The Overseers of Double Granaries of Upper and Lower Egypt in the Egyptian New Kingdom, 1570-1085 B.C

In 1958 Wolfgang Helck published Zur Verwaltung des Mittleren und Neuen Reichs, a work not only on the bureaucratic administration of the ancient Egyptian state, but also on the men who held the top positions of civil government. Since the publication of this seminal work much new information has appeared which can augment the number of officials who held each office and the understanding of their roles.;The current study has undertaken the examination of just one of the high posts appearing in Helck's opus. The Overseers of Double Granaries of Upper and Lower Egypt were the central government's representatives charged with assessing, collecting, registering, storing, and redistributing the grain-tax of crown-lands. Traces of these men's careers is documented by administrative papyri, funerary and temple statues, tombs, letters, and rock graffiti. Using these inscriptional and archaeological data, the chronological position, career track, professional responsibilities, and genealogy of each Overseer can be reconstructed in outline or in detail depending on the amount of material preserved.;This study focuses on the New Kingdom, which consists of three dynasties spanning the period 1570 to 1085 B.C. Chapter 1 is an overview of the grain administration and administrators from the Predynastic Period to the advent of the New Kingdom. Chapters 2, 3, and 4 treat the Overseers of Double Granaries of the 18th, 19th, and 20th dynasties respectively. Included with each verified Overseer is his attestations, titles, family, and subordinates. The last chapter quickly surveys the three post-New Kingdom Overseers and offers probable explanations why the grain administration had undergone a fundamental transformation to another system.;The results of the study do not support the contention of a dual system of administration similar to the New Kingdom vizierate. On the contrary, there is no unequivocal evidence that more than one Overseer of Double Granaries of Upper and Lower Egypt held office concurrently, though there could be several subordinate granary overseers in the central grain administration or within temple establishments. Men whose titles are vague or incomplete are studied and are either accepted or rejected as heads of the central grain administration.