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during the 18"" dynasty from which period most of the evidence comes.“ (Table 11.) The
7181
two titles are smsw nswt ‘follower of the king’ or smsw nb ‘follower of the lord” and jrj¬
rd.wj n nb B.wj ‘attendant of the lord of the Two Lands” explicitly refer to personal
participation in military activity either as an actual participant or in the entourage of
the ruler. In addition, actual military titles are also attested, such as jmj-r3 m$" general
(Sety), Arj-jhw ‘stable master’ (Suemniut), hrj-pd.t gnj ‘valiant troop commander’ (Ramess¬
esashahebused), Bj-pd.t ‘bow-bearer’ (Wah) and 8/-srjj.t ‘standard-bearer’ (Suemniut
and Paser). Participating in military campaigns might have been both an antecedence
and consequence of being a ‘royal wb3’. From those cases where it can be determined
with more or less certainty, Djehuti (I), Qenamun and Neferperet accompanied their
lords on his campaigns in their function of ‘royal wb3’, while Suemniut had presumably
started his career in the military sphere and was later promoted to the position of ‘royal
wb?’ that might have been part of the appreciation of the ruler for his military services.
However, in all the other cases there is no information in the sources regarding the
temporal relationship of the military participation of the officials and their service as
‘royal wb3’. It must be noted, however, that three individuals who held military function
titles, namely Djehuti (I), Neferperet and Hesinetjeref, also bore the honorific title Ard
n k3p ‘child of the kap’. Thus, one might conclude that during the 18" dynasty, from most
of the evidence and especially from the reign of Thutmose III, when the first two persons
were active, and even in the 19" dynasty, when Hesinetjeref was in the office, having been
a member of the closest circle of the king early in his life or during a campaign was an
important factor for becoming a high-ranking position in both the royal court and in
society. As Malek notes," it is general human behaviour and a need as a ruler to choose
personal attendants and confidants among the people who may have been brought to¬
gether in their youth and who owed their status entirely to him later. Nevertheless, since
these sort of instances are very few regarding the ‘royal wb3s’, it cannot be stated indis¬
putably that it was the main criteria for an official to achieve this honoured and
prominent status during his career.
8° Helck also mentions the importance of this fact as a main indicator for the elevation of the position
of these officials in the hierarchy. Helck, 1958, 270.
From the 18" dynasty Qenamun, Suemniut and Parennefer, from the 19" dynasty Hesinetjeref held it.
'® From the 18" dynasty Djehuti (1), Neferperet, Suemniut, Heqanakht and Ptahemwia (1), from the
19" dynasty Hesinetjeref held it.
"3 Guksch, 1994, 58-59, 65-66.
+ For a discussion on Djehuti (I), see p. 111, for Qenamun, see p. 115, for Neferperet, see p. 118, for
Suemniut, see p. 125.
5 Malek, 1988, 136.