Résumé
Recent research on the great temple of Amun-Ra at Karnak highlights the royal cult, particularly the cult of royal ancestors, as an essential component of the temple and of the Amun’s theology. It seems to be attested at least since Mentuhotep II and was thereafter the object of great interest for certain kings. Especially those seeking legitimacy, such as Sesostris I, Amenhotep I, Hatshepsut, and Thutmose III, as evidenced by several monuments, statues, representations, and inscriptions. Therefore, a synthesis on the place of the cult of royal ancestors in the great temple of Amun-Ra at Karnak seems necessary. It will study its evolution, its beneficiaries, its dedicants and officiants, its localisations and the types of monuments concerned, as well as its cult supports. It will also permit to consider the nature of the veneration received by these ancestors and the rituals associated with the memorial cult, and eventually its relation and its place in the Amun’s theology. Indeed, the conception of the personality of Amun-Ra and of his temple of Karnak is the basis that allow and contribute to the importance of the cult of royal ancestors within the temenos of the god and the liturgies which are developed therein.