The Rise of 'Private' Rule in Upper Egypt: The Transition of the Theban Government from the Twentieth to the Twenty-First Dynasty

Drennan, Emily R.

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Year:: 2019
Contributor:: Drennan, Emily R. (creator); Bestock, Laurel (Advisor); Allen, James (Reader); Oliver, Graham (Reader); Brown University. Department of Egyptology and Assyriology (sponsor)
Genre:: theses
Subject:: Egypt; Egypt--Thebes (Extinct city); Third Intermediate Period; Kingship; Politics and government; High Priests; Upper Egypt
Extent:: 8, 161 p.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.26300/qvbf-8n90

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Abstract:: This dissertation examines the rulers of Upper Egypt during a time of transition. The kingdom split into two politically separate areas following the death of Ramses XI, the king scholars accept as the last pharaoh of the New Kingdom. More traditional kings ruled Lower Egypt from Tanis in the Delta, while the high priesthood of Amun in Thebes wielded control over Upper Egypt. This dissertation reconsiders what it meant to be a legitimate leader in Egypt at the end of the New Kingdom and the beginning of the Third Intermediate Period. Restricting it to a “traditional king,” as understood by modern scholars, does not allow for the possibility of changes and development. This dissertation demonstrates that it was possible for Upper Egypt to have been ruled by legitimate leaders who did not conform to traditional kingship, but instead held on to their private status throughout their reigns while taking on royal attributes and titles when desired. This change, beginning with Herihor, was a major shift in power, government, and rulership, but it did not appear out of nowhere. Some scholars attribute these changes to a Libyan influence, claiming that the high priests of Amun of the Twenty-First Dynasty must have been Libyan themselves to have introduced such radical shifts. It cannot be ruled out that they were of Libyan descent, but this dissertation shows that Egyptian origins can be found by tracing ideological and administrative trends. Rather than viewing this innovation as a foreign structure imposed from above, it can be understood as a domestic idea developed from the evolving culture of elite officials.
Notes:: Thesis (Ph. D.)--Brown University, 2019

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Citation

Drennan, Emily R., "The Rise of 'Private' Rule in Upper Egypt: The Transition of the Theban Government from the Twentieth to the Twenty-First Dynasty" (2019). Egyptology and Assyriology Theses and Dissertations. Brown Digital Repository. Brown University Library. https://doi.org/10.26300/qvbf-8n90

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Egyptology and Assyriology Theses and Dissertations

Theses and Dissertations for the Egyptology and Assyriology department.
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The Rise of "Private" Rule in Upper Egypt: The Transition of the Theban Government from the Twentieth to the Twenty-First Dynasty