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Stela of the official, Ka. Kerma Classique/Egyptian 17th Dynasty.
From Buhen; Debeira West, Tomb of Amenemhat.
Amenemhat and his wife Hatsheps(ut) are
depicted as the seated couple on the right. The standing woman facing
them is also his wife Hatsheps(ut) . She is standing duty for a son or
daughter, probably showing that Amenemhat died childless. Beneath is an
offering formula, invoking the funerary gods to provide provisions and
benefits for the spirit of the tomb-owner, Amenemhat.
The hieroglyphic inscription on this stela is an invocation to Osiris, Lord
of Busiris, the Great God, Lord of Abydos, and to Horus, Lord of Foreign
Land[s], and was set up by the official Ka. On it he records that 'I was a
valiant servant of the ruler of Kush. I washed my feet in the waters of Kush
in the following of the ruler Nedjeh.'
Towards the end of the
13th Dynasty (1773 - 1650 BC), Egypt underwent great political upheaval
and withdrew from Nubia. In the north the Hyksos took control of Lower
Egypt. In the south Wawat and the fortresses, including Buhen, were occupied
by Kush. Not all Egyptians fled. This stela is from a group of monuments
from Buhen belonging to a single family who administered the fortress over
several generations under
Kushite rule.
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