In this interdisciplinary study, based on his PhD, Alexander Ahrens examines Egyptian objects found in the northern Levant.
The first chapter offers an introduction. In chapter 2 the author describes the period of the study, which starts with artefacts dating to the Early Bronze Age 2500/2300–2000 bce, when there were close relationships between Egypt, Byblos and inland Syrian Ebla. The main corpus focuses on finds from the Middle and Late Bronze Ages, corresponding to the 12th–20th Egyptian Dynasty (c. 2000–1150). The geographical range of the study covers the modern states of Lebanon, Syria (only briefly mentioning northern Israel), and the southern parts of Turkey. I find this division influenced by the current political borders. I see no difference between the sub-region of Damascus, which is extensively discussed in the study, and Hazor, or northern Jordan, which were also vassal kingdoms under Egyptian dominion during the New Kingdom, unlike the northern kingdoms, which were under the influence of the empires of Mitanni and later Hatti.
Chapter 3 summarizes the history of research and excavations in the northern Levant, in the periods before the First World War, during the French mandate (1920–1946), and following the Second World War until today.
Chapter 4 gives a historical perspective of the relations between Egypt and the northern Levant based mainly on the textual evidence.
Chapter 5 deals with the question of Egyptianizing objects and local elite emulation, and the secondary use of Egyptian objects in the Levant. The accumulation and presentation of Aegyptiaca, including the adoption of foreign Egyptian iconography was used to present and show the political power of local rulers. Most of the objects were found in palatial or elite contexts, although some were found in religious contexts (mainly at Byblos).
In chapter 6, the bulk of the study (pp. 68–276), the author introduces an elaborate catalogue, dividing the area under investigation into sub-regions A–J. The Damascus region, the Beqaʿa Valley, the Orontes Valley, the Northern Plateau, the ʿAmuq Valley, the Southern (Lebanese) Coast, the Northern (Syrian) Coast, and Cilicia in southern Turkey, adding an excursus about the finds in the shipwrecks at Uluburun and Cape Gelidoniya. The author supplies information about the site, excavations, and specific find context when possible.
Chapter 7 is a summary and historical synthesis of the study.
During the Old Kingdom, Egyptian royal objects were found at Byblos and Ebla. The First intermediate Period (Dynasties 7–11, corresponding to EB IVB–MB I) is lacking finds from the northern Levant, which seems to have been in a period of turmoil.
The question of Middle Kingdom political relations with the Levant is briefly addressed based on the textual evidence (pp. 27–35). The Egyptian intervention mentioned during the reign of Sesostris III at Byblos and Ullaza in the northern Levant (p. 32) does not seem to have been followed by evidence of Egyptian presence, influence or traces of trade in the northern Levant.
The author claims that Middle Kingdom (twelfth–early thirteenth dynasties, corresponding to MB I) artefacts found in northern Syria may derive not from sending presents by Egyptian kings to their Levantine counterparts, but as loot from Egyptian royal and elite mortuary complexes by Hyksos and Kushites during the Second Intermediate Period. Most of these artefacts were found in later archaeological contexts. He claims that finds like the sphinxes of Amenemhet III found at Aleppo, Ugarit and Hazor, stone vessels from Qaṭna, as well as the statue of Sobekhotep IV from Tel Hizzin in the Beqʿa, originate from plundering Egyptian temples and graves during the Hyksos period, and may have been redistributed through Tell-el Dabʿa and Byblos to northern Syria. The author is aware of the absence of Hyksos objects in the northern Levant during the period that the Hyksos allegedly sent MK artefacts to the northern Levant.
The author mentions, mainly in footnotes, the distribution of some Middle Kingdom Egyptian artefacts in the southern Levant (Hazor, Megiddo; other artefacts from Tel Dan and Gezer are not discussed), which are not included in his comprehensive discussion. I wonder whether a New Kingdom date for the arrival of MK artefacts in the Levant may be a viable possibility.
During the New Kingdom, the textual evidence shows significant Egyptian involvement in the northern Levant. Most of the Egyptian finds dating to the New Kingdom, especially stelae of Seti I and Ramesses II in the Damascus area (Upe) leading to inner Syria, and the coastal kingdoms, are found south of Qadeš (Tell Nebi Mend), the border between Egypt and Hatti. Only sporadic finds are attested north of Qadeš at Ugarit, Byblos, Qaṭna (Tell Mišrife) and Kumidi (Kāmid el-lōz), and Qadeš (stele of Seti I).
At the end of the volume, the author supplies appendices listing Egyptian objects with hieroglyphic inscriptions. Egyptianizing objects or Egyptian objects without inscriptions, or unprovenanced objects acquired on the markets, are not listed.
The author includes maps summarizing the finds geographically and chronologically, specifying the nature of the finds, whether stone vessels, statues, sceptres, scarabs, faience vessels, seals, sphinxes or bronze objects. I miss maps showing correlation (or lack thereof) between the geographical places in the northern Levant during the different historical periods mentioned in the Egyptian texts and the actual artefacts found in the excavations.
An extensive bibliographical list and indices follow. The work would have benefitted from the inclusion of studies from recent years, since the submission of the dissertation. A list of illustrations and high-resolution photos of the finds (unfortunately not all objects are depicted) conclude the volume.
The volume is available online at: https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/191319/. In sum, this is a wonderful volume, with abundant information. It will be a valuable reference book for scholars dealing with Egypt and the northern Levant for years to come.
