The proto-historic site of ‘En Esur (‘Ein Asawir) is located at the northern coastal plain of Israel. Recent excavation at the site has revealed a huge and extensive city that was established during the late Early Bronze Age IB (EBIB). This city seems to have been the focal point of various trading routes through which…
Incident at Shellal: A Reappraisal of the History of Philae in the 4th Century CE
In 1907, eleven necropolises ranging from the prehistoric era to modern times were excavated by George Reisner in the first cataract region. Among the most important of these was Cemetery 3 at el-Hesa, which was used as a burial ground for the priests who carried the statue of Isis from Philae to Biga to offer…
Sociolinguistic Identities and Egyptian Imperialism in the Early Late Bronze Age Levant
In a previous paper I presented an analysis of the geographical distribution and linguistic affiliation of the names of local rulers attested in the Amarna letters. There I argued that these names are not scattered at random, but rather that their distribution shows that names having the same linguistic matrix are distributed in geographically well-defined…
Looking Like Griffins: Spiral-Shaped Fringes and Locks in the Coiffure of Aegean Emissaries Represented in Egyptian Eighteenth Dynasty Theban Tombs
In this paper we discuss spiral-shaped fringes and locks on the heads of Aegean emissaries represented in Egyptian Eighteenth Dynasty Theban tombs. Such elements initially appear in Aegean iconography, even before the first depiction of Aegean emissaries in the Theban tomb of Senenmut (TT 71; reign of Hatshepsut). In Egyptian iconography this element of the…
Retenu: Between the Fifteenth and the Nineteenth Dynasties, with an Appendix on the Chronology of Tell el-Dab‘a
This paper deals with the relationship between Egypt and Retenu, its main Asiatic neighbor, in the period from the Fifteenth Dynasty till to the end of the Nineteenth Dynasty. Recent archaeological research at Tell el-Dab‘a disproves the existence of an empire of the Fifteenth Dynasty extending into Palestine. This leads to a reconsideration of the…
Naming Practices and Identity in the Early Late Bronze Age Levant: A Linguistic and Geographical Analysis of Local Rulers’ Names Attested in the Amarna Letters
Multiple names of local rulers are attested in the Amarna letters, most of which can be analyzed as being linguistically West Semitic, Hurrian, or Indo-Aryan. These names have been variously discussed, but no systematic analysis of their geographical distribution has ever been performed. This paper aims to fill this gap. The first section provides the…
Melting Pots: Entanglement, Appropriation, Hybridity, and Assertive Objects between the Pan-Grave and Egyptian Ceramic Traditions
This paper explores the complex encounters between the Egyptian and Pan-Grave traditions and their manifestation in the production and use of ceramic vessels. Theories of entanglement and appropriation are applied to a series of archaeological case studies in order to assess how well the concepts do or do not fit instances of cultural mixing observable…
Similarities among North Mesopotamian (Late Halaf), Egyptian (Naqada), and Nubian (A-Group) Female Figurines of the 6–4th Millennia BCE
Late Halaf female figurines of clay/pottery from northeastern Syria (Type LH.1A; 6th millennium BCE) have close parallels in Predynastic Egyptian figurines (4th millennium BCE) in the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology. The lack of provenance for the Egyptian statuettes—all of which were purchased—has long inhibited any comparison with their Mesopotamian counterparts. A further parallel from…
A Note on First Dynasty Egypt, Tel Bet Yerah, and the Origins of Commodity Exchange on the Levantine Seaboard
New ceramic and radiocarbon synchronisms between Egypt and the northern Jordan Valley, including the first-ever site-specific provenience identification of imported vessels from the royal tombs at Abydos, permit the positing of a tightly timed pivot by Early Dynastic Egypt from the southern Levant valleys and highlands to the coastal northern Levant as principal source of…
Upper Egypt in Neo-Assyrian Official Inscriptions: A Case Study in Neo-Assyrian Imperial Ideology
The Assyrian period of Egyptian history is relatively neglected in the fields of both Egyptology and Assyriology. Moreover, the research that exists tends to narrowly focus on the Egyptian-Kushite side (the Twenty-fifth and Twenty-sixth Dynasties), on Lower Egypt, and on various historical-chronological issues. By contrast, this paper centers on the Assyrian side, on Upper Egypt,…
The Statues of Udjahorresnet as Archaeological Artifacts
Udjahorresnet is best known for the inscription on his statue in the Musei Vaticani. It gives insights into the transformation of Egypt from an independent kingdom under the Lower Egyptian royal house of Sais (Twenty-sixth Dynasty) to a dependent kingdom under Achaemenid Persian rule. What is less known is that the so-called Naoforo Vaticano is…
Neith as Legitimator: Persian Religious Strategy and Udjahorresnet
While many scholars have interpreted Achaemenid religious policy as one of indifference, the inscriptions on the Naoforo Vaticano statue of Udjahorresnet tell a different tale. These texts demonstrate a strategic willingness to allow—and even support—heterogeneous religious customs to the benefit of the Achaemenid Empire. On the statue of Udjahorresnet, both the religious and political importance…
The Shaft Tomb of Udjahorresnet at Abusir
The burial structure of Udjahorresnet is situated in the western part of the necropolis at Abusir, in a group of large shaft tombs dating to the late Twenty-sixth Dynasty and early Twenty-seventh Dynasty. The arrangement of the underground parts of the tomb is unique among the Abusir tombs of this kind, resembling only the burial…
On the Originality of Udjahorresnet’s Biographical Inscriptions
Udjahorresnet was not only witness of the early Persian rule over Egypt but also a typical representative of the administrative elite of the late Twenty-sixth Dynasty. This paper discusses the similarities of the inscription on the Naophoro Vaticano with biographical inscriptions of Egyptian officials of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty, showing how the biographical parts of the…
Udjahorresnet’s Naoforo Vaticano: Acquisition and Exhibition
Through the verification of key archival records, the use of newspaper notices, and diary chronicles, as well as visual sources and the cross-checking of names, the real provenance of Udjahorresnet’s Naoforo Vaticano at the moment of its entry into the Vatican Museums in the late 18th century can be clarified. The belief that the statue…
Fight the Power: Udjahorresnet and Petosiris as Agents of Resistance
Udjahorresnet and Petosiris were two parallel individuals who lived during a period of foreign conquest. Each left behind a monument detailing their complex relationships with these foreign powers. This article examines the statue of Udjahorresnet and the tomb of Petosiris in tandem with current theories of resistance present in postcolonial archaeology to interrogate possible hostilities…
Udjahorresnet’s Family and His Social Background
Although the official career of Udjahorresnet is rather well-known in modern historiography, his family and social background has drawn little in-depth scholarly attention and is still poorly understood. This paper uses onomastics, genealogy, and prosopography as main methodological approaches in order to suggest first preliminary results. Accordingly, Udjahorresnet seems to be a member of a…
Udjahorresnet, Democedes, and Darius I: The Reform of the House of Life as Consequence of the Egyptian Physicians’ Failure to Heal the Achaemenid ruler
A comparative study of Herodotus III, 129–130 and of the Vatican Naophorous (VN) on the historical dynamics between 522 and 519 BCE, depicts a precise temporal succession ranging from the failure of the Egyptian physicians to heal King Darius, who was suffering due to a dislocated ankle (successfully healed by Democedes), to the sovereign ordering…
Udjahorresnet and the Royal Name of Cambyses: The “Derivative Sacrality” of Achaemenids in Egypt
The article deals with a well-known fragment of Udjahorresnet’s autobiography describing his compiling an Egyptian royal titulary for Cambyses after his appearance in Egypt and Udjahorresnet’s elevation at his court. A comparison of Cambyses’ and Darius’ I solar prenomina (Mswty-RꜤ and Stwt-RꜤ, which can be understood as “the image of Re” and “the likeness of…
Les Soutiens de Cambyse en Babylonie, de 539 à 522 av. è. c. (The Supports of Cambyses in Babylonia, from 539 to 522 BCE)
Cambyses’ relations with local elites in Babylon were marked by a phenomenon of misunderstanding when he took the title of “King of Babylon” at the beginning of Cyrus’ reign and then, fifteen years later, when he extended his stay in Egypt after the conquest of 526 BCE. While Cambyses managed to establish an effective link…
Udjahorresnet the Persian: Being an Essay on the Archaeology of Identity
This essay is an examination of Udjahorresnet’s Persian identity. Best known from the inscription on his naophorous statue now in the Vatican, Udjahorresnet was a high-ranking courtier in Egypt under the Saite pharaohs Amasis and Psamtik III, and subsequently under the Persian kings Cambyses and Darius. While his statue’s form, function and inscription make it…
Herodotus’s Perspective on the Situation of Egypt in the Persian Period from the Last Saite Kings to Xerxes’ First Years
The inscription on the famous statue of Udjahorresnet on the Musei Vaticani touches upon a number of historical events, which are reflected in Greek historiography. Taking up different aspects of Udjahorresnet’s career, the paper analyses Herodotus’ perspective on the Egyptian sea forces and the foreign mercenaries in Egypt, the different characterization of Cambyses’ deeds in…
Diplomacy in Ancient Times: The Figure of Udjahorresnet: An International Relations Perspective
For international relations (IR) scholars, the story behind the figure of Udjahorresnet might seem as an obscure phase in international history. Yet the pre-Roman period is educative for testing constitutive IR concepts such as the balance of power theory, international system, or soft power, which are still widely assumed to have become relevant only in…
The Anatomy of a Coffin Text Demon
At first glance, the vastly varying forms of the more than 400 different demonic entities described and illustrated in the Middle Kingdom Coffin Texts appear strange and “monstrous,” but a more detailed analysis demonstrates that their appearances have greater symbolic and practical use than previously believed. The most frequent forms of these demons are figuratively…
Fear and Loathing at Amarna: A Case Study of the Development of Sacred Objects in Response to Communal Anxiety
Many physical and psychological afflictions were believed to have been caused by malevolent demonic beings, who could be defended against by calling upon benevolent liminal entities for aid in those times of trouble. This article applies the theory that emotions experienced at a communal level can be discerned in the archaeological record—in this case, through…
Ghosts and Ancestors in a Gender Pespective
Through an analysis of the letters to the dead, the paper focuses on the role played by women in Egyptian ancestor worship. Special attention is given to the missives addressed to the female spirits: the so-called misplaced stele of Merityfy, the Berlin bowl 22573, Papyrus Leiden I 371, and Ostracon Louvre 698. The investigation has…
The Slaughterers: A Study of the Ḫꜣ.tyw as Liminal Beings in Ancient Egyptian Thought
The ḫꜣ.tyw, otherwise known as the Slaughterers, Knife-bearers, and Plague-bringers within academic literature, are a group of liminal deities attested in the written record from the Old Kingdom to the Greco-Roman Period. They posed a significant danger in both the terrestrial and secular realms, to the living and the dead, to the gods and mankind…
The Maned Hippopotamus at Lahun: Identifying Homes and Names
In 1889–1890, Flinders Petrie directed clearance of a late Middle Kingdom town site near al-Lahun to produce a plan of the buildings and a general description of Middle Kingdom material culture. The finds include a dramatic limestone image of the mixed hippopotamus-lion known in Egyptology by the Late Egyptian name Taweret “the great (female power).”…
A Particular Depiction of Anubis from the Tomb of the Sculptor Nakhtamun (TT 335): Is Anubis a Demon?
We know how flexible the Egyptian iconographic system is and the limitations of our modern classifications, especially in regard to gods, spirits and demons. This paper reviews the god Anubis’ particular and completely distinctive iconography shown in the tomb of sculptor Nakhtamun (TT 335). Analysis of this means we can tackle the depictions of armed…
Symbolae Sacrae: Symbolic Formulae for Protection and Adoration within the Quarries of Gebel el-Silsila
Within the quarries of Gebel el-Silsila is a vast amount of unique symbolic representations: stylized iconographic and pseudo-scripted signs and marks that to some extent signify deities and their protection against demons, evil and mishaps. Like written protective formulae, these marks were placed within the quarries to symbolically safekeep the ancient workers and express gratitude…