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2 THE PROBLEM OF FRONTIERS 11 gypt enjoys the protection of a series of well-de~ned natural frontiersthatenhancethemeaningofboundaryintheconsciousness of anyone resident in the land.1 Rugged deserts east and west demarcate the limits of life with the sureness and abruptness of a single line, and the treacherous Mediterranean and the shelving beaches of the Delta prevent passage as effectively as a physical wall. In the south, though the land is transected by the Nile, one of the easiest transit corridors in the world, a series of ~ve rapids (cataracts) distributed over nearly a thousand miles of valley makes passage in either direction extremely dif~cult. Within the _oodplain and Delta the sharp demarcation of plots of ground by waterways undoubtedly contributed to the late semantic shift of t3š to mean “district” (i.e., a tract de~ned by a t3š). The overriding importance of “boundary,” in the thinking of Egyptians , is underscored by the centrality of real estate disputes in times of economic decline or outright civil war. The ~rst act of reform following any period of intestine strife was the resurveying of landed property throughout the entire country and the creation or revising of the land cadaster.2 The result in times of prosperity was the existence in various archives3 of “inventories of hundreds of thousands of farm-lands, ‘islands ,’ high-ground and all (types of) ~elds,”4 all marked by boundary stelae sometimes quali~ed as “His Majesty’s decree-stela, certi~ed by survey .”5 To move such boundary stelae was a moral outrage roundly condemned in wisdom literature,6 and owners sometimes called down a hail of curses on the heads of those who might be tempted. THE RESTRICTIVE BOUNDARY To the Egyptian, “boundary” implied the security that accompanied permanence and stability, and no stability could be enjoyed if there was _ux. E To abide in one place, permanent and unchanging, meant happiness, peace, and conformity to ma(at. Within the boundary the sedentary agricultural community, whose members never moved away, symbolized civilization as it had come from the hand of the creator. The members of the extended family,7 working the soil in their ancestral town, re_ected the ethical values pleasing to god and king. And moving from their ancestral home was the farthest thing from their minds. “Be stout-hearted! Embrace your children, kiss your wife and see to your house! That’s better than anything! . . . Thrive at home and be buried (there)!”8 Beyond the boundary malevolence reigned. Out there the bedu eked out their miserable existence, constantly on the move, unable to settle, always ~ghting.9 The boundary marked the separation between the sedentary , god-ordained community of Egyptians and the lawless, doomed wanderers of the desert. As a line of demarcation a watch had to be placed on it and forti~cations built. Above all, unauthorized incursions of the wanderers to settle in the “home counties” could not be tolerated: strong points were set up on the frontier to bar the way to would-be settlers and monitor the movements of seasonal migrants. The latter were allowed to cross on certain days and traders to carry their goods to Egyptian markets;10 but neither were allowed to stay beyond the duration of their immediate mission. The southern boundary stela of the late Middle Kingdom (mid–nineteenth century b.c.) set on record the regulation and published it for all to see: “Boundary made in regnal year 8 under the Majesty of the King of Upper and Lower Egypt Kha-kau-re, given life forever and ever! in order to prevent any Nubian from crossing it on water or land in a k3i-vessel, or any livestock of the Nubians; except for the Nubian who may come to trade in Ak en or on a mission. They are to be treated favorably in every way, but no Nubian k3i-vessel is to be allowed to pass by H  eh  going northwards forever!”11 Surveillance of the border required implacable resolve, constancy, and vigilance: it was not a task for the lazy or timorous. The same king, Senwosret III, sternly admonished his successors in this regard: “Now as for any son of mine who shall strengthen this boundary which My Majesty has made, he is my son, he was born to My Majesty—how ~ne is a son that champions his father and strengthens the boundary of him that begat him!—But as for him who shall lose it and not ~ght...

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