The Causes of the Emergence of Provincial Elites with Inscribed Monuments in the Late Old Kingdom: Case Studies and Methodology

What is it about?

The causes and processes that have led to the sudden rise of the provincial elites who had the wherewithal to commission inscribed monuments, especially from the end of the Fifth Dynasty (c. 2350 BCE), remain poorly understood. This was the time when these elites regularly used material expressions of the palatine culture which had previously been reserved to the elites living in Memphis, the capital of ancient Egypt during its first era, that is, the Old Kingdom (c. 2700-2160 BCE). Whereas previous research was mainly focused on the description and the analysis of the inscribed monuments of the provincial elites as well as their various responsibilities in administration, this paper aims to highlight some of the main factors involved in this process, using specific case studies and a global and comparative approach. The results indicate greater levels of complexity than previously thought, and that no single, concurrent cause applied in all provinces. The paper also discusses methodological issues about how to reconstruct a causal system for the emergence and enrichment of provincial elites and, in particular, the need to study this process diachronicly to achieve deeper insights into its mechanims.

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