As royal ideology constitutes one of the key topics that had an enormous impact on all aspects of ancient Egyptian culture, it is not surprising that in the series of conferences Tagung zur Königsideologie meetings have regularly been organized since 1995 to bring together scholars working on various aspects of this topic.
This volume of the book series Königtum, Staat und Gesellschaft früher Hochkulturen contains the proceedings of the seventh international conference dedicated to royal ideology in Egypt, which was hosted by the Czech Institute of Egyptology, Faculty of Arts, Charles University in Prague in June 2013. The main theme of the meeting revolved around the topic of royal versus divine authority with a focus on the acquisition, legitimization and renewal of power. The 14 papers focus on different aspects of the given theme, discussing the characteristics, interactions and developments of royal and divine authority in Egypt throughout all periods of ancient Egyptian history, ranging from the early Old Kingdom to the era of Roman dominance. The articles present, analyze and interpret evidence expressed in art, architecture, language, ritual, funerary and other practices, with a spotlight on relations, interactions and exchanges between the divine and royal spheres.