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represented as gods and were worshipped in this temple along with several other gods, including
Isis (Aldred 1978, 61).
From a global perspective
Aldred describes the reason behind the building of the shrine to the princes was partly related to
the manner in which the brothers had died, but also to the way the roman empire was organised.
The father of the princes, Kuper, and his sons were part of the tribe known as the Blemmyes. They
had been appointed to positions of trust and authority. It is possible that by building this temple in
the honour of the deceased princes the Romans ensured the loyalty of the Blemmey tribe (Aldred
1978, 37).
This kind of loyalty was important to the organisation of the Roman empire. The reason for this is
also related to its expansion to a global level. In order to manage an empire that was so big and
diverse it was necessary to rely on local power structures to keep it running. Loyalty of local power
structures was therefore vital. Another reason for using local elites to assist in managing their own
lands is that it provided the local elites with the opportunity to gain power and prestige in the
Roman empire. Because the local elites were more involved with internal power struggles, they
were less likely to revolt (Altenmüller et al 2007, 297).
Another important reason for building the temple is the way the brothers died. They had drowned
in the Nile and it was an ancient Egyptian custom to honour those who died this way. It is very
likely that the event of the brothers drowning was the reason the temple was built at this place
and this time. This relates to globalisation as well, as the reason this tradition was honoured and
the reason this event was noticed in the first place by the Roman empire is because of the loyalty
of the Blemmey lord. It is very likely that different lords were provided with different kinds of
rewards. This temple is therefore an example of a reward that was given to ensure the loyalty of
local lords, which on a large scale ensured the stability of the Roman empire.