IFAO

The fort of Ḏāt al-Ḥāǧ is one of a number of Ottoman forts situated in the Syrian Darb al- Ḥāǧ that until now has not been carefully studied. The Ottoman Sultan Sulaymān al-Qanūnī gave the order for its erection in 967 H., completing work in 971 H. By 1266 H. the Sultan Abd al-Magid I had ordered its restoration and by 1328 H. The fort’s use was finally superseded by the construction of the al-Ḥiǧāz railway in 1318 H. The Ḏāt al- Ḥāǧ fort had served in a civil and military capacity for the Syrian al- Ḥāǧ caravans and travellers for nearly 295 years.

The author has made a comprehensive study of the fort which includes; field studies and survey of the site, photography of the exterior and interior of the structure as well as detailed descriptions of its rooms. Both the foundation plaque (971 H.) and later restoration plaque (1266 H.) have also been located and studied. This paper introduces for the first time a scientific study of one of a series of forts that operated along the Syrian Darb al- Ḥāǧ.

Amir Kit al-Ragaby is considered to be one of the great Mamluks in Egypt and Syria during the late Mamluk Period, in particular during the court of Sultan al-Ghoury. Despite this fact, Amir Kit and his significance remains unmentioned by biographers. The author has endeavoured to collect biographical details of his life from many different sources, with particular detail to his Endowment document that provides a partial description of his house. An attempt will be made within this paper to reconstruct the house using contemporary comparative material.

This study attempts not only explore the influence that Sufism had on Islamic art, but how we set about identifying and measuring this influence. In the author’s attempt to identify and prove this influence several steps were necessary. Firstly, it is important to examine and discuss previous studies with regard to the subject matter. Interestingly, two contrary issues are noted; one overplays the role that Sufism had on the development of Islamic art, whereas the other completely denies that this influence exists. Secondly, having asserted the effect of Sufism on Islamic art, the research path subsequently diverges into two basic themes. First and foremost it is important to locate the types of objects that would be of value within the context of Sufism, from buildings to tools. On a second, more difficult level it is important to examine the very essence existing between the philosophy of Sufi teachings and its relationship to the properties and philosophy of Islamic art. By applying this method of research to certain branches of Islamic art such as architecture, painting, applied arts, calligraphy as well as inscriptions, our study can pin point potential areas that would require further research and discussion. The aim of this paper is to highlight the relationship that does exist between Sufism and Islamic art.

This study examines a number of historical texts that deal with legendary stories from Medieval India. The author would like to explore from a new perspective the historical accuracy of these legends in that they might indeed hold important historical facts, otherwise neglected by scholars due to the very nature of them being labelled as myths. The author will illustrate his theory by using a number of historical texts that deal with the legend of the Indian king Shakarawati Farmand and how he came to embrace Islam.

Dans la tombe du wr mḏȝj nommé Wȝḏ-ms – mise au jour récemment dans la nécropole du Nouvel Empire à Saqqâra, au sud de la chaussée montante du roi Ounas – fut découverte, parmi les blocs des parois du puits, une stèle portant une inscription peu lisible. L’examen de ce bloc a montré qu’il portait le nom d’Horus du roi Djoser, Nṯrj-ẖt, à l’intérieur de la façade du palais, le srḫ, ainsi que les noms de sa femme et de sa fille. Ce bloc, comme beaucoup d’autres semblables découverts précédemment, est une stèle-borne du roi Djoser. Ces stèles-bornes servaient à délimiter l’enceinte sacrée du complexe funéraire du roi avant sa construction.

Mots-clés : Saqqâra – Djoser – complexe funéraire – stèle-borne.

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A tomb belonging to a man whose name is Wȝḏ-ms bearing the title wr mḏȝj has recently been discovered south of the causeway of King Unas, in the New Kingdom cemetery at Saqqara. Among the blocks forming the walls of the shaft is a block bearing the Horus name of King Djoser (Ntrj-ẖt) inscribed in srḫ, the palace façade field. Present are names belonging to Djoser’s wife and daughter. This block, similar to many others discovered previously, represents a new example in the corpus of what are known as “frontier stelae” attributed to King Djoser. These “frontier stelae” were used to delineate the sacred area around the funerary complex of King Djoser prior to its erection.

Le présent article concerne l’histoire de la forteresse romaine d’El-Deir, située au départ de la principale piste caravanière reliant l’oasis de Kharga à la Vallée du Nil. Il est l’aboutissement de recherches dont l’objectif principal est la préservation, au moins documentaire, d’un patrimoine menacé qui disparaît au rythme lent de l’érosion. L’état des lieux architectural des vestiges apparents et l’ouverture de sondages clefs permettent de cerner la datation du monument et d’en identifier les diverses phases d’occupation. Les résultats obtenus confortent les hypothèses précédemment avancées sur la seule base d’observations de surface : la construction du fort d’El-Deir trouverait sa place dans une série relativement homogène de fortifications dont la fondation est rattachée à la fin du iiie siècle ou au début du ive siècle. Le monument continuera à être partiellement occupé jusqu’aux viiie/ixe siècles, voire jusqu’au xe siècle apr. J.-C, sans que l’on puisse toutefois préciser la date du démantèlement de l’établissement militaire.

Mots-clés : Al-Deir – oasis de Kharga – forteresse – étude architecturale – étude céramologique – époque romaine – époque copte – époque arabe.

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This paper will focus on the history of El-Deir, a Roman fort located at the beginning of the main road leading from the Kharga Oasis to the Nile Valley. The purpose of this project is the preservation and understanding of this Fort before it disappears as a result of erosion, due to the desert’s harsh environment. Architectural analysis and sondages conducted during our work have allowed us to date the monument and identify its different periods of occupation. The result of the work has confirmed the previous hypothesis; namely, that this fort underwent extensive rebuilding and reinforcement during the end of the 3 rd Century or beginning of the 4 th Century A.D. The monument was then partially occupied until the 8 th or 9 th Century A.D.; however, it is still uncertain when the army’s departure from the fort took place.

Les données issues de la fouille, de 2001 à 2005, du cimetière prédynastique de Kom el-Khilgan (Delta oriental) ont permis de jeter un nouveau regard sur les processus d’unification culturelle qui ont prévalu à la fin du IVe millénaire et qui ont abouti à la naissance de l’État en Égypte. À partir de l’analyse des céramiques constitutives du mobilier funéraire, trois phases d’occupation ont été déterminées. Les deux premières (KeK1 et KeK2) relèvent des traditions culturelles de Basse Égypte, telles qu’elles ont été définies sur les sites de Maadi-Wadi Digla et Bouto. La troisième appartient à la culture de Naqada (Naqada IIIA-C). La coexistence des deux grands ensembles culturels de l’Égypte prédynastique fait de Kom el-Khilgan un terrain d’observation privilégié des processus de changements qui ont précédé et mené à la période dynastique. À partir de la mise en évidence d’un marqueur culturel fort, le vase « en forme de citron », spécifique à la sphère Maadi-Bouto, l’ensemble des traits culturels (céramiques, pratiques funéraires et industrie lithique) a fait l’objet d’un nouvel examen. Il en résulte une image nuancée, où l’expansion naqadienne, clairement attestée, prend place à l’issue d’une période d’intensification des contacts entre la Haute et la Basse Égypte, entre Naqada IIC et IID, conduisant à un processus d’homogénéisation culturelle. Dans cette perspective, la Moyenne Égypte doit être reconsidérée et son appartenance exclusive au domaine naqadien à cette période est mise en doute. Enfin, l’analyse de ces phénomènes à la lueur de l’anthropologie culturelle conduit à considérer l’unification comme une acculturation qui aboutit, en quelques siècles, à une assimilation, par les populations de Basse Égypte, des traits de la culture dominante de Haute Égypte.

Mots-clés : Kom el-Khilgan – Delta – prédynastique – acculturation – unification de l’Égypte.

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The new data coming from the excavation of the Kom el-Khilgan predynastic cemetery (Eastern Delta) allowed to bring a new glance on the process of cultural unification. This process took place at the end of the 4 th millennium B.C. and lead to the birth of the Egyptian state.

Analysis of the pottery that is present as part of the funerary furniture can be divided into three stages. The first two (KeK1 and KeK20) represent the cultural traditions of Lower Egypt, as defined by the sites of Maadi, Wadi Digla and Buto. The third phase (KeK3) belongs to the Naqada Culture (NIIIA-C). The coexistence of these two great cultural units belonging to pre-dynastic Egypt proves that at Kom el-Khilgan we are in a privileged position to observe the processes of change that preceded and carried into the Dynastic Period.

Forms that are considered strong cultural markers, such as the “lemon-shaped” jar, specific to the Maadi-Buto culture were observed. Consequently, cultural features representing the material culture such as pottery and lithic industries as well as funerary practices were the subject of this examination. The results provide a moderate image, where the Naqada expansion, clearly attested, takes place during the Naqada IIC-IID period. This period is represented by an intensification of the contrasts between Upper and Lower Egypt, which ultimately led to the process of cultural homogenisation. From this point of view, the region of Middle Egypt could not have belonged exclusively to the Naqadian sphere of influence.

The cultural anthropological implications of this study show unification as a process of acculturation taking place over a couple of centuries. This process culminates in the assimilation by the populations of Lower Egypt of the features of the dominant culture of Upper Egypt.

Le site de Kom el-Khamasin est situé à Saqqâra Sud, très loin dans le désert, à 3 km environ à l’ouest de la pyramide de Djedkare Isesi. En 1997, une équipe de l’Institut d’Estudis del Pròxim Orient Antic de l’Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona y a conduit une brève prospection archéologique et en 2005 l’auteur a étudié l’épigraphie et l’iconographie d’une série de 57 blocs ou fragments de blocs de calcaire et de 5 petits fragments de granite qui avaient été prélevés sur le site en 1999 et entreposés dans le magasin d’El-Mohemat, à Saqqâra. Cet article est le rapport préliminaire des résultats de ces travaux. L’épigraphie de Kom el-Khamasin nous apprend que le site est une petite nécropole de la fin de l’Ancien Empire et du début de la Première Période intermédiaire. Le plus important des personnages enterrés là est un certain Imephor-Impy, « grand des chefs des artisans » – à qui sont associés 25 des blocs ou fragments de blocs de calcaire et les 5 fragments de granite –, et qui peut être daté entre la fin de l’Ancien Empire et le début de la Première Période intermédiaire ou, peut-être, entièrement de cette dernière époque.

Mots-clés : Kom el-Khamasin – Saqqâra Sud – Djedkare Isesi – Khenout – Sankhhathor-Pépy – Menkhi – Imephor-Impy – Nikaouptah – Ancien Empire - Première Période intermédiaire – ỉmy-r ʿ(ȝw), « chef des auxiliaires nubiens » – ḥqȝw ḥwt, « gouverneur d’installation royale-hout » – wr ḫrpw ḥmww, « grand des chefs des artisans ».

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The site of Kom el-Khamaseen is located at a distance 3 km west of the pyramid of Djedkare Isesi in South Saqqara. Since 1997, a team from the Institut d’Estudis del Pròxim Orient Antic, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona have carried out an archaeological survey of the area. In 2005, the author instigated an epigraphic and iconographic study of a series of 57 limestone blocks or block fragments and 5 small granite fragments. These blocks and fragments had been recovered from the site in 1999 and have been stored within the El-Mohemat storeroom in Saqqara. This paper is a preliminary report of the results of this work.

The epigraphy of Kom el-Khamaseen shows us that the site is a small cemetery dating to the end of the Old Kingdom and the beginning of the First Intermediate Period. The most important official buried here is a certain Imephor-Impy, “great of the chiefs of craftmen”, to which 25 of the limestone blocks or block fragments and all the granite fragments are associated. Epigraphic and iconographic evidence suggests that the blocks date to the end of the Old Kingdom, although possibly exclusively to the First Intermediate Period.

Les lettres privées échangées entre les occupants des fortins romains du désert de Bérénice concernent souvent l’envoi de bottes de choux, désignées comme (sg.) d°!mh krãmbh! ou d°!mh kaul€vn. Il ne faut pas se laisser égarer par l’article kaulÒ! du LSJ, selon lequel ce mot, dont le sens premier est « tige », y compris « tige de chou » dans l’expression krãmbh! kaulÒ!, désignerait aussi, chez les auteurs comiques, un certain type de chou (vegetable of the cabbage kind, kail, cauliflower). Lorsque kaulÒ! est employé seul, chez ces auteurs, il s’agit de la tige du silphium, denrée précieuse et recherchée à Athènes, comme cela avait déjà été reconnu par le Thesaurus Graecae Linguae, qui a été curieusement peu suivi. L’expression krãmbh! kaulÒ! s’explique par la nature même du chou potager antique, bien décrit par Théophraste et Pline, et que J. André identifie au brocoli asperge (Brassica oleracea var. italica). Les kauloi sont les pousses latérales, les rejets, qui se développent sur cette plante buissonnante et qui se récoltent tout au long de sa vie lorsqu’elles atteignent un certain degré de maturité. Dans les ostraca du désert Oriental, on ne rencontre jamais kaulÒ!, mais le diminutif kaul€on qui, contrairement au précédent, mais à l’instar du latin caulis, cauliculus, n’a pas besoin d’être précisé par krãmbh!. Kaul€on, inconnu dans les papyrus ptolémaïques, pourrait donc être un latinisme, à moins qu’il ne faille l’interpréter comme une de ces formations diminutives qui servent à dénoter comme aliment un objet de nature animale ou végétale.

Mots-clés : Désert Oriental – praesidia – alimentation du soldat – d°!mh krãmbh! – d°!mh kaul€vn – kaul€on.

***

Private correspondence between the inhabitants of the forts in the Eastern Delta of Egypt often makes mention of the transportation of bunches of cabbage, designated as (sg.) d°!mh krãmbh! or d°!mh kaul€vn. The basic understanding of kaulÒ! is “stalk” including “cabbage-stalk” in the expression krãmbh! kaulÒ!, but one should not be misled by the article kaulÒ! in LSJ, according to which the word, in certain comic authors, also means a kind of cabbage (vegetable of the cabbage kind, kail, and cauliflower). However, when the word kaulÒ! is used alone by these authors it means a stalk of silphium, a commodity that was much in demand and highly appreciated in Athens. This term had previously been recognized by the Thesaurus Graecae Linguae, although it is generally ignored by later scholars. The expression krãmbh! kaulÒ! explains the nature of edible cabbage in antiquity, described very well by Theophrastus and Pliny; and which J. André identifies as asparagus-broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica). The kauloi are the lateral sprouts of this bush-like plant that can be picked as soon as the plant reaches maturity until the end of its life. In the ostraca from the Eastern Desert we never find kaulÒ!, but the diminutive kaul€on which, contrary to the preceding, but like Latin caulis, cauliculus, does not need to be further described by krãmbh!. Kaul€on, a term which is unknown in Ptolemaic papyri could therefore be a Latinism. Alternatively one might understand it as a type of diminutive that designates an object of vegetal or animal as being edible.

Une nouvelle analyse d’un relief de la chaussée du complexe pyramidal d’Ounas (Labrousse and Moussa, La chaussée du complexe funéraire du roi Ounas, p. 29, doc. 16) permet de traduire le supposé hapax legomenon zp.wt par « bases de colonnes ». Cette nouvelle interprétation et l’analyse des caractéristiques architectoniques du bâtiment royal permettent de donner une identification des colonnes mentionnées dans le document.

Toutes ces données et d’autres références externes permettent de mettre en évidence la manière dont l’historicité, la mémoire et les idées religieuses/officielles sont représentées et agencées dans le programme iconographique des complexes funéraires royaux.

Mots-clés : Saqqâra – Ancien Empire – Ounas – complexes funéraires royaux – chaussée – colonnes – zp.wt – architecture – lexicographie – historicité – mémoire – programme iconographique.

***

A new analysis of a relief from the causeway of Unis’ pyramid complex (Labrousse and Moussa, La chaussée du complexe funéraire du roi Ounas, p. 29, doc. 16) allows us to translate the alleged hapax legomenon zp.wt as “column-bases”. An identification of the columns mentioned in the document is also given by means of this new interpretation and the analysis of architectural evidence from that royal building.

This data, together with other external references give an insight on how historicity, remembrance and religious/official ideas are displayed and interrelated in the iconographic program of royal mortuary complexes.