

The History of Egypt Podcast
Dominic Perry
Ancient Egypt, from Creation to Cleopatra. This podcast tells the story of pharaonic Egypt "in their own words." Using archaeology, ancient texts, and up-to-date scholarship, we uncover the world of the Nile Valley and its people. Hosted on the Airwave Media Network.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Mar 14, 2023 • 58min
174: Horemheb, Death and Legacy
The Death and Legacy of Horemheb (c.1305 BCE). Horemheb's reign ended after some 27-years of rule, though this is debated fiercely among historians. His latter-day achievements include an unorthodox approach to building his Memorial Temple, as well as an innovative and spectacular royal tomb. Ultimately, the King reached the end of his reign, leaving a legacy that deserves greater attention...
Date: c.1305 BCE.
Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com.
Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast.
Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.
Intro music and interludes: Luke Chaos.
Additional interludes: Keith Zizza.
Outro music: Ancient Lyric.
Read the excavation report for Horemheb/Ay's Memorial Temple at The University of Chicago.
Select Bibliography:
N. Brown, ‘Coffin of Ramesses II’, American Research Center in Egypt.
K. M. Bryson, ‘Some Year Dates of Horemheb in Context’, Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 51 (2015), 285–302.
K. M. Bryson, ‘The Reign of Horemheb: History, Historiography, and the Dawn of the Ramesside Era’, Unpublished PhD. Thesis, Johns Hopkins University (2018).
A. Dodson, Amarna Sunset: Nefertiti, Tutankhamun, Ay, Horemheb, and the Egyptian Counter-Reformation (2nd edn, 2017).
U. Hölscher, The Excavation of Medinet Habu II: The Temples of the Eighteenth Dynasty (1939). Available free online.
E. Hornung, Das Grab des Haremhab im Tal der Könige (1971).
M. Nilsson and P. Martinez, ‘In the Footsteps of Ricardo Caminos: Rediscovering the “Speos of Gebel el Silsila”’, in G. Rosati and M. C. Guidotti (eds), Proceedings of the XI International Congress of Egyptologists (2017), 445—449.
N. Reeves, ‘The Coffin of Ramesses II’, Proceedings of the First Vatican Coffin Conference 19–22 June 2013, I (2013), 425—438.
Theban Mapping Project, ‘KV 57 The Tomb of Horemheb’.
A.-C. Thiem, Speos von Gebel es-Silsileh: Analyse der architektonischen und ikonographischen Konzeption im Rahmen des politischen und legitimatorischen Programmes der Nachamarnazeit (2000).
J. Van Dijk, ‘New Evidence on the Length of the Reign of Horemheb’, Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 44 (2008), 193—200.
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Nov 4, 2022 • 7h 12min
The Tomb of Tutankhamun (The Full Story)
100 Year Anniversary, 2022. The story of King Tutankhamun's tomb, in one epic episode.
Chapters and their original episodes (with references and pictures):
Part 1 (Chapters 1 to 5).
Part 2 (Chapters 6 and 7).
Part 3 (Chapters 8 and 9).
Part 4 (Chapters 10 to 12).
Part 5 (Chapters 13 and 14).
Part 6 (Chapters 15 and 16).
The 2010 DNA study (Episode 128).
The Possible Tomb of Nefertiti (Episode 137b).
Reference materials:
For the full archive of Harry Burton’s photographs, showing the tomb of Tutankhamun in its original state, at the Griffith Institute.
See other images, including the treasures, at Wikimedia.
The Tomb of Tutankhamun at The Theban Mapping Project.
The life and reign of Tutankhamun at The History of Egypt Podcast.
Episode Details
Date: 1340 BCE and 1922 - 1932 CE.
Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com.
Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast.
Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.
Logo image: The gold mummy mask of Tutankhamun via Wikimedia.
Music by Keith Zizza https://www.keithzizza.net/
Music by Michael Levy http://www.ancientlyre.com/
Music by Ancient Lyric http://www.bettinajoydeguzman.com/
Sound interludes by Luke Chaos https://twitter.com/Luke_Chaos
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Nov 2, 2022 • 35min
173: A Forgotten Campaign
To Vile Carchemish. In Year 16, King Horemheb may have led a "campaign of victory" to the far north. An artefact identified in the 1970s, but lost for decades, testifies to these events... but what do they mean?
Episode details:
Date: c.1316 BCE.
Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com.
Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast.
Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.
Music intro: Keith Zizza.
Music interludes and outro: Luke Chaos.
Select Bibliography:
A. Ahrens, ‘New Light on the Amarna Period from the Northern Levant: A Clay Sealing with the Throne Name of Akhenaten/Amenhotep IV from the Royal Palace at Tall Mišrife/Qatna, in: Zeitschrift für Orient-Archäologie 5 (2012): 232-248’, Zeitschrift für Orient-Archäologie 5 (2012), 232—248.
A. Ahrens, ‘Pharao Haremhab und die nördliche Levante. Bemerkungen zu einem Skarabäenabdruck aus Tell Mišrife/Qatna, in: Ugarit-Forschungen 45, In memoriam Oswald Loretz (2014): 1-9’, Ugarit-Forschungen 45 (2014), 1—9.
E. Devecchi and J. L. Miller, ‘Hittite-Egyptian Synchronisms and their Consequences for Ancient Near Eastern Chronology’, in J. Mynářová (ed.), Egypt and the Near East – The Crossroads (Prague, 2011), 139—176.
H. Gauthier, Dictionnaire des noms géographiques contenus dans les textes hiéroglyphiques (Paris, 1925).
R. Gautschy, ‘A Reassessment of the Absolute Chronology of the Egyptian New Kingdom and its “Brotherly” Countries’, Egypt and the Levant 24 (2014), 141—158.
N. Grimal, ‘L’offrande d’un vétéran de l’an 16 d’Ḥoremḥeb’, Comptes rendus de l’Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-lettres (Paris) (2018), 319—338.
B. Lagarce-Othman, ‘Un nouveau vase inédit d’Horemheb’, in V. Matoïan and M. al-Maqdissi (eds), Études Ougaritiques III, Ras Shamra–Ougarit XXI (Leuven, 2013), 347—364.
V. Matoïan, ‘Ugarit et l’Égypte: essai d’interprétation de la documentation archéologique et perspectives de la recherche’, in B. Eder and R. Pruzsinszky (eds), Policies of Exchange Political Systems and Modes of Interaction in the Aegean and the Near East in the 2nd Millenium B.C.E, Proceedings of the International Symposium at the University of Freiburg Institute for Archaeological Studies, 30th May – 2nd June 2012, 2 (Vienna, 2015), 35—84.
J. L. Miller, ‘Amarna Age Chronology and the Identity of Nibḫururiya In the Light of a Newly Reconstructed Hittite Text’, Altorientalische Forschungen 34 (2007), 252—293.
D. B. Redford, ‘New Light on the Asiatic Campaigning of Ḥoremheb’, Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 211 (1973), 36—49.
D. B. Redford, ‘A Head-Smiting Scene from the 10th Pylon’, in M. Görg (ed.), Fontes Atque Pontes. Eine Festgrabe für Hellmut Brunner (Wiesbaden, 1983), 362—373.
Z. Simon, ‘Kann Armā mit Haremhab gleichgesetzt werden?’, Altorientalische Forschungen 36 (2009), 340—348.
G. Wilhelm, ‘Muršilis II. Konflikt mit Ägypten und Haremhabs Thronbesteigung’, Die Welt des Orients 39 (2009), 108—116.
J. A. Wilson, ‘Egyptian Historical Texts’, in J. B. Pritchard (ed.), Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament with Supplement (1978), 227–64.
W. Wreszinski, Atlas zur altaegyptischen Kulturgeschichte (Geneva, 1988).
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Nov 1, 2022 • 30min
172: Horemheb, Wise Like Thoth
Horemheb's favourite god. Throughout his life, Horemheb commissioned monuments and artefacts that honoured Djehuty (Thoth). As a courtier, then a King, Horemheb showed a certain favour towards this god. Why did he like this god, in particular, and what do these artefacts tell us about Horemheb as a person?
Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com.
Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast.
Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.
Logo image: Horemheb as a Scribe, statue in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Read the Hymn to Thoth at the Metropolitan Museum of Art website.
Music interludes by Luke Chaos, Hathor Systrum, and Keith Zizza.
Select Bibliography:
N. Allon, Writing, Violence, and the Military: Images of Literacy in Eighteenth dynasty Egypt (1550-1295 BCE). (2019).
B. G. Davies, Egyptian Historical Records of the Later Eighteenth Dynasty, VI (1995).
M. Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature Volume II: The New Kingdom (1976).
W. J. Murnane, Texts from the Amarna Period in Egypt (1995).
K. Sowada, ‘A Late Eighteenth Dynasty Statue in the Nicholson Museum, Sydney’, The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 80 (1994), 137–43.
H. E. Winlock, ‘A Statue of Horemhab before His Accession’, The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 10 (1924), 1–5.
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Oct 25, 2022 • 53min
171: Law & Order (Special Ma'at Unit)
Horemheb's Great Decree. Sometime during his reign, King Horemheb proclaimed a new set of laws. Taking aim at corruption and abuses-of-power (allegedly happening throughout Egypt), the pharaoh went hard on corrective measures. Punishments could range from beatings to disfigurement, exile, and death. Horemheb was not messing around. But what was he really trying to achieve?
Episode details, pictures and references at www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com
Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast.
Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.
Intro music by Keith Zizza www.keithzizza.net
Interludes and Outro music by Luke Chaos www.twitter.com/luke_chaos
Select Bibliography:
G. de la Bédoyere, Pharaohs of the Sun: The Rise and Fall of Tutankhamen’s Dynasty (2022).
C. Eyre, The Use of Documents in Pharaonic Egypt (2013).
A. Gnirs, ‘Haremhab - ein Staatsreformator? Neue Betrachtungen zum Haremhab-Dekret’, Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur 16 (1989), 83–110.
A. M. Gnirs, Militär und Gesellschaft: Ein Beitrag zur Sozialgeschichte des Neuen Reiches (1996).
A. M. Gnirs, ‘Coping With the Army: The Military and the State in the New Kingdom’, in J. C. Moreno García (ed.), Ancient Egyptian Administration (2013), 639—717.
R. Hari, Horemheb et la reine Moutnedjemet ou la fin d’une Dynastie (1965).
W. Helck, Urkunden der 18. Dynastie: Ubersetzung zu den Heften 17–22 (1961).
J.-M. Kruchten, Le décret d’Horemheb: traduction, commentaire épigraphique, philologique et institutionnel (1981).
K. Pflüger, ‘The Edict of King Haremhab’, Journal of Near Eastern Studies 5 (1946), 260–76.
YouTube: Guy de la Bédoyere, "Horemheb, the 'Enlightened Despot,'" https://youtu.be/-jCEo21_hK4
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Sep 27, 2022 • 1h 22min
The Ancient Egyptian Empire with Dr. Uroš Matić
New Kingdom vs the World. This week we have an interview with Dr. Uroš Matić. Dr. Matić is a member of the Austrian Archaeological Institute, and takes a fascinating view of ancient society, including violence, gender, and the state. This episode was recorded in 2021.
Dr. Uroš Matić online: Twitter, Academia.edu, and the Austrian Archaeological Institute.
The Egyptian Empire in the 18th Dynasty: episodes at www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com.
Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast.
Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.
Music by Keith Zizza www.keithzizza.com.
Music by Bettina Joy de Guzman www.bettinajoydeguzman.com.
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Sep 20, 2022 • 44min
170: Horemheb and Ramesses
The Mother is Sweet, Born of the Sun. In the second half of Horemheb’s reign, Egypt’s Queen died in childbirth. Subsequently, pharaoh chose one of his servants, Paramessu (Ramesses) as a successor. This choice arguably established the 19th royal Dynasty. Why did Horemheb do this? Episode details:
Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com.
Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast.
Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.
Intro music: Keith Zizza.
Interlude sounds and Outro music: Luke Chaos.
Additional research by Elissa Day.
See Geoffrey Martin discussing the discovery of Horemheb's Saqqara tomb at the Associated Press (1975).
Select Bibliography:
G. Brunton, ‘The Inner Sarcophagus of Prince Ramessu from Medinet Habu’, Annales du Services des Antiquités de l’Egypte 43 (1943), 133—156.
G. Brunton and R. Engelbach, Gurob (1927).
E. Cruz-Uribe, ‘The Father of Ramses I: OI 11456’, Journal of Near Eastern Studies 37 (1978), 237–44.
A. Dodson, Amarna Sunset: Nefertiti, Tutankhamun, Ay, Horemheb, and the Egyptian Counter-Reformation (2017).
W. Grajetzki, Ancient Egyptian Queens: A Hieroglyphic Dictionary (London, 2005).
G. T. Martin, ‘Excavations at the Memphite Tomb of Ḥoremḥeb, 1977: Preliminary Report’, The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 64 (1978), 5–9.
G. T. Martin, The Memphite Tomb of Ḥoremḥeb, Commander-in-Chief of Tutʻankhamūn, 1 (1989).
G. T. Martin, Tutankhamun’s Regent: Scenes and Texts from the Memphite Tomb of Horemheb (2016).
G. T. Martin, ‘Bestower and the Recipient: On a Controversial Scene in the Memphite Tomb of Horemheb’, in C. Demarée et al. (eds), Imaging and Imagining the Memphite Necropolis: Liber Amicorum René van Walsem (2017), 47—56.
D. Polz, ‘Die Särge des (Pa-)Ramessu’, Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Abteilung Kairo 42 (1986), 145—166.
E. Strouhal, ‘Queen Mutnodjmet at Memphis: Anthropological and Paleopathological Evidence’, L’Egyptologie en 1979 II (1982), 317—322.
E. Strouhal, The Memphite Tomb of Ḥoremḥeb, Commander-in-Chief of Tutʻankhamūn IV: Human Skeletal Remains (2008).
E. Strouhal and V. G. Callender, ‘A Profile of Queen Mutnodjmet’, Bulletin of the Australian Centre for Egyptology 3 (1992), 67—75.
J. van Dijk, ‘Horemheb and the Struggle for the Throne of Tutankhamun’, Bulletin of the Australian Centre for Egyptology 7 (1996), 29—42.
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Sep 6, 2022 • 45min
169: Horemheb, Reinventing the Tomb
In the Valley of the Kings, Horemheb commissioned a magnificent tomb. Artistically innovative, it has one foot in the past and one in the future. This tomb introduced a new style of decoration, developed on recent trends, and reshaped the model of royal burials…Episode Details:
Date: c. 1323 BCE.
Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com.
Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast.
Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.
Intro and break music: Keith Zizza.
Outro music and interludes: Luke Chaos.
Learn more about the tomb of Horemheb at the Theban Mapping Project.
See Prof. Geoffrey Martin's description of the tomb at YouTube.
Logo: Unfinished scene from the tomb of Horemheb. Hornung 1971.
Select Bibliography:
T. M. Davis, The Tombs of Harmhabi and Toutânkhamanou (1912).
E. Hornung, Das Grab des Haremhab im Tal der Könige (1971).
Geoffrey Martin, Haremhab, Pharaoh and Conqueror: New Investigations in His Royal Tomb in the Valley of the Kings (2012). YouTube.
‘Horemheb | Theban Mapping Project’, https://thebanmappingproject.com/tombs/kv-57-horemheb.
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Aug 30, 2022 • 27min
168: Security in the Valley of the Kings
Securing the halls. In the 8th year of Horemheb's reign, a royal official named Maya visited a tomb in the Valley of the Kings. He was there to inspect the burial of Thutmose IV, to ensure its security, and repair it if necessary…Episode details:
Date: c.1324 BCE.
Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com.
Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast.
Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.
Intro music: Luke Chaos.
Interlude music: Luke Chaos and Keith Ziza.
Outro music: Bettina Joy de Guzman.
See the tomb of Thutmose IV at the Theban Mapping Project.
Logo image: Detail from the chariot of Thutmose IV (Photo by Dominic Perry).
Select Bibliography:
B. M. Bryan, The Reign of Thutmose IV (Baltimore, 1991).
K. M. Bryson, ‘The Reign of Horemheb: History, Historiography, and the Dawn of the Ramesside Era’, Unpublished PhD. Thesis, Johns Hopkins University (2018).
H. Carter, ‘Introduction’, in T. M. Davis (ed.), The Tomb of Thoutmôsis IV (London, 1904), VII—XII.
T. M. Davis (ed.), The Tomb of Thoutmôsis IV (2002 Reprint edn, London, 1904).
P. E. Newberry, ‘Description of the Tomb and Sarcophagus of Thoutmôsis IV’, in T. M. Davis (ed.), The Tomb of Thoutmôsis IV (London, 1904), XXIX—XL.
N. Reeves and R. H. Wilkinson, The Complete Valley of the Kings (London, 1996).
‘Thutmes IV | Theban Mapping Project’, <https://thebanmappingproject.com/tombs/kv-43-thutmes-iv> accessed 8.27.2022.
‘Thutmosis IV — KV43’, <https://www.osirisnet.net/tombes/pharaons/thoutmosis4/e_thoutmosis4_01.htm> accessed 8.27.2022.
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Aug 23, 2022 • 28min
167: Horemheb, Reviving Deir el-Medina
Back in the village. In regnal year 7, Horemheb's officials turn up in western Thebes (Waset). They began reorganising the village of the tomb-builders, Set-Ma'at "The Place of Truth." Doing so, the King's government created a lasting legacy in the town we call Deir el-Medina.Episode details:
Date: c.1325 BCE.
Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com.
Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast.
Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.
Intro music: Keith Zizza.
Outro music: Ancient Lyric.
Music interludes: Luke Chaos.
Logo image: Horemheb in his tomb, decorated by the workers of Deir el-Medina (Image: Hornung 1971).
Select Bibliography:
M. B. Bruyère, ‘Fouilles de Deir el Medineh (1923—1924)’, Fouilles de L’Institut Francais d’Archéologie Orientale du Caire (1925).
J. Černý, A Community of Workmen at Thebes in the Ramesside period (Cairo, 1973).
B. G. Davies, Who’s Who at Deir el-Medina: A Prosopographic Study of the Royal Workmen’s Community (Leiden, 1999).
B. G. Davies, Life Within the Five Walls: A Handbook to Deir el-Medina (Wallasey, 2018).
Y. M. El Shazly, ‘Royal Ancestor Worship in Deir el-Medina During the New Kingdom’, Unpublished PhD. Thesis, Johns Hopkins University (2008).
B. J. J. Haring, ‘Workmen’s Marks and the Early History of the Theban Royal Necropolis’, in J. Toivari-Viitala et al. (eds), Deir el-Medina Studies: Helsinki, June 24 – 26, 2009, Proceedings (Helsinki, 2014), 87—100.
J. R. Harris, ‘How Long was the Reign of Horemheb?’, Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 54 (1968), 95—99.
M. Müller, ‘Deir el-Medina in the Dark – The Amarna Period in the History of the Village’, in J. Toivari-Viitala et al. (eds), Deir el-Medina Studies: Helsinki, June 24 – 26, 2009, Proceedings (Helsinki, 2014), 154—167.
M. S. i Sanjaume, ‘La Tomba de Sennedjem a Deir el-Medina TT1’, Unpublished PhD. Thesis, University de Barcelona (2013).
E. Uphill, ‘Some Matters Relating to the Growth and Walls of Deir el-Medina’, in Jac. J. Janssen et al. (eds), Deir el-Medina in the Third Millenium AD: A Tribute to Jac. J. Janssen, Egyptologische uitgaven XIV (Leiden, 2000), 325–9.
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