Sneak Preview
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
For additional information on adopting this SNEAK title for your class, please contact us at PREVIEW 800.200.3908 x501 or [email protected] PEN, STYLUS, AND CHISEL An Ancient Egypt Sourcebook First Edition Edited by David Miano Executive Director, Schola Antiquorum Bassim Hamadeh, CEO and Publisher Michael Simpson, Vice President of Acquisitions Jamie Giganti, Managing Editor Jess Busch, Graphic Design Supervisor Jessica Knott, Senior Project Editor Luiz Ferreira, Licensing Associate Copyright © 2015 by Cognella, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted, reproduced, transmitted, or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying, microfilming, and recording, or in any information retrieval system without the written permission of Cognella, Inc. First published in the United States of America in 2015 by Cognella, Inc. Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Cover images: David Roberts, Egypt & Nubia: From Drawings Made on the Spot by David Roberts. Copyright in the Public Domain; Copyright © 2009 by Depositphotos/Viktor Zhugin. Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 978-1-63189-006-2 (pbk) / 978-1-63189-007-9 (br) CONTENTS Preface xi Chronology of Ancient Egypt xiii Map: Lower Egypt xvii Map: Upper Egypt xviii Map: Kush xix Cities of Ancient Egypt xx Glossary xxii OLD KINGDOM 1 1. Tomb Dedication Inscriptions 3 2. Tomb Inscription of Khamerernebty II 3 3. Tomb Stela of Nyankhsekhmet 4 4. Tomb Inscription of Hetepherakhet 4 5. Letter from King Izezi to Reshepses 5 6. Tomb Inscription of Senedjemib 6 7. Pyramid Texts of Unas 6 8. Tomb Inscription of Henku 8 9. Tomb Inscription of Herymeru 9 10. Pyramid Texts of Teti 10 11. Tomb Inscriptions of Hezi 12 12. Tomb Inscriptions of Nekhebu 13 13. Pyramid Texts of Pepi I 15 14. Letter to the Dead 21 15. Autobiography of Weni the Elder 21 16. Autobiography of Harkhuf 24 17. Autobiography of Pepinakht 27 18. Legal Text Concerning an Inheritance Dispute 28 19. The Precepts of Ptahhotep 29 FIRST INTERMEDIATE PERIOD 37 20. Inscriptions of Hemire 39 21. Autobiography of Ankhtify 40 22. Inscription of Khety II 40 23. The Teaching for Merikare 42 24. Letter to a Deceased Wife 48 25. Tjetji Stela 49 26. The Intef Harper’s Song 50 MIDDLE KINGDOM 53 27. Inscription of Henu 55 28. Letter of Hekanakht 56 29. The Commander’s Tablet 58 30. The Prophecies of Neferty 59 31. Heliopolis Temple Inscription 61 32. Autobiography of Ameni 62 33. The Tale of Sinuhe 64 34. The Instructions of Amenhemet 70 35. The Man Who was Tired of Life 72 36. Contract of Hepzefi 76 37. Autobiography of Khnumhotep II 78 38. Coffin Texts 81 39. The Second Semna Stela 83 40. Hymns to Senusret III 84 41. Inscription of Ikhernofret 85 42. Stela of Sobekkhu 87 43. Tales of King Khufu’s Court 88 44. The Eloquent Peasant 93 45. The Shipwrecked Sailor 101 46. The Instructions of Dua-Khety 104 47. Eulogy of Writers 106 48. The Book of the Heavenly Cow 109 49. Inscription of Sehetepibre 112 50. Letter of Kemny 114 SECOND INTERMEDIATE PERIOD 115 51. The Neferhotep Stela 117 52. The Admonitions of Ipuwer 119 53. Medical Prescriptions 120 54. The Coptos Decree 124 55. Kamose Tablet 125 NEW KINGDOM 127 56. Autobiography of Ahmose of Nekheb 129 57. Prayers of Paheri 131 58. Letter of the Scribe Ahmose 133 59. The Coronation of Hatshepsut 134 60. Annals of Thutmose III 136 61. Inscription of Rekhmire 139 62. Sphinx Stela of Thutmose IV 141 63. The Instruction of Any 142 64. Great Hymn to Osiris 148 65. Correspondence between Tarhunta-radu of Arzawa and Amenhotep III 149 66. Letter from Tushratta of Mitanni to Amenhotep III 150 67. Letter from Šuppiluliuma to Akhenaten 152 68. Great Hymn to the Aten 153 69. Letter from Abimelech of Tyre to Akhenaten 155 70. Letters from Labaya and Addurbilu to Akhenaten 156 71. Letter from Adonizedek of Jerusalem to Akhenaten 157 72. Edict of Horemheb 158 73. Kanais Temple Inscription of Seti I 162 74. Letter of Maiseti 163 75. Letter to a Departed Wife 164 76. The Great Abydos Inscription 165 77. Qadesh Battle Inscriptions of Ramesses II 168 78. Treaty Between Ramesses II and Hattushili 172 79. The Merneptah Stela 179 80. Letter of Bakenamon 182 81. Letter of Kenhikhopeshef 183 82. The Tale of Two Brothers 184 83. Truth and Falsehood 190 84. The Instruction of Amenemope 192 85. The Quarrel of Apophis and Seknenre 200 86. The Doomed Prince 202 87. Love Poems 204 88. The Great Inscription of the Second Pylon at Medinet Habu 211 89. Records of the Harem Conspiracy 214 90. The Great Harris Papyrus 219 91. Letter of Nakhtsobek 223 92. The Contendings of Horus and Seth 223 93. Letter of Wenenamon 233 94. Records of Royal Tomb Robberies 234 95. The Book of the Dead 243 96. The Story of Wenamon 255 97. Letter of Dhutmose 261 98. A Daughter to her Mother’s Lover 262 THIRD INTERMEDIATE PERIOD 263 99. Stela of the Banishment 265 100. Abydos Stela of Pasibakhanu II 267 101. The Great Karnak Relief of Shoshenq I 268 102. The Piankhi Stela 269 103. The Shabaka Stone 280 104. Dream Stela of Tanwetamani 283 LATE KINGDOM 287 105. Adoption Stela of Nitocris 289 106. The Deuteronomic History (first edition) 290 107. Prophecies of Jeremiah 292 108. The Deuteronomic History (second edition) 294 PERSIAN PERIOD 295 109. Statue Inscription of Udjahorresnet 297 110. The Petition of Peteêsi 299 111. Herodotus’ Enquiries 314 112. The Bentresh Stela 331 113. The Metternich Stela 333 PTOLEMAIC PERIOD 339 114. Decree of Ptolemy Lagides 341 115. Marriage Contract of Heraclides and Demetria 342 116. Manetho’s Aegyptica 343 117. The Canopus Decree 345 118. The Tale of Setne Khaemweset and Naneferkaptah 350 119. The Tale of Setne Khaemweset and His Son Si-Osiri 359 120. The Rosetta Stone 370 121. The Letter of Aristeas 374 122. The Famine Stela 381 123. Third Petition of the Serapeum Twins 385 124. Polybius’ Histories 387 125. The Dryton and Apollonia Archive 395 126. The Instruction of Ankhsheshonqy 397 127. The Winged Disk 412 128. Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca historica 420 Credits 445 Preface To create a book of this sort was never a part of my planned career path, but the project arose out of a nagging need for something distinctly appropriate to use in my upper-division ancient Egyptian history course, which I offer twice every year. The course itself wasn’t even of my own design—it was handed to me by the administration after the previous instructor retired. As an ancient historian, I welcomed the opportunity to teach on the subject and immediately set to work refurbishing the course. One of the challenges I encountered at the outset was locating a suitable anthology of primary sources. Mind you, there are a handful of Egyptian literature anthologies out there, but I don’t offer an Egyptian literature course. I do Egyptian history. So my preference would be for a reader that contained some historical documents in addition to the literature. For a time I used William Kelly Simpson’s The Literature of Ancient Egypt, because it does contain a few historical inscriptions, but there are so many important texts that are absent from that book. Miriam Lichtheim’s Ancient Egyptian Literature contains a wider selection, but it comes in three volumes and thus is too cumbersome for teaching purposes. So I had no other option than to make an anthology of my own. I’m hoping that my efforts have resulted in something useful for all instructors of ancient Egyptian history. What makes this book so valuable, I think, is that not only does it provide translations of a broad selection of Egyptian literary works, inscriptions, letters, and legal documents, but also writings by non-Egyptians whose observations of the Egyptians would prove informative to the student of Egyptian history. I mean, what a gap in knowledge we would have without the Amarna Letters or the Histories of Herodotus! No other anthology, so far as I know, offers these sorts of texts. The translations are not my own but have been selected from other books and articles, quite frequently from the public domain to keep the licensing fees to a minimum. Early transla- tors followed the fashion of rendering ancient Egyptian in King James-style English, which students today find rather confusing, so in prose translations from the public domain I have updated the antiquated English to more modern usage without changing the meaning. I left the poetry as is, and of course, have not touched more recent copyrighted translations. I would be glad to hear any recommendations for improvement in a subsequent edition of this book, so feel free to email me at [email protected]. May your heart be light! —David Miano | xi Glossary of Names and Terms ‘A’amu Asiatics (i.e., people from the land of Retenu). akh (also akhu) The intellect as a living entity, reanimated after death by the reunification of the ka and ba. Akhet 1) Season of inundation (also known as Shait); 2) The place where the Egyptians believed a dead person becomes an akh. It is located between the horizon and the underworld. Alashia (also Alashya, Alasyia) Cyprus. Amenirdis Wife of the God (High priestess of Amun). Amenti Realm of the dead (cf. Duat). amkhu An Egyptian award of honor given to soldiers of distinction, which granted that they be buried at the government’s expense.