Research: Ascending to the Rank of the Gods. A Historical and Religious Study of the Deification of Senusret III: Sacrality, Ideology, Propaganda
Samuele Gennaro is a PhD student in Philology and History of the Ancient World at Sapienza University of Rome, where he is carrying out a research project in Egyptology entitled «Ascending to the Rank of the Gods. A Historical and Religious Study of the Deification of Senusret III: Sacrality, Ideology, Propaganda». Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Paola Buzi; co-supervisor: Dr. Christian Greco.
Since November 2025, he has been collaborating as an educational operator for the "Treasures of the Pharaohs" exhibition at the Scuderie del Quirinale.
He graduated with a Master's Degree in History and Oriental Studies from the Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna in March 2023, with a dissertation in Egyptology entitled «Deifying the King. Mythical-Ritual Meanings of the Cult of Senusret III in Nubia» (supervisor: Prof. Dr. Marco Zecchi; co-supervisor: Prof. Dr. Valentina Gasperini), obtaining a final grade of 110/110 Hons. (Summa cum laude). In December of the same year he received a Merit Graduation Award as an outstanding graduate of the Department of History and Cultures at the University of Bologna.
His research interests focus on ancient Egyptian religion, with particular attention to funerary culture, the interrelations between sacredness and royal ideology, and the historical and cultural dialogue between Egypt and Nubia during the dynastic period.
Ascending to the Rank of the Gods. A Historical and Religious Study of the Deification of Senusret III: Sacrality, Ideology, Propaganda
At the end of the 19th century BCE, Nubia emerged as a prominent center of a posthumous cult dedicated to Senusret III (ca. 1836–1818 BCE), the fifth ruler of the Twelfth Dynasty, whose reign was marked by an intensive expansionist policy toward the region beyond Egypt’s southern border. Samuele Gennaro’s research project seeks to clarify the theological foundations underpinning the monarch’s glorification, as well as to reconstruct the ideological significance of the cult dedicated to him. Focusing on textual, archaeological, and iconographic sources from the late Middle Kingdom (ca. 1818–1630 BCE) to the Third Intermediate Period (ca. 1069–664 BCE), the research will examine: a) the identity and motivations of the devotees; b) the liturgical complexity of the cultic practices; c) the communicative and propagandistic strategies associated with the veneration of the sovereign; d) the reception, reinterpretation, and integration of the king-god's image within the Nubian religious tradition. To this end, the project adopts an interdisciplinary approach, combining prosopographical, onomastic, historical-philological, and iconographic analyses with postcolonial interpretive frameworks. By comparing Senusret III’s deification with that of his successors in Nubia, the research also aims to trace thematic continuities and elucidate the underlying theological principles of royal veneration.
Education and Academic Degrees
2020-2023: Master’s Degree in History and Oriental Studies, curriculum: Oriental Studies, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, dissertation in Egyptology, obtained on 14 March 2023. Supervisor: Dr. M. Zecchi; co-supervisor: Dr. V. Gasperini. Final grade: 110/110 Hons. (Summa cum laude).
2017-2020: Bachelor’s Degree in Foreign Languages and Literature, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, dissertation in Romance Philology, obtained on 08 July 2020. Supervisor: Dr. F. Benozzo. Final grade: 110/110 Hons. (Summa cum laude).
2009-2014: Classical High School Diploma, Liceo Classico Tommaso Fazello, Sciacca (AG). Final grade: 100/100.
Other Training Activities
2025: Monographic Course "Pharaoh at War: Warfare in the Late Dynastic Period", Egypt Exploration Society. Tutor: Dr. N. Nielsen (University of Manchester).
2025: Monographic Course "The Kingdom of Kush", Egypt Exploration Society. Tutor: Dr. L. Kilroe (British Museum, Department of Egypt and Sudan).
2024: Monographic Course "Understanding New Kingdom Theban Tombs", Egypt Exploration Society. Tutor: Dr. C. Näser (University College of London, Institute of Archaeology).
2024: Summer School "How to Study Egyptian Mummies: Techniques and Instruments", University of Pisa, Department of Civilizations and Forms of Knowledge, in collaboration with Italian and International egyptologists (3 ECTS). Coordinator: Dr. G. Miniaci.
2024: Monographic Course "Egypt in the Age of Cleopatra", Egypt Exploration Society in collaboration with The Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies and The Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies. Tutor: Dr. C. Adams (University of Liverpool).
2019: Study semester at Federal University of Santa Catarina (Florianópolis, SC, Brazil) within the framework of Overseas International Mobility Programme, aimed at attending teaching modules offered by the Department of Letters.
Scolarships and Awards
2025: Three-year doctoral scholarship funded by Sapienza University of Rome, Department of Classics and Archaeology.
2023: Public recognition of the merit intended for outstanding recent graduates enrolled in the A.Y. 2021-2022 in degree programmes of the Department of History and Cultures, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna.
2017-2023: Exempted from the payment of university fees for the entire duration of the Bachelor’s Degree and Master’s Degree due to academic merit.
2021: Awardee of a study prize reserved for deserving students enrolled in the A.Y. 2020/2021 in degree programmes of the Department of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna.
2020: Awardee of a study prize reserved for deserving students enrolled in the A.Y. 2019/2020 in degree programmes of the Department of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna.
2018: Awardee of a six-month scholarship for the 2019/2020 academic year within the Overseas international mobility program, co-funded by Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna and Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina.