Demotic Chronicle

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The demotic chronicle is a demotic papyrus , which both retrospectively and looking into the future contains the history of the ancient Egyptian pharaohs (kings). The present work was written on the recto des Papyrus Paris BN 215 over a Greek text as a palimpsest , with the earlier Greek content dating back to the third century BC. Is dated. Since the papyrus of the Demotic Chronicle was found near Memphis , most Egyptologists assume this region as the place of origin.

Dating

In Egyptology, the time when the work was created has been discussed for a long time. To make matters more complicated, researchers who had not previously dealt primarily with demotic literature and who, due to differing interpretations of the text, opened up new time windows for its creation, also spoke up.

For example, the ancient historian Werner Huss speculated that various editors had repeatedly revised the demotic chronicle. He also assumed that the Egyptian priesthood was hostile to the first Ptolemaic rulers and that this attitude flowed into the demotic chronicle.

After numerous new text-critical investigations, however, the views and conclusions of Werner Huss are no longer tenable in the opinion of most scholars, and the content-related explanations in the demotic chronicle suggest that it was written in the second half of the third century BC. Under the reign of Ptolemy III. probably.

content

The demotic chronicle contains a retrospective theological theory regarding the services rendered by the pharaohs, some of which are described as oracles in the narrative form vaticinia ex eventu . In this context, a positive judgment is postulated for the righteous king if the deeds performed during his reign were in harmony with the moral commandments. On the other hand, premature removal from power is always interpreted as misconduct and commented accordingly. In particular, the tenth chapter is regarded as an important historical source because of the well-founded assessment of the rulers.

In Egyptology, the Manethonic order of the pharaohs was questioned until the work Demotic Chronicle was discovered . It was therefore historically significant to have further evidence in the demotic papyrus that King Nectanebo I was placed between Nepherites II and Tachos . Through the further explanations, the end of the 30th dynasty could be in the year 342 BC. To be dated.

The Pharaohs named by name

In the sixth chapter of the demotic chronicle, the pharaohs are continuously described in the past tense after the first Persian rule . The deity Thoth was given the task of " recording the deeds of the first six rulers Amyrtaios , Nepherites I , Hakor , Nepherites II , Nectanebos I and Tachos" after he "had examined their affairs in Herakleopolis ". The son of Amyrtaios and Psammuthis is missing from the Thoth list . Both are only mentioned in the tenth chapter as rulers who “did not walk in God's way” and therefore “did not exist”.

The creator god Ptah was commissioned to name the future pharaoh for the seventh period, which would begin after Tachos. Before that, however, Ptah had to resolve an unspecified "Memphis matter" as his decision will be examined in Memphis in the future. Pharaoh Nectanebos II, who came to power through rebellion according to Tachos, is not mentioned by name in the entire demotic chronicle, although the overthrow of the Tachos by him is part of a prophecy.

The future pharaoh

One of the central themes in the demotic chronicle is the "proclamation" of the new pharaoh, who will free Egypt from the subsequent Ptolemaic dynasty after the renewed Persian rule and lead it into a hopeful future. The phases of the seizure of power are described and dated:

“The month of Achet III ( Hathyr ), pregnancy. That is, the ruler who will appear in Herakleopolis will rebel in the month of Achet III. The month of Achet IV ( Choiak ), birth. That is to say, he will gather in the month of Achet IV. Month of Peret I ( Tybi ), feeding. That means, he will chew (collect) war equipment in the month of Peret I. Month Peret II ( Mechir ), call to me, then I call to you. That is, one soldier will wage war with the other in the month of Peret II. The month of Peret III ( Phamenoth ), mine is the title. That means that he is revealed, crowned with the golden diadem , in the month of Peret III, that means that he exercises power in the month of Peret III. The future ruler will be compared to Harsiese . Those in Buto are his troops. Isis will be happy with the future ruler. Happy is the heart of Isis, the mistress of Tepihu , that means heartfelt contentment towards the future ruler, because he will not disobey the law. "

- Chapter 9

Harsiese was the son of Isis and Osiris in Egyptian mythology , which gave him an important role in the Osiris myth . He was equated with the sky god Horus and the Pharaoh. As Harsiese, the Pharaoh fought like Osiris against his enemies.

literature

  • Heinz Felber : The demotic chronicle . In: Andreas Blasius (Ed.): Apokalyptik und Egypt: A critical analysis of the relevant texts from Greco-Roman Egypt (= Orientalia Lovaniensia analecta. (OLA) Volume 107). Peeters, Leuven 2002, ISBN 90-429-1113-1 , pp. 65-112.
  • Friedhelm Hoffmann , Joachim Friedrich Quack : Anthology of demotic literature (= introductions and source texts on Egyptology. Volume 4). Lit, Berlin 2007, ISBN 3-8258-0762-2 .
  • Friedhelm Hoffmann: Egypt: culture and life in Greco-Roman times. A representation based on the demotic sources. Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-05-003308-8 .
  • Wilhelm Spiegelberg : The so-called Demotic Chronicle of Pap. 215 of the Bibliothèque Nationale zu Paris along with the texts on the back of the papyrus. In. Demotic Studies. (DeSt) Volume 7, Leipzig 1914.
  • Joachim Friedrich Quack: “As he Disregarded the Law, he was Replaced During his Own Lifetime”. On Criticism of Egyptian Rulers in the So-Called Demotic Chronicle. In: Henning Börm (Ed.): Antimonarchic Discourse in Antiquity . Steiner, Stuttgart 2015, ISBN 978-3-515-11095-2 , pp. 25-43.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Friedhelm Hoffmann: Egypt: Culture and lifeworld in Greco-Roman times . Pp. 177-178.
  2. ↑ Friedhelm Hoffmann, Joachim Friedrich Quack: Anthology of demotic literature . P. 187.
  3. ^ Hans Bonnet: Lexicon of the Egyptian religious history. Nikol, Hamburg 2000, ISBN 3-937872-08-6 , p. 276.