The epithet of the Late Saite non-royal elite member, Neshor Named Psamtikmenkhib, wr m NTrt “the Great One in Netjerit”,¹ is interesting and requires a further comment. The first holder of this epithet was the ruler of Sais, Tefnakht, in the great victory stela of Piye.² According to JJ Clère, the vizier Bakenrenef, a contemporary of Psamtik I, held this epithet on his libation basin, probably from his tomb at Saqqara.³ The Late Saite official Wahibre, from the reign of Amasis, had this epithet on his statue Cairo CG 672.⁴ The owner of shabti Vienna no. 5285, the Thirtieth Dynasty⁵ official Djed Hor also held this epithet as HAtj a wr m NTrt m P dp “the HAtj-a, the great one in Netjerit, and in Pe and Dep”.⁶ This refers to the existence of this epithet in Buto as well. The shabti of Tjanefer, also of this dynasty, has HAtj-a wr m NTrt.⁷ Yet another Thirtieth Dynasty⁸ monument, statue Cairo JE 43778 of Nectanebo, from the central Delta not far from Sais, gives jrj-pat HAtj-a wr m NTrt.⁹ In addition to Behbeit (Hebyt), the geographical locality of NTrt is sometimes connected with Sebennytos, Sema-Behedet, and Sais.¹⁰

This honorific epithet has received different readings and translations. H De Meulenaere reads it wr m NTr.t and mentions many instances, in addition to that of Neshor, in which it occurs.¹¹ C Favard Meeks¹² reads and translates wr m NTrt as a separate title after with the title HAtj-a¹³ as “HAtj-a wr m NTrw¹⁴ Le comte, grand dans NTrw.” G Vittmann¹⁵ points out that Pabasa and others held the title “HAtj-a wr m WAst.” He states that the correct reading should be (HAtj-a + wr) m WAst, and not HAtj-a + (wr m WAst). That means he considers wr as an adjective of HAtj-a, rather than standing in its own right as an adjective functions as a noun, “the great one”.¹⁶

The title HAtj-a + place name was common in the Late Period.¹⁷ The preposition m and the genitival article n were used to connect the adjectival noun wr with its toponym. H De Meulenaere¹⁸ refers to the existence of the title HAtj-a wr m¹⁹ and the title HAtj-a wr n.²⁰ E Graefe²¹ refers to the formation of the title wr m/n + toponym with or without HAtj-a. H Ranke²² mentions another form of it associated with NTrt, “HAtj-a n mr-NTrt.”

¹I dedicate this article to my late teacher of Mesopotamian histoy at the Faculty of Archaeology, Cairo University, Dr. Gaballa Ali Gaballa, Professor of History of Ancient Egypt and Near East.    

²See NC Grimal (1981) La stèle triomphale de Pi(‘ankh)y au Musée du Caire: JE 48862 et 47086-47089, Paris 5(l.3), 5(12).

³See JJ Clère (1982) Un bassin à libations du vizir Bakenrenef. ASAE 68, 84(4-5).

⁴See L Borchardt (1930) Statuen und Statuetten von Königen und Privatleuten im Museum von Kairo Nr. 1-1294. Vol III, Berlin, 18-20; G Posener (1947) Les Douanes de la Méditerranée dans l’Égypte Saïte”, RPLHA 21(5): 124, J Yoyotte (2012) Les principautés du delta au temps de l’anarchie libyenne (2^nd édn), Le Caire  155(8), H De (1956) Meulenaere Trois Personnages Saïtes. CdÉ 31(5): 252, R El-Sayed (1975)  Documents relatifs à Saïs et ses divinités, Le Caire 6: 73-93, C Favard-Meeks (1991) Le temple de Behbeit el-Hagara : Essai de reconstitution et d’interprétation, Hamburg, pp. 389.

⁵JJ Clère (1951) Une statuette du fils aîné du roi Nectanabô”, RdE 6: 144 wants to date statue Cairo JE 43778 of Nectanebo to the beginning of the Ptolemaic Period on the ground of the presence of the graphical sign of jmj-rA, (Clère reads mr and translates “chef”), which is also used in this Thirtieth Dynasty shabti. For the writing of this military title, see W Wreszinski (1906) Aegyptische Inschriften aus dem KK Hofmuseum in Wien, Leipzig pp. 185.  

⁶For this example, see Wreszinski, Aegyptische Inschriften aus dem KK Hofmuseum in Wien, 185, who translates “Grosser Fürst in Buto.” De Meulenaere, “Trois Personnages Saïtes” 6: 252, Yoyotte, Les principautés du Delta au temps de l’anarchie libyenne 7: 155, W Helck (1974) Die altägyptischen Gaue, Wiesbaden  181; Favard Meeks Le temple de Behbeit el-Hagara 389-390.

⁷See JL Chappaz (1984) Les figurines funéraires égyptiennes du Musée d’art et d’histoire et de quelques collections privées. Genève 158: 123-124, Favard-Meeks, Le temple de Behbeit el-Hagara 390.

⁸This statue should be dated to the Thirtieth Dynasty, see Favard-Meeks, Le temple de Behbeit el-Hagara, 687: 390, who does not support the opinion of Clère, “Une statuette du fils aîné du roi Nectanabô” 144[R] and dates it to the Thirtieth Dynasty.

⁹See G Daressy (1912) Statue de Kom Ebchan ASAE 12: 281-2 who translates it “le prince, gouverneur, grand dans Nutrit”; see also De Meulenaere, “Trois Personnages Saïtes” 7: 252, Yoyotte, Les principautés du Delta au temps de l’anarchie libyenne 6: 155, Favard-Meeks, Le temple de Behbeit el-Hagara 390, miswrites the word wr.     

¹⁰See Favard-Meeks, Le temple de Behbeit el-Hagara 683: 389. For more see also C Favard-Meeks (2002) Les toponymes Nétjer et leurs liens avec Behbeit el-Hagara et Coptos” Topoi Supplément 3: 29-45.

¹¹Meulenaere Trois Personnages Saïtes. 252-253. I have recently discussed this epithet in my book, albeit in much less detail; see H Bassir (2014) Image and Voice in Saite Egypt: Self-Presentations of Neshor Named Psamtikmenkhib and Payeftjauemawyneith, Tucson, p. 58-59.

¹²See Favard-Meeks, Le temple de Behbeit el-Hagara, p. 389.

¹³De Meulenaere, “Trois Personnages Saïtes”, 252(4) previously made this point.

¹⁴Favard Meeks, Le temple de Behbeit el-Hagara 389 ff., is not consistent and reads nTrt as NTrw, NTr and NTrj. However, Clère, “Une statuette du fils aîné du roi Nectanabô”, 144 [R], translates “Neterou.”

¹⁵G Vittmann (1977) Neues zu Pabasa, Obermajordomus der Nitokris SAK 5(36): 255.

¹⁶The book of the temple distinguishes between HAtj-a wr and HAtj-a jmj-jxt.

¹⁷See De Meulenaere (1958) Le Vizir Harsiêsis de la 30e Dynastie. MDIAK 16: 233. There are more recent discussions of this title and combination of HAtj-a wr n/m, see O Perdu (2006) Documents relatifs aux gouverneurs du Delta au début de la XXVIe dynastie RdÉ 57: 151-88; I Guermeur (2004) Le groupe familial de Pachéryentaisouy. Caire JE 36576 BIFAO 104: 245-89.

¹⁸There are more recent discussions of this title and combination of HAtj-a wr n/m, see Perdu, Documents relatifs aux gouverneurs du Delta au début de la XXVIe dynastie 151-188; Guermeur Le groupe familial de Pachéryentaisouy. Caire JE 36576 pp. 245-89.

¹⁹See De Meulenaere Le Vizir Harsiêsis de la 30e Dynastie. 7: 233.

²⁰See De Meulenaere Le Vizir Harsiêsis de la 30e Dynastie. 6: 233.

²¹E Graefe III (1978) Stellung, Familie und Herkunft des 'Ankh-Hor”, In: M Bietak and E Reiser-Haslauer, Das Grab des 'Ankh-Hor: Obersthofmeister der Gottesgemahlin Nitokris I, mit einem Beitrag von E Graefe und Relief und Fundzeichnungen von H Satzinger, vol I, Wien 47; id. “(1974) Die vermeintliche unterägyptische Herkunft des Ibi, Obermajordomus der Nitokris. SAK 1: 202 A4.

²²H Ranke (1907) Statue eines hohen Beamten unter Psammetich I. ZÄS 44: 42-54.

It is obvious that the formation of Neshor’s epithet wr m NTrt is different because it independently stands in its own right, and is not directly attached to his title HAtj-a, because his title xtmtj-bjtj separates the two.²³ The designation of this epithet holder is not exactly known; however, H Kees characterizes it as a Saite honorific specification, while De Meulenaere²⁴ states that it neither attaches its holder to the families of Behbeit nor confirms whether he was originating from the Delta.

²³De Meulenaere Trois Personnages Saïtes. 4: 252 pointed out that the title wr m nTrt is not attached to the title HAtj-a as in the other examples that he brings up.

²⁴See De Meulenaere Trois Personnages Saïtes. pp. 253.

None.

Author declares that there is no conflict of interest.