Re-evaluating Aspects of Inter-Polity Boundaries (tASw)
in Middle and New Kingdom Egypt

Oren Siegel

Polish Academy of Sciences

Thursday 8 June 2023

4 pm CEST

Chains of frontier fortresses and the presence of
boundary stelae have understandably encouraged scholars
to emphasize parallels between Pharaonic political
boundaries and contemporary political borders, but
ancient Egyptian territoriality and conceptions of
political boundaries differed in several key ways.
First, Pharaonic boundaries were not defined by
their permeability, but rather their capacity to
be altered by royal action. Second, specific
territorial claims were often less vital than the
sovereign act of claiming or marking a boundary.
Finally, ancient Egyptian boundaries were often
discussed in personal terms, as belonging to a
particular pharaoh. They were not abstracted,
linear features that aspired to an ahistorical
permanence, but functioned as powerful, performative
displays of political authority in liminal spaces.
Recognizing these fundamental differences builds
upon the insights of earlier scholarship and
provides new perspectives on Pharaonic
boundary-making practices.

For the link to this event please contact:

borderscapeproject@gmail.com