Semna Despatches

The Semna Despatches are a group of papyri that deals with observations of people in and around the forts of the Semna gorge. The fortresses were positioned at Semna because of the expansion of Egypt into Lower Nubia by Senusret III, and were a means of protecting and controlling access into Egypt. The Semna Despaches record the movements of people around the Semna Gorge, and reports their activity’s back to an unnamed official in Thebes. Many of the Despatches deal with people who had come to the forts to trade with the Egyptians while others talk about patrols that had gone out and found people in the surrounding desert. The Semna Despatches provides the bulk of information that pertains to the administrative functions of the forts around the Semna Gorge.

The Semna Despatches form one of very few records that tell us about what the forts around the Semna Gorge did, and what life was like in the forts. These Despatches are therefore very important to us historically, and give us a glimpse into the forts. The Despatches also provide a look at the Egyptians attitudes towards the people of Nubia to the south as they record the interactions between Egyptians and Nubians. These Despatches are now housed in the British Museum.

The Semna Despatches are now part of the British Museums collection; after being gifted by Alan Gardiner who had acquired them around 1900 in return for his financial help with preservation and publishing the papyri. The collection is cataloged as AE10752.1, AE10752.2, AE1075.3, AE10752.4, AE10752.5, AE10771.1, AE10771.2, AE10772.2. Unfortunately, two of the Despatches suffered significant damage from the use of cellulose nitrate film with both of the papyri being seriously damaged

During the reign of Senusret I the Egyptians started to push further south into lower Nubia and by the reign of Senusret III it became necessary to build forts around Semna Gorge; this area would provide a defensive position in case of attack by Nubia, who were still a powerful enemy. The forts also served a second purpose which was to control access into Egypt. The people whom they were trying to keep out were Nubians as you can clearly see in the boundary stela of Senusret III which speaks of the Nubians as a wretched vile people. To accomplish the task of keeping the Nubians out the Egyptians would send patrols into the desert to find people who may be trying to cross the border clandestinely and report those movements to the other forts as well as to officials in Thebes which is the main reason the Semna Despatches were created.Nubian’s Egyptian attitudes towards Nubians was based more on stereotypes and religious feeling then actual facts. The Egyptians saw the outside world as one being of disorder which must be controlled to preserve Maat (or order) with this extending to outside country’s particularly Nubia. Because the Egyptians saw Nubia as disordered its people were considered disordered and therefore it was good to destroy and control them as we see in the Boundary Stela of Senusret III. We can see in the Semna Despatches the Egyptians upholding Maat by keeping the Nubians out.

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