Page 188 [188]
Unfortunately, nothing can be ascertained about the background of Ramessesashahe¬
bused’s mission in Kush. This sort of duty is expected to fall under the responsibility of
the viceroy of Kush, and not that of a ‘royal wb3’.% There are no records of the circum¬
stances in the southern region that would have indicated the intervention in its local
affairs, nor of the unrest to which Ramessesashahebused refers in his inscription. It is
not known if something had happened with Iuni, the viceroy in Kush at this time, in
consequence of which Ramessesashahebused had to take over his duties, but it is not
certain that he ever bore the office of viceroy.“” It is highly likely, however, that he was
rewarded with the Gold of Honour because of the successful completion of this mission,
as he is represented with the reward around his neck on the rock-stele at Abu Simbel.“*
At the beginning of the 19"" dynasty, relatively few pieces of evidence attest the bestowing
of this reward to the officials, in comparison with the previous post-Amarna era, and
the number of those rewarded is especially low under the reign of Ramesses II. Interest¬
ingly, none of them is attested in the state administration, and only a few of them in the
military sphere, while leaders of regional centres, officials taking part in building projects,
as well as those serving in the personal service of the king and the royal family were
significant in number.
An interesting addition regarding the development of the functional title wb3 nswt
‘royal wb?’ is the appearance of the form wb3 nswt tpj ‘first royal wb3’. This is the first
attestation of this title, and it implies a hierarchical organization among its holders:
they are not only a group of people in the same position holding the same title, but are
structured according to a ranking system, placing one person as a superior above their
collective. Unfortunately, it cannot be determined when or as a result of what this struc¬
tural development was carried out.
As for the family background, there is no information on either the burial or the place
of duty of Ramessesashahebused, but based on his frequent participation in expeditions
to the Sinai, it can be supposed that he carried out his duties in the royal palace of Pi¬
Ramesse, the new capital of Ramesses II, or perhaps in that of Memphis.
656
Schulman, 1976, 123.
7 Reisner, 1920, 38-47.
© Binder, 2008, 249-251, 326.
69 Binder, 2008, 248-250. Binder also supposes that Ramessesashahebused was rewarded because of
his involvement with the building of the temple at Abu Simbel, however, I do not see his participa¬
tion in this project to be sufficiently substantiated.
a