Prince of Miam
| The title "Prince of Miam" in hieroglyphics | |||||||
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Wer-en-Miam Wr-n-Mjˁm Prince of Miam |
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The Prince of Miam was a local prince who, for the ancient Egyptians, part of the Nubian provinces in the New Kingdom from about 1550 to 1070 BC. Chr. Managed.
prehistory
From the beginning of the 18th dynasty there was the viceroy of Kush , who was only directly subordinate to the king and who organized the Nubian provinces. Below the viceroy of Kusch there was the "representative of the viceroy of Kusch", who probably also operated on a supraregional level. At the regional level, the Egyptians seem to have confirmed local tribal chiefs in their offices, who then took over the administration for the Egyptians. One of these local administrators was the "Prince of Miam", who had his seat in Miam (Aniba) and probably administered the city and the surrounding area. His office and jurisdiction may have corresponded to the territory of a Nubian tribe.
Title holder
So far, three people are known with this title. Amenhotep is only attested on one shabti , which stylistically can be dated under Amenhotep II (approximately from 1428 to 1397 BC). His successor was possibly a certain Rahotep , who is only attested in rock inscriptions so far. Finally, there is Hekanefer , who is known from his grave, which was found near Toschka . This tomb in a purely Egyptian style is poorly preserved overall, but the remains show that it was decorated and adorned with inscriptions. Hekanefer appears here as a pure Egyptian. Various titles are ascribed to Hekanefer in the grave inscriptions. He is dubbed “Prince of Miam”, but also “palace pupil”.
The latter title shows that he was brought up at the Egyptian royal court and indicates a practice that can be observed in many countries. The Egyptians brought the children of local princes to their court at the time, where they were educated. After they grew up, they were set up as administrators of their home area. This practice had several advantages. The stay at the Egyptian royal court created emotional ties to the land of the conquerors and these children also became familiar with the Egyptian culture. As locals, however, they also had the trust of the local population, knew the local conditions and were therefore much better suited than Egyptians for the administration of local regions.
Hekanefer is also mentioned in a grave in Thebes . In the grave of the viceroy of Kush, Huy , who officiated under Tutankhamun (approx. 1333–1323 BC), he appears as a Nubian in foreign clothes and dark skin. The Egyptians saw him as a foreigner while he saw himself as an Egyptian.
See also
literature
- William K. Simpson: Heka-Nefer and the Dynastic Material from Toshka and Arminna (= Publications of the Pennsylvania-Yale expedition to Egypt. Volume 1). Peabody Museum of Natural History, New Haven CT 1964.
Individual evidence
- ^ Hermann A. Schlögl , Andreas Brodbeck: Ägyptische Totenfiguren from public and private collections in Switzerland (= Orbis biblicus et orientalis. Series archaeologica. Volume 7). Universitäts-Verlag et al., Freiburg (Switzerland) 1990, ISBN 3-7278-0675-3 , pp. 60-61, no. 16.