C
City of Ipu / Akhmin
Akhmin (Ipu, Apu or Khent-min) was the capital of the ninth nome (a territorial division) of ancient Upper Egypt. Historians suggest that it was the hometown for Yuya (official of Thutmosis IV. and Amenhotep III.). Yuya was the father of Queen Tiye, so Akhmin was probably the birthplace of the Queen.
The god Min (whom the Greeks identified with Pan) was worshipped here. Min was the god of the desert routes in the east of ancient Egypt, and the trading tribes often gathered at his festivals for business and pleasure.
Commemorative scarabs
The era of Amenhotep III. was very well documented. The archaeologists have found numerous documents about the system, daily life and diplomacy. Amenhotep III’s commemorative scarabs served as international ‘newspapers’. The pharaoh let the other surrounding nations (allies or enemies) know about the great deeds he accomplished. Today we know about hundreds of these small stone scarabs (painted green or blue). Several of them were found in Egypt but also in other Near-Eastern archaeological digs.
The news written on the scarabs varies. Today we can find the so-called ‘Lion hunt’, ‘Marriage’, ‘Lake’, ‘Bull hunt’ and ‘Gilukhepa’ scarabs in the museums.
For the ancient Egyptians the scarab beetle symbolized the god Kephri (sun disk), and the name of the glaze the scarabs were coated with was ‘tjehenet’. During his reign Amenhotep III. referred to himself as the ‘Dazzling sun disk’, so these small stone beetles carried his signature just by their shape.
Commemorative scarab - Marriage
Metropolitan Museum, New York
Commemorative scarab - Lion hunt
Metropolitan Museum, New York
Commemorative scarab - Construction of a lake for Queen Tiye
Metropolitan Museum, New York