Royal Authority in Egypt's Eighteenth Dynasty [Paperback]

This study highlights and debates the evidence for the king's personal authority and power within three major spheres of influence: 1) the appointment of officials, 2) the making of commands; and 3) military leadership. The extent to which this evidence can be used to create a historically accurate picture of government practice is a major issue throughout this study. The evidence collected dates to the 18th Dynasty from the reign of Ahmose to the end of the reign of Amenhotep III. Chapter one deals with evidence for the appointment of officials by the king as evidenced by the words dhn, rdi m/r, and sxnt. Chapter two analyses this data. Chapter three presents all evidence of the king making commands, as evidenced by the word wD. Chapter four is an analysis of this evidence. Chapter five presents evidence for the king making military decisions and fighting alongside his army. This evidence is analysed in Chapter six. The final chapter puts into context the difficulties of drawing clear boundaries between the ideological and the real in such material.The 18th Dynasty was strong politically, and as amply supplied with evidence of royal activity as any. This makes it a suitable choice for the full investigation that the author gives it; but it does not lead to any clear conclusion as to whether the Pharaohs really did exercise the level of authority suggested in the texts.