In the mid-Eighth Century BC Egypt was conquered by the kings Kush, based at Napata in Sudan, who then ruled the country for several decades to 664. This study assesses the nature and extent of the impact of the Twenty-fifth dynasty kings on the existing administrative and governmental structures of Thebes as reflected in the prosopographical record. This evidence forms the basis of an assessment of the role of the Vizier, Theban Governor, Chief Priest of Amun, God's Wife of Amun and other key individuals, their relationships with each other and with the ruling kings. The evidence suggests that in the process of taking control of Thebes, the Kushites brought about certain changes to the administration of the city which would lend the period a distinctive character. This is evident in the interruption of the hereditary succession of titles such as that of Vizier; the investment in the institution of the God's Wife, which was headed by a member of the royal family but controlled by an official with an entirely new title, the Chief Steward of the God's Wife; the introduction of ethnic Kushites including royal family members into prominent offices; and the reorganisation of the military. Most of these changes are evident in the first half of the period and represent the Kushites early efforts to consolidate their authority in Thebes. However, it seems likely that during the second half of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty the Kushites encountered opposition to their rule in Thebes from the powerful local individuals and families, foremost among whom was Montuemhat. Further changes introduced in the early years of the succeeding Dynasty suggest that the departure of the Kushites and change to a different regime had again brought about significant change, ensuring that the character of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty would remain associated only with the period of their rule.

Animals were viewed in ancient Egypt as pets and food; and as religious avatars,divided into cult and votive types (Ikram, 2005a). Research indicated that votivemummies were constructed in two types: true, those which contained skeletalremains; and pseudo, and those which contained non-skeletal remains. Avianremains were particularly prevalent as votive offerings, although no focus on thefollowing aims had previously been ventured: 1) mummification materials andmethods used; 2) how these may indicate status; 3) how to predict which mummies contain true or pseudo remains based on their external appearance. A study group of 120 mummies identified as containing avian remains weresubjected to radiography (115) and light microscopy (5) to understand the aboveresearch aims. Variables were designed to understand the treatment of avian remainsin three stages: prior to and during mummification, and as a mummy bundle; andwere statistically tested against the external appearance of the bundle, to determine the connection between the contents and its container. The first two variables demonstrated much information regarding the thought-processes applied to the avian remains to create ‘complete’ skeletal remains in the mummy bundles, although were shown to not be statistically significant when tested against external appearance. However, the final variable demonstrated a predictive nature in that as the external appearance became more stylised, the appearance of pseudo remains was more apparent, and was found to work in reverse for true remains. The future path of such research will require larger sample numbers of provenanced materials, both chronological and geographical, to understand if museum collections are an unbiased representation of avian mummies from ancient Egypt.

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The naturally occurring evaporitic deposit natron was collected and used by the ancient Egyptians as a desiccating and preserving agent m intentional mummification. Natron is a naturally occurring compound obtained from different geographical areas and would be expected to have a different elemental composition. The elemental composition of individual samples and areas within the sample were measured by two bulk analytical techniques and a laser micro-probe technique.

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This thesis explores perceptions of the landscape of the Fayum in Egypt. The Fayum has been the focus of Egyptological interest regarding specific aspects of its landscape since the 18th century. The aim of this study is to gain an understanding of why some aspects of this particular landscape have become the focus of attention for Egyptologists and travellers to Egypt. In order to investigate this issue a very broad historical perspective is taken, examining written materials dating from the Pharaonic periods through to the 19th century AD:- Western Accounts 1543 - 1876, Medieval Islamic Accounts 860 - 1422, Greek and Roman writers 450 BC - 2nd century AD and Ancient Egyptian materials (2686 BC - AD394). Theories from geography and landscape history as well as landscape archaeology, not regularly applied in Egyptology, will be adopted. Based on this material and approach, it is possible to map the changing perceptions of this region, identifying a history of ideas and elucidating the background that created specific perceptions of this region at different time periods. This thesis will evaluate the ways in which people view a particular area of land which, in their mind, is a clearly defined unit. It is not simply their perception of the region, but more specifically their perception of the physical landscape forming the region, that is of interest here. What qualities do they perceive the land to be imbued with? A distinction will be drawn between the 'experienced' and the 'imagined' landscape. The experienced landscape is based on the here and now, generally unaffected by any pre-conceived ideas about the meaning of the landscape but formed based on a direct interaction with the land. The imagined landscape is a construction based on a subjective notion of the landscape derived from external influences. The experienced landscape is the objectified, 'viewed' landscape, the perception of the physical nature of the landscape; the imagined landscape is the subjectified, idealised, temporalised landscape, the perception of the idea of landscape.

The ancient Egyptians portrayed themselves as more than adept at preparing and executing a battle plan and this is clearly shown in the archaeological and textual record. There is, however, a tendency by the Egyptians to oversimplify the nature of battle, depicting an idealisation of the real situation, purely focused on the role of the king or the service to the king by an elite individual. This is best portrayed in royal mortuary complexes, such as that of Ramesses III at Medinet Habu, where a series of depictions and associated inscriptions on the walls of the temple display the king fighting the might of the Sea People and Libyan invaders, all but single handedly. In a similar vein high officials, such as Ahmose-Pen-Nekhbet from EI-Kab (Urk IV: 32-39), describe how they contributed to the king's army and how their personal prowess on the battlefield had expanded the borders of Egypt. These texts and depictions are often the subject of modern scholarly analyses (such as Goedicke 1985: Shaw 1996: Spalinger 2005), with the material of the battlefield confined to technological analyses (Shaw 2001), typological assessments (Davies 1987) and general discussions (including Littauer and Crouwe11979: McLeod 1982: Shaw 1991). The capabilities of the weapons themselves are rarely considered to any great degree, largely as a result of most of the weaponry being found in a funerary context, and as a consequence are more readily thought to be ceremonial in function rather than a representation of military activity. In fact some scholars have been actively downplaying the evidence for warfare in the Bronze Age, instead describing weapons as having an almost entirely ceremonial purpose, only occasionally (if at all) being used for fighting. Philip (1989, 2003) and Whittle (1985) in particular focus on the social, religious and ceremonial aspects with Philip (2003: 186) noting that styles and fashions may have been as important as mechanical efficiency. This is especially true for weapons of the elite, who may have had weapons designed for semi-ritualised combat between champions, rather than for largescale battles. These ideas have led to the commonly discussed concept of the 'peaceful savage' though this has become less popular in recent years with Bridgford (1997: 7) considering it to be a result of a misplaced scholarly nicety and Keeley (1996), among others, being keen to move away from this perceived idealisation. Instead more practical assessments of weaponry have emerged, with Hulit (2002), Molloy (2007) and Peatfield (2007) attempting to determine how effective their respective weapons were as fighting instruments. These analyses very much return to the concepts established by Yadin (1963) who established a function-efficiency focused model, with civilisations developing weapons on the basis of whom they were fighting and the capacity of these artefacts to demonstrate their ability to successfully attack their enemies. It is certainly true that some weapons would have been status symbols, others used for hunting, and possibly worn for ceremonial purposes, but to what degree distinctions were made between a fighting weapon and a ceremonial one is unclear. Were they the same thing or was a specially produced version utilised in 'ritualised warfare'? To what extent these ideas have merit are the subject of this thesis. Studying weapons from Bronze Age Egypt and the Near East the production and design of individual weapons will be considered in the context of function and use within the ancient culture. Chemical analysis and a metallographic study of a number of weapons will be utilised to determine how these weapons were produced, why certain styles were utilised, and whether these weapons were merely religious and social representations of masculinity or whether they had the capability to be successfully used in a battle.

Warfare in the New Kingdom has been described as a revolution in military organisation. For the first time in Egyptian history, New Kingdom armies were composed of full-time soldiers that were coordinated on a state scale. The motivation for this change is thought to have originated in the wars with the Hyksos and maintained its momentum throughout the 19th and early 20th dynasties. Many scholars have argued that the introduction of the chariot, scale armour and composite bow (the ‘tripartite association’) enabled the Egyptians to transform themselves into a cohesive military power which held a tactical advantage over their Canaanite neighbours. As a result, previous studies have tended to focus on weaponry to explain how Egypt was able to conduct campaigns and maintain political control in the Levant. This thesis illustrates that the logistical component of New Kingdom Egyptian military gave the Egyptians an advantage over their geographic northern neighbours; examining the constraints they faced in trying to meet their territorial goals. By utilising archaeological data from fortresses along the overland route to the Levant (the eastern Delta, north Sinai and southern Levant), it can be demonstrated that the military relied upon logistical support to expand Egyptian influence to its greatest extent. This strategy relied upon rapid deployment, communications and the acquisition of supplies from either vassals or Egyptian-held centres in the Levant. By utilising modern medical and veterinarian data, it investigates how physical limitations would have impacted the Egyptian military’s capabilities. Furthermore, this study refutes the idea that the New Kingdom Egyptians held a technological advantage over their Levantine vassals. It can be demonstrated there was an ‘internationalism of arms’ during the New Kingdom/Late Bronze Age (LBA) throughout the Near East. In order to explain why the New Kingdom Egyptians became a dominant political power, this research considers numerous factors in addition to military equipment.

In the Coffin Texts, a person’s identity can be expressed as the sum of several parts listed together. There are also a few examples of this method of listing being used for the most important aspects of the Afterlife. A close reading of these lists, and how the outcomes are connected with individual concepts belonging to the identity of a person, is the foundation for the following chapters which investigate a few of the concepts in depth. The xprw and the bA are the two concepts which occur most often, and in the most complex uses in this context. They are both parts of the identity of a person, while they can also be means by which someone manifests: as an aspect of a person manifesting in a particular form, or a manifestation which is representative for the whole person. In later texts, it is clear that it is the bA which is manifest (xpr) so there is a strong relationship between these concepts. xprw is a category for forms which gods and dead people, at least, are able to assume, as well as a term for the process involved in the so called ‘transformation spells’. The spells with xprw-rubrics are discussed in detail, to examine the relationship between their rubrics and the body of the spells, as well as the outcome expected in the spell. Though groups of spells may have been given the same type of title, it is sometimes difficult to see how they constitute a homogeneous group. There is often an identification sentence in the body of the spell which reflects the transformation object, but this is far from always the case. The relationships between the rubric and the body of the spell vary, as well as the identity of the speaker in the spell, as the speaker might take on several different identities. In the majority of spells the deceased assumes a synchronised identity with a specific being to acquire a certain quality belonging to that being. There are, however, a number of transformation objects with which the dead is not directly identified, but rather acquires something related to that object. The bA is strongly connected to movement and activity in the Afterlife, and in spells where the individual is identified with the bA of a god, the bA is a manifestation of the god which is related to these two qualities. It is contrasted to the inert corpse, and sometimes accompanied with the shadow, which are both also explored here. The bA can be a manifestation of a person, representing the whole being, but his bA and bAw can also be separated from him, and be sent out, towards enemies, or for the purpose of seeing. It seems that in the Coffin Texts, the distinction between bA and bAw-power is not particularly sharp, having many similarities in their range of actions. The terms for specific components are also used as broader concepts, and in this aspect they can also include other parts of a person’s identity. The dead can be in the irw of a bA and can therefore describe the bA, or be a component of the bA. At the same time, the two terms might in particular contexts have closely related meanings, where the bA can be the manifestation of a being, and irw a form of the same being. The wished-for results of the spells are related to passage into the Afterlife, integration, and having authority and power in the Afterlife. This passage into the Afterlife is prominent both in relationship to the main characteristics of the bA, and in many of the xprw spells, where the means of passage is acquired from the transformation object. Through identification with a god, or the bA of a god, there are elements of integration into their sphere, as well as giving the person authority and power in the Afterlife. The person lives on intact, integrated into the Afterlife: in the sky and in the Netherworld, and on earth through the bA and the continuation of the bloodline. The identification with an external identity ‘syncretises’ vital characteristics of their personalities, adding to the overall identity of the final persona.