The Ancient Egyptian Nouveau Riche Heqaib: The Inscription on British Museum Stela 1671

The biography of Heqaib on British Museum stela 1671 is one of the main sources on the history of Ancient Egypt in the First Intermediate Period. Of particular importance is its information on the social stratum typical of the period, consisting of individuals who did not hold high offices but were well-off and able to exploit others. The article presents a new translation of Heqaib’s inscription followed by an analysis of the cultural and historical information it provides. The author discusses the titles of the owner and his wife; Heqaib’s attitude to the wealth he had obtained and his position in the hierarchy of the local elite; the information about grain distribution and grain loans in the periods of food shortages in the south of Egypt; the social status of Heqaib's workers. However, neither this nor any other inscriptions have given the answer concerning the initial sources of the wealth of this social layer which enabled its representatives to acquire arable land, cattle and workers, lend money at usurious rates, etc.

Keywords: Ancient Egypt, the First Intermediate Period, Thebes, Gebelein, forms of dependence, famine.

The Ancient Egyptian Nouveau Riche Heqaib: The Inscription on British Museum Stela 1671