Biographical Texts from Ramessid EgyptThe Ramessid period in Egypt (ca. 1290-1075 B.C.E.) corresponds to the Late Bronze Age, a time of great change both in Egypt and the Near East. This period of empire, dominated by the figure of Ramesses II, witnessed crucial developments in art, language, and religious display. Biographical Texts from Ramessid Egypt offers insights into these cultural transformations through the voices of forty-five priests, artists, civil officials, and military men who served under the kings of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Dynasties. Sixty-five biographical texts, which were inscribed in tombs, on statues and stelae in temples, and exceptionally on temple walls, give details of their careers and character. The metrically arranged translations are introduced by descriptions of the texts' monumental contexts and, where possible, summaries of the careers of their owners. The volume provides an introduction to the historical background of the Ramessid period, drawing together key themes and interpretive issues raised by the texts and their contexts. These include the representation of relationships to deities and the king, the thematization of the priestly life, and implications of changes in the texts' media, including new decorative programs of nonroyal tombs. This integration of text with context sheds light on the meaning of biographical writing in ancient Egypt as a whole. Paperback edition is available from the Society of Biblical Literature (www.sbl-site.org) |
Contents
78 | 5 |
The Priesthood and Related Offices | 35 |
1456 | 54 |
5 | 61 |
8 | 77 |
Other Priesthood and Temple Staff in Thebes | 84 |
12AB The Tomb of Djehutyemheb Overseer of Fieldworkers of | 91 |
16 | 103 |
The Stela from Bilgai | 177 |
35AB Two Scribe Statues of Amenmose High Steward of | 183 |
The Military | 189 |
The Stela of the Marine Standard Bearer Khetef | 195 |
The Door Jambs of the Overseer of the Army Nehesy from | 200 |
The Stela of the sekofficer Ramose from Wadi elSebua | 211 |
Texts from Deir elMedina | 219 |
The Stela of the Sculptor Qen | 227 |
Artists | 117 |
20AB The Saqqara Tomb of the Chief Goldsmith Amenemone | 129 |
22AB The Theban Tomb of Nakhtdjehuty Chief of Craftsmen | 136 |
The Tomb of the High Steward Nefersekheru at Zawyet Sultan | 143 |
26AB Temple Monuments of Prehotep Northern Vizier | 156 |
The Freestanding Stela of the Overseer of the Treasury Tia | 162 |
The Standing Statue of Huy Great Mayor of Memphis | 170 |
Notes | 233 |
Sources | 257 |
Glossary | 263 |
Bibliography | 273 |
Index | 291 |
Copyright | |