Marginalità geografica e alterità ideologica: il caso delle oasi e dei deserti egiziani nell’Antico Regno

The paper discusses the topic of marginality in Ancient Egypt from a geographical and ideological point of view, applying it to the specific case studies of the Egyptian oases and deserts during the Old Kingdom. These territories, mainly due to their geographical location, were early relegated to the margins of the Egyptian concept of the world, which strongly contrasted them with the centre coinciding with the Nile Valley. Generated by the observation of the surrounding reality, this contrast was soon accompanied by important ideological implications, which led to characterize as ‘other’ everything that lay beyond the limits of the “Black Land”. The ideological treatment of the oases in the 6th dynasty documentation fits perfectly into this peculiar concept of the world: since their first appearance, these territories were closely connected with the desert, and therefore set apart from Egypt itself. In analysing these issues, the paper also highlights how much the exploration of the desert and its features contributed in shaping the otherness of a landscape that was eventually transferred to the oases’ space.