La reine Tiyi de la XVIIIème dynastie est bien connue en tant que grande épouse d’Amenhotep III, mère d’Amenhotep IV/Akhenaton et grand-mère de Toutankhamon (au moins). Elle est fréquemment mentionnée dans les ouvrages ou les articles traitant de ces règnes, mais l’inventaire total concernant la reine, présenté ici (plus de huit cent objets, inscriptions, représentations, etc.) révèle qu’elle fut une actrice extraordinaire de l’Histoire égyptienne et qu’elle fut, de plus, la reine la plus titrée de la dynastie, peut-être même de tout le Nouvel Empire. Enfin nous pouvons établir que, comme cela a toujours été pressenti, Tiyi ne fut pas une « simple » reine. Notre étude établit clairement qu’elle joua un rôle important aux côtés de son mari et qu’elle peut être considérée comme la véritable contrepartie féminine du roi, plus particulièrement lors des fêtes-sed de la fin du règne. Le présent travail tente de dresser un bilan exhaustif de ce qui est actuellement connu sur la reine, afin de pouvoir servir de base à de futurs travaux concernant cette période de l’Histoire égyptienne. / Queen Tiye of the XVIIIth Egyptian dynasty is well known as great wife of king Amenhotep III, mother of king Amenhotep IV/Akhenaten and, at least, grandmother of king Tutankhamun. She is very often mentioned in books or articles related to these reigns. However, the complete catalogue of objects and mentions concerning this queen which has been constituted for the present work — with more than 800 artefacts, inscriptions, depictions, etc. — reveals that she was a prominent actress of the Egyptian History and that she was simultaneously the highest-ranked of all the queens of the dynasty, and perhaps of the entire New Kingdom. Lastly, it is possible to claim now that - as it was often presumed - Tiye was not “merely” a queen among others. Our investigation establishes clearly that she played an important role close to her husband and that she can be considered as an actual "female counterpart" of the king, and specially during the sed-festivals at the end of the reign. The present work aims to figure out an exhaustive balance-sheet of what is actually known about the queen Tiye, in order to serve as a basis for future studies concerning this period of the Egyptian History.

This thesis provides a detailed interpretation of three key texts described in Egyptological research as "coronation inscriptions:" the Historical Inscription of Hatshepsut, Thutmose III's Texte de la jeunesse, and Horemheb's Turin inscription. Similarities and differences between these texts, as well as other sources, both textual and pictorial, are discussed. A clear terminology is laid out, distinguishing between accession (the royal heir becoming king at the death of their predecessor), crowning (the action of placing the crowns on the new king's head), and coronation ceremony (following the accession by some time on which occasion the new ruler would have been bestowed with the crowns and regalia of his office, perhaps for the first time). The main aim of this thesis is to determine whether it would be accurate to label the discussed texts as coronation inscriptions and, if not, how they can best be described. It is determined that the evidence supports the earlier conclusion reached by Redford, that it would be incorrect to speak of a “coronation ceremony” in the dynastic period, for new kings would have been crowned at their accessions in a palace setting, soon after the death of their predecessors, this followed some time later by a public “appearance ceremony” in a temple festival setting. While it is determined that Thutmose III's inscription describes the time when kingship was predicted to him, it is concluded that the Hatshepsut and Horemheb texts narrate exceptional events on which occasion their accessions in a palace and public "appearance ceremonies" intersected.

Le but de la thèse est d’analyser l’importance idéologique et religieuse des expéditions égyptiennes au pays de Pount, particulièrement sous la XVIIIe dynastie. La 1ère partie (chapitres 1-4) présente en détail les sources relatives aux expéditions pountites et des produits en rapportés. Bien que la prééminence soit réservée aux sources de la XVIIIe dynastie, les documents datant d’autres périodes ont été aussi inclus dans les analyses. La 2e partie (chapitres 5-8) constitue une synthèse des conclusions formulées en résultat des analyses faites dans la 1ère partie. De cette façon, l’auteur examine les divers toponymes relatifs au pays de Pount (chapitre 5), le problème de la localisation exacte de Pount (chapitre 6), le caractère des expéditions pountites en comparaison aux autres types des missions étrangères égyptiennes (chapitre 7) aussi bien que les divers liens entre le pays de Pount et la religion et l’idéologie du pouvoir en Égypte (chapitre 8). L’auteur conclut que Pount jouait un rôle crucial dans l’idéologie du pouvoir égyptienne étant particulièrement associé au dieu solaire aussi bien qu’à la déesse Hathor. Les produits pountites étaient extrêmement importants tant pour le culte funéraire royal et privé que pour le culte divin rendu dans les temples. C’est pourquoi l’organisation d’une expédition pountite était un devoir du roi qui, selon les croyances égyptiennes, obéissait à un ordre direct du dieu solaire. En plus, aux diverses époques on peut percevoir une volonté de rétablir les contacts avec Pount afin de restaurer l’ordre naturel après une période de la crise, ce qui est particulièrement visible sous le règne d’Hatchepsout de la XVIIIe dynastie. / The aim of the dissertation is to analyse the religious and ideological significance of the ancient Egyptian Punt expeditions, particularly in the 18th dynasty. In the first part (chapters 1-4) the sources concerning the ancient Egyptian Punt expeditions as well as the products imported to Egypt in their result were discussed in detail. Although the pre-eminence is given to the 18th dynasty sources, documents from other periods were also included in the analysis. The second part (chapters 5-8) constitutes a synthesis of the conclusions drawn in result of the analysis of the sources of the first part. Therefore, the author discusses various toponyms related to the land of Punt (chapter 5), the problem of Punt’s exact location (chapter 6), the character of the Punt expeditions in comparison with other foreign missions (chapter 7) as well as various links between the land of Punt and Egyptian religion and ideology of kingship (chapter 8). The author concludes that the land of Punt played an important role in the Egyptian ideology of kingship being especially associated with the sun-god as well as with the goddess Hathor. Puntite products were crucial for both royal and private funerary cult as well as for the divine cult carried out in the temples. This is why the organisation of a Punt expedition was a duty of the Egyptian king, who, according to Egyptian beliefs, was obeying a direct order of the sun-god. Moreover, in various periods we may observe a wish to re-establish the contacts with Punt in order to restore the natural order of things after a period of crisis, which is especially visible in the reign of Hatshepsut of the 18th dynasty.

Au XVIe siècle avant J.-C., Thoutmosis III fit construire un sanctuaire en granit rose dans le temple d’Amon, à Karnak. Cet édifice, nommé Outjes-khâou, « (celui qui) exalte les apparitions d’Amon », servait d’abri principal à la barque du dieu, qui était portée en procession lors des grandes fêtes thébaines. Remplaçant la chapelle Rouge d’Hatshepsout, il resta debout jusqu’à ce que Philippe Arrhidée, le découvrant « ruiné », ordonne sa reconstruction. C’est son sanctuaire de barque en granit qui se dresse actuellement au même emplacement. La première tâche de ce travail a consisté à rechercher les blocs épars qui composaient le sanctuaire thoutmoside. Dispersés sur les 25 hectares du site de Karnak, parfois remployés dans des monuments postérieurs, ces fragments ont été identifiés, photographiés, documentés et leurs décors, dessiné. Les fonds photographiques, les journaux et rapports de fouilles des premiers directeurs des travaux de Karnak ont été dépouillés afin de déterminer la provenance de ces blocs et l’histoire de leur découverte. L’étude architecturale a ensuite été effectuée. L’analyse du décor reconstitué a fourni des données sur les aspects religieux, cultuels et politiques du règne de Thoutmosis III et permis d’identifier certaines de ses constructions. L’élément clé de cette étude est la proposition d’une nouvelle date du remplacement de la chapelle Rouge par Outjes-khâou, pour l’an 30, à l’occasion de la première fête-sed du roi. Suivant cette hypothèse, de nouvelles séquences chronologiques ont été proposées pour la construction et la décoration d’Outjes-khâou et des édifices qui l’entouraient, au cœur de Karnak. / In the 16th century BC, Thutmose III built a red granite sanctuary in the center of the temple of Amun in Karnak. This monument, named Utjes-khau “(the one who) exalts Amun’s appearances”, was used as the main resting place for the sacred bark which was carried in procession during the great Theban feasts. Replacing Hatshepsut’s Red Chapel, the shrine of Thutmose III remained standing until Philip Arrhidaeus, finding it “ruined”, ordered it to be constructed anew. Today, Arrhidaeus’ own granite bark shrine remains in situ. The first task of this research was to look for the blocks of the Thutmosid bark shrine, which were scattered across the 25 hectare area of the Karnak temples and sometimes were reused in later monuments. They were photographed, documented and drawn. The photographic collections, excavation journals and reports of the earlier field directors of Karnak have been analyzed in order to find out the find spot and the history of these blocks’ discovery. Following this, the architectural study of the bark shrine could be made. The analysis of reconstituted decoration allowed the identification of some of Thutmose III’s monuments and provided new data on religious, cultic and political aspects of his reign. The key issue of this study is the proposal of a new date for the replacement of the Red Chapel by Utjes-khau for the king’s first sed-festival in year 30. According to this hypothesis, new chronological sequences are proposed for the building and decoration of Utjes-khau and the monuments surrounding it at the center of Karnak.

This thesis is a demographic analysis of Late Bronze Age Canaan (ca. 1550/1500-1200/1150 BCE), undertaken through the use of archaeological and anthropological data. The purpose is to establish estimates for the settlement population, nomadic population, nuclear family size, house size, sex ratio, and life expectancy of the people of Canaan during the Late Bronze Age. Previous studies have not addressed these issues in detail, nor had data from the entire scope of Canaan been considered, nor had a precise methodology been developed or used for estimating specific settlement populations and nomadic populations for Canaan during the Late Bronze Age. Thus, additional aspects of the thesis include the development and use of a new methodology for estimating ancient populations and a database of all of the Late Bronze Age sites in Canaan—both archaeological and textual. To accomplish these goals, the thesis uses archaeological data from excavations and surveys, texts from the Late Bronze Age, human skeletal remains from Late Bronze Age burials, demographic and ethnographic studies of various types of nomads, and methods, techniques, and observations from previous relevant studies. The primary objectives are to 1) obtain individual settlement, nomadic, and total population estimates for Canaan in the Late Bronze Age that are as accurate as possible based on the currently available data, along with additional demographic estimates of life expectancy and sex ratio, 2) propose a new methodology for estimating settlement populations in the ancient world, 3) present a catalogue and map of all of the sites in Canaan that were inhabited during the Late Bronze Age, 4) illuminate demographic trends during the Late Bronze Age in Canaan. The implications of the results may lead to a modified demographic view of Canaan and its sub-regions during the Late Bronze Age. / Old Testament & Ancient Near Eastern Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (Biblical Archaeology)

This thesis is a demographic analysis of Late Bronze Age Canaan (ca. 1550/1500-1200/1150 BCE), undertaken through the use of archaeological and anthropological data. The purpose is to establish estimates for the settlement population, nomadic population, nuclear family size, house size, sex ratio, and life expectancy of the people of Canaan during the Late Bronze Age. Previous studies have not addressed these issues in detail, nor had data from the entire scope of Canaan been considered, nor had a precise methodology been developed or used for estimating specific settlement populations and nomadic populations for Canaan during the Late Bronze Age. Thus, additional aspects of the thesis include the development and use of a new methodology for estimating ancient populations and a database of all of the Late Bronze Age sites in Canaan—both archaeological and textual. To accomplish these goals, the thesis uses archaeological data from excavations and surveys, texts from the Late Bronze Age, human skeletal remains from Late Bronze Age burials, demographic and ethnographic studies of various types of nomads, and methods, techniques, and observations from previous relevant studies. The primary objectives are to 1) obtain individual settlement, nomadic, and total population estimates for Canaan in the Late Bronze Age that are as accurate as possible based on the currently available data, along with additional demographic estimates of life expectancy and sex ratio, 2) propose a new methodology for estimating settlement populations in the ancient world, 3) present a catalogue and map of all of the sites in Canaan that were inhabited during the Late Bronze Age, 4) illuminate demographic trends during the Late Bronze Age in Canaan. The implications of the results may lead to a modified demographic view of Canaan and its sub-regions during the Late Bronze Age. / Biblical and Ancient Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (Biblical Archaeology)