THE EVALUATION OF THE FAMINE STELE, A DIVINE INVOCATION NARRATIVE IN ANCIENT EGYPT, IN TERMS OF ADMINISTRATION

Year 2022, Volume: 19 Issue: 50, 183 - 200, 30.12.2022

Ercüment Yıldırım

Abstract

The most permanent change in the life style of humanity has been with the emergence of agricultural production, and ensuring the continuity of the products grown by people has become a necessity for the continuation of life. Although famine, which is one of the most undesirable situations for people who continue their lives with agriculture, is generally associated with the absence of rain, famine in Ancient Egypt emerged when the Nile River did not rise enough. The Nile River was creating a flood that lasted for about a hundred days from June to September according to the Gregorian calendar. With the end of the flood, very plentiful products could be obtained from the lands that were ready for planting. However, the fact that the flood did not reach the previously prepared fields resulted in the failure of the expected production. The Recent archaeological researches show that the rise of the Nile River is less than it is expected in some periods and In other time periods, it increases quite a lot. In addition to archaeological researches, many Ancient Egyptian texts describe that the flooding of the Nile River, which gives life, resulted in famine. The most striking one among these texts is the inscription called “Famine Stele”. The events described in the Famine Stele, which was found to be inscribed on a granite rock during the reign of Ptolemy Epiphanes V, who ruled between 204 and 180 BC, takes place during the reign of King Zoser, who ruled Egypt between 2667 and 2648 BC. The Famine Stele begins with the narration that Egypt experienced a great famine because the Nile River had not flooded for seven years, and King Zoser's suffer seeing the situation of the people. Afterwards, King Zoser sought help from Imhotep who was a high clergyman. Imhotep reached an area called Yebu on his way to find Hapy, the god of the Nile River. The god Khnum entered the dream of Imhotep, who performed presentations and secret rituals for other gods and Khnum the chief god of the Yebu region. In Imhotep's dream, God Khnum gave the good news that he would allow the Nile River to rise again, after first describing his majesty and majesty. After Imhotep woke up from his sleep, he wrote down what happened in his dream and conveyed this happy news to his king, Zoser. In the last part of the Famine Stele, there is a warning that those who damage and deny the inscription will be punished. Engraved on a solid granite rock, the Famine Stele was discovered by Charles Edwin Wilbour in 1889 and the first complete translation was made by Heinrich Brugsch in 1891. Afterwards, many Egyptian historians made new translations and corrections to the text. In this study, the narrative in the Famine Stele has been evaluated in terms of the management understanding of Ancient Egypt, which has developed and changed over the millennia. In addition, the traces of the transformation from sanctification to deification of the kings, which is the most decisive indicator of the understanding of government in Ancient Egypt, which was in coordination with the belief system, was tried to be conveyed through the Famine Stele narrative, which contains superhuman elements.

Keywords

Famine Stele, King Zoser, God Khnum, Imhotep, God Hapy, Ptolemy V. Epiphanes.

ESKİ MISIR’DA TANRISAL BİR YAKARIŞ ANLATISI OLAN KITLIK STELİ’NIN YÖNETİM ANLAYIŞI AÇISINDAN DEĞERLENDİRİLMES

Abstract

İnsanlığın yaşam tarzındaki en kalıcı değişim, tarımsal üretim biçiminin ortaya çıkışı ile olmuş ve insanların yetiştirdikleri ürünlerin devamlılığının sağlaması hayatın sürdürülmesi için bir zorunluluk haline gelmiştir. Tarım ile yaşamını devam ettiren insanlar için yaşanacak en istenmedik durumlardan biri olan kıtlık, genelde yağmurun yağmayışı ile bağdaştırılsa da Eski Mısır’da kıtlık, Nil Nehri’nin yeteri kadar yükselmeyişiyle ortaya çıkmaktaydı. Nil Nehri, miladi takvime göre haziran ayından eylül ayına kadar yaklaşık yüz gün süren bir taşkın meydana getirmekteydi. Taşkının sona ermesi ile ekime hazır olan topraklardan oldukça verimli ürün alınabilmekteydi. Fakat taşkının yeteri kadar yükselip önceden hazırlanmış olan tarlalara ulaşmayışı, beklenilen üretimin yapılamayışı ile sonuçlanmaktaydı. Günümüze kadar yapılan arkeolojik araştırmalar, Nil Nehri’nin bazı dönemlerde beklenilenden az; bazı dönemlerde ise oldukça fazla yükseldiğini göstermektedir. Arkeolojik araştırmaların yanı sıra birçok Eski Mısır metninde de hayat veren Nil Nehrinin taşmayışının kıtlık ile sonuçlandığı anlatılmaktadır. Bu metinler içerisinde en dikkat çekeni “Kıtlık Steli” olarak isimlendirilen yazıttır. MÖ 204 ile 180 yılları arasında hüküm süren V. Ptolemy Epiphanes döneminde granit bir kaya üzerine yazdırıldığı tespit edilen Kıtlık Steli’nde anlatılan olaylar, MÖ 2667 ile 2648 yıllarında Mısır’ı yöneten Kral Zoser’in döneminde geçmektedir. Kıtlık Steli, Nil Nehri’nin yedi yıldan beri taşmamasından dolayı Mısır’ın büyük bir kıtlık yaşadığı ve Kral Zoser’in halkının durumu görerek kalbinde büyük sıkıntılar çektiğinin anlatımı ile başlamaktadır. Sonrasında Kral Zoser, yüksek bir ruhban sınıfı mensubu olan İmhotep’ten yardım istemiştir. İmhotep, Nil Nehri’nin tanrısı olan Hapy’i bulmak için çıktığı yolda Yebu olarak adlandırılan bir bölgeye ulaşmıştır. Yebu bölgesinin baş tanrısı olarak kabul edilen Khnum ile diğer tanrılar için sunumlar ve gizli ritüeller gerçekleştiren İmhotep’in rüyasına Tanrı Khnum girmiştir. İmhotep’in rüyasında Tanrı Khnum, öncelikle yüceliğini ve azametini anlattıktan sonra Nil Nehri’nin tekrar yükselmesine müsaade edeceği müjdesini vermiştir. İmhotep, uykusundan uyandıktan sonra rüyasında olanları yazarak kralı Zoser’e bu mutlu haberi ulaştırmıştır. Kıtlık Steli’nin son bölümünde yazıta zarar verenlerin ve yalanlayanların cezalandırılacağına dair bir uyarı bulunmaktadır. Yekpare bir granit kaya üzerine kazılmış olan Kıtlık Steli, 1889 yılında Charles Edwin Wilbour tarafından keşfedilmiş ve ilk tam tercümesi Heinrich Brugsch tarafından 1891 yılında yapılmıştır. Sonrasında birçok Mısır tarihçisi metine yeni tercüme ve düzeltme önerileri yapmıştır. Bu çalışmada, Kıtlık Steli’ndeki anlatı, Eski Mısır’ın binyıllar boyunca gelişim ve değişim gösteren yönetim anlayışı açısından değerlendirilmiştir. Ayrıca inanç sistemi ile eş güdüm gösteren Eski Mısır’daki yönetim anlayışının en belirleyici göstergesi olan kralların, kutsallaştırılmasından tanrılaştırılmasına geçen dönüşümün izleri, insanüstü öğeler barındıran Kıtlık Steli anlatısı üzerinden aktarılmaya çalışılmıştır.

Keywords

Kıtlık Steli, Kral Zoser, Tanrı Khnum, İmhotep, Tanrı Hapy, V. Ptolemy Epiphanes.

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