Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered a 2,000-year-old sandstone monument depicting a Roman emperor as a pharaoh.
This small rectangular monument, called a stele or stele, was discovered during restoration work on the Karnak temple complex in Luxor (ancient Thebes). The tablet, approximately 60 x 40 centimeters in size, dates from the reign of Tiberius (14 to 37 AD) and depicts a powerful emperor, according to a translation released by Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
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“To fulfill this role, the ruler needed to appear in a form acceptable to God, performing traditional rituals as a pharaoh,” Wagdi told Live Science in an email.
The newly discovered stela statue depicts Tiberius standing before the gods Amun, Mut, and Khonsu, who are worshiped in Luxor, making him as important as the Roman emperor. “By offering ma’at to them, the emperor shows that he is fulfilling his obligation to the local divine order,” Wagdi said. “The trio also represents the sacred family (father, mother, and son), reflecting the structure of kingship itself and reinforcing the legitimacy of the emperor.”
By introducing Tiberius as pharaoh, the Egyptians allowed him to be incorporated into the state’s religious system. Egyptian-style representations of Roman emperors were common in religious settings. However, Wagdi said the emperor retained Roman style in his coins and official Roman statues.
The incorporation of Egypt into the Roman Empire is closely associated with three famous figures: Augustus (formerly Octavian), Mark Antony, and Cleopatra VII. After abandoning the third member of the triumvirate, the generals Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, Augustus, and Antony each sought to control the entire empire. Anthony allied with Cleopatra, the last pharaoh of ancient Egypt. The future first Roman emperor Augustus finally defeated the two lovers at the Battle of Actium near Greece in 31 BC, and Egypt became a Roman province the following year.
Augustus was succeeded by his stepson Tiberius, who exercised authority in Egypt through envoys but never set foot in Egypt, as was the usual practice of Roman emperors. Wagdi explained that Tiberius’ name is inscribed on monuments associated with Egyptian temples as a means of preserving religious sites in the region.
The stele “reflects a standard ideological and administrative system in which the emperor is represented as the pious builder and protector of the temple, regardless of the actual level of involvement,” he said. “Rather than recording individual achievements, this monument expresses what a king should be in Egyptian terms.”
The stela was discovered during recent restoration of the north gate of the Karnak temple complex, which was built from about 4,000 years ago to Roman times. Coincidentally, the stele also features five lines of hieroglyphs detailing the renovation of the walls of Amun-Ra temple, the statement said.
“It is likely that this stone originally served as a fixed architectural marker, embedded in the exterior of the enclosure wall to commemorate the restoration of that very part of the gate,” Wagdi said. But the era of public access is not over yet. Wagdi said in a statement that after 2,000 years, the stone monument’s new home will become a museum.
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