A new perspective on the dynamics of dynastic rule in the southernmost province of Egypt, from the Old Kingdom to the New Kingdom

The First Upper Egyptian nome, with its capital, Elephantine, was important in ancient times, as it stood on the southern border between Egypt and the Nubian provinces above the First Cataract. Since 2008, Alejandro Jimenez-Serrano has led an archaeological mission at the necropolis of Qubbet el-Hawa, where Elephantine's high officials are buried. In Descendants of a Lesser God, he draws on textual records and archaeological data, together with new evidence from his work at the tombs, to cast fresh historiographical light on the dynastic dynamics of these ruling elites.

Jimenez-Serrano analyzes the origin of the local elites of Elephantine, and their role in trade and international relations with Nubia and neighboring regions, from the end of the Old Kingdom to the end of the Middle Kingdom. He explores the development of these power groups, organized as they were in complex households, which in many ways emulated the functioning of the royal court. Delving deeply into the funerary world, he also highlights the relationship between social memory and political legitimacy through his examination of the mortuary cult of a late Old Kingdom governor of Elephantine, Heqaib, who was transformed into a local divinity and later claimed as the mythic ancestor of the ruling family of Elephantine.

The history of ancient Egypt has traditionally been written from a court perspective. This new history of a strategically important region not only modifies existing perceptions of provincial life in the Middle Kingdom among the elites, but also introduces new evidence to support more complex and detailed reconstructions of the dynastic families in power.

A new perspective on the dynamics of dynastic rule in the southernmost province of Egypt, from the Old Kingdom to the New Kingdom

About the Author
Alejandro Jimenez-Serrano is professor of Egyptology and Near Eastern Archaeology at the University of Jaen, Spain. Since 2008, he has been the director of archaeological excavations and interdisciplinary research at Qubbet el-Hawa in Aswan. He is co-editor of Middle Kingdom Palace Culture and Its Echoes in the Provinces (2021) and Results of the 2019 Research Season at Qubbet el-Hawa. He is a frequent participant in television documentaries on ancient Egypt.

Reviews

"The focus on a provincial centre and its ruling elite provides a rewarding study."-Ancient Egypt Magazine

"This book explores and interweaves aspects of social networks, politics, belief, ritual, and cult to present a fascinating and comprehensive portrait of the Elephantine/Qubbet el-Hawa area during the Old and Middle Kingdoms. Jimenez-Serrano sheds welcome light on intriguing aspects of ancient Egyptian culture that have often been neglected. His lively writing style animates ancient families and personalities, suggesting possible motivations for their actions."-Adela Oppenheim, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

"This book is particularly original for the new perspective it offers on pharaonic history, far from the great capitals of ancient Egypt. Alejandro Jimenez-Serrano has led excavations for more than fifteen years in the Elephantine region, Egypt's southern gateway at the crossroads of the tracks of the desert and the axis of the Nile. His study is therefore enriching, both for its political, social, and economic perspectives on a key region of the Egyptian world and for the history of the archaeological work carried out there for nearly two centuries."-Pierre Tallet, Sorbonne University

"This study offers a fascinating journey through the history of Aswan at the end of the Old Kingdom and during the Middle Kingdom, as Alejandro Jimenez-Serrano presents the findings of his archaeological mission at the necropolis of Qubbet el-Hawa and his unique thoughts here for the first time. Descendants of a Lesser God is highly recommended reading for anyone who wishes to understand the politics, religion, and evolution of ancient Egyptian society and state, and the competition for status and resources as reflected through archaeological discoveries from that period."-Miroslav Barta, Charles University, author of Analyzing Collapse

"A refreshingly new study that focuses on the lives and deaths of the governing families in the ancient Egyptian community at Elephantine located in the First Cataract region of Egypt. Alejandro Jimenez-Serrano successfully manages to bring this long-lost community to life by telling us the histories of its local leaders and their households, based on his team's recent archaeological discoveries at the elite necropolis of Qubbet el-Hawa."-Nadine Moeller, Yale University

Book Information
ISBN 9781649031754
Author Alejandro Jimenez-Serrano
Format Hardback
Page Count 310
Imprint American University in Cairo Press
Publisher American University in Cairo Press