History243 Exam 1 Review

Map: Giza, Saqqara, Ma’adi, Heracleopolis, Abydos, Aswan, Naqada, Thebes, Dahsur, Hierakonopolis, Wadi el-Jarf, Memphis

Red land/Black land: ID/date/3 details?

Black land: cultivation, fertile silt vs Red Land: desert

1. Thick layer of rich, dark silt gives valley astonishing fertility, annual flood waters added nutrients to land, curtailed salt build-up, ideal for agriculture, papyrus grew in marshes, natural resource for boats, nets, scrolls, maps, rich in good, meat, vegetables, grain also grown, could be made into bread and beer

2. Desert, oases served as military garrisons and stopping points along caravan routes, Fayum, most important, depression whose waters connected to Nile, popular hunting and fishing center, exploited for agricultural potential

3. Daily life heavily intertwined with the environment, natural rhythms of nature, cycle of sun, rise and fall of nile, seasonal agricultural cycles became primary theme of theology, local fauna and flora incorporated as signs in hieroglyphic writing, also art depicting biodiversity and relationship with nature, fishing on a papyrus boat

4. Modern archaeological remans and problems: livable, settled land is largely the same place now as in ancient times, silt deposits bury ancient remains, water table in Delta is often too high for sites to be preserved

Wadi Hammamat: ID/date/3 details?

Wadi Hammamat: Desert valley located in the Eastern desert in between Nile and Red Sea

1. Wadi: desert valleys leading from Nile Valley to Red Sea, Wadi Hammamat located in desert, desolate, hours by foot from settlements, Black hills in the background

2. Inscriptions dating to end of 11th dynasty and Mentuhotep IV, existence of an inscription means people came out to and visitied Wadi Hammamat on expeditions

3. Mentuhotep IV: quarrying inscription, marvels showing the favor of god Min (god of eastern hills), pregnant gazelle gave birth on block of stone intended for king’s sarcophagus, rain came ad a well was found filled with pure uncontaminated water, emphasizing divine right to rule

4. Quarrying inscription also underlines the logistics, expedition of ten thousand men, equipped the finest stonemasons, sculptors, quarrymen, stone-carvers, foremen, metalworkers, goldsmiths, seal-bearer

Manetho: ID/date/3 details?

Manetho: native Egyptian priest who worked with Greek administrators in court, during 3rd century BCE, wrote history of Egypt in Greek called Aegyptiaca

1. Chronological listing of kings, divided into dynasties, first to use this Greek term for group of rulers, designating succession of kings with common attributes, but for unclear reasons sometimes, when centralized: individual royal names listed, when diffuse: mentions only number of kings, capital, total number of years ruled, remains organizing principle for political histories of ancient Egypt today

2. However, no actual manuscripts have survived, lost, complicated transmission through quotes, references, translations, interpretations of Manetho, Flavius Josephus: polemical work, included in certain works by George Syncellus and Armenian/Latin translations with one degree of separation after epitome/summary preserved in chronological work were also lost

3. Because Manetho wrote in Greek, reproduced Egyptian names in not a wholly authentic manner, have to consider what sources he consulted, also that he was discussing history from thousands of years ago for him, not contemporaneous

Kingslists: ID/date/3 details?

Kingslists: genre of text consisting of chronological lists of kings/set of documents from entirety of Egyptian history

1. Earliest lists in clay sealings, seal impressions/sealings (carved pieces of stone) with kingslist, rolled into clay then sealed into pottery, emphasizing power must be maintained, names of Dynasty 1 kings, also found on regular objects, pot of oil, year tag of Den, 1st Dynasty, reinforcement of king’s authority

2. Palermo Stone (2400 BCE), 5th Dynasty stele, semi-mythical/unknown kings and kings from Dynasties 1-5, dynasty kings listed with years of cattle count, other information included, height of inundation, creation of new cult images, royal visits to cult centers, foundation of temples way to keep track of time

3. Abydos King List (Seti I Temple at Abydos reign of Seti 19th Dynasty), kings from 1st Dynasty through to 19th, many kings omitted during 1st/2nd Intermediate Period

4. Turin Royal Canon (dates to reign of Ramesses II also at Abydos 19th Dynasty), papyrus, “true” kingslist, purpose to record all kings who reigned and length of reigns, however, fragmented, includes “illegitimate” kings

5. Reflect ideology that there can only be one king at a time because his rule is universal, each reign a complete era world created anew when king came to throne, full cycle of existence, therefore, can claim accomplishments of past reign as own

Maat: ID/date/3 details?

Maat: Ma’at: order/truth/justice/Egyptian way of life as a concept, also an actual goddess

1. Contrasted with Isfet, or disorder, not necessarily evil, but held in tension/conflict which is never truly resolved, constantly maintaining relationship with natural world, always dangers posed by animals, enemies, work in the face of these adversaries, but never completely finished

2. Ma’at referenced in: Songs in Honor of Senwosret III (12th Dynasty) in defeating enemies, protecting land, extending borders, jubilant fathers, gods, citizens, proper king

3. Also mentioned in Maxims of Ptahhotep in reference to kingship and the powers associated with it specifically in how to cultivate quality in sons

Naqada culture: ID/date/3 details?

Naqada culture: Predynastic Period, subdivided into three stages. I, II, and III

1. Dating things rely on material culture, things used in daily life changed gradually over time, do not reflect major cultural differences, establish different markers of particular time periods, i.e. pottery

2. I: fairly egalitarian society, interpreting society vis-a-vis burials, dead facing west, gifts set beside them, placed in shallow pits, similar graves, regional culture, in II: new elements in pottery + art, now includes images of natural world, wrapping dead in linen, tomb structures some in simple pits, some large and complex with multiple chambers, some surrounded by smaller simpler ones, differentiation of wealth increased over time, culture throughout all Upper Egypt, larger settlements near burial sites, majority received few pots, some placed with stone mace heads and palette, for the elite, carved, intricate objects for high status, religious events → rise of kingship in Naqada II and III

3. Tomb 100: tomb with great deal more resources, depicts boats traveling as control over the world, some people with much greater access to materials, stratification, conflict, animals, depicted things that were also valued in society

4. Development of religious rituals, fledgling evidence, holes in ground indicative of post holes for flags, very big, important wooden poles, at a ritual center

Umm el-Qaab at Abydos: ID/date/3 details?

Umm el-Qaab at Abydos: Most important early dynastic tombs of 1st kings during the First Dynasty at Abydos

1. 2 areas, cemetery U and B, tomb U-j at cemetery U, 100s of jars with wine, shows interest in moving goods around, certain goods valued above others, managed by administrative core and writing, found ivory labels from U-j, shows rise of social stratification, cemetery B, in comparison, marks move from end of predynastic period Naqada III to Dynasty 0 and 1, main chambers, Tomb of Aha, multichambered, also potentially buried powerful individuals who are not kings such as family members

2. In addition, subsidiary graves, 30 young men aged 20-25 sacrificed to be buried with the king, practice only in the 1st dynasty, very powerful statement, peaked at 338 subsidiary burials, why did practice die off? Individuals of prominence, members of the elite/admin were sacrificed, not practical to kill off such valuable assets

3. Listed above just one part of larger site of Abydos, in the cliffs away from civilization, no structures above ground, maybe originally, but now destroyed, funerary enclosures of Aha, 2nd structure closer to inhabitants, mortuary temple to be remembered/worshipped, monumental, above ground, constructed with mud brick, clay dried in the sun, some have still survived

Step pyramid: ID/date/3 details?

Step pyramid: first stone pyramid by Djoser in Saqqara dating back to 3rd Dynasty

1. Transition from mud to stone pyramids, building changes between early dynastic period and Old Kingdom

2. Experimentation evident in the construction as its taking place, began as a mastaba, low-stone structure, before a bigger structure was built on top, then another, big in comparison

3. Wall surrounded pyramid, grave and funerary enclosure, festival and ritual area so people could come back and remember him, bringing offerings

Snefuru: ID/date/3 details?

Snefuru: first king of 4th dynasty

1. Still experimenting with design of buildings, built 3 pyramids in early 4th dynasty, first in which the casing stones from the outside were taken off, not well preserved, second in which they had to change the angle after 2/3 progress, originally built too steep, before mastering the true pyramid

2. Built massively and many, set the stage for consequent kings such as Khufu, implemented on previous knowledge, who built Great Pyramid of Giza, and his son Khafre and Menkaure

3. Snefuru used 3.5M cubic meters of stone, most in all Egyptian history, bulk of pyramid building, later, more standarized smaller projects, not sustainable in long run, conscripting labor at cost of other things, decade-long projects, logistically able to because of advantageous site, did not have to move a lot of stone, limestone bedrock was source of stone

Pyramid town of Giza: ID/date/3 details?

Pyramid town of Giza: where workers and administration of pyramids of Giza lived, dates to mid to late 4th dynasty

1. 400m south of Sphinx, abandoned by end of 4th Dynasty, during Khafra and Menkaure’s period, composed of galleries, long barracks of workers that rotate in and out, as well as town and royal administrative building for support staff, officials, and families

2. Workers most likely part of corvee labor force, repurposed from Khufu’s team or separate one not yet found, quarrying of stone: 2 work crews of ~2,000 workers, total work force (skilled+unskilled): 20,000~25,000 (total pop w families ~150,000), highly skilled + brute labor conscripted, but not slaves, dangerous + taxing work

3. Bread and beer formed workers primary diet, evidence of bakeries, treated well, meat also major source of nutrition, evidence of regular slaughter of animals (cattle/goat/sheep/fish), consumed by not just elite

Abusir Papyri: ID/date/3 details?

Abusir Papyri: administrative documents/archive dating to 5th Dynasty found in Pyramid of Neferirkare

1. Dates mostly to reign of Issei, ~50 years after Neferirkare’s reign, insightful for maintaining cult and temples of king after death

2. Gridded chart of goods coming in, bear, flour, bread, how many, for how much, delivered where, made by who

3. Also details what ritual objects can be found in temple, bowls, cases, blades, silver, offering table, in what color, condition, noted when to repair, active maintenance of institution

Merer: ID/date/3 details?

Merer: official recording obtaining various materials to Khufu’s pyramid, 4th Dynasty toward end of the reign

1. Merer’s logbook, oldest papyrus document, day-by-day descriptions of tasks, some parts destroyed, he was head of the “Great” phyle

2. Description not only about getting across water, getting copper at the mines, also maintained canals/waterways around Giza and Tura, filling up Giza Plateau with water when annual Nile flood took place, shows they were skilled with boats, as well as flexible source of manual labor, mobilized to undertake at least five tasks, carrying limestone blocks from quarries of Tura,

3. Group divided into 4 phyles/sections, sometimes same/parallel tasks, discovered at Wadi el-Jarf, grain and bread as pay

Mastaba: ID/date/3 details?

Mastaba: rectangular tombs dating to 5th and 6th dynasties designated for high officials

1. Mostly stone brough in from around Egypt (white limestone from Tura, basalt from north Fayum, alabaster from Hatnub, granodiorite from Aswan, greywacke from Wadi Hammamat, gneiss from Nubia), only king has access to the special stone, meaning complete control

2. Power correlates with closeness with the king, mastaba gifted by king to officials, next to Pyramid of Khufu, officials could carry title of “king’s son” even when not related to king, although often occupied highest offices

3. Evidence that the tombs were visited, above ground chapel, very orderly, always planned beforehand, vizier of Khufu, likely architect of Great Pyramid buried in mastaba, priest, overseer, range of power, different titles

Hieratic: ID/date/3 details?

Hieratic: script used for quick writing

1. Overlaps with hieroglyphs, cursive script: writing system used to represent language, written in ink from right to left or in either horizontal or vertical columns, learned before hieroglyphs, abbreviated combinations of signs

2. Hieratic: Greek for priestly sacred, used for most documents, daily life documents, letters, tax records until development of demotic, also a language stage, took origins from hieroglyphs but no longer deducible from hieroglyphs

3. Oldest papyrus documents of Merer, written in hieratic

Hieroglyphs: ID/date/3 details?

Hieroglyphs: writing system for Ancient Egypt

1. Script: writing system used to represent language, hieroglyphic: sacred carving in Greek, 1:1 correlation, each hieroglyph is picture/thing that exists in world, can be used to represent what the depict (phonogram), great for associated with art

2. But also Rebus Principle, use of picture or symbols to depict phonetic sounds rather than visual meanings, combining to form pronunciation of abstract words not able to be conveyed by picture, also used as determinatives, come at end of word, indicating what general category word belongs to

3. Demotic is derived from hieroglyphs, but no longer deducible, followed by Coptic which brought hieroglyphs to extinction, overlaps with hieratic, Old, Middle, Late Egyptian written in hieroglyph, ~800 commonly used, can be written horizontally, vertically, even retrograde, left to right, right to left, orientation

4. Symbols functioned as objects they represented, writing and religion inextricably intertwined

Scribe: ID/date/3 details?

Scribe: elite, high official that knew how to read and write, needed for administrative purposes

1. Most people did not know how to read/write, partial literacy, 1% for Old and Middle Kingdom, rises throughout the ages, 20% during New Kingdom, Late period?

2. Partial literacy also common, knowing one script but not another, with rise of Greek, some native Egyptians knew Greek too

3. Distinctive hieroglyph for scribe, carried reed pens/brushes, red and black inkwells, distinct sub-elite, high social position above mostly everybody else

4. Basic reading and writing taught in schools, more advanced training in apprenticeship, long hours spent to memorize characters and phrases, reading aloud and then copying common way of learning, oral transmission

5. Satire on the Trades, life of a scribe is easier, power is always being legitimized, scribes should occupy power, education profoundly social, advice, cultural story of norms, reinforcement, Scribal Traditions

Ankhtifi: ID/date/3 details?

Ankhtifi: nomarch of 2nd and 3rd Upper Egypt nomes in 10th-early 11th dynasty

1. Provides contemporaneous evidence of FIP with wall paintings from tombs, art used as an argument for chaotic FIP time frame, no neat rows, weird layout, ugly/big eyes, not necessarily missing traditional elements but messy, HUGE fish, disproportionate to nomarch, not able to control natural environment

2. Art also depicted boats + people, moving for more violent ends, military troops/enforcement

3. Also tomb autobiography, missing acknowledgement of the king, he claims to be beginning, middle, and end of mankind, surpassing feats of ancestors, coming generations not meant to equal him or his feats, he emphasizes how he took care of his people during times of canabalism, provides bleak descriptions of catastrophic famine, civil chaos

“Pessimistic literature”: ID/date/3 details?

“Pessimistic literature”: genre pertaining to history and societal chaos of the First Intermediate Period but written during Middle Kingdom

1. First impression: FIP as time of war, hunger, death, lawlessness, no social hierarchy, enemies in Egypt, civil war, fighting on sacred grounds, destroying what should never be destroyed

2. Second impression: pessimistic literature as powerful literary propaganda, not historical evidence of FIP, composed in Middle Kingdom 200-300 years later as evidence of restoration of Egypt’s greatness

3. Third impression: reevaluation of famine responses, mass mortality and even cannibalism are known historical responses, known environmental risk in Egypt with 2-3 bad floods, is possible, originally viewed as hyperbolic in 2nd interpretation, helpful to view as severe trauma, disrupted identity, memory could be rooted in truth

Montuhotep II: ID/date/3 details?

Montuhotep II: king who reunites Egypt during second half of 11th Dynasty

1. Moves capital to Thebes, return to Old Kingdom art, but depicts warfare and invasion but specifically enemies that are not Egyptian, although civil war took place, as that is not ideal, in his temple, redefining kingship

2. Returns to building stone monuments, imitating Old Kingdom monuments, evidence of circular depressions indicating trees, top not recovered, theories on pyramid/mastaba/obelisk/tree top

3. Threefold titulary, tracks progress of reuniting Egypt by his name, changes his name twice, first full king titulary, then “White crown” specifically Upper Egypt, then “one who unites the two lands”

Heqanakht I: ID/date/3 details?

Heqanakht I: well off farmer writing to family and subordinates about how to administer estate at home

1. Heqanakht I away from home, writing back to compare their living conditions, they have fixed food allowances whereas the whole land has died off, mentions cannibalism and famine

2. Details the rations specifically, as well as relationships to other estates nearby, how to be maintained, interpersonal relations

3. Originally dated 11th Dynasty, assumed famine was only a problem of the FIP, not Middle Kingdom, but reevaluation of archaeological evidence indicate actually dates back to 12th Dynasty

Buhen: ID/date/3 details?

Buhen: massive fortress dating back to 12th Dynasty during Old Kingdom

1. As kings extended political authority south/downward during Old Kingdom, built massive fortresses to reinforce their power firmly in Nubian territory

2. Central area with administrative purposes, command building, temple, granary

3. Evidence of preparation for conflict, massive walls with slots with loophole system that could shoot up or down, armed militarily but no evidence of conflict, more concerned with controlling movement along 2nd cataract

Semna Dispatches: ID/date/3 details?

Semna Dispatches: administrative daybook containing official correspondence, late 12th dynasty

1. Reveals that manning fortress at Semna was about trade, discusses large interconnected surveillance network, extensive administrative procedures, six Nubians arrived at fortress to do bartering, spent most days trading

2. Frontier patrol set out to desert margin returned to report with findings of 32 men and three donkets, acknowledges potential threat that will emerge as explicit warfare later on

3. To be considered with Semna Stela, reign of Senwosret II, fortress of Semna, further south compared to Buhen, touches both desert areas and tracks movement along the river, local trade as well as diplomatic envoys to Egypt

ID/date/3 details?

Narmer’s Palette: Dynasty 0, very end of Predynastic Period, Hierakonpolis, Naqada stone carving depicting Narmer and forming ideas of kingship

1. White crown of Upper Egypt, size, most important, biggest in the depiction, falcon god Horus holding rope attached to prisoner, divine right to rule, on the back, also wearing Red Crown of Lower Egypt, means duality of 2 lands, Narmer controls all of Egypt

2. Depicted with Sandal Bearer, evidence of administration, an official associated with the king on the front, standard bearers on the back, more admin and religious activity

3. Mace held in smitting pose, most classic pose in Egyptian history representing kingship, about to kill prisoner/enemy, trampled enemies at the bottom, more decapitated enemy bodies on the back

4. Narmer initially interpreted very literally, except it’s not a neutral object, instead very interested in ideology, definitely religious object, created for beauty, designed to express ideology of power, donated at temple for gods

ID/date/3 details?

Statue of Pepy II sitting on lap of mother Queen, 6th Dynasty

1. Usually kings are always depicted as the largest, even with gods, to depict their authority and how they are the closest connection to god, not regular people, in art only the king can touch god or be as big as god

2. Shows Pepy II unconventionally small, to represent how he was a child coming into the throne, depicted with full regalia and as an adult by miniature size to acknowledge his authority still

3. Shows mother as larger to represent how women also fulfilled the role as king, specifically ruling as regent until Pepy comes of age

4. Typically office of kingship is inherited by male child, usually eldest but not always, power can be seized by force, women occasionally ruled, divine birth, god appearing in vision/dream and choosing particular person, ruler depicted acting as king all ways employed to legitimize rule

ID/date/3 details?

Ivory labels from Tomb U-j Predynastic Period

1. Signs likely indicate areas, domains, administrative districts

2. Protoform, symbols/labels for objects, source of earliest writing

3. tomb U-j at cemetery U, 100s of jars with wine, shows interest in moving goods around, certain goods valued above others, managed by administrative core and writing, found ivory labels from U-j, shows rise of social stratification

ID/date/3 details?

Rahotep: king’s son and Nefret, king’s acquaintance, from tomb chapel during reign of Snefuru, 4th dynasty

1. Highest officials: close to the king, which is power

2. Well-preserved, stereotypical gendered poses, different skin color also correlate with gender presentation, but same size

3. From tomb chapel at Meidum, blocked up and became serdab, not for public viewing, protected and safe, plcaed in chapel behind offering table

ID/date/3 details?

Stele of Nubian Archer Nenu, 9th-10th Dynasty from southern Egypt

1. Commentary on intermarriage and cultural intermingling, which was common, acceptance of multi-ethnic blend in a permanent way on a stone monument, his wife being wholly Egyptian

2. Nenu being remember as both Nubian and Egyptian, archer: typically Nubian, but wearing a white linen kilt: typically Egyptian, also depicts Nenu receiving offering the Egyptian way

3. Different than the other wooden model displayed in class from Middle Kingdom, emphasis drawn on being wholly Nubian, different hairstyle, buried with nomarch in charge of archers, both depictions existed

ID/date/3 details?

Rosetta Stone, discovered in mid-July 1799 with three scripts: hieroglyphic, demotic, and Greek, dated to year 9 of reign of Ptolemy V, dealed w/ reestablishment of land and holdings of temples

1. Immediately recognized as major discovery and possible key to decipherment, copies made and distributed in Paris

2. Originally acquired by French, but taken by British after French surrender

3. Beginning of decipherment began with Thomas Young, established hieroglyphs not purely symbolic, French Jean-François Champollion announced successful decipherment in 1822 Lettre à M. Dacier

4. Cartouche: oval band going around king’s name, helped decipher, phonetic component identitified

Quarrying Inscription: date/audience/historical setting/theme?

11th Dynasty, Mentuhotep IV, quarrying inscription underlines the logistics, expedition of ten thousand men, equipped the finest stonemasons, sculptors, quarrymen, stone-carvers, foremen, metalworkers, goldsmiths, seal-bearer, located in Wadi Hammamat, commemorative inscriptions left there, give most credit to vizier Amenemhat, took full advantage of his unrivaled position to seize throne, first and fourth inscription: natural miracles, meaning divine favor, second and third inscription: scale of the royal quarrying expedition, feat of logistics and administration

King Cheops and the Magicians: date/audience/historical setting/theme?

1. Famous story set during the Old Kingdom, in court of Khufu, builder of the Great Pyramid at Giza, probably composed in 12th dynasty, ~500 years after Khufu’s reign, not contemporaneous, looks back to past, presents a very different picture of kingship

2. Series of tales about marvels performed, frame story, 3rd tale: Snefuru only wants to be entertained by beautiful naked women on boats, 4th tale: Khufu willing to risk decapitating man to test if magician can reattach head, kings depicted as not doing typical kingly duties, different+complicated portrayal of kingship, non-ideal, okay to talk about reality, stories have more leeway to be critical, not official record of the gods, magician says no to reattaching head to prisoner, limited to what king can demand, just because can do =/= should do, prophecy ends by telling end of Khufu’s line

Pyramid Texts: date/audience/historical setting/theme?

1. Mostly date from late 5th-6th dynasty, some date to 8th dynasty, complex set of texts on inside of pyramids, exclusively for royalty, oldest religious texts, don’t appear on 1st pyramids, addressed to deceased king whose pyramid is written in, not exact reality, not read by regular people, appear out of nowhere, although certainly pop up earlier in oral form before appropriate during Unas’ reign to decide to incorporate in tomb

2. Delivers ideology + religious implication of king’s transition to afterlife, emphasizing 1) king’s association with the gods, king will become a god after death, born of god, begotten by god, rises to celestial afterlife, granted akh: ability to do thing with status of divinity, emphasizes familiar terms + relationship with gods → gods happy with you: key to legitimacy, 2) cycle of kings and inheritance, kingship on earth after death to be taken up by son, son must act as a good king

Merer’s logbook: date/audience/historical setting/theme?

Merer: official recording obtaining various materials to Khufu’s pyramid, 4th Dynasty toward end of the reign

1. Merer’s logbook, oldest papyrus document, day-by-day descriptions of tasks, some parts destroyed, he was head of the “Great” phyle

2. Description not only about getting across water, getting copper at the mines, also maintained canals/waterways around Giza and Tura, filling up Giza Plateau with water when annual Nile flood took place, shows they were skilled with boats, as well as flexible source of manual labor, mobilized to undertake at least five tasks, carrying limestone blocks from quarries of Tura,

3. Group divided into 4 phyles/sections, sometimes same/parallel tasks, discovered at Wadi el-Jarf, grain and bread as pay

Weni: date/audience/historical setting/theme?

Autobiography of Old Kingdom, tomb inscription in which the life and career of the tomb's owner are described, Abydos

1. Tomb autobiography, heavily idealized, meant to be seen and recognized by a future audience, spent in close contact with the king, requested special limestone for his tomb, never before done, lid, false door, offering table described, all supported by archaeological evidence, describes conspiracy of queen, selfless, self-effacing, effective royal servant, economic expedition, great success

Harkhuf: date/audience/historical setting/theme?

Autobiography of Old Kingdom, tomb inscription in which the life and career of the tomb's owner are described, Abydos

1. Tomb autobiography, heavily idealized, meant to be seen and recognized by a future audience, directly quoted king’s word, proof of direct contact with king, pygmy, African of unusually short stature, one of the “goods” brought back, economic expeditions, 300 donkeys, panther skins, ivory carvings, boomerangs, incense, ebony, oil, exotic, foreign goods

Satire of the Trades: date/audience/historical setting/theme?

The Satire of the Trades, part of scribal education, Middle Kingdom, audience is apprentice scribes, describing the pros to being a scribe compared to other jobs, justifying the scribal practice, begins with frame story, 2 part text, 1) hardships, 2) appropriate behavior for scribe, be serious, do not come close to a dispute, do as an official says, write frequently, path of God

Scribal Traditions in the Schools: date/audience/historical setting/theme?

Also part of scribal curriculum, discipline required for job, taskmaster of everyone, skillful writer, soldier’s/farmer’s life is much harder than scribe’s, scribal status is superior

Shipwrecked Sailor: date/audience/historical setting/theme?

One of the most famous stories from ancient Egypt, involves a shipwrecked sailor, a giant snake, and a great deal of anxiety, no names, sense of relatability for reader/listener, story within story within story, curious emphasis placed on numbers, return of mission, junior officer speaks to superior about unsuccessful mission, junior officer tells experience of how he was shipwrecked, only one who survived, approached by large serpent, who also tells story of how his entire family died, predicts sailor will return home, commander still discouraged, ends in failure, still thinks he’s going to die, emphasizes that stories have power, love of family and return to Egypt, resourcefulness of Egyptian abroad, also failure is okay

Maxims/Teaching of Ptahhotep: date/audience/historical setting/theme?

12th dynasty piece of instruction literature that purports to offer advice on good conduct, audience is future king, highest elite, vizier, kings, blatant misogyny, views women as objects and need to subdue them, warnings to stay away from gossip and women for adultery → serious offense, need to behave properly, normative approach to life, many more expectations, do not befriend effeminate men, ideals for masculinity, father/son relations, do not brag/judge book by its cover, receive advice

Sinuhe: date/audience/historical setting/theme?

Dated 12th Dynasty, overhears assassination of the king, so scared he flees Egypt, Story of Sinuhe is perhaps the most famous story from ancient Egypt and follows the adventures of an Egyptian official at home and abroad. Questions to consider: what is the political situation in Egypt at the beginning of the story? how are the foreign lands that Sinuhe visits and lives in described? why does Sinuhe return home?

Teaching of King Amenemhat I for Senwosret: date/audience/historical setting/theme?

The Teaching of King Amenemhet I is another piece of instructional literature, but is very different in tone from the other example of this genre that we've read. Questions to consider: what is the political situation that the text describes? how does this depiction of a king differ from other texts we've read? Amenemhat’s assasination, 12th Dynasty, deeply mistrusting, betrayed by closest people, conspiracy, be watchful, emphasizing his own power, yet killed, have to really delineate kingship

Heqanakht Letter: date/audience/historical setting/theme?

Heqanakht I: private letter from well off farmer writing to family and subordinates about how to administer estate at home

1. Heqanakht I away from home, writing back to compare their living conditions, they have fixed food allowances whereas the whole land has died off, mentions cannibalism and famine

2. Details the rations specifically, as well as relationships to other estates nearby, how to be maintained, interpersonal relations

3. Originally dated 11th Dynasty, assumed famine was only a problem of the FIP, not Middle Kingdom, but reevaluation of archaeological evidence indicate actually dates back to 12th Dynasty

Songs in Honor of Senwosret III: date/audience/historical setting/theme?

The Songs of Senwosret III are songs of praise in honor of Senwosret III. Questions to consider: what do these songs tell us about the nature of kingship? how does this compare to other texts we've read and to the Semna Stela? composed for the arrival of the king at town south of Memphis, 12th Dynasty, emphasizing lack of civil war and no violence, protected land and extended borders, reuniting two lands, everyone is jubilant, able to control and utilize natural resources, restored order, glorified, none of nuance of foreigners being accepted, fully needs to be defeated

Semna Stela: date/audience/historical setting/theme?

The Semna Stela is another text associated with Senwosret III and it is useful to compare the two. Questions to consider: where was this text located? who might be the audience? how are Nubians described? how does the portrayal of the king in this text compare to the songs?

12th Dynasty, located in fortress of Semna, commemorates building of fortress, describes raid/extortion of surrounding population and resources, ready to fight, but not always necessarily, proving power better than previous kings, about monitoring and control, placed at boundary of Southern border, king’s exhortation to subjects, Nubian defeated, carried off women, driving away their cattle, cutting down grain, setting fire within