Egypt Society in New Kingdom Egypt during the Ramesside Period Dynasties XIX-XX
Art, Architecture and Literature played an extensive role in the lives of the Pharaoh, the nobility and the working class within New Kingdom Egypt. These forms of expressions were incorporated into the lives of Egyptians as a method of representing religion, kingship and aspects of their everyday life. Historians are therefore able to study the art, architecture and literature of ancient Egypt to develop an understanding of the beliefs, lifestyles and customs of society during the nineteenth and twentieth dynasties. These artistic creations of the Ramesside Period reflect the reconstruction of an Empire following the Armana period until the end of Ramesses II’s reign, followed by the steady decline in Egypt’s Empire and power until the end of Ramesses XI’s reign, resulting in the end of the twentieth dynasty and New Kingdom Egypt.
Some of the best depiction's of Egyptian art within the nineteenth and twentieth dynasties can be found in the tombs of royalty, including the pharaoh and his family, and within temples and other monuments built under the command of the pharaoh to honour, illustrate and dedicate his existence and achievements to the gods. To gain an understanding of society during the Ramesside period it is therefore necessary to examine the continuity and change within these artworks as they reflect the position of the pharaoh within Egypt and his ability to obtain ma'at. Continuity is maintained within the tombs of royalty through the context of the art which remained predominately unchanged during the nineteenth and twentieth dynasties, depicting the pharaoh’s journey into the afterlife. However, many aspects including the quality, quantity of funeral texts and the nature of the depicted journey into the underworld were varied, reflecting the deteriorating conditions within Egypt.
Changes within the quality of artwork within tombs of royalty can be seen when contrasting the tombs of Seti I and Ramesses II which reveal a clear division in the time, dedication and resources spent on producing fine craft. Compared to the high quality painted, raised reliefs depicted on the walls and ceiling throughout Seti I’s tomb within the Valley of the Kings (KV17) the tomb of Ramesses II lacks delicacy and perfection[1]. This is evident in Ramesses II's tomb as it contains sunken reliefs which represent a rushed construction, leading Shaw to the conclusion that Ramesses II feared he would not complete his extensive building program[2] as had happened in the case of his father, Seti I, who passed away before completion of his Abydos temple, leaving it to Ramesses to complete. Similar conclusions can be made concerning the use of sunken reliefs in the tombs and temples of succeeding pharaohs including Ramesses IV onwards, as there was constant exterior threat from neighbouring empires and interior opposition for the role of kingship, with the longest reign over the remainder of the twentieth dynasty being only six years. This may have lead the pharaohs to perceive a need of securing for themselves a position in eternity as fast as possible, achieved by rapid construction and decoration of monuments.
Another aspect of art within the tombs of royalty which reflects an insecurity within the Egyptian world was the increasing number of funerary texts illustrated on the walls, ceiling and contents within the tomb. This increase is clear when comparing the tomb of Ramesses I, which contained only the one royal funerary texts, The Book of the Gates, against the tomb of twentieth dynasty pharaoh Ramesses V, containing a total of six funerary texts including both texts reserved for royalty and those originally used by commoners such as ‘The Book of The Dead’. An increase in the depictions of funerary texts within tombs demonstrated a fear of not reaching the afterlife by the pharaoh due to an incapability of fulfilling his role as pharaoh and maintaining maat within Egypt.
Non-royal tombs were also home to elaborate artworks within the nineteenth and twentieth dynasties, depicting important aspects of the working Egyptian’s life. The artwork within these tombs also experienced change following the reign of Ramesses II, which is evident when comparing the tombs of Ipuy, a sculptor during the early years of Ramesses II’s reign, and Sennedjem, a senior workman during the conclusion of Ramesses II’s reign. The significant difference between the artwork depicted in these two tombs is the subject in which they are concerned. The artwork contained within Ipuy’s tomb concentrates on the celebration of daily life with scenes depicting farming, fishing, cooking, construction of furniture, housing and cleaning, which had been common in previous tombs. The tomb of Sennedjam however, shows a distinct move from the celebration of everyday life, with a new focus placed on the journey into and the eternity spent in the afterlife, within the fields of Iaru, honouring the underworld gods. This remained the predominant decorative theme of New Kingdom non-royal tombs, leading Wilson to argue that such a change in the funerary artwork was due to the deteriorating conditions of life during the end of the nineteenth and twentieth dynasties within Egypt. ‘ The next life was now presented as a release from this life and a reward for humble patience in this life.’[3]
The overseeing of an extensive building program was an important role carried out by the pharaoh to ensure that maat was maintained within Egypt by honouring and offering to the gods. The architecture of the nineteenth and twentieth dynasties is therefor another important area to examine when viewing the New Kingdom society as changes in building programs reflect the order and economic power within Egypt’s elite. Robins argues that the highest point within architecture of the late New Kingdom was that carried out by Seti I[4] who introduced an innovative L shaped plan for his funerary temple and included within it seven sanctuaries placed side by side instead of the one main sanctuary. The reason for this change in temple design, a trend which continued in early nineteenth dynasty tombs, was to promote equal recognition to the gods, ensuring there was no repetition of a cult gaining an overriding power as had happened during the Armana period. Seti I’s architecture is also considered to be the highest point in late new Kingdom architecture not only because of its unique style but also due to its grand quality in its construction, using solid mudbrick masonry with a limestone revetment set against the interior faces. In contrast to Seti I’s architectural constructions the building programs undertaken by succeeding pharaohs lacked originality and were poorly constructed[5], reflecting the decline in royal power and the loss of Egyptian control outside her boarders, reducing the economic stability of the declining empire. The building programs undertaken by Ramesses II, although undertaken on a grand scale are an example of the decrease in quality and economic resources contributed to such a program. This is evident in Ramesses II’s Hypostlye Hall at Karnak which was ‘architecturally unsound’[6] due to the use of poor quality limestone and the construction of walls using rubble filled limestone. Other reasons for the decline in quality of architecture during and following the reign of Ramesses II have been assessed by Kemp who considers the economic availability and distribution of resources for building programs and other aspects of Egyptian life. “quantitative decrease in economic resources available to the king and officials or qualitative decline in the efficient manipulation of these resources.”[7]
Literature is yet another area which can be examined to gain an understanding of the elite society as it was a method by which the Egyptian nobility who could read and write, learnt, taught, entertained, recollected and honoured. The Ramesside period was subject to a number of literary texts which had been continued from the Old Kingdom, including wisdom literature, religious texts, royal texts, autobiographies and tales, many of which remaining unchanged since their development in Old Kingdom, such as ‘The Book Of The Dead’, to ensuring that ma'at was maintained within society by keeping a sense of continuity. However a number of these older genres of literature were presented with a humorous tone within the Ramesside period, mainly tales depicting the pharaohs and gods of the time in caricature forms with human flaws and weaknesses. This has lead Wilson to perceive the strength of Egypt during this period to be weakening as the power held by the pharaoh and the gods over society at the time seemed to be declining.
‘The supporting posts of Ancient Egypt culture were showing visible cracks. If nothing could be taken with complete seriousness, what would hold society together.’[8]
Two other literary genres where also introduced and used throughout the nineteenth and twentieth dynasty including Poetry, which first appeared within Ramesses II’s Kadesh Battle Inscriptions as a method of celebrating and instructing[9], developing into love poetry, and schoolroom texts which were important to the teachings of the young elite. An example of a schoolroom text was the Papyrus Lansing which encouraged young pupils to pursue an occupation as a scribe by making them learn to read and write the latest nineteenth dynasty colloquial style text.
‘You are safe from torments. Every man seeks to raise himself up. Take note of it!’[10]
The introduction of schoolroom texts during the early nineteenth dynasty is believed by Wilson to reflect the reassertion of Egyptian power outside her borders following its downfall during the Armana period as it
suggests a larger class of bureaucratic clerks is needed to meet the expanding government structure.[11]
The art, architecture and literature of the early nineteenth dynasty therefore reflect a reassertion of power by the Egyptian Empire, continuing until the reign of Ramesses II. Artworks following this period however, can be seen to depict a decrease in the power of the pharaoh, both outside and within Egypt, and economic resources available to Egypt, reflected through the deterioration within the quality and quantity of art, architecture and literature during the Ramesside period.
[1] Shaw I. ‘ Oxford History of Ancient Egypt’, Oxford University Press, New York, 2000. p.301
[2] ibid. p.302
[3] Wilson, J.A. ‘The Culture of Ancient Egypt’, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1951.
[4] Robins, G. ‘The Art of Ancient Egypt’.British Museum Press, London, 1993. p.53
[5] Shaw, I. opt. cit. p.301
[6] Wilson, J.A. opt. citp.252
[7] Kemp, B.J. ‘Ancient Egypt: Anatomy of a Civilization’, p.226
[8] Wilson, J.A. opt.cit. p.267
[9] Kitchen, K.A. ‘Pharaoh Triumphant: The Life and Times of Ramesses II’, p.6
[10] Lichtheim, M. ‘Ancient Egyptian Literature’, ‘Papyrus Lansing: A Schoolbook’, P.British Museum 1994
[11] Wilson, J.A. opt.cit. p.261