Chetemti-schema
| Chetemti-schema in hieroglyphics | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Official title |
Chetemti-schemau Ḫtm.tj-šmˁw sealer of the king of Upper Egypt |
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Chetemti-schemau (in German " Sealer of the King of Upper Egypt "), sometimes also read as Sedjauti-schemau , was an ancient Egyptian title that signaled a high rank at court. The title, however, was only in the second half of the second dynasty in use, it was abolished at the end of the second dynasty.
supporting documents
Under the kings Seth-Peribsen and Sechemib-Perenmaat in the 2nd dynasty the title Chetemti-Schemau is documented. He represents the counterpart to Chetemti-biti . The only official to whom this title can be proven is Nebhetep . The introduction of the title Chetemti-Shemau became necessary after the Egyptian kingdom had been split into two halves under King Peribsen (perhaps a little earlier). In the past, religious upheavals and the ensuing nationwide civil wars were assumed to be the cause, but today we assume a purely administrative necessity: economic bottlenecks and / or an administrative apparatus that has become too large may have been the reason for a formal division of the empire. Peribsen and Sechemib just wanted to restrict the power of officials and priests because they were becoming too influential. Ultimately, official titles such as that of the "royal sealer" had to be adapted to these innovations. After the formal division of the empire ended under King Chasechemui and the administrative system could again be managed by a single central office, the title “Chetemti-schemau” was given up again.
reading
There is a certain amount of uncertainty about how to read the Siegel symbol (Gardiner symbol lists S19 and S20). Older research mostly read the character sedjau , while more recent indications have been found that the character chetem can be read.
function
The bearer of the title “Sealer of the King of Upper Egypt” enjoyed the prestige in the early days of being able to mark and seal goods, barter objects and all kinds of royal possessions as such. He thus represented the royal authority . He was fully responsible for the day-to-day management and structuring of special administrative institutions that were directly subordinate to the king. There were also variations of the title that indicated a special area of responsibility of the sealer, for example the “sealer of the daily meat rations”.
literature
- Wolfgang Helck : Investigations on the Thinite Age (= Ägyptologische Abhandlungen. (ÄA) Vol. 45). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1987, ISBN 3-447-02677-4 .
- William A. Ward : Index of Egyptian Administrative and Religious Titles of the Middle Kingdom . American University of Beirut, Beirut 1982 (No. 1472).
- Toby AH Wilkinson : Early Dynastic Egypt. Routledge, London et al. 1999, ISBN 0-415-18633-1 .
- Christian E. Schulz: Writing implements and scribes in the 0th to 3rd dynasty . GRIN Verlag, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-638-63909-5 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Peter Kaplony: Inscriptions of the early Egyptian times . Plate IX., Clay seal no.266
- ^ A b Toby Wilkinson: Early Dynastic Egypt . Pp. 130-132 and 147.
- ↑ Jean-Pierre Pätznick: The seal impressions and cylinder seals of the city of Elephantine in the 3rd millennium BC. Chr. Pp. 211-213; see also: Jean-Pierre Pätznick in: Mitteilungen des Deutschen Ägyptologische Institut Cairo . No. 55, German Archaeological Institute, Orient Department (ed.). de Gruyter, Berlin 1999, pp. 90-92.
- ^ Christian E. Schulz: Writing implements and scribes in the 0th to 3rd dynasty . Pp. 9-15.
- ↑ Detlef Franke : Problems of working with ancient Egyptian titles from the Middle Kingdom. In: Göttinger Miscellen. 83: 112-114 (1984).
- ↑ Wolfgang Helck: Investigations on the thinite age . Wiesbaden 1987, p. 215.