Durham E-Theses The taking of Joppa Davies, David Peter How to cite: Davies, David Peter (2003) The taking of Joppa, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/3997/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk A copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without his prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. THE TAKING OFJOPPA David Peter Davies University of Durham 6 DEC 2 Submitted for the degree of MPhil in Archaeology May 2003 ABSTRACT The story of The Taking of Joppa is a window onto the workings of New Kingdom foreign military policy towards the Levant. Comparative and contextual study reveals marked differences from accepted norms of Egyptian literature, suggesting a unique opening into the political climate in which it was written. But what is The Taking of Joppa and how is it best read? This study aims to highlight the complexity and value of this long-overlooked text. The thesis begins with a detailed literary analysis of the piece. Coupling linguistic questions with the investigation of many of the names, gods and cultural references that appear, the text is laid open for study within the wider concerns of its historical context. A study of genre places The Taking of Joppa alongside military tomb biographies, with which it shares much of its subject matter. The Tale ofSinuhe, The Siege of Megiddo and The Battle of Kadesh are also examined as pieces close in style and concern to Joppa. Examination of the historical background to the narrative setting and to the date of the papyrus on which Joppa is recorded leads to a complementary study of the New Kingdom's empire-building efforts. Textual, material, and sociological issues are examined, as both external and internal manifestations of Egyptian culture. The study concludes with a discussion of the piece's political and ideological power within the context of an Egyptian empire. Historical, linguistic and archaeological evidence conspires to show that The Taking of Joppa is a complex and highly constructed text, essential in understanding many aspects of foreign and domestic Egyptian affairs. The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without their prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. THE TAKING OFJOPPA - CONTENTS LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS USED i INTRODUCTION 'Probably Legendary' 1 Some notes on thesis structure 1 Papyrus Harris 500 3 Review of scholarship 5 THE NARRATIVE OF JOPPA 8 TRANSLATION AND COMMENTARY Transcription 15 Transliteration 16 Translation 17 Commentary 19 THE CHARACTERS O? JOPPA Individuals Djehuty 46 Djehuty's Role of Command 50 Pr-^i 52 Mn-hpr-R" 53 pi hry n Ypw 55 zh{3) 56 Groups The Egyptian military force at Joppa 58 myryni 60 ^prw 63 Places Ypw 66 Objects The club 67 Baskets 69 hps 70 Gods Amun 72 Sekhmet 74 Seth 75 WHAT IS THE TAKING OFJOPPAI Introduction 78 The Taking of Joppa 79 Tomb biographies 82 Military biographies 84 A military biography genre? 88 Summary 89 Other comparable texts 89 The Tale ofSinuhe 90 The Siege of Megiddo 92 The Battle of Kadesh 94 Summary 95 Papyrus Turin 1940-1941 96 A general description 97 Conclusions 99 THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF THE TAKING OFJOPPA 101 The narrative setting The Levantine campaigns of Tuthmosis III 102 Summary 108 The archaeological context The archaeology of Joppa 109 Methodology 109 Results 112 Conclusions 114 The sociological context The sociology of the military 116 The creation of an army 116 Summary 118 The effects of a Military Structure on Egyptian Society 119 The Taking of Joppa and the Ideology of War 122 Conclusion 127 Proposing an historical context 127 The Reign of Rameses II 128 Egyptian Influence under Rameses II 129 Summary 132 CONCLUSIONS The major themes of Joppa Djehuty 133 Egypt at war 134 Confusion and double-entendres 135 Kingship 135 A real world setting 136 What is The Taking ofJoppal 137 How to read The Taking of Joppa 139 BIBLIOGRAPHY 141 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS USED BASOR Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research GM Gottinger Miszellen JARCE Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt JEA Journal of Egyptian Archaeology LA Helck, von W. and Otto, E. (1975-), Lexikon der Agyptologie MDAIK Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archdologischen Instituts Kairo Wb Erman, A & Grapow, H. (1926-63), Worterbuch der Aegyptischen Sprache ZAS Zeitschrift fur agyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde INTRODUCTION 'PROBABLY LEGENDARY' With these words, Peet sums up his and much modem analysis of The Taking of Joppa (Peet, 1925, 226). The tale of this Levantine town's capture by an Egyptian force through stealth and deception is indeed unusual. Its subject matter, at odds with the stereotypical view of Egyptian 'norms', is no doubt what leads Peet to his terse conclusion. The text describes the triumph of a New Kingdom Egyptian military force over the town of Joppa, a port on the East Mediterranean coast, during the mid-part of the 15* century BCE. This victory is not achieved by military might in battle, or even in a siege, but by a devious stratagem invented by the commander of the Egyptian force, Djehuty. It consists of a false surrender by the Egyptians and the concealment of soldiers in baskets amongst what are supposedly the spoils of war. After the baskets are moved within the walls of the town, the Egyptian soldiers climb out from the booty and capture the inhabitants. The prisoners are sent back to serve the king in Egypt. It is the differences and oddities of Joppa that demand its further study. The piece is set in the time of Tuthmosis III, one of the most active military monarchs in the country's history who had many victories personally ascribed to him. Why, then, is he portrayed as being back in Egypt and far from the victory? Furthermore, the idea of attacker and defender is turned on its head, something that is condemned in other military accounts but is celebrated here as the key to the military victory. The language of the piece, and the papyrus on which it was written, date to the time of Rameses II. What does it mean for Joppa that it found the form in which we have it today some two centuries after it is set? SOME NOTES ON THESIS STRUCTURE I begin by presenting an up-to-date version of the text, drawing on commentators and direct study of the papyrus on which the account is recorded. This has three parts: an exposition of the narrative to give a framework for study, an examination of the text and language, and examinations of each of the main characters, events and objects. Through this, the most complete understanding of the source material will be achieved. Parallels with the story of the Trojan horse are immediately evident, as are those with the tale of 'Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves' from the Arabian Nights cycle (Dawood, 1977, 15ff.). These echoes of other ancient texts have informed much of the scholarship on Joppa (Goedicke, 1968, 219 - 233). In this study, such considerations will be largely set aside in favour of an analysis which evaluates the piece as a product of Egyptian culture. 'What is The Taking of Joppa'' examines the genre of the text in a number of military and literary contexts, ranging from tomb biographies to battle accounts. Understanding the framework in which to read Joppa is essential for an appreciation of its nature and purpose. The text makes internal claims for its own dating, setting itself within the reign of Tuthmosis III. The language and style of the piece, and the papyrus on which it is preserved, confirm a later date of composition. 'The Historical Context of The Taking of Joppa: The Narrative Setting' discusses these opposing claims in relation to independent accounts, literary and material, of the New Kingdom. It begins by taking the text as it stands, and attempts to determine the consistency between its account and the other historical records we have. This is an exercise both in historical reconstruction, and in exploring the processes of the story's development. Just as Joppa is anchored within the reign of Tuthmosis III, it is also specific about its geographical setting. 'The Archaeological Context' moves on to a discussion of the archaeology of ancient Joppa itself, with a review of the material culture finds and the way they reflect back upon the text. The results of this survey are then utilised to develop discussion about the text's subject matter, and also provide clues to its recording in the time of Rameses II. From what we know of the New Kingdom, it was a time of great change but also of restating values that had been 'lost' in the preceding Intermediate Period.