埃及与西亚的关系——以古代埃及inw税为中心

The Relationship between Egypt and West Asia:Centered on the Tax Term Inw in the Ancient Egypt

Inw是古代埃及的税收术语,是指一种专门满足国王消费和再分配的不定期税收。Inw税的来源有二:一个来自国内,是各级政府官员、祭司以及普通民众所要承担的赋税之一;一个来自国外,尤其是来自西亚的inw税内涵多重,主要有“贡品”“礼物”和“贸易品”等三种含义。Inw的这三种含义揭示出埃及与西亚的关系是动态的多样的:既有正常的贸易往来,也有基于平等关系的礼物交换,同时也存在着西亚诸国对埃及一定程度上的屈服。由此,只有在对不同文献不同语境中的inw进行全面的考察,才能揭示出埃及与西亚的关系。

Inw is a tax term in ancient Egypt.It is an irregular tax which can meet the demand of redistribution and the consumption of the king.There are two sources of the inw tax.One is from Egypt.It is the tax paid by government officials,priests,and ordinary people;another is from abroad,especially the inw tax from West Asia,and it has multiple constitutes:“tributes”,“gifts”and“trade goods”.The three meanings of inw reveal that the relationship between Egypt and the West Asia is dynamic and varied:normal trade,equal exchange,and it also shows the yield of West Asia to Egypt to a certain extent.Thus,to reveal the relationship between Egypt and West Asia,we should have a comprehensive investigation of inw in different documents and contexts.