The Ideology of Empire

From an ideological point of view, Egyptian self-representation was that of the center of prosperity and cosmic order, in sharp contrast with the poverty, chaos, and danger prevailing abroad.

Consequently, the cosmic mission of the pharaohs consisted in preserving and extending the realm of the maat (order) by destroying any menace or enemy. Foreign populations were thus required to recognize the authority of the pharaoh in order to survive, but their beliefs, ways of life, and social organization were usually respected in the absence of a true policy of “Egyptianization.” In fact, while foreign populations were usually depicted in stereotyped, negative terms, beyond the restricted domain of artistic and literary conventions, foreigners could apparently easily integrate into Egyptian society and even rise to eminent positions. Monumental stelae and inscriptions symbolically marked the limits of the king's authority, but they should not be regarded as the true empire's frontier, even as markers of effective direct rule.^[114]

Tribute was the conventional expression of Egypt's asymmetrical relations with its neighbors, which conveyed notions of submission, recognition of Egyptian rule, integration within the ordered world, as well as the proper transfer of wealth toward its center (i.e., Egypt) and to the representative of the gods on earth (i.e., the pharaoh).^[115] However, the expansion of empire, especially during the New Kingdom, motivated deep transformations in the self-representation of the king. A more militaristic ethos appears in iconography and in literature, and it is quite possible that the closer contacts cultivated with foreign powers, as well as military reversals that were inevitable over so extended a period of time, caused Egyptians to critically re- evaluate the role of the king himself. For instance, the emergence of the “personal piety” genre at that time has been interpreted as a reaction against increasing state corruption and a growing conscience of the limits of royal power.^[116] However, conventional scenes continued to represent the king smiting his enemies, fighting foreign armies, and receiving tribute, even when no true campaign, conquest, or military encounter had really taken place.

Still, these scenes' powerful imagery—symbolic of the pharaoh's cosmic responsibilities—justified their continuous use for millennia.

Bibliography

Allen, J. P. 2008. “The Historical Inscription of Khnumhotep at Dahshur: Preliminary Report.” Bulletin of the American Society of Oriental Research 352: 29-39.

Altenmüller, H., and A. M. Moussa. 1991. “Die Inschrift Amenemhets II. aus dem Ptah-Tempel von Memphis. Ein Vorbericht.” Studien zur altägyptischen Kultur 18:1-48.

Anfinset, N. 2010. Metal, Nomads and Culture Contact: The Middle East and North Africa. London. Anthes, R. 1928. Die Felseninschriften von Hatnub nach den Aufnahmen Georg Mollers. Leipzig. Archi, A. 2016. “Egypt or Iran in the Ebla Texts?” Orientalia 85:1-49.

Bachhuber, C., and R. G. Roberts. 2009. Forces of Transformation: The End of the Bronze Age in the Mediterranean. Oxford.

Banaji, J. 2007. “Islam, the Mediterranean and the Rise of Capitalism.” Historical Materialism 15: 47-74.

Bar, S., D. Kahn, and J. J. Shirley, eds. 2011. Egypt, Canaan and Israel: History, Imperialism, Ideology and Literature. Leiden and Boston.

Bardinet, T. 2008. Relations economiques et pressions militaires en Mediterranee orientale et en Libye au temps des Pharaons. Paris.

Ben Yosef, E., et al. 2010. “The Beginning of Iron Age Copper Production in the Southern Levant: New Evidence from Khirbat al-Jariya, Faynan, Jordan.” Antiquity 84: 724-746.

Bietak, M. 1996. Avaris, the Capital of the Hyksos: Recent Excavations at Tell el-Dab'a. London.

Bietak, M. 2003. “Two Ancient Near Eastern Temples with Bent Axis in the Eastern Nile Delta.” Ägypten und Levante 13: 13-38.

Bietak, M. 2006. “The Predecessors of the Hyksos.” In S. Gitin, J. E. Wright, and J. P. Dessel, eds., Confronting the Past: Archaeological and Historical Essays on Ancient Israel in Honor of William G. Dever, 285-293. Winona Lake, IN.

Biga, M. G. 2010. “Tra Menfi e Ebla.” In L’Egitto tra storia e letteratura, 23-40. Torino.

Boivin, N., and D. Q. Fuller. 2009. “Shell Middens, Ships and Seeds: Exploring Coastal Subsistence, Maritime Trade and the Dispersal of Domesticates in and around the Ancient Arabian Peninsula.” Journal of World Prehistory 22, no. 2: 113-180.

Breasted, J. H. 1906. Ancient Records of Egypt. Vol. I: The First to the Seventeenth Dynasties. Chicago.

Cagle, A. J. 2003. The Spatial Structure of Kom el-Hisn: An Old Kingdom Town in the Western Nile Delta, Egypt. Oxford.

Caminos, R. A. 1954. Late-Egyptian Miscellanies. London.

Clayton, J., A. de Trafford, and M. Borda. 2008. “A Hieroglyphic Inscription Found at Jebel Uweinat Mentioning Yam and Tekhebet.” Sahara 19:129-134.

Cohen, R., and R. Westbrook. 1999. Amarna Diplomacy: The Beginnings of International Relations. Baltimore, MD.

Collon, D. 2008. “Cappadocia and the Eastern Mediterranean.” In C. Michel, ed., Old Assyrian Studies in Memory of Paul Garelli, 91-100. Leiden.

Darnell, J. C., et al. 2005. Two Early Alphabetic Inscriptions from the Wadi el-Hol: New Evidence for the Origin of the Alphabet from the Western Desert of Egypt. Boston.

Davies, B. G. 1997. Egyptian Historical Inscriptions of the Nineteenth Dynasty. Jonsered.

Davies, W V. 2003. “Kouch en Egypte: Une nouvelle inscription historique à El-Kab.” Bulletin de la Societe Franfaise d’Egyptologie 157: 38-44.

Edel, E. 2008. Die Felsgräbernekropole der Qubbet el-Hawa bei Assuan. I. Abteilung, Vol. 3. Paderborn.

El-Awady, T 2009. Abusir XVI: Sahure, The Pyramid Causeway. History and Decoration Program in the Old Kingdom. Prague.

Fattovich, R. 1995. “The Gash Group: A Complex Society in the Lowlands to the East of the Nile.” Cahiers de Recherche de l’Institut de Papyrologie et d’Egyptologie de Lille 17:191-200.

Fischer, H. G. 1961. “The Nubian Mercenaries of Gebelein during the First Intermediate Period.” Kush 9: 44-80.

Forster, F. 2015. Der Abu Ballas-Weg: Eine pharaonische Karawanenroute durch die Libysche Wüste.

Cologne

Forstner-Müller, I., and D. Raue. 2008. “Elephantine and the Levant.” In E.-M. Engel, V Müller, and U. Hartung, eds., Zeichen aus dem Sand: Streiflichter aus Ägyptens Geschichte zu Ehren von Günter Dreyer, 127-148. Wiesbaden.

Frood, E. 2007. Biographical Texts from Ramessid Egypt. Atlanta, GA.

Gnirs, A. M. 1996. Militär und Gesellschaft: Ein Beitrag zur Sozialgeschichte des Neuen Reiches. Heidelberg.

Grandet, P. 2008. Les pharaons du Nouvel Empire (1550-1069 av. J.-C.): Une pensee strategique. Paris.

Higginbotham, C. R. 2000. Egyptianization and Elite Emulation in Ramesside Palestine: Governance and Accomodation on the Imperial Periphery. Leiden and Boston.

Hoflmayer, F., and R. Eichmann, eds. 2014. Egypt and the Southern Levant in the Early Bronze Age. Rahden.

Hodgkinson, A. K. 2010. “High-Status Industries in the Capital and Royal Cities of the New Kingdom.” In A. Hudecz and M. Petrik, eds., Commerce and Economy in Ancient Egypt, 71-79. Oxford.

Hodgkinson, A. K. 2011. “Mass-Production in New Kingdom Egypt: The Industries of Amarna and Piramesse.” In J. Corbelli, D. Boatright, and Cl. Malleson, eds., Current Research in Egyptology 2009, 81-98. Oxford.

Holladay, J. S. 1997. “The Eastern Nile Delta during the Hyksos and Pre-Hyksos Periods: Towards a Systemic/Socioeconomic Understanding.” In E. D. Oren, ed., The Hyksos: New Historical and Archaeological Perspectives, 183-253. Philadelphia.

Holladay, J. S. 2001. “Toward a New Paradigmatic Understanding of Long-Distance Trade in the Ancient Near East: From the Middle Bronze II to Early Iron II—A Sketch.” In P. M. M. Daviau and M. Weigl, eds., The World of the Arameans: Studies in Language and Literature in Honour of Paul-Eugène Dion, Vol. II, 136-198. Sheffield.

Holladay, J. S. 2006. “Hezekiah’s Tribute, Long-Distance Trade, and the Wealth of Nations ca. 1000-600 BC: A New Perspective.” In S. Gitin, J. E. Wright,and J. P. Dessel, eds., Confronting the Past: Archaeological and Historical Essays on Ancient Israel in Honour of William G.

Dever, 309-331. Winona Lake, IN.

Horowitz, W, and T. Oshima. 2010. “Hazor: A Cuneiform City in Canaan. A Retrospective and Look Forward.” In P. Matthiae, F. Pinnock, L. Nigro, and N. Marchetti, eds., Proceedings of the 6th International Congress of the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, Vol. III, 531-538. Wiesbaden.

Kemp, B. J. 1978. “Imperialism and Empire in New Kingdom Egypt.” In P. Garnsey and C. R. Whittaker, eds., Imperialism in the Ancient World, 7-58. Cambridge.

Knoblauch, C., L. Bestock, and A. Makovics. 2013. “The Uronarti Regional Archaeological Project: Report on the First Survey Season.” Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts 69: 103-142.

Kuhlmann, K. P. 2002. “The ‘Oasis Bypath' or the Issue of Desert Trade in Pharaonic Times.” In Tides of the Desert: Gezeiten der Wüste. Contributions to the Archaeology and Enviromental History of Africa in Honour of Rudolph Kuper, 125-170. Cologne.

Lichtheim, M. 1976. Ancient Egyptian Literature, Vol. II: The New Kingdom. Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London.

Liverani, M. 1990a. Prestige and Interest: International Relations in the Near East ca. 1600-1100 BC. Padova.

Liverani, M. 1990b. “Hattushili alle prese con la propaganda ramesside.” Orientalia 59: 207-217.

Liverani, M. 1997. “Ramesside Egypt in a Changing World: An Institutional Approach.” In G. Colonna, ed., L’impero Ramesside: Convegno internazionale in onore di Sergio Donadoni, 101-115. Rome.

Manzo, A. 2012. “Nubians and the Others on the Red Sea: An Update on the Exotic Ceramic Materials from the Middle Kingdom Harbour of Mersa/Wadi Gawasis, Red Sea, Egypt.” In D. A. Agius, J. P. Cooper, A. Trakadas, and C. Zazzaro, eds., Navigated Spaces, Connected Places, 47-58. Oxford.

Manzo, A. 2014. “Beyond the Fourth Cataract: Perspectives for Research in Eastern Sudan.” In J. R. Anderson and D. A. Welsby, eds., The Fourth Cataract and Beyond, 1149-1157. London.

Marchand, S., and G. Soukiassian. 2010. Balat VIII: Un habitat de la XIII dynastie-2_e Periode Intermediaire à Ayn Asil.

Cairo.

Marcolin, M. 2010. “Una nuova biografia egiziana della VI dinastia con iscrizioni storiche e geografiche.” Atti della Accademia delle Scienze di Torino, Classe di Scienze Morali, Storiche, Filologiche 144:43-79.

Marcolin, M., and A. Diego Espinel. 2011. “The Sixth Dynasty Biographic Inscriptions of Iny: More Pieces to the Puzzle.” In M. Barta, F. Coppens, and J. Krejci, eds., Abusir and Saqqara in the Year2010, 570-615. Prague.

Marcus, E. 2007. “Amenemhet II and the Sea: Maritime Aspects of the Mit Rahina (Memphis) Inscription.” Ägypten und Levante 17:137-190.

Mazar, A. 2011. “The Egyptian Garrison Town at Beth-Shean.” In S. Bar, D. Kahn, and J. J. Shirley, eds., Egypt, Canaan and Israel: History, Imperialism, Ideology and Literature, 155-189. Leiden-Boston.

Moreno Garcia, J. C. 2010a. “War in Old Kingdom Egypt (2686-2125 BCE).” In J. Vidal, ed., Studies on War in the Ancient Near East. Collected Essays on Military History, 5-41. Münster.

Moreno Garcia, J. C. 2010b. “La gestion des aires marginales: phw, gs, tnw, sht au III^e millenaire.” In A. Woods, A. McFarlane, and S. Binder, eds., Egyptian Culture and Society: Studies in Honor of Naguib Kanawati, Vol. II, 49-69. Cairo.

Moreno Garcia, J. C. 2014. “Invaders or Just Herders? Libyans in Egypt in the 3rd and 2nd millennia BCE.” World Archaeology 46: 610-623.

Moreno Garcia, J. C. 2016. “Economies in Transition: Trade, ‘Money', Labour and Nomads at the Turn of the 1st Millennium BC.” In J. C. Moreno Garcia, ed., Dynamics of Production in the Ancient Near East, 1300-500 BC, 1-39. Oxford.

Moreno Garcia, J. C. 2017a. “Trade and Power in Ancient Egypt: Middle Egypt in the Late Third/ Early Second Millennium BC.” Journal of Archaeological Research 25: 87-132.

Moreno Garcia, J. C. 2017b. “Metaux, textiles et reseaux dechanges à longue distance entre la fin du III^e et le debut du II^e millenaire: Les “Paddle dolls,” un indice neglige?” In N. Favry, C. Ragazzoli, C. Somaglino, and P. Tallet, eds., Du Sinaiau Soudan: Itineraires dune egyptologue (Melanges offerts au Professeur Dominique Valbelle), 173-194. Paris.

Morris, E. F. 2005. The Architecture of Imperialism: Military Bases and the Evolution of Foreign Policy in Egypt’s New Kingdom. Leiden and Boston.

Mumford, G. 2006. “Tell Ras Budran (Site 345): Defining Egypt's Eastern Frontier and Mining Operations in South Sinai during the Late Old Kingdom (Early EB IV/MB I).” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 342: 13-67.

Murnane, W J. 1995. Texts from the Amarna Period in Egypt. Atlanta, GA.

Na'aman, N. 1988. “Pharaonic Lands in the Jezreel Valley in the Late Bronze Age.” In M. Heltzer and E. Lipinski, eds., Society and Economy in the Eastern Mediterranean (c. 1500-1000 B.C.), 177-185. Leuven.

Nielsen, N. 2017. “Cereal cultivation and nomad-sedentary interactions at the Late Bronze Age settlement of Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham.” Antiquity 360: 1561-1573.

Osing, J. 1973. “Ächtungstexte aus dem Alten Reich.” Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Abteilung Kairo 29: 97-133.

Osing, J. 1976. “Ächtungstexte aus dem Alten Reich (II).” Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Abteilung Kairo 32: 133-185.

Quirke, S. 2007. “The Hyksos in Egypt 1600 BCE: New Rulers without an Administration.” In H. Crawford, ed., Regime Change in the Ancient Near East and Egypt: From Sargon of Agade to Saddam Hussein, 123-139. Oxford.

Redford, D. B. 1990. Egypt and Canaan in the New Kingdom. Beer-Sheva.

Redford, D. B. 1992. Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times. Princeton, NJ.

Redford, D. B. 1997. “Textual Sources for the Hyksos Period.” In E. D. Oren, ed., The Hyksos: New Historical and Archaeological Perspectives, 1-44. Philadelphia.

Scandone-Matthiae, G. 2003. “Les rapports entre Ebla et l'Egypte a l'Ancien et au Moyen Empire.” In Z. Hawass, ed., Egyptology at the Dawn of the Twenty-First Century, Vol. 2: History, Religion, 487-493. Cairo.

Shaw, B. D. 1995. Rulers, Nomads, and Christians in Roman North Africa. Aldershot, UK.

Sherratt, S. 2003. “The Mediterranean Economy: ‘Globalization' at the end of the Second Millennium B.C.E.” In W G. Dever and S. Gitin, eds., Symbiosis, Symbolism and the Power of the Past: Canaan, Ancient Israel, and Their Neighbors from the Late Bronze Age through Roman Palestina, 37-62. Winona Lake, IN.

Smith, S. T 1995. Askut in Nubia: The Economics and Ideology of Egyptian Imperialism in the Second Millennium BC. London.

Smith, S. T 1997. “State and Empire in the Middle and New Kingdoms.” In J. Lustig, ed., Anthropology and Egyptology: A Developing Dialogue, 66-89. Sheffield.

Snape, S. 2003. “Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham and Egyptian Foreign Trade in the Thirteenth Century BC.” In V Karageorghis, ed., Sea Routes: Interconnections in the Mediterranean 16th-6th century BC, 63-70. Athens.

Sparks, R.T. 2002-2003. “Strangers in a Strange Land: Egyptians in Southern Palestine during the Bronze Age.” Archaeology International 6:48-51.

Strudwick, N. C. 2005. Texts from the Pyramid Age. Atlanta, GA.

Torok, L. 2009. Between Two Worlds: The Frontier Region between Ancient Nubia and Egypt 3700 BC-AD 500. Leiden and Boston.

Vercoutter, J. 1970. Mirgissa, vol. I. Paris.

Vernus, P. 2003. Affairs and Scandals in Ancient Egypt. Ithaca, NY.

Vernus, P. 2011. “Les j acheres du demiurge et la souveraneite du pharaon: Sur le concept dempire.” Revue d’Egyptologie 61:175-197.

Wengrow, D. 2009. “The Voyages of Europa: Ritual and Trade in the Eastern Mediterranean circa 2300-1850 BC.” In W A. Parkinson and M. L. Galaty, eds., Archaic State Interaction: The Eastern Mediterranean in the Bronze Age, 141-160. Santa Fe, NM.

Wente, E. 1990. Letters from Ancient Egypt. Atlanta, GA.

Wilkinson, T. C. 2014. Tying the Threads of Eurasia: Trans-Regional Routes and Material Flows in Transcaucasia, Eastern Anatolia and Western Central Asia, c. 3000-1500 BC. Leiden.

<< | >>

↑

Source: Bang Peter F., Bayly C.A., Scheidel Walter (eds.). The Oxford World History of Empire. Volume Two: The History of Empires. Oxford University Press,2020. — 1352 p.. 2020

The Ideology of Empire

More on the topic The Ideology of Empire: