The History of Egypt Podcast - Dominic Perry

Latest Episodes:

Total War: Pharaoh - Ramesses, Hero of Egypt Oct 09, 2023

Show notes

Begotten by the sun god. The "last great pharaoh," RAMESSES (aka Ramesses III) is a warrior and a builder. In Total War: Pharaoh, you will lead this man to victory over his rivals, and remake Egypt in your image…

Preview and purchase Total War: Pharaoh at https://pharaoh.totalwar.com/.
Music in all episodes by Richard Beddow © Creative Assembly 2023.
See the History of Egypt Podcast on all podcasting apps and at www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com.
Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast.
Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.

Select Bibliography:

D. D. Baker, Encyclopedia of the Pharaohs Volume I: Predynastic to the Twentieth Dynasty 3300 - 1069 BC (2008).
E. H. Cline and D. O’Connor (eds), Ramesses III: The Life and Times of Egypt’s Last Hero (2012).
A. Dodson, Poisoned Legacy: The Decline and Fall of the Nineteenth Egyptian Dynasty (2016).
A. Dodson, Ramesses III King of Egypt: His Life and Afterlife (2019).
A. Dodson and D. Hilton, The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt (2004).
D. Kahn, ‘Ramesses III and the Northern Levant: A Reassessment of the Sources’, in S. Kubisch and U. Rummel (eds), The Ramesside Period in Egypt: Studies into Cultural and Historical Processes of the 19th and 20th Dynasties (2018), 175—188.
K. A. Kitchen, Ramesside Inscriptions Translated and Annotated: Translations Volume V: Setnakht, Ramesses III, & Contemporaries (2008).
R. J. Leprohon, The Great Name: Ancient Egyptian Royal Titulary (2013).
C. J. Moreu, ‘The Sea Peoples and the Historical Background of the Trojan War’, Mediterranean Archaeology 16 (2003), 107–24.

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Total War Pharaoh - History & Leader Guide Oct 04, 2023

Show notes

I've wanted a game like Total War: Pharaoh since childhood. Now it's here! Thanks to Creative Assembly, I've had the opportunity to explore the game and prepare some introductions to the history and major leaders. This is meant to be a "listen along while playing" experience, just like I used to do with Mike Duncan's History of Rome and the original Rome: Total War. I hope you enjoy!

Chapters:

Intro: 00:00.

Merneptah: 05:30.

Ramesses: 29:10.

Amenmesse: 1:02:40.

Sety: 1:19:30.

Tausret: 1:40:45.

Bay & Irsu: 2:07:35.

Kurunta & Suppiluliuma: 2:32:07.

Preview and purchase Total War: Pharaoh at https://pharaoh.totalwar.com/.

Music in all episodes by Richard Beddow © Creative Assembly 2023.

Support the History of Egypt Podcast via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast.

Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.

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Total War: Pharaoh - Merneptah, the Strong Bull Oct 04, 2023

Show notes

The Legacy and the Loss. As Total War: Pharaoh begins, Egypt lives under the rule of MERNEPTAH. A mighty pharaoh, Merneptah has accomplished much in peace and war. But the King is aging, his journey will soon end, and his legacy will be complicated…

NOTE: We will discuss Merneptah's Canaanite wars in an upcoming episode (about Bay, Irsu, and that region). This was mentioned in episode but some folks may have missed that. Please be patient and let the episodes tell their story :)

Preview and purchase Total War: Pharaoh at https://pharaoh.totalwar.com/.
Music in all episodes by Richard Beddow © Creative Assembly 2023.
See the History of Egypt Podcast on all podcasting apps and at www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com.
Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast.
Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.

Select Bibliography:

K. A. Kitchen, Ramesside Inscriptions Translated and Annotated: Translations Volume IV: Merenptah & The Late Nineteenth Dynasty (2003).
C. Manassa, The Great Karnak Inscription of Merneptah: Grand Strategy in the 13th Century BC (2003).
D. B. Redford, ‘The Ashkelon Relief at Karnak and the Israel Stela’, Israel Exploration Journal 36 (1986), 188—200.
F. Servajean, Mérenptah et la fin de la XIXe dynastie (2014).
I. Singer, ‘Merneptah’s Campaign to Canaan and the Egyptian Occupation of the Southern Coastal Plain of Palestine in the Ramesside Period’, Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research (1988), 1—10.
F. J. Yurco, ‘Merenptah’s Canaanite Campaign’, Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 23 (1986), 189—215.

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Introducing Total War: Pharaoh Oct 03, 2023

Show notes

Welcome to The History of Egypt Podcast and Total War: Pharaoh! In this brief introduction, I explain the coming episodes and the historical background of Creative Assembly’s new game…

Preview and purchase Total War: Pharaoh at https://pharaoh.totalwar.com/.

Music in all episodes by Richard Beddow © Creative Assembly 2023.

See the History of Egypt Podcast on all podcasting apps and at www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com.
Special Tomb Kings episode: https://www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com/the-tomb-kings/.
Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast.
Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.

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191: Sety I, Libya Minus One Sep 29, 2023

Show notes

How the west was won. Around 1298 BCE, King Sety I (Men-ma’at-Ra) attacked the peoples of modern-day Libya and, in a supposedly swift victory, took many captives back to Egypt. The relationship between Libyans and ancient Egyptians is complicated, but we go in search of some answers…

Date: c.1298 BCE (Sety I, year 6).
Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com.
Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast.
Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.
Music intro/outro: “Godzilla theme” by Akira Ifukube, cover version by Luke Chaos.
Music interludes by: Keith Zizza, Luke Chaos.
Sety’s War Reliefs at Karnak: Available in Open Access at The University of Chicago.

Select Bibliography:

P. J. Brand, The Monuments of Seti I: Epigraphic, Historical and Art Historical Analysis (2000).

P. J. Brand, Ramesses II: Egypt’s Ultimate Pharaoh (2023).

W. A. Cooney, ‘Egypt’s Encounter with the West: Race, Culture and Identity’, Unpublished PhD. Thesis, University of Durham (2011).

A. Dodson, Sethy I King of Egypt: His Life and Afterlife (2019).

A. A. el Magd, ‘Dehumanization of the “Other:” Animal Metaphors of Defeated Enemies in the New Kingdom Military Texts’, Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 52 (2016), 329–341.

H. El Saady, ‘The Wars of Sety I at Karnak: A New Chronological Structure’, Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur 19 (1992), 285–94.

R. O. Faulkner, ‘The Wars of Sethos I’, The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 33 (1947), 34–9.

J. C. M. García, ‘Ḥwt jḥ(w)t, The Administration of the Western Delta and the “Libyan Question” in the Third Millennium BC’, Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 101 (2015), 69–105.

K. A. Kitchen, Ramesside Inscriptions Historical and Biographical, I (Oxford, 1975).

K. A. Kitchen, ‘The Arrival of the Libyans in Late New Kingdom Egypt’, in A. Leahy (ed.), Libya and Egypt c.1300–750 BC (1990), 15–27.

K. A. Kitchen, Ramesside Inscriptions Translated and Annotated: Translations Volume I: Ramesses I, Sethos I and Contemporaries (Second Publication edn, 2017).

E. F. Morris, The Architecture of Imperialism: Military Bases and the Evolution of Foreign Policy in Egypt’s New Kingdom (2005).

W. J. Murnane, The Road to Kadesh: A Historical Interpretation of the Battle Reliefs of King Sety I at Karnak (1985).

D. O’Connor, ‘The Nature of Tjemhu (Libyan) Society in the Later New Kingdom’, in A. Leahy (ed.), Libya and Egypt c.1300–750 BC (1990), 29–113.

A. J. Spalinger, ‘The Northern Wars of Seti I: An Integrative Study’, Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 16 (1979), 29–47.

A. J. Spalinger, War in Ancient Egypt: The New Kingdom (2005).

The Epigraphic Survey, Medinet Habu, Volume I. Earlier Historical Records of Ramses III (1930).

The Epigraphic Survey, Medinet Habu, Volume II. The Later Historical Records of Ramses III (1932).

The Epigraphic Survey, Reliefs and Inscriptions at Karnak Volume 4: The Battle Reliefs of King Sety I (1986).

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Interview: Sety I, Builder Warrior Father (with Prof. Peter Brand) Sep 26, 2023

Show notes

Karnak, Abydos, foreign wars, and prince Ramesses. In this interview, Prof. Peter Brand joins us once again to explore the life, reign, and legacy of Sety I. We also explore the rise of prince Ramesses (later King Ramesses II), who becomes increasingly prominent in the later years of his father's rule.

Links and more info:

Peter Brand at Memphis University.
National Geographic documentary "Egypt: Quest for Eternity," on YouTube.
Peter Brand articles and books on Academia.edu.
Peter Brand, The Monuments of Sety I (2000), free pdf version at Academia.
Peter Brand, Ramesses II: Egypt's Ultimate Pharaoh (2023) available now via Lockwood Press. Free preview at Academia.
Peter Brand (with Rosa Ferleg and William Murnane), The Great Hypostyle Hall in the Temple of Amun at Karnak, volumes II and III (2018) free pdf versions via Chicago University. Volume I (by Harold Hays and William Murnane) also available via Chicago University.
The History of Egypt Podcast Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com.
Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast.
Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.

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190: Omm Sety, Guardian of Abydos Sep 19, 2023

Show notes

Dorothy Eady, Bulbul Abd el-Meguid, Omm Sety… A woman of three names, multiple lives, and a lifelong devotion to Egyptology. From the 1950s to 1981, Omm Sety was a resident of Abydos, and a regular worshipper at the great Temple of Sety I. Her life is a tale of dedication, spiritual connection, and fascination with the ancient past. In this episode, we explore Omm Sety’s life and try to “shine a spotlight” on her work, personality, and beliefs…

Documentaries about Omm Sety (YouTube):

BBC Interview with Omm Sety at Abydos: https://youtu.be/2fdNJ2L9_zw?t=1.
Omm Sety explains the Abydos Temple: https://youtu.be/QXmnus48jdI?t=83.
Recollections of Omm Sety by those who knew her (Arabic, with subtitles): https://youtu.be/ZrFA-kDHtzg?t=281.
Egypt – Quest for Eternity, with section on Omm Sety (filmed just prior to her death): https://youtu.be/VHXsv9ZLlYo?t=737.

Episode details:

Jonathan Cott, The Search for Omm Sety at Archive.org.
Omm Sety and Hanny el Zeini, Abydos: Holy City of Ancient Egypt at Archive.org.
Date: 1904—1981 CE.
Places: Blackheath; Cairo; Abydos.
Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com.
Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast.
Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.
Music: Ancient Lyric.
Interludes: Luke Chaos and Hathor Systrum.

Select Bibliography:

J. Cott, The Search for Omm Sety: A Story of Eternal Love (1987).

E. B. Ghazzouli, ‘The Palace and Magazines Attached to the Temple of Sety I at Abydos and the Facade of this Temple’, Annales du Services des Antiquités de l’Egypte 58 (1964), 99—186.

B. S. Lesko, ‘Omm Sety, 1904—1981,’ in M. S. Joukowsky and B. S. Lesko (eds), Breaking Ground: Women in Old World Archaeology.

O. Sety and H. El-Zeini, Abydos: Holy City of Ancient Egypt (1981).

J. Thompson, Wonderful Things, A History of Egyptology, III: From 1914 to the Twenty-First Century (2018).

J. Uglow et al. (eds), ‘Eady, Dorothy (1904-1981)’, The Palgrave MacMillan Dictionary of Women’s Biography (1982).

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189: Sety I, Honouring the Ancestors Sep 12, 2023

Show notes

Sety at Abydos (Part 4). Finishing our tour of Sety’s Great Temple at Abydos, we explore a few more sanctuaries and facilities. Then, we discuss the monument overall. Sety invested huge resources into his building projects at Abydos, and these monuments connect to some truly ancient traditions. What were the King’s priorities, what was he trying to achieve?

Photos of monuments described in this episode:

Sety’s Temple: Kairoinfo4u.
Sety’s Temple: Wikimedia.
Chapel of Ramesses I: Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Umm el-Qa’ab, pottery sherds from ancient offerings: Soloegipto.

Interpreting the temple complex and adjacent facilities:

David, Temple Ritual at Abydos (2018).
O’Connor, Abydos: Egypt’s First Pharaohs and the Cult of Osiris (2009).
Verner, Temple of the World: Sanctuaries, Cults, and Mysteries of Ancient Egypt (2013).

Additional details and sources:

Date: c.1300 BCE—1292 BCE.
Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com.
Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast.
Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.
Music intro and interludes: Luke Chaos.
Music outro: Ancient Lyric.
Sistrum interludes: Tahya / Hathor Systrum.

Select Bibliography:

P. J. Brand, ‘The Monuments of Seti I and Their Historical Significance: Epigraphic, Historical and Art Historical Analysis’, Unpublished PhD. Thesis, University of Toronto (1998).

P. J. Brand, The Monuments of Seti I: Epigraphic, Historical and Art Historical Analysis (2000).

A. M. Calverley, The Temple of King Sethos I at Abydos Volume I: The Chapels of Osiris, Isis, and Horus (1933).

A. M. Calverley, The Temple of King Sethos I at Abydos Volume II: The Chapels of Amen-Re, Re-Harakhti, Ptah, and King Sethos (1935).

A. M. Calverley, The Temple of King Sethos I at Abydos Volume III: The Osiris Complex (1938).

A. M. Calverley, The Temple of King Sethos I at Abydos Volume IV: The Second Hypostyle Hall (1958).

J. Capart, Abydos: Le Temple de Seti Ier (1912).

A. S. G. T. Caulfeild, The Temple of the Kings at Abydos (Sety I) (1989).

R. David, Temple Ritual at Abydos (2018).

K. J. Eaton, ‘The Festivals of Osiris and Sokar in the Month of Khoiak: The Evidence from Nineteenth Dynasty Royal Monuments at Abydos’, Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur 35 (2006), 75–101.

A. el-Sawi, ‘Ramesses II Completing a Shrine in the Temple of Sety I at Abydos’, Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur 10 (1983), 307–10.

H. Frankfort, The Cenotaph of Seti I at Abydos (1933).

F. Ll. Griffith, ‘The Abydos Decree of Seti I at Nauri’, The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 13 (1927), 193–208.

K. Hamilton, ‘The Osireion: A Layman’s Guide’ (2018).

C. H. Herzer Jr, ‘Study of the Osireion at Abydos: Code Book and Source Document for the Birth House of Isis’ (2022).

K. A. Kitchen, Ramesside Inscriptions Translated and Annotated: Notes and Comments, I (1993).

K. A. Kitchen, Ramesside Inscriptions Translated and Annotated: Translations Volume I: Ramesses I, Sethos I and Contemporaries (Second Publication edn, 2017).

A. Leahy, ‘The Osiris “Bed” Reconsidered’, Orientalia 46 (1977), 424–34.

A. Mariette, Abydos: Description des fouilles (1869).

M. A. Murray, Egyptian Temples (2005).

D. O’Connor, Abydos: Egypt’s First Pharaohs and the Cult of Osiris (2009).

D. B. Redford, Pharaonic King-Lists, Annals, and Day-Books: A Contribution to the Study of the Egyptian Sense of History (1986).

O. Sety and H. el Zeini, Abydos: Holy City of Ancient Egypt (1981).

M. Smith, Following Osiris: Perspectives on the Osirian Afterlife from Four Millenia (2017).

M. Verner, Temple of the World: Sanctuaries, Cults, and Mysteries of Ancient Egypt (2013).
R. H. Wilkinson, The Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt (2000).
R. H. Wilkinson, The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt (2003).
H. E. Winlock, Bas-Reliefs from the Temple of Ramesses I at Abydos (1921).

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188: The Osireion of Sety I Sep 05, 2023

Show notes

Sety at Abydos (Part 3). The Osireion is an intriguing monument, one that attracts a huge amount of debate, discussion, and speculation. Its discovery was unexpected, its excavation was an enormous undertaking, and there are many uncertainties about its purpose, history, and overall significance. Still, with an extensive photographic record, some meticulous archaeological work, and a great deal of discussion, we can attempt to understand the Osireion. Who built the Osireion (and how old is it)? Why is it here, behind Sety’s great temple? What purpose does it serve? In this episode, we explore these questions, and try to understand the monument overall.

NOTE: Due to the complex nature of the Osireion’s history (ancient and modern), archaeology, and the difficulty of describing it, I will do a video lecture on YouTube in future. Check this post, or the website, for links when published.

Further Information: The Osireion is surprisingly well documented, both in archival photography and modern analysis and discussion.

Modern photos exploring the Osireion:

Osireion 3D Model (with tour option) by Mused.

Flickr: Soloegipto.

Flickr: Archaeology Archive Project.

Archaeology / Excavation Reports for The Osireion (free open access):

Caulfeild, Temple of the Kings at Abydos, 1902: Internet Archive and Heidelberg University. Primarily focusses on main temple but brief discussion of work in western precinct that led to Murray’s excavations.

Murray, The Osireion, 1904: Internet Archive, ETANA.org, and Academia.edu.

Edouard Naville’s excavation reports (various journals) describing work at Abydos including the Osireion: JSTOR.org (requires free account).

Frankfort, The Cenotaph of Sety I at Abydos, volume 1 and volume 2, 1933: Internet Archive. Includes complete summary of earlier excavations and fuller description of the monument (compared to Naville).

James Westerman website (with database of articles and photos): JamesWesterman.org.

Keith Hamilton, “Osiris: A Layman’s Guide,” on Academia.edu.

Charles Herzer, “Study of the Osireion at Abydos,” at Isida Project.

Photo Collections of early excavations at Abydos/Osireion:

Dumbarton Oaks: Photo Exhibition Abydos 1910s—1920s.

Egypt Exploration Society Photo Archives (Flickr): Excavations 1911. Entrance passages and central hall.

Excavations 1913. Central hall.

Excavations 1925 (Part 1). Central hall and side chambers.

Excavations 1925 (Part 2). Central hall clearance and work.

In this episode, I don’t discuss the mechanics of ancient stone working. That will come in future. But for now, you may be interested in archaeologists’ experiments to test ancient tools and the feasibility of carving hard stones (e.g., granite). Some good starter information can be found here:

Denys Stocks, Experiments in Egyptian Archaeology: Stoneworking Technology in Ancient Egypt (2022 updated edition). Taylor and Francis Publications.

YouTube: Ancient Egyptian Stoneworking with Denys Stocks (Sacred Geometry Decoded) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoOCcrgWkIA.

YouTube: Reconstruction of Ancient Technologies (Scientists Against Myths) https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJXCRTftQoU_AXz0_uxwMQZCt2O9ULxLE.

Additional details and sources:

Date: c.1300 BCE—1292 BCE.
Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com.
Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast.
Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.
Music intro: Ihab Mahna.
Music interludes and outro: Luke Chaos.
Sistrum interludes: Tahya / Hathor Systrum.
Peter Brand, Ramesses II: Egypt's Ultimate Pharaoh, out now from Lockwood Press.

Further reading:

A. M. Abudeif et al., ‘Geoarchaeological Investigation of Abydos Area Using Land Magnetic and GPR Techniques, El-Balyana, Sohag, Egypt’, Applied Sciences 12 (2022), 9640.

P. Brand, ‘Secondary Restorations in the Post-Amarna Period’, Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 36 (1999), 113–34.

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Schedule Update Aug-Nov 2023 Aug 21, 2023

Show notes

Hello folks! Time for a schedule update. In late 2023, the podcast narrative will be taking an eight-week break. Plus we have a giveaway! Details inside.

Giveaway available to New Zealand listeners (or anyone visiting NZ in September 2023). Email egyptpodcast@gmail.com with your name and email address, to enter.

The History of Egypt Podcast Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com.
Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast.
Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.

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