Books by Alexander Ilin-Tomich
Harrassowitz, 2023
The Late Middle Kingdom and the Second Intermediate Period were the heyday for scarab seals with ... more The Late Middle Kingdom and the Second Intermediate Period were the heyday for scarab seals with names in Ancient Egypt. During this time, names of kings and non-royal individuals occur on hundreds of scarabs and their impressions making scarabs one of the primary groups of written sources for the period. This book explores research paths opened by confronting the textual evidence provided by scarabs with the stylistic and typological traits observable on them in an effort to recontextualize these miniature decorative objects, most of which stem from mass-scale undocumented plundering in the late 19th and early 20th century.
The book takes a new perspective on scarab production in Egypt showing that different types of scarabs were produced concurrently, and the production of scarabs was not limited to a single centre at a given period. It amends the methodology of studying Middle Bronze Age scarabs in Egypt to acknowledge that artisans purposefully reproduced certain scarab styles. The study contributes to the ongoing discussions on the chronology of the Second Intermediate Period, Egypt’s interconnections with the Levant and the role of foreigners in Egypt in the Middle Kingdom.
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The aim of the book is twofold. On the one hand, it presents the results of the author’s research... more The aim of the book is twofold. On the one hand, it presents the results of the author’s research on the spatial organization of the production of stelae in the Late Middle Kingdom. On the other hand, it serves as a handbook for establishing the date and origin of private Late Middle Kingdom monuments.
Chapter I concerns with formal criteria for dating private memorial monuments. The studied period (1872–1550 BC) is divided into three subperiods: late Dynasty XII, Dynasty XIII, and the Second Intermediate Period. The aim of the analyses in this chapter is to establish criteria for attributing private monuments to any of these subperiods. With a sample of 502 datable monuments, dating criteria (divided into palaeographic, phraseological, and iconographic) proposed by previous scholars are critically evaluated and new ones are elaborated. The chapter ends with a chronological table summing up all criteria applicable for dating private memorial monuments.
Chapter II explores the geographical distribution of personal names based on a study sample of 927 late Dynasty XII and Dynasty XIII sources attributable to certain regions through direct and indirect evidence. The occurrence rates of personal names in sources from the major regions of Egypt are analysed, and 21 groups of names are pinpointed that may serve for distinguishing the monuments owned either by Thebans or by the dwellers of the Memphis-Faiyum region. Next, the monuments attributable to Thebes or the Memphis-Faiyum region though geographically limited names pinpointed earlier in this chapter are added to the sample group, which enables the detection of further 13 region-specific groups of names.
The second part of the book (Chapters III-VI) explores the idiosyncrasies of local artistic traditions and local workshops producing stelae and the lines of their development.
Chapter III deals with palaeographic, phraseological, and iconographic peculiarities of private stelae owned by officials from the Memphis-Faiyum region (the origin of owners is often established through personal names, as shown in Chapter II). The correlation between these peculiarities and the origin of the patrons leads to the conclusion that the production of Abydene stelae was localized in the home region of Memphite officials who commissioned the stelae. In the second part of the chapter stela workshops active in this region throughout late Dynasty XII and Dynasty XIII are defined.
Along the same lines, stelae produced at Thebes are analysed in Chapter IV.
Chapter V deals with the artistic traditions at Rizeikat, Gebelein, Tod, Abydos, and Antaeopolis. The author traces the development of stelae at Rizeikat from the First Intermediate Period to the Second Intermediate Period. Proceeding from the observation that Rizeikat stelae from different periods were sometimes sold together in the Luxor antiquities market between 1882 and 1935, the author argues that the groups of stelae earlier attributed to either Gebelein or Rizeikat by Fischer and Rosati are rather coming from Rizeikat than from Gebelein. The author discusses the spatial organization and development of the Abydene necropolis during the Middle Kingdom, arguing that some zones can be associated with particular subperiods, when stelae in these zones were installed. The discussion of stelae produced at Antaeopolis for subsequent installation at Abydos is the updated English rendering of the author's earlier Russian paper on this subject.
Chapter VI focuses on the directions of the spread of new trends in the production of memorial monuments throughout Egypt. By comparing the dates of the first occurrence of new traits on the stelae produced in different regions, the author argues that Theban artists were adopting new elements first introduced by artists in Memphis-Faiyum region, but not the other way around. Artists at minor artistic centres were, in turn, adopting new traits from the Memphis-Faiyum region and Thebes, but did not influence the production of stelae in other regions.
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Online resources by Alexander Ilin-Tomich
The online database “Persons and Names of the Middle Kingdom and early New Kingdom” (PNM) is deve... more The online database “Persons and Names of the Middle Kingdom and early New Kingdom” (PNM) is developed as part of the projects “Umformung und Variabilität im Korpus altägyptischer Personennamen 2055–1550 v. Chr.” and “Altägyptische Titel in amtlichen und familiären Kontexten, 2055-1352 v. Chr.”, funded by the Fritz Thyssen Foundation. The database contains Egyptian Middle Kingdom and early New Kingdom personal names, people, written sources, titles, and dossiers of persons attested in various sources. Version 5, currently available online, covers the sources from the reign of Mentuhotep II to the reign of Amenhotep III.
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Papers (feel free to request any pdf by message) by Alexander Ilin-Tomich
Excavating the Extra-Ordinary 2: Challenges & Merits of Working with Small Finds. Proceedings of the International Workshop at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, 25–26 November 2022 , 2024
Publications of scarab finds from excavations in Egypt and beyond sometimes miss the level of det... more Publications of scarab finds from excavations in Egypt and beyond sometimes miss the level of detail required to address the research questions looming over modern scarab studies. The paper calls for more consideration.
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Schöne Denkmäler sind entstanden: Studien zu Ehren von Ursula Verhoeven, 2023
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The World of Middle Kingdom III: Contributions on Archaeology, Art, Religion, and Written Sources, 2022
The paper discusses several dossiers of officials and one family dossier from the Twelfth and Thi... more The paper discusses several dossiers of officials and one family dossier from the Twelfth and Thirteenth Dynasties. It presents new evidence on the great steward Senbi the younger and the treasurer Ameny and discusses the distinction of these two high officials from their namesakes. Funerary bed Cairo TR 19.11.27.4 can be firmly dated to the reign of Senusret I through the identity of its owner, a Theban priest. Other notes concern with minor officials: scribe of the altar Wiau, overseer of goldsmiths Neferher, overseer of builders Dedu, as well as scribes in charge of the seal Ameny and Neferhotep. Members of a further family group, attested on stelae Cairo JE 91249 and Cairo CG 20643, do not record any titles.
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Journal of Egyptian History, 2021
The conjecture that the vizier Ankhu’s centre of life lay in Thebes has been expressed by previou... more The conjecture that the vizier Ankhu’s centre of life lay in Thebes has been expressed by previous scholars. This paper reviews the available evidence, complemented by a new reading of stela Cairo CG 20102 and the accounts of the smaller manuscript of pBoulaq 18. Taken together, the data suggests that Ankhu, his father, and his sons, all holding the office of the vizier, had their seat in Thebes. Given that at least one other vizier stands chronologically between Ankhu and his father, the association of Ankhu’s family with Thebes supports the hypothesis of a dual vizierate in the late Middle Kingdom; a theory long proposed but deemed unconfirmed.
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Pratiques administratives et comptables au Proche-Orient à l'âge du Bronze , 2021
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Revue d'Égyptologie, 2017
This paper examines the structure of Antaeopolite governor’s court in the late 12th and 13th Dyna... more This paper examines the structure of Antaeopolite governor’s court in the late 12th and 13th Dynasty, based on the corpus of stelae erected at Abydos by the dwellers of Antaeopolis. The hierarchy of offices, reconstructed from the comparison of the heights of stelae owned by different officials is in many ways comparable to the structure of the local early Middle Kingdom administration at Beni Hasan, reconstructed by Stephan Seidlmayer. Hence, the governor’s court of Antaeopolis has been preserved intact from the early Middle Kingdom to the 13th Dynasty, whereas in a number of other regions the evidence for governors and their courts disappears after the beginning of the Late Middle Kingdom.
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The paper deals with iconographic criteria that can be used to refine the dates of non-royal ston... more The paper deals with iconographic criteria that can be used to refine the dates of non-royal stone offering tables within the reign of Dynasty 12. Based on a reference group of 181 offering tables dated through epigraphic criteria and prosopographical data, eight dating criteria are discussed. The dates of the offering tables owned by the governors of Bubastis, Antaeopolis, and Meir are refined.
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Zeitschrift für Ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde, 2018
The paper discusses three irregularities in the regional distribution of personal names in Middle... more The paper discusses three irregularities in the regional distribution of personal names in Middle Kingdom sources, which may be linked to regional language varieties. One feature, the sound change ẖ>k, occurs predominantly in sources from the Memphis-Faiyum region. The two other features, the use of the negative word bw and the possessive prefix pꜣ-n/tꜣ-nt, are confined to Theban and Southern Upper Egyptian sources. The latter two features become standard in Late Egyptian; thus, the evidence presented in the paper contributes to the discussion on the possible dialectal status of Late Egyptian during the Middle Kingdom.
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Bulletin of the Australian Centre for Egyptology, 2018
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The Arts of Making in Ancient Egypt: Voices, images, and objects of material producers 2000–1550 BC, 2018
The production of offering tables under the 12 th dynasty could have been organized in a number o... more The production of offering tables under the 12 th dynasty could have been organized in a number of ways. An offering table workshop from the reign of Senusret III can be seen as a case of centralised production of offering tables for officials from different regions. On the other hand, the corpus of offering tables from Asyut can be attributed to several generations of local craftsmen, adhering to a distinct local artistic tradition. The evidence points to the borrowing of new iconographic features by local craftsmen and possibly to a case of adaptation of an offering table in accordance with the local tradition.
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The review of the evidence provided by surveys of Late Middle Kingdom epigraphic evidence from Th... more The review of the evidence provided by surveys of Late Middle Kingdom epigraphic evidence from Thebes and Antaeopolis suggests that the organisation of regional administration in these two regions did not follow a common pattern. Whereas in Antaeopolis the tradition of early 12th dynasty gubernatorial courts continued into the reign of 13th dynasty, at Thebes, a new kind of administration emerged around the reigns of Senwosret III and Amenemhat III. A brief overview of Late Middle Kingdom evidence for high local administrators from other regions shows that regional administration was organised differently at different centres.
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Zeitschrift für Ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde, 2015
The survey of 210 Late Middle Kingdom sources attributable to Theban officials aims to define the... more The survey of 210 Late Middle Kingdom sources attributable to Theban officials aims to define the highest offices of the local administration in order to describe local administrative structures, and to pinpoint the administrative titles that were predominantly used in the Theban administration, thus distancing it from the administration of the northern residence and other power centers of Late Middle Kingdom Egypt. The paper emphasizes the role of wḥmw “reporters” as top local officials at Thebes and in a number of other regions in the Late Middle Kingdom. The spellings of the word ḫnrt with [U31] in administrative titles is only characteristic of Upper Egypt. Among titles used predominantly in Theban and Upper Egyptian administration were ḫrp wsḫt “director of the broad court”, wr mDw Smaw “chief of tens of Upper Egypt”, (sAb) rA-nxn “sab, mouth of Hierakonpolis”, smsw hAyt “elder of the portal”, ḥrj n tm “master of the tm”, sš n spꜢt “scribe of the nome”, jmj-ḫt sꜢ-prw “security official estate guard”, and nfw n pr-ḥḏ “treasury captain”.
The final publication is available at www.degruyter.com
https://doi.org/10.1515/zaes-2015-0012
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The World of Middle Kingdom Egypt (2000-1550 BC) 1, 2015
The paper discusses an architrave from Heliopolis mentioning the king Seankhibtawy Seankhibra. Pr... more The paper discusses an architrave from Heliopolis mentioning the king Seankhibtawy Seankhibra. Previous scholars
expressed contrasting opinions regarding its date. The biographical phrase and the appeal to the leaving on
the architrave may provide a key to dating it. Datable parallels to expressions used on the architrave are discussed,
and on the balance of all evidence of this kind, the inscription is best placed to the early Twelfth Dynasty (from
Amenemhat I to the ascension of Amenemhat II). The paper outlines the modes of the temporal and spatial distribution
of the variants of the appeal to the living and supplements the catalogues of the appeals to the living
compiled by O. D. Berlev and S. S. Shubert. Two stela workshops active at the royal residence under Senwosret III
and Amenemhat III are discussed.
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, 2014
This paper focuses on the emergence of the Theban kingdom of Dynasty 16 in the Second Intermediat... more This paper focuses on the emergence of the Theban kingdom of Dynasty 16 in the Second Intermediate Period and explores the historical repercussions of its assumed struggle with the declining state of Dynasty 13 centered at Itjtawy. A revision of the recent evidence from Edfu raises doubts about the alleged contemporaneity of Sobekhotep iv and Khayan. A survey of administrative titles in the sources pertaining to the Theban kingdom testifies that it arose independently based on the local power structures of the Late Middle Kingdom rather than because of a relocation from the north. The separation of the nascent Theban kingdom from the state of Dynasty 13 and a surmised consequent confrontation between these entities had an impact on the ideology of the new polity and influenced the policy of its direct successor—the state of Dynasty 17 and the early New Kingdom. The original lack of legitimacy of Dynasty 16 could have been one of the reasons for overstating the power of the Hyksos in historical texts—in order to justify Theban claims to rule in Middle and Lower Egypt.
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Древний восток и античный мир: труды кафедры истории древнего мира 8, 2012
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Books by Alexander Ilin-Tomich
The book takes a new perspective on scarab production in Egypt showing that different types of scarabs were produced concurrently, and the production of scarabs was not limited to a single centre at a given period. It amends the methodology of studying Middle Bronze Age scarabs in Egypt to acknowledge that artisans purposefully reproduced certain scarab styles. The study contributes to the ongoing discussions on the chronology of the Second Intermediate Period, Egypt’s interconnections with the Levant and the role of foreigners in Egypt in the Middle Kingdom.
Chapter I concerns with formal criteria for dating private memorial monuments. The studied period (1872–1550 BC) is divided into three subperiods: late Dynasty XII, Dynasty XIII, and the Second Intermediate Period. The aim of the analyses in this chapter is to establish criteria for attributing private monuments to any of these subperiods. With a sample of 502 datable monuments, dating criteria (divided into palaeographic, phraseological, and iconographic) proposed by previous scholars are critically evaluated and new ones are elaborated. The chapter ends with a chronological table summing up all criteria applicable for dating private memorial monuments.
Chapter II explores the geographical distribution of personal names based on a study sample of 927 late Dynasty XII and Dynasty XIII sources attributable to certain regions through direct and indirect evidence. The occurrence rates of personal names in sources from the major regions of Egypt are analysed, and 21 groups of names are pinpointed that may serve for distinguishing the monuments owned either by Thebans or by the dwellers of the Memphis-Faiyum region. Next, the monuments attributable to Thebes or the Memphis-Faiyum region though geographically limited names pinpointed earlier in this chapter are added to the sample group, which enables the detection of further 13 region-specific groups of names.
The second part of the book (Chapters III-VI) explores the idiosyncrasies of local artistic traditions and local workshops producing stelae and the lines of their development.
Chapter III deals with palaeographic, phraseological, and iconographic peculiarities of private stelae owned by officials from the Memphis-Faiyum region (the origin of owners is often established through personal names, as shown in Chapter II). The correlation between these peculiarities and the origin of the patrons leads to the conclusion that the production of Abydene stelae was localized in the home region of Memphite officials who commissioned the stelae. In the second part of the chapter stela workshops active in this region throughout late Dynasty XII and Dynasty XIII are defined.
Along the same lines, stelae produced at Thebes are analysed in Chapter IV.
Chapter V deals with the artistic traditions at Rizeikat, Gebelein, Tod, Abydos, and Antaeopolis. The author traces the development of stelae at Rizeikat from the First Intermediate Period to the Second Intermediate Period. Proceeding from the observation that Rizeikat stelae from different periods were sometimes sold together in the Luxor antiquities market between 1882 and 1935, the author argues that the groups of stelae earlier attributed to either Gebelein or Rizeikat by Fischer and Rosati are rather coming from Rizeikat than from Gebelein. The author discusses the spatial organization and development of the Abydene necropolis during the Middle Kingdom, arguing that some zones can be associated with particular subperiods, when stelae in these zones were installed. The discussion of stelae produced at Antaeopolis for subsequent installation at Abydos is the updated English rendering of the author's earlier Russian paper on this subject.
Chapter VI focuses on the directions of the spread of new trends in the production of memorial monuments throughout Egypt. By comparing the dates of the first occurrence of new traits on the stelae produced in different regions, the author argues that Theban artists were adopting new elements first introduced by artists in Memphis-Faiyum region, but not the other way around. Artists at minor artistic centres were, in turn, adopting new traits from the Memphis-Faiyum region and Thebes, but did not influence the production of stelae in other regions.
Online resources by Alexander Ilin-Tomich
Papers (feel free to request any pdf by message) by Alexander Ilin-Tomich
The final publication is available at www.degruyter.com
https://doi.org/10.1515/zaes-2015-0012
expressed contrasting opinions regarding its date. The biographical phrase and the appeal to the leaving on
the architrave may provide a key to dating it. Datable parallels to expressions used on the architrave are discussed,
and on the balance of all evidence of this kind, the inscription is best placed to the early Twelfth Dynasty (from
Amenemhat I to the ascension of Amenemhat II). The paper outlines the modes of the temporal and spatial distribution
of the variants of the appeal to the living and supplements the catalogues of the appeals to the living
compiled by O. D. Berlev and S. S. Shubert. Two stela workshops active at the royal residence under Senwosret III
and Amenemhat III are discussed.
The book takes a new perspective on scarab production in Egypt showing that different types of scarabs were produced concurrently, and the production of scarabs was not limited to a single centre at a given period. It amends the methodology of studying Middle Bronze Age scarabs in Egypt to acknowledge that artisans purposefully reproduced certain scarab styles. The study contributes to the ongoing discussions on the chronology of the Second Intermediate Period, Egypt’s interconnections with the Levant and the role of foreigners in Egypt in the Middle Kingdom.
Chapter I concerns with formal criteria for dating private memorial monuments. The studied period (1872–1550 BC) is divided into three subperiods: late Dynasty XII, Dynasty XIII, and the Second Intermediate Period. The aim of the analyses in this chapter is to establish criteria for attributing private monuments to any of these subperiods. With a sample of 502 datable monuments, dating criteria (divided into palaeographic, phraseological, and iconographic) proposed by previous scholars are critically evaluated and new ones are elaborated. The chapter ends with a chronological table summing up all criteria applicable for dating private memorial monuments.
Chapter II explores the geographical distribution of personal names based on a study sample of 927 late Dynasty XII and Dynasty XIII sources attributable to certain regions through direct and indirect evidence. The occurrence rates of personal names in sources from the major regions of Egypt are analysed, and 21 groups of names are pinpointed that may serve for distinguishing the monuments owned either by Thebans or by the dwellers of the Memphis-Faiyum region. Next, the monuments attributable to Thebes or the Memphis-Faiyum region though geographically limited names pinpointed earlier in this chapter are added to the sample group, which enables the detection of further 13 region-specific groups of names.
The second part of the book (Chapters III-VI) explores the idiosyncrasies of local artistic traditions and local workshops producing stelae and the lines of their development.
Chapter III deals with palaeographic, phraseological, and iconographic peculiarities of private stelae owned by officials from the Memphis-Faiyum region (the origin of owners is often established through personal names, as shown in Chapter II). The correlation between these peculiarities and the origin of the patrons leads to the conclusion that the production of Abydene stelae was localized in the home region of Memphite officials who commissioned the stelae. In the second part of the chapter stela workshops active in this region throughout late Dynasty XII and Dynasty XIII are defined.
Along the same lines, stelae produced at Thebes are analysed in Chapter IV.
Chapter V deals with the artistic traditions at Rizeikat, Gebelein, Tod, Abydos, and Antaeopolis. The author traces the development of stelae at Rizeikat from the First Intermediate Period to the Second Intermediate Period. Proceeding from the observation that Rizeikat stelae from different periods were sometimes sold together in the Luxor antiquities market between 1882 and 1935, the author argues that the groups of stelae earlier attributed to either Gebelein or Rizeikat by Fischer and Rosati are rather coming from Rizeikat than from Gebelein. The author discusses the spatial organization and development of the Abydene necropolis during the Middle Kingdom, arguing that some zones can be associated with particular subperiods, when stelae in these zones were installed. The discussion of stelae produced at Antaeopolis for subsequent installation at Abydos is the updated English rendering of the author's earlier Russian paper on this subject.
Chapter VI focuses on the directions of the spread of new trends in the production of memorial monuments throughout Egypt. By comparing the dates of the first occurrence of new traits on the stelae produced in different regions, the author argues that Theban artists were adopting new elements first introduced by artists in Memphis-Faiyum region, but not the other way around. Artists at minor artistic centres were, in turn, adopting new traits from the Memphis-Faiyum region and Thebes, but did not influence the production of stelae in other regions.
The final publication is available at www.degruyter.com
https://doi.org/10.1515/zaes-2015-0012
expressed contrasting opinions regarding its date. The biographical phrase and the appeal to the leaving on
the architrave may provide a key to dating it. Datable parallels to expressions used on the architrave are discussed,
and on the balance of all evidence of this kind, the inscription is best placed to the early Twelfth Dynasty (from
Amenemhat I to the ascension of Amenemhat II). The paper outlines the modes of the temporal and spatial distribution
of the variants of the appeal to the living and supplements the catalogues of the appeals to the living
compiled by O. D. Berlev and S. S. Shubert. Two stela workshops active at the royal residence under Senwosret III
and Amenemhat III are discussed.
The authors undertake a refutation of the arguments advocating the earlier dating. A number of arguments are provided to show that this literary composition couldn’t emerge prior to the Late Middle Kingdom (revising the arguments offered by J. van Seters, S. Quirke, W. Grajetzki). The latter date is indicated by the titles and bureaus occurring in this text and the theophoric name of Ipuwer. It is further argued that the facts described in the Admonitions do not match the ecological situation of the First Intermediate Period. It it likely that the events described in the text took place some time after the prosperous reigns of Neferhotep I and Sebekhotep IV. The authors suppose that the text deals with the invasion of the Hyksos in the first half of 17th century BC, which caused deep political, economical, social and cultural changes.
On the other hand, recent developments in scarab studies, putting more focus on intricate details and holistic research questions, require access to thorough documentation of scarabs, of which the ones coming from known archaeological contexts are the most valuable. Scarab research is moving beyond the purely iconographical, chronological and typological approaches to explore the materiality of scarabs, imitative styles, and groups of scarabs sharing common diagnostic traits.
This poster addresses best practices and the dangers of losing a wealth of information without proper documentation of these small finds before they end up in a storage magazine. It also gauges the interest of the Egyptological community for the creation of an open digital platform for excavated scarabs from Egypt and the Sudan. The authors raise the question: Do you know what to do with your scarab finds and do you exploit their full potential?
Within this workshop you will hear some of the answers to these questions. We are able to offer evidence that the Western Asiatic population, on which the Hyksos rule rested, came from a different region in the Levant - at least parts of their elite. Temple architecture and burial customs show that the religious inspirations and the concepts of afterlife in the eastern Nile Delta originated from northernmost Syria and northern Mesopotamia. The same can be also concluded from the introduction of the artificial irrigation systems for which new evidence could be collected from Tell el-Dab‘a, a harbour town which became the capital of the Hyksos. It is the site on which excavations between 1966-2011 under the supervision of the speaker produced with more than 80 field- and working-up-campaigns an enormous quantity of evidence on settlement, tombs, palaces, temples and a hoard of material culture which was partly published in 24 volumes but would still need the same amount of publications in the future if circumstances would allow it. Other excavations in the Delta and in the Wadi Tumilat such as Tell el-Retaba, Tell el Maskhuta and Tell el Khilgan contribute to the cultural phenomenon of the Hyksos. This ERC project was able to draw from these excavations but also produced conclusions, which place these archaeological results with the help of international colleagues into a much wider perspective. Our studies in relationship with the Hyksos lead us not only to the Levant but also to the wider cultural background of Mesopotamia and also to Asia minor, and concerning trade also to Cyprus and the Aegean. It seems clear now that the flourishing trading network built up by a Western Asiatic community before the Hyksos Period broke down during their reign, as they were cut off from the resources of Upper Egypt and Nubia and could not offer a barter for their trade with the Levant.
Einer davon kann einer Gruppe von Beamtenskarabäen der späten 12.—frühen 13. Dynastie zugeordnet werden, die sich mit der memphitisch-fayumischen Gegend verbinden lässt. Zwei weitere Skarabäen wurden bisher als lokale Erzeugnisse aus Byblos (Ryholt) bzw. als Produkte einer Werkstatt in Tell el-Dabʿa (Ben-Tor) interpretiert. Jedoch sichere Parallelen unter den ägyptischen Beamtenskarabäen, den Königsskarabäen aus der 2. Hälfte der 13. Dynastie, sowie den Motivskarabäen aus Lischt und Gurob sprechen für die Herstellung auch dieser zwei byblitischen Herrscherskarabäen an der ägyptischen Königsresidenz.
Dieser Befund verstärkt das Bild, dass die Herrscher von Byblos ebenso wie die Gouverneure in Mittelägypten ihre Namenskarabäen von den Werkstätten an der königlichen Residenz erhielten (während die südoberägyptischen Beamten ihre Skarabäen aus Theben bekamen). Die verfeinerte Datierung der Skarabäen zeigt, dass der Fürst Rinti nicht mit dem Vater des Fürsten Yantin aus der Regierungszeit Neferhoteps I. identisch sein kann und dass mehrere Regenten der byblitischen Herrscherdynastie wohl denselben Namen trugen. Dadurch wird der sogenannte Albrightsche Synchronismus zwischen Yantin und dem König Yantinʿammu vom Mari-Archiv weniger eindeutig.
Die neuen Beobachtungen sind auf das bedeutendste Corpus der Skarabäen aus wissenschaftlichen Ausgrabungen — das von Tell el-Dab'a — anwendbar. Anders als allgemein angenommen lassen sich unter den ägyptischen Beamtenskarabäen Parallelen zu charakteristischen Skarabäentypen von Tell el-Dab'a finden. Solche Siegel sollen als Vorbilder für die Handwerker von Tell el-Dab'a gedient haben. Bemerkenswert ist, dass ein anderer herkömmlicher Typ, zu dem zahlreiche Siegel von Königen und Beamten der 14.–15. Dynastien sowie viele Motivskarabäen aus Tell el-Yahudiya gehören, in Tell el-Dab'a sehr selten vorkommt. Demgemäß gab es wohl mehrere Zentren der Skarabäenproduktion im Unterägypten während der 2. Zwischenzeit.
English summary:
A study of Egyptian private names in the late Middle Kingdom sources was undertaken to pinpoint the personal names indicating either Theban or residential origin. A total of 3265 names were studied in 630 sources that could be reliably attributed to one of the 11 regions. Six names (or groups of names) were found to indicate an origin from Theban or the neighboring regions: sꜢ(t)-jmn, ḫnsw with its derivatives, derivatives of nbw, jb-jꜤ/jꜤ(t)-jb, nfrw, rn.f-rs/rn.s-rs, and 11 names were attributed to the residence or the neighboring regions: names derives from Horus and throne names of the kings of the Twelfth dynasty, snfrw with derivatives, mkt with derivatives, (j)kkj/kkw, ḫntj-(ẖtjj) with derivatives, sꜢ(t)-sbk, jpj with derivatives, jmnjj with derivatives, ppj/pjpj with derivatives, s-n-wsrt-Ꜥnḫ/s-n-wsrt-snb/jmn-m-ḥꜢt-Ꜥnḫ/jmn-m-ḥꜢt-snb, ḥtp(t), rn.f-Ꜥnḫ/rn.s-Ꜥnḫ.