ArtHis Final Short prompts

Discuss kingship in the Middle Kingdom. How did it change from Old Kingdom kingship, and how did it remain the same? Why do we think some of those changes may have been made, or those similarities maintained? Point to specific objects and monuments in your answer.

• Divine kingship: concept of pharaoh as a divine figure, the living Horus and the son of Re

• Seen more as a human in middle kingdom, re-centralized after decline

• Pyramid building: tradition rooted in the Old Kingdom at a reduced scale using mudbrick. Ex: Senwosret III pyramid complex at Dahshur: mortuary temple and pyramids

• Ex: White Chapel of Senwosret I 

• Royal iconography: use of headdress, crook, false beard

• Cause: rise of more complex central control due to political collapse, regional fragmentation, a shift in ideological priorities and reflect a broader transformation in Egyptian state 

What types of funerary objects featured in Middle Kingdom tombs? In what ways did they help the deceased to have a successful afterlife?

• Coffins: rectangular wooden coffins with offering scenes, inscriptions, and texts

• Function: protected the body physically and spiritually. Texts and iconography invoked deities, spells, etc.

• Food offerings: offering tables with inscriptions 

• Ex: Model of Granary from Tomb of Meketre: models provide eternal food supplies and represents economic power and elite status 

• Ex: Pectoral of Senwosret II: offered protecting, reinforcing royal connections, ensured resurrections and stability in the afterlife

What were the purposes of the Egyptian fortresses in Nubia? First give an overview of these monuments (including who built them and their types), then discuss specific types of evidence that provide a window into Egyptian-Nubian relations at this time. 

• Types: Buhen, Uronati– built primarily by kings with high mudbrick walls, towers (both built by Senwosret III)

• Purposes: military defense and border control: protected Egypt from incursions or raids by Nubians 

• Economic and trade regulation: controlled trade routes and allowed Egypt to monopolize and tax Nubian resources 

• Nubian relations: Ex: Boundary stelae (Uronarti and Buhen)- taxation, tribute, and trade showing how Egypt managed cross-border movement and economics 

• Part of a broader campaign to expand Egyptian control, built at strategic locations as imperial strategy. Acted as checkpoints for trade (esp. Gold, ivory, ebony, incense, and exotic animals)

What are some characteristics of the relationship between non-royal Egyptians and the divine in the Middle and New Kingdoms? Refer to specific sites, as well as the rituals that would have taken place there, in your answers.

• Rise of Personal Piety: increased expression of personal devotion to gods. Gods become more accessible to non-royals 

• Reflects a growing sense that the gods were accessible and people could connect personally with divine force through ritual action 

• Ex: Deir el-Medina: a village of tomb-builders for the Valley of the Kings (small chapels, stelae, households)

• Non-royals: served as priests, scribes, administrators and participated in offerings funerary rituals, processions- household worship, oracle consultation, healing rituals 

• Ex: Karnak temple (Thebes): massive temple complex dedicated to Amun-Ra with daily temple rituals- opening the shrine and waking the god’s statue, purifying, clothing, and offering food, incense, hymns 

Compare the towns of Lahun and Deir el-Medina. What does each site tell us about non-royal life in the Middle and New Kingdoms?

• Each represent a planned community tied to a royal project, reflecting different aspects of society, labor organization, religion, and daily life in their respective periods 

• Both were state-sponsored towns, laid in grid patterns with standardized housing, specialized labor forces working on elite or royal projects 

• Lahun: a worker town built to house laborers and officials involved in constructing the king’s pyramid and agricultural estates

• Highly organized division of labor, non-royal life including work and gender roles, founded by Senwosret II

• Deir el-Medina: a specialized village for royal tomb builders working on the pharaohs’ tombs 

• Small mud brick houses, highly skilled craftsmen, extremely literate population, complex social life and spiritual concerns 

Discuss the Second Intermediate Period. How were the traditions of the Hyksos, Nubians, and Egyptians different or similar in this period? What types of evidence can be used to understand the SIP? Be specific and draw from all three regions.

• SIP was a time of political fragmentation and foreign influence in Egypt, following the decline of the Middle Kingdom. Multiple powers coexisted and competed for control while maintaining distinct traditions and influencing one another 

• Egyptians: rulers retained control primarily at Thebes, upheld traditional Egyptian religious, linguistic, and artistic customs though diminished central authority meant reduced monument building and economic activity 

• Ex: Kamose Stelae (texts): military campaigns against the Hyksos

• Hyksos: established the 15th dynasty, adopted many Egyptian customs, such as royal and religious practices while introducing new technologies and cultural traits (blend of Egyptian and near Eastern traditions)

• Ex: Scarab Seals: bearing the throne and personal names of the king 

• Nubians: gained independence after being ruled by Egypt, center of Kerma became a powerful state and rival to both Egyptians and Hyksos. Own distinct traditions (deffufa temples, rich burials, etc)

• Ex: Western Deffufa (Kerma): large mud brick temple structure for religious practice 

Discuss the monumental landscape of Thebes in the New Kingdom. Pick a few royal and divine monuments and discuss them in relation to one another, as well as how they tell us about the relations between kings and gods at this time, in this place. (Options: Karnak, Luxor, royal mortuary temples on the West bank, Valley of the Kings) 

• Thebes was designed to express the intimate relationship between the king and the gods, landscape was carefully planned across both sides of the Nile and included massive state temples, mortuary complexes, and royal tombs 

• Karnak: temple complex dedicated mainly to Amun-Re– religious heart of Thebes and a major center of worship for the gods 

• Luxor: located near Karnak and was dedicated primarily to Amun with stronger focus on kingship rituals especially the divine birth of king

• West Bank: mortuary temples of Hatshepsut (Deir el-Bahri) and Ramses II (Ramesseum)- temples served as places for cult worship of the deceased king, blending funerary and religious functions 

• Valley of the Kings: royal necropolis where many NK pharaohs were buried in tombs carved into the cliffs, represents the royal journey to the afterlife decorated with texts like Book of the Dead

What are major characteristics of kings of the Eighteenth Dynasty? How do they change throughout the period? (Mention specific kings and their policies/achievements.)

• Kings: Ahmose I, Amenhotep I, Thutmose I, Thutmose III

• Over time, the role and image of kingship evolved- from warrior kings focused on empire building to kings emphasizing divine legitimacy, personal piety, and radical religious reform (Akhenaten) 

• Restoration of Egyptian rule after Hyksos occupation during the SIP

• Aggressive military expansions into Nubia and the Levant 

• Ex: Ahmose I– drove out the Hyksos and reunited Egypt, reasserted Egyptian control over Nubia by reopening temples 

• Ex: Hatshepsut– female pharaoh who legitimized her rule through a divine birth narrative (Amun as her father), prioritized trade and monumental building 

• Ex: Amenhotep II– more traditional warrior-king; emphasized physical prowess and military capability 

How does the Amarna period and its king Akhenaten fit into the Eighteenth Dynasty? Point to both continuities and changes in religion, architecture, and royal ideology.

• Divine kingship remained central, Akhenaten emphasized his divine status portraying himself as uniquely chosen by the gods 

• Fits within as both a continuation and a rupture. Akhenaten inherited the imperial wealth, religious institutions, and artistic legacy of earlier pharaohs but used them to support a radically new religious and ideological system 

• His reign reflects a moment of intense experimentation that broke tradition, yet still drew on the language and structures of Egyptian kingship 

• Continuities: the tradition of royal temple buildings, to affirm divine favor and kingship 

• Ex: Amarna style– distinct (elongated forms, naturalistic scenes)

• Changes: founded a new city, Akhetaten on previously uninhabited land. Architectural style was open-air and horizontal reflecting Aten’s nature as a visible deity 

• Ex: Atenism– elevated Aten, the solar disk, as the sole god worthy of worship (radical break from Egypt’s long-standing polytheism)

• Ex: king as sole worshipper

Compare the ancient Egyptian temple and the tomb, using New Kingdom examples. What types of rituals would have occurred in these two types of monuments? How are they similar or different in terms of decoration? What about similarities or differences in functions?

• Functions

• Temples- built primarily to house the gods and serve as a place where the king and priests could daily rituals

• Tombs- intended as eternal resting places for the deceased, especially the king, and a setting for rituals to ensure immortality in the afterlife 

• Rituals

• Temples- daily cult rituals performed by priests: purification, clothing the statue of the god, offering incense and hymns

• Tombs- opening of the mouth ceremony, offerings rituals performed by priests to nourish the ka (life force) of the deceased 

• Decoration

• Temples- focused on the gods and the king’s relationship with them 

• Tomb- focused on the afterlife journey of the deceased 

• Ex: Karnak Temple complex (Temple)

• Ex: Valley of the Kings (Tomb)

Compare and contrast and Second and Third Intermediate Periods. One of the points you should discuss is the changing power of Nubia.

• Two intervals of political fragmentation and decentralization in Egypt, but differ significantly in their internal dynamics, external influences, and especially in the role Nubia played in each 

• SIP: marked by the division of Egypt by Hyksos rule

• Hyksos (foreign rulers) in the north 

• The native Egyptian dynasty based at Thebes in the south 

• TIP: Egypt was fragmented into multiple Egyptian-led regional powers 

• 21st Dynasty in Tanis

• Priests of Amun in Thebes

• Libyan dynasties in various areas

• Nubia was divided into Northern Nubia, Kerma in Upper Nubia emerged as a strong, independent power. Grew militarily and economically but never fully conquered Egypt

How did the rulers of the Graeco-Roman period draw inspiration from previous Egyptian practices? Point to specific ways in which traditions remained the same in this period, and specific ways in which they changed

• Rulers of the Greco-Roman period, including the Ptolemies and later Roman emperors actively drew open traditional Egyptian royal and religious practices to legitimize their rule

• Created a hybrid political and religious system in which continuity with the pharaonic past was emphasized in form and ritual

• Continuities

• Kingship Ideology and Divine Kingship 

• The adopted Egyptian royal titulary, including cartouches and names with divine associations             

• Temple Construction and Decoration 

• Continued massive temple building in the traditional pharaonic style, ex: The Temple of Horus at Edfu– built in classic Egyptian form 

• Changes

• Introduction of Greek Language and Bureaucracy

• While religious and temple inscriptions remained in hieroglyphs and Demotic, the administration and government used Greek 

• New Artistic and Cultural Fusion 

• Egyptian art forms were maintained in temples, but in other contexts there was a clear fusion with Hellenistic 

• Ex: Fayum mummy portraits– painted Greco-Roman style portraits placed over Egyptian-style mummies