Beyond the Symbol: The Cultural Significance of New Kingdom Royal Monograms

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Aboukir High institute for tourism, hotels and restoration, Alexandria

Abstract

Throughout the ancient Egyptian New Kingdom, royal monograms played a significant role in the kings’ literary and artistic portrayal. The monogram was a creative and figurative application of hieroglyphs that portrayed the king's name or prenomen, expressing both phonetic pronunciations and more significant symbolic associations. The purpose of this study is to identify the royal monograms, which were represented as friezes and solitary monograms. The frieze monogram is portrayed on the temples’ walls and the sacred barque shrines. Queen Hatshepsut was the first royal figure to utilize a monogram frieze on the walls of her temples at Deir el-Bahari and Madinet Habu, while King Horemheb was the first to depict his name as a monogram frieze on the shrines of sacred barques. The monogram friezes of the temples’ walls were common during the Ramesside Period, especially the reigns of Seti I, Ramesses II, and Ramesses III. At the same time, solitary monograms were first introduced during the era of Queen Hatshepsut and became widespread during the reigns of Seti I, Ramesses II, and Ramesses III. The solitary monograms were also depicted as an offering to different deities. These monograms were not just a representation of the king's name but a statement of their divine rule and connection to the gods, which was critical in maintaining their power and influence over the people. They even became offerings to deities, emphasizing the intertwining of the king’s identity with the divine.

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Journal of Association of Arab Universities for Tourism and Hospitality
Volume 27, Issue 1
December 2024
Pages 382-418

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