Mastering Hieroglyphs: V. Reading Obelisks - Pillars of Ancient Egyptian Theology and Divine Kingship (Part I)
Obelisks were once believed to command the presence of the Egyptian sun god himself, and everyone who was anyone in world history decided they needed to take one home, the moment they laid eyes on it. This explains why they are now the most likely Ancient Egyptian monuments for us to come across (often when we least expect it) and why there are so few of them left in Egypt.
The Obelisk as a Theological Statement, Marker of Divine Presence and Royal Ideology
A symbol of divine authority, the obelisk was far more than an architectural feature. It functioned as a sacred monument charged with theological and cosmological significance, an embodiment of the sun god Ra’s petrified ray, anchoring his divine presence within temple courtyards.
Egyptologist Jan Assmann described obelisks as expressions of what he termed “monumental theology,” interpreting their towering form and enduring presence as a public and permanent declaration of divine sanction and cosmic order. The inscriptions carved into their surfaces reinforced royal ideology, portraying the pharaoh’s sacred relationship with the gods and his responsibility to uphold the balance of the universe—Ma’at.
Reading the Inscriptions
The hieroglyphic inscriptions of obelisks, in Assmann’s view, were more than decorative or commemorative; they were performative, actively invoking the god’s presence, eternalizing the king’s service to Re, and perpetuating cosmic order through written words imbued with theological and magical power.
And those of you who have been following along since lesson one will be able to read an entire Obelisk inscription by the end of this lesson.
But before we start our close reading, let’s take a moment to recap what we have learned so far and then marvel at our progress when we tackle our very first obelisk.
NOTE: Each hieroglyph—such as the White Crown 𓋑—is assigned both a Gardiner code and a transliteration (converting Hieroglyphic script into readable modern characters). In this case, the Gardiner classification is S1, where "S" refers to the category of crowns, dress, and regalia.
The transliteration of the White Crown is ḥḏt, using the standard Egyptological set of 24 consonantal signs:
ꜣ, j, ꜥ, w, b, p, f, m, n, r, h, ḥ, ḫ, ẖ, z, s, š, q, k, g, t, ṯ, d, ḏ
(See also the Manuel de Codage version: HDt—which uses simplified characters for digital input.)The transcription attempts to reconstruct the likely pronunciation by inserting vowels, usually "e", where they were omitted in writing. Thus, 𓋑 ḥḏt becomes Hedjet in transcription.
This system allows us to move from the ancient script to a readable and pronounceable form—critical for dictionary use, reading comprehension, and translation.
In lesson IV (see link below), we learned about basic Verb Conjugation and Ancient Egyptian pronouns.
For the obelisk inscriptions, please keep the little horned viper 𓆑 in mind (spelling the letter F and meaning “he”/”him”/”his”), since most pharaohs refer to themselves in the third person on their monuments (it is always HE 𓆑 built it for HIM 𓆑 - aka the god/father etc, and HIS 𓆑 conquest and victories… not “I built it” or “they”, let alone “we built it”). Also, you will find the same pronouns, whether it is in the context of verbal conjugation, possessive pronouns, or objective pronouns.
In the second lesson about basic Egyptian syntax or sentence structure, we learned about the importance of the M-owl spelling the letter M but also acting as an important preposition (a word that shows the relationship between a noun or pronoun) and a marker of a non-verbal sentence (where the verb missing and the Owl as a stand-in to denote the relationship).
The waterline 𓈖 is a similarly important staple in Ancient Egyptian, it not only spells a single letter (N), it also acts as a preposition, a pronoun (“we” and part of the spelling of “they” and “You”) AND a genitival adjective (meaning “of”) and as a plural it actually also means “water” but is pronounced MW or MU.
Royal Titulature of Ancient Egyptian Rulers
The royal titles of the Ancient Egyptian king shed light on the most important aspects of Ancient Egyptian theology: the Role of Pharaoh as divine mediator, high priest, reborn Horus, and the Son of Ra. To read any Ancient Egyptian inscription, in general, and obelisks in particular, we first need to familiarize ourselves with the Royal Titulature. This will enable us to decipher at least half of most objects and monuments already. By adding some basic vocabulary and applying what we already know, we will be ready to read an entire inscription as a result.
In the first lesson, we looked at an important part of the titulature of Ramses II ( 𓇓𓆤/ 𓅭𓇳) and the writing of his name using the Hieroglyph of the Egyptian sun god Ra 𓇳 (which provided the final piece to the puzzle in deciphering Hieroglyphs - see article below).
The Egyptian King had in fact five names - the two names of Ramses pictured above are his so-called Throne Name and his Birth Name. The Throne Name was always preceded by the Sedge 𓇓 and the Bee 𓆤 and written in a cartouche 𓍷.
The Birth Name 𓅭𓇳
Also, the name used by posterity (main title used for each king in historical sources), was written in a cartouche as well and was preceded by two Hieroglyphs denoting the words for “Son” 𓅭 (SA) and the Sun God Ra 𓇳 (RA), meaning Son of Ra.
The Horus Name 𓅃
The oldest name, dating back to Pre-Dynastic times, was written in a so-called Serekh (a rectangular enclosure representing the niched or gated façade of a palace) 𓊂 and preceded by a depiction of Horus 𓅃 ( sometimes not always wearing a crown of Upper and Lower Egypt);
Nebty Name 𓅒
Another title dedicated to the protective goddesses Nekhbet and Wadjet, representing Upper and Lower Egypt and written without a cartouche, was the so-called Nebty Name 𓅒, marked by a cobra and a vulture resting upon a basket.
Goldhorus Name 𓅉
Written with a Horus Falcon 𓅉 standing on the Hieroglyph for gold 𓋞 (Gardiner sign S12, Collar of gold - transliterations: nbw, ḏˁm, ḥḏ), which explains the modern name “Goldhorus Name”, while the actual origins of the name is highly disputed.
Obelisk of Theodosius in Istanbul - erected during the reign of Thutmose III.
The first thing to do is to look up the king who built the obelisk (or temple/tomb, etc. for that matter) and obtain a list of all their titles (see: https://pharaoh.se/ancient-egypt/pharaoh/thutmose-iii/ or simply use Wikipedia by googling the “titles of pharaoh …”); this will equip you with all variables of their titles (yes, unfortunately there are various versions of each) and you will already be able to riddle your way through most of the inscription (see arrows below marking the Horus Name, Nebty Name, Goldhorus Name, Throne Name - the Birth Name is on the other side:
Southeastern Inscription (Titles only)
Horus, Strong Bull, appearing in Thebes, Lord of Two Crowns, enduring kingship like Re in Heaven, Golden Horus, glorious in his radiance, all-powerful in strength, King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Menkheperra, chosen by Re…
The last part of the inscription is where our training comes in:
𓁹 𓈖𓆑 (transliteration JRJ.N=F) and means “he made” with the eye meaning JR (pronounced eer) “to make”, the N waterline denoting a perfect tense and the horned viper (F) the pronoun “he”.
Then the preposition M-Owl meaning “as” and spelled out or transcribed as M.
This is followed by the word for monument (pronounced menou) :
followed by the horned viper 𓆑 (F), this time as a possessive pronoun meaning “his” and the waterline 𓈖 as a preposition meaning “to”.
Then we have the abbreviation of “father” only written with a T-bread 𓏏 and our old fellow, the horned viper.
The last word is the title of the most important god in the New Kingdom, Amun-Ra: 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓇳 translation: IMN RA and transcribed as AMUN RA (see orange note above for further explanation), with the gods honorary title 𓎟 (NEB) “Lord of the thrones 𓎼𓎼𓎼 of the two lands 𓇾𓇾” .
And when we put all of this together, we get something like:
He made as a monument to his father, Amun-Ra, the lord of the thrones of the two lands.
When we assume that the monument in question is the obelisk itself, our final translation would be:
He made [the obelisk] as a monument to his father, Amun-Re, Lord of the Thrones of The Two Lands…
Congratulations, you have now officially translated an entire inscription! 𓃂
Tricky Obelisks
If you come across a three-columned one (like the Lateran Obelisk in Rome pictured above), do not panic; it is still mostly titles and boilerplate inscriptions, all you need to know is that the obelisk was started by Thutmose III. and completed by his grandson Thutmose IV., so you need to know the titles for both of them.
When you position yourself at the south side of the obelisk and read the centre line, you will recognize most of the inscriptions you already know:
Horus, the powerful bull, arising gloriously in Thebes, (NEBTY) lasting in kingship like Ra in heaven, (GOLDHORUS) Sacred of appearances and powerful of vigor.
Again, the Throne Name of Thutmose III and his Birth Name
and for the rest…See our translation above!
He 𓆑 raised (𓈖 N-Waterline denoting perfect tense) a single obelisk 𓉶 (pronunciation: TEKHEN) for him in the upper courtyard of the temple at Ipet-sut.
At the first opportunity to raise a single obelisk in Thebes, he does it (remember the eye Jr. May he be given life!
The pyramid-bread loave 𓏙 is an abbreviated tense of “to give” (RDJ) and transliterated here as (d)w, which means “may it be given”!
For people who can read French, Assimil has an up-to-date textbook published in 2012 that teaches the Ancient Egyptian language, focusing, of course, on reading the hieroglyphics. The book is over 800 pages. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be an English language translation in existence. There are, however, audio recordings of sample sentences in a reconstructed Ancient Egyptian pronunciation that are useful, even if you don't know French. The course concentrates mainly on Middle Egyptian.