A strong Egyptian presence and governance of 13th and 12th centuries B.C. Palestine has since long become clear from both textual and archaeological evidence. How this Egyptianization came about in Ramesside Palestine forms the focus of the present study. Carolyn Higginbotham convincingly attends to internal factors affecting the region’s cultural and political development. Two models are carefully considered. The prevailing theory, that Egyptian policy shifted from economic and political domination to military occupation, is contrasted with a new, convincing model, elite emulation, derived from modern core-periphery studies. The author’s conclusion is that Egyptian policy remained largely unchanged, and that the increased Egyptianization of the material culture represents voluntary adoption of the overpowering Egyptian culture by the Palestinian ruling class. The appendices are especially important for scholars interested in ancient international connections in Palestine; they catalogue all Egyptian and Egyptian-style material from LB IIB - Iron 1A Palestine.

Examining stone vessels in the Levant during the 2nd millennium BC, the author explores the links between material culture and society through a comprehensive study of production and distribution. Extensively illustrated with 100 drawings, maps and charts, this volume includes a full object catalogue.This study represents the first comprehensive overview of the stone vessel assemblagesof the Levant in this period, a time which, fed by an increase of wealth and interregional trade, saw a growth in the popularity and variety of such vessels.Previously, our understanding of the varied functions and forms of these diverse vessels has been relatively underdeveloped. In this volume the author attempts to address this problem by creating a typological framework though which we can analyse variability and define essential characteristics of local stone vessel workshops. Only once this has been achieved is it possible to look at stone vessel production in its wider cultural context. Subsequent chapters explore broader themes, beginning within the workshops themselves, examining the links between craftsmen, their sources of raw materials, and the authorities that controlled and distributed their output. Considerations of the geographical and chronological distribution of such goods are then used to provide a regional perspective for the operation of these workshops, connections between them, and further insights into the nature of local and international trade. Finally, the objects themselves can be used to assess the impact of trends such as the growing Egyptianization of the ruling classes of the Levant at this time.

This book looks back over thousands of years to explore the period in Egyptian history when the Bible identifies that Ancient Israel was resident in Egypt. It asks and answers one very simple question: What new things can we learn about this period of history if we treat the Bible as a valid historical document? Whereas this topic is often approached from either the perspective of the Bible or Egyptology, this work genuinely attempts to occupy the ground between the two. It uses Scripture like a torch carried into the deepest recesses of the established historical facts and theories concerning the late Middle Kingdom period, the Second Intermediate period, and the early New Kingdom period in Egyptian history. Along the way, it considers some of the latest discoveries, innovations, and theories from the world of Egyptology and unearths a trove of tangible points of connection. As such, the narrative forms a two-way perspective, where the biblical account illuminates stubbornly opaque moments in Egyptian history and chronology and where the meticulous work of Egyptologists provides appropriate additional background to the Bible. The result is a sharper perspective of an ancient account that has a surprisingly current application for us all.

"Garrett Galvin examines biblical texts from a number of different time periods (1 Kgs 11:14-12:24; Jeremiah 46; Matt. 2:13-15, 19-21) in order to highlight the importance of literary genre for understanding the phenomenon of Egypt as a place of refuge in the Old Testament."--Back cover

The proceedings of the conference “Egypt, Canaan and Israel: History, Imperialism, Ideology and Literature” include the latest discussions about the political, military, cultural, economic, ideological, literary and administrative relations between Egypt, Canaan and Israel during the Second and First Millennia BC incorporating texts, art, and archaeology.

The end of the Bronze Age in the Eastern Mediterranean was a time of social, political, and economic upheaval – conditions reflected, in many ways, in the world of Homer’s Odyssey. Jeffrey P. Emanuel examines the Odyssey’s Second Cretan Lie (xiv 191 – 359) in the context of this watershed transition, with particular emphasis on raiding, warfare, maritime technology and tactics, and the evidence for the so-called ‘Sea Peoples’ who have been connected to the events of this period. He focuses in particular on the hero’s description of his frequent raiding activities and on his subsequent sojourn in the land of the pharaohs, and connections between Odysseus’ false narrative and the historical experiences of one particular Sea Peoples group: the ‘Sherden of the Sea.’

During the fourteenth and thirteenth centuries BCE, the kings of Egypt, Babylonia, Assyria, and Hatti participated in a complex international community. These two hundred years also witnessed the production of luxurious artworks made of gold, ivory, alabaster, and faience--objects that helped to foster good relations among the kingdoms. In fact, as Marian H. Feldman makes clear here, art and international relations during the Late Bronze Age formed an unprecedented symbiosis, in concert with expanded travel and written communications across the Mediterranean. And thus diplomacy was invigorated through the exchange of lavish art objects and luxury goods, which shared a repertoire of imagery that modern scholars have called the first International Style in the history of art. Previous studies have focused almost exclusively on stylistic attribution of these objects at the expense of social contextualization. Feldman's Diplomacy by Design instead examines the profound connection between art produced during this period and its social and political contexts, revealing inanimate objects as catalysts--or even participants--in human dynamics. Feldman's fascinating study shows the ways in which the diplomatic circulation of these works actively mediated and strengthened political relations, intercultural interactions, and economic negotiations and she does so through diverse disciplinary frameworks including art history, anthropology, and social history. Written by a specialist in ancient Near Eastern art and archaeology who has excavated and traveled extensively in this area of the world, Diplomacy by Design considers anew the symbolic power of material culture and its centrality in the construction of human relations.