An Analysis of the Architectural, Religious, and Political Significance of the Napatan and Meroitic Palaces

The aim of this dissertation is the identification and analysis of royal residential, or palatial, architecture dating to the Napatan (ca. 750 - 300 BC) and Meroitic (300 BC - AD 350) periods in Nubia. The study focuses on the sites of Karanog, Faras, Kerma/Doukki Gel, Kawa, The Dongola Reach, Jebel Barkal, Meroe, el-Hassa/Damboya, Muweis, Wad ban Naga, Naga, and Musawwarat es-Sufra, all located along the Nile River between the First through Sixth Cataracts. While preliminary investigations of the palatial architecture has been done by the archaeologists excavating them, more work and analysis has been devoted to the religious architecture at these sites. This dissertation has been divided into seven chapters that each focus on a different element of the study. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the overall goals of the thesis and presents the criteria used to determine the classification of a large-scale secular building as a "palace". Chapter 2 establishes the New Kingdom Egyptian palaces as predecessors of the Napatan and Meroitic versions and how these buildings may have influenced the design of those found in Nubia. Chapter 3 discusses the political context of Nubia's connection with surrounding African countries, such as Egypt and the Aksumite empire, as well as with the Hellenistic world. Chapter 4 introduces the study corpus of Napatan and Meroitic period palaces through the excavation history of each building. Chapter 5 evaluates the religious context of the palaces particularly with respect to the coronation journey and New Year festival where the political and religious spheres would be united. Chapter 6 provides an examination of the Meroitic economy and social structure in relation to how the royal residence functioned within the Meroitic state. Chapter 7 concludes this dissertation with an analysis of the identification of each building presented in Chapter 4, with regard to its status as "palatial architecture".Ph.D