Shasu

SUMMARY: Lecture-18 discusses the origins of the Israelites, including the first mention of "Israel" in Merenptah's "Israel" Stela, the current status regarding minimal to no archaeological evidence for an Exodus (also postulated as being a later remembrance of Hyksos expulsion), the state of evidence regarding the sojourn in Sinai (also minimal/no archaeological evidence), the "Exodus Papyrus" (noting the escape and tracking of two fugitives from Egypt), the conquest account (which also contains conflicting data in the archaeological record), the emergence of numerous, small, hill country and other settlements (i.e., typically small, agrarian enclosures with some terracing in areas, herding, semi-nomadic roots in settlement design, forest clearance in newly occupied terrain, simple pottery and other artefacts with clear Canaanite roots), and the emergence of a more complex, Israelite polity by 1000 BC. This lecture is designed mainly as an educational resource/aid for college students (i.e., normally posted only on my institution's course website), the public (e.g., people auditing my course), and interested colleagues from other disciplines (to whom I periodically provide copies privately).  I am posting it here, both as a broader access, educational tool, and especially to promote the study of this region and its past societies.  For further knowledge about this region and period, I refer interested parties to the textbooks and other sources from which the initial materials were extracted for this ppt. (see syllabus; e.g., initially Mazar, Archaeology of the Land of the Bible), and/or the bibliographies in these works and my online resource guides (see other files in my academia folders).  Much of this and the other lectures summarize the pertinent materials in the course textbook(s), add in other data, including my own research materials, and furnish numerous images to clarify/illustrate the wealth of information encountered in the textbook(s).  Some generic imagery (usually indicated as such) is posted to aid in transmitting various concepts visually, and/or when a specific image remains not located (temporarily).  I update and revise such lectures each time, with such elective courses normally being taught once every two years.  I try to cover the most current, mainstream views, and usually place summary notes at the end of each lecture (or in separate test study guides).  Over time, each lecture is improved, errors rectified, and additional data placed within the lecture.  These ppt. lectures take many hours to compile, but they have proved useful to many of my more serious students (who have since pursued graduate degrees), and a few colleagues, who, like me, often teach outside our main fields of specialty, and I hope they can be of benefit to others as well.  My apologies for any errors I may have made (over time, as I teach this course every two years, I try to rectify any errors that might slip in inadvertently), and for my liberal usage of educational imagery from professional sources and vetted internet sources.  UPDATED:  Oct. 2023, re-formatting, and a new slide and text revisions.

To be or not to be is a crucial question regarding Moses as well as the Exodus because, according to the Bible, the character related to that famous event forms the basis of the Passover which meant the Promised Land for Jews and later the Paradise for Christians. However, according to most Egyptologists, there is absolutely no evidence of Moses and the Exodus in Egyptian documents, which leads them to conclude that the whole biblical story is a myth written for gullible people. Ironically, if one considers that “truth” must be based on two pillars: an accurate chronology anchored on absolute dates (Herodotus’ principle) and reliable documents coming from critical editions (Thucydides’ principle), that implies an amazing conclusion: those who believe Egyptologists are actually the real gullible ones. According to Egyptian accounts the last king of the XVth dynasty, named Apopi, “very pretty” in Hebrew that is Moses’ birth name (Ex 2:2), reigned 40 years in Egypt from 1613 to 1573 BCE, then 40 years later he met Seqenenre Taa the last pharaoh of the XVIIth dynasty and gave him an unspecified disturbing message. The eldest son of Seqenenre Taa, Ahmose Sapaïr, who was crown prince died in a dramatic and unexplained way shortly before his father. Seqenenre Taa died in May 1533 BCE, after 11 years of reign, in dramatic and unclear circumstances. The state of his mummy proves, however, that his body received severe injuries, in agreement with Psalms 136:15, and remained abandoned for several days before being mummified. Prince Kamose, Seqenenre Taa's brother, assured interim of authority for 3 years and threatened attack the former pharaoh Apopi, new prince of Retenu (Palestine) who took the name Moses, according to Manetho (280 BCE), an Egyptian priest and historian. In the stele of the Tempest, Kamose also blames Apopi for all the disasters that come to fall upon Egypt, which caused many deaths.

ABSTRACT: This lecture provides a summary of the reigns of Ahmose (brief re-capping of previous lecture), Amenhotep I, Thutmose I, Thutmose II, and the co-regency of Thutmose III and Hatshepsut.  The lecture outlines the various events and achievements, ranging from each ruler's succession and status, to individual domestic building programs (e.g., temples; monuments), international relations (e.g., expeditions; campaigns), special features within each reign, and the royal tomb, mortuary complex, and furnishings (January 28, 2019). UPDATED: Some new text, images, and bibliography update (Feb. 4, 2021).

ABSTRACT: This lecture (no. 12) begins with a summary of the different, contemporary Late Bronze Age chronologies and rulers of Egypt and Near Eastern States. It continues with a substantial section focusing upon Egypt's New Kingdom historical and archaeological presence in the Levant during the LB through Iron 1A periods (1550-1150 BCE): Late Bronze Age 1A (1550-1470 BCE), LB 1B (1470-1400 BCE), LB IIA (1400-1300 BCE), LB IIB (1300-1200 BCE), and Iron IA (1200-1150 BCE), each of which is subdivided into various military campaigns and other activities and influences by individual, New Kingdom pharaohs.  This chronological coverage is followed by an overview of these historical events summarized by the impact of both individual military campaigns and activities and their clustering into the main subdivisions during the LB Age to Iron 1A, plus an assessment of the comparative dispersal of Egyptian royal name items to the Near East expressed by annual averages and by the main subdivisions during the LB Age to Iron 1A periods. This infrastructure of Egypt's northern empire is examined, as are the different ethnic groups composing Canaan (e.g., Canaanites; Hurrians; 'Apiru; Shasu), and the significance of Canaan to Egypt.  The next major section summarizes different aspects of the Levant, especially regarding Syro-Mesopotamian features and influences, looking at settlement patterns, occupation history at sites, fortifications, town planning, palaces, elite homes, and migdol temples; and continuing with an overview of selected pottery types, metallurgy, art and decoration, sculpture, glyptic art (seals), ivory carving, metal artwork, clay sculpture, writing (language and literature), and mortuary religion (i.e., burial customs). The last section looks at the Hittites and the Near East (especially Syria), ca. 1550 – 1200 BCE, starting with a brief summary of the Hittite Old Kingdom (ca. 1650–1500 BCE) and "Middle" Kingdom (1500 – 1420 BCE), and focusing upon the Hittite Empire (New Kingdom) from 1420–1205+? BCE, particularly emphasizing interactions with Syria-Mesopotamia, and Egypt --where pertinent (e.g., Battle of Kadesh).  This coverage adds a look at Hittite religion, mortuary practices, and art and architecture in relation to the Near East in general, plus a discussion of Hittite trade and exchange with its neighbours. This lecture follows the course textbook in many areas, and draws upon (selectively) and re-formats and augments the instructor's existing lectures on New Kingdom Egypt (Anth.310), Late Bronze Age Canaan (Anth.340), and Late Bronze Age Anatolia (Anth.245), with some new materials as well as major reformatting to follow this course's subject area and coverage. UPDATED: 2022 Spring offering.

INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH: The Amarna Letters span the reigns of Amenhotep III (year 30+), Akhenaten, Smenkhkare, and Tutankhamun (years 1-2), ca. 1360-1335/4 BC in late Dynasty 18, and form a corpus of at least 382 foreign communications, diverse texts (e.g., myths and epics; syllabaries; lexical texts; a god-list; a Hurrian tale), and draft copies of correspondence between Egypt, its Syro-Palestinian vassals, and neighbouring states (Alašia [Cyprus]; Mittani [Syria]; Hatti; Arzawa [western Anatolia]; Assyria; Babylonia). These texts occur on small, baked clay tablets using mainly Hurro-Akkadian and “Babylonian” cuneiform, the international lingua franca during the Late Bronze Age.  Most were discovered in 1887-8 by farmers at el-Amarna (Egypt), while subsequent excavation in and near Akhenaten’s records’ office (“The Place of the Letters of the Pharaoh”) produced 34 letters. Although 150-200 letters may remain lost, the majority eventually appeared in private and museum collections. Other similar letters have been found in the Levant at Tel el-Hesi, Tel Aphek, Taanach, Ras Shamra (Ugarit), and Boghazköy (Hattusas: Ramesside correspondence).