2008年2月10日 下午11點35分36秒Osorkon II, of Egypt's 22nd Dynasty

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Sermon II, a Libyan, succeeded Takelot I in 874 BC to become the fifth ruler of Egypt's 22nd Dynasty, known as the Libyan or Bubastite Dynasty, at Tanis. He was probably a young man when he came to the throne, for high reign was relatively long. Osorkon was this king's birth name, which together with the epithet, meryamun, means "Osorkon, Beloved of Amun" His throne name was User-maaat-re Setepen-amun, meaning "Powerful is the Justice of Re, Chosen of Amun". His set of titles harked back to Shoshenq I and his Horus name incorporated an epithet of Ramesses II: "He whom Ra has crowned king of the Two Lands".   At the same time, his cousin, Harsiese became High Priest of Amun at Karnak, perhaps as an appointee of Osorkon II (or his father). However, this was perhaps an unwise move, for it created problems when, in year four of Osorkon II's reign, Harsiese declared himself king in the south. Had Harsiese's father, Shoshenq II  lived, it might have been he who would have inherited the throne in the first place. Yet, Harsiese's declaration held little real power, perhaps because of a continuing illness. In fact, his skull contains a hole, apparently made through a surgical procedure, which Harsiese seems to have survived, to judge from the healing shown by the wound. He was buried in the trough of a granite coffin taken from the tomb of Ramesses II's sister, Henutmire. Nevertheless, while Hariese's claim to the throne may have not provided him with much power, it does seem to have limited the rule of Osorkon II.  Upon Harsiese's death, Osorkon II consolidated his position by appointing one of his sons, Nimlot C, as High Priest at Karnak. He went on to appoint another son, Sheshonq D, as High Priest of Ptah at Memphis and made his young son (under the age of 10), Harnakhte, High Priest of Amun at Tanis, the royal capital. Obviously, his considerations for this were motivated by politics rather than religiously. In fact, an interesting inscription on a statue from Tanis dated to the reign of Osorkon II petitions Amun to confirm the appointment of his children to various high civil and religious offices. Nimlot C was also governor of Hierakleopolis and Middle Egypt as well as Chief Priest of Arsaphes.  Osorkon II initiated major building works during his reign, particularly at Babastis in the temple of the tutelary cat-goddess Bastet. He built for himself there a fine, monumental red granite hall to celebrate his jubilee (sed festival) in year 22 of his reign, which he adorned with reliefs of himself and his wife, Karomama I. It is unknown why he deviated from the normal thirty-year threshold for such a festival, but also recorded with these reliefs was the reintroduction of an 18th Dynasty policy of fiscal exemption for the temples of Egypt, which had once been announced by Amenhotep III at Soleb.  He also built at Memphis, Tanis, Thebes and Leontopolis, which would become the seat of power for the following dynasty of kings. At Tanis, his contributions included a new forecourt where a stelophorous statue of the king was discovered, and other outlying structures to the Temple of Amun. Much of the stone for this work was derived from the demolition of Piramesses, Ramesses II's old capital.  By the end of his reign, Assyria under king Shalmaneser III (858-828 BC), was wielding considerable influence over the Levant after overcoming northern Mesopotamia and Syria. Hence, in 853, Egypt was forced to confront the threat by aligning with Israel and the neighboring kingdoms, including her old ally Byblos so that together, they could halt the Assyrian advance, which they did at the battle of Qarqar on the Orontes. However, Egypt's involvement in this seems to have been limited to a thousand troops that were contributed to the coalition. During the very last years of Osorkon II's reign, he took an alternative approach to the Assyrian problem, offering gifts of various exotic fauna to the foreign king. Little else is really known about the final years of this king's reign, the last flourish of the 22nd Dynasty, except that Thebes apparently made another attempt at gaining independence. During the king's last two years, apparently he shared the kingdom with a certain Takelot II of Thebes, effectively marking the end of Egypt as a unified state for a period of nearly two centuries. Even a Biblical passage from this period suggests such a split, when it refers to the "kings of Egypt". Upon his death, Osorkon II was buried at Tanis in the tomb (NRT 1) he had earlier appropriated for himself and his late father. He was interred in a huge sarcophagus with a lid carved from the remains of a group-statue of the Ramesside Period. He shared the burial chamber with his young son, Harnakhte, who's tenor as High Priest of Amun at Tanis was apparently short-lived. Unfortunately, his tomb was robbed during antiquity, leaving only a few debris of the hawk-headed coffin and canopic jars behind. He was succeeded by Shoshenq III, who was presumably his son, though no certain evidence survives.  Granite head of Osorkon II from Tanis

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2008年2月10日 下午11點32分19秒Canopic Chests and Jars

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Canopic chests, and particularly canopic jars, represent some of the most beautiful artwork of the ancient Egyptians. They were used to contain the internal organs of individuals removed during the process of mummification. The most common form was four jars held within a chest, but canopic equipment could comprise, at times, miniature coffins and masks. Very often, canopic equipment was made from calcite (Egyptian alabaster).  Left: Tutankhamun's canopic chest and lids in the form of human heads Like so many terms related to ancient Egypt, "canopic" is really derives from a misunderstanding. The ancient, classical writers believed that the Greek hero, Kanopos, helmsman for Menelaeus, was worshipped at Canopus in the form of a jar. The very early Egyptologists, are rather explorers, saw a connection between that object and the actually unrelated visceral jars discovered in tombs, and began calling them "canopic". Obviously, the name stuck and eventually was used to describe all kinds of receptacles intended to hold viscera removed during the mummification process.  The very earliest canopic equipment consisted of simple chests, or even a specially built cavity in the wall, where wrapped visceral bundles were placed. We find the first possible canopic installations at Saqqara in tombs of the 2nd Dynasty, but proven canopic burials date from the 4th dynasty reign of Senfru. Tombs dating from this period at Meidum near the Fayoum Oasis have niches that, in size and position, correspond to later canopic usage. In the case of Hetepheres, Snefru's wife, and actual chest was discovered carved from calcite, and divided into four square compartments, each of which contained a biological mass that almost certainly was part of her internal organs. However, the first indication of a king's canopic equipment was discovered in the paving blocks to the southeast of the sarcophagus of Khafre, at the second pyramid of Giza. Typically, the earliest canopic niches in burial chambers may have held wooden boxes, but by the end of the 4th Dynasty, organs were sometimes placed inside simple stone or pottery jars, with flat or domed lids. The earliest examples of canopic jars come from the 4th dynasty tomb of Queen Meresankh III at Giza, from the reign of Menkaure. The canopic chests which held the jars were cut from soft stone, or carved from the actual wall or floor of the tomb. However, from the 6th Dynasty, granite examples have been discovered in royal tombs which were sunk into pits in the floor at the southeast foot of the sarcophagus. Fragments of just such a chest, together with its contents, were discovered in the tomb of Pei I. The viscera remains had been soaked in resin and when solidified, took the shape of a jar.  While the First Intermediate Period was a time of Chaos in Egyptian history, it was during this time that the lid of canopic jars started to take on the form of a human head instead of a flat or domed shape. Also, the wrapped bundles of viscera placed in the jars were now sometimes adorned with cartonnage masks with human faces. And while previously, inscriptions on canopic equipment had been limited to the name and title of the deceased, wooden canopic chests now followed the design of contemporary coffins, with strings of text that run around the upper part of the chest, with some examples of more extensive text. Design elements linking the coffin or sarcophagus with the canopic chest continued until near the end of the New Kingdom. Right: A gilded wooden statue of the goddess, Selket (Selkis)  At the end of the Middle Kingdom, a classical pattern for canopic equipment was achieved. While not all canopic installations could conform to the ideal standards, now we find an outer stone chest, associated with the stone sarcophagus and an inner wooden chest representing the coffin and divided into four sections. These four sections held four separate jars, though in some cases, the jars were omitted, replaced with painted representations of the jars, complete with texts, on the inner lid of the canopic chest. The four jars were meant to hold four major organs. These four human organs were identified with specific deities, each of whom was referred to as a genius.  They included the liver, identified with the genius Imsety, one of the four sons of Horus who could claim protection form the goddess Isis, the lungs, identified with a pair of genius, Hapy, the second son of Horus and the goddess Nephthys, the stomach, identified with Horus' third son Duamutef and the goddess Neith, and the intestines, associated with Kebehsenuef, the fourth son of Horus and Selket. Note that the heart was never removed from the body during the mummification process.  On the inner wooden chest, text would be inscribed invoking the protection of the four tutelary goddesses, Isis, Nephthys, Neith and Selket. This text would call on these goddess to wrap their protective arms around their paired genius, and would proclaim the honor of the deceased. The individual jars would also be adorned with similar text. A typical example from a jar containing the liver found in the 13th Dynasty tomb of king Hor stated, "Isis, extend your protection about Imsety who is in you, O honored before Imsety, the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Awibre (Hor)". Right: Anibus In the 17th Dynasty, there was a change in the traditional coffins used to bury the dead (particularly royalty) in Egypt. No longer were all coffins rectangular, but rather they actually took on the form of the human body. Now, the canopic chests were decorated with the recumbent figure of Anibus, the jackal god of death. The first such examples of canopic chests took on the form of a rectangular coffin, with a back varnished background. Some of these chests have exaggerated vaulted lids, with raised end pieces which wee characteristic of late rectangular coffins. Early in the eighteenth dynasty, canopic decoration changed once more, focusing on the image of the four goddesses and their genii. Now, the genii are usually identifiable from the jar tops, shaped as heads. Imsety has a human appearance, while Hapy takes the form of a baboon, Duamutef that of a jackal and Kebehsenuef that of a hawk. At the same time, the chests became more elaborate. Now, rather then simple boxes with flat or vaulted lids, they began to imitate the naos shrines, usually mounted on a sledge. The top section of the box sometimes had a flaring cavetto cornice, while the lid was rounded at the front and sloped down to the rear. Like the coffins and sarcophagi, they were painted with a white background, shifting to a gold tent on black, and then to polychrome on yellow at the very end of the 18th Dynasty.  As the New Kingdom pressed on into its maturity, the lids on the canopic jars seem to have become somewhat more rigged in form, sometimes taking on the form of animal and bird heads. This was apparently due to the more mature nature of the religious evolution surrounding this form of funerary equipment. Prior to this period, the jars were sometimes thought to embody the dead person and at other times that of the relevant genius, a mater of some confusion. This issue was apparently resolved in favor of the genius. During this time (18th Dynasty), jars were made of various materials including calcite, limestone, pottery, wood and cartonnage. The New Kingdom saw a divergence between the canopic equipment of royalty and that of the private sector that was not as distinct in prior periods. However, from the reign of Amenhotep II we find an elaborate calcite chest with four jars carved from the box itself, and raised figures of the protective goddesses covering each of the corners of the box. The stoppers themselves represented the king. This more complex chest was used by the kings of Egypt until the early part of the 19th Dynasty.  Left: The canopic chest of Tutankhamun However, it should be noted that, along with the rest of Egyptian religion, even the customs related to canopic equipment were altered during the reign of the Heretic King, Akhenaten, during the 18th Dynasty. Text on these objects provide the names and titles of the king, as well as those of Aten. However, the traditional gods and goddesses of burial are omitted. Here, a hawk, the earliest embodiment of the sun god, acted as protector at the canopic chest's corners. But the divine ladies reappear in the equipment of his probable son, Tutankhamun.  With Tutankhamun's canopic equipment, the goddesses not only cover the corners of the stone chest, but as gilded wooden statues, they guard the great gilded wooden shrine that enclosed the canopic chest. The chest itself was a solid block with four cylindrical compartments sealed with lids in the shape of the king's head (though probably not of Tutankhamun himself). Within the cylinders of the box were four solid gold miniature coffins which held the packets of viscera. Horemheb and Sti I's canopic chests followed the general design of Tutankhamun's equipment, but with the addition of wings on the arms of the goddesses. Ramesses II's chest was similar, though it also incorporated glass inlays. However, after Ramesses II's reign, it appears that the human lids of the canopic jars were definitively replayed by faunal forms of the genii. However, Merenptah, Ramesses II's thirteenth son and heir, no longer displayed corner goddesses. Left: The face from one of the lids that sealed the canopic compartments in King Tutankhamun's canopic chest Interestingly, by the early 20th Dynasty, we no longer find canopic chests, but rather large, individual jars bearing the heads of the goddesses. We are not sure how the jars were stored. Only one example of these have been found, belonging to Ramesses IV, but there were similar jars found for the burials of sacred Apis and Mnevis bulls.   Sometime around the 21st Dynasty, funerary customs took and interesting turn. No longer were the viscera of most mummies interred separately from the body. During the mummification process, they were returned to the body cavity. Still, the customs related to canopic equipment were so strong that jars remained part of the funerary equipment (for the wealthy), but were left empty.  However, by the 22nd Dynasty, the jars were superseded by solid dummy jars, and in at least one example, that of Sheshonq II, the dummy jars held dummy packets of viscera, a true apex of form over function.  From the 22nd Dynasty on, the text associated with canopic equipment became much simpler, often only naming the deceased and the genius. Now we find much more variety, in both the form and decoration of canopic jars. In the 23rd Dynasty, we find this equipment painted with bright polychrome, for example.  During the 25th Dynasty and the Saite period, the text once more changed. Now, there were formulations and the text varied according to which deities were invoked.  The jar's shapes also tended to become more rotund, with the widest sections lower then in prior examples. However, they all seem to bear the usual faunal genius heads, though there was apparently a brief reversion back to the human heads during the early 27th Dynasty, but we do not posses enough evidence to say that there was any trend in this regard.  Right: Solid, wooden canopic dummies Canopic equipment, which had now been in use for thousands of years, finally came to and end sometime during the Ptoloemaic (Greek) period. A very few Ptolemaic jars are known, but they appear to have been superseded by small but tall chests resembling shrines. They were brightly painted and decorated with images of the genii, and were surmounted by small statues of a squatting hawk. However, even prior to the Roman occupation of Egypt, these too disappeared forever from the funerary practices of the ancients.

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2008年2月10日 下午11點16分45秒God's Wife of Amun

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Introduction Egypt throughout the ancient ages was a male dominated society, indeed as most civilizations were then, and actually continue to be today. Yet, some women soared to amazing positions and at various times, ruled Egypt even during the earliest dynasties. In fact, one of Egypt's most famous and beloved personalities will perhaps always be Cleopatra VII, who we simply know as Cleopatra.  Beginning from the 18th Dynasty and the start of Egypt's New Kingdom, one of the most consistently important positions held by Egyptian Women (outside of queen) was that of the God's Wife of Amun (Hemet Netjer nt Imen). She took on the function of playing consort to the "National God" in one of Egypt's most important cities, Thebes, yet it could be argued that it was as much an important political posting as it was a religious role (In many ways, it is difficult to separate the two in ancient Egypt). No other comparable role is known for any of the other cult of an Egyptian gods, with the exception of the Middle Kingdom when there appears to have been God's Wives associated with Min and Ptah. This position remained important until the Persian invasion at the end of the 26th Dynasty of Egypt's Late Period, when it seems to have ceased to exist (or at least viably). Like the king, the God's Wife took a prenomen as well as a nomen, which were both enclosed in cartouches. Most of these were composed with the name of Mut and the God's Wife was considered to be the earthly incarnation of that goddess.  The position was endowed with its own estate, a staff of male officials and probably even musicians associated with the cult of Amun. Her primary domain would have been the Temple of Amun at Karnak on the East Bank at Thebes. Over time, it appears to have given considerable independent wealth to its holder. In fact, by the Late Period, the God's Wife was elevated to become the principal priest of the cult of Amun at Thebes, after the title of First Profit of Amun was eliminated (or perhaps, integrated with the God's Wife title). Other titles that became incorporated within this position included God's Hand and Divine Adoratrice, a position that was held by the daughters of the High Priest of Amun until the reign of Hatshepsut. History God's Wife of Amun has its origins prior to the 18th Dynasty, appearing first in the 10th and 12th Dynasties of the Middle Kingdom, but it was an obscure, non-royal role prior to the reign of Ahmose I, the founder of the New Kingdom. He not only elevated the "Great Southern City" (Thebes), but also the position of God's Wife of Amen, by bestowing it on his chief wife, Ahmose Nefertari. She had held the title, Second Prophet of Amun, an exceptional rank for a woman, but arranged by contract to exchange the title for that of God's Wife. In doing so, she created an important religious concept held at least through the 18th Dynasty. During this period, the Egyptians held that the crown prince was the child not of the king, but of the union between Amun and his Great Royal Wife.  At first, the position was hereditary, more or less, passing either to the daughter of the Queen who held the title, or to the next king's wife, who frequently was one and the same. From Ahmes Nefertari the title passed to her daughter, Meritamen after she married her brother, Amenhotep I. However, it was Hatshepsut who took the position over from Meritamen, rather then the wife of Tuthmosis I, perhaps because his chief wife, Ahmes, may have been the sister of Meritamen. Hatshepsut seems to have kept it when she became regent for Tuthmoses III and it has been suggested that the title was so important that this was a means to gather authority for Hatshepsut before she claimed the throne. She did not relinquish the title until she later took the full titles of a king. However, now as king, sometimes depicted as a man, it would have been incongruent for her to remain as God's wife, so she relinquished the role to her daughter by Tuthmosis II, Princess Neferure. We believe that after the death of Princess Neferure (and her mother, Hatshepsut), the title passed to the non-royal mother of Tuthmosis III, Aset, and after her death, went to his daughter, Meritamen, and though it is somewhat unclear, it may have passed from her to the mother of his successor and son, Amenhotep II. Her name was Meritre. The role was held by Tiaa, the king's mother in the reign of Tuthmosis IV. However, as the later kings of this dynasty moved towards the worship of the sun disc culminating with the heretic king, Akhenaten, the title slipped into obscurity and we do not find records of the last six kings of this dynasty having wives in this role.  In the 19th Dynasty, the title was revived, though we lack records that queens of that, or the 20th Dynasty functioned in any special religious capacity. Prior to the 19th Dynasty, most if not all  of the title holders had been married, but it may have been the maiden daughter of Ramesses VI, Aset, who was the first unmarried God's Wife. This would evolve into a tradition followed in future dynasties. In fact, from the 21st Dynasty on, the title was always held by an unwed daughter of either the king, or the High Priest of Amun. These included Maatkare, the daughter of the Priest and King, Pinudjem I, and Istemkheb, the daughter of King Psusennes I. Now, the position was passed on through "adoption", with the God's Wife of Amun naming her successor.  This was also during the period that the title became even more political. The 21st Dynasty is considered by most to be the initial phase of the Third Intermediate Period, and the country was divided administratively. Now, we find kings in both the north and the south, at Thebes, and kings of the Delta in the north sought to have their daughters installed with the Title at Thebes. This practice continued until the position was apparently abandoned during the Persian conquest of Egypt, and for the Nubian rulers of Egypt in the 25th Dynasty it was essential.  Even before the first Nubian King we recognize as ruler of Egypt, Piye, his father invaded Egypt and persuaded the current God's Wife, Shepenwepet I, to adopt his daughter, Amenridis, as her successor. What persuasion he used is unknown, for Shepenwepet I was actually the daughter of Kashta's adversary in the Delta. After ascending to this title, Amenridis remained God's Wife of Amun through the reigns of the next two Nubian Kings, Piye and Shebaka. When she died during the reign of Shebitku, her replacement was the daughter of Piye, Shepenwepet II. She held the office into the reign of Tantamani and was replaced by the daughter of Taharqa, Amenridis II. She actually continued to hold the office even after the Nubians were ejected from Egypt. In fact, the new ruler of Egypt in the north who had driven her family from Egypt, Psammetichus I (Psamtik) negotiated with her (with the help of Montuemhat, "Overseer of Upper Egypt") to adopt his eldest daughter, Nitiqret (Nitocris) as her successor, in order to secure his position in the south. A stela recording her later installment as God's Wife describes the elaborate ceremony involved, and lists the enormous endowment allotted to the office during this period. Nitiqret's successor was Ankhnesneferibre, the daughter of Psammetichus II, but soon the Persians could come, and that would put, virtually, an end to the title, God's Wife of Amun. Appearance The depictions we have of God's Wife of Amun evolve over the title's history. At first, for example in the Red Chapel, Neferure is portrayed in what might have been priestly attire, a simple sleeveless costume with a headdress consisting of a headband with streamers worn over a skullcap (or perhaps simply closely cropped hair).  Later, she was depicted as a queen, wearing the tripatite wig, vulture cap with uraeus, modius and tall double feathers. She was also sometimes shown with horns and a sun disc. She most likely also carried the "fly Whisk" scepter. When depicted with Amun, interestingly, she was usually shown in the same scale, whereas queens with their king were often portrayed in a much smaller scale.   Function We do not completely, and some would say even remotely, understand the functions of God's Wife. Until Aset, the daughter of Ramesses VI took the role of God's Wife, she was certainly not exclusively considered as Amun's wife, for she was as well that of the king in most cases. However, with Aset, it has been assumed by some that she may have remained a virgin. And although the role has a sexual connotation, the god Amun did not procreate through intercourse, but rather by self stimulation. It may have been her function to simply stimulate the God sexually through ritualistic ceremony, such as playing the sistrum (a musical instrument) before him, in order to be impregnated with the future king. However, this was certainly not her only function. New Kingdom God's Wives are shown taking part in temple rituals at Luxor and elsewhere. For example, title holders of the 25th and 26th Dynasties are shown presenting Ma'at to a god in non-funerary contexts, an honor only bestowed on one queen (Nefertiti), but mostly only allowed to Kings.

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