A Biographical Dictionary of Ancient Egypt

Anthony E. David, Anthony E. David

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2002
• Print ISBN: 9781852640323
• eBook ISBN: 9781135377038
• Topic: Scienze sociali
• Subtopic: Archeologia

Important historical and cultural figures as well as some well-known individuals in Egypt's long history (c 3100 BC - c AD 600) are incorporated in this work of reference. Rulers and members of their families, significant figures and important foreigners with whom the Egyptians came into contact are all included. The entries are based on original source material and there are bibliographies for each entry.

A

Achthoes (Akhtoy) King c.2160 BC.

During the troubled period from the Eighth to the Tenth Dynasty, the only ruler whom *Manetho mentions by name is Achthoes; he places him in the Ninth Dynasty. This man was originally the governor of the Twentieth Nome of Upper Egypt which had its district capital at Heracleopolis. He managed to subdue opposition from neighbouring governors and came to be recognised as king throughout Egypt as far south as Aswan, although the eastern Delta may have remained outside his control. His throne name was Meryibre and he established the Heracleopolitan Dynasty; *Manetho’s history claimed that he was more cruel than any of his predecessors and that he eventually became insane and was killed by a crocodile.

He was succeeded by seventeen kings who comprised the Ninth and Tenth Dynasties. One was Achthoes II, who was probably mentioned in the famous story of ‘The Eloquent Peasant’; another king with literary connections was Wahkare, Achthoes III (the owner of a finely decorated coffin from el Bersha) who was accredited as the author of the Wisdom Text The Instruction of King *Merikare’.

*Merikare inherited the throne and died before the Theban rulers, under *Mentuhotep II (Nebhepetre), reached Heracleopolis, but his successor (who is not identified in the records) was overcome by the Thebans.

The Heracleopolitan rulers brought some stability to those areas they controlled and had a special alliance with the governors of Assiut. Funerary inscriptions and goods found in the tombs of the governors of Middle Egypt (Assiut, Beni Hasan and Akhmim) provide the primary material for the study of this period.

BIBL. Winlock, H.E. The Rise and Fall of the Middle Kingdom in Thebes. New York, 1947; AEL i. pp. 97–109, 169–83.

Africanus Sextus Julius Historian c. AD 220.

A Christian chronographer, the writings of Africanus (together with those of the Jewish historian *Josephus and the Christian writers *Eusebius and *Syncellus) have preserved in an incomplete form the major work of *Manetho, his History of Egypt (Aegyptiaca). *Manetho’s facts as they are stated in Africanus are often at variance with the details that *Eusebius provides.

BIBL. Manetho (transl. by Waddell, W.G.) London, Camb. 1945.

Ahhiyawa, Kingdom of, c.1400 BC onwards.

Mention of the kingdom of Ahhiyawa and its people occurs in the *Hittite records and it is evident that, at least for a period of time, the relationship between the *Hittite and the Ahhiyawan royal families was close. The facts also indicate that Ahhiyawa was a powerful sea-going nation and that its ships reached Syria (Amurru). The exact location of Ahhiyawa is uncertain; it has been argued that these people could be identified with the Achaeans (the Mycenaean *Greeks) who occur in Homer’s writings and that Ahhiyawa might be either the kingdom of Mycenae itself or, perhaps more probably, one of the semi-independent island kingdoms of Crete, Rhodes or Cyprus. Although this identification has been challenged, it retains considerable support. The Achaeans have also been tentatively identified with the *Akawasha who are mentioned as one of the *Sea-peoples who attacked Egypt in the later New Kingdom; this theory is based on the similarity of the names.

BIBL. CAH ii, ch xxviii; Huxley, G.L. Achaeans and Hittites. Oxford: 1960; Gurney O.R. The Hittites. Harmondsworth: 1964, pp. 46–58.

Ahhotpe Queen c.1575–c.1560 BC.

Ahhotpe was one of the powerful royal women who wielded great influence at the beginning of the New Kingdom. She was a member of the family of Theban princes who drove the *Hyksos from Egypt and established the Eighteenth Dynasty.

Consanguineous royal marriages at this period probably underlined the women’s role in transmitting sovereignty in this new dynasty. Ahhotpe married her brother, *Seqenenre Ta’o II and they were the offspring of Ta’o I and his wife Tetisheri (whose parents were commoners). Ahhotpe’s son, *Amosis I, founded the Eighteenth Dynasty and in an inscription on a stela at Karnak, which praises *Amosis I, Ahhotpe’s contribution is also emphasised; she rallied the soldiers in Egypt and stopped a rebellion which probably occurred in the difficult period when the Theban rulers were establishing their power.

She was widely revered and had a long life, although her influence waned when *Amosis I’s queen, *Ahmose-Nefertari, came to power. Nevertheless, she was given a magnificent burial, for her coffin and mummy case were discovered in the vicinity of the Valley of the Kings and the fine jewellery and ornaments which once adorned her mummy (mostly given to her by *Amosis I) are now in the Cairo Museum.

BIBL. von Bissing, F.W. Ein Thebanischen Grabfund aus dem Aufang des Neuen Reichs. Berlin: 1970.

Ahmose-Nefertari Queen c.1570–c.1535 BC.

Ahmose-Nefertari was a ‘King’s Daughter’ and a ‘King’s Wife’; her father was probably *Kamose, the Theban prince who helped to drive the *Hyksos from Egypt and she married *Amosis I, the founder of the New Kingdom, who was probably her uncle. She continued the tradition of powerful royal women who played a major role in the early years of the Eighteenth Dynasty, but her influence was even greater than that of her predecessors. Together with her husband, she received widespread acclaim; he gave her the title of ‘Second Prophet’ in the temple of Amun at Karnak and when he died, Ahmose-Nefertari retained her powerful influence throughout the reign of her son, *Amenophis I.

Only rarely were humans deified in Egypt, but Ahmose-Nefertari and her son received their own cult; they were worshipped in the Theban necropolis and were adopted by the royal necropolis workmen of Deir el Medina as their special patrons and protectors.

Painted representations of the queen show her with a black or even a blue skin colour but the significance of this is not clear. Her mummy and coffin were discovered in the cache of royal mummies; she may originally have been buried in the tomb of her son, * Amenophis I, at Dira Abu’n Naga at Thebes and she also received a funerary cult in his Theban mortuary temple.

BIBL. Cerny, J. Le culte d’Amenophis Ier chez les ouvriers de la Necropole thebaine. BIFAO 27 (1927), pp. 159–203.

Akawasha, One of the *Sea-Peoples c.1236 BC.

The Akawasha (‘Ikws) were one element in the alliance of *Sea-peoples who supported the * Libyans in attacking Egypt in Year 5 of *Merneptah’s reign. The Egyptian wall-reliefs do not depict the Akawasha but the inscriptions indicate that they, together with some of the other *Sea-peoples, were circumcised; their hands, rather than their genitals, were amputated and piled up for presentation to the Egyptian king when the total of his dead enemies was enumerated.

One suggestion tentatively identifies the Akawasha with the Achaeans (the Mycenaean *Greeks), but if this is correct, then the evidence relating to the practice of circumcision amongst the Akawasha is puzzling since there are no other indications that the *Greeks were circumcised.

BIBL. CAH ii, ch xxviii; Huxley, G.L. Achaeans and Hittites. Oxford: 1960; Gurney, O.R. The Hittites. Harmondsworth: 1964, pp 46–58.

Akhenaten (Amenophis IV) King 1379–1362 BC.

The son of *Amenophis III and *Tiye, Amenophis IV changed his name to Akhenaten (probably meaning ‘Servant of the Aten’) in Year 5 of his reign, thus indicating his allegiance to the Aten, the creator-god who was symbolised by the sun’s disc.

*Tuthmosis IV had begun to elevate the Aten many years before and, under *Amenophis III, the god was given special honours. Akhenaten’s unique contribution was to ensure that the Aten’s cult approached a form of monotheism; the god was regarded as unique and omnipotent, a universal, supreme and loving deity who was symbolised by the life-giving sun. The king, as the god’s sole earthly representative, became virtually interchangeable with the Aten and communed with him every day.

It is difficult to determine the extent to which these ideas were innovative and revolutionary; they were at least partly a restatement of an earlier belief in a supreme deity which had been represented by the gods Re or Amun. Also, in addition to personal religious motives, Akhenaten was probably prompted by political pressures to try to curb the over-reaching powers of the priests of Amen-Re, by advancing the cult of the Aten. His actions re-established the king’s own role as the god’s sole representative on earth.

Akhenaten’s early reign was spent at Thebes. A period of co-regency with *Amenophis III may have occurred, but at Thebes, Akhenaten was already building special temples to the Aten where he and his chief wife, *Nefertiti, worshipped the god. This cult continued alongside the orthodox worship, of the great Theban deity, Amen-Re. In Year 6, he made a clear break with tradition and moved the political and religious capital from Thebes to a new site in Middle Egypt, perhaps because the cult of the Aten could no longer exist alongside the other gods. Akhenaten closed their temples, disbanded their priesthoods and diverted their revenue to the Aten’s cult. In addition, the names of all the other deities were officially erased and the Aten became the exclusive royal god.

The new capital was called Akhetaten, which meant the ‘Horizon of the Aten’. Palaces, official and administrative quarters and temples to the Aten were built, in addition to villas and houses. The modern term of Tell el Amarna or Amarna is often used for the site. Partial excavation of the city and the neighbouring Royal Tomb and courtiers’ tombs has revealed much information about this time, often referred to as the Amarna Period. The text of the Great Hymn to the Aten was found inscribed in some of the courtiers’ tombs; this provides an outline of the tenets of Atenism and is regarded as a major influence on Biblical Psalm 104. Texts on boundary stelae ,which marked the perimeter of the new capital, describe the royal conditions laid down for the foundation of Akhetaten.

*Nefertiti (who took the additional name of Nefernefruaten) reared six daughters at Akhetaten. The royal family is frequently represented in the so-called ‘Amarna Art’ of the period. This type of art, with its distinctive characteristics, was inspired by religious innovations and is exemplified by reliefs and statuary discovered at Akhetaten. Instances also occur at other sites, such as the standing colossi of Akhenaten from the Aten temples at Thebes. The king imposed both the Aten doctrine and its associated art forms; the art emphasises creativity and the naturalistic representation of plants, birds and animals and extols the joy and beauty of life; it also appears to show the king with an abnormal physique. Certain bodily features are emphasised almost to the point of caricature and it has been suggested that such physical abnormalities may have been due to a glandular deficiency, although, since the king’s body has never been found, the reasons behind this strange artistic convention must remain speculative. The abnormalities shown in the king’s physique became the norm in Amarna art and all other human figures are represented with the same features. At Thebes, the tomb of the courtier *Ramose is decorated with wall-scenes that provide a striking example of both the orthodox and Amarna styles of art.

Akhenaten has been blamed for allowing Egypt’s empire in Syria to disintegrate while he pursued his religious reforms. In the Amarna Letters (the diplomatic correspondence found at Akhetaten), vassal princes beg in vain for Egyptian aid against the predatory ambitions of other great powers. However, some of the decline in Egypt’s interest and influence in this area may already have already begun in *Amenophis III’s reign.

At home, the internal organisation had begun to crumble, and the counterrevolutionary methods of Akhenaten’s successors, *Tutankhamun and *Horemheb, sought to restore the old order. Even his immediate heir, *Smenkhkare, who may have ruled briefly with him, perhaps attempted some restitution of the traditional gods.

Akhenaten was first buried in the royal tomb at Amarna; later generations regarded him as a heretic and a disastrous ruler and every effort was made to expunge his name from the records and to return to religious orthodoxy.

Modern scholarship has variously interpreted him as a fanatic, a political opportunist, a mystic and a visionary, a prophet before his time, and the first individual in history. It has also been suggested that he was the pharaoh of the Exodus, and Sigmund Freud proposed that he had been the inspiration of *Moses and of Jewish monotheism.

BIBL. Aldred, C. Akhenaten, King of Egypt. London: 1988; Davies, N. de G. The Rock Tombs of El- Amarna. (six vols) London: 1903–8; Mercer, S.A.B. The Tell el Amarna Tablets. (two vols) Toronto: 1939; Aldred, C. and Sandison, A.T. The Pharaoh Akhenaten: a problem in Egyptology and pathology, Bulletin of the History of Medicine 36, pp 293–316; Peet, T.E., Woolley, C.L., Frankfort, H. and Pendlebury, J.D.S. The City of Akhenaten. Parts 1–3. London: 1923–51; Martin G.T. The royal Tomb aty El-Amarna: Vol. 2, The Reliefs, Inscriptions and Architecture. London 1974, 1989. Redford, D.B. Akhenaten. The heretic king. Princeton, N.J. 1984; Smith, R.W. and Redford, D.B. The Akhenaten Temple Project. Vol. 1: The initial discoveries. Warminster: 1977.

Alexander the Great King of Macedon Ruled Egypt 332–323 BC.

The son of Philip II, king of Macedon, Alexander was destined to conquer the known world and, after the provinces of the Persian empire fell before him, Tyre besieged and Gaza taken, he finally reached Egypt in the autumn of 332 BC. He met with little opposition from the Persian satrap in Egypt, and the native population, who disliked *Persian administration, welcomed him as a liberator. He spent scarcely six months in the country however, travelling as far south as the First Cataract, but in that time he established a Greek system of control over the military and finance of Egypt. He appointed a viceroy with the Persian title of satrap and made provision for the imposition and collection of taxes. The first satrap was Cleomenes of Naucratis and under his general Ptolemy, son of Lagos (later *Ptolemy I), Alexander established a small standing army.

Two important events are recorded during the conqueror’s stay in Egypt, although it is difficult to determine the true facts surrounding these occasions. Near the ancient village of Rhakotis, opposite the island of Pharos, he traced the foundations of a new capital city for Egypt—Alexandria—on the Mediterranean coast. According to *Plutarch, who wrote a life of Alexander, the choice of this site for the city was confirmed for the king in a prophetic dream. Tradition places its foundation on April 7, 331 BC, and Alexandria became not only the Egyptian capital but also the most important port in the Mediterranean. It provided Egypt with access to the rest of Alexander’s empire and enabled the country’s wealth to be more readily exported, but it also became the great Hellenistic centre of learning and knowledge.

The other significant event during Alexander’s time in Egypt was his visit to the famous oracle of Jupiter Amun at Siwa, Egypt’s most westerly oasis in the Libyan desert. According to legend, the god recognised Alexander as his son and promised him dominion over the whole world. Although this was the usual formalised recognition that Egypt’s great state-god gave to the pharaoh, Alexander appears to have interpreted this as a form of personal deification. He went on to conquer many other lands and, in Egypt, the oracle was interpreted as the divine recognition of Alexander and his successors as the legitimate rulers of Egypt, despite their foreign origin. Alexander was probably crowned in a traditional ceremony in the temple of Ptah in the ancient capital of Memphis, where he performed a sacrifice to the sacred Apis bull.

In 331 BC, he left Egypt to continue his conquests in the east. He eliminated the Persian empire and finally reached India, but on his return journey, he fell ill and died in Babylon in 323 BC. His body was reputedly brought back to Egypt and remained first in Memphis before being buried in Alexandria, although his tomb (to which the Emperor Caracalla paid the last recorded visit in AD 215) has never been discovered.

After his premature demise, Alexander’s generals divided his empire between them. Ptolemy, who had charge of the troops in Egypt, now claimed the position of satrap and ultimately became an independent ruler in Egypt, as *Ptolemy I, the founder of the Macedonian Dynasty. He inaugurated a divine cult for Alexander at Alexandria and thus established the basis for an official state-cult of the rulers of this dynasty.

As pharaoh, Alexander evidently tolerated the worship of the native Egyptian gods and indeed emphasised his own role as the country’s religious leader. During his reign, a sanctuary in the Temple of Luxor was rebuilt and decorated with wall-reliefs which showed him in the company of the Egyptian gods, and he also appears in new reliefs and inscriptions which were added to the walls of a room in the Temple of Amun at Karnak which *Tuthmosis III had originally built.

The Hellenistic sculpture of the early years of the Ptolemaic Dynasty preserves the powerful facial expression of Alexander, for the king’s heavy brow, deep-set eyes and piercing gaze appear even on the statues of other people.

BIBL. Wilcken, C. Alexander the Great. London: 1932; Bell, H.I. Egypt from Alexander the Great to the Arab conquest. Oxford: 1956; Fraser, P.M. Ptolemaic Alexandria. Oxford: 1972.

Amasis King 570–526 BC.

Amasis originally held the position of army general in Nubia under *Psammetichus II, but he was placed on the throne following a nationalistic uprising which attempted to rid Egypt of King *Apries.

According to *Herodotus, Amasis came from an ordinary background; hist...

Table of contents

• Cover page
• Title page
• Copyright page
• Introduction
• Glossary
• A
• B
• C
• D
• E
• G
• H
• I
• J
• K
• L
• M
• N
• O
• P
• R
• S
• T
• U
• W
• X
• Y
• Chronological Table
• Abbreviated Titles of Books and Periodicals
• Recommended Reading