Abstract Representations of the military provide important sources of evidence for our understanding of how the instability of the civil war impacted the values and priorities of the ruling elite. This paper examines all of the known elite military wall scenes and funerary models from the First Intermediate Period and early Middle Kingdom by investigating their owners, content, and locations in the tomb. Through an innovative comparative analysis, this paper identifies, for the first time, the distinguishing features between the two media in their portrayal of the military. It proposes reasons for their distinctive representations and what stimulated the appearance of the military theme among funerary models. By considering these artistic developments alongside the changing historical circumstances, the analysis reveals that a period of instability in society impacted the ruling elite’s preparation for the afterlife, increasing the desire to publicly promote their military leadership and to maintain eternal access to protection.

Abstract This article considers the enduring historical questions about the Daḫamunzu affair: the identity of the Egyptian participants – Daḫamunzu and her deceased husband Nipḫururia – as well as the fate of the Hittite prince Zannanza. It accepts the derivation of the name “Nipḫururia” from “Nebkheperure,” the prenomen of Tutankhamun, and therefore identifies Daḫamunzu as the young pharaoh’s widow, Ankhesenamun. This conclusion is supported by evidence from Tutankhamun’s burial and its aftermath, which dovetails with the Hittite record of events, principally the Deeds of Šuppiluliuma ( CTH 40). Especially important is the absence of a legitimate heir to the Egyptian throne and the accession of a commoner, the god’s father Ay. As for Zannanza, this article uses a draft letter of Šuppiluliuma I ( CTH 154, KUB 20.20) to argue that the prince died in the Nile Valley, rather than on the way there, as the Second Plague Prayer of Muršili II ( CTH 378.2) indicates. The fact that he is otherwise unknown suggests that he was still quite young, perhaps not past his minority, but whether foul play was involved in his demise cannot be determined. It is important to recognize that the limited number and quality of our sources make these conclusions provisional. Indeed, the remnants of a letter of Muršili II ( KUB 19.15 + KBo 50.24) apparently referencing Horemheb may prove that the Daḫamunzu scandal occurred several years earlier, at the time of Akhenaten’s death. Unfortunately, this document – like much of the other evidence for an anterior date – is ambiguous, and it does not outweigh the combined philological and historical arguments.

Abstract Nearly 50 years after the constitution of women’s and gender studies as academic fields, this article intends to analyse the impact of their creation and methodological development on the Egyptological discipline. Based on a corpus of 858 bibliographic references related to women and/or gender and selected through the Online Egyptological Bibliography digital tool, this research first aims to study statistically the quantitative evolution of such scientific publications from the end of the nineteenth century to current times, as well as the languages used in these productions and the themes they tackle. Then, a chronology of the main methodologies and approaches of the concepts of “women” and “gender” in ancient Egypt is outlined, highlighting their relation to the contemporary academic issues. Finally, this article discusses the (slow) integration process of women’s and gender studies within Egyptology and gives an outlook on some perspectives offered by this interdisciplinary approach.

Abstract According to dated monuments, Sesostris III had a reign of 19 years. The Illahun lunar dates confirm 19 years, if mḏ-dj-nt and especially wꜢgj are numbered as lunar days 15 and 17. By contrast, it has been argued that mḏ-dj-nt and wꜢgj ought to be re-numbered as lunar days 16 and 18, implying 19 + 11 regnal years. The re-numbering is based on an unreflected averaging method. Below, theory and application of the averaging method is expounded, confirming the traditional numbering of mḏ-dj-nt and wꜢgj as lunar days 15 and 17.

Abstract This paper will explore the ritual power and significance of gold for Nubian cultic practitioners at the ancient Egyptian temple of Philae, located at the traditional border between Egypt and Nubia. Philae was a place of cultural, religious, economic, and military interaction between Egyptian and Nubian populations, both of whom engaged in religious practices at the temple, often jointly. Though co-religionists, Nubian practice diverged in specific ways from that of Egyptian priests and practitioners. Long associated with gold, Nubia served as the primary source of this precious metal for ancient Egypt. This paper will explore the presentation of gold by Nubians at the temple of Philae as recorded in hieroglyphic texts that decorate the temple walls and in the words of Nubian visitors who inscribed their prayer texts on the temple walls primarily in the Egyptian language (Demotic), but also in the Meroitic language and in Greek. Additionally, I will describe the unique symbolism and ritual power of gold in the Nubian religious practices at Philae.

Abstract The article provides a comprehensive analysis of how the term “Canaan” and its variations are used in Egyptian sources from the New Kingdom period. It explores the appearances of “Canaan” and “Canaanite” in various contexts, such as military campaigns, topographical lists, monumental inscriptions, and administrative records. Through a detailed examination of these sources, the study aims to clarify whether these terms refer to the entire region known as Canaan or to specific localities within it, such as Gaza. When the ethnicon “Canaanite” is used, it is possible to determine that the individuals came from the land of Canaan, and that the term does not mean “Gazan.” The findings highlight that “Pa-Canaan” should be translated as “that which belongs to Canaan,” and that the article “ pꜢ ” should not be understood as the definite article, but as the possessive article/prefix “ pꜢ- ( n ).” The toponym “Canaan” in topographical lists appears in specific geographical contexts, namely together with Sharuhen and Raphiah on the coastal plain of the southern Levant, and once next to Ashtarot and Rehob in the Beth Shean Valley, and seems to refer to a specific place rather than a region or land, namely Gaza and its environs.

Abstract A recent project concerning the Portico of Obelisks in Hatshepsut’s temple at Deir el-Bahari included documenting the decoration at a higher resolution than the 1908 publication by Édouard Naville, yielding interesting linguistic, visual, and historical details regarding Hatshepsut’s boats. The linguistic element concerns the name of a vessel discovered after combining the text on a loose block and an inscription in the reconstructed part of the portico’s wall. A both linguistic and visual detail is the specific hieroglyph used as the determinative for the obelisk barge, probably showing its appearance. The detailed depiction of various types of boats taking part in transporting obelisks is the visual part, which still raises issues concerning the historic accuracy of the scenes. New block identification allowed us to identify the boat name, to confirm some boat structures, and also to confirm the presence of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III in the scene.

Abstract The Old Kingdom and First Intermediate Period royal decrees were documents commissioned by the king and placed at the gates of temples with important messages concerning the regulation of work, cultic, and economic activities. In this article I review the validity of these texts as sources of historical research for modern scholars and their effective use as documents by the ancient Egyptians. I propose that royal decrees offer valuable information concerning the king’s access and impact on temple economies at the end of the Old Kingdom and beginning of the First Intermediate Period. This access remained continuous and unchanged until the second half of the reign of Pepi II when non-royal patronage becomes more prominent in the texts and the presence of royal sealings decreases. I challenge the impression that royal decrees had no practical validity for the ancient Egyptians by showing that the permissions and restrictions exposed in the decrees are consistent with shifts in rhetoric and external evidence for historical change at the end of the Old Kingdom.

Abstract This article is an equity critique of Egyptology, specifically targeting the way in which intersectional marginalization affects publishing trends. The article looks at 447 articles published in the Journal of the American Research Center ( JARCE ) between 1990–2021 and considers the gender and nationality of all the authors involved. It then uses the statistics gathered from this analysis to illustrate the degree to which men are publishing more than women and non-Egyptians more than Egyptians. It then breaks down these modes of marginalization intersectionally, that is, it shows how looking at these forms of marginalization in combination gives a different view of the data. The resulting analysis clearly shows that Egyptian women scholars publish in JARCE at disproportionately low rates compared to non-Egyptian women as well as Egyptian men. This occurrence has nothing to do with problems specific to Egypt, but is rather the result of global inequalities (the marginalization of non-Western countries by the west, and the marginalization of women generally) working in combination, as demonstratable also in the West. The article then expresses the need for initiatives directly targeting this issue in order to make Egyptology both a more inclusive and holistic discipline.