Irsu in hieroglyphs | |||||||
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Jr-sw (contested) "He who made himself" | |||||||
Sw Proper name | |||||||
"Irsu" written in hieratic on the Papyrus Harris |
Irsu (Ancient Egyptian : jr-sw , "he who made himself"; alternatively Su) is the name used in Papyrus Harris I to designate a Shasu who became overlord of a group of local rulers nominally under Egyptian control, at a time of unrest between the Nineteenth and Twentieth Dynasties. The reading of the name is contested and the man may instead have simply been called Su. The events in which Irsu (or Su) participated likely took place outside of the Nile Valley, in the Asiatic territories of Egypt's empire.
Irsu's rise to power is closely related to the situation in Egypt proper at the end of the Nineteenth Dynasty, which saw a civil war between Amenmesse and Seti II followed by economic decline. Modern understanding of the events occurring at the time is heavily dependent on the translation of Papyrus Harris I, a task which has proven difficult. In his 1906 translation of the document James Henry Breasted writes
This translation leaves open the possibility that Irsu acted in Egypt proper and consequently Chancellor Bay was considered a plausible candidate for this Irsu until 2000. However, an IFAO Ostracon no. 1864 found at Deir el-Medina and dated Siptah's fifth regnal year records that "Pharaoh, life health prosperity, has killed the great enemy, Bay". [2] Because chancellor Bay died years before Irsu, he is no longer considered a plausible candidate for this historical figure.
In 1979 the Egyptologist Hans Goedicke produced a second translation based on a detailed grammatical analysis of the document:
Goedicke suggests that Irsu rose to power in Egypt's territories abroad, in Canaan, following years of neglect on behalf of the last three pharaohs of the Nineteenth Dynasty, Seti II, Siptah and Twosret. According to this translation of the document, the earliest of these pharaohs, Seti II, is responsible for not asserting his power and control over the region; the second was held in low regard; while the last, Twosret, is said to have made an alliance with Irsu who had de facto authority over the territories.
What happened to Irsu is made clear on the papyrus, which tells of Setnakht's rise and the end of the rebellion:
Twosret's successor Setnakhte's Elephantine stele [5] records how he expelled these Asiatic rebels who, on their flight from Egypt, abandoned much of the gold, silver and copper which they had stolen from Egypt, and with which they had intended to hire reinforcements among the Asiatics. His pacification of Egypt is also referred to in the Great Harris Papyrus. [6]
Setnakht's Elephantine stele describes it further: His Majesty, life, prosperity, health, was like his father Seth who stretched out his arms in order to remove from Egypt those who led it astray, his strength surrounding (him) with protection." [7]
Papyrus Harris I portrays his tenure in office as a time when Egypt was in chaos and temple offerings were denied to the gods. [8] After the death of Twosret, Egypt seems to have fallen into anarchy, with many temples being looted by Asiatic followers of Irsu.
Twosret's successor Setnakhte's Elephantine stele [9] records how he expelled these Asiatic rebels who, on their flight from Egypt, abandoned much of the gold, silver and copper which they had stolen from Egypt, and with which they had intended to hire reinforcements among the Asiatics. [10]
It is possible that memories of these events were distortedly reported in the third century BCE by the Hellenistic Egyptian historian and priest Manetho, who claimed that a certain Egyptian priest from Heliopolis called Osarseph led leprous Asiatics out of Egypt, in an Exodus later reportedly that of Moses. [11]
C. Hauret suggests that Irsu's career also has a resemblance to that of the Biblical Joseph. [12] Thomas Römer [13] writes that some think that "Osarseph is a polemical name for Akhenaton; others think of a combination of Joseph and Osiris."
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Israel Knohl is an Israeli Bible scholar and historian. He is the Yehezkel Kaufmann Professor of Biblical studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a Senior Fellow at Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. His books deal with the integration of scientific and archaeological discoveries with the biblical account, early Israelite beliefs, a survey of Israelite cult, and how and where the Israelites originated.
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This page list topics related to ancient Egypt.
The end of the 19th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt is a period of short-reigning rulers c. 1203–1187 BC. After the death of Merneptah, there was a conflict for the throne between Seti II and Amenmesse, which eventually resulted in the victory of Seti II. Seti II's reign was short, as he died within a year of regaining power. His widow, Tausret, took control with the support of Bay and the puppet Pharaoh Siptah. However, Tausret later eliminated Bay, and Siptah died under mysterious circumstances. This soon triggered a new power struggle between Tausret and Setnakhte. The struggle culminated in the triumph of Setnakhte, who is now remembered as the founder of the 20th Dynasty.
In ancient Egypt, there is evidence of conspiracies within the royal palace to put the reigning monarch to death. Texts are generally silent on the subject of struggles for influence, but a few historical sources, either indirect or very eloquent, depict a royal family disunited and agitated by petty grudges. Highly polygamous, Pharaoh had numerous concubines living in the harem buildings. At certain points in history, women driven by ambition and jealousy formed cabals ready to sacrifice the general interest for the particular needs of princes and courtiers in need of recognition. In the most serious cases, these factions manifested themselves by fomenting conspiracies that threatened or even shortened the life of the sovereign – all to the hoped-for benefit of a secondary wife and her eldest son in competition with the more legitimate Great Royal Wife.