Egypt’s high official, Ankhtifi, outboasts even great Senenmut

by Damien F. Mackey “I am a man without equal …. I am the front of people and the back of people because (my) like will not exist; he will not exist. (My) like could not have been born; he was not born”. Autobiography of Ankhtifi Senenmut (Senmut) was merely “the greatest of the great in the land [of Egypt]”. Ankhtifi, on the other hand, claimed an honour that would later be accorded by Jesus to John the Baptist, ‘greatest ever born’ (Matthew 11:11). What we would term today, the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time). We know precisely when Senenmut lived, during the reign of the female Pharaoh, Hatshepsut, of Egypt’s Eighteenth Dynasty: https://ancientegyptonline.co.uk/senenmut/ Senenmut Senenmut (literally “mother’s brother”, sometimes transliterated as Senemut or Senmut) was one of the most powerful and famous (or infamous) officials of ancient Egypt. At the height of his power he was the Chief Steward of Amun, Tutor to the Princess Neferure and confidant (and possibly lover) of the Pharaoh Hatshepsut. However, both his early career and the circumstances surrounding his death and burial are obscure. …. And we can know his era even more precisely thanks to Dr. Immanuel Velikovsky’s revision, as set out in his book Ages in Chaos (I, 1952), according to which Hatshepsut was King Solomon’s exotic visitor from the south, the Queen of Sheba. And I am hopeful that we are able to precisify the situation even further again by recognising “the greatest of the great in the land”, Senenmut, as the sage King Solomon of Israel himself: Solomon and Sheba (5) Solomon and Sheba | Damien Mackey - Academia.edu Senenmut informs us: "I was the greatest of the great in the whole land; one who heard the hearing alone in the privy council, steward of [Amon], Senemut, triumphant." "I was the real favorite of the king, acting as one praised of his lord every day, the overseer of the cattle of Amon, Senemut." "I was … of truth, not showing partiality; with whose injunctions the Lord of the Two Lands was satisfied; attached to Nekhen, prophet of Mat, Senemut." "I was one who entered in [love], and came forth in favor, making glad the heart of the king every day, the companion, and master of the palace, Senemut." "I commanded … the storehouse of divine offerings of Amon every tenth day; the overseer of the storehouse of Amon, Senemut." "I conducted … of the gods every day, for the sake of the life, prosperity, and health of the king; overseer of the … of Amon, Senemut ." "I was a foreman of foremen, superior of the great … [overseer] of all [works] of the house of silver, conductor of every handicraft, chief of the prophets of Montu in Hermonthis, Senemut." "I was one to whom the affairs of the Two Lands were [reported; that which South and North contributed was on my seal, the labor of all countries …was [under] my charge." "I was one, whose steps were known in the palace; a real confidant of the king, his beloved: overseer of the gardens of Amon, Senemut." Senenmut held impressive titles such as: 'Overseer of the Gardens of Amun', 'Steward of Amun', 'Overseer of all Royal Works' and 'Tutor to the Royal Heiress Neferure'. Despite all of this greatness, though, Senenmut - sometimes even referred to as ‘the real power behind the throne’ - admitted, according to good protocol, to have been under the command of the [female] king: According to one of his statues: ‘I was in this land under [her] command since the occurrence of the death of [her] predecessor ...' [Baikie, J., A History of Egypt, A. & C. Black Ltd., London, 1929, Vol. 11, p. 80. 21]. Ankhtifi apparently had, as we shall find, no such scruples as to right protocol. [It needs to be noted, when we talk about the Autobiography of a particular Egyptian official, that rigid Egyptian rubric had to be observed, overlaying what may have been the true thoughts and sentiments of the official under consideration. Thus Ankhtifi’s, Senenmut’s seemingly shameless boasting may have been, to some extent, just the standard practice of the Egyptian scribes]. In the case of Ankhtifi, unlike Senenmut, Egyptologists do not know for sure when he lived, or who was his Pharaoh: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ankhtifi The precise pharaoh under whom Ankhtifi served is anything but certain; the sequence and number of kings in the 9th and 10th dynasties is a matter of widely varying conjecture. Only a few of the many names on the much later king-lists have had their reigns or existence corroborated through scattered archaeological finds. …. As with Senenmut, later, Ankhtifi bore some astounding titles: https://www.osirisnet.net/tombes/moalla/ankhtifi/e_ankhtifi_01.htm The titles carried by Ankhtifi are very high in the hierarchy; the first of these is that of "great chief of the nome of…", indicating his dignity of nomarch, to which is attached "the count" and the priestly title of "leader of the prophets", an essential title at this time to confirm his status. He also carries the titles of "hereditary prince", "chancellor of king of Lower Egypt", "general", "leader of the mountainous regions", "leader of the interpreters", and "sole companion". …. Dr. Doaa M. Elkashef has written of the singularity of Ankhtifi, in “Self-Presentation in the Autobiography of Ankhtifi of Moalla between Tradition and Innovation” (2023. My emphasis in bold): https://ijtah.journals.ekb.eg/article_310487_7a8edbc44025d034d58e79abe4b91e05.pdf …. Ankhtifi’s statement that he surpassed his ancestors through his achievements and that even his successors could not equal him is one of the innovations in his autobiography. He also claims repeatedly that he has not “found” something to have been achieved by other predecessors before …. This claim 4 is attested twice in the Old Kingdom, in the Autobiography of Qar of Edfu (n gmt.n(.i) is pw m-a Hry-tp wn m spAt tn tp-aw(y), “This is something that I have not found in the hand of a chief who was in this nome before”) and the Autobiography of Harkhuf of Aswan (5 n sp gmy(.i) ir (i)n smr imy-r iaAw nb pr r IAm tp-aw(y), “I have never found this done by any Companion and Overseer of Foreign Mercenaries who went to Iam before”) dating to the Sixth Dynasty. The formula is employed in these texts 6 in slightly varied form. It should be noted, however, that the king is absent from Ankhtifi’s autobiography, while the Sixth Dynasty high provincial officials stressed their service to the king and competence in office. In contrast, the Sixth Dynasty official Weni the Elder boasts in his autobiography, encompassing different stages in his career starting in the reign of Teti and culminating in his promotion to the office of Overseer of Upper Egypt under Merenre, that “the like had never been done for any servant” (n sp pA.t(w) irt mitt n bAk nb), when referring to the receipt of royal favour‒ being provided with tomb equipment by Pepy I. This traditional phrase was employed 7 by late Old Kingdom high officials to stress that they received a special favour from the king which was unique and had never before been granted to other officials.3 …. Just who was this incredible character like no other, the mysterious Ankhtifi?