Preface Brief Chronology of the New Kingdom Abbreviations and Symbols 1. Selection Procedures and Identification of the Elite Groups 1.1. A Theoretical Discussion about the Elite 1.2. The Meaning of the Term 'Elite' in New Kingdom Egypt 1.3. Titles and Offices as Elite Status Symbols 2.

Society and Administration during the 18th Dynasty 2.1. The Soldiers 2.2. The Officials 2.3. The Priesthood 3. The State Control on the Local Elites 3.

1. Relationships between the Core of the State and the Court Dignitaries: Some Practical Cases 3.2. Life in the Central Court and Life in the Periphery 3.3. New Military Acquisitions and the Mechanism of Governance 4. Social Organization and Elites in the Deir el-Medina Microcosm 4.1.

The Scribes 4.2. The Foremen 4.3. The Architects 4.4. Self-Presentation of the Elites in Deir el-Medina 4.5.

Ancestor Worship and Religious Cults 4.6. Elites, Workmen and Divine Justice 5. Economic Crisis and Elites under the Ramessides 5.1. Self-Presentation of the Officials in the Ramesside Texts 5.2. Soldiers, Officials and Priests: A New Iconography 5.

3. Attempting an Interpretation 6. Aspects of Elites and Feminine Power in the New Kingdom 6.1. Royal Court and Noble Women 6.2. Feminine Priests and Temple Employees 6.3.

The 'God's Wife of Amon': Privileges and Prestige 7. Relationships between Local Elites and the Pharaoh: Imitation and Interpretation Final Remarks: Hypothesis and Open Questions Glossary Suggested Reading Bibliography Index.