The Great Karnak Inscription of Merneptah

Book excerpt: The Great Karnak Inscription of Merneptah's 5th regnal year, the longest surviving continuous monumental text from Egypt, describes the combined Libyan and Sea People invasion of Egypt c.1208 BCE. This new study, the first complete commentary on this long but unfortunately damaged text, begins with a translation of the text, accompanied by detailed notes. The study considers specific military aspects of the inscription alongside its religious background. A grammatical analysis of the Great Karnak Inscription also sheds new light on the grammar of Ramesside monumental texts. Reviews for this volume: "...a very useful study of a highly important historical text, largely neglected hitherto.'" - K A Kitchen, Book List (2005) "...should be of interest to anyone studying issues relating to international relations of the period, aspects of military conflict in the later New Kingdom, or the monumental grammar of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Dynasties [...] The welcome inclusion of the complete hieroglyphic text should be of great use to anyone wishing to study the content and grammar of this inscription for themselves." - Joshua Roberson, Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, Vol. XL (2005)