The Kadesh Inscriptions of Ramesses II: A case-study into the temple reliefs of the New Kingdom

Ramesses II, the third pharaoh of the 19th dynasty, fought a major battle near the ancient town Kadesh against the Hittite army. While he won the battle, he lost the war and had to surrender a large part to the Levant to the Hittites. Despite this long-term defeat, Ramesses decided to use the battle of Kadesh as an inspiration for inscriptions, including both texts and reliefs, on several temples in Egypt. The purpose of the inscriptions has not been very clear, since the texts are usually studied by Egyptologists, who focus on the content of the text rather than its function. Most explanations of these texts either describe the texts as a piece of propaganda or as apotropaic (i.e. warding off evil forces), but neither of these completely fit the inscriptions themselves. This thesis focuses on another possible way to understand the purpose of the Kadesh inscriptions. This will use two different theoretical concepts, the first being visibility studies and the second being linguistic...Show moreRamesses II, the third pharaoh of the 19th dynasty, fought a major battle near the ancient town Kadesh against the Hittite army. While he won the battle, he lost the war and had to surrender a large part to the Levant to the Hittites. Despite this long-term defeat, Ramesses decided to use the battle of Kadesh as an inspiration for inscriptions, including both texts and reliefs, on several temples in Egypt. The purpose of the inscriptions has not been very clear, since the texts are usually studied by Egyptologists, who focus on the content of the text rather than its function. Most explanations of these texts either describe the texts as a piece of propaganda or as apotropaic (i.e. warding off evil forces), but neither of these completely fit the inscriptions themselves. This thesis focuses on another possible way to understand the purpose of the Kadesh inscriptions. This will use two different theoretical concepts, the first being visibility studies and the second being linguistic landscapes. These concepts, often used in archaeology and linguistics respectively, can shed additional light on the purpose of the inscriptions, trying to find out for whom the texts were meant. With the data gathered with these theories will show that another interpretation can be given of these texts. Rather than being meant for people or evil forces outside the temple, they were meant for the god residing inside the temple. These were supposed to show the god that the pharaoh was attempting to reaffirm their relationship with the deities by keeping the order in Egypt.Show less

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The Kadesh Inscriptions of Ramesses II: A case-study into the temple reliefs of the New Kingdom