Fourth Symposium on Egyptian Royal Ideology: Egyptian Royal Residences.

• Author: Nicholson, Paul T.
• Position: Book review

Edited by Rolf Gundlach and John H. Taylor. Konigtum, Staat und Gesellschaft Fruher Hochkulturen, vol. 4.1. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2009. Pp. vii + 197, illus. [euro] 48.

This volume contains nine papers drawn from the Fourth Symposium on Ancient Egyptian Royal Ideology, held in London in 2004. All the papers are in English. As might be expected, given the wealth of evidence on the royal residence in the Middle and New Kingdoms, the papers are mainly focused on those periods, although the Old Kingdom features in the paper by D. M. Doxey which opens the volume.

Doxey's paper considers the role of the nomarchs as rulers and how the position of these officials is reflected in the layout of provincial necropoleis. She finds that, just as in the Old and Middle Kingdoms officials sought to be buried as close to the royal monument as possible (even to the extent of abandoning their partly built tombs if they outlived one king and beginning a new tomb in the vicinity of that of their new sovereign), so in provincial cemeteries the tombs of nomarchs formed the foci for lower status burials.

Andrea Gnirs considers the impact of the ruler on the individual visiting the palace. Her paper, "In the Kings House," looks at the way in which architecture was used to heighten the sense of awe felt by visitors to the residence, whose fate could depend upon the whim of the ruler. She uses the story of Sinuhe and his experiences alongside architectural evidence to give some sense of the trepidation which would have been experienced by the visitor.

While visitors may have been in fear of the ruler, Rolf Gundlach makes it clear that kings themselves were not beyond reproach. He skillfully demonstrates how the concept of ma'at was not constant but had to change as social and political circumstances in Egypt changed, although the ruler throughout remained the "Horus in the Palace." The king himself could "be made responsible for political and cultural measures" and so might be condemned by future rulers, as was the fate of Akhenaten. More commonly the titulary of a king's successor might imply criticism of his predecessor.

Eileen Hirsh deals with "The Residences of Senwosret I" based on textual evidence including that from the white chapel of Senwosret, which mentions buildings associated with the king which were spread widely within Egypt. She presents different models by which such data can be interpreted, based on a single center, two centers, or multiple...