User talk:Nehalosman

How works of literature tell us about contemporaneous Egyptian history.
How works of literature tell us about contemporaneous Egyptian history. Are they factual or not? How accurate are they? Can we depend on them, and to what extent? May they be taken as representation of historical event?

Ancient Egypt is the greatest civilization ever. However, what remains is only but a fraction of what once was. Luxor may appear to contain a lot of monuments but that is nothing to what is still lost and buried underground. These monuments with their intricate inscriptions may offer a glimpse of the past and it’s way of life, but it is very important to note that it is only a partial view and not a complete one of that world long ago. Even rarer still are the literary works of art that have survived the test of time, whether they are papyrus or ostraca. When writing first emerged in Egypt during the dynastic period, it was to describe very simply a name, place or event. Then it became more complex taking the form of an offering list, which is a long list of materials, food and ointments carved on the walls of private tombs. (Lichtheim 3) Writing would then evolve into literature inside the private tombs of high officials who would use their riches into building a magnificent house off eternity to live in the afterlife. Carved on the walls inside these tombs are offering lists and a brief biography of the person highlighting his prowess in life. (Lichtheim 3) These autobiographies and the offering lists became the first types of literature. During the fifth dynasty, both reach their complete form. The prayers had two major themes: the request for offerings and for a good welcome into the West. (Lichtheim 4) the autobiography on the other hand, was a self-portrait in words that summed up the characteristics of the deceased in positive terms and the evils that he did not commit. The Narrative autobiography then gives rise to Instruction Texts, which are considered to be the second type of genre to appear in the Old Kingdom. Instruction texts stand somewhere between prose and poetry and they are both a catalogue of the deceased’s virtue and lively instructions left by the deceased for the world of the living. An example world is the Instructions of Hardjeded for his son Au-ib-re. (Lichtheim 4) In the religious sphere, the pyramid texts appeared for the first time at the end of the fifth dynasty but were only restricted to the inside of the royal tombs. Later, they would become democratized and used by the nobles illustrating the declined of the central government of the Old Kingdom. (Shaw 108) The pyramid texts are inscriptions whose main purpose was to reincarnate the dead king and ensure his ascent to the sky. (Shaw 109) Hymns to the gods start appearing during the First Intermediate Period but literature truly reaches its peak during the Middle Kingdom, with the prose tales like the Shipwrecked Sailor and Sinuhe. Tomb autobiographies are a valuable portal into the past in that they offer an insight especially, into court life and various deeds undertaken by specific kings. Of course, the question of reliability and whether or not these inscriptions written on tomb walls can actually be taken for historical facts still arises. However, tomb biographies appear to be the more reliable form of literature that is based on fact for the simple reason of the deceased’s desire of mentioning his greatest feats and honors bestowed upon him during his lifetime. To fabricate them would be useless in the Egyptian scheme of things. For example, Harkhuf is a high official who served Merenre and Pepi II in the sixth dynasty. He also became Governor of Nubia and led four expeditions to it. His accounts of the expedition are a vital source of information about Egypt’s relation with Nubia during that time. What is unique here is Harkhuf’s inclusion of a letter from Neferkare Pepi II who was a young boy at the time, explaining his eagerness to see the dancing pygmy that Harkhuf brought back with him. (Shaw 23) The findings of African luxury goods such as incense, ivory, animal skins and exotic animals along with the employment of Nubians as mercenaries in military expeditions all attest to the strong link between Egypt and Nubia hold upon it. (Shaw 116) Another contemporary example is the noble Weni whose tomb is in Abydos. From his autobiography we learn of a harem conspiracy against Pepi I led by one of his queens. (Shaw 115) We also learn that Weni quarried and brought back the sarcophagus of Merenre from Nubia. (Simpson 402) Here we get a glimpse of marriage politics and the beginning of the end for the Old Kingdom and the growth and power of the local nomes as a result of the weakening of the royal authority. (Shaw 115) Literature in the post Old Kingdom era painted the world as a place of decline, chaos, misery and social and political disintegration-a dark age separating two ages of glory and power. (Shaw 129) Since most works of literature are about the preservation of Maat in an imperfect world an the perpetual enactment of it in the lives of the everyday person making order an necessatity that had to be continually imposed and sustained. (Simpson 118) A pessimistic tone was very much in evidence. In the Prophecy of Neferti, a state of order is lamented and compared with the way in which things should be. Social order has been turned topsy turvy: the rich are poor and the poor are rich; political unrest prevails throughtout the country; administrive documents are torn to shreds; there are countless rulers in power simultaneously; the country is invaded by foreigners, the moral basis of social life is destroyed; people hate each other and the sacred scriptures are desecrated. (Shaw 145) “Out of the chaos will arise a king who will restore order. The name of that king is Ameny.”- the short form of Amenemhet I (Lichtheim 139) One may understand from that dire prophecy and its savior that they are a means of glorifying thee king and legitimizing his rule. However, the theme of national distress is very much based in fact for it was a common occurrence for civil disorders and political unrest to break out and engulf the country at the end of an era. (Shaw 156) The Teachings of King Amendment I dating to the early twelfth dynasty am thought to have been written on behalf of his successor and son, Senusret I. In them, the king condemns the treachery of his subjects and warns his son not to trust anyone. (Simpson 166) it is now believed that the Amenenhet I was assassinated in the thirtieth year of his reign and the the throne went to his son and coregent Senusret I who was away I Libya campaigning at the time. This is also the first mention of co-rency in Egyptian history. (Shaw 155) In the story of Sinuhe, which begins with Sinuhe-a court official whom in fear fleas the country upon hearing of the death of Amenemhet I. He later returns after having made a prosperous life for himself broad recognizing the importance of his country and the traditional burial with all its accompanying funerary rites. (Simpson 54) The prominence of Asiatics and fore people was very evident I Sinuhe as well as real life, courtesy of all the foreign funerary good that were found in Tell el Yahudiya. (Lichtheim 139) Thus, these phenomena echoes the images revealed in Sinuhe. Finally, in the Tale of Wenamun set in the Third Intermediate Period, which was a time of major political upheaval and a weakening of the Egyptian economy, as Egypt loses control over Nubia with its gold mines and trade products. (Shaw 331) An expedition is sent to Byblos by Herihor to acquire cedar wood for the bark of Amun. Wenamun is treated shabbily and rudely which echoes the reality that the new Egyptian rulers have lost their power in the Levant and are not as feared and respected as their predecessors were. (Simpson 116) Thus the report clearly illustrates the decline of Egypt’s prestige abroad following the collapse of the New Kingdom Empire. At the end of the day, Ancient Egypt shall forever remain an enigma. But we are afforded glimpses of that world long ago and the way it was through surviving monuments and texts. Thus literature may be taken to represent historical events but only to a certain extent. As stated earlier, the majority of Middle Kingdom prophecies with their doom and gloom outlook serve to legitimize the king’s extreme measures in gaining control of the country and stabilizing his rule. The biographies showcase only the positive deeds undertaken by the deceased during his lifetime but they also mention other events linked to kings of that time. They may prove to be more reliable in the sense that the tomb owner only mentions that which he considers noteworthy. What is being said and what remains is only a glimmer of that larger than life civilization long ago. But nevertheless, it is still a glimpse into the past.

Nehalosman (talk) 04:16, 15 July 2009 (UTC)

Bibliography

Shaw, Ian. The Oxford History of ancient Egypt. Oxford University Press. New York 2000.

Simpson, Kelly. The Literature of Ancient Egypt. Yale University Press. USA 2003.

Lichtheim, Miriam. Ancient Egyptian Literaure Volume 1. University Of California Press. USA 1975

Parkinson, R. B. Voice from Ancient Egypt. The Britsh Museum Press. London 1991.