Slavery and Servitude in Late Period Egypt (c. 900-330 BC)
by Ella Karev
This historical study sets out to define the nature and extent of slavery in Late Period Egypt, i.e. from the end of the Third Intermediate Period (664 BC) to the beginning of the Ptolemaic Period (330 BC). To that end, the work revolves around four broad aims: (1) delineating the scope of usage of terminology used in Egyptian and Aramaic documentation to refer to enslaved persons; (2) contextualizing enslavement within Late Period labour and sale practices; (3) exploring the lived experience of enslaved persons, including the social alienation of enslavement; and (4) discussing the connections between enslavement and other social systems of patronage and protection in Late Period Egypt, including familial relationships. Achieving the first goal is a matter of examining the Egyptian and Aramaic terms which appear with reference to enslavement and servitude within the context of the documents in which they appear, and the implications of that context. This focus on the semantics of subordinate labour also leads to a discussion on whether the English term ‘slave’ or ‘enslaved person’ is taxonomically appropriate for the subordinate labour relationships of Late Period Egypt, which necessarily requires an examination of secondary literature regarding the definition of slavery. Contextualizing enslavement within Late Period labour and sale practices requires an understanding of pricing of both commodities and labour, to provide a basis for determining comparative pricing of labour. Lastly, this monograph discusses the connections between enslavement and other social systems of patronage and protection in Late Period Egypt through an analysis of the obligations a subordinate had to his superior, as well as the reverse, that is, the obligations a superior had to his subordinate, whether or not the superior actually performed these obligations. The latter is investigated specifically with regard to protection: from debt, starvation, or abuse. – The chief takeaways from this study are split into four: first, that a practice which can be described as slavery in modern legal taxonomy took place in Late Period Egypt; second, that this practice took the form of small-scale, personal transactions which often overlapped with familial obligations and other systems of patronage and protection; third, that the value of enslaved persons lay in their dual purpose as labourers and economic tools; and finally, that the majority of enslaved persons in Egypt originated from Egypt, in contrast with earlier and later periods.
- By (author) Ella Karev
Other Titles in this Series
Material, Method and Meaning
Papers in Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology in Honor of Ilan Sharon
Volume 110
Die Suche nach Gottesnahe
Untersuchungen zur Personlichen Frommigkeit in Agypten von der Ersten Zwischenzeit bis zum Ende des Neuen Reiches
Volume 73
‘Now These Records are Ancient’
Studies in Ancient Near Eastern and Biblical History, Language and Culture in Honor of K. Lawson Younger, Jr.
Volume 114
Kinneret II
Results of the Excavations at Tell el-'Oreme, 1994-2008: Vol. 1: The Bronze Age, Iron Age II, Post-Iron Age Periods, and Other Studies
Volume 120
Rishon le-Zion. Volume I
The Middle Bronze Age II Cemeteries (Volume I/1: The Excavations + Volume I/2: Finds and Conclusions)
Volume 88
Der Raum der Zeit
Eine Untersuchung zu den altagyptischen Vorstellungen und Konzeptionen von Zeit und Raum anhand des Unterweltbuches Amduat
Volume 64
From Memphis to Babylon
African Individuals and Groups in Texts from Chaldean and Achaemenid Babylonia
Volume 125
Agyptische Tier- und Gotterbronzen aus Unteragypten
Untersuchungen zu Typus, Ikonographie und Funktion sowie der Bedeutung innerhalb der Kulturkontakte zu Griechenland
Volume 81
A Sage in New Haven
Essays on the Prophets, the Writings, and the Ancient World in Honor of Robert R. Wilson
Volume 117
From Stone Age to Stellenbosch
Studies on the Ancient Near East in Honour of Izak (Sakkie) Cornelius
Volume 107
The Late Egyptian Underworld
Sarcophagi and Related Texts from the Nectanebid Period: Part I: Sacophagi and Texts, Part II: Plates
Volume 72
Mezad Yeroham
A Caravanserai Site of the Roman and Byzantine Periods in the Negev Highlands
Volume 134
Sonnenlauf und kosmische Regeneration
Zur Systematik der Lebensprozesse in den Unterweltsbuchern - Teil 1: Untersuchungen, Teil 2: Materialien des Tabellenwerks und der Schautafeln
Volume 71
Similar Books
Archaeological Discoveries at the Temple of Ramesses II in Abydos
Vol. 2: Old Kingdom Wall, Papyri, Ostraca, and Leather Remains
Ancient Egypt in 50 Discoveries
Highlights from the first century of the Egypt Exploration Society
Volume 8
Archaeological Discoveries at the Temple of Ramesses II in Abydos
Vol. 1: Magazines, Animal Burials, and Miscellanea
Current Research in Egyptology 2024
Proceedings of the Twenty-Fourth Annual Symposium, Jointly Organised by the University of Liverpool, Swansea University, University of Birmingham, University of Oxford, and University of Wales Trinity Saint David, 2–6 September 2024
From Egypt to the Levant and Beyond
African Individuals and Groupsain Cuneiform Texts from the Late Bronze Age
Volume 133
Kom al-Ahmer — Kom Wasit III
The Archaeology of Two Ptolemaic Districts in the Western Nile Delta, Egypt
Language, Semantics, and Cognition in Ancient Egypt and Beyond
Proceedings of the International Conference, Yale University, April 16-18, 2021
Volume 14
Mortals, Deities and Divine Symbols: Rethinking Ancient Images from the Levant to Mesopotamia
Studies Offered to Tallay Ornan
Outward Appearance versus Inward Significance
Addressing Identities through Attire in the Ancient World
Volume 15
Sacredness at Deir El-Medina
Proceedings of the International Conference Florence, Italy 14-15 March 2024
Volume 7
The Village Gymnasium at Philoteris/Watfa in the Fayum
In Collaboration with Rita Hartmann. With Contributions by Cäcilia Fluck, Mary F. Ownby and Daniela Rosenow
Volume 10
Ägypten und Levante XXXIV / Egypt and the Levant XXXIV (2024)
Internationale Zeitschrift für ägyptische Archäologie und deren Nachbargebiete / International Journal for Egyptian Archaeology and Related Disciplines
Esna VII – Übersetzung
Die Inschriften der Außenwände des Pronaos von Esna. Esna-Studien V
Volume 46
Katalog der Berufstermini der Frauen in Ägypten im Spiegel dokumentarischer Papyri und Ostraka
Alter Orient und Altes Testament, Band 480.2
Volume 480.2
La lustration des offrandes (sfsf 3w(.t))
Transzendentales Ägypten
Jenseits, Himmel, Hölle und das Ende in antik-ägyptischen Diskursen
Volume 14
