Keftiu

Keftiu in hieroglyphics
Keft Kft Crete
Kefdet Kfdt Crete
Keft / Keftu Kft / Kftw / Kf-tw Keftu
Keftiu Kftjw Crete, seagoing vessels
Keftiu as a prisoner representation ( Ramses II Temple in Abydos )

Keftiu ( Central and Late Egyptian also Keft, Keftu, Kaftu, Kafta, Kefdet, Keftju ; Old Testament Caphtor ; Akkadian kaptaritum ; Assyrian kaptara ; Ugaritic kptwr, kptr ; Mycenaean kapte ?) Referred to in ancient Egyptian sources, the Region of Crete and including his Minoan - Mycenaean inhabitants as well as merchant ships, which due to their design had a range as far as Crete.

In the 13th century BC The Egyptians only transferred the geographical name to the Levant . A similar development of the localization is noticeable in the writings of the Old Testament . There Kaphtor was originally the Greek homeland of the Philistines . In the Septuagint, however , Kaphtor is located in the Cappadocia region.

Geographical mentions

In the Aegean list of place names from Amenhotep III. the localities that belong to Keftiu are named: Kenesch ( Knossos ), Byschty ( Phaistos ), Amnesch ( Amnissos ), Keteny ( Kydonia ) and Leket ( Lyktos ).

In texts from Ugarit , the ancient Egyptian Memphis is mentioned as the "hereditary land of Crete", combined with a geographical description of the location of Crete ( Kaphtor ):

"[Carry] age [my message in] your head, [my words] 'between your eyes', [And cross] a thousand [lengths in] the sea ten thousand [lengths] in the two rivers (= poetic for" sea ") . [Put over] Mountains, put over hills, put over the islands on the horizon of the sky ( iht mp šmm ). Drive there, oh fisherman of the Aṯirat , come, oh Qidšu-Amrur (= the messenger god of the Aṯirat )! Then turn to the divine Memphis ( ḥ { q } kpt ) in its entirety, to Kaphtor ( kptr ), his throne, to Memphis ( ḥkpt ), his hereditary land! Over a thousand lengths, ten thousand lengths - bow at the feet of Koṯar (then) and fall down, throw yourself to the ground and honor him! And speak to Koṯar-Ḫasis , repeat to the artist with the working hands: 'A message from my master [n Lady Aṯiratu :]' "

- KTU 1.3 VI 1-24

Ancient Egyptian representations of the Keftiu

The reliefs of the Theban officials' graves preserved from the New Kingdom come from the reigns of Hatshepsut to Amenophis II and show the Keftiu as bringing gifts. The earliest representations can be seen in the tomb of Senenmut . There the beardless representatives from Keftiu wear long black hair in noble appearance. The brownish-reddish skin color corresponds to that of an Egyptian. Also in the grave of Amunuser (TT131) the Keftiu, their costumes and their gifts are depicted almost true to culture. In the grave of Rechmire , the Cretan ambassadors were initially depicted with Minoan- Cretan aprons, long open hair and forehead curls. Peter Haider dates the vases also shown to the period between 1462 and 1455/50 BC. The then by 1436 BC at the latest. The overpaintings carried out in BC show the ambassadors in typical Mycenaean- continental style with knee-length aprons that are decorated with fringes. The subsequent repairs to the wall representations show that the ancient Egyptian artists wanted a detailed image.

Depiction of the " Asians " (2nd from right) as representatives of the "north and north-western foreign countries", at the same time a motif for Keftiu envoys as "symbolic prisoners" (since the reign of Amenophis III.)

On the reliefs in the tomb of Kenamun ( TT93 ), which dates to the time of Amenophis II , the ambassadors from Keftiu and Menus wear long, loose hair and a headband, the Keftiu representative also has a beard. Similar images of a presumably Cretan member in the grave of Paser , there probably also with a tattoo . In the grave of Amenemheb , a high official under Amenhotep II, artists added paintings of the “ Syrian representatives” with forehead curls and long shoulder curls for the purpose of depicting envoys from Keftiu and menus . The images of the Keftiu in the grave of Mencheperreseneb (TT86) from the late reign of Thutmose III. ( 18th Dynasty ) were typified, that is, changed accordingly.

Bringer of gifts in the grave of Mencheperreseneb with a "Mycenaean" kilt

This procedure refers to the previous production of illustration templates in "foreign style", which the Egyptian artists subsequently adapted to the specifically named peoples through the respective inscriptions. In earlier discussions, Henry Reginald Holland Hall initially suspected on the basis of these illustrations that Keftiu gifts can be seen on reliefs in both Mycenaean and “Semitic” costume. Black and curly hair reaching down the back with a headband show a beardless Keftiu ambassador in the tomb of Anen , brother of Teje . He also wears a knee-length apron with a straight cut, a long spotted coat and pointed shoes.

On the basis of comparisons of Greek costumes, Peter Haider was able to point out a likely origin of the Keftiu envoy from the Mycenaean mainland, combined with the status of a higher-ranking man. Jean Vercoutter previously suspected a Hittite or Mitanni in those depictions . With the beginning of the reign of Amenhotep III. A clear decrease in the foreign representations of peoples can already be observed, in the following period iconographic elements are completely missing . The main reasons for this can be seen in the changed burial places and rites .

GA Rendsburg, on the other hand, assumes that it was an Egyptian population group that may have settled part of Crete.

Trade relations with Keftiu

The oldest ancient Egyptian documents on Crete come from the early dynastic period . Chasechemui ( 2nd dynasty ), whose name is attested on a broken vessel found in Byblos , probably started diplomatic trade relations at the latest . The first ancient Egyptian exports probably did not take place via the direct sea route to Crete, but via the Syrian region with Byblos as a stopover. Ancient Egyptian obsidian vessels, ivory hippopotamus figures and shards of faience , recovered on the northeast coast near Knossos, as well as a vessel with the name of Thutmose III, date from the Minoan pre- palace period (26th century BC) . In this connection Thutmose III wrote. in his " Victory Hymn ":

Egyptian alabaster amphora with inscription Thutmose III. from Katsambas, port of Knossos

“I came to beat the West. Keftiu and Asija (Cyprus) are in awe. And I let you see His Majesty ( Amun-Re ) as a young bull with a strong heart and sharp horns, which you cannot approach. I came to subjugate the countries whose borders the sea orbits. "

- Victory hymn Thutmose III. :

Ancient Egyptian scarabs and obsidian vessels on Keftiu name next to Thutmose III. also the Hyksos king Chajan and the later kings Amenhotep II , Amenhotep III. together with his wife Teje and Ramses II. In addition, the solar sanctuary of Userkaf ( 5th dynasty ) is mentioned without any further connection. Keftiu imports have been traceable in Egypt since the late 11th dynasty (21st century BC). In Greece , ancient Egyptian goods did not appear archaeologically until the second interim period (17th century BC), so that Greek trade relations with Egypt were probably initially handled via Keftiu. The Papyrus Leiden I 344 , which documents earlier trade contacts with Keftiu, dates to the second interim period :

Model of the ship from Uluburun

“Nobody sails north to Byblos today . Where should we get cedars for our mummies from? ... The colonels were embalmed with the oil made from them, as in the distant Keftiu. But they don't come anymore. "

- Papyrus Leiden 334, III

The Ebers papyrus contains medical knowledge from Keftiu, which was highly regarded in ancient Egypt. In addition, the Egyptians used magical sayings in the Minoan language. In the early stages of the New Kingdom, a writing board was presented that was used to practice "making Keftiu names".

In the 14th century BC There were still trade contacts from Egypt in the direction of the Aegean Sea , as evidenced by the cargo of the Uluburun ship that sank off the Turkish south coast . In the revised lists of place names by Ramses III. then the name of Keftiu as a trading place is missing, as are numerous previously occupied regions. The cultural historian Oswald Spengler assumes a name change with regard to the use of the word kafti . He refers to the Ionic re- coinage from Kafti to Japetos , which is also found in ancient Hebrew as Japhet .

literature

• Eric H. Cline: The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze age Aegean (c. 3000-1000 BC) . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2010, ISBN 978-0-19-536550-4
• Elmar Edel , Manfred Görg : The place name lists in the northern columned courtyard of the mortuary temple of Amenophis III. , Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2005, ISBN 3-447-05219-8
• Peter Haider: Was there still trade contact between the Aegean elites of the post-palace period and the Egyptian court? In: Eva Alram-Stern: Keimelion: Elite education and elitist consumption from the Mycenaean palace period to the Homeric epoch . Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 2007, ISBN 3-7001-3779-6 , pp. 173–190 ( Epub ÖAW ).
• Peter Haider: Minoan Deities in an Egyptian Medical Text . In: Robert Laffineur, Robin Hägg: Aegaeum 22: Potnia - Deities and Religion in the Aegean Bronze Age - . Göteborg 2001, pp. 479–482 ( online ; PDF; 150 kB).
• Berit Hildebrandt: Damos and Basileus: Reflections on social structures in the dark centuries of Greece . Utz, Munich 2007, ISBN 3-8316-0737-0
• Evangelos Kyriakidis: Indications on the Nature of the Language of the Keftiw from Egyptian Sources . In: Egypt und Levante, No. 12. International Journal of Egyptian Archeology and its Neighborhoods . 2002, ISSN  1015-5104 , pp. 211-220.
• Gustav Adolf Lehmann: The 'Political-Historical' Relationships of the Aegean World of the 15-13th Century BC On Egypt and the Middle East: Some references . In: Joachim Latacz : Two Hundred Years of Homer Research: Review and Outlook . Teubner, Stuttgart 1991, ISBN 3-519-07412-5 , pp. 105-126.
• Eduard Meyer : History of Antiquity . First section: The time of the great Egyptian power. 2nd Edition. Second volume. JG Cotta'sche Buchhandlung Successor, Stuttgart and Berlin 1928, relations with Crete. The Kafti, S. 105 ( online [accessed December 31, 2012]).
• Paul Rehak: Aegean Breechcloths, Kilts, and the Keftiu Paintings. American Journal of Archeology 100/1, 1996, 35-51.
• Diamantis Panagiotopoulos : Keftiu in context. Theban tomb-paintings as a historical source. in: Oxford Journal of archeology. Blackwell, Oxford 20.2001,3, 263-283. ISSN  0262-5253 ( online )
• John Strange: Caphtor, Keftiu: A new investigation . Brill, Leiden 1980, ISBN 90-04-06256-4
• Cecil Torr : Review of The Oldest Civilization of Greece. Studies of the Mycenaean Age by HR Hall. in: The Classical Review. 16.1902.3 (Apr.), 182-187. ISSN  0009-840X

Web links

• Bringer of gifts from Keftiu (tomb of Rechmire)
• Gifts from Keftiu (Tomb of Rechmire)

Remarks

1. ↑ K - f - t w as a Mycenaean transcription

Individual evidence

1. ↑ In an incantation against the disease "The Asians" ( ta-net-Aamu ) in the language of the "People of Keftw".
2. ↑ ^{a b} In the list of place names from Amenhotep III. written as "Kf-tw". In the other sources, “Kftw” is also translated as “People of Kaftu”; according to Jan Assmann : Wisdom and Mystery: The Image of the Greeks of Egypt . Beck, Munich 2000, ISBN 3-406-45899-8 , p. 13.
3. ^ Rainer Hannig : Large Concise Dictionary Egyptian-German: (2800-950 BC) . von Zabern, Mainz 2006, ISBN 3-8053-1771-9 , p. 952.
4. ↑ The ancient Egyptian "kft" stands for the term "kaftar" as a name for Crete; According to Gustav Adolf Lehmann: The 'political-historical' relations of the Aegean world of the 15th - 13th centuries BC On Egypt and the Middle East: Some references . P. 106.
5. ↑ The male name "ka-pte" is used in Knossian Linear B texts . A connection to the island name is uncertain because the interpretation of the name is still unclear; according to Berit Hildebrandt: Damos and Basileus . P. 55.
6. ↑ The equation of "Keftiu" with Crete is now undisputed in research. The general term "Keftiu ships" refers to the possibility of reaching distant Crete. Conversely, this does not automatically mean that “Keftiu ships” went to Crete or came from there; according to Eric H. Cline: The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze age Aegean . Pp. 822-824.
7. ↑ Manfred Dietrich: Cyprus and the Aegean based on the texts from Ugarit . In: Sabine Rogge (Ed.): Cyprus - island in the focus of cultures . Waxmann, Münster 2000, ISBN 3-89325-878-7 , p. 70/71 ( online [accessed October 19, 2014]).
8. ^ ^{A b} Friedrich Matz : Crete, Mycenae, Troja . In: Kilpper Collection (Ed.): Great cultures of the early days . tape 6 . Phaidon, Essen 1985, ISBN 3-88851-085-6 , Das Inselreich des Minos, p. 67 .
9. ↑ ^{a b} Berit Hildebrandt: Damos and Basileus . P. 62.
10. ↑ Envoy from Keftiu .
11. ↑ ^{a b} Berit Hildebrandt: Damos and Basileus . P. 63.
12. ^ Henry Reginald Holland Hall: The oldest civilization of Greece. Nutt. London 1901, p. 54.
13. ^ J. Alberto Soggin: The Book of Genesis. Comment. Darmstadt 1997, p. 173.
14. ↑ FM IIA : 2650-2450 / 2400 BC Chr.
15. ↑
16. ↑ Hans J. Polotzky: Egyptian tenses . Jerusalem 1965, pp. 10-13.
17. ↑ Eric H. Cline: The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze age Aegean . P. 825.
18. ^ John van Seters: A date for the "Admonitions" in the second intermediate period. The Journal of Egyptian Archeology 1964; 50: 13-23.
19. ↑ The admonitions of Ipuwer ( Memento of the original from October 30, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . 
20. ↑ Berit Hildebrandt: Damos and Basileus . P. 53.
21. ↑ Oswald Spengler : To the world history of the second millennium BC . W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1935, OCLC 27115871 , I. Tartessos and Alaschia (12.), p. 267/268 ( online [accessed January 10, 2013]).