Soleb

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Soleb
Soleb1.jpg
View of the Soleb temple
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Shown within Sudan
Location Sudan
Region Nubia
TypeTemple
Site notes
ConditionIn ruins
Architrave with the cartouche of Amenhotep III in the Soleb temple Soleb2.jpg
Architrave with the cartouche of Amenhotep III in the Soleb temple

Soleb is an ancient town in Nubia, in present-day Sudan. The site is located north of the third cataract of the Nile, on the western side of the Nile. It was discovered and described by Karl Richard Lepsius in 1844. The temple was built during the reign of Amenhotep III and dedicated to Amun, but after Akhenaten assumed power, it was rededicated to Aten. [1]

Contents

Necropolis

Soleb is also the location of a vast necropolis with small tomb chapels decorated with pyramids. The earliest royal tombs date to the 18th dynasty, whereas some belong to the Ramesside and Meroitic periods.

Amarna Period

During the Amarna Period (Mid 18th Dynasty), several pharaohs attended to Soleb, such as Amenhotep III, Akhenaten, Tutankhamun, and Ay.

Amenhotep III

A large temple made of sandstone was founded here by Amenhotep III. It is the southernmost temple currently known to have been built by this pharaoh. The temple was consecrated to the deity Amun Re and to the pharaoh depicted deified with ram-horns. The architect may have been Amenhotep, son of Hapu.

At Sedeinga, a companion temple was built by Amenhotep III to Queen Tiye as a manifestation of the Eye of Ra.

The so-called Prudhoe Lions originally stood as guardian figures at this temple inscribed with the name of Amenhotep III. They depict a lioness, as symbols of Sekhmet, a major deity who protected the pharaohs. [2]

Akhenaten

During the reign of Akhenaten, he initially is shown worshipping his father and Amen at the temple. But later, he re-dedicates the temple to Aten.[ citation needed ]

Tutankhamen

During the reign of Tutankhamen, the religious reforms of his father (Akhenaten) were reversed and re-dedicated the temple to Amen-Ra. He finished the second granite lion and inscribed his name on the Prudhoe Lions. [3] [4]

Ay

During the reign of Ay, he also inscribed his name on the Prudhoe Lions.[ citation needed ]

List of imprisoned peoples

Prisoners from the hypostyle hall of the Soleb temple Soleb3.jpg
Prisoners from the hypostyle hall of the Soleb temple

On the columns of the hypostyle hall, there is a list of the peoples that the Egyptians had conquered. [5] A total of three lists are preserved with the names of foreign places and surviving people. [6] Each list depicts the figure of a prisoner soldier with his arms tied, and with his shield. On each shield there is an inscription describing to which town and place the soldier belongs.

Land of the Shasu, those of Yhwh

The transcription of one of the conquered people is t3 š3-sw-w y-h-w3-w, translated as land of the Shasu, those of Yhwh. [7] Thomas Schneider vocalizes the word y-h-w3 as Yahwah, [8] but also Yahweh [8] and Yehua have been proposed. [7]

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Akhenaten, also spelled Akhenaton or Echnaton, was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh reigning c. 1353–1336 or 1351–1334 BC, the tenth ruler of the Eighteenth Dynasty. Before the fifth year of his reign, he was known as Amenhotep IV.

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The Amarna Era includes the reigns of Akhenaten, Smenkhkare, Tutankhamun and Ay. The period is named after the capital city established by Akhenaten, son of Amenhotep III. Akhenaten started his reign as Amenhotep IV, but changed his name when he discarded all other religions and declared the Aten or sun disc as the only god. He closed all the temples of the other Gods and removed their names from the monuments. Smenkhkare, then Tutankhamun, succeeded Akhenaten. Discarding Akhenten's religious beliefs, Tutankhamun returned to the traditional gods. He died young and was succeeded by Ay. Many kings did their best to remove all traces of the period from the records. The Amarna art is very distinctive: the royal family was portrayed with extended heads, long necks and narrow chests. They had skinny limbs, but heavy hips and thighs, with a marked stomach.

References

  1. UNESCO 2022.
  2. Soleb & Sedeinga Retrieved 2018-11-01.
  3. H. W. Fairman, "Tutankhamun and the end of the 18th Dynasty" Antiquity 1972
  4. "BBC - History - Historic Figures: Tutankhamun (1336 BC - 1327 BC)" . Retrieved 2017-11-20.
  5. Fleming 2020, pp. 23.
  6. Berlejung 2017, pp. 96.
  7. 1 2 Gertoux 2002, pp. 75.
  8. 1 2 Fleming 2020, pp. 39.

Sources

Further reading

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