The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt

by Toby Wilkinson

  The history, construction, and decoration of the temple of Hathor at Iunet are analyzed by Jan Quaegebeur, “Cléopâtre VII et le temple de Dendara.” The solar eclipse of March 7, 51, presaging Ptolemy XII’s death, is thought to be depicted in the roof shrines of the temple. The famous zodiac ceiling, now in the Louvre, shows the positions of the constellations in 50, the first year of Cleopatra’s sole reign.

  The myriad books on the life, loves, and death of Cleopatra would fill a small library. Two recent studies, Diana Preston’s Cleopatra and Antony and Joann Fletcher’s Cleopatra the Great, by a historian and an Egyptologist respectively, illustrate our unending fascination for the last queen of Egypt. One of the better treatments, with a focus on the Egyptian evidence, is Sally-Ann Ashton, Cleopatra and Egypt. Evidence that Palestine stayed loyal to Cleopatra after she was driven out of Egypt comes in the form of coins minted in Ashkelon, bearing her portrait, and dated to 49–48. See Susan Walker and Peter Higgs (eds.), Cleopatra of Egypt (catalogue no. 220). The story of Cleopatra being smuggled in to see Julius Caesar has been often told; the method varies, according to the author, from a bed-linen sack to a carpet.

  The question of Cleopatra’s physical appearance is discussed at length by Guy Weill Goudchaux, “Was Cleopatra Beautiful?” It has been suggested that her coin portraits showing her with a long aquiline nose and a pointed chin may have been produced in conscious emulation of Roman portraiture, in a gesture of respect for Julius Caesar. If so, her actual physiognomy may have been somewhat less pronounced, as indicated by some of her statuary. See Susan Walker and Peter Higgs (eds.), Cleopatra of Egypt (catalogue nos. 160–164). For the coins minted in Cyprus to celebrate the birth of Caesarion, see Susan Walker and Peter Higgs (eds.), Cleopatra of Egypt (catalogue no. 186).

  The birth of Imhotep is recounted on the stela of his mother, Taimhotep, published in Susan Walker and Peter Higgs (eds.), Cleopatra of Egypt (catalogue no. 193), and translated by Miriam Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature (vol. 3, pp. 59–65). For Cleopatra’s activities at native Egyptian shrines, see Sally-Ann Ashton, Cleopatra and Egypt (pp. 88–101). A stela showing a male pharaoh in traditional guise but with an inscription naming Cleopatra suggests that she was regarded as a fully legitimate ruler by at least some of her countrymen. Again, see Susan Walker and Peter Higgs (eds.), Cleopatra of Egypt (catalogue no. 154). The assertion that Cleopatra could speak Egyptian is from Plutarch, Life of Antony, 27.4–5.

  For the debasement of silver coinage and the use of bronze during Cleopatra’s reign, see Susan Walker and Peter Higgs (eds.), Cleopatra of Egypt (p. 177). The Donations of Alexandria were described in detail by Plutarch in his Life of Antony (Chapter 54).

  The tax decree favoring Canidius is published in Susan Walker and Peter Higgs (eds.), Cleopatra of Egypt (catalogue no. 188); some authors question the identification of Cleopatra’s own handwriting (see Sally-Ann Ashton, Cleopatra and Egypt, p. 76). For the Gebtu contract, see Susan Walker and Peter Higgs (eds.), Cleopatra of Egypt (catalogue no. 173). The manner of Cleopatra’s demise is discussed, inter alia, by J. Gwyn Griffiths, “The Death of Cleopatra VII”; Griffiths refutes any deliberate religious symbolism in death by snakebite. For the numerous afterlives of Cleopatra, Lucy Hughes-Hallett, Cleopatra, is incomparable.

  The phrase “ankh djet” is enclosed within Ptolemy XV’s second cartouche, carved in front of his crown on the rear wall of the Dendera temple; it is clearly visible in the photograph (fig. 3.2) in Susan Walker and Peter Higgs (eds.), Cleopatra of Egypt (p. 138), and in the drawings of Dendera published in the Napoleonic Description de l’Égypte (Charles Gillispie and Michel Dewachter [eds.], Monuments of Egypt [A. vol. IV, plate 28.12]).

  1. Pasherenptah, funerary stela (translation by E.A.E. Reymond and J.W.B. Barns, “Alexandria and Memphis,” p. 13).

  2. Caesar, The Alexandrian War, Chapter 33 (quoted by Andrew Meadows, “Sins of the Fathers,” p. 25).

  3. Taimhotep, funerary stela, lines 8–9 (translation by Miriam Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, vol. 3, p. 63).

  4. Ibid., lines 13–14 (translation by Miriam Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, vol. 3, p. 63).

  5. Ibid., lines 15–16 (translation by Carol Andrews in Susan Walker and Peter Higgs [eds.], Cleopatra of Egypt, p. 186).

  6. Plutarch, Life of Antony, Chapter 85 (quoted by Andrew Meadows, “Sins of the Fathers,” p. 31).

  EPILOGUE

  The character of Roman rule in Egypt, including the country’s economic exploitation, is well described by David Peacock, “The Roman Period.” For the quarries of Mons Claudianus that supplied the Roman Forum, see David Peacock, Rome in the Desert; and for Mons Porphyrites, see David Peacock and Valerie Maxfield, “On the Trail of Imperial Porphyry.” The evidence for Roman trade with India via the Red Sea is presented by Steven Sidebotham and Willemina Wendrich, “Berenike.”

  The Napoleonic expedition to Egypt is discussed in detail by Charles Gillispie and Michel Dewachter (eds.), Monuments of Egypt (“Historical Introduction,” pp. 1–29), and in summary by John Ray, The Rosetta Stone (Chapter 2).

  The recent literature on Egyptomania—the Western fascination with ancient Egyptian culture—is extensive. The standard work is James Curl, The Egyptian Revival, while Richard Fazzini and Mary McKercher’s “Egyptomania” offers a thoughtful and accessible summary. Jean-Marcel Humbert, Michael Pantazzi, and Christiane Ziegler, Egyptomania, provides the catalogue of a landmark exhibition, with superb illustrations. A good recent discussion of Egyptian influences in imperial Rome is Carla Alfano, “Egyptian Influences in Italy.”

  For the many afterlives of Akhenaten, Dominic Montserrat, Akhenaten, is incomparable as well as highly entertaining. The myriad ways in which the modern world appropriates ancient Egyptian culture are analyzed in Sally MacDonald and Michael Rice (eds.), Consuming Ancient Egypt.

  1. Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Recollections.

  BIBLIOGRAPHY

  SOURCES FOR TRANSLATIONS

  In this book, the translations from ancient texts are the author’s own, except where stated. The citations below give the publications or editions from which the author translated.

  ABBREVIATIONS

  FHN: Tormod Eide et al. (eds.), Fontes Historiae Nubiorum: Textual Sources for the History of the Middle Nile Region Between the Eighth Century BC and the Sixth Century AD, vol. 1, From the Eighth to the Mid-Fifth Century BC (Bergen, Norway, 1994).

  KRI: Kenneth Kitchen, Ramesside Inscriptions, Historical and Biographical, 8 vols. (Oxford, 1969–1990).

  Lesestücke: Kurt Sethe, Ägyptische Lesestücke (Leipzig, 1924).

  Urkunden I: Kurt Sethe, Urkunden des ägyptischen Altertums, Abteilung I: Urkunden des alten Reiches, 2nd ed. (Leipzig, Berlin, 1932–1933).

  Urkunden II: Kurt Sethe, Urkunden des ägyptischen Altertums, Abteilung II: Hieroglyphische Urkunden der griechisch-römischen Zeit (Leipzig, 1904).

  Urkunden IV: Kurt Sethe (later volumes compiled by Wolfgang Helck), Urkunden des ägyptischen Altertums, Abteilung IV: Urkunden der 18. Dynastie (Leipzig, Berlin, 1906–1958).

  Urkunden V: Georg Steindorff, Urkunden des ägyptisches Altertums, Abteilung V: Ausgewahlte Texte des Totenbuches (Leipzig, 1915).

  Urkunden VII: Kurt Sethe, Urkunden des ägyptischen Altertums, Abteilung VII: Historisch-Biographische Urkunden des Mittleren Reiches (Leipzig, 1935).

  TRANSLATED MATERIAL

  Ahmose, son of Abana, tomb inscription: Urkunden IV, pp. 1–11.

  Ahmose, Karnak stela: Urkunden IV, pp. 14–24.

  Ahmose, Serapeum stela: Georges Posener, La première domination perse en Égypte (Cairo, 1946), pp. 41–46.

  Ahmose, Tempest stela: Claude Vandersleyen, “Une tempête sous la règne d’Amosis,” Revue d’Égyptologie, 19 (1967), pp. 123–159.

  Ahmose, Tetisheri stela: Urkunden IV, pp. 26–29.

  Ahmose, Tura limestone quarry inscription: Urkunden IV, pp. 24–25.

  Akhenaten, earlier foundation inscription (boundary stelae
K, X, and M): Maj Sandman (ed.), Texts from the Time of Akhenaten (Brussels, 1938), no. CXIX, pp. 103–118.

  Akhenaten, later foundation inscription (boundary stelae A, B, J, N, Q, R, S, and U): Maj Sandman (ed.), Texts, no. CXX, pp. 119–131; Urkunden IV, pp. 1981–1990.

  Amenhotep II, Great Sphinx stela: Urkunden IV, pp. 1276–1283.

  Amenhotep II, Medamud inscription: Urkunden IV, pp. 1322–1323.

  Amenhotep II, Memphis stela: Urkunden IV, pp. 1300–1309.

  Amenhotep III, bull-hunt scarab: Urkunden IV, p. 1738.

  Amenhotep III, divine birth inscription, Luxor Temple: Urkunden IV, pp. 1713–1721.

  Amenhotep III, marriage scarab: Urkunden IV, p. 1738.

  Amenhotep III, Kom el-Hetan stela: Urkunden IV, pp. 1646–1657.

  Ankhtifi, tomb inscription: Jacques Vandier, Mo‘alla: La tombe d’Ankhtifi et la tombe de Sébekhotep (Cairo, 1950).

  Atu, scribal palette: Wolfgang Helck, Historisch-Biographische Texte der 2. Zwischenzeit und Neue Texte der 18. Dynastie (Wiesbaden, 1975), no. 85, pp. 57–58.

  Bay, Gebel el-Silsila inscription: KRI, vol. IV, p. 371.

  Bible, Revised Standard Version (London, 1979).

  Book of the Dead, Chapter 6: Edouard Naville, Das Aegyptische Todtenbuch der XVIII. bis XX. Dynastie, vol. 1 (Berlin, 1886).

  Book of the Dead, Chapter 17: Urkunden V.

  Carnarvon Tablet no. 1: Alan Gardiner, “The Defeat of the Hyksos by Kamose: The Carnarvon Tablet, No. 1,” Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, 3 (1916), pp. 95–110.

  Coffin Texts: Adriaan de Buck, The Egyptian Coffin Texts, 8 vols. (Chicago, 1935–1961).

  Cycle of Hymns to Senusret III: Lesestücke, pp. 65–67.

  Dediqu, stela inscription: Heinrich Schäfer, “Ein Zug nach der grossen Oase unter Sesostris I.,” Zeitschrift für Ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde, 42 (1905), pp. 124–128.

  Djari, funerary stela: W. M. Flinders Petrie, Qurneh (London, 1909), plate II.

  Djemi, funerary stela: Hans Goedicke, “The Inscription of Dmi,” Journal of Near Eastern Studies, 19 (1960), pp. 288–291.

  Great Harris Papyrus I: W. Erichsen, Papyrus Harris I: Hieroglyphische Transkription (Brussels, 1933).

  Great Hymn to the Aten: Maj Sandman (ed.), Texts, no. CXIII, pp. 93–96.

  Harkhuf, tomb inscription: Urkunden I, pp. 120–131.

  Hatnub inscriptions: Rudolf Anthes, Die Felseninschriften von Hatnub (Leipzig, 1928).

  Hatshepsut, Karnak obelisk inscription: Urkunden IV, pp. 356–373.

  Henenu, funerary stela: William Hayes, “Career of the Great Steward Henenu Under Nebhepetre¯‘ Mentuhotpe,” Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, 35 (1949), pp. 43–49.

  Herodotus: The Histories, translated by Aubrey de Sélincourt, revised by A. R. Burn (Harmondsworth, England, 1972).

  Hetepi, funerary stela: Gawdat Gabra, “Preliminary Report on the Stela of Htpi from El-Kab from the Time of Wahankh Inyôtef II,” Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Abteilung Kairo, 32 (1976), pp. 45–56.

  Horemheb, coronation inscription: Urkunden IV, pp. 2113–2120.

  Horemheb, edict: Urkunden IV, pp. 2140–2162.

  Huya, tomb inscription: Maj Sandman (ed.), Texts, nos. XXXVI–L, pp. 33–43; Norman de Garis Davies, The Rock Tombs of El Amarna, part III (London, 1903–1908).

  Hymn to Amun: Pascal Vernus, “Choix de texts illustrant le temps des rois tanites et libyens,” in Ministère des Affaires Étrangères/Association Française d’Action Artistique, Tanis: L’or des pharaons (Paris, 1987), no. 1, pp. 103–104.

  Ineni, tomb inscription: Urkunden IV, pp. 59–60.

  Installation of the vizier, from the tomb inscription of Rekhmira: Urkunden IV, pp. 1085–1093.

  Instruction for King Merikara, The: Wolfgang Helck, Die Lehre für König Merikare (Wiesbaden, 1977).

  Instruction of Amenemhat I for His Son, The: Wolfgang Helck, Der Text der “Lehre Amenemhets I. für seinen Sohn” (Wiesbaden, 1969).

  Intef, funerary stela from Naga el-Deir: Henry Fischer, Inscriptions from the Coptite Nome, Dynasties VI–XI (Rome, 1964), no. 43, pp. 106–111.

  Intef, stela: Henry Fischer, Dendera in the Third Millennium B.C. (Locust Valley, 1968), p. 200, fig. 39.

  Intef II, funerary stela: Gay Robins, The Art of Ancient Egypt, fig. 83, p. 85.

  Intef V, Coptos stela: Wolfgang Helck, Historisch-Biographische Texte, no. 106, pp. 73–74.

  Intefiqer, Wadi el-Girgawi inscription: Zbyneˇk Žába, The Rock Inscriptions of Lower Nubia (Czechoslovak Concession) (Prague, 1974), no. 73, pp. 98–109.

  Iti, funerary stela: H. O. Lange and H. Schäfer, Grab- und Denksteine des Mittleren Reichs im Museum von Kairo No. 20001–20780 (Berlin: Reichsdruckerei, 1902), vol. 1, pp. 1–2, and vol. 4, plate 1.

  Ka, funerary stela: Torgny Säve-Söderbergh, “A Buhen Stela from the Second Intermediate Period (Khartum No. 18),” Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, 35 (1949), pp. 50–58, fig. 1.

  Kamose, victory stela from Thebes: Labib Habachi, The Second Stela of Kamose and His Struggle Against the Hyksos Ruler and His Capital (Glückstadt, Germany, 1972).

  Kay, funerary stela: Rudolf Anthes, “Eine Polizeistreife des Mitleren Reiches in die westlichen Oase,” Zeitschrift für Ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde, 65 (1930), pp. 108–114.

  Kheruef, tomb inscription: The Epigraphic Survey, The Tomb of Kheruef (Chicago, 1980).

  Kheti I, tomb inscription: Hellmut Brunner, Die Texte aus den Gräbern der Herakleopolitenzeit von Siut (Glückstadt, Hamburg, and New York, 1937).

  Khnumhotep I, biographical inscription: Urkunden VII, pp. 11–12.

  Loyalist Instruction, The: Georges Posener, L’enseignement loyaliste: Sagesse égyptienne de Moyen Empire (Geneva, 1976).

  Mahu, tomb inscription: Maj Sandman (ed.), Texts, nos. LXII–LXIX, pp. 50–54; Norman de Garis Davies, The Rock Tombs of El Amarna, part IV.

  Menkheperra, Banishment Stela: Jürgen von Beckerath, “Die ‘Stele der Verbannten’ im Museum des Louvre,” Revue d’Egyptologie, 20 (1968), pp. 7–36.

  Mentuhotep IV, Wadi Hammamat inscription: J. Couyat and Pierre Montet, Les inscriptions hiéroglyphiques et hiératiques du Ouâdi Hammâmât, 2 vols. (Cairo, 1912–1913), no. 110, pp. 77–78 and plate XXIX.

  Mentuhotepi, Karnak stela: Pascal Vernus, “La stèle du pharaon Mntw-htpi à Karnak: Un nouveau témoignage sur la situation politique et militaire au début de la D.P.I.,” Revue d’Égyptologie, 40 (1989), pp. 146–161.

  Merenptah, great Karnak inscription: Colleen Manassa, The Great Karnak Inscription of Merneptah: Grand Strategy in the 13th Century BC (New Haven, Conn., 2003).

  Merenptah, Libyan inscription: KRI, vol. IV, pp. 2–12.

  Merer, funerary stela: Jaroslav Černy´, “The Stela of Merer in Cracow,” Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, 47 (1961), pp. 5–9 and plate 1.

  Meryra I, tomb inscription: Maj Sandman (ed.), Texts, nos. I–XIV, pp. 1–21; Norman de Garis Davies, The Rock Tombs of El Amarna, part I.

  Min, tomb inscription: Urkunden IV, pp. 976–980.

  Nakhtnebef, Hermopolis stela: H. De Meulenaere, “La famille royale des Nectanébo,” Zeitschrift für Ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde, 90 (1963), pp. 90–93.

  Nakhtnebef, Naukratis stela: Adolf Erman and Ulrich Wilcken, “Die Naukratisstele,” Zeitschrift für Ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde, 38 (1900), pp. 127–135.

  Neferhotep III, Karnak inscription: Wolfgang Helck, Historisch-Biographische Texte, no. 62, p. 45.

  Ostracon O.IFAO 1864: Pierre Grandet, “L’exécution du chancelier Bay: O.IFAO 1864,” Bulletin de l’Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale, 100 (2000), pp. 339–345.

  Papyrus Amherst: Eric Peet, The Great Tomb-Robberies of the Twentieth Egyptian Dynasty (Oxford, 1930), plates IV–V.

  Papyrus BM 10052: Eric Peet, The Great Tomb-Robberies, plates XXV–XXXV.

  Piankhi, victory stela: Nicolas Grimal, La stèle triomphale de Pi(‘ankh)y au musée du Caire JE 48862 et 4708
6–47089 (Cairo, 1981).

  Priestly annals at Karnak: Jean-Marie Kruchten, Les annales des prêtres de Karnak (XXI–XXIIImes dynasties) et autres texts contemporains relatifs à l’initiation des prêtres d’Amon (Leuven, Belgium, 1989).

  Prophecies of Neferti, The: Wolfgang Helck, Die Prophezeihung des Nfr.tj (Wiesbaden, 1970).

  Psamtek II, Shellal stela: Charles Bonnet and Dominique Valbelle, The Nubian Pharaohs (Cairo and New York, 2005), p. 166.

  Ptolemy (I), Satrap stela: Urkunden II, pp. 11–22.

  Pyramid Texts: Kurt Sethe, Die altägyptischen Pyramidentexte, 4 vols. (Leipzig, 1908–1922).

  Qenamun, tomb inscription: Urkunden IV, pp. 1385–1406.

  Rahotep, Coptos stela: Wolfgang Helck, Historisch-Biographische Texte, no. 87, pp. 59–60.

  Ramesses II, Battle of Kadesh “poem”: KRI, vol. II, pp. 2–64.

  Ramesses II, first Hittite marriage inscription: KRI, vol. II, pp. 233–256.

  Ramesses II, treaty with the Hittites: KRI, vol. II, pp. 225–232.

  Ramesses III, Deir el-Medina stela: KRI, vol. V, pp. 90–91.

  Ramesses III, great inscription of year eight, Medinet Habu: KRI, vol. V, pp. 37–43.

  Ramesses III, harem scenes, Medinet Habu: KRI, vol. V, p. 295.

  Ramesses III, Turin Judicial Papyrus: KRI, vol. V, pp. 350–360.

  Ramesses III, Turin Strike Papyrus: Alan Gardiner (ed.), Ramesside Administrative Documents (London, 1948), no. XVIII, pp. 45–58.