Violence in the Service of Order: The Religious Framework for Sanctioned Killing in Ancient Egypt

This book is hoped to be only the beginning of explorations of the ancient Egyptian notion of upholding Order (Maat) through violence. Because of the scope of the topic, this study is limited to the most extreme measure of violence perpetrated in the service of Order: sanctioned killing. This study explores texts that affirm the proper occasions for such killings, and the religious framework behind these actions. Contents: 1) The Act of Killing: An introduction; 2) Death by Narmer an Others: the Archaic Period; 3) Slaying under the Aegis of the Go-King: The Old Kingdom; 4) Sanctioned Killing in the Time Between: The First Intermediate Period; 5) Death by Drowning, Burning, and Flaying: The Middle Kingdom and the Second Intermediate Period; 6) The Slayings of the Great Pharaohs: Dynasty 18; 7) Instances of Intrigue: The Ramesside Era; 8) The Constancy of Killing Amidst Anarchy: Dynasties 21, 22, 25, and 26; 9) A Time to Kill: The Appropriateness of Violence; 10) Foreigners and Isfet; 11) Violent Myth in the Ritual of Return.