Some Notes on the Historical Background of the Cambyses Romance

 
PIIS032103910001267-6-1
DOI10.31857/S032103910001267-6
Publication type Article
Status Published
Authors
Affiliation: University of Cyril and Methodius
Address: Slovakia, Trnava
Journal nameVestnik drevnei istorii
EditionVolume 78 Issue 3
Pages629-643
Abstract

The Cambyses Romance addresses the Persian/Assyrian attack on Egypt and Israel. In the text the attack is led by a king who is alternatively referred to as Cambyses and Nebuchadnezzar. The enemies do not attack Egypt directly; instead, they use trickery. They are afraid to launch a direct attack because they consider the Egyptians fearless warriors comparable to bears or lions. In this way, the story blends heroic narrative with Egyptian and Biblical traditions. To this day, the story and its historical background have been of interest to a number of experts, who have searched ancient historiographies to find the roots of the tradition which is evident within the Romance. In the present study the author recapitulates some of the conclusions that have been reached to date and presents a thesis of his own. He shows that the historical background of the Romance does not have direct roots in any classical tradition; instead, they reveal much about the persistent collective memory of the Egyptians, wherein many reports of Cambyses were preserved. Under the influence of Old Testament tradition and only indirectly affected by Herodotus, these Egyptian stories had been molded into the form they took in the Romance.

KeywordsCoptic literature, Cambyses Romance, Egyptian tradition, classical sources, Herodotus, Cambyses II
Received03.10.2018
Publication date11.10.2018
Number of characters41209
Cite  
100 rub.
When subscribing to an article or issue, the user can download PDF, evaluate the publication or contact the author. Need to register.

Number of purchasers: 1, views: 2314

Readers community rating: votes 0

1. Asheri, D., Lloyd, A., Corcella, A. 2007: Commentary on Herodotus Books I – IV. Oxford.

2. Balcer, J. 1987: Herodotus and Bisitun. Stuttgart.

3. Banshchikova, A.A. 2015: Perelomnye epokhi v istoricheskoy traditsii i soznanii drevnikh egiptyan [Crucial Periods in Ancient Egyptian Historical Tradition and Consciousness]. Moscow.

4. Barclay, J. 1995: Jews in the Mediterranean Diaspora. Edinburgh.

5. Bernand, É. 1960: Les inscriptions grecques et latines du colosse de Memnon. Paris.

6. Blok, J. 2002: Women in Herodotusʼ Histoire. In: E. Bakker, I. De Jong, H. Wees (eds.), Brillʼs Companion to Herodotus. Leiden, 225 ̶ 245.

7. Briant, P. 2002: From Cyrus to Alexander. A History of the Persian Empire. Winona Lake (Indiana).

8. Brown, T. 1982: On Herodotus Portrait of Cambyses. Historia 31, 387–403.

9. Colin, G. 1995: L’Egypte pharaonique dans la Chronique de Jean, évêque de Nikiu. Revue d’Egyptologie 46, 45–53.

10. Cruz-Uribe, E. 1986: Notes on the Coptic Cambyses romance. Enchoria 14, 51–56.

11. Dandamaev, M. 1989: A Political History of the Achaemenid Empire. Leiden.

12. Döpp, S. 2003: Kambysesʼ Feldzug gegen Ägypten: Der sogennante Kambyses-Roman und sein Verhältnis zu griechischer Literatur. Göttinger Forum für Altertumswissenschaft 6, 1–17.

13. Eshel, E. 2001: Possible Sources of the Book of Daniel. In: J. Collins, P. Flint (eds.), The Book of Daniel. Composition and Reception. Leiden–Boston–Köln, 387–395.

14. Gelzer, H. 1898: Sextus Julius Africanus und die byzantinische Chronographie. Leipzig.

15. Grabbe, L. 1998. Ezra – Nehemiah. London.

16. Habaj, M. 2016. Kambýses II. Od tradície k histórii. Krakov.

17. Habas, R. 1994: The Jewish Origin of Julius Africanus. Journal of Jewish Studies 45, 86–91.

18. Henze, M. Nabuchadnezzarʼs Madness (Daniel 4) in Syriac Literature. In: J. Collins, P. Flint (eds.), The Book of Daniel. Composition and Reception. Leiden–Boston–Köln, 550–573.

19. Hoffmann, I. 1981: Kambyses in Ägypten. Studien zur altägyptischen Kultur 9, 179–201.

20. Jansen, H. 1950: The coptic story of Cambysesʼ invasion of Egypt. A critical analysis of its literary form and its historical purpose. Avhandlinger utgitt av Det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi i Oslo 2, 1 ̶ 70.

21. Knibb, M. 2001: The Book of Daniel in its Context. In: J. Collins, P. Flint (eds.), The Book of Daniel. Composition and Reception. Leiden–Boston–Köln, 16 – 37.

22. Ladynin, I.A., Nemirovskiy, A.A. 2004: [567 BC campaign of Nabuchadnezzar II in Egypt in Egyptian and Old Testament tradition]. In: E.E. Kormysheva (ed.), Kul’turnoe nasledie Egipta i khristianskiy Vostok [Cultural Heritage of Egypt and Christian Orient]. Moscow, 63–76.

23. Lebram, J.C.H. 1975: König Antiochus im Buch Daniel. Vetus Testamentum 25, 737–772.

24. Lemm, O. von 1900: Bemerkungen zum koptischen Kambysesroman. Kleine koptische Studien. Bulletin de lʼAcadémie imperiale des sciences de St. Petersbourg 8, 64–115.

25. Lloyd, A. 1994: Cambyses in late tradition. In: C. Eyre, A. Leahy, L. Montagno Leahy (eds.), The unbroken reed. Studies in the culture and heritage of ancient Egypt in honour of A. F. Shore. London, 195–204.

26. Mariev, S. 2008: Ioannis Antiocheni fragmenta quae supersunt omnia. Berolini– Novi Eboraci.

27. Niskanen, P. 2004: The Human and Divine in History. Herodotus and the Book of Daniel. London.

28. Posener, G. 1936: La première domination Perse en Égypte. Le Caire.

29. Richter, T.S. 1998: Weitere Beobachtungen am koptischen Kambyses-Roman. Enchoria 24, 54–66.

30. Shaeder, H. 1972: Iranische Beiträge. Tübingen.

31. Schäfer, H. 1899: Bruchstück eines koptischen Romans über die Eroberung Aegyptens durch Kambyses. Berlin.

32. Schmidt, E. 1953: Persepolis. Chicago.

33. Thissen, H.J. 1996: Bemerkungen zum koptischen Kambyses-Roman. Enchoria 23, 145–149.

34. Venticinque, P. 2006: Whatʼs in a Name? Greek, Egyptian and Biblical Traditions in the Cambyses Romance. Bulletin of the American Society of Papyrologists 43, 139–158.

35. Vieillefond, J.R. 1970: Cesti. Firenze.

36. Wallraff, M. 2007: Iulius Africanus Chronographiae. Berlin–New York.

37. Wiseman, D.J. 2006: Babylonia 605 ̶ 539 B. C. In: J. Boardman et al. (eds.), The Cambridge Ancient History. Vol. 3. Pt. 2. Cambridge, 229–252.

Система Orphus

Loading...
Up