The Personnel of Khonsu During the Third Intermediate Period at Thebes: A Prosopographical Study of the 21st Dynasty By Alba María Villar Gómez Submitted to the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degreeof Doctor of Philosophy Tesis doctoral Doctorado en Estudios del Mundo Antiguo Departamento de Historia Antigua, Historia MedievalyPaleografía y Diplomática, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid Abril 2015 Supervisors - Dr. John H. Taylor (Assistant Keeper Ancient Egypt of the Department of Ancient Egypt and Sudan of the British Museum) - Professor Dr. Joaquín Mª Córdoba Zoilo (Catedrático de Historia Antigua, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid) Cover and back cover image: Falcon-headed standart depicting the god Khonsu; Graffiti No. 21 from the roof of the Khonsu Temple at Karnak (Jacquet-Gordon 2003). This page image: Front view of the Khonsu temple at Karnak. Author’s personal picture SUMMARY The purpose of this doctoral thesis is to make a prosopographical reconstruction of the Theban personnel of Khonsu during 21st Dynasty as a means to understand the role played by their members both as servants of the different forms of Khonsu and as part of the cultic and administrative domains at Thebes. Although my research initially included the servants of this god during the whole Third Intermediate period throughout Egypt, the outstanding interpretations suggested by the variety of materials collected forced me to demarcate the limits of this dissertation. In this regard, I present a methodological proposal as well as a part of the results of a further reseach, whose main lines are summarised at the end of the dissertation. I focus my interest on the initial stages of Khonsu’s personnel, which flourished at the beginning of the I milennium BCE; I aim to respond to the lack of studies on this topic, a significant gap that seems quite surprising when looking at the available amount of biographical and genealogical information left by the servants of Khonsu during this period. In addition, I want to demonstrate how the prosopographical study of a group is an indicator of the some transformations that the sacerdotal, administrative and governmental structures might have suffered, even though imperceptibles at first glance. On the other hand, it is imperative to highlight the importance of the prosopographical database used for collecting the comprehensive corpus of documents and servants of the god Khonsu. For neither this research nor the database is conceivabled without the other. This essential tool was created ad hoc based on the specific features of the aformentioned individuals and the monuments dedicated by them. It suits my research needs and the digital format garantees its functionality. Consequently, besides the printed version at the end of the thesis, on page 46 a link to access to the online version is provided; while it is true that consulting the database it is not strictly necessary to understand the hypothesis stated on the following pages. RESUMEN El principal objetivo de esta tesis consiste en realizar una reconstrucción prosopográfica del sacerdocio del dios Khonsu durante la Dinastía XXI egipcia y poder así entender el papel que desempeñaron sus componentes tanto como parte del propio sacerdocio, al igual que dentro de las esferas administrativa y cultual tebanas. Aunque mi investigación abarca todo el Tercer Período Intermedio e incluye a los servidores de las diferentes formas del dios en todo Egipto, la riqueza y heterogeneidad del material y las interesantes conclusiones extraídas de su análisis me llevaron a acotar el tema presentado en esta tesis doctoral. De este modo, centrándome en la etapa inicial de desarrollo de un clero en auge desde principios de I milenio a.C., presento una propuesta metodológica y los resultados de una estudio más amplio –cuyas principales líneas son esbozadas en las últimas páginas de esta tesis. Pretendo dar respuesta a una falta de estudios en la materia, principalmente llamativa si tenemos en cuenta la abundante información biográfica y genealógica sobre sacerdotes y servidores de Khonsu que encontramos para estos momentos, y asimismo demostrar cómo el análisis prosopográfico exhaustivo de un colectivo permite reconocer cambios en las estructuras de poder imperceptibles a simple vista. Del mismo modo, es indispensable hacer una mención a la base de datos utilizada para organizar de manera sistemática el corpus de documentos y personajes que constituyen la evidencia material de dicho personal. Esta herramienta esencial, sin la cual no es posible entender mi trabajo, ha sido creada ad hoc conforme a las necesidades impuestas por los documentos e individuos estudiados. Por ello, y aunque acceder a la base de datos prosopográfica no es un requisito indispensable para comprender los resultados de la investigación, ésta puede ser consultada tanto en su versión impresa –en las últimas páginas de la tesis– como a través del enlace proporcionado en la página 46. De este modo, el formato original garantiza su total funcionalidad, algo que quedaría desvirtuado si se optara por su presentación en papel únicamente. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation would not have been written without the generous help and support of many individuals. First of all, I would like to express my deep gratitude to my mentor Dr. John H. Taylor for the genuine interest he has always shown for my project, especially at that crucial stage when I was lost and needed to refocus my research topic. I am grateful for his advice, his suggestions and his patience in listening to my ideas, my fears and doubts. His support has guided me safely through all stages of this study; his help has made this dissertation a much better product than it might have been otherwise. In this regard, I have to extend my gratitude to the staff and curators of the Department of Ancient Egyptian and Sudan of the British Museum for their hospitality and assistance during my research stays. Special thanks are due to Susanne Woodhouse and Prof. Dr. Richard Parkinson, for their assistance before, during, and after my visits, as well as for their moral support. Dr. Elizabeth Frood and Dr. Chris Naunton must be thanked for their enthusiasm and encouragement on this topic, always lending a sympathetic ear. My visits to the Sackler Library have been a cornerstone to document my research. Travelling to the British Museum and the Sackler Library, as well as to several conferences where I presented my work, was possible thanks to a scholarship awarded by the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. In addition, I am grateful to Cynthia Sheikholeslami, who gave me the idea for this topic and always has thought of me when she has come across a Khonsu’s servant. I cannot forget to mention my academic “foster father” and supervisor, Prof. Dr. Joaquín Códoba Zoilo. I thank him for facilitating my intellectual growth over my graduate and postgraduate student years. He has always welcomed me for intellectual and personal advise and I will always be grateful to him for giving me the opportunity to join the al-Madam Archaeological Mission (UAE). There, I met great professionals and wonderful people, with whom I shared laughs and tears, sandstorms and chai; our friendship has crossed the desert boundaries. Besides, I am particularly grateful to Dr. Carmen del Cerro’s tireless assistance with the endless administrative issues that come with this thesis. I need to thank the members of the Departamento de Historia Antigua, Historia Medieval y Paleografía y Diplomática of the Universidad Autónoma for their support. Furthermore, I express my sincere thanks to my colleague grant holders, who provided greatly needed moral support and friendship throughout these years, with whom I have also cried and laughed and with whom I have overcome many obstacles. The same applies not only to my colleagues and friends from Madrid, but alto to the ones that I have met throughout the world, either in the Canary Islands, Lisbon, London, Sophia, Oxford or Luxor. Lastly, and most importantly, I must have some words for my husband, my family and lifelong friends. For the latter, even though my research topic was far away from your fields or interests, you have always made me smile with an ‘s comment or being unconditional supporters of the god Montu. You have always worried about me and have provided me consistent warmth and support over these years. I thank my mother, my father and my brother for your countless sacrifices, endless patience and unfailing support. Whatever doubts I may have had along the way, I never doubted your unconditional love and continued belief. Additionally, I could not have been able to create the database without my dad’s help, you deserve a PhD for your own. Moreover, this dissertation is especially dedicated to you, my love, for being so patient and understanding. You have supported me through my entire academic career, and cheered me along as I finished my dissertation. Dudu, you have filled me with love every day for the past eleven years, and I know I could not have done this without you. Alba Mª Villar Gómez Newark, April 15th 2015 Map of Ancient Egypt (Wendrich 2010: xv) The temples of Karnak (Dodson 2012: xxiv-xxv Map 7) The temples of Tanis (Dodson 2012: xx Map 4) Chronology of the 21st, 22nd and 23rd Dynasties (Broekmann 2011: 111 Appendix I) TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ...................................................................... iii LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................