Anarchy in Egypt! The Dream Stela of Tanutamani

The year is 664 BCE. Egypt is a bloody battlefield, and the country is at the mercy of two foreign invaders who are clashing with one another to secure control over the Two Lands. On the one side are the Kushites or Nubians, with their power base in Napata (modern-day Sudan). On the other is the formidable Assyrian army of king Ashurbanipal, dispatched from his capital, Nineveh. We are at the end of the Third Intermediate Period and of the 25th Dynasty, the royal line of Nubian pharaohs who took over Egypt from the south. Following the demise of king Taharqa, defeated twice by the Assyrians, a new ruler has been selected in Napata: his name is Tanutamani. One night, around the time of his accession, Tanutamani has a dream, two snakes appearing  before him. Dream interpreters explain to the king that this is an auspicious message sent by the gods, to foretell his successful revenge over the Assyrians and a new Nubian conquest of Egypt. But things are never as they seem…

This is how the text of the so-called Dream Stela of Tanutamani begins, a monument erected by the king in the temple of Amun in Napata (now in the Nubian Museum in Aswan). The stela is one of the most important historic documents to inform us on the complex events at the end of the Third Intermediate Period, with the end of the Nubian rule, the Assyrian invasion(s), and the early establishment of a new Egyptian power centre in the Delta, ultimately leading to the establishment of the 26th or Saite Dynasty and the start of the Late Period. Inscribed in hieroglyphs on both sides, and written in classical Middle Egyptian, the stela is a fascinating text, yet surprisingly little-known amongst the wider public, like many other documents from the post-New Kingdom phases of Egyptian history.

In this course, we will read Tanutamani’s stela over seven sessions and contextualise its contents, comparing and contrasting its propaganda with the actual historic events (as also recorded in Assyrian sources). Through this stela, participants will familiarise themselves with royal texts from the First Millennium BCE, and will enjoy the fascinating complexity of Egyptian history from this period, reading it directly from an important original source.

This course will appeal not only to students with an interest in Egyptian language and texts, but also in military, religious, and wider historic topics.  Copies of the text and reading materials will be provided in advance by the instructor. Participants are welcome to prepare the text in advance of each session, to be then discussed and compared, under the teacher’s guidance, in the virtual classroom. It is recommended that participants should already be familiar with  Middle Egyptian in order to attend this course, but please feel free to contact the instructor in advance, should you have any questions.

If you are unable to join us live, the recorded lectures will be available until 15th January.