Egberts ZAS 125 Wenamun

8/7/2019 Egberts ZAS 125 Wenamun

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i\ . Egberrs: \Xienamul1 93? \5 125 (1998) -----------_._------: : - . - - - - - - ' - - - - ' - - - - -

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Bard Times: The Chronology of "The Report ofWenamun" Revised'

"Obemilliegen fertiggepragte, aber sellen genall :i(fltriffendeBegriffi Cttl!der Lmlcr, Z!I1Jleilen durch Klang ulid lUodegeltungvnjii/mrisch, bereit einzuspringetl, sobalci den Schreibenden dieEnergie des Gegenslandlichen ver/aJt"Elich A uerbarh, Phil%gie der Weltliteratu/

\Vriting history is like reading literature: all it takes are texts, common sense, and a touch ofimagination, A well-balanced mix of these ingredients lies at the heart of Karl Jansen-Winkeln'sreappraisal of the evidence relating to the end of the New Kingdom3 His main conclusion concerns the sequence of the Theban high priests of Amun. Whereas the textbooks have it that[ferinor was succeeded by Piankh, Jansen-Winkeln pleads for the reverse order. This new interpretation has been welcomed by some4 and rejected by others'. My present contribution to the(kbate surrounding the date of Herihor's pontificate focuses on one of the most importantsources mentioning this dignitary, namely "The Report ofWenamun" (cited hereafter as "\'(/enamun") , In the course of my argument, I will substantially revise some of the premises and conclllSio!1s contained in my previous study of the chronology of "Wenamun,,6. It should be noted,though, that this reassessment does not affect my translations of the relevant passages, whichhave already found their way into a recent anthology of ancient Egyptian literature7 Before plunging into detail, I must briefly address the issue of the use of literary texts as historical samce material. I fed compelled to do so, because it has been malntained that the date


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:. It B, P 3 r kill SO l\, ' J ~ ' P I : S (If 1,itcriiturt in the l\liddh: I'illgdull"l, Ancient l-',gyptian J.itlssumption that "\,'enamun" should classified as a piece of literature, and nol as a document ()n a par with judicial reports, necropo)uioumals, leLLers alld the like", Indeed, there can he no doubt that "\Venamun" deserves a place 0.1h, )nour in the literary cabinet of the anciel1l I ~ g y p t i a n s . Th e il1lricacy of its plot''', the irony of its;f.d i : l l o g l I C ~ J i , and the occasional expressi\-cness of i t narrativc.;ll are ever so 111any signs of l i t e r a > ~ ~ ture. On thc other hand, it cannot be denied that "\,:enamun" presents documentary charaCter':.;;istics as well", Stdislic features snch as lists and summations", the mention of prominel1l c o n . ' : ~ lemporaries like l!crihor and Smendes, and rhe Jay-out of the manuscript on which "\\'enamun"ihas heen preserved'; tll'(; more suggestive of an administrative report rhan of an artistic master,'::,piece. In nw opinioll, "\,'enamun" is best regarded as a literal'l' text dressed up like a d o c u m e n t ; ~ liS aurhor must have had good reasons for choosing this disguise, but 1 prefer nor to dwell o r i ' ~ ; the subject, lest I take my speculations for his intentions"', :,;:"

I I' "\\'enal1lun" is a work of literature, it should be relegated to the realm of fiCtion like all other/in\'cnlecl stories'-, Fiction is no t the opposite of realitv. No matter what tlight the imagination mal''';'take, a writer always has to dra\\- upon elements from the world as we know it in order to create and;:communicate". Some literar)' gcnres require a high percentage of reality: these are dominaled by""the r\rislOtelian principle of mimesis or \'erisimilitude". Examples of such genres are the historical"'."m'c1 and 19thcentury realism, Ob\'iously, "\\'enamun" belongs to the Stlme category, since it'leems \\'itb rclere"ce, III re;t! pJaecs and peuple, while lhere is butliulc scope fur. Ii e sUpt:1'Il,'tural., :

,\ good mcthod in tn'ing to sifl. the chaff of fantas)' from the grain of truth contained in each,::work of realist literature is to inter\'iew the writer and hope that he or shc has the decency nOl toN:tell lies. Fo r reasolls which 1 need no t explain, this docs not wurk in Egyptology. The s e c o n d ~ I ' best meth',I(,1 i ~ !'o isohte from a li,,;ran' text those happenings which we believe to be bistorieatJ'and 10 compare tbem with illformation gatbered from SOUl'ces of a documentary nature. T l l U ( ~ we know from Suetonius, Plutarch and other reliable authorities that Shakespeare respected:',"

,\. , \ I , ( , ; l l i l ~ , I \ l i l j l ~ l l utIli ( " ; e ~ c . : ] l ~ ( ; l : a i - l : l,ilJ lk:illag / ,ur ~ l . . J z i < l . l g t " ~ d ) : c l l l , 1 . di : i l"l;UL.11 Rt:ldu (Sll.ldll1l z u f ~ : ; ,\rt:h;io!og:iuiJlic


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'f \. I . ~ b , , r : ~ . ~ . \ " ' l ! ' l n l _ l ~ ~ I .....\:' l25 fllJlJX------ ; . - - ' - _ . ~ - - - _ . _ - , - ~ . ~ ~ . - . , If Jansell- \\inkdn is tight in i n l ' < ~ r t i n g the seLluellce Ijeri.hor,Piankh rhat has so long been

,,,rt of our EgI'j1toh>gieal upbringing, then thc rll'o date, associated lIitll Ikrihor cannot belong:" I "el f (, of the Whl1l-/lIslI 'l. It follows rhal this yeHt' must refer to the "roYal" pha,e of l!crih"r'sor":cr, whicr. ,,as lriggered by Ihe death of I b m s e ~ XI. Th e hall-he,"Ted natm ... of I krih",.'sk i n ~ , h i i ' has (,(ten been remarked on, It is exemplified by his datelines lIhich conlai" 110 indicat i ( ) ' ~ l,f dIe current reign, \vhile the Iitlc:-: they ass!gn to I kriho[ betray nothing of the royal Sfatushe clljo.\nJ ~ ! .:()rding 10 the c o n t e m r o r a r ~ ' scenes and inscripliolts of fhe court of the I,hon:--uIt'll/pic.. \n d yet the sixrh regnal ycar can be no other than that o( J krihor, if 1I"l ' cho( lSe 10 ,ielt'with 1,"1sen-Winkeln, This ye,lI' must lhen /1>11'(': coincided lI'itb the Sixlh regnal ITar of Slllcnde"the r;J!cr of Lower Lgypt lIhom i\Janerho considered Ihe f"utlder of the TIITntl'-llrst Dynastl',,chieh suggests that like Ilerihflf he callle to power after rhe death of Ramses :\ I had oeellrred".In other \,",mls, the I'car in 'Iucstion w;,s th(; sixth after the end 01 the New I"':in!!dolll. " islInkllOIln for how long Ilerih"r beld ,way of Upper LgIpt. J lis wife "'odjmet seems Il> halTsu n in::d hin l but s h o r t l ~ " . for she W3S buried in the first yc;,r of Ilcrihor's :'llCU.::-SUI PillOllil'llll .'., F/ \;:-. ! . ! ~ i 1 ' ) ~ ' ~ ~ ~ .\ . I . . ~ b l l i ~ ' ; : \ \C I . . II. 1HI

The handiest rd(.TclH:c is Kl{1 V1, SJH.E.g. Bonhcmc, Lc l int ' des rois, 132; K. :\. Kitchen, The Third Jlllc:nllt;di:.lll: Pc..:ril)d in EgypC {(1100-650 BC) (\\"arlllinmr, 1 ~ % ) , 3 7 ~ . .

Ii- KRI VI, 702-3. A somewhat later daLe from the same.: ,'C:tf is rUl1l1d in P. l'rt\klll)Y; :-cc: U. Bl:r!t.:,, The D ~ t r - ~ vI' 1'- l',al


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Ilill ,\ Eghcr!:-: \\c-ll:1l11l' l ' / .. \ 125 ( 1 " ~ 8 ) : .- _ . _ - - - - - - - - - - - - ~ - - - - - -------------;\fter \\ cnamun's arrival at Tanis hc is said ro have hanued "the uecrees of Amun-Re, King ;'

of C ( ) d ~ ~ ' to SlllClldcs and Tcntanlun. l ~ b t . : wortl H'ld, lCtk.crcc", i n \ ' a r i a b l ~ ' refers to a d I ) C L l l n e n t ~ . : _ issued ill the Ilame of a king or a god". In a later episode of the report, 7.ekcrbaal requests such a(dueument fl'llm Wcnamun (I, 51-4): "'\\i'here is the decree (w(li) of I\mlln that is in YOllr hand1''';'\'\:here is the letter WI) of the high priest of Amun that is in yuur hand)' 1 said to him: 'I havc ',.g;\"en them to Smendes and Tentamun'. Then he became very angry and saiJ to me: 'So thercal e no decree and letter in your hand' ";'. 7.ekerbaal's rcar.tion shows that \V'cnamun's failure topr(;sent am' official d o c u 1 1 1 ~ n t relating to his mission was a serious breach of diplomatic deco,rum. Accoruingh', the hanuing of the decrees of I\mull to Smendes and Tentall1un should bcregar.ded as an act within the sphere of foreign affairs. IJere wc havc anothcr hint at the division '"of Egypt into two political entities.

Aftcr a stay of eight months in Tanis, WenamuI1 was finally able ro leave for J:3yblos (1,6-8): ..,"Smendes anu Tentamun sent me uf f with captain J\-Icngcbet, and 1 went clown to the great sea ' .of Iile has explaincd tr a:; aprecursor of the title .11111, which denoted the highest ecunomic ufllce a f l ~ r l h ad111inistrati\Treforms introuueed hy i\masis and corresponded to thc Greck t : i t l ~ rliliikeif/-. Despi!c the curioous spelljng 01 the snibc o l ' ' ' \ \ ' ~ m l m u l 1 ' ' , which has been intluenccd bl t h ~ x p r ~ s s i l J t , .1"1111, "t ok i ~ ~ tllc Ctu,th", the \\ort! snty nlUSI. be;l dcri\'3.ti\'c of the n.:rb SJl!, "ti l fnl,lfld, il l pL!,,". I f lilt'!",!!1lll':IIling wuuld then be something l i k ~ "planner". In all probability, the ~ n n l e word oeCllrs in theLitle ,\"I1(y fir, which is only known fron: rhe titubr:,' of prince K h ~ { ( : n l \ " : " l ' : ( ' , th': l ( ' ' ' ' n l l ' ' ~ ,-:nn nfI t 1 1 l ' ; ; C ~ 11 r,,,. "PlanTler f, f I lotus (i,c'. Philt-:1rlh)" i" t ill;nv epithel f I l l " ~ l 111rtn who cninn'd such aI'l"i\ilegcd staws as l . 1 . 1 l U l h ~ 1 i I J u " L L U i ~ H I t l di ... \ ~ I t h ~ ) r i : : .. ':.':l!' ,..-I l :,!, 1 h ! ~ f(wallady - perhaps the last eJucen of the Ne\\' Kingdom a, pointed out a h u I ~ - w:ts clothed,

In the preccding paragraphs all occurrences of the hisll>rical pcrsonIl:tgcs S I l 1 ~ I l l k s :!nd Ilt:rihur in "\\lcnamun" have been revie\\'ed, e x c ~ p t t h foUowing passage nnllling the high priest o(Amun (2, 25-(;): "Thus A I l l U I I R ~ , l,ing of Cods, s p o k ~ to Ikrihor, t1l110rd: 'Scnd me!' 1\nd hem ~ d c 111( Cl)OlC with this great g ( ) d " - ' ~ , j ' ~ \ ' i d e n t I Y I this r ~ f e r s tu (111 OfJc !e legicitnating Heriilor's decisioll t" build a new bark for , \nlun '. \ , . ~ kilO\\ ' this decision to be a historical fact, since rhe constructioll of a bark for Amun is also I 1 l c n t i o n ~ d in two inscriptions localed ill tbe court of t h "hOIlSU temple-'. There it is stated that I'lerih')l" "bas hcwn llis (i.e. AI1llln) bark out of pine uf the

cr. Hdmcr, ( ; o l L ~ ! , ; unci 1 ' [ j ~ s t ~ r . l l ~ r r : ; c h a ( I . , ~ U - I , . LES, "U, 9-11.' J, ~ . tlyn ltC, I.e nom (\,:,YPtiCll dl1 mini:;trc dc l ' l : c l ) l \ O I l l i ~ ) : l)e..: S,,(,s a 1\lCroc, C1L\1 BI. IYBY, -.1-9t l. csp. 7


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? ~ ~ - . : ~ __ o \ I g l l ~ ~ ~ ~ " - ~ I ~ J ~ . ~ . 111.:"ll'1l1llllliltjOtl J u c ~ nut r ~ a l l y affcl.:r IllY r e c ( J I l ~ L r u c t i ( J I 1 o( the l'daLi\'(.: chronolugy (If .,\\ ( , W 1 l 1 1 1 l 1 1 ~ ' tor the FIlsilion of the incidents related in the )'eXl "'ithin thc nalural r . ~ a r : \\'cn'"llull still left I,,,.;lrbl", in the beginning o{lanual,\, and ani"ed therc ahout four l1lonths later, I.ekcrb'lal's 111


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, ~ , . , ~ , : " .;?J' .Illl) . ~ _ I , g b L 1 1 ~ : : \ \U l ; ,nn l i l l ,:- 125 (\99gj-l- - - ; ..

IV Smw 16: departurecpagomenal days; anila] at Tanis

I smw 1: depatture

epagol11enal days; anivaJ at Byblos

first night followed by fJrst dialogue

J prt: return messenger

second dialogue followcd hy second nightcl>agoillenal days; arrival at Cyprus

FigLlre 1

\\ n,,11lLl: i i(11.:-\) j.!.5 :'1"1 ben 1 cH.ideJ to ,cfi\"C nHJllths" in on_iLl" to accoullt for the cpagolllcnal d a ~ - s . IIJ thal case the':.:{ !llim daIs of \\cnamun's SWI in Bd,lus wuuld CUITr the first momh of ill!, s thaL his arritot, . . , , "':"1 there ,,",,uld fall on Ne,, Year's Dal',C'c,'dkss !r' say, the cpagol11enai days and l 'e,, Year's I)"" are rhe liminal period of rheF g ~ ' p ! i a n cakwl,u,_in which thc transition from olle l-ear to the next is effected. This transiti"n,h;,ukl n(:I be C')I,fused wnh the change of the admlt1rstra"Ic l-ear, wlllch was dcrernllned hI rhe~ C ( C , , , , , n day of the king, at least during the New Kingdom and its aftcnllath"". Since we do notkno,,' "hen Raalses Xl dicd, we also ignore the accession dai of his successors in Upper andi ~ p W I . T EgypL 'CU[)SelJuently, there is no way o f Idling at what 111()!llCTl" ' \car ,-1", with \\'hieb' i \ \ " L ' n ~ l l n l l n " upens, becanlc ''year 6" and the latter in ilS rurn bccan1c "year T',lkr"u'll \ \ c n ~ l 1 1 u n ' s aniva! at Tanis and that at Byhlos lies a period or one lear. ,\ecordingtt. II", report, the second dialogue between \ 'ienamun and Zekerbaal t(l(lk place ah n the trcesd",t had becn !ling in thc Leban(ln were transported to the sh(lrc, ~ elellt dated to rhe thirdn)(ll1lh or JI11\-1'! II. Th e next d ~ y , \Vcnarnut l WtlS PUI' on ;l ship Ih:H driflt:d II) IhI.' shore or C ~ p r i . l s . It is ITIT tempting to supl'"se that hc was stranded lln this island during the cpag()lllel1al,L(\'s orrht.'n.:aoouts, for in that c a ~ c W(; would ha\7C yel anolher UIlC year rcriod in betwcen two arri\'abI eann"t I'rovc this, hllwelTr, since the possible indirect elues for dating thc beginnil1).!; of the(\l'rus ,p ismk hayc disappeared logL'lher with the elld of the oilly manusclipt I" "'hieh"\\"CH;UllUI1" h3s been transmitted,It "c takc a duratron of one ye,H for the Byblos epi:;ode to he a likel< extrapolati"11 (ro!11 thcidl'l1ljcal length of the Tanis episode, thL.1l it :0 hard tu n.::.ist !hc C : i l ; ' ~ " . . : t ~ ! r ( ; 1!1:1t dE' ( : : \ T ~ r l ! : ' q . j~ n d c ! l ~ t c d nne ,-ear a5 well. r\.ftr rh8.1. \\'(,Il;lJ11111l I1W1' tlllidh. h ~ l \ ' I ' ! l ) : l T 1 . ~ l , ! ' : ( ' d In ITf l l l ' l l hi .f:homeland, aftcr the example set bl' various other heroes or E!!,Vtian literature. nu(,(bh Sinuhc'"TIll' chroJ1o!pt-,Jy of "\\!"cnan1un" d e t r ~ c t : s from the r ( , ; ' l l i ~ f i c chi!raetl"r nf f h j ~ qnry, Inn ('"I1:I1HT"':rts P"!"tlu, fv r \\-Lil'U1H.J.ll ~ p d J . 1 it iI i lL ..... l;111i;, 'Il. , " f .,1' : ~ h , \ iJ:;.dl , . \ i i i ~ " l h .. >.\ (2,( ; 8 ~ ' ( I ) " ' . Anuther symmctn that c ~ be gleancd from fi!!lIre I in\'olvcs \'\:enamun's d ( ; p a r t l l r ~ f{{)nl E g ~ 1 ) r in the f i r ~ t rnonth of Jmw, his ,1rri\'al al ( ~ y h l ( t s OIl ~ C \ \ ' YC,lr ' s 1);'IY, alld lhe rCturl l.>1 7.ekerba:1J's messenger frum Fgypt in thc first munth uf "rI, Thcre is surc,," something to beg.lincd b ~ , ' 1l1eanS of such strucluraJisl g ~ n l n a s L i c . : ) ' . ltcll appruaching (I text like "\X'"c.nanlun", asJle andC"UI plausible [0 surmrsc on the basis of "\\'cnamun" that Hcrihor SCllt an cxpcdition to ByhlosIII th,' lifth I'cat of the Twentl'-fir't !JInasty, In our search for realitl', though, wc callnot golrcronrlthar point, without loosing our W31' in the wilderness of riction, Th e plot of "\\ienamun"prescribe' that thc wanderinh'S of its protagonist lasted for more than two ycars. Contrary .to

I., D l: P II ~ " ~ , Regn,d Y:::ars ilod Ci,-i1 C;llendar in Achat.'llltniJ Lgypl, JI ~ ' HI ( 1 9 ~ 5 ) , 151--73, t . : ~ r . 1:14.Egberts, Ib \ 77 ,61-2,Cf. the p a l ~ c r by j, Ba inc s tllt. :ntiOIKJ in 11, 1 abtJ\"t.,1.1;$, 65, 2-6.I.I-s, 74,5-9.


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'..IT'":'lU:) . \.I. l. !. l l lr l: ;: \\en "h"" h"" ,1",,,,,,,1 In "m,,,I,,g,,,,", ,hi, ,,,", " "",hi"l ",",", II " " " , " ' " , . :Ikrihor's expedition or the d'Jration of hiS pOl1lil,catl,

Despite my depreciation of t'1e historical ,'alue to b attributed to the chtunu\'Jgl' of "\'Veaa:';'mun", thi, piece of Iiter,HurL eonulins i is ~ d d r e s , e d ;n the Second Petil'ion as:imy-I fJr-HT Ilb.i \.vr 11 H'rw !111'd 11 llVt.'(hl'IIty 11'11 liT 11 lrnrfLnrd n [zl1'dlrJ1111111' II pl.\ ':W 11 r: b:yft H:l!nwII/WI' J1I shl/ 5tH ' m gsJ [11.)' 111 Ir nwdl1/Tht' innKation is obviou:-ly COll1posed of two pairs cof Statenlents, each contrasting the ~ r a t u s

'IU'.I, Thi, juxtaposirion is, however, not parallel, as i, generallv assumed', but has ditkrrillg"'ptl'lS, In the first it is the past, in rhcotber.. the future, The rel

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Egberts ZAS 125 Wenamun