'Die Manner hinter dem Konig': 6. Symposium zur agyptischen Konigsideologie.

• Author: Troy, Lana
• Position: Book review

'Die Manner hinter dem Konig': 6. Symposium zur agyptischen Konigsideologie. Edited by HORST BEINLICH. Konigtum, Staat und Gesellschaft fruher Hochkulturen, vol. 4.3. Wiesbaden: HARRASSOWITZ VERLAG, 2012. Pp. ix + 172, illus. 48 [euro] (paper).

The theme of this volume, "the men behind the king," is represented by ten articles. Although presented alphabetically, much is to be gained by grouping them according to period and topic.

The Middle Kingdom is the setting for Carola Vogel's study that deals with Egyptian officials working abroad (pp. 151-66). Stationed far from the control of the royal court, the official was expected to act with absolute loyalty to the interests of the king. Vogel sees a correlation between this loyalty and the generous living conditions represented by the large villa complexes slotted into the internal rooms of the Nubian forts. Egyptian superiority was essential to safeguard the resources of the south, making the fort commanders significant political players.

The New Kingdom is the volume's chronological focus. Gundlach (pp. 23-45) reviews the evidence for the royal succession from Ahmose to Seti I, particularly when a regent was required because of the king's age. The author combines the age at death (where the mummy is available) and the length of the reign to deduce the age at the beginning of the reign. He surmises that many of these kings would have been at the most teenagers at the time of their coronation and that, during the first half of the Eighteenth Dynasty, regent mothers would have been fairly common. A discussion, king by king, goes into the detail of each reign's chronology and identifies possibly influential officials in the king's surroundings. The young king's need for a mentor appears to have opened the door for the character of the succession of the later Eighteenth and early Nineteenth Dynasties, during which time three successive military officials ascended the throne.

Another example of the relation between the king and his officials is examined in Binder's review of the recipients of the "Gold of Honor" (pp. 1-16), an award that represented the favor (hsw.t) of the king and consisted primarily of distinctive jewelry. Examples of the award of particular interest are examined beginning with Rekhmire, who was vizier under both Tuthmosis III and his son Amenhotep II. The author notes that the Gold of Honor was primarily a military award during the first part of the dynasty and that the award...