Russian science has suffered a heavy loss. On December 14, 1999, prominent Egyptologist and Candidate of Historical Sciences Tatyana Nikolaevna Savelyeva died in Moscow at the age of 83.

T. N. Savelyeva's entire life was devoted to historical science. Tatiana Nikolaevna's interest in the history of ancient Egypt began as a student during her studies at the IFLI Department of Ancient History (1935-1940). She wrote her thesis under the supervision of Professor V. I. Avdiev. Starting her scientific career under the guidance of V. I. Avdiev in the Department of Ancient Oriental Studies of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the USSR Academy of Sciences, which he created, and later, representing the Moscow School of Egyptology, under the guidance of Academician M. A. Korostovtsev, she improved her knowledge in the field of economics, social and political history of ancient Egyptian society.

T.N. Savelyeva showed a special interest in the economy of Egypt during the Ancient Kingdom. The most interesting and complex period of Egyptian civilization, the Ancient (Old) Kingdom, left extremely sparse information about the form of economic relations at that time. The main source used by Egyptologists was mainly the analysis of reliefs of private tombs. Striving for maximum accuracy, completeness and validity of scientific conclusions, T. N. Savelyeva drew in her works the maximum possible number of those rare sources (mainly royal letters of immunity), with the help of which she was able to most fully cover this key issue of ancient Egyptian history. The very first monograph of Tatyana Nikolaevna was devoted to the agrarian system of Egypt during the Ancient Kingdom, and it systematized all the information on this issue. After the discovery of the Abusir Archive papyri by the German expedition of L. Borchardt in 1907, Egyptologists got their hands on an invaluable source covering a century and a half of the reign of the Fifth and sixth dynasties of the Pharaohs. After the rather late publication of these documents, Tatyana Nikolaevna realized their importance for studying the economic history of the Ancient Kingdom. Conclusions

page 203

on the basis of these documents, as well as a more complete analysis of the royal temple decrees and rare sources on the Early Kingdom, they were included in another major monograph by Savelyeva, "Temple Farms of Egypt during the Ancient Kingdom".

It should be noted that the issues of economic relations in the Ancient Kingdom were also developed by other Russian Egyptologists, in particular, Doctor of Historical Sciences Yu. Ya. Perepelkin, whose opinion Tatyana Nikolaevna valued especially and with whom she had a close long-term friendship. Yu. Ya. Perepelkin rendered great and invaluable assistance to Tatyana Nikolaevna in publishing inscriptions from the tomb of Mechen ¹ .

With heartache, Tatyana Nikolaevna perceived any estrangement that arose between scientists. Her good relations with V. J. Struve, I. M. Diakonov, E. V. Cherezov, I. M. Lurie, M. E. Mathieu, H. A. Kink, N. S. Petrovsky, and E. S. Bogoslovsky always helped to overcome this alienation. Using her example, we learned how to build human relationships with other people, even if their scientific positions on certain issues did not coincide.

Tatyana Nikolaevna was a participant of numerous national and international Egyptological meetings, and when complex issues arose, she often served as an expert. She provided invaluable assistance in establishing the Egyptology Center at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, where she was a scientific consultant, participating in its creative projects. The library and scientific archive of Tatyana Nikolaevna were transferred to this Center by her will.

A man who was deeply devoted to his work and gave warmth to all the people around him has passed away. Tatyana Nikolaevna left behind numerous students and friends who continue her work.

Department of the Ancient East of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences,

Egyptological Association "Toth",

Editorial Board and Editorial Board of Vestnik Drevnoi Istorii

¹ Excerpts from the correspondence between Tatyana Nikolaevna and Yuri Yakovlevich will soon be published at the request of T. N. Savelyeva.

Permanent link to this publication: