1111 2 3 4 5 THE EGYPTIANS 6 7 8 9 10111 11 2 3 Of all ancient societies, Egypt perhaps has the widest popular appeal. 4 The huge amounts of archaeological material, from the vast and 5 imposing temples to the small objects of daily life, make us believe 6 that we can approach the society and empathize with it. 7 This study introduces the reader to the broad span of Egyptian 8 history and cultural development from its origins to the arrival of 9 Islam. It examines the structure of Egyptian society, its changes over 20111 time, and the ways in which the economy and religious institutions 1 were used to bind society together. Challenging some of the accepted 2 truths and highlighting the enormous gaps in our knowledge, the 3 author also explains the place of Egypt in the Western European 4 tradition that led to the development of academic Egyptology, and 5 considers how the West has constructed its own version of the 6 Egyptian past. 7 8 Robert G. Morkot lectures in Egyptology at the University of 9 Exeter. His areas of interest include relations between Egypt and 30111 other ancient societies, notably Nubia, and Egypt in the Western 1 tradition. Among his publications are The Black Pharaohs, Egypt’s 2 Nubian Rulers (2000) and The Historical Dictionary of Ancient Egyptian 3 Warfare (2003). 4 5 6 7 8 9 folio 1111 2 3 4 51 6 7 8 9 10111 11 2 311 4 5 6 7 8 9 20111 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 30111 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 911 folio 1111 2 3 4 5 THE EGYPTIANS 6 7 8 An Introduction 9 10111 11 2 3 4 Robert G. Morkot 5 6 7 8 9 20111 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 30111 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 folio 2 3 4 51 6 7 8 9 10111 11 2 311 First published 2005 4 by Routledge 5 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN 6 Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 7 270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016 8 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group 9 20111 This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005. 1 “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s 2 collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” 3 © 2005 Robert G. Morkot 4 All rights reserved. No part of this book may 5 be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by 6 any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any 7 information storage or retrieval system, without 8 permission in writing from the publishers. 9 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data 30111 A catalogue record for this book is available 1 from the British Library 2 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data 3 A catalog record for this book has been requested 4 ISBN 0-203-48653-6 Master e-book ISBN 5 6 7 ISBN 0-203-57023-5 (Adobe eReader Format) 8 ISBN 0–415–27103–7 (hbk) ISBN 0–415–27104–5 (pbk) 911 folio 1111 2 3 4 5 CONTENTS 6 7 8 9 10111 11 2 3 List of illustrations vi 4 Preface viii 5 Acknowledgements ix 6 1 Defining ancient Egypt 1 7 8 2 The Egyptian world 19 9 3 Esoteric knowledge and oriental mystery: 20111 the lure of Egypt 51 1 2 4 Constructing the Egyptian past 70 3 5 Origins and first flowering 88 4 5 6 Imperial Egypt: the Middle and New Kingdoms 6 (c. 2025–1069 BC) 107 7 7 Continuity with metamorphosis: Egypt 1100 BC 8 to AD 641 130 9 30111 8 Rulers and ruled 151 1 9 Town and country in ancient Egypt 174 2 3 10 The culture of ancient Egypt 200 4 5 Appendix: king list 222 6 Notes on the text 230 7 Further reading 231 8 Index 241 9 folio 1111 2 3 4 51 ILLUSTRATIONS 6 7 8 9 10111 11 2 311 FIGURES 4 5 1.1 The king crowned by the goddesses of Upper and 6 Lower Egypt 6 7 1.2 A fecundity figure with the sign of the nome of 8 Khemenu (Hermopolis)7 9 1.3 Sennefer, the Mayor of Thebes, and his wife 11 20111 2.1 Map of Upper Egypt from the first to the fourth nome 23 1 2.2 Map of Upper Egypt from the fourth to the ninth 2 nome 27 3 2.3 The Nile near Qena 29 4 2.4 Map of Upper Egypt from the ninth to the sixteenth 5 nome 32 6 2.5 Map of Upper Egypt from the seventeenth to the 7 twenty-second nome, with the Fayum 35 8 2.6 Map of Lower Egypt, eastern nomes 38 9 2.7 Map of Lower Egypt, western nomes 44 30111 2.8 Map of the Egyptian world 48 1 5.1 The ceremonial palette of Horus Narmer 93 2 5.2 Giza, the pyramid and sphinx of Khaefre 99 3 6.1 Chariot warrior: Sety I on the exterior of the Hypostyle 4 Hall at Karnak 118 5 7.1 The classic temple in its ultimate form: Dendera 144 6 8.1 Ramesses III performs religious rites 155 7 8.2 Egyptian officials at work 158 8 9.1 A simple depiction of a house: Thebes, Tomb of 911 Nebamum 186 folio ILLUSTRATIONS 1111 9.2 A house within a compound surrounded by trees: 2 Thebes 187 3 9.3 Temple magazines in Akhetaten 191 4 9.4 A reward scene 198 5 10.1 Figure of the god Horus in the temple at Kom Ombo 201 6 10.2 The temple of Ramesses III at Medinet Habu 204 7 10.3 The restored pyramid on the tomb of Sennedjem at 8 Deir el-Medina 212 9 10111 TABLE 11 2 4.1 Dating differences: significant dates given by a 3 number of Egyptologists 86 4 5 6 7 8 9 20111 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 30111 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 folio 1111 2 3 4 51 PREFACE 6 7 8 9 10111 11 2 Writing a ‘general’ and ‘introductory’ book on ancient Egypt is a 311 daunting and challenging task. However deep one’s specialist know- 4 ledge, this is the opportunity to reveal one’s ignorance to the world. 5 It is tempting to repeat the ‘accepted lies of our discipline’, but if 6 you want to argue detailed rejections of them, there is not really the 7 space to do it to the satisfaction of colleagues. 8 The approach to ancient Egypt that I have adopted in this book is 9 modelled very closely on introductory courses I have taught over a 20111 number of years. These go back to ask some very basic questions, 1 such as ‘Where is Egypt?’ and ‘Who were the Egyptians?’. The 2 answers are frequently far from straightforward, and allow us to look 3 at the broader issues of what Egypt means and has meant. So, rather 4 than a stream of ‘facts’, accepted truths or the opinions of Egyptol- 5 ogists, I have deliberately tried to raise the question of the limits 6 of our evidence. In confronting these issues, I also deal with an issue 7 that is perhaps much less appealing to the general reader, but 8 immensely significant: how has the Egyptian past been reconstructed 9 in terms of its history, culture and society? This in turn raises the 30111 issues of imperialism and appropriation which are now widely dis- 1 cussed in ancient history, and increasingly so in Egyptology. But I 2 have tried to avoid this becoming entirely discourse, and present a 3 wide range of ‘information’ and ‘facts’ that represent our (academic 4 Egyptology’s) current view of ancient Egypt. Inevitably, my own 5 interests and preoccupations will come through, perhaps to the 6 annoyance of colleagues, but I have tried to raise issues that are not 7 always covered in other general introductions. 8 I have dispensed with the paraphernalia of footnotes in favour of 911 a more straightforward guide to further reading. folio 1111 2 3 4 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 6 7 8 9 10111 11 2 3 My thanks go to Richard Stoneman for asking me to write this book, 4 and to the readers of the original outline for their valuable and con- 5 structive comments, which I have tried to incorporate. My thanks 6 also go to Stephen Quirke and the late Dominic Montserrat, who 7 have presented the range of alternative Egypts in their work, both 8 written and, in Stephen’s case, practical, through his pioneering 9 curatorship at the Petrie Museum. The series of volumes Encounters 20111 with Ancient Egypt, deriving from a conference at the Institute of 1 Archaeology, University College London, devised by Dominic 2 Montserrat and John Tait, presents this range of alternative Egypts 3 and marks a shift in attitude among (some) Egyptologists. Dominic’s 4 death has deprived British Egyptology of one of its most challenging 5 and enquiring teachers. 6 My thanks, as always, to John Vincent and Peter James for support, 7 advice and ideas. Also to my students and classes for being victims of 8 experiments, not always successful, in trying to understand ancient 9 Egypt and what it means to us now.