Ems Derek 10/8/07 Weni vs. Harkhuf Comparison The ancient autobiographies of Weni and Harkhuf are examples of text that enable us to view what the 6th Dynasty was like socially and politically. Weni and Harkhuf were what we consider today as bureaucrats who were involved in various government activities such as trade, warfare, and the construction of the pyramids. Weni and Harkhuf were also governors of Upper Egypt. Weni had a fairly long career that covered the reigns of Teti, Pepi 1st, and Mernere. Weni began his career as Custodian of the Storehouse but, held positions such as, Overseer of the Robing Room, Inspector of priests in the pyramid town, Senior Warden of Nekhen, and sole companion and overseer of the royal tenants. Weni was so trusted by the pharaoh that he was appointed to investigate a conspiracy in the Harem. He states that he was so worthy that no one else was needed in the investigation. Harkhuf worked during the reigns of Mernere and Pepi 2nd. Throughout Harkhufs lifetime he held positions such as, The Count, Governor of Upper Egypt, Royal Seal-Bearer, Sole Companion, Lector-Priest, and Chief of Scouts. While he was Governor he led various expeditions to Nubia. These expeditions allowed Harkhuf to gain respect among the nobles and the Pharaoh back in Egypt. He returned from these expeditions bearing items such as incense, ebony, oils, panther skins, elephants-tusks, and throw sticks. In return for bringing these goods to Egypt, Mernere gave Harkhuf date wine, cake, bread,
and beer. On one of his expeditions he returned with a dancing pygmy man. The king was greatly appreciative of these gifts from foreign lands and a thank you letter from the king takes up a significant portion of the inscriptions written inside Harkhufs tomb. During the 6th Dynasty not much was known about the lands far to the south and lands that were distant to the Nile. The Nile was the key to life in this arid area and it made it difficult to travel to areas away from the Nile. Harkhuf was able to do this many times throughout his life and the fact that the king rewarded him so greatly for these pursuits show that it was an important contribution in ancient Egypt. The inscriptions in both tombs follow a similar format in which both men are identified by the positions they held throughout their life, prayers for things such as a good burial, and are then followed by the various accomplishments the men held while they were in government. Neither of these men started off as important government officials but rather worked their way up through various positions. This shows us that the Egyptians valued individual merit and allowed people to prove their worth. In many societies if you were born into a certain social caste you were not allowed to move into a different social caste. For example, if your parents were peasants in Medieval Europe you were expected to be a peasant as well. There was no chance for advancement. The fact that the Egyptians allowed this enabled them to become a more sophisticated and advanced society compared to most other ancient civilizations. This is still true today.
Countries that have more opportunity for advancement of its people are better off than countries that do not or do not allow their citizens to advance. Men such as Weni and Harkhuf are an integral part of any government. In their tomb inscriptions it repeatedly states how loyal and trustworthy they were to their king and government. For a government to properly work men such as this are required because it helps prevent corruption within the government. Men such as Weni and Harkhuf did the meat of the work in the government. They actually accomplished many things while they were in office. There are so many examples of government officials that hold official positions but in reality they are not accomplishing anything or they are just there for show. In the 6th Dynasty items such as the completion of tombs and the defeat of enemies was important to the government. Wenis first role that gave him major fame was his conquests of the sand-dwellers. For a man to be that trustworthy and that brilliant a tactician made him a valuable asset to his government. To many kings the completion of their tomb was sometimes the most important thing that they focused on in their daily work. These texts show us how important death was to the living in Egypt. Death was probably one of the largest employers in Egypt because so many citizens spent their whole lives working on and building a tomb for their king. The king appointed Weni to dig five channels in Upper Egypt to bypass the first Cataract. The reason these channels had to be dug was so that various building supplies could be ferried to where the pyramids were being constructed. This was an important position to hold because without
building supplies the pyramids could not be constructed. Wenis trustworthiness can be proved when he was appointed in hearing the secret charge in the royal harem against Queen Weret-yamtes. The king already had people such as the chief judge and vizier in which he could appoint to hear the conspiracy charge but only allowed Weni to hear it alone and decide who was to blame. Weni was an important role model for bureaucrats in 6th Dynasty Egypt. Without texts such as these we would not know how ancient Egypt organized its government, rewarded its trusted government workers, executed military actions, built its pyramids, and made prayers to their gods. In ancient important Egypt government officials were rewarded on the size and type of tomb that they received. Weni received an especially large tomb that contained a white stone sarcophagus from Tura, its lid, a doorway, lintel, two doorjambs, and a libation table. Items such as this cannot be easily moved and had to be brought in on a government barge. The transportation of these extremely heavy items shows that the king valued Weni greatly. Most military actions were carried out by the king himself but they trusted Weni and Harkhuf so much that they were allowed to conduct their own military actions under the kings order. Many of Wenis military actions involved thousands of men from all over Upper Egypt. Other important military officials included the counts, royal seal bearers, sole companions of the palace, chieftains, companions, scout leaders, chief priests, and chief district officials. This shows modern readers of these ancient texts that the
military was a highly organized unit that contained members from all regions that the army was composed from. We can also conclude from the texts that Weni was able to reorganize the army so that it reduced infighting among the men and reduced the plundering of non-combative individuals that the army came across. so that no one attacked his fellow, so that no one seized a loaf or sandals from a traveler, so that no one took a cloth from any town, so that no one took a goat from anyone. (p.20) In the military campaign we also learn that the army cut down the enemies figs and vines, burned down all mansions, killed thousands of enemies, and captured thousands more. Without these texts we would not be able to learn how the ancient army worked and what made it effective against its enemies. Without Wenis changes to the army it might have collapsed. The collapse most likely would have been caused by a lack or organization while in battle but Weni was able to make changes to correct this. The Nile was indispensible when moving large monolithic items such as the ones that were required to build the pyramids. Each stone that was used to build the pyramids weighed well over a ton and without wheels it would have been nearly impossible to drag such a heavy object from the quarries to the site of where the pyramid was being constructed. For some time Weni was appointed to a position that aided in the building of these pyramids. His role was to provide transportation of items from the quarry. Weni completed his assignment by building canals to bypass the first cataract and then
building boats and barges made of acacia wood. The tomb inscription even gives a timeline of about one year for Weni to complete his assignment. Wenis tomb inscription both starts and ends with references to the god Osiris. Osiris was the Egyptian god of life, death, and fertility. The fact that Osiris is mentioned in both the beginning and the end shows us that he was considered to be very important in the eyes of the Egyptians. In the autobiography of Harkhuf, Anubis, the jackal-headed god, is on his mountain and Harkhuf is hoping that he helps him in his burial. Anubis was considered an important god because he helped the deceased get to the underworld and protected them along their journey. The reason Anubis is designated as a jackal headed individual is because the Egyptians feared the jackal because it would dig up dead individuals and eat them. If a person was eaten by a jackal then they would no longer be whole and it would affect them in the afterlife. Therefore the Egyptians turned their enemy into a friend who would help them in the afterlife rather than hurt them. The reason this type of literature was produced in Egypt was to provide a history for the deceased individual and so that his or her name and image could live on forever. In ancient Egypt there were very few ways that information could be recorded. Recording information in stone made it permanent and allowed people to view it years after it happened. The Egyptians deeply believed in an afterlife but for an afterlife to be complete many things still had to occur in real life long after the person had died. The deceased individual was still expected to receive libations such as food and
alcohol. There were special places in the tombs where libations could be placed and there were people whose sole job was to place libations upon the altars of important deceased individuals. There is even text in the tomb inscriptions that state that the deceased individual should still receive items after death. every New Years day, every Thoth feast, every First-of-theYear feast, every wag-feast, every Sokar-feast, on every great feast.(p.24) The Egyptian death and burial process was deeply rooted to life. Many kings spent years preparing for their death by having artisans create pyramids, monuments, and inscriptions in their name. The tomb inscriptions of Weni and Harkhuf have allowed us briefly glimpse into an ancient world. It has given us an understanding of what the ancient Egyptians valued most highly. Most people would not expect that ordinary Egyptian citizens would have the ability to rise through the ranks of government and become some close to a king who had godlike status. Through these texts we are able to learn about how the noble bureaucrats lived and of the many accomplishments they had over their lifetime. Both men had varied careers that dealt primarily with organization and the king trusted them with a variety of tasks.