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Women and Diplomacy in the Late Bronze Age

Femmes et diplomatie au Bronze Récent

Egypt and Ancient Near East

Égypte et Proche-Orient

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Published on Wednesday, May 25, 2022

Abstract

Diplomatic marriages are attested in the Ancient Near East between the 3rd millennium BCE and the middle of the 1st. They took place after numerous negotiations and exchanges of gifts, and made it possible to seal or strengthen alliances with powers of the same rank or with vassal kingdoms. Thanks to the intervention of specialists of the Late Bronze Age in Egypt and the Ancient NearEast, and through the examination of textual, archaeological and iconographic sources, this symposium will analyse the place of women of the royal entourage in international relations.

Announcement

Argument

Diplomatic marriages are attested in the Ancient Near East between the 3rd millennium BCE and the middle of the 1st. They took place after numerous negotiations and exchanges of gifts,and made it possible to seal or strengthen alliances with powers of the same rank or with vassal kingdoms.

During the Late Bronze Age (15th-10th centuries BCE), Egypt belonged to the very select club of Great Powers, along with Hatti (the Hittite kingdom), Cyprus (called Alašiya), Arzawa,Mittani, Assyria and Babylonia (called Karduniaš). Egypt established diplomatic relations with them and with the countries of the Levant, one of the culminating points of which was the conclusion of these marriages. At that time, there was a significant evolution in the written documentation. Whereas in the Middle Bronze Age, between ca. 2000 and 1600 BCE, diplomatic marriages were more than family alliances, during the Late Bronze Age they became real diplomatic treaties between States. These exchanges of princesses sometimeshad serious consequences on international balances.

Thanks to the intervention of specialists of the Late Bronze Age in Egypt and the Ancient NearEast, and through the examination of textual, archaeological and iconographic sources, this symposium will analyse the place of women of the royal entourage in international relations according to three main themes.

1. Women in the diplomatic game

2. The role and status of foreign wives at the Court

3. The daily life of princesses at the court of their husband

The symposium Women and Diplomacy in the Late Bronze Age. Egypt and Ancient Near East is part of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie project PRINCESS: Politics and Royal ForeIgn womeN in the Court of Egypt: a new analySiS of Diplomatic Marriages during Late Bronze Age.It has received the financial support of the H2020 program (grant agreement 2020 n° 898329 ), of UMR 7041 Archéologies et Sciences de l’Antiquité (team Histoire et Archéologie de l’Orient Cunéiforme) and of the BQR from université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne.

Programme

Tuesday, June 7th 2022

  • 10h-10h30  Welcome session
  • 10h30-11h Introduction

Session 1 Women in the diplomatic game (1)

Chair : Marc Gabolde

  • 11h-11h30 – Sophie Démare-Lafont (Université Paris II Panthéon-Assas), Alliances matrimoniales et alliances diplomatiques au Bronze Récent.
  • 11h30-12h – Jana Mynářová (Institute of Comparative Linguistics, Charles University), Marriage and Diplomacy. Egyptian and Hittite Legal Systems Reflected in the Royal Correspondence.
  • 12h-12h30 – Kathrin Gabler (Université de Bâle), Non-royal Women and Diplomacy in Ramesside Egypt.

12h30-14h30  Lunch

Session 2 Women in the diplomatic game (2)

Chair : Brigitte Lion

  • 14h30-15h – Dominique Lefèvre (Université de Genève), La diplomatie dans le texte. Variations sur le mariage égypto-hittite de Ramsès II.
  • 15h-15h30 – Carole Roche-Hawley (CNRS, UMR 8167-Orient et Méditerranée, équipe Mondes sémitiques), There and back again: divorcees and widows leaving Ugarit on their way back to their native countries.

15h30-16h Coffee break

  • 16h-16h30 – Josué J. Justel (Universidad del Alcala), How much is a Mittanian Princess worth?
  • 16h30-17h – Philippe Clancier (Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, UMR 7041-ArScAn, équipe HAROC), Matrimonial alliances between the kingdoms of Babylonia and Elam in the Late Bronze Age.

Wednesday, June 8th 2022

Session 3 The role and status of foreign wives at the Court

Chair : Aline Tenu

  • 10h-10h30 – Daisuke Shibata (University of Tsukuba), (VISIOCONFERENCE) Assyrian princesses and political marriages during the late second millenium BCE.
  • 10h30-11h – Susanne Bickel (Université de Bâle), (VISIOCONFERENCE) The female entourage of Amenhotep IlI – Ritual and Political functions.

11h-11h30 Coffee break

  • 11h30-12h – Agnès Garcia-Ventura & Jordi Vidal (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona), Agency and gender construction: an approach to women in the Amarna letters.
  • 12h-12h30 – Marine Yoyotte (CNRS, UMR 7041-ArScAn, équipe HAROC), Chronicles of invisible Queens: On some Foreign Royal wives and their descendants at the Egyptian Court.

12h30-14h30 Lunch

Session 4 The daily life of Princesses at the Court of their husband

Chair : Agnès Garcia-Ventura

  • 14h30-15h – Alice Mouton (CNRS, UMR 8167-Orient et Méditerranée, équipe Mondes sémitiques), « Qu’elle meure ! » – Les accusations de sorcellerie de Tawannanna par Muršili II.
  • 15h-15h30 – Jaume Llop-Raduà (Universidad Compludense Madrid), Women and Palace during Middle Assyrian Period.

15h30-16hCoffee Break

  • 16h-16h30Marc Gabolde (Université Paul Valéry-Montpellier III), Que sont devenues Tadoughepa et Kiloughepa ? Deux princesses mitanniennes à la cour d’Égypte sous Amenhotep III et Amenhotep IV – Akhénaton.

16h30-17h  Conclusions

Information

L’entrée au colloque Femmes et Diplomatie au Bronze Récent. Égypte et Proche-Orient est libre et gratuite mais l’inscription est obligatoire avant le 01 juin 2022.

Merci (au choix) : 

Oranization

  • Marine YOYOTTE (CNRS, UMR 7041-ArScAn, équipe HAROC)
  • Aline TENU (CNRS, UMR 7041-ArScAn, équipe HAROC)
  • Philippe CLANCIER  (Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, UMR 7041-ArScAn, équipe HAROC)

Symposium secretary

Places

  • Centre Panthéon, salle 6 - 12 Place du Panthéon
    Paris, France (75005)

Event attendance modalities

Full on-site event


Date(s)

  • Tuesday, June 07, 2022
  • Wednesday, June 08, 2022

Keywords

  • femme, diplomatie, Égypte, Proche-Orient ancien, princesse, famille royale, Antiquité

Contact(s)

  • Rosalie Jédélé
    courriel : Rosalie [dot] Jedele [at] etu [dot] univ-paris1 [dot] fr

Reference Urls

Information source

  • Marine Yoyotte
    courriel : marine [dot] yoyotte [at] cnrs [dot] fr

License

CC0-1.0 This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.

To cite this announcement

« Women and Diplomacy in the Late Bronze Age », Conference, symposium, Calenda, Published on Wednesday, May 25, 2022, https://calenda.org/997224

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