Victory Stela of Piankhi

Audience

Throughout the text of the stela there are various speakers and addressees. The speakers include Piankhi, messengers, inhabitants of the various cities visited by Piankhi, Namlot and his wives, Tefnakhte, generals, priests, rulers who were conquered by Piankhi, and the people praising Piankhi at the end. The various addressees include general readers, Piankhi, the armies, Namlot, inhabitants of the cities, and priests.

The variety of speakers and addressees indicates that this stela had a specialized intended audience. Since most of the general population was illiterate, the stela was not meant for them. Additionally, the stela was located in a portion of the temple not readily accessible to the public, which would have limited the viewing audience to the temple priests and the king. Thus, considering the placement of the stela as well as the repetition throughout the text that Piankhi is beloved of Amun, it is possible that the actual intended audience was the god himself. If Amun was the intended audience, it would have indicated a continued allegiance to the deity and reaffirmed Amun's importance to the Nubians of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty.