Elite Emulation and Patronage Relationships in the Middle Bronze: The Egyptianized Dynasty of Byblos

Abstract

Between 1922 and 1923, a group of nine royal tombs was found in Byblos. According to Montet (1927: 85), three of these tombs (Nos. I, II and III) were intact at the time of discovery, Tomb IV was plundered in modern times and the remaining five tombs were robbed in antiquity. The evidence found in the tombs shows that the Middle Bronze rulers of Byblos had adopted certain Egyptian titles (e.g. ḥꜣtj-‘ ‘high official’) and the Egyptian language and writing system, among other cultural features mainly related to Egyptian kingship...