Pascal Vernus, Affairs and Scandals in Ancient Egypt.

Originally
published as Affaires et scandales sous les Ramss (Paris, 1!".
#ranslated by $a%id &orton. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2003.
Pp. 211. ISBN 0!01""0#!$. %2&.&$.
'evie(e) *y Peter C. Na)i+, ',-./achen 0cvr1r(thaachen.)e2
Word count: 1815 words
This excellent and exciting analysis of various political scandals in the later
half of New Kingdom Egypt y the !rench Egyptologist "ascal #ernus
$hereafter #%& was first pulished in 1''( and is now availale in an English
translation made y )avid *orton% The incidents covered in +,ffairs and
-candals+ occurred etween the end of )ynasty 1' and the end of )ynasty
./ $c% 1./011/2' 3%4%&% -everal well preserved official documents provide
detailed information aout the legal hearings over tom roeries in the
necropolis of Western Thees5 the laor unrest as well as crimes of the
wor6ers from )eir el17edina5 misdeeds y priests from the temple of
Khnum on Elephantine5 and the harem conspiracy under 8amesses 999% The
exceptional state of preservation of several lengthy papyri along with many
ostraca and archaeological reports ma6e it possile to reconstruct these
events% 7any of these sources are compiled here for the first time under the
theme of a +crisis of values+ in late New Kingdom Egypt% #% not only
provides the reader with translations of the most important texts5 ut also
highlights them with his sharp analysis and insightful commentary%
The relevant episodes are presented $not necessarily in chronological order&
in five chapters while a sixth summari:es the general ac6ground ehind
these events% The theme of chapter one $pp% 110'& is the plunder of the west
an6 of Thees% The roery of royal toms and also the pillage of temples
were investigated during the reigns of 8amesses 9; $years 12 and 1< =
11.0111.( 3%4%& and 8amesses ;9 $year 1' = c% 1/80 3%4%&% The chapter
egins with an overview of the economic conse>uences of Egyptian
funerary eliefs% These re>uired the ody to e 6ept intact5 therefore
mummified and uried along with elaorate e>uipment in a tom that
assured its survival% 4omplex rites and rituals accompanied the internment5
and a funerary cult for the deceased was carried out y the living% These
eliefs had a deit effect on the economy: +Enormous >uantities of goods
and precious materials lay wasted in toms5 removed in principle from use
or en?oyment y the living+ $p% (&% @ne cause for roeries lay in the chronic
crises of provisioning5 when the state was unale to deliver rations it owed
to its employees% 9t is interesting to note that not ?ust royal toms ut also
the mortuary temples on the west an6 were plundered% The methods of the
thieves can e gleaned from the papyri: they snipped off the gold and metal
sheeting of door frames5 shrines and naoi5 and also removed portale items
of value% They concentrated on items of wood5 which was a rare commodity
in Egypt% These stolen goods were suse>uently artered or5 in the case of
wood5 recycled into other goods of necessity% 9n the second half of the first
chapter #% investigates the sac6 of western Thees as a social phenomenon
$pp% (/10'& and ta6es a closer loo6 at the accused people% The main
conclusion from all the availale information is that the thieves were
employed y various +institutions5 departments5 and domains that
constituted the Apharaonic stateA+ $p% (0&% They included e%g% craftsmen5
servants5 lower and middle clergy5 scries5 and overseers% None of them
were +marginal individuals or outcasts5 and%%% rigands+ $p% (5&% 7otives
varied% While a few of these men roed for gain in the hope of en?oying a
more comfortale life5 many others did it out of necessity% The modus
operandi of the thieves is also highlighted% The dividing of the spoils was
often tric6y and often resulted in the riing of numerous people who
learned aout these thefts and demanded a share% The thieves apparently
employed middlemen5 termed +shuty+ in Egyptian and translated here as
+ro6ers+% The author sees the conventional Egyptian translation of
+merchant+ as +a serious misrendering+% !or him the title +ro6er+ does not
refer to independent shop6eepers ut +to employees whose role was
negotiate in16ind exchanges+ $cf% pp% 0<108&%
The various stri6es of the wor6men from )eir el17edina5 which apparently
egan in the 1'th year of 8amesses 9995 are the topic of chapter two $pp% 5/1
2'&% The political and economic difficulties of that period resulted in the
nonpayment of rations to the wor6menAs village5 which suse>uently
triggered a lengthy social conflict% -poradic stri6es continued till the early
reign of 8amesses 9#5 ut there are no further stri6es on record till year nine
of 8amesses 9;% Wal6outs then continued till the reign of 8amesses ;9% The
Turin -tri6e "apyrus supplies a detailed account for the events under
8amesses 9995 while other papyri and ostraca supply further information for
the later conflicts% )uring the first stri6es the wor6ers laid down their wor6
and went to various mortuary temples on the west an6 to ma6e their
demands5 with varying degrees of success% $, minor mista6e on p% 5': The
temple of -ethos 9 is not the southernmost5 ut northernmost funerary
temple at BurnaC cf% map on p% .%& 9n one case of delayed payment the
wor6ers even threatened to violate a tom $"% Turin +-tri6e+ recto .521.5 1/&5
while in another situation two wor6ers were accused of removing stone
loc6s from the superstructure of the tom of 8amesses 99% These stri6es
indicate the deteriorating economic situation of that period as well as the
pernicious atmosphere under 8amesses 9995 who ecame a target of a plot%
4hapter three $pp% </1'0& deals with the foreman "ane of the +9nstitution of
the tom+5 the wor6ersA village of )eir el17edina5 during the reign of -ethos
99 $c% 11/0111'8 3%4%& and -iptah $c% 11'8111'. 3%4%&% 9n this influential
position5 he was in charge of half of the wor6men of the village% The source
of his misdeeds is a detailed memorandum5 "apyrus -alt 1.0 in the 3ritish
7useum% ,ccording to this list "ane was notorious for his riery5
rutality5 intimidation5 amorous affairs5 misappropriation of royal property
and laor as well as theft from a royal tom% De even deceived the usurper
,menmesse5 who suse>uently sac6ed a vi:ier with whom "ane had a
scuffle% Dis final fate is not clear from the sources%
+, "rovincial -candal+ is the topic of chapter four $pp% '511/<&% 9ts source5
the so1called +Turin 9ndictment "apyrus+ $= "% Turin 188<& reports several
scandals at the temple of Khnum at Elephantine during the reigns of
8amessses 9# $c% 11521115/ 3%4%& and 8amesses # $c% 115/1110< 3%4%&%
This document was most li6ely drafted as a complaint y the priest
Ba6hepesh5 who accuses another priest5 "enanu6is5 of immense riery5
sexual misdeeds5 causing an aortion5 intimidation5 utmost rutality $which
included urning a house and the linding of two women and cutting off
someoneAs ear&5 theft of temple property5 and disrespect for the sacred as
well manipulation of the oracle% Ba6hepesh also accuses a arge1captain of
eme::ling more than 55/// sac6s of grain due to the temple of Khnum over
a period of nearly ten years%
The famous +Darem 4onspiracy+ against 8amesses 999 is covered in chapter
five $pp% 1/811./&% 9t is 6nown from one papyrus dossier5 which today is
scattered in several parts% The iggest and est preserved of these5 the
Eudicial "apyrus Turin5 is primarily a summary of the five guilty groups and
their respective punishments%1 The text is placed in the mouth of 8amesses
9995 who reports the findings of a commission he had appointed% #% presents
the affair with lengthy >uotes from the Turin document5 explains the
organi:ation of the conspiracy5 and cites "apyrus 8ollin $"aris 3iliothF>ue
Nationale& and "apyrus *ee $3ritish 7useum& to indicate the use of sorcery
y the plotters% De also outlines the +defamatory aptism+ $p% 11<& of the
conspirators5 who were given new names with a pe?orative twist% #% does not
ma6e a firm statement as to the exact outcome of the conspiracy% The fact
that 8amesses reportedly ordered the investigation cannot e invo6ed as an
argument that he survived the assassinationC it may e a case of apologetics5
li6e the famous "apyrus Darris written in the name of 8amesses 999 under
his successor% #% concludes that +the sources at our disposal yield no
irrefutale indication regarding the outcome of the conspiracy+ $p% 11<& or
its exact date%.
9n the sixth and last chapter $+The 4risis of #alues in the New Kingdom+5
pp% 1.1110'&5 #% examines the causes of those affairs that affected the ./th
)ynasty% De ma6es it clear that even though he descried five rather
spectacular and well1documented scandals5 there are still a numer of
analogous events from the same period5 which are5 however5 +more allusive5
more oscure5 or less well preserved+% De even points out other scandals
mentioned in documents that still await pulication $cf% p% 1.15 esp% 1'1 n%
1&% De then continues y comparing the change in ethical concepts that
emerged with the eginning of the New Kingdom% The old ethic made it
clear that earthly and postmortem success was ased on the +adherence of
the estalished order5 which the divine had provided with considerale
autonomy and with self1regulatory mechanisms+ $p% 108&% The new ethic
>uestioned the estalished order and recogni:ed individual salvation only in
the estalishment of deep personal relationships with a deity of choice%
These changes are explained at great length in several suchapters along
with >uotes from Egyptian sources% #% sees the scandals of this period as a
conse>uence of the changing values and the corruption of the state% 3oth
causes are to e seen as result of EgyptAs expansion eyond its natural
orders: +The opulence that Egypt derived from its empire5 together with its
inaility to ma6e it last5 stimulated a propensity that we see firmly rooted in
the corruption of moral standards+ $p% 108&%
The oo6 contains a section of plates and numerous line drawings
throughout the text to illustrate the various su?ects% , small appendix $pp%
1511150& lists the different terms for rie in the ancient Egyptian language%
+,ffairs and -candals in ,ncient Egypt+ contains only a few flaws% The
original iliography contained in the !rench version has apparently een
forgottenC the endnotes are therefore only preceded y a list of areviations
$pp% 1551.//&% ,lso5 the English version is not an updated version of the
!rench original pulished a decade earlier% , small iliographical update5
either in the form of a preface or an appendix5 would have helped% This
inclusion along with the missing iliography ought to e considered for a
possile paperac6 edition%
The detailed endnotes offer thorough reference to the sources as well as the
relevant international scholarly literature until 1''( and are worth loo6ing
up while reading5 especially for anyone more familiar with Egyptological
pulications% ,n index each for the su?ect5 the Egyptian terms5 and the
translated passages complete the oo6% The translation y *orton is easy to
read and will ma6e this valuale oo6 accessile to an even wider audience
than efore% ,ll in all5 #%As Affairs and Scandals is a very exciting treatment
of this period of New Kingdom history5 which can e highly recommended
and read with great enefit%
Notes:
1% Group one is those who were executedC groups two and three are persons
who were compelled to commit suicide at the place of +examination+ or
+where they were+C group four is four men who were punished y having
their nose and ears cut offC group five is a man who was ac>uitted with a
harsh reprimand $the last two groups even included three of the twelve
?udges who investigated the plot&%
.% !or a more detailed evaluation of this plot5 see the recent monograph y
-usan 8edford5 The Darem 4onspiracy% The 7urder of 8amesses 999
$Northern 9llinois "ress5 .//.