Instructions for the vizier

Service instruction for the vizier is the modern name of an ancient Egyptian text that was found in several tombs of viziers of the New Kingdom . The original title reads: Instructions for the mayor, the vizier of the southern city, or the residence , to sit in the vizier's office .

Locations

The text is attached to the walls of the cult chapels of various Theban graves of viziers. Only in the grave of the vizier Rechmire ( TT100 ) is it largely preserved, while it is only very fragmentary in the graves of other viziers. The text was also found in the grave of the viziers Useramun , Amenemopet and Paser .

meaning

The “Service Instructions for the Vizier” is an important document for administration in ancient Egypt . It regulates the vizier's daily routine, describes his daily meeting with the king and how he interacts with other high officials.

content

The text received is structured as follows: First the vizier inspected certain facilities of the palace for their safety, then he visited the king together with the treasurer and reported on the state of the country. He then held an audience in his own office. The following text gives instructions on how to handle petitions from subordinate officials, finally indicating his legal position and that the vizier should always be impartial. The end of the text is garbled.

Dating

The dating of the text is controversial. Individual titles and phrases in the text suggest that it was written in the 13th Dynasty . Other considerations date him to the 18th dynasty .

literature

• GPF van den Boorn: The Duties of the Vizier, Civil Administration in the Early New Kingdom. Routledge, London / New York 1988 ISBN 0-7103-0330-0
• Stephen Quirke: Titles and bureaux of Egypt 1850-1700 BC. Golden House, London 2004, ISBN 0-9547218-0-2 , pp. 18-24