Theben Und Avaris Zur "Vertreibung" Der Hyksos

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Theben Und Avaris Zur Originalveröffentlichung in: Guksch, Heike; Polz, Daniel (Hg.), Stationen. Beiträge zur Kulturgeschichte Ägyptens. Rainer Stadelmann gewidmet, Mainz 1998, S. 219-231 Theben und Avaris Zur "Vertreibung" der Hyksos DANIEL POLZ RAINER STADELMANN in Dankbarkeit und Freundschaft RAINER STADELMANN hat seit je ein reges Interesse an den historischen Vorgängen, die am Ende der 2. ZwZt zum Beginn des Neuen Reiches führten. Auch aus diesem Interesse heraus regte er im Jahre 1989 eine großflächige und intensive Untersuchung der nur unzureichend behandelten thebanischen Nekro­ pole von Dra' Abu el­Naga an, mit deren Durchführung er mich betraute. Die mit der ersten Grabungs­ kampagne im Frühjahr 1991 gestartete und seitdem jährlich durchgeführte Unternehmung hat das Ziel, 1 die thebanischen Nekropolen der ausgehenden 2. ZwZt zu untersuchen . 2 Der folgende Beitrag ist eine Art Thesenpapier zur politischen Situation am Ende der 2. ZwZt in Ober­ ägypten und berührt somit ­ nicht ganz zufällig ­ ein Thema, das auch RAINER STADELMANN vor längerer 3 Zeit in einem Aufsatz behandelt hat . 1. Einleitung Die Vorgänge, die am Ende der 2. ZwZt zunächst zu einer bewaffneten Auseinandersetzung zwischen den Herrschern der oberägyptischen 17. Dynastie und den Hyksos, desweiteren zu einer landesweiten militärischen Aktion der Oberägypter und der "Vertreibung" der Hyksos sowie schließlich zur Gründung eines neuen gesamtägyptischen Staates führten, werden ägyptologisch im allgemeinen als ein in sich geschlossener historischer Prozeß betrachtet. Insgesamt lassen sich diese Vorgänge in drei 4 Phasen aufgliedern, die etwa folgendermaßen getrennt werden können : Phase 1 Zwischen den Thebanern und den Hyksos kommt es vielleicht schon im letzten Drittel der 17. Dyna­ stie, unter deren König Seqenenre, zu ersten militärischen Auseinandersetzungen, während derer Se­ qenenre tödlich verwundet wird. Seqenenres Gegenspieler ist nach den gängigen Chronologien der 5 Hyksoskönig Apophis . 1 Dazu die vorläufigen Grabungsberichte in: MDAIK 48, 1992,109­130; MDAIK 49,1993, 227­138; MDAIK 51, 1995, 207­225; s. auch in: J. ASSMANN ET AL. (Hg.), Thebanische Beamtennekropolen, SAGA 12,1995, 25­i2; EA 7, 1995,6­8; EA 10,1997, 34­35; JSSEA 25,1997, im Druck. 2 Eine Version dieses Beitrages wurde im Juli 1997 während der SÄK in Zürich vorgetragen. Für ihre stimulie­ renden und korrigierenden Hinweise und Kommentare zur vorliegenden Version danke ich A. M. GNIRS, A. LOPRIENO und S. VOSS. 3 R. STADELMANN, in: MDAIK 20,1965, 62­69. 4 Neuere historische Übersichten geben z. B. M. BIETAK, Pharaonen und Fremde, Wien 1994, 27­34; N. GRIMAL, A History of Ancient Egypt, Oxford 1992, 182­195; D. B. REDFORD, Egypt, Canaan, and Israel, Princeton 1992, 98­ 122. 5 D. FRANKE, in: Or57,1988,245­74; VON BECKERATH, Abriß, 32 f. Daniel Polz Die Quellen zu dieser Phase 1 sind spärlich und beschränken sich, soweit ich sehe, auf die Interpre­ 6 tation der dem König mit u. a. nicht­ägyptischen Waffen beigebrachten tödlichen Verletzungen . Gelegentlich wird als zusätzliches Indiz für diese frühen militärischen Auseinandersetzungen auch auf die Geschichte vom "Streit des Apophis und des Seqenenre" im pSallier I verwiesen, die aber nur 7 unvollständig überliefert ist und sehr viel später verfaßt wurde . Phase 2 Unter Seqenenres Nachfolger, Kamose, wird auf thebanischer Seite zu einem ersten entscheidenden militärischen Schlag gegen denselben Gegner, Apophis, ausgeholt. Kamose bricht im Süden des Lan­ des zu einer offenbar recht gewaltsamen Aktion gegen den Norden auf, während derer fast das ge­ samte noch im Einflußbereich der Hyksos stehende Gebiet, von etwa Cusae in Mittelägypten bis in die Gegend von Avaris im östlichen Nildelta, erobert wird, und zwar, so scheint es, ohne große Ge­ genwehr. Avaris wird belagert, aber nicht eingenommen. Auf dem Marsch zurück nach Oberägypten werden die letzten Widerstände ehemaliger Hyksosverbündeter endgültig gebrochen. Die Quellen für diesen Teil der Geschichte sind weniger spärlich; sie bestehen im wesentlichen einerseits aus histori­ schen Texten, die unmittelbar post eventum verfaßt worden sein dürften, wie die Fragmente der Ka­ mose­Stele I (KI), das Carnarvon Tablet I (CT) und die Kamose­Stele II (KU). Andererseits lassen sich jetzt auch archäologische Quellen heranziehen, allen voran die Ergebnisse der österreichischen Aus­ 8 grabungen im ägyptischen Kerngebiet der Hyksos, Teil ed­Dab'a . Phase 3 Unter Kamoses Nachfolger, Ahmose, wird schließlich Avaris eingenommen, etwas später auch der 9 letzte "Brückenkopf" der Hyksos, die "Festung" Sharuhen (wohl Teil el­Ajjul ) im südlichen Palästina. Damit sind die Hyksos aus Ägypten vertrieben und das ägyptische Kernland ist unter einem starken Herrscher wiedervereinigt. Die folgenden, gesamtägyptischen Herrscher bemühen sich erfolgreich um eine Konsolidierung des Landes, was u. a. eine Sicherung der nubischen Gebiete und eines Teiles der Levante beinhaltet. Die Quellen für diesen letzten Teil der Geschichte um die Vertreibung der Hyksos sind ebenfalls von zweierlei Natur: Zum einen sind dies mehr oder weniger zeitgenössische Texte (z. B. die autobio­ 10 graphische Inschrift des Ahmose, Sohn der Ibana ), zum anderen spätere Texte, wie der der Hat­ 11 schepsut im Speos Artemidos . 12 Dies alles ist nun nicht neu ­ neben M. BIETAK haben bereits H. S. SMITH und A. SMITH , J. VAN 13 SETERS und andere die Grundzüge dieses Abschnittes der Frühphase des Neuen Reiches etwa so beschrieben und stellenweise auf den stark tendenziellen Charakter der verschiedenen textlichen Quellen aufmerksam gemacht. 6 M. BIET AK, E. STROUHAL, in: Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums Wen 78, Wien 1974, 29­52. 7 Hierzu zuletzt H. GOEDICKE, The Quarret of Apophis and Seqenenre', San Antonio 1986; vgl. aber T. G. H. JAMES, 2 in: CAH II, VIII, 1965, 3. 8 s. jetzt zusammenfassend M. BlETAK, Avaris - The Capital of the Hyksos, London 1996. 9 A. KEMPINSKI, in: IE] 24,1974,145­52. 10 v, 182; Urk. IV, 1­10; M. LICHTHEIM, Ancient Egyptian Literature II, Berkeley, Los Angeles, London 1976, 12­15. 11 A. H. GARDINER, in: JEA 32,1946,43­56. 12 H. S. SMITH, A. SMITH, in: ZÄS 103,1976,48­76. 13 J. VAN SETERS, The Hyksos, New Häven and London 1966. 220 Theben und Auaris Nun lassen sich aber in dieser mehr oder weniger allgemein akzeptierten Darstellung der Vor­ gänge am Ende der 2. ZwZt wenigstens zwei verschiedene ideologische Ebenen ausmachen, die beide in unterschiedlich starkem Maße auf der Interpretation der textlichen Quellen beruhen: Die eine Ideologie ist die ägyptische, die in den genannten zeitgenössischen königlichen Quellen zum Ausdruck kommt: Kamose beanstandet gegenüber der dsdst, dem königlichen Beraterstab, daß er 14 sich mit einem "Fürsten" (wr) in Avaris und einem weiteren in Kusch das Land teilen muß (CT, Z. 3) ; in K II (Z. 1) wird eine ähnliche Kritik an den bestehenden politischen Verhältnissen laut, hier be­ merkt Kamose, daß er nur ein "Fürst" {wr), der Hyksos hingegen "Herrscher" (hqi) über Ägypten ist 15 oder so genannt wird . Seine Rechtfertigung, einen militärischen Feldzug gegen den Hyksos zu un­ ternehmen, zieht Kamose aus der Tatsache, daß der Hyksos eben ein Fremder ist, der das Land oder einen Teil des Landes beherrscht. Die Aktion wird also als ein Befreiungsschlag von oppressiver Fremdherrschaft dargestellt. Die zweite Ideologie ist die ägyptologische, die zu einem geringeren Teil ebenfalls auf den Text­ quellen beruht: Die Auseinandersetzungen der Thebaner mit den Hyksos und deren anschließende Vertreibung führt immerhin zu einer der Hauptepochen des Alten Ägypten, dem Neuen Reich, das ohne die "Befreiung" von den Hyksos so nicht denkbar ist. Dieser durch den Zufall des Befundes na­ hegelegten interpretatio thebarum wird auch heute noch gefolgt; es scheint, daß die militärischen Ak­ tionen des Kamose und seines Nachfolgers als "Befreiungsschlag" im Sinne des Weiterbestehens der genuin ägyptischen Kultur empfunden und Kamoses Darstellung der Vorgänge als "Befreiungskrieg" 16 akzeptiert werden . Mehr noch: Vor der Auffindung der Kamose­Stelen und des Carnarvon Tablets 17 basierte die ägyptologische Interpretation dieser Epoche auf den Darstellungen antiker Autoren . Die generelle Ähnlichkeit und der gleiche Grundtenor der antiken und der altägyptischen Darstellungen wurden beim Auffinden der Kamose­Stelen natürlich erkannt und boten ein glänzendes Beispiel für sich gegenseitig stützende Quellen. Ein gemeinsamer Kernpunkt beider Ideologien ist offensichtlich die Frage der Legitimität der bei­ den "Herrscherhäuser". Auch hier muß getrennt werden zwischen der ägyptischen und der ägyptolo­ gischen Auffassung: An der Oberfläche erweckt etwa der Text der K II durchaus den Eindruck, daß es sich bei dem Thebaner um den rechtmäßigen, beim Hyksos um den unrechtmäßigen Herrscher han­ dele. Betrachtet man den Text genauer, wird jedoch deutlich, daß genau dies, also die Unrechtmäßig­ keit des Hyksos, eben gar nicht Gegenstand der Diskussion oder Begründung für Kamoses Feldzug ist: Es geht Kamose vielmehr um die Tatsache, daß der Hyksos ihn nur als "Fürst", sich selbst dagegen als Herrscher bezeichnet. Nirgendwo hingegen ist in den Texten davon die Rede, daß die Thebaner 18 etwa in einem Abhängigkeitsverhältnis zu den Hyksos gestanden hätten . Das Gegenteil ist der Fall: Der Hyksos beklagt sich in seinem Brief an den nubischen Herrscher darüber, daß Kamose ihn schlecht behandele (K II, Z. 21­22). Andererseits deutet in den bislang von den Hyksos bekannten Denkmälern alles darauf hin, daß sich die Hyksos selbst zwar als "Hyksos", aber
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