User:Jeff Dahl/sandbox stele (ancient Egypt)

The Rosetta stone is a multilingual stele that allowed linguists to begin the process of hieroglyph decipherment

An ancient Egyptian stele (also stela, pl. stelae) is a stone or wooden slab inscribed with words and images that is erected as a monument either for political, religious, or funerary purposes. The first Stelae were created in the First Dynasty, and were used continuously until the Roman period.

Boundary and commemorative stelae are an important source of information about the history of ancient Egypt because they survive in better condition than other records, such as papyrus scrolls.

Royal stelae

Victory and boundary stelae

The pharaohs of ancient Egypt wasted no opportunity to commemorate their military victories on large, public stelae. The pharaoh is usually depicted on these monuments in a position of power and direct military leadership. The text of victory stelae emphasize Egypt's supremacy and military dominance while insulting her foes, who are often described as "vile" and "hated." Victory stelae were also erected to mark the extent of Egyptian territory, and sometimes functioned as "boundary stelae."

Examples include:

• The victory stele of Merneptah
• Stele of Senusret III in lower Nubia
• Stele of Tuthmosis III near the Euphrates river

Decrees and pronouncements

Stelae were effective ways to circulate information in a nation without centralized news and press services, and publication of royal decrees, political arrangements, and dedications could all be made in a permanent and public way. The survival and translation of many of these stelae has allowed scholars to settle questions of political history, however because stelae could also be used as a medium for political propaganda allowing pharaohs to record only their version of history, some of the texts may not be a completely accurate source of information.

Examples include:

• Restoration stele of Tutankhamun
• The Rosetta stone
• Dream Stele of Tuthmosis IV

Personal stelae

Funerary

Funerary stelae were the most common type of monument available to average citizens, who wanted to leave requests for a good afterlife and a record of their name. A typical funerary stele consists of an image of the deceased in front of a table of offerings and an offering formula.

Funerary stelae were first erected by the pharaohs of the First Dynasty to mark the place of the tomb and the name of the owner, enclosed in a rectangular serekh.