Red Cedar Model United Nations | Session VI
February 25, 2017
Tutankhamen’s Court
Background Guide
Chair
Rachel Goldman
Assistant Chairs
Ashley Buchanan, Lizzie Gibbons, and Nickolaus Histman
Red Cedar Model United Nations | Session VI
Delegates,
Welcome to King Tut’s Court at RCMUN VI! We are extremely excited to finally meet all of you and
watch all of your hard work come into fruition. As we are exploring a topic about which much is up in the air,
we are looking forward to seeing a very interesting cast of characters. King Tut’s rule is somewhat of an
anthropological and archaeological anomaly, meaning researchers have had to be very creative in coming up
with potential solutions to mysteries of his past; this opportunity for creative interpretation is what drew us to
using this topic for a committee. Many of the characters we have selected are ancient Egyptian gods, as the
Pharaoh is essentially viewed as a king with divine abilities to communicate with these gods; each of these gods
have their own unique stories that give insight into their attitudes, opinions, and personality traits. We look
forward to seeing how you all incorporate this creativity and these stories into your characters and how this
impacts your resolutions as well as your interactions with one another. We also look forward to many, many
jokes about the horribly inaccurate yet captivating Mummy trilogy (if you haven’t seen it, get on that). Before
delving into our topics, we’d like to take this opportunity to introduce you to our dais:
Rachel Goldman - Chair
I’m currently in my senior year of college with a major in Political Science/Pre-Law. This is my first
year working with RCMUN and my third year competing as a delegate with MSU International Relations
Organization. Last year, I was an Assistant Chair on the dias for the Iranian Revolution for MSUMUN. In
addition to my work on the Model UN circuit, I served as Student Body President for MSU’s Residential
College in the Arts and Humanities Council, and currently work as a Gallery Guide at the Eli and Edythe Broad
Art Museum on campus. In terms of off-campus extracurriculars, I was an extern to Judge Amy Ronayne
Krause in the Michigan Court of Appeals this past summer. Egyptology isn’t particularly relevant to my field of
study, but it has been a passion of mine from a young age and I am very much looking forward to seeing how it
plays out at RCMUN VI!
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Nickolaus Hitsman - Assistant Chair
This is my first year studying at MSU, and my first experience with a Model United Nations conference.
Although I haven’t decided for certain, I am looking to major in Social Relations and Public Policy, with a
minor focusing on science, technology, and the environment. Since becoming a part of Policy Debate my
freshman year of highschool, I’ve found I enjoy educational discussion and debate immensely. I am a part of the
on campus Sustainable Spartans club, where I am able to pursue my passion for the environment by working on
sustainable initiatives to improve the school. As this is my first year of not only college, but MUN, I don’t have
much background. However, I am looking forward to being a part of this program and expanding my
experiences.
Lizzie Gibbons - Assistant Chair
I am a sophomore studying Biochemistry and Molecular Biology here at MSU. This is my first year
participating in MUN, and I am excited to be a part of this committee. I love all kinds of history, but Ancient
Egypt has always especially fascinated me. Outside of MUN, I’m a part of the Residential Initiative for the
Study of the Environment, which is an organization that fosters environmental practices and stewardship in
students.
Ashley Buchanan - Assistant Chair
Hello, I am a senior studying Pre-law with minors in Bioethics and Peace and Justice Studies. I am
graduating in May and am hoping to work in the field of human rights. Fun facts: I understand Spanish, Italian
and French and can speak Italian and French at a conversational level. I also lived in Rome,Italy for a year and
love good gelato and espresso.
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If you have any questions about research, your character, the topics, or RCMUN, please feel free to
contact me at [email protected]. I look forward to meeting each of you in February!
Regards,
Rachel Goldman
Chair
King Tut’s Court
[email protected]
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The Capital
Introduction
The capital of this ancient kingdom is very important for a number of reasons. It is the center of the
society and where all industry and government take place. Also a large number of the population live in and
around it, therefore it should be able to sustain such a number of people by having arable land, a water source,
and space for building and growing a civilization. Being near a water source is also important for traveling to
foreign lands and having dignitaries visit the capital. Without a waterway to and from the city is it very difficult
to maintain relations with other governments. Currently, the capital has been changed and there are mixed
emotions regarding it.
Background
The capital of ancient Egypt changed a number of times before Akhenaten came to power. There were
once two kingdoms with separate capitals, the Upper and Lower. They remained this way for a long period of
time, until Narmer became king of both Upper and Lower Egypt. After the Upper and Lower kingdoms were
united in about 3118 BCE, a capital was established at Memphis in the lower region. A few thousand years
later, the capital was changed to Thebes. Now, a few hundred years after that, it has been changed to a new city
called “Akhenaten” after Tutankhamun's father, the pharaoh who founded it. Akhenaten’s change of the capital
was different from any previous change. His change came abruptly and was not for the purpose of bettering the
general welfare as the previous changes may have been.
Pharaoh Amenhotep III was popular with the people at the capitol in Thebes. He had many statues of he
and his wife carved and temples built to the traditional Egyptian gods as other pharaohs had done before him.
He kept the status quo and even improved the economy and prosperity of the people. It was bountiful with food
and resources, but aside from being prosperous industrially, Thebes was the city of Amun, the god which
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Amenhotep III and his son Amenhotep IV’s names were derived. Despite being part of the royal family,
Amenhotep IV was left out of many royal documents and was apparently left out of the religious ceremonies his
family attended, as well. When it came time for Amenhotep III to choose his successor, his wife seemingly had
a large amount of input to have her son, Amenhotep IV, be named the next pharaoh.
Shortly after being in power, Amenhotep changed his name to Akhenaten and rejected the old religion
for a new monotheistic one. For his new religion, he needed a new location. He chose a new spot in the fifth
year of his reign. In a place about 150 miles from Thebes, Akhenaten claimed to see the sun rise in a notch of
the mountains, which is the sign of new beginnings. This is how the location was chosen. It was called “the
Horizon of Aten.” In the early stages of building, Akhenaten had borders for the city built with depictions of
how he came to choose this location in a desert.
With the news of a new capital city, some citizens were excited. They saw themselves as pioneers of a
new religion and way of life. There were some, however, who were not too happy. The mayor of Thebes was
originally against the shift in capital city because he did not want people to move away, but then he was
persuaded into joining the new way for political purposes. These political purposes were mainly monetary and
in the form of a job offer to continue his position. If he denied the change in capital, he may have been removed
from his position but instead he retains it. Priests were also angry because Thebes was their religious center and
their religion had been the religion of the royals for centuries; now there was a new city and new religion. There
was much confusion among citizens, as well. People believed life would go on as usual in Thebes, but the
resources began being sent to the new capital, leaving Thebes with very little comparatively. A major industry
of Egypt is that of constructing religious artifacts, such as carvings resembling gods and amulets. Now that
there was a new religion, the people who worked in this industry were nearly out of work. The new religion was
one will less glamour and only one god. Also, there were very little symbols aligned with the religion for an
industry, like the one for the old religion, to be built on.
Having resources sent to the new capital, Akhenaten tried to create a utopia for those who followed him.
The Pharaoh and his wife personally gifted a great number of citizens with gold. Everything in this place was
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new and exciting. The population reached 10,000, which was a large number of people, at its peak. With this
new city and religion also came a new style of art. For centuries, the way the pharaoh and his family were
depicted remained the same, but Akhenaten changed the style to be more tangible to the people. He portrayed
himself and his family with their flaws, which is a very new thing to do and puts the traditional artists out of
work.
Outside of Egypt, there was also some dismay about the new capital. The Syrian rulers were angered by
the Egyptian ones making their messengers stand out in the sun for long periods of time. They saw this as
disrespectful to both the individual and the Syrian kingdom. The only explanation for this events seemed to be
that the Egyptians enjoyed the sun of their new sun god kingdom. Other connections outside of Egypt began to
falter. It seemed that the Pharaoh would rather practice art and partake in fallacious activities than do his
political duties. The army has become weakened and there are no more foreign contributions. Since
correspondence with other kingdoms have nearly ceased all together, there is less foreign respect for Egypt.
However, with all of these problems arising, Akhenaten seems indifferent. After Akhenaten’s early death, the
kingdom had two temporary, insignificant leaders. Now Tutankhamun is the pharaoh and his cabinet must help
him decide where to go in regards to the capital of Egypt and reversing any damage that has been done.
Current Situation
With this new city already having been set up and abandoned, the next step is deciding what to do with
it. Many resources were put into making it beautiful and it would seem wasteful not to utilize them. The people
are also confused as to where the capital will be, unsure if it will be where the last pharaoh established it to be
or back in Thebes. Since the change in capital caused many families to move the hundreds of miles to the new
capital, they are wondering if they will need to move back now that there is a new pharaoh. The location of the
capital is very important, not only as the stance on religion, but also as the center of commerce and foreign
relations. Those involved in the industries will need to know where they will need to be to produce and sell
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goods. Foreign nations need to know where they should send diplomats or other correspondences. There is
much relying on this committee’s decisions.
Questions to Consider
1.
Will a shift in capital location from “Akhenaten” to Thebes cause more confusion within the
population than leaving it as it is?
2.
Instead of choosing one of the capitals in existence, should Tutankhamun found his own, new capital
city?
3.
Should Tutankhamun focus on winning the affections of the people, or attempt to justify the actions of
his father?
4.
How would the people react to erasing all decisions Akhenaten made for Egypt?
What to Include in a Resolution
● Where the capital is going to be located
● Where religion, commerce, foreign relations, and government are to take place
●
What should be done about the capitals of “Akhenaten” and Thebes
● What, if anything, should Tutankhamun do about his father’s reputation
● Consider apologies that should be made nationally or internationally
●
Should foreign relations be reintroduced
●
Reparations if the capital is moved back to Thebes and people are once again told to relocate
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Works Cited
http://www.skwirk.com/p-c_s-14_u-170_t-464_c-1647/foreign-policy-and-contact/nsw/foreign-policy-andcontact/ancient-societies-egypt/egypt-part-i
http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?ParagraphID=aqe
http://www.historyembalmed.org/ancient-egypt/ancient-egyptian-capitals.htm
http://www.ancient.eu/Akhenaten/
http://discoveringegypt.com/ancient-egyptian-kings-queens/akhenaten/
http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/amarnaperiod.htm
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Character List
Horemheb
Tutankhamun’s general who was stationed with the Egyptian military forces based in Memphis and was
responsible for upholding the fighting in Syria.
Ay
The elderly advisor to Tutankhamun, who possibly even ruled as co-regent.
Maya
Treasurer of the capitol, served as an advisor alongside Ay.
Suppiluliuma
Ruler of the Hittite empire, and military commander who conquered many kingdoms during his one year
campaign on “The Great Syrian War.”
Tushratta
Ruler of vassal state Mitanni.
Shutatarra
Ruler of vassal state Kadesh.
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Kiya
The mother of Tutankhamun.
Ankhesenpaaten
The wife of Tutankhamun, who was also his half-sister.
Nefertiti
The stepmother of Tutankhamun.
Smenkhkare Ankhetkheperure
Took over for Akhenatan until Tut was ready to assume the throne.
Ra
The Egyptian God of the Sun. Akhenaten switched the national religion to be one that worshipped only him.
Osiris
The Egyptian God of the afterlife.
Geb
The Egyptian God of the earth.
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Nut
The Egyptian Goddess of the sun.
Isis
Goddess of health, marriage, and wisdom.
Horus
God of sky and kingship.
Set
God of storms, desert, chaos, and war.
Nephthys
Goddess of death, service, lamentation, nighttime, and rivers.
Anubis
God of cemeteries and embalming.
Amun
The king of the Gods.
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Atum
The creator God.
Bastet
The protective Goddess.
Hathor
Goddess of love and joy.
Khepri
God of creation, the movement of the sun, and rebirth.
Ma’at
Goddess of truth, justice, and harmony.
Ptah
God of the craftsmen.
Sekhmet
The Goddess of war.
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Seshat
Goddess of writing and measurement.
Shu
God of the air.
Sobek
Nile God.
Thoth
God of writing and knowledge.
Kuk
God/personification of darkness.
Mafdet
God of justice.
Wadjet
Goddess of protection.
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Ammit
Soul-eater.
Kebechet
Goddess of purification.
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