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time, the use of the title wh3 nswt would refer to his status in which he dedicated the
stele, namely as a court official, not as an agent of the ruler taking part in a certain mis¬
sion.“ The inscription of the rock-stele conveys the fact of the construction of the
temple of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel, for which he recruited labour from Asian prison¬
ers of war, who might have been captured during his northern campaign or campaigns,
either in his 4" year or even under the reign of his father.“ In addition, Ramessesashahe¬
bused informs us that during this time he was in charge of reorganizing the land of Kush
in the name of the king, and reassures the king that all his land is in a state of peace, and
that there are no rebellions anywhere. The inscription was taken as proof of the role of
Ramessesashahebused directing or taking part in the construction of the Abu Simbel
temple.‘ Spalinger even concludes that the reorganization of the land of Kush was
commanded due to the work at Abu Simbel,** but Davies contradicts this sort of cor¬
relation of the two facts. Reading through the content of the inscription carefully,
however, one can ascertain that there is no clear indication for the role of Ramessesashahe¬
bused either as a director or as a participant of the construction works of the temple.
There is only the statement of the fact of the construction itself, which is not surprising
in case of a dedicatory inscription placed on the wall of the structure in question. As for
his duty to reorganize the land of Kush, there is no clear indication of a casual relation¬
ship between the two events either, only a temporal juxtaposition: at the time the king
filled the estates of the gods with the children of Retjenu, and Ramessesashahebused
was commissioned with the reorganization of the land of Kush. If the first part of this
statement really means the actual work on the temple by prisoners of war, Ramess¬
esashahebused carried out his duty in Kush during the construction phase of the
monument. Assuming that the dedicatory stele was placed on the cliff-face of the small
temple only after, or at least around, the finishing stage of the work, the inscription must
have been a retrospective commemoration, especially as Ramessesashahebused certifies
the ruler of the peace on his land, consequently, he had already completed his duty by
this time. This fact is another reason for his designation as wh3 nswt and not as wdpw
nswt, since his particular assignment was ended, he did not dedicate the stele in the
aspect of his temporary activity, but in that of his permanent function, as a courtier in
the highest circles in the royal palace.
© For further discussion on the usage of the two titles, see p. 91.
6 Spalinger, 1980, 224; Davies, 2013, 171.
3 Spalinger, 1980, 223, 228; Davies, 2013, 171-172.
© Spalinger, 1980, 223.
5 Davies, 2013, 171-172.