Ancient Egypt, from Creation to Cleopatra. This podcast tells the story of pharaonic Egypt "in their own words." Using archaeology, ancient texts, and up-to-date scholarship, we uncover the world of the Nile Valley and its people. Hosted on the Airwave Media Network.
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26c: A Legacy in Flames - The First Intermediate Period (Part 6)
Tuesday, April 15, 2014 • Duration 01:16:06
Newly researched and updated in 2024.
Ta-Wer howled. Around 2000 BCE, the southern kingdom was rising quickly. But the north was not out of the fight. Not by a long shot…
Episode chapters
Prologue – A Royal Inspection (00:30).
The Fall of Tjeni / Thinis (07:25).
The Long Reign of Intef II (11:58).
Intef’s Dogs (20:58).
Khety Merykara (34:03).
Making Ta-Wer Howl (47:25).
Conclusion (01:06:37).
Epilogue – Intef’s Hymns for Ra and Hathor (01:08:30).
Dendera excavations: Moeller and Marouard, The Development of Two Early Urban Centres - Edfu and Dendara (2018).
The History of Egypt Podcast:
Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com.
Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast.
Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.
Music and interludes by Keith Zizza www.keithzizza.net.
Music and interludes by Luke Chaos www.chaosmusick.com.
Logo image: The "Dog Stela" of Intef II, from his tomb at El-Tarif (Mariette 1858).
Select Bibliography:
A. E. Demidchik, ‘The Reign of Merikare Khety’, Göttinger Miszellen 192 (2003), 25--36.
A. Dodson and D. Hilton, The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt (London, 2004).
C. Langer, ‘The Political Realism of the Egyptian Elite: A Comparison Between The Teaching for Merikare and Niccolò Machiavelli’s Il Principe’, Journal of Egyptian History 8 (2015), 49--79.
R. J. Leprohon, The Great Name: Ancient Egyptian Royal Titulary (Wilson, 2013).
M. Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms (Los Angeles, 1973).
M. Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Autobiographies Chiefly of the Middle Kingdom: A Study and an Anthology (Freiburg, 1988).
J. Malek, ‘King Merykare and his Pyramid’, in C. Berger et al. (eds), Hommages à Jean Leclant, 4, 4 vols (Cairo, 1994), 203--214.
G. Maspero, ‘On the Name of An Egyptian Dog’, Transactions of the Society of Biblical Archaeology V (1877), 127--128.
R. B. Parkinson, The Tale of Sinuhe and Other Ancient Egyptian Poems (1940—1640 BC) (Oxford, 1997).
R. B. Parkinson, Poetry and Culture in Middle Kingdom Egypt: A Dark Side to Perfection (London, 2002).
D. Polz, Die Sogenannte Hundestele des Königs Wah-Anch Intef aus el-Târif: Eine Forschungsgeschichte (Wiesbaden, 2019).
D. Polz, ‘Dra’ Abu el-Naga, Ägypten: ein angeblicher Fund aus Dra’ Abu el-Naga. Die sog. Hundestele des Königs Wah-Anch Intef. Eine Forschungsgeschichte’, e-Forschungsberichte des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts 2020 (2020), 12--16.
S. Quirke, Egyptian Literature 1800 BC: Questions and Readings (London, 2004).
D. B. Spanel, ‘The Herakleopolitan Tombs of Kheti I, Jt(.j)jb(.j), and Kheti II at Asyut’, Orientalia 58 (1989), 301--314.
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26b: Intef the Great, Part 2 - The First Intermediate Period (Part 5b)
Monday, April 14, 2014 • Duration 54:06
Newly researched and updated in 2024.
Intef the Great, Part 2. The war for Ta-Wer. The Thebans had seized the sacred city of Abdju (Abydos) in the district of Ta-Wer. The northern rulers, from the House of Khety, contested this violently. Inscriptions and art reveal the movements of armies, the clashes on field and river, and the sieging of major towns. Soon, things going downright apocalyptic. Also… dogs!
Music and interludes by Keith Zizza www.keithzizza.net.
Music and interludes by Jeffrey Goodman www.jeffreygoodman.com.
Interludes by Luke Chaos www.chaosmusick.com.
Logo image: Intef II, from a stela in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Intro: Saruman's Speech from The Two Towers (2002), adapted by Dominic Perry.
Fawlty Towers excerpts via Britbox Don't Mention the War | Fawlty Towers (youtube.com).
The History of Egypt Podcast:
Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com.
Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast.
Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.
Partial Bibliography:
M. D. Adams, ‘Community and Society in Egypt in the First Intermediate Period: An Archaeological Investigation of the Abydos Settlement Site’, Unpublished PhD. Thesis, University of Michigan (2005).
D. Arnold, Gräber des Alten und Mittleren Reiches in El-Tarif (Mainz, 1976).
D. D. Baker, Encyclopedia of the Pharaohs Volume I: Predynastic to the Twentieth Dynasty 3300 - 1069 BC (Cairo, 2008).
H. Brunner, Die Texte aus den Gräbern der Herakleopolitenzeit von Siut mit Übersetzung und Erläuterungen (Glückstadt, 1937).
J. J. Clère and J. Vandier, Textes de la Première Période Intermédiare et de la XIeme Dynastie (Brussels, 1948).
J. C. Darnell and D. Darnell, ‘New Inscriptions of the Late First Intermediate Period from the Theban Western Desert and the Beginnings of the Northern Expansion of the Eleventh Dynasty’, Journal of Near Eastern Studies 56 (1997), 241--258.
W. Ejsmond, ‘The Nubian Mercenaries of Gebelein in Light of Recent Field Research’, Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections 14 (2017), 11--13.
N. Fields, Soldier of the Pharaoh: Middle Kingdom Egypt 2055--1650 BC (2007).
H. G. Fischer, Inscriptions from the Coptite Nome: Dynasties VI-XI (Analecta orientalia 40; Rome, 1964).
H. G. Fischer, ‘Provincial Inscriptions of the Heracleopolitan Period’, Varia Nova, Egyptian Studies 3 (New York, 1996), 79--90.
G. P. Gilbert, Weapons, Warriors, and Warfare in Early Egypt (Oxford, 2004).
H. Goedicke, ‘The Inscription of Dmi’, Journal of Near Eastern Studies 19 (1960), 288--291.
W. Grajetzki, The Middle Kingdom of Ancient Egypt (London, 2006 & 2024).
R. Landgráfová, It Is My Good Name That You Should Remember: Egyptian Biographical Texts on Middle Kingdom Stelae (Prague, 2011).
M. Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms (Los Angeles, 1973).
M. Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Autobiographies Chiefly of the Middle Kingdom: A Study and an Anthology (Freiburg, 1988).
D. O’Connor, Abydos: Egypt’s First Pharaohs and the Cult of Osiris (London, 2009).
S. Seidlmayer, ‘The First Intermediate Period (c. 2160--2055 BC)’, in I. Shaw (ed.), The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt (Oxford, 2000), 108--136.
I. Shaw, Ancient Egyptian Warfare (Oxford, 2019).
J. Wegner, ‘The Stela of Idudju-Iker, Foremost-One of the Chiefs of Wawat: New Evidence on the Conquest of Thinis Under Wahankh Antef II’, Revue d’égyptologie 68 (2018), 153--209.
T. Wilkinson, The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt: The History of a Civilisation from 3000 BC to Cleopatra (London, 2010).
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Decline & Fall of the Old Kingdom (Part 2)
Wednesday, March 5, 2014 • Duration 36:31
Why did it all go so wrong? We’ve explored the historical overview of Old Kingdom decline; but what was driving it? There are three major factors that caused this fall. Two originate in the climate, the third comes from the political structure of the kingdom and its society. From the deserts of Sahara to the depths of the Nile, we uncover the causes of decline…
Note: An extended version of this episode is available at Patreon.com/egyptpodcast.
The History of Egypt Podcast:
Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com.
Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast.
Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.
Music and interludes by Keith Zizza www.keithzizza.net.
Music and interludes by Luke Chaos www.chaosmusick.com.
Logo image: The “Starving Bedouin” from the Pyramid of Unas. Photo by Sarah Murray.
Select Bibliography:
M. Bárta, Analyzing Collapse: The Rise and Fall of the Old Kingdom (2019).
B. Bell, ‘The Oldest Records of the Nile Floods’, The Geographical Journal 136 (1970), 569—573.
K. W. Butzer, ‘When the Desert Was in Flood: Environmental History of the Giza Plateau’, AERAgram 5 (2001), 3—5.
K. W. Butzer, ‘Landscapes and Environmental History of the Nile Valley: A Critical Review and Prospectus’, in E. Bloxam and I. Shaw (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Egyptology (Oxford, 2020), 99—124.
N. Kanawati and J. Swinton, Egypt in the Sixth Dynasty: Challenges and Responses (2018).
K. O. Kuraszkiewicz, ‘Architectural Innovations Influenced by Climatic Phenomena (4.2 KA Event) in the Late Old Kingdom (Saqqara, Egypt)’, Studia Quaternaria 33 (2016), 27—34.
M. van de Mieroop, A History of Ancient Egypt (2nd edn, 2021).
N. Moeller, ‘The First Intermediate Period: A Time of Famine and Climate Change?’, Egypt and the Levant 15 (2005), 153—167.
J. C. Moreno García, ‘Climatic Change or Sociopolitical Transformation? Reassessing Late 3rd Millennium BC in Egypt’, in J. C. Moreno García et al. (eds), 2200 BC - A Climatic Breakdown as a Cause for the Collapse of the Old World? 2 vols (2015), 79—94.
S. Rzepka et al., ‘Preliminary Report on Engineering Properties and Environmental Resistance of Ancient Mud Bricks from Tell el-Retaba Archaeological Site in the Nile Delta’, Studia Quaternaria 33 (2016), 47—56.
J.-D. Stanley et al., ‘Nile Flow Failure at the End of the Old Kingdom, Egypt: Strontium Isotopic and Petrologic Evidence’, Geoarchaeology 18 (2003), 395—402.
P. Tallet and M. Lehner, The Red Sea Scrolls: How Ancient Papyri Reveal the Secrets of the Pyramids (2021).
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168: Return to the Tomb
Tuesday, August 30, 2022 • Duration 26:50
Securing the halls. In the 8th year of Horemheb's reign, a royal official named Maya visited a tomb in the Valley of the Kings. He was there to inspect the burial of Thutmose IV, to ensure its security, and repair it if necessary…
Episode details:
Date: c.1324 BCE.
Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com.
Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast.
Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.
Intro music: Luke Chaos.
Interlude music: Luke Chaos and Keith Ziza.
Outro music: Bettina Joy de Guzman.
See the tomb of Thutmose IV at the Theban Mapping Project.
Logo image: Detail from the chariot of Thutmose IV (Photo by Dominic Perry).
Select Bibliography:
B. M. Bryan, The Reign of Thutmose IV (Baltimore, 1991).
K. M. Bryson, ‘The Reign of Horemheb: History, Historiography, and the Dawn of the Ramesside Era’, Unpublished PhD. Thesis, Johns Hopkins University (2018).
H. Carter, ‘Introduction’, in T. M. Davis (ed.), The Tomb of Thoutmôsis IV (London, 1904), VII—XII.
T. M. Davis (ed.), The Tomb of Thoutmôsis IV (2002 Reprint edn, London, 1904).
P. E. Newberry, ‘Description of the Tomb and Sarcophagus of Thoutmôsis IV’, in T. M. Davis (ed.), The Tomb of Thoutmôsis IV (London, 1904), XXIX—XL.
N. Reeves and R. H. Wilkinson, The Complete Valley of the Kings (London, 1996).
‘Thutmes IV | Theban Mapping Project’, accessed 8.27.2022.
‘Thutmosis IV — KV43’, accessed 8.27.2022.
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167: Reviving Deir el-Medina
Tuesday, August 23, 2022 • Duration 28:17
Back in the village. In regnal year 7, Horemheb's officials turn up in western Thebes (Waset). They began reorganising the village of the tomb-builders, Set-Ma'at "The Place of Truth." Doing so, the King's government created a lasting legacy in the town we call Deir el-Medina.
Episode details:
Date: c.1325 BCE.
Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com.
Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast.
Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.
Intro music: Keith Zizza.
Outro music: Ancient Lyric.
Music interludes: Luke Chaos.
Logo image: Horemheb in his tomb, decorated by the workers of Deir el-Medina (Image: Hornung 1971).
Select Bibliography:
M. B. Bruyère, ‘Fouilles de Deir el Medineh (1923—1924)’, Fouilles de L’Institut Francais d’Archéologie Orientale du Caire (1925).
J. Černý, A Community of Workmen at Thebes in the Ramesside period (Cairo, 1973).
B. G. Davies, Who’s Who at Deir el-Medina: A Prosopographic Study of the Royal Workmen’s Community (Leiden, 1999).
B. G. Davies, Life Within the Five Walls: A Handbook to Deir el-Medina (Wallasey, 2018).
Y. M. El Shazly, ‘Royal Ancestor Worship in Deir el-Medina During the New Kingdom’, Unpublished PhD. Thesis, Johns Hopkins University (2008).
B. J. J. Haring, ‘Workmen’s Marks and the Early History of the Theban Royal Necropolis’, in J. Toivari-Viitala et al. (eds), Deir el-Medina Studies: Helsinki, June 24 – 26, 2009, Proceedings (Helsinki, 2014), 87—100.
J. R. Harris, ‘How Long was the Reign of Horemheb?’, Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 54 (1968), 95—99.
M. Müller, ‘Deir el-Medina in the Dark – The Amarna Period in the History of the Village’, in J. Toivari-Viitala et al. (eds), Deir el-Medina Studies: Helsinki, June 24 – 26, 2009, Proceedings (Helsinki, 2014), 154—167.
M. S. i Sanjaume, ‘La Tomba de Sennedjem a Deir el-Medina TT1’, Unpublished PhD. Thesis, University de Barcelona (2013).
E. Uphill, ‘Some Matters Relating to the Growth and Walls of Deir el-Medina’, in Jac. J. Janssen et al. (eds), Deir el-Medina in the Third Millenium AD: A Tribute to Jac. J. Janssen, Egyptologische uitgaven XIV (Leiden, 2000), 325–9.
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News: Carter's Thefts and Tutankhamun's Amulet
Tuesday, August 16, 2022 • Duration 11:28
On August 13th, 2022, The Guardian (UK) ran a headline "Howard Carter stole Tutankhamun’s treasure, new evidence suggests." What's going on, exactly? We dive into the new information and its context. Read the Guardian article here.
Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com.
Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast.
Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.
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166: Restoration III, Re-Restoring
Tuesday, August 2, 2022 • Duration 46:04
Horemheb vs Ay, Tutankhamun, and others. Everyone talks about Horemheb "erasing" Akhenaten. But the King demolished monuments of several rulers, and erased the names of others. What does it all mean?
Episode details:
Date: c. 1327 BCE.
Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com.
Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast.
Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.
Music intro: Luke Chaos.
Music interludes: Luke Chaos.
Music outro: Keith Zizza.
Select Bibliography:
M. Azim, ‘La structure des pylônes d’Horemheb à Karnak’, Cahiers de Karnak VII (1982), 127—166.
E. Blyth, Karnak: Evolution of a Temple (2006).
P. Brand, ‘Secondary Restorations in the Post-Amarna Period’, Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 36 (1999), 113–34.
L. Cotelle-Michel, ‘Présentation préliminaire des blocs de la Chapelle de Sésostris Ier découverte dans le IXe Pylône de Karnak’, Cahiers de Karnak XI.
A. Dodson, Amarna Sunrise: Egypt From Golden Age to Age of Heresy (2014).
A. Dodson, Amarna Sunset: Nefertiti, Tutankhamun, Ay, Horemheb, and the Egyptian Counter-Reformation (2nd edn, 2017).
C. Manassa Darnell, ‘Transition 18th—19th Dynasty’, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology (2015).
W. J. Murnane, ‘Tutankhamun on the Eighth Pylon at Karnak’, Varia Aegyptiaca I (1985), 59—68.
R. Saad, ‘Fragments d’un monument de Toutânkhamon retrouvés dans le IXe pylône de Karnak’, Cahiers de Karnak V (1975), 93—109.
R. A. Schwaller de Lubicz, The Temples of Karnak (1999).
E. Sullivan, ‘Karnak: Development of the Temple of Amun-Ra’, in W. Wendrich (ed.), UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology (2010).
C. Traunecker, ‘Rapport préliminaire sur la chapelle de Sésostris Ier découverte dans le IXe pylône’, Cahiers de Karnak VII (1982), 121—126.
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Appeal: Dakhleh Oasis Project (feat. Seth)
Friday, July 29, 2022 • Duration 06:49
Seth needs you! In Egypt's western desert, the Dakhleh Oasis Project has been doing wonderful work. Unfortunately, recent events have disrupted access and archaeological work. In this brief appeal, we explain why the project is worthwhile, and why it needs your help...
Details:
The Dakhleh Oasis Project website.
Fundraiser (gogetfunding.com).
Logo: Seth, in falcon-headed form, from a temple in Dakhleh (Image: Olaf Kaper and Colin Hope, in Rich and Great, 2016).
Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com.
Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast.
Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.
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165: Praise Ra and Pass the Talatat
Tuesday, July 26, 2022 • Duration 36:21
Horemheb vs Akhenaten. To build his magnificent pylons at Karnak, Horemheb dismantled other monuments. Within the masonry of these pylons, archaeologists found nearly fifty thousand blocks from temples of Akhenaten...
Episode details:
Date: c.1300 BCE.
Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com.
Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast.
Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.
Intro music: Keith Zizza.
Interlude music: Luke Chaos.
Outro music: Bettina Joy de Guzman.
Logo image: author unknown.
Select Bibliography:
M. Azim, ‘La structure des pylônes d’Horemheb à Karnak’, Cahiers de Karnak VII (1982), 127—166.
E. Blyth, Karnak: Evolution of a Temple (2006).
P. Brand, ‘Secondary Restorations in the Post-Amarna Period’, Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 36 (1999), 113–34.
L. Cotelle-Michel, ‘Présentation préliminaire des blocs de la Chapelle de Sésostris Ier découverte dans le IXe Pylône de Karnak’, Cahiers de Karnak XI.
Digital Karnak, ‘2nd Pylon’, https://digitalkarnak.ucsc.edu/2nd-pylon/.
Digital Karnak, ‘9th Pylon’, https://digitalkarnak.ucsc.edu/9th-pylon/.
Digital Karnak, ‘10th Pylon’, https://digitalkarnak.ucsc.edu/10th-pylon/.
A. Dodson, Amarna Sunrise: Egypt From Golden Age to Age of Heresy (2014).
A. Dodson, Amarna Sunset: Nefertiti, Tutankhamun, Ay, Horemheb, and the Egyptian Counter-Reformation (2nd edn, 2017).
J. Gohary, ‘Final Report “Talatat Project”’, The Egyptian Antiquities Conservation Project (2012).
M. Jordan et al., La porte d’Horemheb au Xe pylône de Karnak (2015).
C. Manassa Darnell, ‘Transition 18th—19th Dynasty’, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology (2015).
W. J. Murnane, ‘Tutankhamun on the Eighth Pylon at Karnak’, Varia Aegyptiaca I (1985), 59—68.
D. Redford, ‘Akhenaten: New Theories and Old Facts’, Bulletin of the American School of Oriental Research 369 (2013), 9.
D. B. Redford, Akhenaten: The Heretic King (1984).
D. B. Redford, ‘Studies on Akhenaten at Thebes. I. A Report on the Work of the Akhenaten Temple Project of the University Museum, University of Pennsylvania’, Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 10 (1973), 77–94.
R. A. Schwaller de Lubicz, The Temples of Karnak (1999).
E. Sullivan, ‘Karnak: Development of the Temple of Amun-Ra’, in W. Wendrich (ed.), UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology (2010).
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164b: Renovation Station
Tuesday, July 12, 2022 • Duration 21:03
Horemheb at Karnak (Part 2). There are secrets beneath the sand of Karnak. Horemheb's architects significantly changed the temple's landscape. In some cases, they even relocated older buildings, dismantling and moving them piece-by-piece...
Episode details:
Date: c. 1329 BCE.
Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com.
Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast.
Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.
Music by Keith Zizza.
Music interludes by Luke Chaos.
Logo image: The southern pylons, by Jean-Claude Golvin.
Select Bibliography:
M. Azim, ‘La structure des pylônes d’Horemheb à Karnak’, Cahiers de Karnak VII (1982), 127—166.
E. Blyth, Karnak: Evolution of a Temple (New York, 2006).
Digital Karnak, ‘9th Pylon’, https://digitalkarnak.ucsc.edu/9th-pylon/.
Digital Karnak, ‘10th Pylon’, https://digitalkarnak.ucsc.edu/10th-pylon/.
Digital Karnak, ‘Edifice of Amenhotep II’, https://digitalkarnak.ucsc.edu/edifice-of-amenhotep-ii/.
J-C. Goyon and C. Traunecker, ‘La Chapelle de Thot et d’Amon au sud-ouest du lac sacré’, Cahiers de Karnak VII (1982), 355—366.
M. Jordan et al., La porte d’Horemheb au Xe pylône de Karnak (2015).
R. A. Schwaller de Lubicz, The Temples of Karnak (1999).
C. Van Siclen III, ‘The Edifice of Amenhotep II at Karnak: An Architectural Pious Fraud’, in C. Leblanc and G. Zaki (eds), The Temples of Millions of Years and Royal Power at Thebes in the New Kingdom (2010), 81—89.
W. Wreszinski, Atlas zur altaegyptischen Kulturgeschichte (1988).
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