Udjahorresnet
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Udjaḥorresnet (or Wedjaḥorresnet, and many other variants) was an
ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...
ian high official who lived between the end of the
26th Dynasty The Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XXVI, alternatively 26th Dynasty or Dynasty 26) was the last native dynasty of ancient Egypt before the Persian conquest in 525 BC (although other brief periods of rule by Egyptians followed). T ...
and the beginning of the 27th Dynasty. He is mainly known for his efforts in promoting the Egyptian customs to the early
Achaemenid The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, it was the large ...
kings of the 27th Dynasty. We know about his remarkable and controversial career thanks to his
autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...
, inscribed on a well known statue depicting him; the statue, commonly called ''Naoforo vaticano'' (
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
for "Vatican '' naos''-carrier") was originally placed in the temple of
Neith Neith (, a borrowing of the Demotic (Egyptian), Demotic form , also spelled Nit, Net, or Neit) was an ancient Egyptian deity, possibly of Ancient Libya, Libyan origin. She was connected with warfare, as indicated by her emblem of two crossed b ...
at
Sais Sais (, ) was an ancient Egyptian city in the Western Nile Delta on the Canopic branch of the Nile,Mish, Frederick C., Editor in Chief. "Saïs." '' Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary''. 9th ed. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster Inc., 19 ...
likely in Year 3 of
Darius I Darius I ( ; – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his death in 486 BCE. He ruled the empire at its territorial peak, when it included much of West A ...
(c. 519 BCE) and is now exhibited inside the
Vatican Museums The Vatican Museums (; ) are the public museums of the Vatican City. They display works from the immense collection amassed by the Catholic Church and the papacy throughout the centuries, including several of the best-known Roman sculptures and ...
(more precisely in the Museo Gregoriano Egizio) of Rome.


Biography

Early in his career, during the reigns of
pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''wikt:pr ꜥꜣ, pr ꜥꜣ''; Meroitic language, Meroitic: 𐦲𐦤𐦧, ; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') was the title of the monarch of ancient Egypt from the First Dynasty of Egypt, First Dynasty ( ...
s
Amasis II Amasis II ( ; ''ḤMS'') or Ahmose II was a pharaoh (reigned 570526 BCE) of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt, the successor of Apries at Sais, Egypt, Sais. He was the last great ruler of Ancient Egypt, Egypt before the Achaemenid Empire, Persian ...
and
Psamtik III Psamtik III (Ancient Egyptian: , pronounced ), known by the Graeco-Romans as Psammetichus or Psammeticus (Ancient Greek: ), or Psammenitus (Ancient Greek: ), was the last Pharaoh of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt from 526 BC to 525 BC. Most of ...
, Udjahorresnet was a commander of ships (admiral), a
physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...
and a priest of Neith in Sais. p. 212. He was probably the Commander of the Egyptian Fleet under Amasis II, as one of his title on the inscription of his statue is "Commander of the King's fleet". According to the inscription, he was: After the defeat at Pelusium in 525 BCE and the subsequent conquest of Egypt by
Cambyses II Cambyses II () was the second King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning 530 to 522 BCE. He was the son of and successor to Cyrus the Great (); his mother was Cassandane. His relatively brief reign was marked by his conquests in North Afric ...
, he eventually was relieved from his military duties. Nevertheless, his influence grew unexpectedly under the reign of the foreign kings, Cambyses and his successor Darius I: Udjahorresnet apparently became a sort of
collaborationist Wartime collaboration is cooperation with the enemy against one's country of citizenship in wartime. As historian Gerhard Hirschfeld says, it "is as old as war and the occupation of foreign territory". The term ''collaborator'' dates to the 19th ...
for the Persians, managing to enter in the royal court as
chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...
and
chief physician A chief physician, also called a head physician, physician in chief, senior consultant, or chief of medicine, is a physician in a senior management position at a hospital or other institution. In many institutions, it is the title of the most sen ...
. From his statue, it is known that he used his influence to make Cambyses acknowledge and respect Egyptian customs. Acculturated by Udjahorresnet, the pharaoh paid homage to the goddess Neith at Sais, not before having driven out many Persian squatters who had settled within the temple; Udjahorresnet himself composed Cambyses' pharaonic titulary, calling him the
Horus Horus (), also known as Heru, Har, Her, or Hor () in Egyptian language, Ancient Egyptian, is one of the most significant ancient Egyptian deities who served many functions, most notably as the god of kingship, healing, protection, the sun, and t ...
''Smatawy'' (”He who unifies the
Two Lands In Egyptian history, the Upper and Lower Egypt period (also known as The Two Lands) was the final stage of prehistoric Egypt and directly preceded the unification of the realm. The conception of Egypt as the Two Lands was an example of the duali ...
”) and the
King of Upper and Lower Egypt The prenomen, also called cartouche name or throne name ( "of the Sedge and Bee") of ancient Egypt, was one of the five royal names of pharaohs. The first pharaoh to have a Sedge and Bee name was Den during the First Dynasty. Most Egyptologist ...
''Mesutire'' (“Offspring of Ra”). This view of Udjahorresnet (and other Achaemenid Egypt's high officials) being "collaborators" and the interpretation of his inscription are recently challenged by H. P. Colburn as a misconception resulted by earlier scholars' preconceived notion of the Achaemenid rule in Egypt being insidious. In fact, archaeological evidences suggest Udjahorresnet was venerated after his death for some time by at least a part of the Egyptian populace. After Cambyses' death (522 BCE), Udjahorresnet's mission continued with Darius I: in fact, he even escorted Darius on his return to
Susa Susa ( ) was an ancient city in the lower Zagros Mountains about east of the Tigris, between the Karkheh River, Karkheh and Dez River, Dez Rivers in Iran. One of the most important cities of the Ancient Near East, Susa served as the capital o ...
and before returning to Egypt, he persuaded the new pharaoh to entrust to him the restoration of '' Per-ankh'' (the “House of Life”), a well known educational and cultural institution in ancient Egypt. Udjahorresnet probably died later during Darius' reign. His huge
shaft tomb A shaft tomb or shaft grave is a type of deep rectangular burial structure, similar in shape to the much shallower cist grave, containing a floor of pebbles, walls of rubble masonry, and a roof constructed of wooden planks. Practice The pract ...
at
Abusir Abusir (  ; Egyptian ''pr wsjr'' ' "the resting place of Osiris"; ) is the name given to an ancient Egyptian archaeological pyramid complex comprising the ruins of 4 kings' pyramids dating to the Old Kingdom period, and is part of the ...
was excavated between 1980 and 1993, and found looted in antiquity. It is still a matter of debate if Udjahorresnet was indeed buried here or not; if not, it is possible that he died and was entombed in Persia rather than Egypt. p. 105


References


Further reading

*


External links

*
The inscription of Udjahorresne
{{Authority control People of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt Ancient Egyptian physicians Ancient Egyptian treasurers Ancient Egyptian priests Court physicians Admirals 6th-century BC births Year of death unknown 6th-century BC clergy 6th-century BC Egyptian people Twenty-seventh Dynasty of Egypt 6th-century BC physicians Physicians from the Achaemenid Empire