The Egyptian kings of the New Kingdom maintained close contacts with rulers in the Near East. The so-called Amarna of the 14th century BCE paint us a very detailed picture of the diplomatic relations between them.
The letters were written in Akkadian (Babylonian), which was the lingua franca of the intercultural correspondence of the Late Bronze Age Near East. Some letters also mention royal messengers who, when travelling back and forth between royal courts, were accompanied by interpreters - a profession about which we are very poorly informed.
A well-known exception is a relief-decorated scene from the Memphite tomb of Horemheb, now in the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, which offers a unique glimpse of an interpreter at work in Tutankhamun's palace. A recent discovery made in the Memphite necropolis at Saqqara sheds significant new light on the subject: the tomb chapel of a man named Pakana, who was the king's interpreter of the language of Sangar (i.e. Babylonia).
Who was the bearer of this unique title? What role did he play at the king's court? And what do we know about the cultural background of him and his family? This lecture presents the tomb of Pakana and discusses the role played by interpreters at the king's court and in the intercultural diplomacy. We will see that at the king’s palace, international diplomatic relations and the production of luxury goods were closely intertwined.
Nico Staring is a lecturer of Egyptian archaeology, art and material culture at Leiden University, and a research fellow of the National Museum of Antiquities, Leiden. Much of his research revolves around the New Kingdom necropolis at Saqqara, where he focuses on topics ranging from early-modern exploration of the site to intericonicity and the transmission of iconographic motifs. He also conducts archaeological fieldwork at Saqqara as a member of the Leiden-Turin Expedition.
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The lecture starts at 6 pm. We work on a first-come, first-served basis as the number of seats is limited. We open our doors at 5:30 and close them at 6:15 or earlier when the lecture room reaches its full capacity.
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