During the Middle Kingdom Period, having a daughter appointed as a God’s Wife in your local temple meant that you were a member of the upper crust of Egyptian society. But at the dawn of the New Kingdom, Pharaoh Ahmose I drafted a legal contract that made the God’s Wife of Amun arguably the second most powerful person in the kingdom. Before all was said and done, one God’s Wife would use the office to become the most powerful person in the kingdom.
With Amun now the King of the Gods, his earthly consort came into her own wealth and authority in a way that would ultimately shatter the glass ceiling of Egyptian politics, at least for a while…
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Tags: Ahhotep I, Ahmose I, Ahmose-Nefertari, Amun, Benefactor Stele, Donation Stele, Eighteenth Dynasty, Gods Wife of Amun, House of the Adoratrice, Karnak, Khabekhnet, Middle Kingdom Period, New Kingdom, Second Intermediate Period, Second Priesthood of Amun, Seventeenth Dynasty, Tempest Stele, Thebes
Edfu is most often associated with the Temple of Horus built there during the Ptolemaic Period, but the Tell Edfu Project, directed by the Oriental Institute’s Dr. Nadine Moeller, is literally uncovering a much older story. Ancient Edfu was a persistent city that took a two-fisted approach to adversity and not only survived the first two Intermediate Periods, but flourished.
In Edfu Part One: Ancient Djeba we will look at the history of this ancient mid-sized town that shattered the myth of Egypt being a “civilization without cities.”
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Tags: Djeba, Djedkare, Edfu, Fifth Dynasty, First Intermediate Period, Harsomtus, Hathor, Henri Henne, Horus, Isi of Edfu, Middle Kingdom Period, Nadine Moeller, Old Kingdom, Oriental Institute, Osiris Chapel at Edfu, Psamtik I, Ptolemaic Dynasty, Second Intermediate Period, Seventeenth Dynasty, Sixth Dynasty, Tell Edfu, Tell Edfu Project, Temple of Horus at Edfu, Teti, Thebes, Thirteenth Dynasty, Twelfth Dynasty, Unas, Wetjeset-Hor
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Tags: Djehuti, Intef V, Intef VI, Intef VII, Kamose, Mentuhotep VI, Nebirau I, Nebirau II, Nebiriau I, Nebiriau II, Rahotep, Saite Faction, Second Intermediate Period, Semenenre, Senakhtenre, Senwosret V, Seqenenre, Seuserenre, Seventeenth Dynasty, Sobekemsaf I, Sobekemsaf II, Susserenre, Tao I, Tao II, Thebes