"Prince's court is like a common fountain" : Middle Kingdom royal patronage in the light of a modern sociological concepts
Abstrakt
Patronage, in the many senses of the word, has been discussed extensively in Egyptology in recent years. It has become clear that it was one of the basic realities of ancient Egyptian socio-economic relations.1 The existence of patron-client bonds during the Middle Kingdom is a generally accepted fact, and Middle Kingdom society provided many opportunities for the formation of patron-client relationships at various levels.
These could be formed among the elites or between the elites and lower classes. Questions remain, however, about the details of these types of relationship, for example if they could exist between the king and some of his subjects.
This study examines the challenges encountered when studying this particular topic and how they can best be overcome. This paper is intended to introduce and describe Middle Kingdom royal patronage relationships and, as part of that process, it strives to create a framework within which to study this particular subject matter.
In the first instance, it seeks to identify the key topics to be discussed, and it then discusses the most fruitful directions for future research efforts. These issues will be studied by way of an examination of the textual sources relating to six elite officials from both central and provincial administrations, all dating to the time span between the reign of Mentuhotep ii and the end of the Twelfth Dynasty.