Hem-nisut

Hem-nisut ( royal servants or royal figures , rarely also just abbreviated as ḥm ) is an ancient Egyptian term for people who are dependent on other, higher- ranking people. The exact meaning of Hem-nisut is controversial in research. The designation is already known from the Old Kingdom , but is well attested , especially in the Middle Kingdom . The female counterpart of the title was hemet ( servant ).

supporting documents

The Hemu-nisut definitely belonged to the lowest class of the population. They were often used in forced labor and it is from this context that some legal documents come from, which mainly report that they ran away from the forced labor. A letter comes from el-Lahun in which the case of the royal servant Sobekemhab is dealt with. This was before work on the pyramid of Amenemhet III. fled at Hawara , was taken to the interrogation prison and from there to the reporter's office . There he was treated so badly that he threatened to die.

A large number of royal servants' names also appear on the back of the Brooklyn Papyrus 35.1446 . From the context of the papyrus it appears that they were in the possession of a certain Senebtisi. Some of them also have titles on this list, such as caretaker , hairdresser or field worker .

Legal status

As indicated, the exact legal status of these persons is disputed. Oleg Berlev saw them as serfs belonging to the state. Hayes, on the other hand, calls them slaves . Others see them as simple serfs.

Individual evidence

↑ Mark Collier, Stephen Quirke (Eds.): The UCL Lahun Papyri. Letters (= British Archaeological Reports. International Series. Vol. 1083). Archaeopress, Oxford 2002, ISBN 1-84171-462-3 , pp. 128-29.
↑ Оле́г Д. Бе́рлев (= Oleg Berlev): Трудовое население Египта в эпоху Среднего царства. Издательство "Наука", Москва 1972, pp. 7-27, online (PDF; 18.35 MB) .
^ William C. Hayes (ed.): A Papyrus of the Late Middle Kingdom in the Brooklyn Museum. (Papyrus Brooklyn 35.1446). Brooklyn Museum, New York NY 1955, p. 153.
↑ Tobias Hofmann: On the social meaning of two terms for “servant”: bk and ḥm. Examined on sources from the Old Kingdom to the Ramesside period (= Aegyptiaca Helvetica. (AH). Vol. 18). Schwabe, Basel 2005, ISBN 3-7965-2083-9 (also: Basel, University, dissertation, 2004).

[1] Mark Collier, Stephen Quirke (Eds.): The UCL Lahun Papyri. Letters (= British Archaeological Reports. International Series. Vol. 1083). Archaeopress, Oxford 2002, ISBN 1-84171-462-3 , pp. 128-29.

[2] Оле́г Д. Бе́рлев (= Oleg Berlev): Трудовое население Египта в эпоху Среднего царства. Издательство "Наука", Москва 1972, pp. 7-27, online (PDF; 18.35 MB) .

[3] William C. Hayes (ed.): A Papyrus of the Late Middle Kingdom in the Brooklyn Museum. (Papyrus Brooklyn 35.1446). Brooklyn Museum, New York NY 1955, p. 153.

[4] Tobias Hofmann: On the social meaning of two terms for “servant”: bk and ḥm. Examined on sources from the Old Kingdom to the Ramesside period (= Aegyptiaca Helvetica. (AH). Vol. 18). Schwabe, Basel 2005, ISBN 3-7965-2083-9 (also: Basel, University, dissertation, 2004).