Description of the thesis topic

Recruitment, hierarchy and organisation of the Egyptian clergy in the Saite period: the case of the Theban priesthoods in relation to the cults of the regional capitals.
Research question and sources: Writing the history of ancient Egyptian sanctuaries requires, in parallel with the archaeological and epigraphic study of preserved architectural remains, an in-depth investigation of the actors involved in religious life, primarily priests, who constitute a fundamental component of the ruling elite in Pharaonic theocracy. The study of local clergy, each managing their temple with a certain degree of autonomy, provides insight into the family dynamics involved in the rise of cults, which also have an economic dimension, as well as the networks of power and interactions between regional metropolises, from the perspective of theological exchanges or commercial relations. In the context of the study of the temples of Karnak (Upper Egypt) by UAR 3172, the proposed topic focuses on the clergy of the Saite period (7th-6th centuries BCE). This was a pivotal period, marked both by significant transformations brought about by the replacement of Kushite power by the rulers of the 26th dynasty and by elements of continuity, particularly in the administration of the Theban divine votaresses, who controlled a large part of the Theban priesthood. The project will consist of studying the particularities of the Theban clergy, particularly in terms of recruitment, hierarchy and administrative organisation, placing it in the historical and archaeological context in which it evolved in Karnak, but also comparing it to other local clergy in Saïs, the capital of the kingdom, in Memphis and in other regional metropolises.
The study will be based on a wealth of sources: monuments left by priests (particularly inscriptions on statues deposited in temples, found in large numbers in the Karnak Cachette in particular, or votive steles from the Serapeum in Memphis); funerary monuments and objects; administrative texts (contracts, petitions, etc.); but also literary texts, such as the Petition of Pétéisis written in Demotic, describing the conflictual negotiations surrounding a priestly office over several generations. The collection of sources may also be based on field missions during long stays at the CFEETK, in association with archaeological and epigraphic missions carried out on monuments from the Kushite-Saite period. It will also be enriched by work on documentary corpus development programmes led or contributed to by his/her supervisors and their teams (databases on statuary, Cachette de Karnak and LEAD, Karnak project, etc.).
The research will be based on prosopographic studies of Theban and non-Theban clergy, reconstructing the family and career of their members from the study of their genealogies and titles inscribed on their votive monuments. It will also draw on representative case studies based on rich documentary files cross-referenced with the monumental contexts under study. On this basis, the aim will be to characterise the functioning and evolution of religious life within the sanctuary of Karnak on the basis of renewed first-hand documentation.

Work Context

The doctoral student will be integrated into the AOROC joint research unit and will benefit from training provided by the team in a wide variety of fields: archaeology, epigraphy, digital humanities, Egyptology (particularly through seminars given by EPHE and Collège de France lecturers). He/she will have access to ongoing research projects on Egyptian statuary (LEAD project). He/she will be involved in the work of the CFEETK in two operations in particular: the Karnak Osirian Sanctuaries mission (co-directed by L. Coulon and C. Giorgi), which excavates and studies the decorative programme of chapels dedicated to Osiris built during the 25th and 26th dynasties by the divine votaresses of Thebes; and the study and conservation-restoration project of the Taharqa building at Lac (codir. J. Hourdin and Amira Fawzy Ali), focusing on a solar temple built during the Kushite period and transformed during the Saite period. In both of these projects, the candidate will have access to sources on the role of the people active in these buildings, namely the stewards of the divine worshippers on the one hand, and the clergy of Ra-Horakhty on the other.
The thesis will be affiliated with ED 472 (EPHE, PSL, Paris).
The doctoral student will spend 30 to 50% of the year in Karnak (Egypt) at UAR 3172 CFEETK.

Constraints and risks

The thesis will be affiliated with ED 472 (EPHE, PSL, Paris).
The doctoral student will spend 30 to 50% of the year in Karnak (Egypt) at UAR 3172 CFEETK.

Additional Information

The candidate must hold a master's degree (or equivalent qualification).
In-depth knowledge of Egyptology is required, particularly of the history of the 1st millennium BC and the historical sources on which it is based; advanced proficiency in Egyptian hieroglyphics and Egyptian epigraphy. Knowledge of hieratic and demotic script and experience in the field of Egyptian archaeology are desirable.
Other expected skills:
language skills in English and German; writing skills, ability to formulate and lead a scientific project; ability to work in a team; autonomy, organisational skills and ability to report; ability to adapt to the constraints of work and life in Karnak (Egypt).