
Lintel and Jambs     118
Stela     123
The Saqqara Tomb of the Chief Goldsmith, Amenemone     129
Pair Statue     130
A Block from the Tomb     132
The Block Statue of the Overseer of Draftsmen of Amun, Didia, from Karnak     133
The Theban Tomb of Nakhtdjehuty, Chief of Craftsmen and Gold Workers of the Domain of Amun     136
Biography     137
Captions to the Representations     138
Civil Officials
The Saqqara Tomb of Maya, Overseer of the Treasury     141
The Tomb of the High Steward, Nefersekheru, at Zawyet Sultan     143
The Theban Tomb of Paser, Southern Vizier     148
The Pair of Biographies Inscribed on Pillars     148
Biography Addressed to Sety I     149
Biography Addressed to Ramesses II     151
Paser's Reward     153
Temple Monuments of Prehotep, Northern Vizier     156
Abydos Statue     157
Saqqara Stela     158
The Freestanding Stela of the Overseer of the Treasury, Tia, from Giza     162
The Naophorous Statue of Panehsy, Overseer of the Treasury     166
The Standing Statue of Huy, Great Mayor of Memphis     170
The Naophorous Statue of Kha, Royal Table Scribe     172
The Statue of Two Deities Dedicated by the Overseer of the Two Granaries, Siese, from Asyut     173
The Inscription of the Chancellor, Bay, at Thebes     175
The Stela from Bilgai     177
The Stela of Hori, Scribe of Pharaoh     181
Two Scribe Statues of Amenmose, High Steward of the Western River      183
Delta Statue     183
Theban Statue     185
The Military
The Sistrophorous Statue of the Army Commander, Amenemone, from Thebes     189
The Stela of the Overseer of Works and Chief of Medjay, [Penre], from Coptos     192
The Stela of the Marine Standard Bearer, Khetef     195
The Stela of the Stablemaster, Bakaa     196
The Door Jambs of the Overseer of the Army, Nehesy, from Memphis     200
Administering Nubia
The Inscriptions of Setau, Viceroy of Kush     203
Inscriptions from a Chapel at Elkab     204
Stela from Wadi el-Sebua     206
The Stela of the sek-officer, Ramose, from Wadi el-Sebua     211
The Stela of the Fanbearer, [characters not reproducible]Hor/Mut[characters not reproducible]emheb, from Sai Island     212
The Tomb of the Deputy of Wawat, Penniut, at Aniba     213
Endowment Text     213
Penniut's Reward     216
Texts from Deir el-Medina
The Stela of the Draftsman, Nebre     219
Two Stelae of the Workman, Neferabu     223
Stela Dedicated to Ptah     223
Slab Dedicated to Meretseger     226
The Stela of the Sculptor, Qen     227
The Stela of the Workman, Huy     228
The Stela of the Workman, Qenherkhopshef     229
The Stela of the Workman, Ipuy     231
Notes     233
Sources     257
Glossary     263
Bibliography     273
Index     291