Chapter 8: Egypt: Nordic Desert Empire Part Three: Racial Imagery in Tutankhamen's Tomb
TUTANKHAMEN Tutankhamen, the boy king (who died when he was 18) reigned around 1350 BC. Although he died too young to become a pharaoh of any great significance in his own time, he gained fame when his tomb was discovered virtually intact in 1924 (one of the few tombs to be found in such a good state - most had been the subject of grave robbers centuries before). It is the gold burial mask of Tutankhamen, which has come to symbolize ancient Egypt. However, the real significance of the finds in Tutankhamen's tombs has been largely ignored: amongst Tutankhamen's possessions are some of the most graphic racial images in Egyptology. One of Tutankhamen's thrones, the ecclesiastical chair, has on its' footstool the "Nine Bows" - the Egyptian name for the traditional enemies of Egypt. The finely crafted figures on the footstool are of nine Blacks and Semites tied together in chains. Their positioning on the footstool was so that when the pharaoh sat on his throne, his enemies would be under his feet.
Above: Racial imagery from Tutankhamen's tomb: bound Semitic and Black prisoners decorating the curved end of Tutankhamen's walking stick: when the Egyptian king went for a walk, he would hold the enemies of Egypt in his palm. Another graphically racial image found in Tutankhamen's tomb is to be found on one of his walking sticks. The handle is made up of a bound Semite and a bound Black: so that when the Egyptian king went for a walk with his royal walking stick, he held the enemies of Egypt in his hand. Yet another candid racial image from Tutankhamen's tomb is to be found in a pair of his sandals. Inlaid with a picture of a Semite and a Black, the pharaoh would trample his enemies underfoot when he walked. Below: Racial imagery from Tutankhamen's tomb: the Egyptian king's sandals have bound Black and Semitic prisoners inlaid into the soles: when the king walked in these shoes, he would crush the enemies of Egypt underfoot.
Tutankhamen's famous wooden chest, which was found in the antechamber of his tomb, contains yet another striking scene. On its sides, it shows the Egyptian King riding a chariot and trampling the "Nine Bows" or enemies of Egypt: Blacks and Semites.
Above: A general view of Tutankhamen's wooden chest and below, a detail from the side, showing Tutankhamen trampling Blacks and scattered Semites under the wheels of his chariot and under his horses' hooves. Note also the three Black slaves fanning Tutankhamen at the rear of his chariot - the use of non-White labor being the primary reason why that civilization was eventually overrun by the non-Whites.
By Tutankhamen's time then, the Egyptians were clearly aware of the growing numbers of their racial enemies creeping up on them. These graphic and stunning references to clearly identifiable racial enemies of Egypt are all the more remarkable when it is born in mind that the population make-up of Egypt had, by the reign of Tutankhamen, already started to swing heavily against the original White Egyptians, with Black and Semitic slaves being commonplace within that civilization. In addition to this, a significant number of Egyptians themselves were now of mixed race, the Hyksos occupation having left behind a number of Egyptian/Semitic mixes. Significantly, Tutankhamen's widow attempted to strike an alliance with the Indo-European Hittites who had in the interim became the leading power in the Near East, by arranging her marriage to a Hittite prince. (The marriage never took place, as the husband to be was killed just prior to the ceremony). Chapter 8: Part Four: Racial Images in Egyptian Art Chapter 8: Part Five: The Nubians and the Fall of White Egypt Chapter 8: Part One: The Pre-Dynastic Era and the Old Kingdom 3500 BC - 2270 BC Chapter 8: Part Two : Egyptian Religion, Mummies, Racial Types and the Middle Kingdom All material (c) copyright Ostara Publications, 1999. Re-use for commercial purposes strictly forbidden | |||||
