Amunhotep III (Part 7): Three Tales of the Scarabs.
From regnal years 9-11 (1932 – 1390 BCE), the royal court witnessed some very unusual developments. First, the King bagged his 100th lion while hunting. Then, the court welcomed a foreign princess, Gilu-khepa, who arrived as a diplomatic bride for the King. Finally, the court witnessed the construction of a massive lake, built in honour of Queen Tiy. These events are all told from a single source: a series of scarabs, carved with hieroglyphic proclamations, issued by the pharaoh to commemorate events in his first ten years on the throne.
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A scarab commemorating Queen Tiy (Boston MFA)
A scarab recording the lion hunts of years 1-10 (Met Museum)
A scarab recording the arrival of Gilu-khepa from Mitanni (British Museum)
Another lion hunt scarab (British Museum)
Bibliography
Daphna Ben-Tor, “Egyptian-Canaanite Relations in the Middle and Late Bronze Ages as Reflected by Scarabs,” Egypt, Canaan and Israel:History, Imperialism, Ideology and Literature, 2011.
C. Blankenberg-van Delden, The Large Commemorative Scarabs of Amenhotep III, 1969.
Peter A. Clayton, “Some More ‘Fierce Lions’, and a ‘Marriage’ Scarab: The Large Commemorative Scarabs of Amenophis III,” Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, 1996.
David O’Connor & Eric Cline, Amenhotep III: Perspectives on His Reign, 1997.
Aidan Dodson, Amarna Sunrise, 2014.
Orly Goldwasser, “A ‘Kirgipa’ Commemorative Scarab of Amenhotep III from Beit-Shean,” Ägypten und Levante / Egypt and the Levant, 2002.
Arielle P. Kozloff, Amenhotep III: Egypt’s Radiant Pharaoh, 2012.
Miriam Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume II: The New Kingdom, 2006.
Dominic, could the lake you describe dug for queen Tiye, be the Birket Habu dug next to the Malkata Palace? It was about 2 km long (the right length?) and about 600 or so meters wide (twice as wide as the scarab says). If not, is there any evidence of earthworks in the other town you mentioned as a candidate? But then again, after repeated Nile flood deposits, perhaps it can no longer be see? Thanks!
Hi David, as far as I’m aware the lake is supposed to be in the Akhmin region. For excavations…nothing I’m aware of, but Akhmin is relatively unexplored compared to Luxor etc.
Dominic
I know this is you in the mind of a character as opposed to your personal opinion, but it still feels a bit rude to call Gilu-Kheppa a ‘diplomatic floozy’
Regarding the speculation of discord between her and Tiye, truthfully this feels like padding for the episode to compensate for how little we know about her.
What are the dimensions of the scarabs? Thanks.