THE DEVELOPMENT OF ANCIENT EGYPTIAN ROYAL INSCRIPTIONS

Author(s): SHIH-WEI HSU

Source: The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology , 2012, Vol. 98 (2012), pp. 269-283
Published by: Sage Publications, Ltd.

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 THE DEVELOPMENT OF
ANCIENT EGYPTIAN ROYAL INSCRIPTIONS*

By SHIH-WEI HSU

This article examines the development of Ancient Egyptian royal inscriptions from the Old Kingdom
up to the Eighteenth Dynasty. It traces the evolution from royal labels, annals, and decrees of the Old
Kingdom to the appearance of royal novels (Konigsnovellen) in the Middle Kingdom. The turning
point lies in the First Intermediate Period, when various elements of the nomarchal biographical
inscriptions began to occur in royal inscriptions. Royal inscriptions are classified according to text
type, and their functions discussed.

1. Definition, classification, and purpose of royal inscriptions

Royal inscriptions are texts in which a king is involved. They provide the chronological
framework for writing history,1 and present an officially recorded royal image for
posterity. The king is mostly in médias res (his name, titulary, and dating formula
are invariably included). They depict the king's deeds: activities on the battlefield,
dedications, offerings to a god, and self-praise. They were not hidden out of sight,
but were inscribed on durable materials (e.g. stelae, rocks, temple walls, obelisks, and
sculpture) and intended to be visible for eternity, albeit sometimes in places where
access would be limited.2 Royal inscriptions were a form of impressive visual display
with a propaganda purpose.3 They were also intended to serve as historical records.4
Royal inscriptions are in my opinion historical literature. However, identifying genre
in Egyptian texts is problematic,5 as Hafemann has discussed for the Old Kingdom.6

This article is primarily a summary of my Magister thesis, Beitràge zur Entwicklung der Konigsinschriften,
presented in 2006-7 at the Ruprecht-Karls-Universitât Heidelberg supervised by K. Jansen-Winkeln (Freie
Universitât Berlin) and J. F. Quack (Universitât Heidelberg). I would like to express my gratitude to both
of them, and also to thank A. J. Spalinger (University of Auckland) for his kindness in allowing me to read
before publication his article, now published as 'Kônigsnovelle and Performance', in V. G. Callender, L. Bares,
M. Bârta, J. Janâk, and J. Krejci (eds), Times, Signs and Pyramids: Studies in Honour of Miroslav Verner on
the Occasion of his Seventieth Birthday (Prague, 2011), 351-74. I am also grateful to J. Kahl (Freie Universitât
Berlin) and J. Llop Raduà (Institut del Proxim Orient Antic, Universitât de Barcelona) for reading drafts and
giving comments.
1 J. K. Hoffmeier, 'The Problem of "History" in Egyptian Royal Inscriptions', in J. Leclant (éd.), S esta
Congresso Internazinale di Egittologia: Atti (Turin, 1992), I, 291.
2 C. Eyre, 'The Semna Stelae: Quotation, Genre, and Functions of Literature', in S. Israelit-Groll (ed.),
Studies in Egyptology Presented to Miriam Lichtheim (Jerusalem, 1990), I, 138. There are exceptions, when royal
inscriptions were inscribed on other materials, e.g. the Berlin Leather Roll, the Carnarvon Tablet, or P. BM 10682
verso (the Battle of Kadesh).
3 C. Eyre, 'Is Historical Literature "Historical" or "Literary"?', in A. Loprieno (ed.), Ancient Egyptian
Literature: History and Forms (PdA 10; Leiden, 1996), 416; Hoffmeier, in S es to Congresso Internazinale di
Egittologia: Atti, I, 293.
4 Eyre, in Loprieno (ed.), Ancient Egyptian Literature, 421.
5 R. B. Parkinson, 'Types of Literature in the Middle Kingdom', in Loprieno (ed.), Ancient Egyptian Literature,
297. Similarly Hoffmeier, in Sesto Congresso Internazinale di Egittologia: Atti, I, 296.
6 I. Hafemann, 'Textsorten und Textfunktion: Gebrauchstexte im monumentalen Diskurs des âgyptischen

The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 98 (2012), 269-83

ISSN 0307-5133

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270 SHIH-WEI HSU JEA 98

Jansen-Winkeln has addressed this problem for inscriptions of the Third Intermediate
Period7 and I follow his principles in classifying royal inscriptions and their antecedents
as follows:

— Brief and formulaic inscriptions bearing just the king's name and titulary (see
section 2.1). Known from all periods, they label8 objects and buildings, identifying
the king as donor or benefactor.

— Royal annals and decrees, inscribed on monuments from the Old Kingdom onwards
(see sections 2.2 and 2.3), originating in documents held in royal administrative
archives.

— While biographical inscriptions cannot be classified as royal inscriptions (see

2.6), they merit mention here because they are ancestral to two types of royal
inscription that appear from the Middle Kingdom onwards: Konigsnovellen (see
section 2.4) and royal self-praise (see section 2.5).

2. Royal inscriptions: text genres

2.1 Royal labels

These are brief formulaic texts, which often do not form complete sentences. Jansen
Winkeln distinguishes two functions for labels:9 endorsements (related to the specific
object on which they are inscribed), divisible into royal name labels (Namensvermerke)
and dedicatory labels (Widmungsvermerke), and commemorative labels (referring
to specific acts albeit not necessarily specific instances of those acts, as for example
in captions to ritual scenes),10 divisible into event and person labels (Ereignis- and
Personenvermerke).11
Royal name labels12 reference objects built by or belonging to the king, or a particular
endowment. They occur from the Third Dynasty on.13
Dedicatory labels can be understood as extended name-labels. The classic formula,
with minor variants, is Κ Ν jrj.n-f m mnw-j η jtj-f GN (m) jrt XY jrj-f dj cnh.H As well
as the king's name, reference is made to the (divine) receiver of the endowment, with
explicit mention of the type of endowment.15 They appear from the Fifth Dynasty
on.16

Alten Reiches', in S. J. Seidlmayer (éd.), Texte und Denkmâler des âgyptischen Alten Reiches (TLA 3; Berlin,
2005), 143-64.
7 K. Jansen-Winkeln, Text und Sprache in der 3. Zwischenzeit: Vorarbeiten zu einer spàtmittelâgyptischen
Grammatik (AAT 26; Wiesbaden, 1994).
8 K. Jansen-Winkeln, 'Vermerke: Zum Verstândnis kurzer und formalhafter Inschriften auf âgyptischen
Denkmàlern', MDAIK46 (1990), 127-56.
9 Jansen-Winkeln, MDAIK 46, 127.
10 Jansen-Winkeln, MDAIK 46, 128.
11 Jansen-Winkeln, MDAIK 46, 150-1.
12 Cf. the seal of the tomb of Qa'a, see G. Dreyer, E.-M. Engel, U. Hartung, T. Hikade, E. C. Kohler, and
F. Pumpenmeier, 'Umm el-Qaab: Nachuntersuchungen im frûhzeitlichen Kônigsfriedhof. 7-/8. Vorbericht',
MDAIK 52 (1996), 72 and Abb. 26.
13 King Djoser left many name-labels on seals, found at Abydos, Bêt Kallâf, and Saqqara. See J. Kahl, N. Kloth,
and U. Zimmermann, Die Inschriften der j. Dynastie (ÀA 56; Wiesbaden, 1996), 8-37. They indicated not just the
Horus Name of Djoser, but also other personal names and place names.
14 Jansen-Winkeln, MDAIK 46, 146.
15 K. Jansen-Winkeln, 'Hervorgehobenes Objekt und kônigliche Widmungsformel', Orientalia 46 (1997), 25.
The pictorial images can be found on seals of the First Dynasty, see P. Kaplony, Die Inschriften der âgyptischen
Friihzeit (ÀA 8; Wiesbaden, 1963), III, Abb. 211.
16 The earliest dedicatory label is found on the stela of king Shepseskaf: '(Work of) the King of Upper and

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 2oi2 ANCIENT EGYPTIAN ROYAL INSCRIPTIONS 271

Event labels contain an infinitive at their core. The formula is: ki

(a date might sometimes be added before or after the king's nam
Person labels at their most basic comprise merely a personal na
also contain a regnal date.

2.2 Royal annals

A prerequisite for any historical record is the desire to preserve the
events and to hand them down to posterity. From the First Dy
Egyptians recorded the most significant eponymous events of e
ivory tablets.17 Their existence implies a particular form of hist
listing the years of the king's reign with the main events of e
keywords, usually in the infinitive.
The Egyptian word 5 gnwt 'annals' is the plural of gn
derived from gnwt 'branch', which originally referred to a tally st
the memory.19 The nuances of gnwt's meaning changed over time.
it described the annual record of events. At the end of the Old Kin
refer to a recorded list of benefits. In the Middle Kingdom gnwt se
pious and cultic overtones. In the New Kingdom gnwt mainly al
texts, which purport to record the primordial times of the gods.20
From at least the First Dynasty, annals were kept at the royal
the Palermo Stone (hereafter PS).22 On the face (recto) of the PS
predynastic kings of Lower Egypt are given in the first register,23 s
some appear with their titularies also. However, in the entries w
First Dynasty, the rnpt-sign acts as a dividing line between compar
represent a single year in a king's reign; the orthography clearly in
transcript of annals kept since the First Dynasty.24 Within each co
of the king and the main events of that year are recorded, with a m
height of the Nile flood at the bottom.25 There are two formats: a)

Lower Egypt spss-ki=f, which he made as his monument for the King of Upper and
see H. Goedicke, Konigliche Dokumente aus dem Alten Reich (ÀA 14; Wiesbaden, 196
the label was as follows: 'Year X. (It is a work) of king NN, which he made for se
46, 149.
17 J. Kahl, Vergraben, verbrannt, verkannt und vergessen: Funde aus dem 'Menesgrab' (Munster, 2001), 12.
18 Ε. Otto, 'Annalistik und Kônigsnovelle', in B. Spuler (ed.), Literatur (HdO 1/1/2; Leiden, 1970), 169 n. 2.
On the defintion of historiography see L. Popko, Untersuchungen zur Geschichtsschreibung der Ahmosidert- und
Thutmosidenzeit (Wiirzburg, 2006), 11-15.
19 LA I, 278 n. 3; D. B. Redford, 'The Meaning and Use of the Term gnwt "Annals'", in F. Junge (ed.), Studien
zu Sprache und Religion Agyptens zu Ehren von Wolfhart Westendorf (Gottingen, 1984), I, 327-41.
20 D. B. Redford, Pharaonic King-Lists, Annals and Day-Books : A Contribution to the Study of the Egyptian
Sense of History (SSEA 4; Mississauga, 1986), 96; Redford, in Junge (ed.), Studien zu Sprache, I, 341.
21 Otto, in Spuler (ed.), Literatur, 170; J. F. Quack, 'Zwischen Sonne und Mond', in H. Falk (ed.), Vom Herrscher
zur Dynastie (Bremen, 2002), 41; J. Baines, 'On the Evolution, Purpose, and Forms of Egyptian Annals', in
E.-M. Engel et al. (eds), Zeichen aus dem Sand: Streiflichter aus Agyptens Geschichte zu Ehren von Gunter Dreyer
(MENES 5; Wiesbaden, 2008), 22.
22 H. Schâfer, Ein Bruchstiick altàgyptischer Annalen (APAW 1902; Berlin, 1902); T. A. H. Wilkinson, Royal
Annals of Ancient Egypt: The Palermo Stone and its Aassociated Fragments (London, 2000); S.-W. Hsu, 'The
Palermo Stone: The Earliest Royal Inscription from Ancient Egypt', AoF 37 (2010), 68-89.
23 PS recto, register 1; Schâfer, Annalen, 14; Wilkinson, Royal Annals, 85-9; Hsu, AoF 37, 78.
24 Otto, in Spuler (ed.), Literatur, 170.
25 For example see PS recto, register 2.1-3.12; Schâfer, Annalen, 15-18; Wilkinson, Royal Annals, 89-118;
M. Baud, 'Le format de l'histoire: Annales royales et biographies de particuliers dans l'Egypte du 11le millénaire',
in N. Grimai and M. Baud (eds), Evénement, récit, histoire officielle (EE 3; Paris, 2003), fig. 2.

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272 SHIH-WEI HSU JEA 98

date + royal names and titulary + events in infinitive; b) less comm

bjtj + royal names + jr.η mnw-f η GN, similar to the form employ
labels. Much of the lower part of the face of the PS, as well as the
contains this format.26 A further example of format b) is seen on t
Ankhnespepy.27
From the Middle Kingdom, Amenemhat II's annals also follow
text presents a uniform structure: first, the season is represented
exact date.29 The events are not limited to a single type, but range ove
campaigns, building activity, expeditions, and donations.30
In the Eighteenth Dynasty, no annals of this older format are to
annalistic format was often embedded in other text types, as in the an
Thutmose III in the temple of Karnak.31 These were probably based
wartime diaries (*hrwyt nt msr). An embedded annalistic text is also to
of Amenhotep II recounting the chronological sequence of the king'
The annals constitute a mere summation and sequencing of indiv
were originally just a collection of names attributed to the various y
papyrus for administrative purposes and to maintain chronologica
reason, the names and annual data of ostracised kings can be found i
administrative documentation may have recorded failed events or ac
considered unsuitable for inscribing on monuments.

2.3 Royal decrees and orders

Royal decrees were texts which contained royal commands:

26 PS verso, register 2.2-5.2; Urk. I, 240-9; Schâfer, Annalen, 34-41; Wilkinson, Royal
in Grimai and Baud (eds), Evénement, récit, histoire officielle, fig. 3.
27 Ankhnespepy is assumed to be the mother of Pepy II. It appears that the period
surface (recto) of the sarcophagus extended from the reign of Teti to that of Merenre;
extended presumably from Merenre into the reign of Pepy II. See M. Baud and V. Dobrev
de l'Ancien Empire égyptien. Une 'Pierre de Palerme' pour la Vie dynastie', BIFAO 95 (
P. Beylage, Aufttau der koniglichen Stelentexte vom Beginn der 18. Dynastie bis zur Amarnaz
2002), 623; Ν. C. Strudwick, Texts from the Pyramid Age (WAW 16; Leiden, 2005), 75-7;
(eds), Zeichen, 20.
28 One fragment is illegible: see W. M. F. Petrie, Memphis, I (BSAE/ERA 15; London,
(fig. 5). The second fragment is preserved in almost its entirety: a block of red granite, f
a colossal statue of Ramesses II in the Ptah temple: J. Mâlek, 'The Annals of Amenemh
H. Altenmiiller and A. M. Moussa, 'Die Inschrift Amenemhet II. aus dem Ptah-Tempel
18 (1991), 1-48; J. Mâlek and S. Quirke, 'Memphis 1991: Epigraphy', JEA 78 (1992), 13-
29 Altenmiiller and Moussa, SAK 18, 28-30.
30 Brief summary Ε. N. Hirsch, 'Zur Kultpolitik der 12. Dynastie', in R. Gundlach an
friihe àgyptische Konigtum: Akten des 2. Symposiums zur âgyptischen Konigsideologie in W
36, 2; Wiesbaden, 1999), 47-8. See also Altenmiiller and Moussa, SAK 18, 30-40; C.
Motive in der Glyptik des ostlichen Mittelmeerraumes zu Anfang des 2.Jts. v. Chr. (OLA 71;
J. F. Quack, 'kftsw und jssy', A&L 6 (1996), 79. An example of form (a) can be found i
the end of the iht-time and the beginning of prt-time of the reign of Amenemhet II, in
expedition to Lebanon, offered to Month, and produced a female statue: Altenmiiller an
Beylage, Aufiau, 624-5.
31 Urk. IV, 654.7-754.2. Jansen-Winkeln was of the opinion that the annal inscriptions
Karnak are not actually annals, because their first part is a Konigsnovelle and precedes a
in the Osorkon Chronicle. It is a matter of the embedding of different text types. See K
àgyptische Konigsnovelle als Texttyp', WZKM83 (1993), 109-110 n. 20; Baines, in Engel et
29-30; I. Shirun-Grumach, Offenbarung, Orakel und Konigsnovelle (AAT 24; Wiesbaden,
32 One stela was found in Memphis, the other in Karnak. For examples see Urk. IV, 130
33 LÀ I, 279 n. 6.
34 P. Vernus, Les 'décrets' royaux (wd-nsw): L'énconcé d'auctoritas comme genre

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 2oi2 ANCIENT EGYPTIAN ROYAL INSCRIPTIONS 273

communications from the royal chancery were considered comm

merely a personal message from the king to one of his subjects.35
administrative, and were not primarily intended for inscription
issued, they were archived. However, when execution of the order
populace, they could be published on stone monuments,36 in wh
reshaped and re-edited for ideological purposes.37 These 'ideolog
be considered real decrees, but they functioned as royal propaga
The oldest known royal decree was issued by Shepseskaf at t
Dynasty in respect of protecting the pyramid of Menkaure, a
subequent periods.39 Decrees from the later Old Kingdom use
formula40 not found in later periods (it is already abandoned in
Coptos decrees).41 Although some later texts open with wd hm
recognisable as decrees as they were no longer published in the
These royal decrees (often issued in connection with building act
in the context of a different type of text, for example embedd
dialogue.42
The royal chancery adopted fixed formats and styles for royal documents: different
events were expressed in different draft forms,43 as illustrated by the following three
decree types:44 the document of nomination,45 the response to a complaint,46 and the
decree of exemption.47 These decrees were 'sealed in the presence of King NN'; most
contain a date.48 The decree is normally narrative and expressed in the third person,
often starting jw wd.n nswt 'the king ordered', or jw wd.n hm 'the majesty ordered'.

Geschichte, Verwaltungs- und Wirtschaftsgeschichte, Rechtsgeschichte, Nachbarkulturen. Akten des 4. Internationalen

Agyptologen Kongresses Munchen 1985 (BSAK 4; Hamburg, 1991), 239.
35 LA I, 1037.
36 S. Grallert, Bauen-Stiften-Weihen: Agyptische Bau- und Restaurierungsinschriften von den Anfângen bis zur
30. Dynastie (ADAIK 18; Berlin, 2001), 123.
37 Vernus, in Schoske (éd.), Geschichte, 243.
38 Grallert, Bauen-Stiften-Weihern, 123.
39 W. Helck, Historisch-biographische Texte der 2. Zwischenzeit und neue Texte der 18. Dynastie (ΚΑΤ 6.2;
Wiesbaden, 1995), 73-4; Ε. Martin-Pardey, 'Zum Koptosdekret Antef V.', in A. Eggebrecht und B. Schmitz
(eds), Festschrift jfurgen von Beckerath zum 70. Geburtstag am iç. Februar (HAB 30; Hildesheim, 1990), 185-97.
See also S. Bedier, 'Ein Stiftungsdekret Thutmosis III. aus Buto', in M. Minas-Nerpel and S. Schips (eds),
Aspekte spàtàgyptischer Kultur: Festschrift fur Erich Winter zum 65. Geburtstag (AegTrev 7; Mainz, 1994), 35-50;
Baines, in Engel et al. (eds), Zeichen, 25 n. 31.
40 Urk. I, 160; Goedicke, Konigliche Dokumente, 16-21. This presented a formulaic textual structure that
included all the elements that became characteristic of this kind of inscription throughout the Old Kingdom.
41 W. Schenkel, Memphis-Herakleopolis-Theben: Die epigraphischen Zeugnisse der 7.-jr. Dynastie Agyptens (AA
12; Wiesbaden, 1965), §§ 1-12, 11-24.
42 The use of royal decrees of the Eighteenth Dynasty is now listed by G. J. Shaw, Royal Authority in Egypt's
Eighteenth Dynasty (BAR IS 1822; Oxford, 2008), 40-67 and that of the Ramessid Period by A. David, Syntactic
and Lexico-Semantic Aspects of the Legal Register in Ramesside Royal Decrees (GOF 38; Wiesbaden, 2006).
43 Goedicke, Konigliche Dokumente, 2; L. Pantalacci, 'Les décrets de Coptos', EAO 18 (2000), 29.
44 Goedicke, Konigliche Dokumente, 232.
45 A nomination decree is a royal confirmation to an official post. The decree can be divided up as follows: the
form of nomination through jw m 'be as' with the titles appertaining to the conferred office, the delimitation of
the mandate, the mandate of people (officials) within the office, the exclusion of any claim against the nomination.
See Goedicke, Konigliche Dokumente, 232.
+6 In this case, the fixed pattern has four parts: reference to the complaint, statement of the facts that prompted
the complaint, prohibition, and the issue of a solemn declaration. See Goedicke, Konigliche Dokumente, 233.
47 Two basic elements make up this type of decree: the prohibition and a solemn exemption. Goedicke,
Konigliche Dokumente, 233-4.
48 Goedicke, Konigliche Dokumente, 24 (Neferirkare); 37 (Teti); E. Eichler, 'Zu den Kônigsbriefen des Alten
Reiches', SAK 18 (1991), 154.

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274 SHIH-WEI HSU JEA 98

The decree that forbids often opens: η rd.n hm, 'the majesty does n
the decree a narrative with direct speech may be embedded, in the f
person. The first person corresponds to the king himself: Ί do not g
of disposition...'.49 A speech in the second person occurs more freque
the nomination decrees. An official, priest, or other senior executive f
is directly addressed by him (usually in the imperative).50
Surviving Old Kingdom royal decrees are mostly on stelae, and t
details about provincial administration and taxation.51 Although o
records do not survive from before the end of Fifth Dynasty, the copi
the format of the papyri.52 The recording of the royal decree on a
accessible and durable, and attested to the general recognition of th
principle, it was a form of 'publication'. The published decrees s
thematisation of the ruler, and witnessed his care for the land and
they can be seen as a form of royal propaganda.

2.4 Konigsnovellen
Konigsnovelle is the term used for a class of narrative about the king,54 g
as 'historical records in literary form', whether functioning as royal pr
religious documents of history.56 An alternative interpretation of the
been given by Jansen-Winkeln, who contends that the determinatio
solely in terms of the occurrence of individual motifs is incorrect, iden
of additional features held in common:57

— their main theme is a memorable event in which the king can be considered the
'hero'.

— the text is intended for public display.

— the text is written in a 'narrative' frame.

— it served the purpose of 'royal propaganda'.

The king is the story's protagonist58 and the texts record royal deeds and function
as royal propaganda. Texts of this type typically mention king's entourage: priests,
officials, courtiers, army troops. They begin with a speech directed at the king's officials

49 Goedicke, Konigliche Dokumente, 24 (Neferirkare).

50 Goedicke, Konigliche Dokumente, 165 (Koptus L).
51 Goedicke, Konigliche Dokemente, 239. For detailed examination of the papyrus archive of Neferirkare's
mortuary temple see P. Posener-Kriéger, Les archives du temple funéraire de Néferirkarê-Kakaï (Les papyrus
d'Abousir) (BdE 65; Cairo, 1976). These include revenue and accounting documents. See also P. Posener-Kriéger,
M. Verner, and H. Vymazalovâ (eds), Abusir, X: The Pyramid Complex of Raneferef. The Papyrus Archive (Prague,
2006), 381-406.
52 W. Helck, Altàgyptische Aktenkunde des 3. und 2. Jahrtausends v. Chr. (MAS 31; Munich, 1974), 10-18.
53 Goedicke, Konigliche Dokumente, 6 n. 15.
54 A. Hermann, Die àgyptische Konigsnovelle (LAS 10; Gliickstadt, 1938), 9-11. The general definition and
form of the Konigsnovelle is more recently discussed by A. Loprieno, 'The "Kings Novel'", in Loprieno (ed.),
Ancient Egyptian Literature, 277-95, and a newer study, by B. Hofmann, Die Konigsnovelle: Strukturanalyse am
Einzelwerk (ÀAT 62; Wiesbaden, 2004), has examined the verbal constructions used within the narrative frame
of the Konigsnovelle. A. J. Spalinger has also given a short overview of the subject, and a brief summary of the
'common ingredients', in A. J. Spalinger, Aspects of the Military Documents of the Ancient Egyptians (New Haven,
1982), 101-12; id., Spalinger, in Callender et al. (eds), Times, Signs and Pyramids.
55 Jansen-Winkeln, WZKM 83, 108.
56 For a definition, see Otto, in Spuler (ed.), Literatur, 172 n. 2.
57 Jansen-Winkeln, WZKM 82, 108.
58 Loprieno, in Loprieno (ed.), Ancient Egyptian Literature, 279.

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 ANCIENT EGYPTIAN ROYAL INSCRIPTIONS 275

and courtiers, stressing the monarch's omniscience and the righteousness

In short, the Konigsnovelle seems to conform to the text type that J
classifies as 'narrative of events'.60 In delimiting this text type, the f
criteria are critical:

— theme (memorable event both in its origin and unfolding).

— function (royal propaganda).
— linguistic form (narrative [+ speech]).
In the Old Kingdom we have no evidence for Konigsnovellen,6: which would seem
to have only come into existence as a genre from the Middle Kingdom, surviving until
the Late Period. This lies perhaps in the change undergone by the position of the
king during the Old Kingdom.62 The earliest example of a Konigsnovelle dates from
the Eleventh Dynasty, comprising some relief fragments of Mentuhotep II Nb-hpt-Rr
from Deir el-Ballâs and El Deir.63 The inscription recounts an exchange between king
and army, in which the king wishes for the unification of Egypt. At the end of the text
the king makes an extended speech in which the predominant use of the first person is
a direct echo of the pattern presented in (auto)biographies.
Two further examples are both fragmentary building texts of the reign of
Sesostris 1,64 while the Berlin Leather Roll (an Eighteenth Dynasty manuscript)
also concerns Sesostris I's building of the Atum temple in Heliopolis.65 There are
a few further examples from the Second Intermediate Period (including the stela of
Neferhotep I66 and the stela of Rahotep),67 but the Konigsnovelle reached its zenith in
the New Kingdom.
A Konigsnovelle can be combined with other text forms and text types. It can include
a royal label, a royal decree, an annalistic text, or royal self-praise. At the beginning of
the Konigsnovelle the date and royal titulary are usually explicitly stated; however, some
lack either date or royal name. The opening is followed by the actual report, which
Hofmann refers to as the narrative and Loprieno calls Sprechsitte der Narrativik.6S This
narrative is often prefaced by an impersonally formulated phrase of the type 'they came

59 Grallert, Bauen-Stiften- Wei hen, m.

60 Jansen-Winkeln, Text und Sprache, 12-18, 60; Hofmann, Konigsnovelle, 326 n. 20.
61 Cf. the pictorial evidence of the Konigsnovelle in the Old Kingdom shown by Spalinger, in Callender et al.
(eds), Times, Signs and Pyramids, 351-74.
62 J. Brophy, 'Die Konigsnovelle: An Egyptian Literary Form', BACE 2 (1991), 17.
63 J. C. Darnell, 'The nth Dynasty Royal Inscription from Deir el-Ballas', RdE 59 (2008), 81-110; A. J.
Spalinger, 'Chauvinism in the First Intermediate Period', in H. Vymazalovâ and M. Bârta (eds), Chronology
and Archaeology in Ancient Egypt (The Third Millennium B.C.) (Prague, 2008), 241-60; id., 'New Kingdom
Eulogies of Power', in N. Kloth, K. Martin, and E. Pardey (eds), Es werde niedergelegt als Schriftstuck: Festschrift
fur Hartwig Altenmiiller zum 65. Geburtstag (BSAK 8; Hamburg 2003), 417-18 n. 15. Opinion is divided as to
whether these texts should in fact be regarded as a Konigsnovelle. Eyre thought the earliest 'royal' narratives date
to Mentuhotep IV, from Wadi Hammamat, see Eyre, in Loprieno (ed.), Ancient Egyptian Literature, 430.
64 One is from Elephantine and the other from Tôd: Eyre, in Israelit-Groll (ed.), Studies in Egyptology, I,
143 nn. 34, 35; Ε. N. Hirsch, Kultpolitik und Tempelbauprogramme der 12. Dynastie: Untersuchungen zu den
Gottertempeln im Alten Agypten (Achet 3; Berlin, 2004), Dok. 47a; 71b.
65 P. Berlin 3029, see A. de Buck, 'The Building Inscription of the Berlin Leather Roll', in Studia Aegyptiaca,
I (AnOr 17; Rome, 1938), 48-57; J. Osing, 'Zu zwei literarischen Werken des Mittleren Reiches', in J. Osing (ed.),
The Heritage of Ancient Egypt : Studies in Honour of Erik Iversen (Copenhagen, 1992), 109-119; Eyre, in Israelit
Groll (ed.), Studies in Egyptology, I, 145-7; Shirun-Grunmach, Offenbarung, 149-73.
66 Helck, Historisch-biographische Texte, §32, 21-9.
67 Helck, Historisch-biographische Texte, §87, 59-60.
68 A. M. Gnirs, 'Das Motiv des Biirgerkriegs in Merikare und Neferti: Zur Literatur der 18. Dynastie', in
G. Moers et al. (eds.), jn.t drw. Festschrift fur Friedrich Junge (Gôttingen, 2006), I, 244.

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276 SHIH-WEI HSU JEA 98

to report to the king', and then a brief dialogue appears between king and courtiers. At
the end of the story the courtiers praise the king, the king thanks the gods, or the king
praises himself.
The dialogue embedded in the narrative is typically initiated by the king himself,
and outlines a plan, a command, a request, or a mission to be organised by the king.
The dialogue is recounted in direct speech, and the king speaks in the first person.69
After the king has revealed his thoughts to his subjects, their immediate reactions and
responses are recorded, either by paying their compliments, granting their consent, or
offering their advice.70 Some Konigsnovellen record the praise bestowed upon the king
by his subjects, often glorifying this building work.71 Some Konigsnovellen also record
the king swearing an oath.72
The contents of Konigsnovellen are highly diverse. They can speak of royal events,
plans, tours, campaigns, building activities, or praise: events all related to the king's
deeds. They can also describe rebellions.73 A further example is the description of
restoration work to be carried out on the canal wall of Luxor, following reports of its
collapse.74 There are references to dreams, for example that of Thutmose IV carved on
the Sphinx Stela,75 and the Dream Stela of the Ethiopian king Tanutamani.76 These
dreams point to a development in the concept of kingship, and to an evolution in the
Egyptian concept of history.77 The Konigsnovelle serves as royal propaganda, since
it seeks to show the king's power and military prowess, his piety, or his care for his
subjects, thus justifying his accession to the throne.

2.5 Royal self-praise

Royal self-praise is a speech in which the king (in the first person singular) reports his
deeds to a (mostly) unnamed audience.78 Examples of royal self-praise can be embedded
in other text types. It illustrates deeds that, in the eyes of the king, are especially
significant, without specifying any temporal and/or causal relationships.79 No evidence
survives suggesting royal self-praise existed in the Old Kingdom. The only pre-New
Kingdom example is a tomb stela of King Antef II Wsh-rnh,Ho which shows features
of contemporary private biography. In the Eighteenth Dynasty, royal self-praise is
attested for King Ahmose,8' but appears only sporadically in the early Nineteenth and

69 The Ί-form' is to be found in many Konigsnovellen, including that in P. Berlin 3029 (Berlin Leather Roll), the
stela of Neferhotep, and the Carnarvon Tablet of Kamose: Helck, Historisch-biographische Texte, §119, 82-97.
70 Examples of such responses can also be seen in the P. Berlin 3029 and the stela of Neferhotep.
71 Urk. IV, 95.6-16 and 341.9-342.4.
72 The king directs himself to a god, as in the inscription of Thutmose II from Aswan/Philae: Urk. IV, 139.11—
16. Here the king swears to Amun that he wishes to take revenge on the foreign land. A further example can
be found in the reign of Queen Hatshepsut when she swears an oath and has it inscribed on her obelisks to
perpetuate her name: Urk. IV, 365.11-366.12.
73 Urk. IV, 137-141.
74 Otto, in Spuler (ed.), Literatur, 174 n. 2.
75 Urk. IV, 15398-1544.
76 Urk. Ill, 60-77; F. A. K. Breyer, Tanutamani: Die Traumstele und ihr Umfeld (AAT 57; Wiesbaden, 2003).
77 Otto, in Spuler (ed.), Literatur, 174.
78 Jansen-Winkeln, Text und Sprache, 169; Grallert, Bauen-Stiften-Weihen, 114.
79 Grallert, Bauen-Stiften-Weihen, 115.
80 Schenkel, Historisch-biographische Texte, §69, 90-6; Eyre, in Israelit-Groll (ed.), Studies in Egyptology, I,
148 n.51.
81 The earliest royal eulogy from the Eighteenth Dynasty is the stela of king Ahmose from Karnak, Urk.
IV, 14-20; LÀ II, 41; A. J. Spalinger, Five Views on Egypt (LingAeg SM 6; Gôttingen, 2006), 87-121; Eyre, in
Loprieno (ed.), Ancient Egyptian Literature, 424-5.

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2oi2 ANCIENT EGYPTIAN ROYAL INSCRIPTIONS 277

Twentieth Dynasties, and in the Third Intermediate Period even

was later resurrected in the inscriptions of Nectanebo I in Helio
Royal self-praise thematises building and renovation,83 but can al
to the waging of campaigns. Rarely, they portray the career of th
Royal self-praise served to promote the king's deeds among his

2.6 Biographies
Biographies are discussed here because some Eleventh Dynas
clearly contain biographical items indicating that they develope
genre. In the Old Kingdom, biographical inscriptions were only
though from the First Intermediate Period they could also be fo
they also appear in the temples, especially on the temple statues
Dynasty onwards),86 and rarely on temple walls,87 and they oc
Ptolemaic Period.88
The first (auto)biographical texts probably date from the lat
Dynasty.89 They record a private career, mentioning merely the ti
the dead person, and usually presenting the son of the tomb ow
the tomb giving service to the dead.90
Biographical inscriptions fall into two types: the 'event' o
(Laufbahnbiographie),91 and the 'reflection biography' (Idealbi
biography either contains all the important events in a person's
specific event in his life. The reflection biography describes the (g
deceased and his (good) social behaviour.

82 Grallert, Bauen-Stiften-Weihen, 115, 671.

83 Examples of royal self-praise include King Thutmose I speaking of how he h
temples for the gods and extended the borders of Egypt to the end of the horizon
Queen Hatshepsut speaking of the building and renovation of constructions in the 1
Egypt and of a treatise on the right management of the office of a Pharaoh: Urk. I
mentions his Near Eastern military campaigns and the war spoils forwarded as of
of Karnak {Urk. IV, 1227.7-1243); he also reports on several major incidents and pr
building projects {Urk. IV, 765.7-772.7; Urk. IV, 833-7.).
84 Grallert, Bauen-Stiften-Weihen, 114-16.
85 E. Otto, 'Biographien', in Spuler (ed.), Literatur, 179.
86 Otto, in Spuler (ed.), Literatur, 180.
87 K. Jansen-Winkeln, 'Lebenslehre und Biographie', Ζ AS 131 (2004), 61
88 A. M. Gnirs, 'Die agyptische Autobiographie', in Loprieno (ed.), Ancient Egypt
89 N. Kloth, 'Beobachtungen zu den biographischen Inschriften des Alten Reich
9o; M. Baud, 'The Birth of Biography in Ancient Egypt: Text Format and Conten
Seidlmayer (éd.), Texte undDenkmàler, 91 ; J. Baines, 'Prehistories of Literature: Per
G. Moers (ed.), Definitely: Egyptian Literature. Proceedings of the Symposion "Ancient
and Forms", Los Angeles, March 24-26,1995 (LingAeg SM 2; Gôttingen, 1999), 21.
90 Later developments: First Intermediate Period inscriptions developed into a pol
Middle Kingdom biographical inscriptions often express a subordinate's loyalty to h
(ed.), Ancient Egyptian Literature, 228-9 n. 200. In the Eighteenth Dynasty, a good
thoughts of the heart are the basic prerequisites of successful human existence (ibid
of Egyptian biography was broken at the end of the New Kingdom, until revived
Twenty-third Dynasties: ibid., 236 n.243; K. Jansen-Winkeln, Agyptische Biograph
(AAT 8; Wiesbaden, 1985). In the Third Intermediate Period and in the Late Period t
to inscribe biographies on private statues; stelae were used much less frequently. The
funerary cult and the existence of the afterlife.
g: Otto, in Spuler (ed.), Literatur, 181-2; Gnirs, in Loprieno (ed.), Ancient E
N. Kloth, Die (auto-)biographischen Inschriften des agyptische Alten Reiches: Untersuc
Entmcklung (BSAK 8; Hamburg, 2002), 227-9; Strudwick, Pyramid Age, 44; Baud
und Denkmàler, 92.

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 278 SHIH-WEI HSU JEA 98

Egyptian (auto)biographies also basically used two modes of discourse (expositive

and narrative), which encouraged the development of the two different types of
autobiographical text.92 Expository discourse favours the nominal style: a sequence
of participial forms follow on from the introductory names of the person. Narrative
discourse is characterised by finite verb forms, periphrastic constructions, and is thus
likely to reflect actions and their (temporal, causal) sequence.93
There is no evidence that pure royal biography ever existed. Texts in which the king
himself speaks in the first person take instead the form of royal self-praise (see above).
Only from the end of the First Intermediate Period do some royal inscriptions contain
biographical passages. In the First Intermediate Period many nomarchal biographical
texts address 'political' issues, such as the improvement of living conditions and social
welfare in their own nome, the avoidance of adversity and military force, and the
restoration or creation of new temples and offerings.94 These inscriptions are rich in
poetic elements, marked by the use of metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche, hyperbole,
amphiboly, and word repetition.95 Undoubtedly, these texts influenced the development
of Egyptian literature in the early Middle Kingdom, as well as influencing the evolution
of the royal inscriptions, including the Konigsnovelle: the reconstitution of kingship
at the beginning of the Eleventh Dynasty had an influence on the (auto)biographical
discourse in Thebes, with the king replacing the nomarch as the central figure of the
text, as illustrated in two inscriptions of Antef II Wih^nh.^ In these, the narrator
presents himself as a hero or rescuer, and publishes his own deeds.

3. The development of royal inscriptions

3.1 Early Dynastic Period and the Old Kingdom

Royal inscriptions pertaining to the Early Dynastic Period and the Old Kingdom are
found only in certain areas, and occur in just a few basic shapes, fulfilling a limited
number of functions. They are found:
— in the funeral area (tomb, mastaba, and surroundings).
— in parts of the temple (door lintel, architrave, ceiling). These royal inscriptions
can be assigned to individual buildings and objects, naming a particular king as
the founder. During the Old Kingdom, simple name labels were expanded to
form dedicatory labels.
— in the secular sphere of the oases and deserts, the king was lord and was represented
as victor over the foreign lands. At first the image included the king's name as its

92 Gnirs, in Loprieno (éd.), Ancient Egyptian Literature, 203; Kloth, SAK 25, 191; Baud, in Seidlmayer (ed.),
Texte und Denkmaler, 92-3; A. von Lieven, 'Zur Funktion der âgyptischen Autobiographie', WdO 40 (2010),
54-69·
93 Gnirs, in Loprieno (ed.), Ancient Egyptian Literature, 203-6; Grallert, Bauen-Stiften-Weihen, 128.
94 A particularly impressive example is seen in the biographical inscriptions in the tomb of the nome governor
rnhtjfj at Moalla: J. Vandier, Mo'alla: La tombe d'Ankhtifi et la tombe de Sébekhotep (BdE 18; Cairo, 1950);
Schenkel, Memphis-Herakleopolis-Theben,§37, 45-57; F. A. K. Breyer, 'Die Inschrift des Anchtifi aus Moralla', in
J. Bernd and W. Gemot (eds), Staatsvertràge, Herrscherinschriften und andere Dokumente zurpolitischen Geschichte
(TUAT NF 2; Gutersloh, 2005), 187-96.
95 Gnirs, in Loprieno (ed.), Ancient Egyptian Literature, 225 n. 179.
96 The first stela is the 'hymn stela': H. E. Winlock, 'The Eleventh Egyptian Dynasty', JNES 2 (1943), pi.
36; Schenkel, Memphis-Herakleoplis-Theben, §70, 97-9. The second stela is the 'Dog Stela' (Cairo CG 20512):
Schenkel, Memphis-Herakleopolis-Theben, §69, 92-6; id. 'Bemerkungen zu den wichtigen Inschriften der 11.
Dynastie aus dem Kônigsfriedhof von El-Tarif', in D. Arnold (éd.), Gràber des Alten und Mitteren Reiches in
El-Tarif (AVDAIK 51; Mainz, 1977), 53.

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 2oi2 ANCIENT EGYPTIAN ROYAL INSCRIPTIONS 279

sole refining addendum, but later an infinitive label was a

deed performed by the king.

— as excerpts from real (archived) records monumentalised

objects.
At this period, royal acts were retold and recorded both directly (in the royal labels)
and indirectly (in the annals or decrees), but the details of the specific event were
extremely limited, so that we know nothing of its broader context, background, history,
or implications.97

3.2 First Intermediate Period

During this period, the power of the kings was sorely restricted, above all in Upper
Egypt, where the power was wielded by the independent nome governors, who left
numerous biographical inscriptions. Because our sources regarding this period are
almost exclusively drawn from Upper and Middle Egypt, we have few royal texts. It is
therefore unsurprising that no royal annals are extant from this time. However, a number
of royal decrees from Coptos dating from the early First Intermediate Period are known.
The nature of these decrees reveals few changes compared to the form documented in
the royal decrees of the Old Kingdom. Royal labels, simple name-labels, and dedicatory
labels are all found from this period, and they become increasingly common again from
the reign of Antef II Wih-rnh. They mostly occur inscribed around the temples (on
door jambs,98 lintels,99 and a pillar).100 Although the royal inscriptions of this time were
not very numerous, a crucial development occurred in their form: by the time of king
Antef II Wlh-rnh we see, at least in the specific text of the Dog Stela, the transition from
an official biography to that of royal self-praise. In this text, a number of elements that
typified (auto)biographical inscriptions can be recognised:
— first-person presentation.101

— elements of phraseology.102

— the 'address to the living'.103

97 Many scholars claim that the inscription on a block from the temple of Unas at Saqqara (albeit reused in
the pyramid of Amenemhet I in Lisht) constitutes an early example of a historical inscription; see H. Goedicke,
Re-used Blocks from the Pyramid of Amenemhet I at Lisht (PMMA 20; New York, 1971 ), 24-6; Strudwick, Pyramid
Age, g 1-2. Morenz gives another example to show that the first complex narrative text is known from the early
Third Dynasty: L. Morenz, 'The Role of the Memphite Area in the Development of Egyptian Writing', in
M. Bârta, F. Coppens, and J. Krejci (eds), Abusir and Saqqara in the year 2005 (Prague, 2006), 350. In addition,
Parkinson and Baines have asserted that the Sinai inscription 13 preserves a sparse form of historical record, see
R. B. Parkinson and J. Baines, 'An Old Kingdom Record of an Oracle? Sinai Inscription 13', in J. van Dijk (ed.),
Essays on Ancient Egypt in Honour of Herman te Velde (EM 1; Groningen, 1997), 9-27.
98 Grallert, Bauen-Stiften-Weihen, Ant2/Wfooi, 002, and 003.
99 Grallert, Bauen-Stiften-Weihen, Ant2/Wfoo4.
IOC Grallert, Bauen-Stiften-Weihen, Ant2/Wfoo5.
101 The speech delivered in the first person singular is typical of biographical inscriptions. Gnirs, in Loprieno
(ed.), Ancient Egyptian Literature, 196.
102 A number of sentences correspond to formulations known in other official biographies, although for a royal
inscription they were somewhat incongruous: for example: Ί was useful for my city' (1. 4); 'There is not an
injustice that had emerged from my mouth. There is not a matter, from which I made, would be different, there is
no one whom I drove away from his country(?). There is no one whom I drove away from the estate of his father.
There is no case of someone that I had not listened to' (1. 5), Schenkel, Memphis-Herakleopolis-Theben, §69, 93-4;
Ί supported his ruler and his army leader with provisions', Schenkel, in Arnold (ed.), El-Tarif, 51.
103 The address to the living, known since the Old Kingdom, typically appears together with autobiography,
but not in royal inscriptions, at least in the form of a prayer for offerings to visitors of the tomb. See Gnirs, in
Loprieno (ed.), Ancient Egyptian Literature, 201 n.44; von Lieven, WdO 40, 54-5.

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28ο SHIH-WEI HSU JEA 98

However, this inscription of Antef II Wlh-rnh also contained oth

were only appropriate for a royal inscription:

— date and royal names in cartouches.104

— matters discussed, such as building activities, the equippin

waging of war, and the extension of the border, are really onl
royal inscriptions, as deeds reserved for the king.105

— his reign was legitimated by the god,106 in the father-son r

(father)-son (king).107

The inscriptions of Antef II Wsh-rnh, therefore, continue the t

biographies such as that of rnhtjfj of Moalla, with the new addit
elements. This combination of biographical inscriptions and their
with the royal inscriptions would have further consequences in th

3.3 Middle Kingdom

The form of the royal labels remained unchanged, now being ins
parts of the temple, but also on other objects: boxes,108 statues, s
and the offering tablets of the sphinxes.109 However, marked ch
royal inscriptions at the beginning of the Middle Kingdom. The m
these was the emergence of the royal narrative, the so-called Konigsn
impulse for the development of this new text type was in all like
official biographies of the end of the First Intermediate Period. A fur
also have been given by the emergence of literary texts in the ear
In this literature, kingship is the essential topic of discussion, standin
of many works: the Instruction of Amenemhet, the Instruction
Prophecies of the Nfrtj, the Story of Sinuhe, and other so-called belle
Posener was of the opinion that the literary texts of the Twelfth Dy
considered in the light of the (re)constitution of the kingship wit
created for their political effect. Many of these literary texts would
the training of future officials, and their ideological influence ma
one of their primary functions: the loyalty of the king's officials had
It is also plain to see that kingship in the early Middle Kingdom re
justification: it emerged from the nome governors, but now the powe
rulers needed to be limited. Numerous literary texts from the Mid

104 'Year 50. ... Horus Wlh-rnh, King of Upper and Lower Egypt, son of Re Jnj{-jt
Nfrw...' (1. 6), Schenkel, Memphis-Herakleopolis-Theben, §69, 94.
105 LI. ι and 3, Schenkel, Memphis-Herakleopolis-Theben, §69, 92-3.
106 'May you depart, my father Re, without your decreeing me? May heaven cover you,
me?... I am your successor (s.tj)' (11. 1-4). Schenkel, Memphis-Herakleopolis-Theben, §7
und zweite Zwischenzeit—Ein Vergleich', ZAS 117 (1990), 126.
107 D. Franke, 'Schôpfer, Schiitzer, guter Hirte: Zum Kônigsbild des Mittleren Reich
C. Raedler (eds), Selbstverstàndnis und Realitât: Akten des Symposiums zur agyptischen
15.-17. 6. IÇQ5 (ÀAT 36, 1; Wiesbaden, 1997), 182.
108 King Amenemhet II: CG 70502, CG 70503 etc. See Hirsch, Kultpolitik, 297 (Dok
109 The Sphinx of queen Neferusobek: Hirsch, Kultpolitik, 389 (Dok. 358).
110 The Konigsnovelle probably came into existence around the time of Mentuhotep
reign of Sesostris I. Whether the inscription of Mentuhotep II from Deir el-Ballâs or E
on the Berlin Leather Roll of Sesostris I should be regarded as the first Konigsnovelle
section 2.4.
111 W. K. Simpson, 'Belles Lettres and Propaganda', in Loprieno (ed.), Ancient Egyptian Literature, 435-43.

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 ANCIENT EGYPTIAN ROYAL INSCRIPTIONS 281

directly or indirectly of the benign effects of the king and the

overcome. There was as such an obvious need at this time to
effects of the king publicly in a much broader context. The
the stelae and temple walls were supposed to last for all eter
referred to the king's triumphs, to his victories and successes, w
presented the king's darker side. A basic distinction emerging fr
the depiction of royal deeds in this broader context.
Royal decrees were now no longer monumental inscriptions of d
and did not follow a given formula, but rather they were ab
describing building activities. This new formulation given to t
also seen in the annal inscriptions of Amenenhat II. In contr
Old Kingdom, their content is more extensive and their shape
king's name and the date, which in the annals of the Old King
key elements, are now more explicit and detailed. The main text
information: offering foundations, expeditions, receiving dele
Asia.112 Thus they provide a broad, representative overview o
the economic situation and religious cult,113 of course onl
endeavours. Notably this text also shows the motif of fishing and
under Sahure.114 Those records in the annals of Amenemhet
propaganda purpose, asserting that Amenemhet II must take ov
his reign and renew his legitimacy after the death of his father
of the co-regency.115
The royal inscriptions of the Old and Middle Kingdoms are, the
different in detail, but also in their fundamentals. In the Old Kin
curtly described, with no further explanation being offered for
attempt being made to embed them in their broader context.
attempts were made to portray the deeds of the king in a mu
clarify their (charitable) purpose and (successful) intent. It is a
now required to seek a consensus, and that it can no longer as
be accepted automatically. This is reflected in the newly creat
kingship plays a pivotal role. Further evidence is provided by t
that appear for the first time in this period, as well as by the det
the king, both of which might appear in various guises. Yet furt
by the hymns or songs, sung in the second person to the third p
In literary texts, too, a number of examples can be found: the
Sesostris I in the story of Sinuhe,"7 and the general praise off
Loyalist Instruction.II8 Although examples of praise to the king h
112 Altenmiiller and Moussa, SAK 18, 28-30.
113 Altenmiiller and Moussa, SAK 18, 30.
114 H. Altenmiiller, 'Der Kônig als Vogelfânger und Fischer (nhty whr)—zu friihen
Motivs', in Engel et al. (eds), Zeichen, 1—18; S. Quirke, Egyptian Literature 180
(GHE 2; London, 2004), 206.
115 Altenmiiller and Moussa, SAK 18, 40.
116 J. Assmann, Agyptische Hymnen und Gebete (1st edn; Zurich, 1975), §228,
et politique dans l'Egypte de la Xlle dynastie (Paris, 1956), 128-30; Spalinger, in
niedergelegt, 417 n. 14.
117 Sinuhe Β 47-73. Assmann, Agyptische Hymnen und Gebete*, §227, 475-6.
118 Stela Cairo CG 20538 1. 5. Assmann, Agyptische Hymnen und Gebete', §2
Literature 1800 BC, 109.

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282 SHIH-WEI HSU JEA 98

the Old Kingdom,119 these new royal eulogies, in their various forms and text types,
were designed to spread the king's power.

j.4 Second Intermediate Period

During the Thirteenth Dynasty, fewer royal inscriptions are evident, but at least two
Konigsnovellen are known: the inscriptions of Neferhotep I and Sobekhotep III,120
essentially continuing the Middle Kingdom tradition. During the Fifteenth Dynasty
few monuments survive, only a few dedicated labels being attributable to Apophis.121
In the Seventeenth Dynasty, Kamose had a written description of his war against the
Hyksos inscribed in a long text, of which only some parts have been preserved.122
Kamose's Konigsnovelle (in common with the royal inscriptions of the Middle
Kingdom) was largely written in Middle Egyptian, but there are quite a few Late
Egyptian constructions and verbatim formulations.123 This might suggest that Middle
Kingdom royal narratives underwent something of a modernisation.

3.5 Eighteenth Dynasty

The royal inscriptions of the Eighteenth Dynasty are formally and linguistically
similar to the royal texts of the Twelfth Dynasty The old tradition is maintained,
while the texts themselves become more comprehensive. They correspond either to
text types that had been present long before, or were a combination of different older
text types. We might, for example, find an annal text, a royal label, royal self-praise, or
a royal decree embedded within the Konigsnovelle. In the Eighteenth Dynasty, 'annals'
refers to texts including excerpts from the war diaries, which were also used for royal
inscriptions (e.g. the annals of Thutmose III). Likewise, excerpts from the treasury
records are found in the endowment lists and the booty lists in the royal inscriptions.
They drew on administrative records, which differed from the annals of the period.124
The fact that independent annals are no longer exemplified, but the most important
events are described in the context of a report, is a logical continuation of the tendency
initiated in the Middle Kingdom to portray royal deeds in a broader context. One
major difference with the Middle Kingdom is that royal eulogies now occur with
greater frequency in the inscriptions, especially in the royal narratives. They are more
detailed and show greater literary sophistication. Any cross-referencing between these
eulogies and the narrative sections of the inscription only appear in a general sense. For
instance, a classification of the historical deeds of the king as 'campaigns' or 'works of
peace' might be reflected in the relevant eulogy.125
The Eighteenth Dynasty, especially in its first half, was a period of great military
expansion and notable foreign policy successes. It is, therefore, hardly surprising

119 A kind of 'praise to the king' is actually witnessed in the reign of Sahure, on a fragment of a Song of
Thanks, which illustrated the biography of a contemporary named Niankhsekhmet, see Urk. I, 38-40. In general
see LÀ II, 40; Spalinger, in Kloth et al. (eds), Es werde niedergelegt, 417 nn. 11 and 12.
120 Helck, Historish-biographische Texte, §37, 31-4.
121 Dedicatory labels appear on one of the offering tablets and on a vessel: see Helck, Historish-biographische
Texte, §76, 55; Grallert, Bauen-Stiften-Weihen, 589-90.
122 The Carnarvon Tablet of Kamose is a wooden hieratic tablet. The hieroglyphic counterparts are preserved
on two stelae: stela II is a continuation of stela I: see Hofmann, Konigsnovelle, 105-25.
123 See B. Kroeber, Die Neuàgyptizismen vor der Amarnazeit: Studien zur Entwicklung der agyptischen Sprache
vom Mittleren Reich zum Neuen Reich (PhD Thesis, University of Tubingen; Tubingen, 1970), 89-92.
124 LÀ I, 279.
125 LÀ II, 41. Cf. Spalinger, in Kloth et al. (eds.), Es werde niedergelegt, 427 n.79.

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2oi2 ANCIENT EGYPTIAN ROYAL INSCRIPTIONS 283

that many royal inscriptions from this period report the trium
his consequent offerings to the gods. These stories maintained
that had existed since the Middle Kingdom, with the narrative f
frame. The king is depicted as a war hero, while his physical an
stressed.126 In short, the royal inscriptions of the Eighteenth Dyn
formal in nature, representing a logical development of the roy
Kingdom, especially those of the Twelfth Dynasty.

4. Conclusion

The first royal inscriptions appeared in the Early Dynastic Period. Until
of the Old Kingdom their content and form remained extremely simple, in
bearing no more than the names of the kings. They remained like this until the
Dynasty when their content was expanded. Annals' were constructed in keyw
incorporated excerpts from the documents of the administration. Around th
the First Intermediate Period, under the influence of the nomarchal biograp
inscriptions became more detailed and richer in content. This trend continued
Middle Kingdom. These texts provided detailed royal narratives in which the
the kings were illustrated for the first time. The simultaneous occurrence of liter
is evidence of the close link established between kingship and the royal eulogy. C
the royal inscriptions served a political influence over the king's subjects, especia
elite officers. In the Eighteenth Dynasty this tradition was advanced further wh
royal inscriptions were erected. Although a number of differences are to be fou
royal inscriptions of the Twelfth Dynasty, no fundamental changes took pla
the turning point in the development of Ancient Egyptian royal inscription
clearly traced to a date sometime between the Old and the Middle Kingdoms

126 W. Decker, Die physische Leistung Pharaos: Untersuchung zu Heldentum, jfagd und Leibesiibu
âgyptischen Konige (PhD thesis, University of Cologne; Cologne, 1971).

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