The trope issue of Old Kingdom war reliefs

Abstract

This paper presents a discussion of the repeated topos of the Libyan enemy in Old Kingdom royal depictions. The presence of this one common enemy of
Egypt within repeated written and pictorial sources from the Old Kingdom parallels indicates a nationalist feeling, one connected to the self-identity of the
Egyptians, can be traced to a very early time in history. The fact that this “theme” persists throughout Egyptian history is of great importance. Libyan-Egyptian
relations must be seen as not merely hostile in attitude from a primordial era, but also as a theme that could be re-used over and over to magnify the kings’
military performances.