Turmoil and power: A thematic and chronological study of dynastic transition in Late Period Egypt

Egypt's Late Period (728-341 BC) was a time of frequent political transition where dynasts, many of them foreign, usurped the throne and established new dynasties through a number of different methods. This was a stark contrast to earlier periods in pharaonic Egypt where dynasties were usually long-lived and violent dynastic transition was the exception not the rule. The turbulent political situation in the Late Period affected many different facets of life in Egypt so a complete examination of the historical processes that were taking place at the time will help current scholarship illuminate more about this often enigmatic period.;This dissertation employs a multi-faceted approach in its interpretation of Late Period history. Instead of merely studying the period from a chronological or thematic perspective, the author has combined both to provide a more complete picture of the period. Chronology is important in any historical work and provides the general framework of this study, but its strength and original contribution to field is found in the thematic approach. By identifying and examining the major historical processes, or patterns, of political transition in the Late Period which were: invasion, regicide, and political legitimization through monument building and other types of propaganda programs then important questions can be raised, and some possibly answered. Some of these questions include: how was invasion used as a tool to attain power, why did regicide become more common in this period, and what were the methods of political legitimization and propaganda used by the dynasts of the Late Period? A careful consideration of these and other questions will help our understanding of the nature of political transition not just in Late Period Egypt, but in the entire first millennium BC Near East.