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types of the sources themselves dated to each period", and on the other hand, by the
nature of self-representation of the officials, especially during the 18" dynasty. As Guksch
demonstrates in his comprehensive study on royal service, the self-representation of the
officials during this period focused on the relationship with the king and proving their
suitability, acting for the sake of the ruler as well as being rewarded by him was at the
centre of their existence and activity.’ In order to emphasize their importance and
closeness to the ruler, they enumerate several honorific titles on their monuments that
they were allowed to use.
The especially close personal relationship is expressed, for instance, by the title w“
mnh wb3 n=f jb ‘the excellent one to whom the heart has been opened’ in the case of
Suemniut. Other expressions which seem to represent the confident connection between
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the two parties" are phrases with jmj-jb ‘favourite one’, such as jmj-jb n nswt n wn-m3°
‘true favourite of the king’ by Djehuti (I) or jmj-jb n ntr nfr ‘favourite of the good god’ by
Suemniut. The phrase mh-jb ‘confidant’ (lit. ‘who fills the heart’) has a similar shade of
meaning but not interchangeable with the previous one. Being a ‘confidant’ is not pre¬
dominantly the expression of the close relationship with the king in personal sense but,
according to Guksch, being a trusted person who acts on behalf of the king as his del¬
egate, entrusted with a specific task which arises from the scope of activities of the
official or with a special assignment.” These specific duties may be determined by geo¬
graphical areas or certain activities which complement the phrase, however, unfortunately,
in the present corpus there are no such examples. In the cases of the ‘royal wh3s’ who
bore this honorific title, being a ‘confidant’ is applied to the ruler himself, such as mh-jb
n nb t3.wj confidant of the lord of the Two Lands’ by Maaninakhtef, mh-jb n nswt ‘con¬
fidant of the king’ by Parennefer, or mh-jb nb=f ‘confidant of his lord’ and mh-jb mnh n
nr nfr ‘excellent confidant of the good god’ by Suemniut.
An important factor in the advancement of the career of an official enjoying the favour
or the love of the ruler expressed by phrases with hsjj ‘favoured’ or mrjj ‘beloved’.”° These
phrases should be handled together since their usage and appearance are clearly parallel,
however, they differ slightly in meaning. Honorific titles compounded with theses two
86 As already noted (on p. 39.), the sources from the 18" dynasty mainly contain tombs, funerary
objects or monuments for personal use, while during the later period of the New Kingdom the
available sources are rather of a monumental and — especially in the 20" dynasty — administrative
nature which understandably avoid giving personal details of individuals involved.
#7 Guksch, 1994, 2-3.
#5 Guksch, 1994, 37-38.
9 Guksch, 1994, 37.
° Guksch, 1994, 39-44.