The History of Egypt

From baby to boy. For all his fame and glamour, the life of Tut'ankhamun was more difficult than it seems. The young king dealt with physical challenges and a social environment that treated him as an "idea," more than a person. Today, studies of his mummy give us clues at his early life... Date c.1353 – 1343 BCE. Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com. Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast. Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments. Music by Jeffrey Goodman. Music by Ancient Lyric. Music by Keith Zizza. Audio mixing/editing by Vincent Cavanagh. The History of Egypt Podcast endorses RA EGYPTIAN, the clean, natural skincare line with products derived from ancient Egyptian sources. Use the checkout code EGYPT to enjoy 30% off your order! Select Bibliography:  T. Bryce, The Routledge Handbook of the Peoples and Places of Ancient Western Asia: The Near East from the Early Bronze Age to the Fall of the Persian Empire (London, 2009). V. Cordani, ‘Aziru’s Journey to Egypt and its Chronological Value’, in J. Mynářová (ed.), Egypt and the Near East – The Crossroads (Prague, 2011), 103–16. W. L. Moran, The Amarna Letters (Baltimore, 1992). W. J. Murnane, The Road to Kadesh: A Historical Interpretation of the Battle Reliefs of King Sety I at Karnak (Chicago, 1985). W. J. Murnane, Texts from the Amarna Period in Egypt (Atlanta, 1995). J. Mynářová, Language of Amarna – Language of Diplomacy: Perspectives on the Amarna Letters (Prague, 2007). J. Mynářová, ‘Egypt Among the Great Powers and Its Relations to the Neighboring Vassal Kingdoms in the Southern Levant According to the Written Evidence’:, in B. Eder and R. Pruzsinszky (eds.), Policies of Exchange Political Systems and Modes of Interaction in the Aegean and the Near East in the 2nd Millenium B.C.E: Proceedings of the International Symposium at the University of Freiburg Institute for Archaeological Studies, 30th May – 2nd June 2012, 2 (2015), 157–66. N. Naʼaman, Canaan in the Second Millennium B.C.E: Collected Essays, Volume 2 (Winona Lake, 2005). A. F. Rainey, The El-Amarna Correspondence: A New Edition of the Cuneiform Letters From the Site of El-Amarna Based On Collations of All Extant Tablets (Leiden, 2015). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Interlude: The greatest treachery. By the end of Akhenaten's reign, events in Syria had developed their own momentum. Rulers like Aziru, prince of Amurru, were causing trouble. Akhenaten had to deal with Aziru as best he could. But the death of Akhenaten interrupted any reconciliation. Soon after, Aziru was looking to other opportunities... Date c.1345 – 1340 BCE. Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com. Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast. Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments. Music by Michael Levy. Music by Keith Zizza. Audio mixing/editing by Vincent Cavanagh. See other shows from the Agora Podcast Network. The History of Egypt Podcast endorses RA EGYPTIAN, the clean, natural skincare line with products derived from ancient Egyptian sources. Use the checkout code EGYPT to enjoy 30% off your order! Cover image adapted from Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Select Bibliography: Additional references in the bibliographies of Episode 123 and Episode 124. V. Cordani, ‘Aziru’s Journey to Egypt and its Chronological Value’, in J. Mynářová (ed.), Egypt and the Near East – The Crossroads (Prague, 2011), 103–16. W. L. Moran, The Amarna Letters (Baltimore, 1992). W. J. Murnane, The Road to Kadesh: A Historical Interpretation of the Battle Reliefs of King Sety I at Karnak (Chicago, 1985). W. J. Murnane, Texts from the Amarna Period in Egypt (Atlanta, 1995). J. Mynářová, Language of Amarna – Language of Diplomacy: Perspectives on the Amarna Letters (Prague, 2007). J. Mynářová, ‘Egypt Among the Great Powers and Its Relations to the Neighboring Vassal Kingdoms in the Southern Levant According to the Written Evidence’, in B. Eder and R. Pruzsinszky (eds.), Policies of Exchange Political Systems and Modes of Interaction in the Aegean and the Near East in the 2nd Millenium B.C.E: Proceedings of the International Symposium at the University of Freiburg Institute for Archaeological Studies, 30th May – 2nd June 2012, 2 (2015), 157–66. N. Naʼaman, Canaan in the Second Millennium B.C.E: Collected Essays, Volume 2 (Winona Lake, 2005). A. F. Rainey, The El-Amarna Correspondence: A New Edition of the Cuneiform Letters From the Site of El-Amarna Based On Collations of All Extant Tablets (Leiden, 2015). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Interlude: Warlords and Adventurers. In the second millennium BCE, a new power rose to the north of Egypt. The Kingdom of Hatti (aka the land of the Hittites) emerged as a significant political, economic, and military force. In this episode, we introduce the Hittite state and its early deeds before the reign of Tut'ankhamun. Date c.1790 – 1350 BCE. Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com. Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast. Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments. Music by Michael Levy. Music by Keith Zizza. Episode logo adapted from a photo by Carole Raddato via Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 2.0. Image cropped/enhanced. Check out the new Hittite series on The Ancient World Pocast. Select Bibliography:  M. Alparslan and M. Dogan-Alparslan, ‘The Hittites and their Geography: Problems of Hittite Historical Geography’, European Journal of Archaeology 18 (2015), 90–110. T. Bryce, The Routledge Handbook of the Peoples and Places of Ancient Western Asia: The Near East from the Early Bronze Age to the Fall of the Persian Empire (London, 2009). E. Devecchi, ‘Suppiluliuma’s Syrian Campaigns in Light of Documents from Ugarit’, in S. de Martino and J. L. Miller (eds.), New Results and New Questions on the Reign of Suppiluliuma I (Florence, 2013). H. Güterbock, ‘The Deeds of Suppiluliuma as Told by His Son, Mursili II’, Journal of Cuneiform Studies 1041–68, 75–98, 107–30. W. L. Moran, The Amarna Letters (Baltimore, 1992). W. J. Murnane, The Road to Kadesh: A Historical Interpretation of the Battle Reliefs of King Sety I at Karnak (Chicago, 1985). W. J. Murnane, Texts from the Amarna Period in Egypt (Atlanta, 1995). W. J. Murnane, ‘Imperial Egypt and the Limits of Her Power’, in R. Cohen and R. Westbrook (eds.), Amarna Diplomacy: The Beginnings of International Relations (Baltimore, 2000), 101–11. J. Mynářová, Language of Amarna – Language of Diplomacy: Perspectives on the Amarna Letters (Prague, 2007). A. F. Rainey, The El-Amarna Correspondence: A New Edition of the Cuneiform Letters From the Site of El-Amarna Based On Collations of All Extant Tablets (Leiden, 2015). A. Spalinger, ‘Egyptian-Hittite Relations at the Close of the Amarna Period and Some Notes on Hittite Military Strategy in North Syria’, Bulletin of the Egyptological Seminar 1 (1979), 55–89. A. Spalinger, War in Ancient Egypt: The New Kingdom (Malden, 2005). M. Van de Mieroop, A History of the Ancient Near East ca. 3000-323 BC (West Sussex, 2016). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A remarkable discovery. In April 2021, Egyptologists working in Luxor announced a major discovery. A new “lost” city, associated with Amunhotep III (and probably Akhenaten as well). In this brief roundup, we discuss the details, the context, and the significance of the find. Date c.1350 BCE and 2021 CE. 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 by Ancient Lyric. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Egypt on the offensive. King Tutankhamun's government had to deal with major threats in the north. Instability and regional warfare had spread through Syria and Canaan. To tackle these, pharaoh despatched his most prominent general. Horemheb, representative of the King, led the soldiers of Egypt into battle... Date c.1340 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 by Ancient Lyric. Music by Jeffrey Goodman. Hear the trumpets of Tutankhamun on BBC Radio. The History of Egypt Podcast is supported by RA EGYPTIAN, the natural skincare line with products derived from ancient Egypt. Visit www.ra-egyptian.com and use the checkout code EGYPT to receive a massive 30% discount on your order. Select Bibliography:  Dodson, Amarna Sunset: Nefertiti, Tutankhamun, Ay, Horemheb, and the Egyptian Counter-Reformation (2nd edn, Cairo, 2017). Eaton-Krauss, The Unknown Tutankhamun (London, 2016). Gabolde, D’Akhenaton à Toutânkhamon (Paris, 1998). Gabolde, Toutankhamon (Les Grands Pharaons; Paris, 2015). R. Johnson, ‘Tutankhamun’s Life, Death, and Afterlife: New Evidence from Thebes’, November 6th, 2020. https://youtu.be/JuHCL88qpFw Kawai, ‘Studies in the Reign of Tutankhamun’, Unpublished PhD. Thesis, Johns Hopkins University (2005). T. Martin, The Memphite Tomb of Ḥoremḥeb, Commander-in-Chief of Tutʻankhamūn, 1 (London, 1989). T. Martin, The Hidden Tombs of Memphis: New Discoveries From the Time of Tutankhamun and Ramesses the Great (London, 1991). J. Murnane, Texts from the Amarna Period in Egypt (Atlanta, 1995). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Splendour and Ceremony. On April 3rd, 2021, Egypt hosted a magnificent celebration. Royal mummies, including Kings and Queens, departed their old home and made for a new one. In future, these rulers will reside in the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization. Moving the royal mummies was a complex, grandiose event. I report on the parade, and the historical background of these famous mummies… Recordings of the parade on YouTube Musical performance by Amira Salim and Ahmed Mounib Cairo residents cheer the parade, by Rania Atef on Twitter Details of the performance by Heba Abd el Gawad on Twitter Photos at Ahram. Further details, links, images, and references at The History of Egypt Podcast website. Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast. Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.  Select Bibliography:  The Pharaohs’ Golden Parade: Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities YouTube stream (Arabic). Experience Egypt YouTube stream (Arabic and English). Reuters YouTube stream (Arabic and English). Performance by Amira Selim with “violin” music by Ahmed Mounib. Twitter thread by Heba abd el Gawad. The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities on Facebook. Maspero, “Les Momies Royales de Déir el-Bahari,” Mémoires publiés par les membres de la mission archéologique française du Caire, vol. 1 (1889): 511–790. Available online. Reeves and R. H. Wilkinson, The Complete Valley of the Kings (London, 1996). Romer, Valley of the Kings (London, 1981). Thompson, Wonderful Things, A History of Egyptology, II: The Golden Age: 1881–1914 (Cairo, 2015). Wilson, “Finding Pharaoh,” The Century: Illustrated Monthly Magazine 34 (May 1887): 3–10. Winlock, “The Tomb of Queen Meryetamun: I The Discovery.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin33, no. 2 (1975): 77–89. Web Archive: Theban Tomb 320 (TT320) also known as Deir el-Bahari 320 (DB320) “The Cachette of the Royal Mummies” Available online. KV35 (Amunhotep II tomb) at pl. Video: Cairo residents cheer the parade on Twitter. Video: A trip to the Royal Cache (TT320 / DB320) on YouTube. Mummies: The mummies found in TT320 / DB320 at Wikimedia and The Theban Royal Mummy Project. The mummies found in KV35 (Amunhotep II) at Wikimedia and SLU. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A complicated career. In the reigns of Akhenaten and Tut'ankhamun, one of Egypt's top religious officials was Mery-Neith ("Beloved of Neith"). This man served in the temples, first as a Steward, then as the High Priest of Aten in Amarna. Along the way, Meryneith had to navigate the difficult political waters. To survive in Akhenaten's court, he even had to change his name... Date c.1360 – 1340 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 by Ancient Lyric. See other shows from the Agora Podcast Network. The History of Egypt Podcast endorses RA EGYPTIAN, the clean, natural skincare line with products derived from ancient Egyptian sources. Use the checkout code EGYPT to enjoy 30% off your order! Select Bibliography:  The Tomb of Meryneith: Summary of excavations at Saqqara.nl High-quality photos by merja attia at Flickr N. Kawai, ‘Studies in the Reign of Tutankhamun’, Unpublished PhD. Thesis, Johns Hopkins University (2005). M. J. Raven and R. van Walsem, The Tomb of Meryneith at Saqqara (Turnhout, 2014). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I'm bringing ma'at back. One of Tutankhamun's famous projects is the Restoration, a country-wide program of repairs and gifts for major temples. After the excesses of Akhenaten, the boy king and his government invested massive amounts of resources. Their goal? Renew the temples, replenish the priesthood, and curry favour with both the gods and the elites of Egyptian society...   Date c.1341 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 www.keithzizza.com. The History of Egypt Podcast is supported by RA EGYPTIAN, the natural skincare line with products derived from ancient Egypt. Visit www.ra-egyptian.com and use the checkout code EGYPT to receive a massive 30% discount on your order.  Select Bibliography:  J. Bennett, ‘The Restoration Inscription of Tut’ankhamūn’, The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 25 (1939), 8–15. JSTOR. A. Dodson, Amarna Sunset: Nefertiti, Tutankhamun, Ay, Horemheb, and the Egyptian Counter-Reformation (2nd Edition edn, Cairo, 2017). M. Eaton-Krauss, The Unknown Tutankhamun (London, 2016). N. Kawai, ‘Studies in the Reign of Tutankhamun’, Unpublished PhD. Thesis, Johns Hopkins University (2005). W.J. Murnane, Texts from the Amarna Period in Egypt (Atlanta, 1995). N. Reeves, The Complete Tutankhamun (Cairo, 1990). M. van Nederhof, “Restoration Stela of Tutankhamun,” Transliteration and translation online. M. Eaton-Krauss, The Unknown Tutankhamun (London, 2016). The Epigraphic Survey, Reliefs and Inscriptions at Luxor Temple – Volume I: The Festival Procession of Opet in the Colonnade Hall (Chicago, 1994). The Epigraphic Survey, Reliefs and Inscriptions at Luxor Temple – Volume II: The Facade, Portals, Upper Register Scenes, Columns, Marginalia, and Statuary in the Colonnade Hall (Chicago, 1998). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tut-Ankh-Amun. Early in his reign, the young pharaoh Tut-ankh-Aten changed his name to Tut-ankh-Amun. Why did he do this? What did it mean? And how much control did this young ruler have over his own identity? 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 https://www.keithzizza.net/. Music by Ancient Lyric http://www.bettinajoydeguzman.com/. Music by Jeffrey Goodman http://www.jeffreygoodmanmusic.com/. Sound Interludes by Luke Chaos https://twitter.com/Luke_Chaos. Audio mixing/editing by Vincent Cavanagh. The History of Egypt Podcast endorses RA EGYPTIAN, the clean, natural skincare line with products derived from ancient Egyptian sources. Use the checkout code EGYPT to enjoy 30% off your order!  Select Bibliography: The House of Ranefer The Amarna Project Website: with separate pages for background and excavations in 1921, 2002, 2003, 2004. Bronze plaques from the House of Ranefer at Wikimedia. Kemp, “Tell el-Amarna, 2004,” The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 90 (2004), 14–26. Kemp, The City of Akhenaten and Nefertiti: Amarna and Its People (London, 2014). J. Murnane, Texts from the Amarna Period in Egypt (Atlanta, 1995). E. Peet and C. L. Woolley, The City of Akhenaten, Volume I (London, 1923). Schulman, “Military Rank, Title, and Organization in the Egyptian New Kingdom,” Unpublished PhD. Thesis, University of Pennsylvania (1962). Spalinger, “Review of Robert Hari, Répertoire onomastique amarnien, 1976,” Journal of Near Eastern studies 39 (1980), 230–1. Tutankhamun Dodson, Amarna Sunset: Nefertiti, Tutankhamun, Ay, Horemheb, and the Egyptian Counter-Reformation (2nd Edition edn, Cairo, 2017). Eaton-Krauss, The Unknown Tutankhamun (London, 2016). Gabolde, D’Akhenaton à Toutânkhamon (Paris, 1998). Kawai, ‘Studies in the Reign of Tutankhamun’, Unpublished PhD. Thesis, Johns Hopkins University (2005). J. Leprohon, The Great Name: Ancient Egyptian Royal Titulary (Wilson, 2013). J. Murnane, Texts from the Amarna Period in Egypt (Atlanta, 1995). Reeves, The Complete Tutankhamun (Cairo, 1990). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A famous reign. Following the death of Nefer-neferu-aten, a new ruler came to the throne. Tut-ankh-Aten was young, perhaps nine years old. He inherited power at a tumultuous point in history... Date c. 1343 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. Additional music by Jeffrey Goodman. Audio mixing/editing by Vincent Cavanagh. Written by Dominic Perry. The History of Egypt Podcast endorses RA EGYPTIAN, the clean, natural skincare line with products derived from ancient Egyptian sources. Use the checkout code EGYPT to enjoy 30% off your order!  Select Bibliography: A. Dodson, Amarna Sunset: Nefertiti, Tutankhamun, Ay, Horemheb, and the Egyptian Counter-Reformation (2nd Edition, Cairo, 2017). A. Dodson and D. Hilton, The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt (London, 2004). M. Eaton-Krauss, ‘King Tutankhaten’, Orientalia 80 (2011), 300–4. M. Eaton-Krauss, The Unknown Tutankhamun (London, 2016). M. Gabolde, D’Akhenaton à Toutânkhamon (Paris, 1998). N. Kawai, ‘Studies in the Reign of Tutankhamun’, Unpublished PhD. Thesis, Johns Hopkins University (2005). W. J. Murnane, Texts from the Amarna Period in Egypt (Atlanta, 1995). N. Reeves, The Complete Tutankhamun (Cairo, 1990). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices