The History of Egypt Podcast

Between 1215 and 1211 BCE, Egypt was divided. A rebellion in the south, launched by Amen-messe "Born of Amun" disrupted the succession of Sety II, son of Merneptah. Records from this shadowy period hint at violence and corruption in Waset/Luxor, as the usurper took control and established a new regime. The impact of this conflict would have long-lasting ramifications for the 19th Dynasty...

Music: Luke Chaos.

Logo: An unnamed statue head from Karnak, probably depicting Sety II or Amenmesse (Metropolitan Museum of Art, public domain).

Was Amenmesse the Viceroy Messuy?

Below are scenes from Amada in Nubia, where Messuy carved scenes of himself before royal cartouches. Prof. Aidan Dodson suggests that the Viceroy has cobra/uraei on his forehead, though other scholars suggest this is mere weathering. What do you think?
Photos (high-res) https://www.flickr.com/photos/184518985@N04/

Bibliography

Brand, P. J. (2009). Usurped Cartouches of Merenptah at Karnak and Luxor. In P. J. Brand & L. Cooper (Eds.), Causing His Name to Live: Studies in Egyptian Epigraphy and History in Memory of William J. Murnane (pp. 29–48). Brill. http://history.memphis.edu/murnane/Brand.pdf

Caminos, R. A. (1974). The new-kingdom temples of Buhen. Egypt Exploration Society.

Černý, J. (1929). Papyrus Salt 124 (Brit. Mus. 10055). The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, 15(3/4), 243–258. https://doi.org/10.2307/3854120

Cooney, K. M. (2022). The New Kingdom of Egypt Under the Ramesside Dynasty. In D. T. Potts, N. Moeller, & K. Radner (Eds.), The Oxford History of the Ancient Near East, Volume III: From the Hyksos to the Late Second Millennium BC (pp. 251--366). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190687601.003.0027

Dodson, A. (2016). Poisoned Legacy: The Decline and Fall of the Nineteenth Egyptian Dynasty (Revised edn). American University in Cairo Press.

Hopper, R. W. (2010). The Monuments of Amenmesse and Seti II: A Historical Inquiry [Unpublished PhD. Thesis]. The University of Memphis.

Iskander, S. (2002). The Reign of Merneptah [Unpublished PhD. Thesis]. New York University.

Kitchen, K. A. (1987). The Titularies of the Ramesside Kings as Expression of their Ideal Kingship. Annales Du Service Des Antiquités de l’Égypte, 71, 131--141. https://archive.org/details/ASAE-71-1987

Krauss, R. (1976). Untersuchungen zu König Amenmesse (1. Teil). Studien Zur Altägyptischen Kultur, 4, 161--199. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25150008

Krauss, R. (1977). Untersuchungen zu König Amenmesse (2. Teil). Studien Zur Altägyptischen Kultur, 5, 131--174. https://www.jstor.org/stable/44324535

Krauss, R. (1997). Untersuchungen zu König Amenmesse: Nachträge. Studien Zur Altägyptischen Kultur, 24, 161--184. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25152736

Krauss, R. (2000). Moïse le pharaon (N. Baum, Trans.). Editions du Rocher.

Lefébure, E. (1886). Les hypogées royaux de Thèbes (Band 1): Le tombeau de Séti Ier. Libraire de la Societe Asiatique. http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/lefebure1886bd1

Leprohon, R. J. (2013). The Great Name: Ancient Egyptian Royal Titulary. Society of Biblical Literature.

Schneider, T. (2011). Conjectures About Amenmesse: Historical, Biographical, Chronological. In M. Collier & S. Snape (Eds.), Ramesside Studies in Honour of K. A. Kitchen (pp. 445--451). Rutherford. https://www.academia.edu/6374977/Conjectures_about_Amenmesse_Historical_Biographical_Chronological_in_Ramesside_Studies_Festschrift_Kenneth_A_Kitchen_Bolton_Rutherford_Press_2011_445_451

Servajean, F. (2014). Mérenptah et la fin de la XIXe dynastie. Pygmalion.

Sourouzian, H. (2019). Catalogue de la statuaire royale de la XIXe dynastie. Institut français d’archéologie orientale. https://www.ifao.egnet.net/publications/catalogue/9782724707571/

Yurco, F. J. (1979). Amenmesse: Six statues at Karnak. Metropolitan Museum Journal, 14, 15--31. http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/1512735.pdf
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From 1217 to 1221 CE, Egypt faced an invasion in the Delta. A bizarre tale of D-Day-esque beach landings, improvised nun-chucks, and the vengeance of Hapi ensued. Today's guest Dr. Thomas Smith explains the story and introduces his new book The Fifth Crusade: A History of the Epic Campaign to Conquer Egypt.

The Fifth Crusade (2026) available from Yale University Press and all good retailers.

Dr. Thomas Smith's website: https://thomaswsmith.co.uk/

Music by Luke Chaos.
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Merneptah's Nubian War, the Book of Caverns, and his Legacy. The later years of Merneptah's reign were eventful. Just as the Libu war wound down, another conflict started in Nubia. Shortly after, there may have been some disruptions or reshuffling in the government. We also get a new religious text known as the "Book of Caverns." Finally, we follow Merneptah's passing and his legacy.

Video lecture about Merneptah's Memphite palace: Cahail, K. (2020, December 3). The Palace of Pharaoh Merenptah: Examining an Archaeological “Cold Case.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhDB98ZH2-k

Extended version (49m) available on Patreon.

Music: Keith Zizza, Luke Chaos.
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As the Libu war wound down, Merneptah's troops took captives and plundered the bodies of fallen warriors. Along the way, we also hear of "foreign peoples of the Sea," who were involved in these events. Merneptah mentions Sherden, Lukka, Tursha, Ekwesh, and Shekelesh. Who were these "Sea Peoples" and why were they coming to Egypt?

Music: Keith Zizza, Luke Chaos.

We're on YouTube! Ancient history media @dominicperryae and the podcast (plus bonus lectures) @historyegyptpodcast

Support the show and get bonus content at www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast

Transcript and references at www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com
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Merneptah vs the Libyans. In 1221 BCE, Egypt faced a crisis. Tribal coalitions from the west, and some "Peoples of the Sea" were marching on the Nile Valley. They came in their thousands, armed and ready to settle. Caught by surprise, King Merneptah and his warriors hastened to the defence...

Support the show and get early releases, ad-free episodes, bonus video content, and pictures/videos of animals I meet in Egypt and travelling www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast

Music by Bettina Joy de Guzman; Luke Chaos; and Keith Zizza.

Bibliography

Cline, E. H. (2021). 1177 B.C. The Year Civilization Collapsed (Revised edn). Princeton University Press.

D’Amato, R., & Salimbeti, Andrea. (2015). Sea Peoples of the Bronze Age Mediterranean c.1400 BC–1000 BC. Osprey.

Darnell, J. C., & Manassa, C. M. (2007). Tutankhamun’s armies: Battle and conquest during ancient Egypt’s late eighteenth dynasty. John Wiley & Sons.

Davies, B. G. (1997). Egyptian Historical Inscriptions of the Nineteenth Dynasty. Paul Aströms förlag.

Dean, R. (2017). Warfare & Weaponry in Dynastic Egypt. Pen & Sword.

Finné, M., Woodbridge, J., Labuhn, I., & Roberts, N. (2019). Holocene hydro-climatic variability in the Mediterranean: A synthetic multi-proxy reconstruction. The Holocene, 29, 847--863. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0959683619826634

Heagren, B. (2010). The Art of War in Pharaonic Egypt [Unpublished PhD. Thesis, The University of Auckland]. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/49463150_The_art_of_war_in_pharaonic_Egypt_an_analysis_of_the_tactical_logistic_and_operational_capabilities_of_the_Egyptian_army

Healy, M. (1992). New Kingdom Egypt. Osprey Publishing.

Kaniewski, D., Campo, E. V., Guiot, J., Burel, S. L., Otto, T., & Baeteman, C. (2013). Environmental Roots of the Late Bronze Age Crisis. PLOS ONE, 8(8), e71004. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0071004

Kaniewski, D., Marriner, N., Bretschneider, J., Jans, G., Morhange, C., Cheddadi, R., Otto, T., Luce, F., & Van Campo, E. (2019). 300-year drought frames Late Bronze Age to Early Iron Age transition in the Near East: New palaeoecological data from Cyprus and Syria. Regional Environmental Change, 19, 2287--2297. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-018-01460-w

Kitchen, K. A. (1975). Ramesside Inscriptions Historical and Biographical (Vols. 1–8). Blackwell. https://archive.org/details/KennethA.KitchenRamessideInscriptionsVol1

Kitchen, K. A. (1993a). Ramesside Inscriptions Translated and Annotated: Notes and Comments (Vols. 1–2). Blackwell.

Kitchen, K. A. (1993b). Ramesside Inscriptions Translated and Annotated: Translations (Vols. 1–7). Blackwell.

Kopanias, K. (2017). Mercenaries or refugees? The evidence from the inscriptions of Merenptah on the “Sea Peoples.” Journal of Greek Archaeology, 2, 119--133. https://www.ancientportsantiques.com/wp-content/uploads/Documents/AUTHORS/SeaPeoples/SeaPeoples-Kopanias2017.pdf

Manassa, C. (2003). The Great Karnak Inscription of Merneptah: Grand Strategy in the 13th Century BC. The Yale Egyptological Seminar.

Pollastrini, A. M. (2024). Helmets and Body Armour in New Kingdom Egypt. Bloomsbury Academic. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781350323520

Sabbahy, L. (2013). Depictional Study of Chariot Use in New Kingdom Egypt. In A. Veldmeijer & S. Ikram (Eds.), Chasing Chariots: Proceedings of the First International Chariot Conference (Cairo 2012) (pp. 191--202). Sidestone Press.

Shaw, G. J. (2017). War and Trade with the Pharaohs: An Archaeological Study of Ancient Egypt’s Foreign Relations. Pen & Sword.

Shaw, I. (2019). Ancient Egyptian Warfare. Casemate.

Snape, S. (2003a). The Emergence of Libya on the Horizon of Egypt. In D. O’Connor & S. Quirke (Eds.), Mysterious Lands (pp. 93--106). UCL Press.

Snape, S. (2003b). Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham and Egyptian Foreign Trade in the Thirteenth Century BC. Sea Routes: Interconnections in the Mediterranean 16th-6th c. BC. https://www.academia.edu/107251529/Snape_ZUR_and_Egyptian_Foreign_Trade_Zawiyet_Umm_el_Rakham_and_Egyptian_foreign_trade_in_the_thirteenth_century_BC_

Snape, S. (2023). What was Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham for? Early Ramesside Strategy in the Libyan West. In F. Hoffmann & M. R. Abbas (Eds.), Perspectives on the Ramesside Military System (pp. 143--155). Zaphon.

Spalinger, A. J. (2004). Review: Manassa, Colleen 2003. The Great Karnak inscription of Merneptah: Grand strategy in the 13th century BC. Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, 90(reviews supplement), 45--47. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3822286

Zutterman, C. (2003). The bow in the Ancient Near East, a re-evaluation of archery from the late 2nd millennium to the end of the Achaemenid empire. IrAnt, 38, 119--165.
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