A
HISTORY OF EGYPT
UNDER THE PHARAOHS

DERIVED ENTIRELY FROM THE MONUMENTS

BY HENRY BRUSCH-BEY

TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN
By the Late HENRY DANBY SEYMOUR

COMPLETED AND EDITED BY
PHILIP SMITH

IN TWO VOLUMES—VOL. II

LONDON 1879

TRIBUTE BROUGHT BY THE INHABITANTS OF CUSH OR AETHIOPIA

CONTENTS

CHAPTER XIV

THE NINTH DYNASTY—THE PEOPLE OF THE KHITA

Review of the recent Schism ..... 1
Rise of the Khita, to the N.E. of Egypt ..... 2
They appear as early as Thutmee III.  ..... 2
They are the Hittites of Scripture  ..... 2
Their locality, and supremacy in Western Asia ..... 2
Mention of them and their gods in Egyptian inscriptions  ..... 3
Their kings, Mauthanar and Ehitasar, contemporary with Seti I. and Ramses II  ..... 3
Their deities, Sutekh and his warrior wife, Astartar Anatha  .....  3
Their towns, Daphne and Haleb, certainly fixed  .....  3
Their military array: non Semitic names . .....  4, 5
List of their peoples and cities on the inscriptions  .....  5-7
Khethite supremacy in Western Asia before the Assyrians  .....  7
BC 1400
Ramses I: his unknown relation to Dyn. XVIII. .....  8
His reign neither long nor remarkable ..... 8
Memorial of his coronation, at Karnak  ..... 9
War and Treaty with the king of the Khita ... 9
Monument at Wady Haifa. Tomb at Biban-el-Moluk  .....  9
BC 1366
MA-MEN-RA Mihbptah L Sjeti I. (Sbthob) .... 10
Celebrated on the national temple at Thebes . .....  10
His Great Hall of Columns at Karnak .... 10
Wars of Seti depicted on the N. outer wall  ..... 10
Inroads of the R border nations on the Delta ... 10
War of his first year against the Shasu  ..... .11
His route traced from Khetham to Kan'aan  ..... 11-13
Inscriptions recording his victories ..... 13-17
Celebration of his return home ..... 18
List of nations conquered by him  ..... 19
His other campaigns in Asia  ..... 19-20
His wars against the Libyans  ..... 20
Bacord of prisoners and spoils, showing high art . ..... .21
Connection of the Ruthen and the Khita . ..... . 22
Services of Seti to the temple of Amon .... 22
His wife, Tui, heiress of the old line of kings  .....  23
Worship of Baal-Sutekh by kings of XIXth Dynasty  .....  23
Association of Ramses II. as the legitimate heir  .....  23
Belated in the inscriptions of Ramses II  .....  24
Wars with the countries of Rush and Punt . .....  25
Climax of Egyptian art Works of Seti I  ..... 26
His tomb: its pictures and inscriptions .... 26-27
The 'Memnonium' in honour of Ramses I  ..... 27
The king's name of Usiri, in honour of Osiris  .....  27
The unfinished temple of Osiris at Abydus .... 28
The Table of Kings At Abydus  ..... 28
Temples at Memphis, Heliopolis, &c  ..... 28
Records of the sculptor Hi and the painter Amen-uah-su  .....  20
Tributes and taxes. Gold mines in Egypt and Nubia  .....  29
Road from the Nile to Coptoe. Gold washing ..... 30
Inscriptions of the temple at Redesieh  ..... 31
Ramesu II., Miamtn, Ramses II, Sesostris ... 33
Vast number of his monuments over all Egypt  .....  33
Completion of the temple at Abydus—Inscription . ..... .33
Journey to Thebes for the feast of Amon  .....  42
Return to his royal residence at Zoan-Tanis  ..... 43
Age of Ramses. His 60 sons and 59 daughters . .....  43
Inferiority of his buildings and sculptures  .....  43
His great war with the Khita, in his 7th year . .....  44
The heroic poem of Pentaur: its many copies  ..... 45
Pictures of the camps, armies, and battle of Kadesh  .....  46
Record of the battle on the temple walls  ..... 60
Translation of the poem of Pentaur  ..... 53
Previous campaigns of Ramses against Kadesh  .....  63
Rock tablets of Beyrout; the Colunms of Sesostris .....  63
War with Tunep—Inscription in the Theban Ramesseum  ..... 63
Campaign in Canaan in his 8th year ..... 64
Names of places—The storming of Askalon  .....  65
Lists of prisoners inscribed at Luqsor .... 66
Maritime wars proved by an inscription at Ibsambul  ..... 67
Pressure of Semitic tribes upon Egypt  ..... . 67-74
Treaty between Ramses II. and Khitasir of Khita . .....  68
Its inscription on a silver tablet .....  69, 73, 74
Ramses II. marries the daughter of the king of Khita  ..... 75
Negro-hunting razzias and wars with Kush and Libyans  ..... 76
Pictures of courts held after these victories . ..... 76, 77
Names of Ethiopians and Libyans subdued .... 78
Names of viceroys of the South under Ramses . ..... 78
The Nubian gold-mines in the land of Akita  ..... 78
Well and gold-washing works of Ramses II ..... 79
Inscription about them at Kuban  ..... 80
Earlier wells in the valley of Hammamat .... 84
Temples built by Ramses II at Abydus, Thebes, and Memphis  ..... 84-6
The memorial tablet of Ibsambul  ..... 85
Relations of Ramses II to the Khita  ..... 85
His temple of Ptah at Memphis (near Qasrieh)  ..... 87
The great torso of Ramses at Mitrahenne  .....  87
Labours of the Apuinll, i.e. Erythrssans, not Hebrews   ..... 88
The architect Ameneman and his family .... 88
Probably the overseer of the Israelites in Egypt . ..... 80
Great works of Ramses II at Thebes .... 89
At Karnak: the Hall of Columns completed . ..... 89
At Luqsor: the Temple of Araon, obelisks and statues  ..... 89
At Old Qumah: sepulchral temple of Seti I. ..... .89
The Ramesseum, with the greatest colossus of Ramses, said to have been thrown down by Cambyses  .....  89
Boast of Ramses, that 'he made Egypt anew' . ..... 90
Numerous temples and towns in Nubia  .....  90
The great rock temple of Ibsambul  ..... 90
Derivation of the name from Pimas (Greek, Psampolis)  ..... 92
The Ramesseum and obelisks at Heliopolis  ..... 93
Zoan-Tanis the special residence of Ramses II  .....  93
Its locality—the key of Egypt on the East  ..... 94
New temple-city built by Ramses to the gods of Egypt, with Baal-Sutekh, and himself .....  94
Memorial stone of the 400th year of King Nub ... 94
Present aspect of the 'field of Zoan:' ruins and inscriptions  ..... 95
New name of Zoan, Pi-Ramessu, the City of Ramses  .....  96
Vivid description in an old Egyptian letter .... 96
It tithe same as the 'temple-city' Ramues (Ex. i. 13)  ..... 98
THE PHARAOH OF THE OPPRESSION CAN BE NO OTHER THAN RAMSES II  .....  99
Absence of the name of the Israelites explained  ..... 99
Importance of Zoan-Tanis in Egyptian history  ..... 99
Immense number of foreign prisoners in Egypt  ..... 100
Their various employments: soldiers; sailors; slaves. ..... 101
Semitic influence on religion, manners, and language  ..... 101
Remarkable letter satirizing the new literature . ..... 103
Long reign of Ramses II, 67 years, His 30 years' jubilee  ..... 110
Family of Ramses: 69 sons and 60 daughters  .....  111
His eldest son Khamus, and 14th son Mineptah  ..... .111
His daughters: Men (Merris) probably the rescuer of Moses  ..... 112
The name of Moses preserved in T-en-Mosh ...... 112
Contemporaries of the king: especially Bekenkhonsu ..... 113
Seeds of trouble at the death of Ramses II. ..... 114
His tomb in the Biban-el-Moluk: a poor work ..... 114
BC 1300
Mineptah II. Hotep-hi-ma (Menepthes).....  115
Mean character of his architectural works ..... .115
He carved his own name on ancient monuments . .....  116
His great inscription in the temple of Amon relating the invasion and defeat of the Libyans ......  116
The allied peoples all Asiatic, not European ...... 124
Peaceful relations with the Khita . .....  125
Canaanites employed as bearers of official despatches ..... 126
Copies of such papers ..... 126
Nomad Shasu received into the Delta ..... 127
Mineptah II. First of the Pharaohs of the Exodus . ..... 128
His special title, Pir'ao, 'great house, high gate' ..... 128
The 'field of Zoan' (Ps. lxxviii. 43) his usual residence ...... 128
The 'Apety, 'Apui'a, or 'Aperiu proved to be not the Hebrews ..... 120
Troubles of his reign: its end unrecorded .... 130
His contemporaries: Pinehas; Lui (Levi) priest and chief architect ..... 130
Men of letters under Ramses II. and Mineptah II .....  131
BC 1266
Seti II. Mineptah III., son of Mineptah II ..... 131
Records of the first two years of his reign ...... 132
Zoan-Tanis still the capital—Royal road to the E..... 132
Report concerning fugitive servants an exact parallel to the Exodus (compare p. 359) ..... 132
Temple of Seti II. at Thebes—Favour of the Priests .....  133
The Tale of the Two Brothers, a parallel to the life of Joseph, written for him (cf. vol. I., p. 137) ..... 133
His magnificent sepulchre in the Biban-el-Moluk ...... 133
BC 1233
His son, Setnakht-Merer-Miamum II ..... 134
Time of trouble—The anti-king Mineptah Siptah ...... 134
Inscriptions of Siptah's supporter, Seti ...... 135
Inscriptions of Siptah erased by Ramses III ..... 135
Usurpation of a Phoenician, Arisu or Alisu ..... 136
Account of these troubles by Ramses III. in the great Harris Papyrus ..... 136

CHAPTER XV

THE TWENTIETH DYNASTY

BC 1200
Ramses III., Haq-on, Prince of Heliopolis ... 139
Commonly called Ramessu-pa-nuti, 'Ramses the god,' the Rhampsinitus of Herodotus ..... 139
Account of his reign in the Harris Papyrus .....  139
Restoration of the several ranks in the state .....  140
Punishment of the late invaders of Egypt .... 140
New war with the Libyan and Maxyan invaders ...... 141
Great fortress and well in the land of the Aperiu ...... 141
Fleet on the Red Sea—Voyages to the Indian Ocean .....  142
Mines of 'Athaka and the peninsula of Sinai ...... 142
Planting of trees: peace and security in Egypt .....  143
Memorials in his Ramesseum at Medinet-Abu .....  144
Immense wealth in this 'treasury of Rhampsinitus' (Herod.) ..... 145
Troubled state of Egypt at his accession .... 146
Victory over the Libyans ..... 146
Great victory by sea and land over the Carian-Colchian invaders from Cilicia and Armenia ..... 147
Victory over the Maxyes under King Mashashal ..... 149
Detailed lists of slain, captives, and booty .....  160
Pictures of defeated kings, &c., at Medinet-Abu ...... 161
Names of conquered cities and countries on the coasts and islands of Asia Minor .... 162
Booty and captives devoted to the temples ...... 163
List of the Ramensa of Ramses III ..... 164
Grand temple of Amon at Medinet-Abu ..... 166
The Egyptian calendar and holidays .... 165-6
Other works at Thebes—Ramessea in foreign lands .....  167
Remarkable account of a conspiracy at court ..... 168
Foreign names of Ramses' chief wife and her father ..... 166
His sons and the order of their succession .... 166
His rock-hewn tomb and its coloured pictures .....  166
BC 1106
Ramesu IV. Miamun III. (Haq Maa or Mama) ..... 167
His expeditions to the rocky valleys of Arabian Egypt ..... 167
Great memorial tablet at Hammamat .... 168
Insignificance of his architectural works ...... 171
His rival and successor Ramessu V. Axuhikhopsbhef, not of the family of Ramses III..... 171
His inscribed rock-tablet at Silsilis ..... 171
Ramessu Miamun Meritum (7th son of Ramses III.), probably viceroy of his brother, Ramesu VI...... 172-3
Astronomical and chronological value of this king's tomb ..... 173
Record respecting boundaries of lands in Nubia ...... 174
The district of Wawa and its sun-city Pira (Dirr) ..... 175- G
The Adon Penni, and the viceroy, Meri, of Kuah ...... 176
Historical importance of family records ..... 177
Ramessu VII. and Ramessu VIII. insignificant ......  177
BC 1133
Ramessu IX. Growing power of the priests of Amon ..... 178
Inscription of the chief priest and architect, Amenhotep ..... 179
Burglaries in the royal tombs at Biban-el-Moluk ..... 182
Names of Ramessu X., Ramessu XL, and Ramessu XII, in the oracle-temple of Khonsu ..... 183
Curious inscription of Ramses XII. ..... 184
His visit to Naharain, and marriage to the daughter of the tributary king of Bakhatana ..... 184
Cure of the queen's demoniac sister by the image of Khonsu ..... 184
Agreement between the spirit and the god ..... 186
Difficulty of identifying Bakhatana ..... 187
Ramessu XII. apparently ends the Twentieth Dynasty ..... 187
But petty kings of the Ramessid family still under the Twenty-first and Twenty-second Dynasties ..... 187
The temple at Khonsu and family chapel of the Rameesids ..... 188
Deposition of Ramessu XIII. by the priest Hirhor .....  189
Memorial at Abydus, and (probable) autograph of Ramses XIII ..... 189
List of Values and Prices about b.c. 1000 ..... 190

CHAPTER XVI

THE TWENTY-FIRST DYNASTY—THE PRIEST HIRHOR AND HIS SUCCESSORS

BC 1100-960
Usurpation of Hirhor Si-axon (son of Amon) ...... 191
His previous high position at the court . ..... 192
The Ramessids banished to the Great Oasis ..... 192
Rise of the Assyrian Empire in Mesopotamia .....  192-3
Alliance of its kings with the Ramessids .....  193
Marriage of Ramessu XVI. to an Assyrian princess ..... 193
The Assyrians under King Nimrod invade Egypt ..... 193
Pinotem I. king, of the line of Hirhor .....  193
His son, Men-kheper-ra, recalls the banished Ramessids ..... 194
Death of Nimrod—His burial at Abydus ..... 197
His father, Shashanq, visits Thebes and Abydus ..... 198
Avenges the neglect of Nimrod's tomb ..... 199
His inscription at Abydus: an historic revelation ..... 199-202
A real Assyrian conquest of Egypt, and a new foreign dynasty, with Shashanq son of Nimrod as king .....  198 and 202
Statue of Nimrod in the Museum at Florence ..... . 203
Karamaty wife of Shashanq I., an Egyptian princess ......  204
Inscription concerning her property in Egypt ......  204

CHAPTER XVII

THE TWENTY-FIRST DYNA8TY, OF ASSYRIANS

BC 966
Shabhahq I.—His royal residence at Bubastus ...... 206
His good understanding with the Ramessids ......  206
Shashanq (Shishak) receives the fugitive Jeroboam .....  207
His invasion of Judah recorded at Karnak ...... 207
Long list of conquered towns and districts .... 208
Close relations of the Fenekh (Phoenicians) to the Hebrews ..... 210
Shashanq's 'Hall of the Bubastis' at Karnak ..... 210
Record of its building preserved at Silsilis ......  210
Its architect, Hor-em-«af, and his genealogy ...... 211
Memorial tablet of Shashanq and his eldest son Auputh ..... . 212
BC 933
Usaekok I. (Sargon), son and successor of Shashanq .....  214
Contest between his two sons for the crown .....  214
BC 900
Succession of the elder, Thakkloth I. (Tiglath) .....  215
BC 866
His son, Usabxok II., the last king of the elder line .....  215
BC 833
Shabhakq II., grandson of Shashanq, the second son of Itsarkon I ..... 216
BC 800
Thaeeloth II. and his son, the high priest Usarkon .....  217
Record of an eclipse of the moon.....  217
BC 766
Irruptions of the Ethiopians and Assyrians .....  217
BC 733
Shashakq III., Pimia, and Shashanq IV...... 219
BC 700
Residence transferred from Bubaetus to Memphis ..... 219
Tombstones of an Apis bull under these kings ..... . 220
Petty kings appearing as Assyrian satraps .....  222
Their power confined to Lower Egypt .... 222
Upper Egypt under Ubabxok, king and high priest of Amon ..... 223
The three kings of Dynasty XXII., of Tanis ..... 224

CHAPTER XVIII

THE TWENTY-FIFTH DYNASTY—THE ETHIOPIANS

The dethroned line of Hirhor retire to Ethiopia ..... . 225
Egyptian civilisation and religion in Ethiopia .....  226
Nap or Napata, at Mount Barkal, the new capital ..... . 226
Political and religious constitution on the Egyptian model .....  227
Distinguished position of the women of the royal house ......  227
Extension of the kingdom to Upper Egypt, Patoris ......  227
Petty kings in Lower Egypt, Muzur, under the Assyrians ..... 228
Middle Egypt a 'march' between the two powers .....  228
The Ethiopans the 'Princes of Noph' of Scripture .....  228
BC 766
Revolt of Tafnaxhth (Tnephachthus) king of Sais and Memphis ..... 220
He conquers the Ethiopian Tassals in Middle Egypt ..... 229
List of petty kings and satraps in Lower Egypt ..... . 230
The great inscription of King Pianchi at Mount Barkal, recording his conquest of Middle and Lower Egypt.....  281
Miamun Nut, son (?) and successor of Piankhi ......  248
His dream, and campaign against Lower Egypt .....  248
His monument and inscription at Mount Barkal .....  249
The success not lasting—Schism in Ethiopia ......  264-5
The three divisions of Patoris (Thebes), Takhont or Meluhha (Nubia), and Kush (capital, Napata).....  255
BC 700
Taharaqa, Tirhaka, Tearko, Tarkus, Etsarchus ......  256
New light from the Annals of Assur-bani-pal ......  256
Conquest of Lower Egypt by Tirhaka, and its reconquest by Assurbanipal ..... 258
Assyrian list of the petty kings and satraps ......  261
M. Oppert's summary of the narrative ..... 263
Campaign against Urdamaneh or Ritdamok, the successor of Tirhaka, and twofold capture of Thebes by the Assyrians ..... 265
Review of these transactions ...... 267
Important part played by Nikun (Necho), son of Tafiiakht ..... 268
Obscurity of the succeeding period ..... 268
Taharaqua, Piankhi and his wife Ameniritis, Shabak (Sabaco), Shabatak (Sebichus), all contemporary ..... 268-9
Monument at Thebes of Taharaqa and Monthemha ......  269-70
Rudamon, step-son of Taharaqa, and an earlier Rudamon .....  270
Dynasty XXIV., the Booghoris of Manetho, discovered in Bek-en-ran-ef (in the Assyrian list, Bu-kur-ni-ni-ip) .....  271
Psamethik, of Sais, unites the rival claims .....  272
Statue and inscription of Queen Ameniritis .....  272-3
Etymology of the Ethiopian proper names illustrated from the existing language of the Nubian Barabra .....  273

CHAPTER XIX

DYNASTIES TWENTY-SIX TO THIRTY-ONE

List of the Kings, with the Dates of their Accession .....  277
Decline and fall of the Egyptian monarchy ..... 278
Saissuooeeds to Thebes; Alexandria to Sais .....  279
Causes of the fall of the Pharaohs ..... 280
Dynasty XXVI—Character of its monuments ..... . 281
Innovations in religion—Demons and magic ..... . 283
New historical light from the Apis Tablets .... 286
Care bestowed on the burial of the bolls ......  280
The Greek story of Cambyses and the Apis refuted .....  290
Honour paid by Darius to the Aps ..... 291
Khabbash, the Egyptian king, rival to Xerxes ...... 292
BC 356
Latest Apis tablet of King Nakht-neb-ef ...... 293

THE PERSIANS IN EGYPT

Readiness of Egyptian nobles to serve the Great King ......  293
Inscription of Uzahorenpiris, under Cambyses and Darius, on the statue called the Pastophorus of the Vatican ...... 293
Egyptian learning fostered by Darius ..... 297
His temple at Hibis (El-Khargeh) in the Great Oasis ......  297
Works and inscriptions of Darius H. at the temple .....  298
Pedigree of the architect Khum-ab-ra ..... 299
Other inscriptions of the same architect .... 300
Inscriptions relating to the attempted Canal of Darius through the Isthmus of Suez ..... 301
Inscriptions of Persian Officers in Egypt .... 302
BC 327
The true date of the conquest by Cambyses ......  303
Xerxes I. and the anti-king Khabbash .... 305
BC 311
Inscription of the satrap Ptolemy, son of Lagus ...... 305

THE LAST PHARAOHS

Dynasties XXIX. and XXX. at Mendes and Sebennytus ..... 306
BC 358-340
The last Pharaoh, Nakht-keb-sf .....
BC 280 (cir.)
The sarcophagus of his grandson, Nakht-neb-ef..... 306-7

CHAPTER XX

FALL OF THE KINGDOM OF THE PHARAOHS

Inscription of Sam-taui Taf-nakht, under Darius III. and Alexander the Great ..... 308
Its allusion to the victory of Alexander over Darius ...... 309
Table of the Ancient Egyptian Calendar .... 310

APPENDIX

A. Last of the Kings, with their Epochs ..... 311
B. The Nomes of Egypt, according to the Monuments. ..... 317
C. Transcription of the Egyptian Proper Names ......  320
Specimen text, with literal and free translations ......  322

DISCOURSE ON THE EXODUS AND THE EGYPTIAN MONUMENTS ...... 327

Index ..... 369

ADDITIONS

[1]

THE HISTORY OF EGYPT

CHAPTER XIV

THE NINETEENTH DYNASTY—THE PEOPLE OF THE KHTTA

After the death of King Horemhib, the eighteenth dynasty ended its eventful history. The heretic king Khunaten had, by his novelties in the teaching about the being of the gods, somewhat diminished its splendour in the eyes of the orthodox priests and people, and had created a schism in the internal life of the nation, which the immediate successors of Khunaten found it difficult to heal. The new teaching, with its Semitic foundation, had at once gained many adherents among the susceptible Egyptians. Its banishment and extirpation, under the guidance of the Theban priests of Amon, whose power and influence were now for the first time used against the kings, formed the sad tenor of the internal events in the next portion of Egyptian history. How peace and reconciliation were brought about, it is now difficult to say; but Horemhib cer- [2]  tainly appeared in the light of a fortunate mediator between the ruling adherents of the doctrine of Amon, and the severely persecuted servants of the living god of the sun's disk.

While the kingdom was visited by such a schism, and the excitable spirits of the Egyptians were highly roused on each side of the question, a great nation had in the meantime been growing up, beyond the frontier on the north-east, to an importance and power which began to endanger the Egyptian supremacy in Western Asia.

Already, during the wars undertaken by Thutmes in. against the Syrian peoples and towns of that r^on, the Kheta or Khita had shown themselves on the theatre of those yearly repeated and long-enduing struggles, under the leadership of their own kings, as a dominant race. The contemporary Egyptian inscriptions designate them as 'the great people,' or 'the great country,' less with respect to the space they occupied, than from their just reputation for the possession of those brave and chivalrous qualities, which the inhabitants of Khita, a race as noble as the Egyptians, were acknowledged even by their enemies to possess. We believe we are falling into no error if we persevere in our opinion, which recognizes in these people the same Khethites (Hittites) about whom the Holy Scripture has so much to tell us, from the days of the patriarch Abraham till the time of the Captivity. When Thutmes m. fought with them and conquered their towns, they were seated as an important people in the most northern parts of the land of Syria. At the com- [3] mencement of the nineteenth dynasty, the power of the Khita had been extended over the whole of the surrounding nations. These predecessors of the Assyrian Empire held the first place in the league of the cities and kings of Western Asia. Their importance grew from year to year in such a way, that even the Egyptian inscriptions do not hesitate to mention the names of the kings of. the Khita in a conspicuous manner, and to speak of their gods with reverence. When Ramses I. ascended the throne of Egypt, Sa-pa-li-li, Saplel, or Saprer, ruled as king of the Khita. He was followed by his son and heir in the empire, Maurosar, who after his death left two sons behind him, of whom the elder was that Mauthanar, who appears as a contemporary of Seti I. and an enemy of Egypt, while the younger, Khitasar or Khitasir, appears as the friend, ally, and father-in-law of the Pharaoh Ramses II. At the head of their divinities stood the glorious god of war, Sutekh (the Khethite counterpart of Amon), and his wife, the steed-driving queen of heaven, Astartha-Anatha.

Among the towns of the Khita, Tunep (Daphne) and Khilibu (Haleb), are two points certainly fixed by their definite position, and both with temples of the great Baal-Sutekh. On the other hand, the name of the country of Qazauatana points with infallible certainty to the region of Gozan (Gkiuzanitis) to the east of the Euphrates, between the towns of Circesium in the south and Thapsacus in the north. The situation of the places or countries of the Khita—Zaranda, Pirqa or Pilqa (Pelaga, Paliga?) Khissap, Sarsu, Sarpina, Zaiath-khirra (hinder Zaiath)—and others named at the same time [4] as those just mentioned, must be determined by future enquiries. Perhaps we may find an answer to these questions in the Assyrian inscriptions.

If it is allowable to form a judgment on the origin of this cultivated and powerful people from its outward bearing and appearance, it seems to us, under the guidance of the monuments, to be at least very doubtful whether we should reckon this chivalrous race among the Canaanites. Beardless, armed in a different manner, fighting three men on each chariot of war, arranged in their order of battle according to a well-considered plan previously laid down, the Khita present a striking contrast to their Canaanite allies. In the representations of the wars of Ramses II. against Khitasar, the prince of the Khita, the great foreign king appears surrounded by his generals and servants, who are mentioned by name, down to the 'letter writer Khirpasar.' His warriors were divided into foot-soldiers and fighters on chariots, and consisted partly of native Elethites, partly of foreign mercenaries. Their hosts were led to battle by Kasans, or 'conmaanders of the fighters on the chariots,' by 'generals,' and Hirpits, or 'captains of the foreigners.' The nucleus of the army was formed of the native-born Khita, under the designation of Tuhir or 'the chosen ones.' In the battle at Kadesh, 8,000 of these stood in the foremost rank, under the command of Kamaiz; while 9,000 others followed their king. In the same battle, the noblemen Thargannas and Pais led the chariots in the fight; Thaadar commanded the mercenaries of the Khita; Nebisuanna was at the head of the foreign warriors from Annas; another chief appears [5] as the general of the mercenaries from Nagebus. Sapzar and Ma'arima appear as brothers of the king of Khita; whether real brothers, or perhaps only allies. Among other names of Khethite origin, the following are mentioned: Gtarbitus, Thargathazas, Tadar or Tadal, Zauazas, Samarius, and that of the 'ambassador' Tarthisebu. It is evident at once that these names do not bear a Semitic, or at any rate not a pure Semitic stamp. The endings in s, r, and u, prevail. In the proper name Thargatha-zas, in which the ending zas plays the same part as in the proper name Zaua-zas, Thargatha seems to answer to the goddess called by the Greeks and Romans Atargates or Atargatis, Derketo and Dercetis, who possessed very celebrated temples in Askalon and Astaroth-Kamaim, as well as in the Syrian town of Hierapohs (Mabog).

The unmistakable peculiarities of the language, to which I have now called the attention of the reader, are for the most part found in that unexplained series of names of towns, which form the second division of the northern peoples or northern cities in the lists of the victories of Thutmes III. at Kamak. As examples, to show their foreign formation, let us cite the following names, which can be read with certainty, on the basis of M. Mariette's decyphering of their succession:

It is clear that this list exhibits in their oldest orthography the greater number of these towns, which are afterwards mentioned so frequently in the records of wars in Assyrian history, in the cuneiform inscriptions which have been decyphered. They are the old allied cities of those Khita, of unknown origin, who, long before the rise of Nineveh and Babylon, played the same part which at a later period the Assyrians undertook with success. Though we are not yet in a position to solve the obscure problem here suggested, yet future discoveries will doubtless afford convincing proofs, that the rule of the Khita in the highest antiquity was of an importance which we can now only guess at. This list of towns will therefore remain a monument of the greatest value, as a memorial of times and peoples long since vanished, whose lost remembrance is awakened to new life by the dead letters of these numerous [8] names. With such a perception of their value, the reader may cast his eye over the long catalogue of those very ancient names which we have transcribed, even if his own science should not avail him better than ours for subjecting them to a comparative investigation. For in these names, so far as they are not demonstrably of Semitic origin, lies the key to their language. The right understanding of them offers, therefore, the surest means of fixing the place of the Khita in the life of the ancient nations.

MEN-PEHUTI-RA RAMESSU I. (RAMSES I.). 1400 B.C.

Although we possess no information from the monuments about the family ties which united the king, who was the head and founder of the Nineteenth Dynasty, with his predecessor Horemhib, there must have been nevertheless a close connection between them. Whether Ramses was the son, son-in-law, or brother of Horemhib, is as yet undecided. If I say the brother, I am led to this as a possible supposition by the testimony of the memorial stone of a contemporary family, which mentions the brothers Horemhib and Ramses among the sons of a certain Ha-Aai, an 'overseer of the cutters of hieroglyphs' of his unnamed 'lord of the land' (Ai? see vol. i. p. 460).

The reign of Ramses I. seems to have been neither of long duration, nor to have been filled with remarkable deeds. His fame consists chiefly in the place he occupies in the historical series, as the father of a very celebrated son, and the grandfather of one who was covered with glory and sung of as a hero to the latest centuries. His recognition as the legitimate king by the priests of Amon is authenticated by the representation of his solemn coronation on the entrance gate of the temple of Kamak.⁹⁴

He had a war with the Khita, although we only learn this feet incidentally from the contents of a treaty of peace concluded by Ramses II. with the Khita. His royal opponent Saplel had, after its conclusion, made an offensive and defensive alliance with Ramses I., and so the Khita and the Egyptians continued to exercise their sovereignty within their own boundaries, without molesting one another any further.

A memorial stone of the second year of his reign, found at the second cataract at Wady Haifa (the place was then called Behani, and is the Boon of Ptolemy) informs us, that king Ramses I. founded there a storehouse for the temple of his divine father Hor-khem, and filled it with captive men-servants and maidservant from the conquered countries. Of whatever consequence the fact thus recorded may have been to the ancient inhabitants of the temple at Behani, the history of his times gains little by it.

After his death Ramses I. was laid in his own tomb-chamber in the valley of the kings' sepulchres, and he was succeeded in the kingdom by his son, to whom the monuments give the name of

[10]

MA-MEN-RA MINEPTAH I. SETI I. (SETHOS). 1866 B.C.

After a long interval, there rises again a brilliant star on the horizon of Egyptian history. The voice of the monuments begins anew to speak of the victories of Pharaoh, and to sing the glory of the empire. It is chiefly the great national temple at Thebes which records the honours of Seti by inscriptions and by pictures; for the king executed works to the glorious god Amon, the finished splendour of which is only surpassed by their extraordinary size. We refer to the building of that wonderful 'Great Hall' in the temple at Karnak, where 134 columns of astonishing height and circumference still attract the admiration of our fastidious age. As the description of this building does not come within the limits of our historical work, we are obliged to refer our readers to the excellent accounts of Egyptian travellers. The outer wall, however, on the north side of this hall, must have our full attention, since its representations stand in the closest connection with the wars of Seti, beginning with the first year of his reign.

These wars arose from the constant advances of the neighbouring peoples, to the east of Egypt, upon the Delta. The long duration of peace, as well perhaps as the weak reign of Ramses I., had induced these neighbours, and especially the Arabian Shasu, to take the bold resolve of pressing forward over the eastern frontier of Egypt, 'to find sustenance for themselves and their cattle on the possessions of Pharaoh.' Six battle paintings, ranged in a series, give us a view of [11] the principal events of this campaign. We will endeavour, under the guidance of the inscriptions annexed to them, to put their contents faithfully before our readers.

The wars of Seti in the east began, as we have already remarked, in the very first year of his reign. Their theatre was formed by the countries and fortresses in the region of the Shasu Bedouins, 'from the fortress of Khetam (the Etham of the Bible), in the land of Zalu (that is, the Tanitic nome), as far as the place Kan'ana or Kan'aan.' By these data the scene of the struggle is very closely fixed, and at the same time proof is afforded that the Shasu had pressed forward westward quite into the proper Egyptian territory, to make good their claims derived from the times of the Hyksos. The king assembled his army, put his chariots of war in array, and himself rode in his two-horse chariot against the invading Bedouins. The road which the Egyptian army took is clearly indicated by the pictures and by the inscriptions.

The campaign was begun from the fortress of Khetam, which we have just mentioned, and which was situated on both sides of an arm of the Nile, swarming with crocodiles, and with banks covered with reeds. The king took thence the direction of the biblical 'road of the Philistines,'⁹⁵ and first reached the fortified but otherwise unknown place, Ta'a-pa-mau, 'the house of lions,' Leontopolis, near a small fountain of sweet [12] water enclosed by a wall. His march was next directed to the Egyptian fortress of Migdol, mentioned in Holy Scripture, close to the springs in the country of Hazina or Hazian (the Kasion or Mount Casius of the ancients), and along the road to the 'north' fortress Uti (Buto, as the Greeks would write it), also near a spring. Uti denotes the fortified place where was the often mentioned temple on Mount Casius, in which a Jupiter (Amon) was worshipped, the Baal Zapuna of the Egyptian inscriptions, that is, the Baal Zephon of Holy Scripture. The army passed along the seashore to Ostracine, where there was a Bekhen or tower, which the inscriptions designate as Pa-nakhtu, or 'the conqueror's tower' of King Seti. At this point the proper Egyptian boundary ended, and the territory of the land of Zahi, which was afterwards the land of the PhiUstines, began. The next halting-place on their territory was a fortified spot, newly built by King Seti, situated at the water of Absaqab. Two other fortresses lay on either side of the road. The one, which was also the larger, is called 'the town, which the king had built at the spring of .... tha.' It is called 'a strong place' in a second passage, and its water is designated as that of Ribatha, without doubt the Rohoboth of the Bible, to the south-west of Beersheba, in Negeb or the south country of Palestine. The smaller fortress stood near Ta-khnum-notem, that is, 'the pleasant (or sweet) spring.' It is called 'A-nakhtu,' that is, 'the fortress of victory.' Passing by a new fortress (the name is unfortunately destroyed) the end of the road was reached, and at the same time the eastern boundary of the land [13] of the Shasu, marked by the hill-fortress of Kan'aan near which a stream seems to have fallen into a lake.

We find ourselves here, as it appears, in the Arabah, and we have the choice between one or other of the fortresses situated there. In spite of many obscurities, the direction of the road is precisely determined. The king had taken possession of the land of the Shasu to its extremest boundary. The fortress of Kan'aan was stormed by Seti and his army, and thus Pharaoh became the lord of the whole of the Edomitish Negeb.

This first victory is celebrated by the following inscription:

'In the first year of King Seti, there took place by the strong arm of Pharaoh the annihilation of the hostile Shasu, from the fortress of Khetam, of the land of Zalu, as far as Kan'aan. The king was against them like a fierce lion. They were turned into a heap of corpses in their hill country. They lay there in their blood. Not one escaped to tell of his strength to the distant nations.'

The warriors of the Shasu, driven out of their own land, attempted to make head against King Seti and his army, after they had marched on northwards, and had made a stand in the territory of the Phoenicians or Kharu. The king mounted his chariot of war, whose pair of horses bore the name,⁹⁶ 'Amon gives him strength,' and dashed into the crowds of the scattered enemies, who were this time completely beaten and overcome. The inscription goes on as follows:

'In the first year of King Seti, they came to report to his Holiness that the hostile Shasu intended mischief, that the elders [14] of their tribes had assembled together, and had made a stand in the territory of the Phoenicians (Khal). They were seized with the curse of discord, and slew one another. To those only who had not forgotten the orders of the royal court was the king gracious on that account.'

The prisoners were carried to Egypt by the king, as will be related more at length presently.

It seems to be indubitable that the population also of (southern?) Phoenicia did really assist the Shasu in their wars against Pharaoh. But vengeance quickly overtook them also. In the furious encounter of the chariots of war, which were launched against one another on both sides, the Phoenicians succumbed in the battle at Inu'amu (Jamnia), and 'Pharaoh annihilated the kings of the land of the Phoenicians.'

From hence the Egyptian army turned against the inhabitants of the interior country, the Ruthen of Canaan. The kings of the several cities were successively overcome in many battles, in which a son of Seti fought by the side of his father, and the inhabitants were reduced under the Egyptian sceptre. Pharaoh himself took especial delight in the combat, for the inscription says that 'his joy is to undertake the battle, and his delight is to dash into it. His heart is only satisfied at the sight of the stream of blood when he strikes off the heads of his enemies. A moment of the struggle of men is dearer to him than a day of pleasure. He slays them with one stroke, and spares none among them. And whoever of them is left remaining finds himself in his grasp and is carried off to Egypt alive as a prisoner.'

In his victorious campaign throughout the whole [15] land of Canaan, through which he was borne by his pair of horses named 'big with victory,' the great fortress of Kadesh, which had already played such an important part under Thutmes III., was reached by the Egyptian army. The inscription thus designates the campaign: 'This is the going up of Pharaoh, to conquer the land of Kadesh in the territory of the Amorites.'

The arrival of the army was unexpected. The herdsmen were even pasturing their cattle under the trees which surrounded the city, when Pharaoh appeared on his war-chariot. Each seeks to save himself; the herds flee with their keepers; the warriors of Kadesh, as they sally out, are pierced by the arrows of Seti, and fall from their war-chariots. The defenders in the interior of the fortress fare no better. They also give way before the violent assault of the Egyptian army, and fortress and people fall into the hands of Pharaoh's warriors.

From Kadesh onwards, the land of the Khita lay open before the hosts of Pharaoh. The then king of the country, Mauthanar, had broken the existing treaties, which had been made between his predecessor and the Egyptians, and had given notice to Pharaoh of the termination of their alliance. Seti made no delay in falling upon the territory of the Khita, as the avenger of the broken treaties. Success crowned his enterprise. Although the well-ordered hosts of the beardless light-red Khita, on foot, on horseback, and on chariots, offered a determined resistance to the Egyptians, yet for all this the Pharaoh triumphed. The inscription describes this victory in the brief words: 'These are the miserable [16] inhabitants of the land of the Khita; the king has prepared for them a great overthrow.' And then the song of praise to Seti sounds forth with the most vigorous choice of phrases. Thus it is said of Pharaoh: 'He is a jackal which rushes leaping through this land, a grim lion that frequents the most hidden paths of all regions, a powerful bull with a pair of sharpened horns.' 'He has struck down the Asiatics, he has thrown to the ground the Khita; he has slain their princes.'

After the main battle had been fought, the king (whose pair of horses this time bore the name 'Amon gives him strength') had taken an immense number of prisoners, and prepared deliberately for his return home. Peace was concluded with the powerful Khita, and so the inscriptions could sing of him: 'The king was victorious, great was his strength. His war-cry was like that of the son of Nut (that is, Baal-Sutekh). He returns home in triumph; he has annihilated the peoples, he has struck to the ground the land of Khita, he has made an end of his adversaries. The enmity of all peoples is turned into friendship. The terror of the king has penetrated them, his boldness has opened their hearts. The kings of the countries find themselves bound before him.'

On his return, which took place by the great royal highway through Kadesh, Seti made a diversion to t\m land of Limanon, the position of which answers exactly to the better known name of Mount Lebanon. The inhabitants of the country, Canaanites of the purest race, received the king in the most reverential manner, lifting up their hands to hail the conqueror. 'The [17] priests and elders of the laud of Limanon, they speak thus, while they pray before the lord of the land to exalt his renown: 'Thou appearest like thy father, the sun-god, men live in thy glance.' The story is thus told in a short inscription annexed. The king himself, as it appears, had made known certain intentions, for an Egyptian scribe assures him, 'All shall be accomplished as thou hast said.' The question related to the felling of cedars in the wooded mountain-region of Lebanon, for the building of a new great ship on the river of Egypt for the service of the Theban Amon, and for the fabrication of those tall masts which were wont to adorn the front of the propylaea before the temples. In fact we see, in the lively representation here preserved, the Canaanites actively employed in felling the highest and straightest trees with their axes. An inscription, though half-destroyed, enables us nevertheless to understand clearly the object of their labours. It runs as follows, (slightly filling up the parts wanting):

'[The inhabitants of the land of] Limanon fell
[the trees for the building of a] great ship on the river
[in Thebes of the South], and in like manner for
[King Seti's] high masts at Amon's
[temple in Thebes].'

With this the deeds of Seti in the east had reached their conclusion. 'He had smitten the wandering {peoples (An), and struck to the ground the agricultural peoples (Menti), and had placed his boundaries at the beginning of the world, and at the utmost borders of the river-land of Naharain,' —'which the great sea encircles.'

[18] His return took the form of a specially festive triumphal procession. Laden with rich booty from the land of Kuthen, with silver and gold, with blue, green, red, and other precious stones of the foreign country, accompanied by numerous captives of all lands, which he had again subjected to the supremacy of Egypt, Seti reached the plains of his home by the same road which had led L from Egypt into the foreign countries. At the frontier, near Khetam, the priests and great men of the land waited to meet him with rich gifts of flowers. The following inscription will give the best account of the object of this festive gathering:

'The priests, the great ones, and the most distinguished men of South and North Egypt have arrived to praise the divine benefactor on his return from the land of Ruthen, accompanied by an immensely rich booty, such as never had happened since the time of the sun-god Ra. They speak thus in praise of the king and in glorification of his fame:
'"Thou hast returned home from the foreign countries which thou hast overcome. Thou hast triumphed over thy enemies, which are subjected to thee. May the duration of thy life as king be as long as the sun in heaven. Thou hast quenched thy wrath upon the nine foreign nations. The sun-god himself has established thy boundaries. His hand protected thee, when thy battle-axe was raised above the heads of all peoples, whose kings fell under thy sword."'

United with these representations, the richness of which we can only lay before our readers in a cursory description, are the lists of the nations conquered by Seti. We will confine ourselves to those names, out of the whole number, that appear in the more distinct forms in which they are henceforward generally mentioned on the monuments.

[19]

1. Khita, the land of the Khita.
2. Nahanin, the river-land.
3. Upper Ruthen, Canaan.
4. Lower Ruthen, Northern Syria.
5. Singar, the city and the land of Singara, the Sinear of Holy Scripture.
6. Unu, an unknown island or coast land.
7. Kadesh, in the land of the Amorites.
8. Pa-bekh both names require to be more accurately defined.
9. Kadnaf    "          "         "                 "          "               "
10. Asebi, the island of Cyprus.
11. Mannus, the city and land of Mallos.
12. Aguptha, the land of Cappadocia.
13. Balnu Balanese, to the north of Aradus.

To these we may add the names of the cities of Canaan mentioned in Seti's temple at Abydus (see below, p. 28), and which were conquered by Seti:

ZithagaeL
Zor or Tyre.
Inua'm or Janmia.
Pa-Hir (Hil) Galilee?
Bitha-'antha or Beth-anoth (in what was afterwards Judah).
Qartha-'anbu or Kiriath-eneb (in Judah).

That the wars and victories of the king in the east did not take place only in the first year of his reign is self-evident, and is sufficiently confirmed by several repetitions in the sculptures. The memorial wall at Karnak may be expected to unite together in one general representation everything glorious which Pharaoh Seti had performed, as hero and favourite of the gods, up to the building of the great Hall of Columns. This Ls proved, not only by the wars against the Libyan peoples, which will be spoken of further on, but also by several inscriptions with dates later than his first [20]  year; as, for example, the historical record in the temple in the desert of Redesieh, which was built in the ninth year of the reign of Seti, and which cites the following names of the peoples which had then been conquered: 1. Sangar, i.e. Singara; 2. Eladeshu; 3. Makita, i.e. Megiddo; 4. Ha; 5. the Shasu Arabs of Edom; 6. Asal or Asar, a name which we can hardly venture to identify with Assur.

Seti carried on his wars not only in the east but in the west, and in particular against the Libyan peoples, who now accordingly appear for the first time on the Egyptian monuments. The double plume on the crown of the head and the side locks of hair mark in the most striking manner these races, which the inscriptions designate by the name of Thuhi, Thuhen, or Thuheni—that is, 'the light or fair' people; and they likewise denote by the same name the later Greeks, for the expression Marmaridae, inhabitants of the country of Marmarica, always means these people. In this campaign Seti took his son and heir, Ramessu, among the company of his followers. The kings of the Marmaridae were thoroughly beaten. In the battle itself Seti appears on a chariot, whose pair of horses bore the name, 'Victorious is Amon.' The campaign reached a mountainous country, full of caverns; as, at least, the contents of the appended inscription lead us to conclude:

'He (the king) utterly destroyed them, when he stood on the field of battle. They could not hold their bows, and remained hidden in their caves like foxes, through fear of the king.'

It may be well supposed that, after these extensive [21] campaigns, which brought such a copious booty to Egypt, besides captives, Amon, the god of the empire, and his much venerated temple in Ape, would be the first to be remembered; and the memorial wall of the temple decisively confirms this supposition. The booty as well as the prisoners were solemnly dedicated to the god and to his wife Mut, and to the young son of Amon, Khonsu. In confirmation of this I may bring to the reader's knowledge, in an exact translation, a few of the inscriptions:

'The king presents the booty to his father Amon, on his return from the miserable land of Ruthen, consisting of silver, gold, blue, green, red, and other precious stones, and of the kings of the peoples, whom he holds bound in his hand, to fill therewith the store-house of his fatther Amon, on account of the victory which he has granted to the king.'

The following is added with regard to the prisoners:

'The kings of the peoples, which had not known Egypt, are brought by the Pharaoh in consequence of his victory over the miserable land of Ruthen. They speak thus to glorify his holiness and to praise his great deeds:
'Hail to thee! mighty is thy name, glorious thy renown. The people may well rejoice which is subjected to thy will; but he appears in fetters who oversteps thy boundaries. By thy name! We did not know Egypt; our fathers had not entered it. Grant us freedom out of thy hand!"'

Gold, silver, and precious stones, in purses, golden vessels, even to drinking horns with wonderful handles in the shape of heads of animals and other ornaments full of taste, display to the spectator the generosity of the king towards the temple, and confirm afresh the remarks we made on the artistic excellence and skill of [22] the Western Asiatic world. The inscriptions contribute their part to the explanation. Among others is the following:

'The prisoners are presented bj the divine benefactor to his father Amon, from the hostile kings of the nations, which had not known Egypt—their gifts rest on their shoulders—to fill therewith all the store-houses, as men-servants and maid-servants, in consequence of the victories which the god has given the king over all lands!'

The following inscription is remarkable, in relation to the connection between Ruthen and Khita:

'The great kings of the miserable land of Ruthen are brought by the king in consequence of his victory over the people of he Khita, to fill with them the store-house of his noble father, Amon-Ra, the lord of Thebes, because he has given him the victory over the southern world and the subjection of the northern world.
'The kings of the nations speak thus, to praise Pharaoh and to exalt his glory:
"Hail to thee! king of Kemi, sun of the nine peoples, exalted be thou like the gods."'

In this tone the hieroglyphs describe with great fullness, as well as with the inevitable repetitions, the king's glory and his services to the temple of Amon of Thebes.

Seti I. must have proved his complete devotion to the Theban priests, or, to speak in official tone like the Egyptians, to the Theban Amon; at least, the inscriptions leave this impression. His buildings, wonderfully beautiful creations of the unknown masters of his time, bespeak the efforts of the Pharaoh to express his gratitude for the distinguished position which the priests had allowed him. His rich presents complete the proof of the regard of the king for the temple at Ape. A special reason for this lay in the peculiar position of Seti [23] with regard to the great question of the hereditary right to the throne.

The monuments name as the wife of the king, or rather as mother of his great son and successor Ramses II., the queen Tua or Tui, whose name at once reminds us of the family of the heretical Pharaoh, Khunaten. In genealogical succession, she was a granddaughter of that heretical king, whom the Theban priests had so bitterly excommunicated, although he belonged to the legitimate race of kings. But however hateful this connection might be to the priests, yet it was in accordance with the law of the hereditary succession. Her grandfather's blood flowed in her veins, however much she bore on the other hand, like her ancestress of the same name, the curse of a foreign descent. The remembrance of this origin must further have appeared all the more distasteful to the priests, as King Seti and his race worshipped the foreign gods in the most obtrusive manner, and at the head of them all the Canaanitish Baal-Sutekh or Set, after whose name his father, Ramses I., had christened him Seti—that is, 'the Setish,' or the 'follower of Set.' Thus he had to avoid an open breach, and to soothe the stubborn caste of the priests of Amon. As a conqueror Seti had done his part for Egypt, and he was bound to try to win over the priests as a benefactor and a generous king. And yet he seems to have had less success than he hoped, since at an early period he conferred the highest dignity of the empire on his infant heir, his son Ramessu, as associated king. In the great historical inscription of Abydus, Ramses II. relates the proceeding in his own words:

[24] 'The lord of all himself nurtured me, and brought me up. I was a little boy before I attained the lordship; then he gave over to me the land. I was yet in my mother's womb, when the great ones saluted me full of veneration. I was solemnly inducted as the eldest son into the dignity of heir of the throne on the chair of the earth-god Seb. And I gave my orders as chief of the bodyguard and of the chariot-fighters. Then my father presented me publicly to the people: I was a boy on his lap, and ha spake thus: "I will have him crowned as king, for I desire to behold his grandeur while I am still alive." [Then came forward] the officials of the court to place the double crown on my head (and my father spake), "Place the regal circlet on his brow." Thus he spake of me while he still remained on earth, ''May he restore order to the land may he set up again [what has fallen into decay]. May he care for the inhabitants." Thus spake he with good intention in his very great love for me. Still he left me in the house of the women and of the royal concubines, after the manner of the damsels of the palace. He chose me [women] from among the [maidens], who wore a harness of leather.'

We stop here, for the above translation is quite enough to serve as a proof of our assertion. Ramses was, as a tender child, associated in the kingly office with his father, and a band of Amazons formed his court.

In another inscription of the times of Ramses II., the early reign of the king is mentioned in like manner by the writer in the following words:

'Thou wast a lord (Adon) of this land, and thou actest wisely, when thou wast still in the egg. In thy childhood what thou saidst took place for the welfare of the land. When thou wast a boy, with the youth's locks of hair, no monument saw the light without thy command; no business was done without thy knowledge. Thou wast raised to be a governor (Rohir) of this land when thou wast a youth and countest ten full years. All buildings proceeded from thy hands, and the laying of their foundation-stones was performed.'

[25] When Ramses II. ascended the throne, he may have been about twelve years old, or a little more. From this epoch we should count the years of his reign up to its sixty-seventh year, so that he was an old man of eighty when he left this mortal scene.

After Seti had assured the birthright of his race, in the manner we have described, by the joint elevation of his eldest son to the throne, it must have been easy for him to meet the reproach that he was not of royal descent. While he actually ruled the land as king, Ramses, his son, as legitimate sovereign, gave authority to all the acts of his father.

It seems to have been under their double reign that the wars took place, of which we have not yet spoken, and which were waged against the nations to the south of Egypt. When Seti, however, in the great list of conquered peoples, on his wall of victories at Karnak, mentions the countries of Kush and Punt, with all the great and small races of the southern lands of Africa, as the subjects of his crown, we must not forget that here, as so often on the monuments, the ancient usage was followed of exhibiting, in a renewed publication with more or less detail, before the eyes of the vain Egyptians, the whole catalogue of those peoples, transcribed from the temple-books of the 'subjects of Egypt.' Nevertheless, individual records of the time of Seti bear witness to campaigns of the Egyptian army beyond the frontier city of Syene (as those of Doshe and Sesebi). Egyptian viceroys, already well known to us under the name of King's sons of Kush, acted as governors in the place of Pharaoh in the south, and [26] took care that the tributes imposed were regularly paid. As such are mentioned, in the joint reign of Seti and Ramses II., governors named Ani and Amenemape, a son of Pa-uer. The family of the latter, consisting of numerous members, will occupy us hereafter, for a particular reason.

The reign of Seti belongs to that period in the history of the country, in which Egyptian art enjoyed the peculiar care and taste of the king, and, on the other hand, answered to this patronage in the most worthy manner, by the creation of real masterpieces. The Hall of Columns of Karnak, in so far as it was carried out while Seti was alive, and the temple of Osiris, in the desert at Abydus, are master-works of the first rank, the splendour of which consists, above all else, in the lavish profusion and beauty of the sculpture, even to the hieroglyphic characters. The celebrated tomb also of Seti (or, as the Pharaoh is there called, to avoid the hated name of Seti, Usiris) belongs to the most remarkable performances of Theban art, even to the variegated ornamentation in colours, which adds an abundance of rich life to the pictures and writing. It is the one called after the name of its discoverer, 'Belzoni's tomb,' which still to this day forms the chief point of attraction to all visitors to the Valley of the Kings at Thebes. Its artistic importance is enhanced by the rich abundance of pictures and inscriptions, which are for the most part of a mythological character, but which also involve a special significance in relation to astronomy, as do, above all, the very instructive roof-pictures of the so-called Golden Chamber. Unique in its kind is [27] the mythological substance of a long text, which is found in a side chamber of the same tomb^ and which (as M. Naville has lately proved)⁹⁷ has for its subject a description of the destruction of the corrupt human race, according to the Egyptian view.

As Seti had erected one of the most splendid works to the god Amon on the right bank of the Theban metropolis, so also at his command there rose on the western bank of the river that wonderful temple, which he dedicated to the memory of his deceased father Ramessu I. I mean the Memnonium of Seti at did Qumah. Again in many places on this monument, which belonged to the west country and consequently to the realm of Osiris, the king avoids giving himself the name of Seti. He calls himself generally Usiri, or Uffri Seti (in the last phrase Seti is another word, and not the name of the god Set). The sanctuary bore the designation, 'the splendid temple-building of King Kneptah Seti, in the city of Amon, on the western side of Thebes; 'frequently also with the addition' in sight of Ape' (namely, of the temple of Karnak). The temple, as has been remarked above, was dedicated to his deceased father, but also, moreover, to the gods of the dead, Osiris and Hathor, besides Amon and his company. The death of King Seti took place while the temple was in course of building. So the inscription informs us, which Ramses II. put up, as the finisher of the building, since it is there stated as follows:

[28] 'King Ramses II. executed this work, as his monument to his father Amon-ra, the king of the gods, the lord of heaven, the ruler of Thebes; and he finished the house of his father King Mineptah (Seti). For he died, and entered the realm of heaven, and he united himself with the sun-god in heaven, when this his house was being built. The gates showed a vacant space, and all the walls of stone and brick were yet to be raised; all the work in it of writing or painting was unfinished.'

In similar expressions does the inscription of Ramses at Abydus describe the unfinished building of the temple in the desert of that city, which was dedicated to Osiris and his associate gods, Isis, Hor, Amon, Hormakhu, and Ptah. Seti also dedicated a special document to the memory of his royal ancestors in the temple of Abydus, namely, the very celebrated Table of the Kings, called that of Abydus, containing the names of seventy-six kings, up to the founder of the empire, Mena. (See Appendix, A.)

In Memphis and Heliopolis, King Seti I. raised temples, or added new parts to temples already existing, which are likewise designated as 'splendid buildings.' Even though their last remains have now disappeared from the earth without leaving a trace, nevertheless their former existence is most surely proved by the testimony of inscriptions. In the same way, at the foot of the mountain behind the old town of El-kab, he erected a special temple to the goddess of the south, the heavenly Nukheb, and a similar one, in the form of a rock grotto, to the goddess Hathor, in her shape of a lioness, as Pakhith, in the cavern called by the ancients Speos Artemidos (the cave of Artemis). On these and similar works, the Theban school of artists—who were [29] in the service of the temple of Amon, and applied themselves to the highest style of art—were especially occupied. Among the sculptors of the time, the name of a certain Hi has been preserved; among the painters, Amen-uah-su is expressly celebrated as the 'first painter.'⁹⁸ 'Both worked by the king's order in the decoration of the tomb which was destined' for the then governor of Thebes, by name Pa-uer, the son of the chief priest of Amon, Neb-nuteru surnamed Thera, and of the oldest among the holy wives of the god, Mer-amon-ra, and also for his brother Tathao.⁹⁹ Such records, which relate to the most important contemporaries of the kings, are useful and precious, for they frequently render good service in fixing the contemporary circumstances and events in Egyptian history nearly in their chronological order. They serve to keep open the sources which are destined sooner or later to bring the hidden stagnant waters of the Egyptian chronology and succession of the kings into a united current.

The tributes and the taxes, which under the third Thutmes were yearly contributed in rich abundance to the Pharaoh by the conquered nations and his own subjects, seem henceforward, from the reign of Seti, to have flowed in less abundantly, while the wants of the kings were the same, and the carrying out of costly buildings required a great expenditure. New sources must needs therefore be opened for the requisite means. So they began to devote special care to the regular working of the existing gold-mines in Egypt and Nubia, [30] and, what was of the first importance, to give the needful attention to the formation of wells in the midst of the parched mountain regions, from which the gold was to be won. To these regions belonged the stretch of desert on the eastern side of the Nile, opposite Edfou, which at this day bears the name of Redesieh, and contains the remains of an old-Egyptian rock temple. It marks the site of one of the resting-places on the great road of commerce, which in ancient days led straight through the desert from the town of Coptos, on the Nile, to the harbour of Berenice on the Red Sea. The inscriptions on the temple date from the times of Seti. They not only establish the existence of gold ore in the interior of the mountain, but also the position of a well (hydreuma, as the Greeks called it), made at the command of the king. They relate how, in the ninth year of King Seti, in the month Epiphi, on the 20th day, the Pharaoh undertook a journey to the solitary mountain region, as it was his wish himself to see the gold-mines which existed there. After he had mounted up many miles, he made a halt, to take counsel with himself and to come to a conclusion upon the information he had received, that the want of water made the road almost impassable, and that travellers by it died of thirst in the hot season of the year. At a proper place a well was bored deep in the rocky ground, and a small rock-temple was made there, 'to the name of King Seti,' by the express order of the Pharaoh. Thereupon everything was done to carry on the gold-washing with success. The people who followed this laborious occupation were placed [31] under the supervision of a hir-pit or 'overseer of the foreign peoples,' and all other measures were taken to ensure for all future time the keeping up of the temple and the worship of its divine inhabitants, Osiris, Isis, and Horns, besides the three great divinities of the country, Amon of Thebes, Ptah of Memphis, and Hormakhu of Thebes.

That the inhabitants of the country were highly pleased with this work is declared by the inscriptions of the temple:

'King Seti did this for his memorial for his father Amon-Ra and his company of gods, namely, he built anew for them a house of god, in the interior of which the divinities dwell in full contentment. He had the well bored for them. Such a thing was never done before by any king, except him, the king. Thus did King Seti do a good work, the beneficent dispenser of water, who promising life to his people; be s for everyone a father and a mother. They speak from mouth to mouth, "Amon grant him (a long existence), increase to him an everlasting duration. Ye gods of the well! assure to him your length of life, since he has made for us the road to travel upon, and has opened what lay shut up before our face. Now can we travel up with ease, and reach the goal and remain living. The difficult road lies open there before us, and the way has become good. Now the gold can be carried up, as the king and lord has seen. All the living generations, and those which shall be hereafter, will pray for an eternal remembrance for him. May he celebrate the thirty years' jubilee-feasts like Tum, may he flourish like Horus of Apollinopolis, because he has founded a memorial in the lands of the gods," because he has bored for water in the mountains.
'I will here call the attention of the reader to the fact, that in this and other places, for example, in the rock inscriptions of Hammamit, the Arabian desert and the coast adjoining it, on the Bed Sea, is designated as 'the land of the gods.'

[32] In the carrying out of the work, the utility of which the inhabitants of the country so frequently recognise, Ani, the King's son of Kush of that time, and at the same time commander-in-chief of the Mazai, was present as the directing architect. This fact is attested by rock-inscriptions, accompanied by pictorial representations, as for example that of the warlike foreign goddess Antha, the Anaitis of the ancients, who wields on horseback a battle-axe and shield like Bellona.

Whether, after all, the gold mines yielded rich produce, whether the gold washers delivered to the 'reckoner of silver and gold of the land of the country of Upper and Lower Egypt, Hi-shera,'¹⁰⁰ the shining grains of their laborious employment in satisfactory quantity, on these points the lay of the poet on the monuments is for ever silent.

As Seti's reign flows on parallel with that of his great son Ramses, as king of the country, we will leave his end untouched, and suppose, with the ancients, that his soul suddenly flew up like a bird to the Egyptian heaven, to enjoy a better existence in the bark of the sun. His decease took place before his own tomb and his buildings in honour of the immortal one were finished. The temples of Abydus and of old Qumah have already afforded us proofs of this.

His son and associated king, Ramessu, bore the names—

[33]

RA-USERMA-A SOTEP-EN-RA RAMESSU II. MIAMUN I. (RAMSES MIAMUN). ABOUT 1133 BC.

This is the king who above all others bears the name of honour of A-nakhtu, 'the Conqueror,' and whom the monuments and the rolls of the books often designate by his popular names of Ses, Sestesu, Setesu, or Sestura, that is, the 'Sethosis, who is also called Ramesses' of the Manethonian record, and the renowned legendary conqueror Sesostris of the Greek historians.

The number of his monuments, which still to the present day cover the soil of Egypt and Nubia in almost countless numbers, as the ruined remnants of a glorious past, or are daily brought to light from their concealment, is so great and almost countless, that the historian of his life and deeds finds himself in a difficulty where to b^in, how to spin together the principal threads, and where to end his work. If to honour the memory of his father be the chief duty and the first work of a dutiful son—and we shall see that this was the persuasion of Ramses II.—the beginning is made easy for us, and we shall honour the king's memory in the worthiest manner by using the very words of the great Sesostris about his first acts on entering upon his sole reign.

King Seti had died. The temple of Abydus stood half finished. The first royal care of Ramses was to complete the work, and, in a long inscription on the left wall of the entrance, to record the intention with which his heart was charged, for the imitation of his contemporaries and of posterity.

[34]

'The lord of the land arose as king, to show honour to his father, in his first year, on his first journey to Thebes. He had caused likenesses of his father, who was King Seti I., to be sculptured, the one in Thebes, the other in Memphis at the entrance gate, which he had executed for himself, besides those which were in Nifur, the necropolis of Abydus. Thus he fulfilled the wish which moved his heart, since he had been on earth, on the ground of the god Unnofer. He renewed the remembrance of his father, and of those who rest in the under world, in that he made his name to live, and caused his portraits to be made, and fixed the revenues set apart for his venerated person, and filled his house and richly decked out his altars. The walls were rebuilt, which had become old in his favourite house, the halls in his temple were rebuilt, its walls were covered, its gates were raised up; whatever had fallen into decay in the burial-place of his father in the Necropolis was restored, and [the works of art which] had been carried away were brought back into the interior.
'All this did the Conquering King Ramses II. for his father Seti I. He established for him the sacrifices in rich profusion, in his name and in that of the (earlier) kings. His breast had a tender feeling towards his parent, and his heart beat for him who brought him up.
'On one of these days, it was in the first year, on the 23rd day of the month Athyr,¹⁰¹ on [his return home] after (the conclusion) of the feast of the voyage of Amon to Thebes, then he went out, endowed with power and strength by Amon and by Tum, out of the city of Thebes. They had assured him a recompense through never-ending years, as long as the duration of the existence of the sun in heaven.
'He raised his hand, which bore the incense vessel, upwards to the heavenly orb of light of the living god. The sacrificial gifts were splendid, they were received with satisfaction in all his ... (?) The king (now) returned from the capital of the land of the South. [As soon as] the sun [had risen], the journey was commenced. As the ships of the king sailed on, they threw their brightness on [35] the river. The order was given for the journey down the stream to the stronghold of the city of Ramessu, the Conqueror.
'Then the king, in order to behold his father, made the rowers enter the canal of Nifur, with the intention of offering a sacrifice to the beneficent god Unnofer with his choicest libations, and of praying to [the divinity] of his brother Anhur, the son of Ra in ... as which he abides there.
'There he found the halls of the dead of the former kings, and their graves, which are in Abydus, hastening to the beginning of desolation. Their burial-places had become dilapidated from the foundations. [The stones were torn away] out of the ground, their walls lay scattered about on the road, no brick held to another, the hall "of the second birth" lay in ruins, nothing had been built up [for the father by his son], who should have been busied in preserving it according to his expectations, since its possessor had flown up to heaven. Not one son had renewed the memorial of his father, who rested in the grave.
'There was the temple of Seti. The front and back elevations were in process of building when he entered the realm of heaven. Unfinished was his monument; the columns were not raised on their bases, his statues lay upon the earth; they were not sculptured according to the corresponding measure of "the golden chamber." His revenues failed. The servants of the temple without distinction had taken what was brought in from the fields, the boundary marks of which were not staked out on the land.
'The king speaks to the Chamberlain at his side: "Speak, that there may be assembled the princes, the favourites of the king, the commanders of the body guards, as they are (i.e. all of them), the architects, according to their number, and the superintendents of the house of the rolls of the books."
'When they had come before the king, their noses touched the ground, and their feet lay on the ground for joy; they fell down to the ground, and with their hands they prayed to the king. They praised this divine benefactor, while they exalted his grace in his presence. They related exactly what he had achieved, and composed his glorious deeds as they had been done. All words that proceeded oat of their mouths were employed to describe the deeds of the kind of the land in full truth. Thus they lay prostrate and touching the earth before the king, speaking thus:
'"We are come before thee, the lord of heaven, lord of the earth, [36] sun, life of the whole world, lord of time, measurer of the course of the sun, Turn for men, lord of prosperity, creator of the harvest, fashioner and former of mortals, dispenser of breath to all men; animator of the whole company of the gods, pillar of heaven, threshold of the earth, weigher of the balance of the two worlds, lord of rich gifts, increaser of the com, at whose feet the Banen (the Egyptian Ceres) waits; thou former of the great, creator of the small, whose words engender the most splendid abundance; thou who watchest when other men rest, whose strength overshadows Egypt, conqueror of the foreigners, who hast returned home victorious, whose arm protects the Egyptians, who loves justice, in which he lives by his laws; protector of the land, rich in years, the conqueror whose terror has stricken down the foreigners; thou our lord, our sun, by whose words out of his mouth Tum lives. Here we are all assembled before thee; grant us life out of thy hands, O Pharaoh, and breath for our nostrils; all men live, on whom he has risen (like the sun)."
'The king speaks to them after an interval. "I have called you because of a determination regarding that which I am about to do. I have beheld the houses of the Necropolis, the graves of Abydus. The buildings of them require labour from the times of their possessors down to the present day. When the son arose in the place of his father, he did not renew the memorial of his parent. In my mind I have pondered with myself the splendid occasion for good works for coming times (?). The most beautiful thing to behold, the best thing to hear, is a child with a thankful breast, whose heart beats for his father. Wherefore my heart urges me to do what is good for Mineptah. I will cause them to talk for ever and eternally of his son, who has awakened his name to life. My father Osiris will reward me for this with a long existence, like his son Horus. Let me do what he did; let me be excellent, just as he was excellent, for my parent, I, who am a scion of the sun-god Ra.
'"Let me speak to you of Seti. The lord of all, he himself nourished me and brought me up. I was a little boy before I attained to the government; then he gave over to me the country. I was yet in my mother's womb when the great ones greeted me with veneration. I was solemnly inducted as eldest son into the dignity of an heir of the throne, on the chair of the earth-god Seb. And I gave my orders as the chief of the life-guards and of the [37] often on chariots. Then my father showed me publicly to the people, and I was a boy on his lap, and he spake thus: 'I will cause him to be crowned as king, for I will behold his excellence while I am yet alive.' [Then came forward] the officials of the court to place the double crown on my head (and my father spake): 'Place the regal circlet on his brow.' Thus he spake of me while he still remained on earth: 'Let him establish order in the land, let him raise up again what has fallen into decay, let him take care of the inhabitants.' Thus spake he with kind intention in his very great love for me; yet he left me in the house of the women and of the royal concubines, after the manner of the maidens of the palace. He chose for me women among the maidens, who wore a harness of leather. ... It was the house of the women that took care of and nourished me.
'"Thus was I like the sun god Ra, the first of mortals. The inhabitants of the South and of the North lay at my feet. [I gave orders for the buildings], I myself laid their foundation-stone to build [the work. I had an image] made of him who begat me, my father, of gold, quite new.
'"In the first year of my reign as king I had given orders to provide his triple with stores. I secured to him his fields, [and fixed their boundaries], and appointed him revenues for his worship, [and arranged the sacrifices of oxen and geese and bread] and wine and incense and other things. I planted for him groves to grow up for him. Thus was his house under my protection; I took upon myself all his buildings from the time that [I was crowned as king]. And thus I was a child [whose heart was full of thanks towards] his father who had raised me up.
'"I will renew the memorial. I will not neglect his tomb as children are accustomed to do, who do not remember their father. [Men shall speak of me] as of a son who did good, and shall estimate the strength of my father in me his child. I will complete it because I am lord of the land. I will take care of it because it is fitting and right.
'"I clothe the walls in the temple of my parent. I will commission the man of my choice to hasten the buildings for him, to build up again what was sunken of its walls, [and to raise up] his temple wings on the [front side], to clothe his house, to erect his pillars, and to place the blocks on the places of the foundation atone. Beautifully shall the most splendid double memorial be made [38] at once. Let it be inscribed with my name, and with the name of my father. As the son is, so was the father [who beat him]."
'The king's friends speak in answer to the divine benefactor: "Thou art the Sun-god, thy body is his body, no king is like to thee, thou alone art like the son of Osiris. What thou hast done is like his story. The mother had [never saw] such a king since the Sun-god, except thee and her son Horus. Greater is that which thou hast done than what he did when he ruled as king after Osiris. The laws of the land continue fixed. Such a son is dear to his father. The holy offspring [of Ra], who has formed him in the mother egg, [his heart] beats for him who brought him up. Glorious is he. None has done the deeds of Horus for his father up to the present day, except thou, O king! Thou loved one! Thou hast performed more than it was necessary to do; no permission for good [is necessary any more for thee. May such a king as thou be] our leader, whose word we may obey! Was not that which has just come to pass, to remember him, an example for thee! Thou didst refuse to forget [thy father]. Thy heart was true to thy father. King Seti, father of the divine one, the heavenly Mineptah.
'"Since the time of Ra, since kings have reigned, no other is to be compared to thee. Never was seen face to face, nor was heard of in story, [any other son] who has busied himself in renewing the memorial of his father. None who rose up would honour his father. Each one worked for his own name, except only thee alone and Horus. As thou hast done, so did the son of Osiris.
'"Therefore thou art a beautiful heir, like to him; his kingdom, thou guidest it in the same way. If any one does according as the god did, there will be to him a duration of life for that which he has done. The god Ra in heaven [is highly delighted], his company of gods is full of joy, the gods are friendly di8iK)sed towards Egypt, since thy rule as king of the land.
'"Noble is thy just disposition; it has reached as far as the heights of heaven. Thy upright wisdom pleases the Sun-god Ra. Tum is full of delight [because of thy conduct]; Unnofer triumphs because of thy deeds, O king, for his name. He speaks thus: [My dear son], let their be granted to thee the duration of heaven, the power of the gods, the secret of the lord of the depth, so long as thou shalt remain upon earth, like the disk of the sun.'
[39] Moved is the heart of Mineptah, his name lives anew; thou hast caused him to be made in gold and precious stones, [and thou hast set] up his [statues] of silver. [And his temple] thou hast built for him anew in thy name, and in the name of all the kings which are in heaven, and whose chambers need the work. No son has done what thou hast done, since the time of Ra down to the [present day].
'"[That which thou hast determined], O king, do it. Remember that which was sunk in forgetfulness, renew the monuments in the Necropolis, and all the plans which were behindhand, execute them as is right and fitting. Thou art now king of Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt. Do good even as thou wiliest. Let thy heart be satisfied in doing what is right. For that which is done for the honour of the gods, that will be accepted and [rewarded by the immortals] when thou hereafter shalt rise to heaven. When thy grace raises himself to the orb of light, then shall the eyes see thy glorious virtues in the sight of gods and men. This do thou! Renew memorial after memorial to the gods. Therefore shall thy father Ra command that thy name shall resound in all lands, beginning in the south with Khonti-Hon-Nofer, northwards from the shores of the sea as far as the nations of Ruthen. The foreign fortresses and towns of the king and the cities, well guarded and occupied with their inhabitants, and [the dwellers in all places, they speak of thee], that thou art as a god for every one. They awake to offer incense to thee. Thus according to the will of thy father Tarn, the black land (Egypt), and the red land (the Erythneans), promise thee, O king."
'When this speech from the lips of the princes before their lord was ended, then the king commanded, and gave commission to the architects, and separated the people of the masons and of the stone-cutters with the help of the graver, and the draughtsmen, and all kinds of artists, to build the most holy place for his father, and to raise up what had fallen into decay in the Necropolis, and in the temple of his father, who sojourns among the deceased ones.
'Then [he began] to have the statues of his father carved, from the first year. The revenues were doubled for his worship. His temple was enriched according to the number of its wants. He appointed its roll of fields and peasants and herds. He named its priests according to their service, and the prophet, to raise in his hands [the incense-vessel], and he appointed the temple servants for [40] the performance of the works for him. His barns were many full of wheat [and his storehouses in all plenty]. His domain was immense in the South and in the North, and was placed under the administration of the superintendent of his temple. In such wise did King Ramses II. for his father, King Seti, under the protection of Unnofer.
'He repeated what he had done for his honour in Thebes, in On, and in Memphis, where his statutes rested in their places, and in all the places of the granaries.
'These are the words of King Ramses II., [to sing] what he did for his father, the Osiris-king, Seti. He speaks thus:
'"Awake, raise thy face to heaven, behold the sun, my father Mineptah, thou who art like God. Here am I, who make thy name to live. I am thy guardian, and my care is directed to thy temple and to thy altars, which are raised up again. Thou restest in the deep like Osiris, while I rule like Ra among men (and possess) the great throne of Tum, like Horus, the son of Isis, the guardian of his father. Beautiful is that which I have done for thee.
'"Thou enterest on a second existence. I caused thee to be fashioned, I built thy house which thou didst love, in which thy image stands, in the Necropolis of Abydus for ever. I set apart revenues for thee for thy worship daily, to be just towards thee. If anything is in my power, which seems to be wanting to thee, I do it for thee. Thy heart shall be satisfied, that the best shall be done for thy name. I appoint for thee the priests of the vessel of holy water, provided with everything for sprinkling the water on the ground, besides meat and drink. I myself, I myself am come here to behold thy temple near that of Unnofer, the eternal king. I urged on the building of it, I clothed [the walls], I did that which thou didst wish, that it may be done for thy whole house. I established thy name therein to all eternity. May it be done in truth, may it succeed according to my intention. I dedicated to thee the lands of the South for the service of thy temple, and the lands of the North, they bring to thee their gifts before thy beautiful countenance. I gathered together the people of thy service one and all, assigning them to the prophet of thy temple. All thy property shall remain in one great whole, to keep up thy temple for all time. I made presents to thy silver chamber; it is rich in treasures which are well pleasing to the heart, and I apportioned to thee the tri- [41] butes at the same time. I dedicated to thee ships with their freight on the great sea, which should bring to thee [the wonderful productions] of the holy laud. The merchants came on their commerce with their wares, and their productions of gold and silver and bronze. I fixed for thee the number of the fields according to the proportion of the claims [of thy temple]. Great is their number according to their valuation in acres. I provided thee with land-surveyors and husbandmen, to deliver the com for thy revenues. I dedicated to thee barks with their crews, and labourers for the felling of wood, for the purpose of building what is wanting in ships for thy house. I gave thee herds of all kinds of cattle to increase thy revenues, according to what is right. I fixed for thee the tribute of birds in the marshes for thy necessary sustenance. I [caused to be delivered to thee] living geese, to keep up the breed of the birds. I gave to thee fishermen on the river and on all the lakes, to feed the workmen who load the sea-going ships. I have provided thy temple with all kinds of guilds of my handi- [craftsmen]. Thy temple servants have been made up to their full number from the best people, and the peasants pay their taxes in woven stuffs for thy drapery. Thy men-servants and maid-servants work in the fields in all the town districts. Each man thus performs his service, to fill thy house.
'"Thou hast entered into the realm of heaven. Thou accompaniest the sun god Ra. Thou art united with the stars and the moon. Thou restest in the deep, like those who dwell in it with Unnofer, the eternal. Thy hands move the god Tum in heaven and on earth, like the wandering stars and the fixed stars. Thou remainest in the forepart of the bark of millions. When the sun rises in the tabernacle of heaven, thine eyes behold his splendour. When Tum (the evening sun) goes to rest on the earth, thou art in his train. Thou enterest the secret house before his lord. Thy foot wanders in the deep. Thou remainest in the company of the gods of the under world.
'"But I obtain by my prayers the breath (of life) at thy awaking, thou glorious one! and I praise thy numerous names day by day, I who love my father. I let myself be guided by thy virtue. So king as I stay on earth, I will offer a sacrifice to thee. My hand dost bring the libations for thy name to thy [remembrance] in all thy abodes.
'"Come, speak to Ra [that he may grant long years] of life to [42] his son, and to Unnofer, with a heart full of love, that he may grant length of time upon length of time, united to the thirty-years' feasts of jubilee, to King Ramses. Well will it be for thee that I should be king for a long time, for thou wile be honoured by a good son, who remembers his father. I will be a protector and guardian for thy temple day by day, to have regard to the wants of thy worship in every way. If I should hear of any injury which threatens to invade it, I will give the order immediately to remove it in every way. Thou shalt be treated as if thou wert still alive. So long as I shall reign, my attention shall be directed continually to thy temple. My heart beats for thee; I will be thy guardian for the honour of thy name. If thou also remainest in the deep, the best, the very best shall be thy portion as long as I live, I, King Ramses."'

The reader will perhaps permit me to spare him the long answer of the father, Seti, as we can hardly cover the whole breadth, as well as go deep into the essential substance, of the old Egyptian records. In short, I will only mention this one point, that the spirit of the deceased king appears from the world below, to give the most satisfactory answer, in the way which was expected, to the vows of Ramses his son. To him, the son, all good fortune, all glory, health, and joy, and whatever else a man, especially if he were an old-Egyptian Pharaoh, could wish besides, should be granted most richly by the gods, but above all, what Ramses most coveted, a very long term of life, to be measured as long as possible by the thirty years' feasts of jubilee.

What gives this inscription its value in relation to history, may be stated in a few words, although those who have hitherto interpreted the document seem to have been in the dark on this point.

In the first year of his real reign as sole king, Ramses II. undertook with great splendour a journey to Thebes, [43] to celebrate the customary great feast there to the god Amon. On his return to the city of Ramses, the biblical Ramses (Zoan-Tanis), where he had fixed his royal residence, the wish came upon him to travel to Abydus, to visit the temple and the tomb of his father Seti. Here he had to learn the melancholy news, that the buildings and service of the temple of his deceased father were in a very decayed condition, not to speak of the forgotten and dilapidated tombs of the former kings. (Here we may ask. Which kings?) Hence, Seti was first buried in Abydus, whose soil, impregnated with salt, is favourable to the conservation of the dead, and the position of his temple to Osiris quite agrees with this; but he was probably afterwards removed to the valley of the royal tombs at Thebes. We are here in presence of a riddle, which the documents hitherto known do not as yet suffice to explain.

It is scarcely worth while to relate what Ramses II. did for the buildings of his father at Abydus. In the course of his long reign the king completed the temple. When the great building was completely finished, Ramses must have been already advanced in years, since not less than sixty sons and fifty-nine daughters of Ramses II. greeted in their pictures the entrance of the pilgrims at the principal gate. In proportion as the works executed under Seti, the father, present to the astonished eyes of the beholder splendid examples of Egyptian architecture and sculpture, just so poor and inferior are the buildings which were executed under the reign of Ramses, and which bear the names of the Conquering King. The feeling also of gratitude [44] towards his parent seems to have gradually faded away with Ramses, as years increased upon him, to such a degree, that he did not even deem it wrong to chisel out the names and memorials of his father in many places of the temple walls, and to substitute his own.

As we wish to leave it to our readers to form their own opinion on the boastful Ramses, we will turn to another field of his activity, and follow him, in the 5th year of his reign, to the stream of the Orontes in Syria, the waters of which washed the fortress of Kadesh on all sides.

A great war had broken out between Egypt and the land of Khita. The king of the latter had assembled his allies to check the Egyptians. Kadesh was the rallying place of the confederates. There appeared, besides the princes of Khita, the kings and peoples of Arathu (Aradus), Khilibu (Haleb), of the river-land of Naharain, of Qazauadana (Gauzauitis), of Malunna, of Pidasa (Pidasis), of Leka (the Ligyes),¹⁰² of the Dardani, or Dandaui (Dardanians in Kurdistan),¹⁰³ of the Masu (the inhabitants of Mount Masius), of Kerkesli (the Girgesites?) or Keshkesh, of Quirqimosh (Carchemish), of Aherith, of Aiiau-gas (Jeuysus), of Mushanath, all 'peoples from the cxtremest end of tlie sea to the land of the Khita.'

It was a slaughter of peoples, in the fullest sense of the word, which was prepared at Kadesh. [45] Since we prefer to follow the inscriptions themselves as the historians of the remarkable events which form the chief subject of the Egyptian record, we wish first to establish the feet, that Ramses came out of the fight at Kadesh a doubtful conqueror, and had to thank his own personal bravery for his life and preservation, since 'he was all alone and no other was with him.' This heroic feat gave the occasion for poets, sculptors, and painters, to make the most of such fortunate materials, in order to immortalize in words and pictures the great deeds of the 'Conqueror-king.' The temple-scribe, Pentaur, a jovial companion, who, to the special disgust of his old teacher, manifested a decided inclination for wine, women, and song, had the honour, in the 7tb year of Ramses II., to win the prize as the composer of an heroic song, a copy of which we not only possess in a roll of papyrus, but its words cover the whole surface of walls in the temples of Abydus,¹⁰⁴ Luqsor, Kamak, the Ramesseum at Ibsambool, in order to call the attention of the visitor, even at a distance, to the deeds of Ramses.

The fame of having for the first time brought to the knowledge of science in a complete translation this the oldest heroic song of the world, belongs with the most complete justice to the French scholar, E. de Rouge. If in our own translation, which we shall presently lay before the reader, we have in many places made essential corrections of the version of that master, we have herein only responded to the requirements of [46] science, by giving effect to the latest acquisitions in the field of old-Egyptian decipherment, as applied to the interpretation of this heroic song.

From the poet we pass to the unknown painter and sculptor, who has chiselled in deep work on the stone of the same wall, with a bold execution of the several parts, the procession of the warriors, the battle before Kadesh, the stoning of the fortress, the overthrow of the enemy, and the camp life of the Egyptians. The whole conception must even at this day be acknowledged to be grand beyond measure, for the representation sets before our eyes the deeds which were performed more vividly than any description in words and with the richest handling of the material, and displays the whole composition even to its smallest details.

Here in the camp of the Egyptians, which was laid out as a square, and was surrounded by an artificial wall of the shields of the Egyptian warriors placed side by side, we see displayed the actions and life of the soldiers and the camp-servants, who rest on the ground by the side of the baggage and the numerous necessaries for a long journey. Among them wander asses, and even the favourite lion of the king has his place within the enclosure. The tent of Pharaoh is seen in the middle of the camp, and near it the movable shrine of the great gods of Egypt. Above the whole is placed the inscription:

'This is the first legion of Amon, who bestows victory on King Ramses II. The Pharaoh is with it. It is occupied in pitching its camp.'

Not far off the king sits on his throne, and receives [47] the report of his generals, or gives the necessary orders to his followers. Important episodes are not wanting. Thus the Egyptians are dragging forward two foreigners, about whom the appended inscription thus informs us:

'This is the arrival of the spies of Pharaoh; they bring two spies of the people of the Khita before Pharaoh. They are beating them to make them declare where the King of Khita is.'

There the chariots of war and the warriors of the king are passing in good order before Pharaoh: among them the legions of Amon, Ptah, Pra, and Sutekh. Then, after the gods, the hosts of the warriors are for the most part mentioned by name. Mercenary troops also are not wanting, for the Colchian Shardana, whose fine linen was well known to antiquity under the name of Sardonian, appear among the Egyptian allies. They are particularly distinguished by their helmets with horns and a ball-shaped crest, by their long swords and the round shields on their left arm, while the right hand grasps a spear.

The host also of the Khita and of their allies are represented with a lively pictorial expression, for the artist has been guided by the intention of bringing before the eyes of the beholder the orderly masses of the Khita warriors, and the less regular and warlike troops of the allied peoples, according to their costume and arms. The Canaanites are distinguished in the most striking manner from the allies, of races unknown to us, who are attired with turban-like coverings for the head, or with high caps such as are still worn at the [48] present day by the Persians. Short swords, lances, bows and arrows, form the weapons of the enemies of the Egyptians. We have already made the necessary observations on the warlike and truly chivalrous appearance of the Khita, and must now particularly mention the Tuhir, or 'chosen ones,' who follow in the train of their king. To these belong the Qerau, or singers, who attended close about the person of their prince.

Wonderfully rich is the great battle-picture which represents the fight of the chariots before Kadesh on the banks of the Orontes. While the gigantic form of Ramses, in the very midst of the mass of hostile chariots, performs deeds of the highest prowess, to the astonishment of the Egyptians and of their enemies, his brave son, Prahiunamif, as the chief commander of the chariots, heads the attack on the chariots of the enemy. Several of his brothers, the children of Ramses, take part in the battle. The chariots of the Khita and their warriors are thrown into the river; and among them the King of Khilibu, whom his warriors have just dragged out of the water, and are endeavouring to restore to animation while the battle is raging. They hold their lord by the legs, with his head hanging down.

The inscription by the side runs thus:

'This is the King of Khilibu. His warriors raise him up after the Pharaoh has thrown him into the water.'

The battle, or rather its beginning, is described in the following manner in a short annexed inscription on the picture:

'When the king had halted, he sat down to the north-west of the town of Kadesh. He had come up with the hostile hosts [49] of Khita, being quite alone, no other was with him. There were thousands and hundreds of chariots round about him on all sides. He dashed them down in heaps of dead bodies before his horses. He killed all the kings of all the peoples who were allies of the (king) of Khita, together with his princes and elders, his warriors and his horses. He threw them one upon another, head over heels, into the water of the Orontes. There the King of Khita turned round, and raised up his hands to implore the divine benefactor.'

The battle, or rather the butchery, seems to have been as little agreeable to the people of the Khita as to their lords, for:

'The hostile Khita speak, praising the divine benefactor, thus: "Give us freedom (literally, breath) from thy hand, O good king! Let us lie at thy feet; the fear of thee has opened the land of Khita. We are like the foals of mares, which tremble in terror at the sight of the grim lion."'

In the customary manner, above described, the inscriptions sing the praise of their king:

'His brave and bold conqueror of the nations, of the highest valour in the field of battle, firm on horseback, and glorious on his chariot, whom none can escape when he seizes his bow and arrows.'

A less poetical and ornate description of the great event, which is expressly stated to have happened before Kadesh, is preserved in a record repeated several times on the walls of the temple. We will not withhold it from our readers, if only because it shows with what clearness, in spite of their simple phraseology, the writers of thirty-two centuries ago were able to place before their contemporaries an historical description, in order to depict to their imagi- [50] nation, in a true Homeric style, the fame and exploits of their hero.

'(1) In the 5th year, in the month Epiphi, on the 9th day, in the reign of King Ramses II., the Pharaoh was (2) in the land of Zahi, on his second campaign, and watch was kept over the king in the camp of Pharaoh on the heights to the south of (3) the city of Kadeeh. Pharaoh came forth as soon as the sun rose, and put on the (war) array of his father Monthu. And the ruler went further (4) upwards, and came to the south of the town of Shabatun. There came to meet him two Shasu, in order to speak to (5) Pharaoh thus:
'"We are brothers, who belong to the chiefs of the tribes of the Shasu, which are (6) in the dominion of the king of Khita. We have been resolved to go to Pharaoh, to speak thus: We wish to be servants (7) to the house of Pharaoh, so that we may separate ourselves from the king of Khita. But now (8) there sits the king of Khita in the land of Khilibu, to the north of Tunep, for he fears Pharaoh, intending forwards (9) to advance."
'Thus spake the two Shasu. But the words which they had spoken to the king were vain lies; (10) for the king of Khita had sent them to spy out where Pharaoh was, so that the (11) soldiers of Pharaoh should not prepare an ambush in the rear, in order to fight with the king of Khita. For the king of Khita had (12) come with all the kings of the other peoples, with horses and riders, which he brought with him in great numbers, and stood there ready (13) in an ambush behind the town of Kadesh, the wicked. And the king did not discover the meaning of their words.
'And Pharaoh went further downwards, and came to the region to the north-west of Kadesh, where he stayed to rest on (14) a golden couch of repose. There came in the spies, who belonged to the servants of the king, and brought with them two spies of the king of (15) Khita. When they had been brought forward, Pharaoh spake to them: "Who are ye?" They said, "We belong to (16) the king of Khita, who sent us to see where Pharaoh is." Then spake to them (17) Pharaoh: "He, where stays he, the king of Khita? For I have heard say that he is in the land of Khilibu." They said: "Behold (18) the king of Khita stays there, and much people with him, which ho has brought with him (19) in great numbers from all countries which are situated [51] in the territory of the land of Khita, of the land of Nahaitain (20) and of all the Kiti.¹⁰⁵ They are provided with riders and horses, who bring with them (21) the implements of war, and they are more than the sand of the sea. Behold they stay there in ambush to fight behind the town of Kadesh, (22) the wicked."
'Then Pharaoh called the princes before him, that they might hear (23) all the words which the two spies of the land of Khita, who were present, had spoken. The king spake to them: "Behold the wisdom (24) of the governor and of the princes of the lands of the house of Pharaoh in this matter! They stood there speaking daily thus to Pharaoh (25) 'The king of Khita is in the land of Khilibu; he has fled before Pharaoh since he healed say that he would come to him according to the words of Pharaoh daily. (26) Now behold what I have had to hear in this hour from the two spies. The king of Khita is come up with mach people, who are with him with horses and riders (27) as many as the sand. They stand there behind the town of Kadesh, the wicked. Thus has it happened that the governs and the princes knew nothing, to whom (28) the countries of the house of Pharaoh are entrusted. (29) It was their duty to have said. They are come up."
'Then the princes who were before Pharaoh spake thus: "The fight (30) is great which the governor and the princes of the house of Pharaoh have committed, that they did not make enquiries (31) where the king of Khita stayed at each time, (32) that they might have daily given notice to Pharaoh."
'Then (33) was the commission given to a captain to urge on in haste the army of the king, which entered into the country (34) to the south of Shabatun, to direct them to the place where (35) Pharaoh was. For Pharaoh had relied on the words of the prince. By while in the meantime the king of Khita came up with much people that were with him, with riders (36) and horses. So exceeding great was the number of the people that was with him. They had passed over the ditch, which is to the south of the town of Kadesh, and they fell upon the army of Pharaoh, which entered in without having any information. And there gave way (37) the army and the horses of Pharaoh before them on the road upwards to the place where the king was. Then the hostile hosts of the [52] king of Khita surrounded the (38) followers of Pharaoh, who were by his side.
'When Pharaoh beheld this, he became wroth against them, and he was like his father Monthu. He put on his war array (39) and took his arms, and appeared like the god Baal in his time. And he mounted his horse, and hurried forth in a quick course. (40) He was all alone. He rushed into the midst of the hostile hosts of the king of Khita and the much people that were with him. (41) And Pharaoh, like the god Sutekh, the glorious, cast them down and slew them. And I the king flung them down head over heels, one after the other, into the water of the Arantha. I (42) subdued all the people, and yet I was alone, for my warriors and my charioteers had left me in the lurch. None of them stood (by me). Then the king of Khita raised his hands to pray before me.
'(43-44) I swear it as truly as the Sun-god loves me, as truly as I honour my father, the god Tum, that all the deeds which I the king have related, these I truly performed before my army, and before my charioteers.'

About two years after the events which we have just described, Pentaur, the Theban poet, had finished his heroic song. The fact that it was engraved on the temple walls, and on the hard stone, may serve as a proof of the recognition which was accorded to the poet by the king and his contemporaries. And, indeed, even our own age will hardly refuse to applaud this work, although a translation cannot reach the power and beauty of the original. Throughout the poem the peculiar cast of thought of the Egyptian poet fourteen centuries before Christ continually shines out in all its fullness, and confirms our opinion, that the Mosaic language exhibits to us an exact counterpart of the Egyptian mode of speech. The whole substance of thought of minds living at the same time, and in society with each other, must needs have tended to- [53] wards the same conception and form, even though the idea which the one had of God was essentially different from the views of the other concerning the nature of the Creator of all things.

We cannot forego the opportunity of rendering with all fidelity and laying before our readers in an English garb the contents of this wonderful document, precious alike for its form and as a record. With this object, we have repeatedly compared with one another the copies extant on the monuments, and, as the foundation of all, we have given the preference to the well-known papyrus of the British Museum. Following the example of E. de Rouge, we have, however, transposed to a suitable place the little episode which relates to the charioteer Mena.

THE HEROIC POEM OF PENTAUR¹⁰⁶

'Beginning of the victory of King Ramses Miamun—may he live for ever!—which he obtained over the people of the Khita, of Nahandn, of Malnnna, of Pidasa, of the Dardani, over the people of Masa, of Karkisha, of Qazuatan, of Qarkemish, of Kati, of Anaugas, over the people of Akerith and Mushanatl.
'The youthful king with the bold hand has not his equal. His arms are powerful, his heart is firm, his courage is like that of the god of war, Monthu, in the midst of the fight. He leads his warriors to unknown peoples. He seizes his weapons, and is a wall [of iron for his warriors], their shield in the day of battle. He seizes his bow, and no man offers opposition. Mightier than a hundred thousand united together goes he forwards His courage is firm like that of a bull which seizes [the He has smitten] all peoples who had united themselves together. No man knows the thousands of men who stood against [54] him. A hundred thousand sank before his glance. Terrible is he when his war-cry resounds; bolder than the whole world; [dreadful] as the grim lion in the valley of the gazelles. His command [will be performed. No opponent dares] to speak against him. Wise is his counsel. Complete are his decisions, when he wears the royal crown Atef and declares his will, a protector of his people [against unrighteousness]. His heart is like a mountain of iron. Such is King Ramses Miamun.
'After the king had armed his people and his chariots, and in like manner the Shardonians, which were once his prisoners .... then was the order given them for the battle. The king took his way downwards, and his people and his chariots accompanied him, and followed the best road on their march.
'In the fifth year, on the ninth day of the month Payni, the fortress of Khetam (Etham) of the land of Zar opened to the king.'

As if he had been the god of war, Monthu himself, the whole world trembled [at his approach] and terror seized all enemies, who came near to bow themselves before the king. And his warriors passed by the path of the desert, and went on along the roads of the north.

'Many days after this the king was in the city of Ramses Miamun [which is situated in Zahi]. After the king had marched upwards, he reached and arrived us far as Kadesh. Then the king passed by in their sight like his father Monthu, the lord of Thebes. He marched through the valley of the river Arunatlia, (with him) the first son of Amon, which secures victory to the king Ramses Miamun. And when the king approached the city, behold there was the miserable king of the hostile Khita (already) arrived. He had assembled with him all the peoples from the uttermost ends of the sea to the people of the Khita. They had arrived in great numbers: the people of Naharain, the people of Ai-athu, of the Dardani, the Masu, the Pidasa, the Malunna, the Karkish (or Kashkish), Qazuadana, Kirkamish, Akarith, Kati, the whole people of Anaugas every one of them, Mushanath, and Kadesh. He had left no people on his road without bringing them with him. Their number was endless; nothing like it had ever been before. They covered mountains and valleys like grasshoppers for their number. He had not left silver nor gold with his people; he had taken away all their goods and possessions, to give it to the people who accompanied him to the war.
[55] 'Now had the miserable king of the hostile Khita and the many peoples which were with him hidden themselves in an ambush to the north-west of the city of Kadesh, while Pharaoh was alone, no other was with him. The legion of Amon advanced behind him. The legion of Phra went into the ditch on the territory which lies to the west of the town of Shabatuna, divided by a long interval from the legion of Ptah, in the midst, [in the direction] towards the town of A mama. The legion of Sutekh marched on by their roads. And the king called together all the chief men of his warriors. Behold, they were at the lake of the land of the Amorites. At the same time the miserable king of Khita was in the midst of his warriors, which were with him. But his hand was not so bold as to venture on battle with Pharaoh. Therefore he drew away the horsemen and the chariots, which were numerous as the sand. And they stood three men on each war-chariot, and there were assembled in one spot the best heroes of the army of Khita, well appointed with all weapons for the fight. They did not dare advance. They stood in ambush to the north-west of the town of Kadesh. Then they went out from Kadesh, on the side of the south, and threw themselves into the midst of the legion of Ra-Hormakhu, which gave way, and was not prepared for the fight. There Pharaoh's warriors and chariots gave way before them. And Pharaoh had placed himself to the north of the town of Kadesh, on the west side of the river Arunatha. Then they came to tell the king. Then the king arose, like his father Month; he grasped his weapons and put on his armour, just like Baal in his time. And the noble pair of horses which carried Pharaoh, and whose name was 'Victory in Thebes,' they were from the court of King Ramses Miamun. When the king had quickened his course, he rushed into the midst of the hostile hosts of Khita, all alone, no other was with him. When Pharaoh had done this, he looked behind him and found himself surrounded by 2,500 pairs of horses, and his retreat was beset by the bravest heroes of the king of the miserable Khita, and by all the numerous peoples which were with him, of Arathu, of Masu, of Pidasa, of Keshkesh, of Malunna, of Qazanadana, of Khilibu, of Akerith, of Kadesh, and of Leka. And there were three men on each chariot, and they were all gathered together.
'And not one of my princes, not one of my captains of the chariots, not one of my chief men, not one of my knights was [56] there. My warriors and my chariots had abandoned me, not one of them was there to take part in the battle.
'Thereupon speaks Pharaoh: "Where art thou, my father Amon? If this means that the father has forgotten his son, behold have I done anything without thy knowledge, or have I not gone and followed the judgments of thy mouth. Never were the precepts of thy mouth transgressed, nor have I broken thy commands in any respect. The noble lord and ruler of Egypt, should he bow himself before the foreign peoples in his way. Whatever may be the intention of those herdsmen, Amon should stand higher than the miserable one who knows nothing of God. Shall it have been for nothing that I have dedicated to thee many and noble monuments, that I have filled thy temples with my prisoners of war, that I have built to thee temples to last many thousands of years, that I have given to thee all my substance as household furniture, that the whole united land has been ordered to pay tribute to thee, that I have dedicated to thee sacrifices of ten thousands of oxen, and of all good and sweet smelling woods. Never did I withhold my hand from doing that which thy wish required. I have built for thee propylsea and wonderful works of stone, I have raised to thee masts for all times, I have conveyed obelisks for thee from the island of Elephantine. It was I who had brought for thee the everlasting stone, who caused the ships to go for thee on the sea, to bring thee the productions of foreign nations. Where has it been told that such a thing was done at any other time? Let him be put to shame who rejects thy commands, but good be to him who acknowledges thee, O Amon! I have acted for thee with a willing heart; therefore I call on thee. Behold now, Amon, I am in the midst of many unknown peoples in great numbers. All have united themselves, and I am all alone; no other is with me; my warriors and my charioteers have deserted me. I called to them, and not one of them heard my voice. But I find that Amon is better to me than millions of warriors, than hundreds of thousands of horses, than tens of thousands of brothers and sons, even if they were all united together in one place. The works of a multitude of men are nothing; Amon is better than them. What has happened to me here is according to the command of thy mouth, O Amon, and I will not transgress thy command. Behold I call upon thee at the uttermost ends of the world."
'And my voice found an echo in Hermonthis, and Amon heard [57] it and came at my cry. He reached out his hand to me, and I shouted for joy. He called out to me from behind: ''I have hastened to thee, Ramses Miamun. I am with thee. I am he, thy father, the sun-god Ra. My hand is with thee. Yes! I am worth more than hundreds of thousands united in one place. I am the lord of victory, the friend of valour; I have found in thee a right spirit, and my heart rejoices thereat."
'All this came to pass. I was changed, being made like the god Monthu. I hurled the dart with my right hand, I fought with my left hand. I was like Baal in his time before their sight. I had found 2,500 pairs of horses; I was in the midst of them; but they were dashed in pieces before my horses. Not one of them raised his hand to fight; their courage was sunken in their breasts, their limbs gave way, they could not hurl the dart, nor had they the courage to thrust with the spear. I made them fall into the waters just as the crocodiles fall in. They tumbled down on their faces one after another. I killed them at my pleasure, so that not one looked back behind him, nor did another turn round. Each one fell, he raised himself not up again.
'There stood still the miserable king of Khita in the midst of his warriors and his chariots, to behold the fight of the king. He was all alone; not one of his warriors, not one of his chariots was with him. There he turned round for fright before the king. Thereupon he sent the princes in great numbers, each of them with his chariot, well equipped with all kinds of offensive weapons: the king of Arathu and him of Mass, the lung of Malunna and him of Leka, the king of the Dardani and him of Keshkesh, the king of Qaiqamash and him of Khilibu. There were all together the brothers of the king of Khita united in one place, to the number of 2,500 pairs of horses. They forthwith rushed right on, their countenance directed to the flame of fire {i.e. my face).
'I rushed down upon them. Like Monthu was I. I let them taste my hand in the space of a moment. I dashed them down, and killed them where they stood. Then cried out one of them to his neighbour, saying, "This is no man. Ah! woe to us! He who is in oar midst is Sutekh, the glorious; Baal is in all his limbs. Let us hasten and flee before him. Let us save our lives; let us try oar breath." As soon as any one attacked him, his hand fell down and every limb of his body. They could not aim either the bow or the spear. They only looked at him as he came on in his [58] headlong career from afar. The king was behind them like a griffin.
'(Thus speaks the king):
'I struck them down; they did not escape me. I lifted up my voice to my warriors and to my charioteers, and spake to them, ''Halt! stand I take courage, my warriors, my charioteers! Look upon my victory. I am alone, but Amon is my helper, and his hand is with me."
'When Menna, my charioteer, beheld with his eyes how many pairs of horses surrounded me, his courage left him, and his heart was afraid. Evident terror and great fright took possession of his whole body. Immediately he spake to me: ''My gracious lord, thou brave king, thou guardian of the Egyptians in the day of battle, protect us. We stand alone in the midst of enemies. Stop, to save the breath of life for us. Give us deliverance, protect us, O King Ramses Miamun."
'Then spake the king to his charioteer: "Halt, stand! take courage, my charioteer. I will dash myself down among them as the sparrow-hawk dashes down. I will slay them, I will cut them in pieces, I will dash them to the ground in the dust. Why, then, is such a thought in thy heart? These are unclean ones for Amon, wretches who do not acknowledge the god.''
'And the king headed onwards. He charged down upon the hostile hosts of Khita. For the sixth time, when he charged upon them, (says the king) "There was I like to Baal behind them in his time, when he has strength. I killed them; none escaped me."
'And the king cried to his warriors, and to his chariot-fighters, and likewise to his princes, who had taken no part in the fight, "Miserable is your courage, my chariot-fighters. Of no profit is it to have you for friends. If there had been only one of you who had shown himself a good (warrior?) for my country! If I had not stood firm an your royal lord, you had been conquered. I exalt you daily to be princes. I place the son in the inheritance of his father, warding off all injury from the land of the Egyptians, and you forsake me! Such servants are worthless. I made you rich, I was your protecting lord, and each of you who complained bitterly to me, I gave him protection in his affairs every day. No Pharaoh has done for his people what I have done for you. I allowed you to remain in your villages and in your towns. Neither the captain nor his chariot-horses did any work. I pointed out to them the road [59] from their city, that they might find it in like manner at the day and at the hour at which the battle came on. Now behold! A bad service altogether has been performed for me. None of you stood by, ready to stretch out his hand to me when I fought. By the name of my father Amon! O that I may be for Egypt like my father, the sun-god Ra! Not a single one of you would watch, to attend to what concerns his duty in the land of Egypt. For such ought to be the good kind of men, who have been entrusted with work for the memorial-places in Thebes, the city of Amon. This is a great fault which my warriors and chariot-fighters have committed, greater than it is possible to describe. Now behold, I have achieved the victory. No warrior and no chariot-fighter was with me. The whole world from afar beholds the strength of my arm. I was all alone. No other was with me. No prince was by my side, of the captains of the chariots, no captain of the soldiers, nor any horseman. The foreign peoples were eye-witnesses of this. They publish my name to the furthest and most unknown regions. All the combatants whom my hand left surviving, they stood there, turning themselves to wonder at what I did; and though millions of them had been there, they would not have kept their feet, but would have run away. For every one who shot an arrow aimed at me, his own weapon failed, which should have reached me."
'When now my warriors and my charioteers saw that I was named like Monthu of the victorious arm, and that Amon my father was with me, and the special favour he had done for me, and that the foreigners all lay like hay before my horses, then they came forward one after another out of the camp at the time of evening, and found all the people which had come against them, the best combatants of the people of Khita, and of the sons and brokers of their king, stretched out and weltering in their blood. And when it was light on the (next morning) in the plain of the land of Kadesh, one could hardly find a place for his foot on account of their multitude.
'Then came my warriors forward to praise highly my name, full of astonishment at what I had done. My princes came forward to honour my courage, and my chariot-fighters also to praise my strength.
'"How wast thou, great champion of firm courage, the saviour of thy warriors and of thy chariot-fighters! Thou son of Amon, who came forth out of the hands of the god, thou hast annihilated [60] the people of Khita by thy powerful arm. Thou art a good champion, a lord of victory; no other king fights as thou dost for his warriors in the day of battle. Thou, O bold one, art the first in the fight. The whole world united in one place does not trouble thee. Thou art the greatest conqueror at the head of thy warriors in the sight of the whole world. No one dares to contend with thee. Thou art he who protects the Egyptians, who chastises the foreigners. Thou hast broken the neck of Khita for everlasting times."
'Thereupon the king answered his warriors and his chariot-fighters, and likewise his princes, "My warriors, my charioteers, who have not taken part in the fight, a man does not succeed in obtaining honour in his city unless he comes and exhibits his prowess before his lord, the king. Good will be his name, if he is brave in the battle. By deeds, by deeds, will such a one obtain the applause [of the land]. Have I not given what is good to each of you, that ye have left me, so that I was alone in the midst of hostile hosts! Forsaken by you, my life was in peril, and you breathed tranquilly, and I was alone. Could you not have said in your hearts that I was a rampart of iron to you. Will any one obey him who leaves me in the lurch when I am alone without any follower, when nobody comes, of the princes, of the knights, and of the chief men of the army, to reach me out his hand. I was alone thus fighting, and I have withstood millions of foreigners, I all alone."
'"Victory in Thebes, and Mut is satisfied, my pair of horses, it was they who found me, to strengthen my hand, when I was all alone in the midst of the raging multitude of hostile hosts. I will myself henceforth have their fodder given to them for their nourishment in my presence, when I shall dwell in the palace, because I have found them in the midst of hostile hosts, together with the captain of the horsemen, Menna, my charioteer, out of the band of the trusted servants in the palace, who stay near me. Here are the eye-witnesses of the battle. Behold, these did I find."
'The king returned in victory and strength; he had smitten hundreds of thousands all together in one place with his arm.
'When the earth was (again) light he arranged the hosts of warriors for the fight, and he stood there prepared for the battle, like a bull which has whetted his horns. He appeared to them a likeness of the god Monthu, who has armed himself for the battle.
[61]  'Likewise his brave warriors, who dashed into the fight, just as the hawk swoops down upon the goats.
'The diadem of the royal snake adorned my head. It spat fire and glowing flame in the face of my enemies. I appeared like the sun-god at his rising in the early morning. My shining beams were a consuming fire for the limbs of the wicked.
'They cried out to one another, "Take care, do not fall! For the powerful snake of royalty, which accompanies him, has placed itself on his horse. It helps him. Every one who shrieks out at it and falls down, there comes forth fire and flame to consume his body."
'And they remained afar off, and threw themselves down on the earth, to entreat the king in the sight [of his army]. And the king had power over them and slew them without their being able to escape. As bodies tumbled before his horses, so they lay there stretched out all together in their blood.
'Then the king of the hostile people of Khita sent a messenger to pray piteously to the great name of the king, speaking thus: "Thou art Ra-Hormakhu. Thou art Sutekh the glorious, the son of Mut, Baal in his time. Thy terror is upon the land of Khita, for thou hast broken the neck of Khita for ever and ever.''
'Thereupon he allowed his messenger to enter. He bore a writing in his hand with the address, "To the great double-name of the king" (and thus it ran):
'"May this suffice for the satisfaction of the heart of the holiness of the royal house, the Sun-Horus, the mighty Bull, who loves justice, the great lord, the protector of his people, the brave with his arm, the rampart of his life-guards in the day of battle, the king Ramses Miamun.
'"The servant speaks, he makes known to Pharaoh, my gracious lord, the beautiful son of Ra-Hormakhu, as follows:
'"Since thou art the son of Amon, from whose body thou art sprung, so has he granted to thee all the peoples together.
'"The people of Egypt and the people of Khita ought to be brothers together as thy servants. Let them be at thy feet. The sun-god Ra has granted thee the best [inhabitants of the earth]. Do us no injury, glorious spirit, whose anger weighs upon the people of Khita.
'"Would it be good if thou shouldst wish to kill thy servants, whom thou hast brought under thy power ) Thy look is terrible, and thou art not mildly disposed. Calm thyself. Yesterday thou [62] earnest and hast slain hundreds of thousands. Thou comest today, and none will be left remaining [to serve thee].
'"Do not carry out thy purpose, thou mighty king. Better is peace than war. Give us freedom."
'Then the king turned back in a gentle humour, like his father Monthu in his time, and Pharaoh assembled all the leaders of the army and of the chariot-fighters and of the life-guards. And when they were all assembled together in one place, they were pleased to see the contents of the message which the great king of Khita had sent to him. [When they had heard] these words, which the messenger of the king of Khita had brought as his embassy to Pharaoh, then they answered and spake thus to the king:
'"Excellent, excellent is that! Let thy anger pass away, great lord, our king! He who does not accept peace must offer it. Who would content thee in the day of thy wrath!"
'Then the king gave order to listen to the words of him (the king of Khita), and he let his hands rest, in order to return to the south. Then the king went in peace to the land of Egypt with his princes, with his army, and his charioteers, in serene humour, in the sight of his [people]. All countries feared the power of the king, as of the lord of both the worlds. It had [protected] his own warriors. All peoples came at his name, and their kings fell down to pray before his beautiful countenance. The king reached the city of Ramses Miamun, the great worshipper of Ra-Hormakhu, and rested in his palace in the most serene humour, just like the sun on his throne. And Amon came to greet him, speaking thus to him: "Be thou blessed, thou our son, whom we love, Ramses Miamun! May they (the gods) secure to him without end many thirty-years feasts of jubilee for ever on the chair of his father Tum, and may all lands be under his feet."'

Thus did the poet on the banks of the holy river sing the heroic deed of King Ramses before Kadesh. We are indebted to the Egyptian Homer for full information about this historical event, the knowledge of which was never transmitted by tradition to the memory of men.

The wars of the king in Syria and Canaan did not [63] certainly begin in the fifth year of his reign, in which the great battle of Kadesh took place; but as early as the preceding years Ramses had extended his first campaign as far as these countries. The three celebrated rock tablets in the neighbourhood of Beyrout, which were as well known to the Greek travellers in the fifth century before our era, (they are the columns of Sesostris mentioned by Herodotus), as they are still in our own day the goal of enquiring pilgrims in the land of Palestine, testify to the presence of King Ramses at this very place in the second year and first campaign, and in the fifth year and second campaign, of his reign.

After peace had been made with the Khita, their frontiers were henceforth spared, although several cities could not prevail upon themselves to acknowledge the Egyptian supremacy. In one of these, 'Tunep, in the land of Naharain,' where Ramses had set up his statues as visible memorials of his campaigns against Khita, the opposition of the population assumed such a serious aspect, that Ramses saw himself obliged to lead his army and his chariots in person against Tunep. The memorial inscription preserved in the Ramesseum at Thebes, unfortunately destroyed in its upper part, describes this campaign in the following terms:

'[There arose a new] war, which was against a city of Khita, in which the two statues of Pharaoh were set up. The king had reduced them [under his power. Then the king assembled] his warriors and his chariots, and gave orders to his warriors and his chariots [to attack] the hostile Khita, who were in the neighbourhood of the city of Tunep, in the land of Naharain. And the king put on his armour [and mounted his chariot]. He stood there in the battle against the town of the hostile Khita at the head of [64] his warriors, and of his (chariots. His) armour was upon him. And the king came again to take his armour, and to put it on. And he utterly smote the hostile Khita, who were in the neighbourhood of the city of Tunep in the land of Naharain. After that he no more put on his armour.'

In the eighth year we again find the king on the soil of the land of Canaan, where, in the territory of what was afterwards Galilee, as well as in the neighbourhood of that ill-famed country, the inhabitants mocked at Pharaoh's highness, and at length tired out his patience. They were punished by the capture of their fortresses; and their kings and elders, together with the men capable of bearing arms, were carried away to the land of Kemi, after the Egyptian warriors had grossly insulted them, beaten them, and, in token of shame, had plucked out the long beards of the Canaanites. The representation of the conquest of the fortresses had its place on the northern flanking-tower at the corner of the west side of the temple of Ramses on the west side of Thebes. An inscription was annexed to every fortress, beginning with the words, 'This is the city which the king took in the eighth year,' to which the particular designation of the place was added. In what has been preserved we can make out the names: Shalama (that is the town of peace), the place Salem, or Saleim, to the south of Scythopolis; Maroma, that is Merom; Ain-Anamim, that is, Anim or Engannim; Dapiu: in the land of the Amorites, the well-known fortress on Mount Tabor; 'the town Kalopu, on the mountain of Beitha-Antha,' that is, the Bethanath of Scripture, in the land of Cabul.

That Ramses was the ruling lord 'of the foreign [65] peoples of Singara and Khita,' that he had conquered, and probably also had occupied, the greater number of their cities, is proved especially by the names of the conquered places which the monuments of Ramses at Karnak exhibit, and the appearance of which entirely corresponds with the appellations of the places of the Khita in the list of nations of Thutmes II. I may adduce as examples Qa-sa-na-litha, Qa-u-pa, Khiri-za, Pa-rihi, Ab-el, Qa-ro~ma-na, Qa-si-ri-ba-na, Shama-sha-na, Ei-hu-za, Sa-a-bi-tha, Ka-za-a, Qa-sa-ria, Qau-zas, Ka-ri-ka, Qa-ma-sa-pui, A-zar or A-zal.

As in the north, so also in the south, the wars against the cities of Canaan called into play all the warlike activity of Ramses. Here above all the storming of As-qa-u-na, that is, Askalon, appeared to the Egyptians a great exploit, worthy of being perpetuated by a representation on the stone walls of the temple of Karnak.

The fortress of Askalon, which in the time of Joshua was counted among the five princely cities of the Philistines, lay on the Mediterranean Sea, in a
fertile district. It was well fortified, and belonged sometimes to the Syrians and sometimes to the Egyptians, according as the one or the other held the supremacy of the lands and peoples of Western Asia. According to our Egyptian representation, it was situated on a height, and was inhabited by pure Canaanites, who outwardly differed in nothing from the rest of the inhabitants of Ruthen. The attack of Pharaoh, who, in his court-chariot, drawn by his pair of horses called 'Amon-neb-nakhto,' that is, 'Amon is the lord of vic- [66] tory,' personally directed his warriors, resulted in a speedy capture by storm. The warriors of Pharaoh mounted the walls of the city on ladders, and beat in the battered doors with bright axes. Men and women are trying to appease the victors by their prayers. The king of 'the miserable city' acknowledges his fault with the words; 'He rejoices, who acts according to thy will, but woe to him who transgresses thy boundaries. We will make known thy glory to all the nations who know not Egypt.'

Thus was Askalon punished on account of its revolt from Egypt, and again subjected to the sceptre of Pharaoh. This seems to have been the only instance in the ancient history of Egypt, in which Askalon broke faith with the house of Pharaoh.

As a consequence of the wars of king Ramses in Western Asia, besides the booty (about which, however, the inscriptions are silent), a great number of prisoners were transplanted to the valley of the Nile. On the front wall of the temple of Luqsor, behind the obelisks and the splendid sitting figures of the king, there is a scene relating to this, with the superscription, 'Catalogue of the princes of the people of Khita, whom the Pharaoh has brought back as living prisoners, to fill the house of his father Amon, and of the people of the Dardani, of Pidasa, and others.' As leaders of the band of the prisoners there appear the king's sons, who had taken part in the campaign against Khita, and had distinguished themselves at the storming of Tabor: Amon-hi-khopesh-ef, Kha-m-us, Miamun, and Seti. The foreigners are brought by the Pharaoh in person [67] to the god Amon; and, as usual, the action is designated as the 'bringing of the prisoners from all countries to which the king has come, to bind them, and whom the king has conquered. He brings their inhabitants with him as living prisoners, to fill with them the house of his father Amon.'

While Ramses in the representations and inscriptions, so for as they have escaped the destructive hand of man and the all-devouring tooth of time, appears before our sight as a champion of the first rank on land, fighting on his war-chariot, represented in heroic form, with his warriors by his side, and his grown-up sons accompanying him,¹⁰⁷ in the face of a great confederacy of nations whose representatives belong to the most distant and unknown lands, it is, on the other hand, beyond doubt that his campaigns were also carried on by water, and that his ships measured themselves in sea-fights with the most powerful maritime nations, for the dominion of the sea. A short but precious notice on the long rock-tablet (without date) on the outside of the temple of Abusimbel (or rather Ibsambul), places this fact apparently beyond doubt. Unfortunately, the extant monuments contain no other indications which might serve as a further support for a fact of such historical importance.

The increasing movements of the nations, and the growing troubles in Canaan, the pushing forward of whole races in Western Asia, owing to the immigration [68] of warlike tribes of foreign origin, seem to have attracted the serious attention of the kings of Khita, as well as of the Egyptian Pharaoh. The then lord of Khita, Khita-sir, was the first to make to his Egyptian friend the proposal, written on a tablet of silver, for an offensive and defensive alliance. Ramses II. was prudent enough not to refuse such a proposal, and a treaty was made, which laid the foundation of the intimate friendship, so often mentioned by the chroniclers of the time, between the two great empires of Asia and Africa.

The historical account of this treaty has been handed down to us in a clear and intelligible manner, although with some breaks. The inscription concerning it, the translation of which we now give, will make our readers acquainted with the contents of this remarkable document better than any further explanation:¹⁰⁸

Offensive and Defensive Alliance between Khita and Kemi.

'In the year 21, in the month Tybi, on the 21st day of the month, in the reign of King Ramessu Miamun, the dispenser of life eternally and for ever, the worshipper of the divinities Amon-ra (of Thebes), Hormakhu (of Heliopolis), Ptah (of Memphis), Mut, the lady of the Asher-lake (near Karnak), and Khonsu, the peace-loving, there took place a public sitting on the throne of Horns among the living, resembling his father Hormakhu in eternity, in eternity, evermore.
'On that day the king was in the city of Ramses, presenting his peace-offerings to his father Amon-ra, and to the gods Hormakhu-Tum, the lord of Heliopolis, and to Amon of Eamessu Mia- [69] man, to Ptah of Eamessu Miamun, and to Sutekh, the strong, the son of the goddess of heaven Nut, that they might grant to him many thirty-years' jubilee feasts, and innumerable happy years, and the subjection of all peoples under his feet for ever.
'Then came forward the ambassador of the king, and the Adon [of his house, by name, and presented the ambassadors] of the great king of Khita, Khitasir, who were sent to Pharaoh to propose friendship with the king Ramessu Miamun, the dispenser of life eternally and for ever, just as his father the Sun-god dispenses it each day.
'This is the copy of the contents of the silver tablet, which the great king of Khita, Khitasir, had caused to be made, and which was presented to the Pharaoh by the hand of his ambassador Tarthi-sebu and his ambassador Ra-mes, to propose friendship with the king Ramessu Miamun, the bull among the princes, who places his boundary-marks where it pleases him in all lands.
'The treaty which had been proposed by the great king of Khita, Khitasir, the powerful, the son of Maro-sir, the great king of Khita, the powerful, the son of the son of Sapa-li-li, the great king of Khita, the powerful, on the silver tablet, to Ramessu Mia-mun, the great prince of Egypt, the powerful, the son of Mineptah Seti, the great prince of Egypt, the powerful, the son of the son of Ramessu I., the great king of Egypt, the powerful, 'this was a good treaty for friendship and concord, which assured peace [and established concord] for a longer period than was previously the case, since a long time. For it was the agreement of the great prince of Egypt in common with the great king of Khita, that the god should not allow enmity to exist between them, on the basis of a treaty.
'Namely, in the times of Mau-than-er, the great King of Khita, my brother, he was at war with [Mineptah Seti] the great prince of Egypt.
'But now, from this very day forward, Khitasir, the great king of Khita, shall look upon this treaty, so that the agreement may remain, which the god Ba has made, which the god Sutekh has made, for the people 6f Egypt and for the people of Khita, that there should be no enmity between them for evermore.
'And these are the contents:
'Khitasir, the great king of Khita, is in covenant with Ramessu Miamun, the great prince of Egypt, from this very day forward, [70] that there may subsist a good friendship and a good understanding between them for evermore.
'He shall be my ally; he shall be my friend;
'I will be his ally; I will be his friend; for ever.
'Namely, in the time of Mau-than-er, the great king of Khita, his brother, after his murder, Khita-sir placed himself on the throne of his father as the great king of Khita; I strove for friendship with Ramessu Miamun, the great prince of Egypt, and it is [my wish] that the friendship and the concord may be better than the friendship and the concord which before existed, and which was broken.
'I declare: I, the great king of Khita, will hold together with [Ramessu Miamun], the great prince of Egypt, in good friendship and in good concord. The sons of the sons of the great king of Khita will hold together and be friends with the sons of the sons of Ramessu Miamun, the great prince of Egypt.
'In virtue of our treaty for concord, and in virtue of our agreement [for friendship, let the people] of Egypt [be bound in friendship] with the people of Khita. Let a like friendship and a like concord subsist in such measure for ever.
'Never let enmity rise between them. Never let the great king of Khita invade the land of Egypt, if anything shall have been robbed from it [the land of Khita].¹⁰⁹ Never let Ramessu Miamun, the great prince of Egypt, overstep the boundary of the land [of Khita], if anything shall have been robbed from it (the land of Egypt).
'The just treaty, which existed in the times of Sapa-li-li, the great king of Khita, likewise the just treaty which existed in the times of Mau-than-er, the great king of Khita, my brother, that will I keep.
'Ramessu Miamun, the great prince of Egypt, declares that he will keep it. We have come to an understanding about it] with one another at the same time from this day forward, and we will. fulfil it, and will act in a righteous manner.
'If another shall come as an enemy to the lands of Ramessu Miamun, the great prince of Egypt, then let him send an embassy to the great king of Khita to this effect: "Come! and make me stronger than him." Then shall the great king of Khita [assemble [71] his warriors], and the king of Khita [shall come] and smite his enemies. Bat if it should not be the wish of the great king of Khita to march out in person, then he shall send his warriors and his chariots, that they may smite his enemies. Otherwise [he would incur] the wrath of Ramessu Miamun, [the great prince of Egypt. And if Ramessu Miamun, the great prince of Egypt, should banish for a crime] subjects from his country, and they should begin another crime against him, then shall he (the king of Khita) come forward to kill them. The great king of Khita shall act in common with [the great prince of Egypt.]
'[If another should come as an enemy to the lands of the great king of Khita, then shall he send an embassy to the great prince of Egypt with the request that] he would come in great power to kill his enemies; and if it be the intention of Ramessu Miamun, the great prince of Egypt, (himself) to come, he shall [smite the enemies of the great king of Khita. If it is not the intention of the great prince of Egypt, to march out in person, then he shall send his warriors and his two-] horse chariots, while he sends back the answer to the people of Khita.
'If any subjects of the great king of Khita have offended him, then Ramessu Miamun [the great prince of Egypt, shall not receive them in his land, but will advance to kill them] the oath, with the wish to say: I will go ... until ... Ramessu Miamun, the great prince of Egypt, living for ever their ... that he may be given for them (?) to the lord, and that Ramessu Miamun, the great prince of Egypt, may speak according to his agreement evermore ... '[If servants shall flee away] out of the territories of Ramessu Miamun, the great prince of Egypt, to betake themselves to the great king of Khita, the great king of Khita shall not receive them, but the great king of Khita shall give them up to Ramessu Miamun, the great prince of Egypt [that they may receive their punishment.
'If servants of Ramessu Miamun, the great prince of Egypt, leave his country], and betake themselves to the land of Khita, to make themselves servants of another, they shall not remain in the land of Khita, [they shall be given up] to Ramessu Miamun, the great prince of Egypt.
'If on the other hand there should flee away [servants of the great king of Khita, in order to betake themselves to] Ramessu [72] Miamun, the great prince of Egypt, [in order to stay in Egypt], then those who have come from the land of Khita in order to betake themselves to Ramessu Miamnn, the great prince of Egypt, shall not be [received by] Rameasu Miamnn, the great prince of Egypt, [but] the great prince of Egypt, Ramessu Miamnn, [shall deliver them up to the great king of Khita.]
'[And if there shall leave the land of Khita persons] of skilful mind, so that they come to the land of Egypt to make themselves servants of another, then Ramessu Miamun will not allow them to settle, he will deliver them up to the great king of Khita.
'When this [treaty] shall be known [by the inhabitants of the land of Egypt and of the land of Khita, then shall they not offend against it, for all that stands written on] the silver tablet, these are words which will have been approved by the company of the gods among the male gods and among the female gods, among those namely of the land of Khita, and by the company of the gods among the male gods and among the female gods, among those
namely of the land of Egypt. They are witnesses for me [to the validity] of these words, [which they have allowed.
'This is the catalogue of the gods of the land of Khita:
Sutekh, of the city] of Tunep (Daphne),
Sutekh, of the land of Khita,
Sutekh, of the city of Amema,
Sutekh, of the city of Zaranda,
Sutekh, of the city of Pilqa,
Sutekh, of the city of Khissap,
Sutekh, of the city of Sarsu,
Sutekh, of the city of Khilbu (Haleb),
Sutekh, of the city of ....
................................
Sutekh, of the city of Sarpina,
Astartha, of the land of Khita,
The god of the land of Zaiath-khirri,
The god of the land of Ka ....
The god of the land of Kher ....
The goddess of the city of Akh ....
[The goddess of the city of] ... and of the land of A ... ua.
The goddess of the land of Zaina,
The god of the land of . . . nath . . . er.
[73] '[I have invoked these male and these] female [gods of the land of Khita, these are the gods] of the land, [as witnesses to] my oath. [With them have been associated, the male and the female gods] of the mountains, and of the rivers of the land of Khita, the gods of the land of Qazauadana (Gauzanitis), Amon, Pra, Sutekh, and the male and the female gods of the land of Egypt of the earth, of the sea, of the winds, and of the storms.
'With regard to the commandment which the silver tablet contains for the people of Khita and for the people of Egypt, he who shall not observe it shall be given over [to the vengeance] of the company of the gods of Khita, and shall be given over [to the vengeance] of the company of the gods of Egypt, [he] and his house and his servants.
'But he who shall observe these commandments, which the silver tablet contains, whether he be of the people of Khita or [of the people of the Egyptians], because he has not neglected them, the company of the gods of the land of Khita and the company of the gods of the land of Egypt shall secure his reward and preserve life [for him] and his servants and those who are with him, and who are with his servants.
'If there flee away of the inhabitants [one from the land of Egypt], or two or three, and they betake themselves to the great king of Khita, [the great king of Khita shall not] allow them [to remain, but he shall] deliver them up, and send them back to Ramessu Miamun, the great prince of Egypt.
'Now with respect to the [inhabitant of the land of Egypt], who is delivered up to Ramessu Miamun, the great prince of Egypt, his fault shall not be avenged upon him, his [house] shall not be taken away, nor his [wife] nor his [children]. There shall not be [put to death his mother, neither shall he be punished in his eyes, nor on his mouth, nor on the soles of his feet], and no crime shall be brought forward against him. In the same way shall it be done, if inhabitants of the land of Khita take to flight, be it one alone, or two, or three, to betake themselves to Ramessu Miamun, the great prince of Egypt. Ramessu Miamun, the great prince of Egypt, shall cause them to be seized, and they shall be delivered up to the great king of Khita.
'[With regard to] him who [is delivered up, his crime shall not be brought forward against him]. His [house] shall not be taken away, nor his wives, nor his children, nor his people; his mother [74] shall not be put to death, he shall not be punished in his eyes, nor on his month, nor on the soles of his feet, nor shall any accusation be brought forward against him.
'That which is in the middle of this silver tablet and on its front side is a likeness of the god Sutekh .... surrounded by an inscription to this effect: ''This is the [picture] of the god Sutekh, the king of heaven and [earth]." At the time (1) of the treaty, which Khitasir, the great king of Khita, made.'¹¹⁰

In such a form were peace and friendship made at Ramses, the city in Lower Egypt, between the two most powerful nations of the world at that time, Khita in the East, and Kemi in the West. It was to be hoped that the new offensive and defensive alliance, which united the princes and countries in the manner thus described, would attain its end, and bridle the fermenting restless world of the people of the Canaanites, which lay between them, and keep down every rising and movement of the hostilely disposed Semites, and confine them within the limits once for all fixed. For that a ferment existed, even in the inmost heart of the Egyptian land, is sufficiently proved by the allusion in the treaty to the evasions of evil-disposed subjects. We may perhaps read between the lines that the Jewish people are meant, who, since their migration into the land of Egypt, had increased beyond measure,' and without doubt were already making preparations to withdraw themselves from the power of their oppressors on the banks of the Nile. But how? and when? this was hidden in the councils of the Eternal.

[75] The scribes at the court of Pharaoh at Ramses-Tanis,—and we must not forget that Ramessu Miamun had fixed his court there,—were full of joy at the great event of the conclusion of peace. Their letters, so far as a kind fate has preserved them for us, overflow with high delight that the war was at an end, and that Kemi and Khita had now become fraternal peoples. Their boasting rose to such a pitch of the wonted Egyptian pride, as to assert that king Ramessu had already assumed the position of a god for Khita, and for the regions of the heathen, namely Kati.

As we intend in a later portion of the history of Ramses to lay before our readers in a faithful translation some proofs of Egyptian vain-glory in such matters, we will first give additional confirmation of the proved fact, that Ramses lived in such friendly relations with the king of Khita of his time, that even family alliances were made between the two. According to a memorial tablet which was set up solemnly in the temple of Ibsambul, and the long inscription on which begins with the date of the year 34 of the reign of Ra-messu, the Egyptian king married the daughter of the king of Khita. The prince of Khita, clad in the dress of his country, himself conducted the bride to his son-in-law. After the marriage had taken place, the young wife, as queen, received the name of Ur-maa Nofiru-ra.

When we turn our glance to the west and to the south, we have there also to recognise the military activity of the king; whose successes are celebrated [76] with their wonted fullness by the Nubian monuments, which are the real trophies of the famed Sesostris.

In the temple of Der (or Dirr, as I heard the name always pronounced by the Nubian inhabitants of the district) there is represented a razzia of the king against the poor negroes, whose wives and children behold the irruption of the Pharaoh with affrighted gaze. In like manner the battle-pieces of the rock-grotto of Beit-el-Walli place before our eyes the victories of Pharaoh over the land of Kush, the Thuhen (Mar-maridae), and the Syrian Khalu or Phoenicians. The date of these wars is nowhere given, and it is only the circumstances of the action, and the historical personages of those days, beginning with the king's children, that enable us to form a general conception as to the campaigns in the earlier or later years of the life of Ramessu.

We must imagine, from the written and pictorial testimony on the rock- walls of that temple grotto, that the king had just returned from his campaigns against the people of the south, and held a court in the midst of the temple. He was already covered with glory, for 'the deeds of victory are inscribed a hundred thousand times on the glorious Persea. As the chastiser of the foreigners, who has placed his boundary marks according to his pleasure in the land of the Ruthennu, he is in truth the son of Ra, and his very likeness.'

Before the king, who is seated on his throne, appears 'the hereditary prince Amen-hi-imamif,' who presents to him a train of captive negroes, and the
[77] booty or tributes of leopards' skins, lions, giraffes, antelopes, gazelles, and of gold rings, ivory, and fruits, and other such productions of the south.

The then governor also of the South, the 'king's son of Kush, Amen-em-ape, a son of Pa-uer,' presents himself before his lord and master, in order to be decorated for his honest and successful services with the gold necklace of honour. For a campaign had just been brought to a dose, which had subjected the revolted tribes anew to the sceptre of Egypt. In its principal battle, Ramses appears high on his chariot He is accompanied by his son just named and his pious brother Khamus.

Here is another court of the king in the South. At his feet lies his faithful attendant, the lion Smamkheftu-f, 'the tearer to pieces of his enemies.' Here again it is his son, the brave Aman-hi-unamif (i.e. 'Amon is on his right hand'), who, accompanied by Egyptian warriors, brings to the Pharaoh in Nubia some captive Khal-Phoenicians, without doubt for the purpose of being employed as workmen on the buildings which Ramses was erecting there.

The Libyan land also must have yielded her captive children for the same buildings, since we admire the strength of the giant king, who is just giving a Thuhen the death-stroke with his scimitar, called Antha-em-nekh, 'Anaitis is the protector.' Prisoners of the Canaanite tribes are also seen employed on the same work, for the king had carried on wars against them. His own words declare of his victories, 'that henceforth sand is in their dwellings, instead of the fruits of [78] the earth.' Accompanied by one of his sons, he took their chief city, the 'miserable king' of which assures Sesostris, that 'no other is to be compared to Baal as thou art. Thou, king, art his true son for ever.'

Ramses seems to have subjugated only small tribes of Ethiopia and Libya, in his campaigns into the interior of the African continent. We incidentally learn the names of these on several monuments: as, for example, the above-mentioned memorial-stone of Ibsambul cites as conquered people of Africa the Auntom, Hebuu, Tenfii, Temuu, and Hetau (a sixth name is destroyed), whom the Memphian god Ptah-Totunen delivers as subjects into the hands of his son Ramses.'¹¹¹

The office of the viceroys of the South continued during the long reign of this king in fall importance. The monuments mention to us as such, accompanied by the usual title of honour of 'King's sons of Kush,' the Egyptian lords Pa-uer, Araenemapi, son of Pa-uer, Setau-'an (who was entrusted also with the administration of the gold mines), Amenemhib, Nakhtu, and Massui.

In order to increase his revenues and fill the treasury of the state, Ramses, following the example of his father Seti, turned his particular attention to the gold districts which had been discovered, and especially to the Nubian gold mines of what is now the Wady Alaki [79] Al-aki), anciently called Aki-ta. But water was wanting in the dreary sterile valleys of this mountainous country, and men and beasts died on the roads to the gold districts. By a curious accident, science is in possession of the old Egyptian map (at Turin), which enables us to recognise the situation of the mountain tracks, the rocks, the places where the gold was found, the wells, and all the other appurtenances and buildings. Here, according to the annexed inscriptions, are 'the mountains out of which the gold was extracted; they are marked with a red colour;' there 'the roads which have been abandoned, leading to the sea:' here 'the houses of .... of the gold-washing,' the 'well,' and the 'memorial stone of King Mineptah I. Seti I.' there, 'the temple of Amon in the holy mountain.'

Nothing is forgotten which could seem calculated to give the spectator an idea of the state of the region, even to the stones and the scattered trees along the roads. Seti I., the gold-seeker, had first worked the gold-mines, but without any remarkable success, as will be shown further on. He made the well named in the inscriptions, and erected near it the memorial-stone of which the inscription on the map speaks. The shaft of the well had a depth of more than 63 yards (120 Egyptian cubits), but the water soon became exhausted, and the mine was abandoned.

It was not till the third year of the reign of King Ramses that the works were opened, which are mentioned with such detail in the inscription given below. The inscription covers a stone which was found at the village of Kuban, opposite Dakkeh, on [80] the eastern bank of the Nubian territory. Here was situated in ancient times a well-fortified place, provided with walls, trenches, and towers, destined by the Pharaohs for a bulwark against the irruptions of the Nubian tribes. Inscribed blocks of stone, in the neighbourhood, mention the kings Thutmes III., Horemhib, and Ramses II. This place seems at the same time to have been the point of departure for the communication with the gold mines, in which the prisoners of war and malefactors were forced to carry on their laborious works under the burning rays of a tropical sun. Even to the time of the Greeks, the remembrance was preserved of their cruel treatment and of the dreadful condition of those condemned to the gold-washings.

We now give the words of the stone inscription itself.¹¹²

'(1) In the year three, in the month Tybi, on the fourth day, in the reign of King Ramessu Miamun, the dispenser of life eternally and for ever, the friend of the Theban Amon-Ra of Api.
'(2) A court was held on the throne of Hor (that is, of the king), among the living. Like his father, the everlasting Sun-god, the divine benefactor, the lord of the south land, the radiant Hud-Hor, a beautiful golden sparrow-hawk, he has spread out his wings over Egypt, giving shade to the inhabitants in the protecting wall of the strong and victorious. When he goes forth thence diffusing terror, it is to (3) display his power for enlarging his boundaries. The glittering brilliancy of colour has been granted to his body by the victories of Monthu.¹¹³ He is the lord of the two [81] crowns of Hor and of Set. A shoat of joy resounded in heaven on the day of his birth. The gods (spake) thus: We have begotten him; (4) the goddesses thus: He is born of us to govern the kingdom of Ra; Amon thus: I am he who formed him, to put truth in its place. The land was set in order, the heaven quieted, the company of the gods satisfied, through his piety. He is a mighty bull for the miserable land of Kush, who pushes hack (5) the conspirators from the land of the negroes. His hoof crushes the An (the Kushites) and his horn gores them. He has made himself master of the land of Nubia, and his terror, it has reached the land of Kari. His name resounds in (6) all lands, because of the victories which his hands have achieved. The gold appears on the mountains at his name, as at the name of his father Hor, the lord of Baka, the well-beloved in the land of the south, as at the name of Hor in the land of Maama, the lord of Buhan (Bodn). (7) Thus is King Ramessu Miamun, the dispenser of life eternally and for ever, like his father the everlasting 8on-godL
'Then was the king in the city of Memphis to worship his fathers, the gods, and the lords of South and North Egypt, that they ... But grant him power and victory and a long duration of life of infinitely many (8) years. On one of these days it came to pass, that the king sat there on his great throne of gold, attired with the royal diadem, and with the ornament of the double plume, to consult about the countries from which the gold is obtained, and to consider the method and way of boring (9) wells on the roads, which are accursed for want of water, since he had heard that there was much gold existing in the land of Akita, but that the approach to it was accursed on account of the utter want of water. There were taken there some (10) gold-washers to the place where it was; but those who had gone thither had died of thirst on the road, together with the asses which were with them. They could not find what was required (11) for them to drink on their upward journey, unless it happened that the rain fell from heaven. So could no gold be obtained in this country, on account of the want of water  'Then take the king to his nobleman, who stood beside him: "Let the princes be called who are present. (12) I will take counsel with them about this land, as to what measures should be taken." As soon as they had been brought before the divine benefactor, they raised their hands to praise his name with speeches in [82] his honour and to pray before his beautiful countenance. And the king described to them the condition of this land, in order to take (13) their advice upon it, with the view of boring wells on the road. And they spake before the king: "Thou art like the son. Everything succeeds with thee. What thy heart desires, that comes to pass. When thou conceivest a wish in the night, it is accomplished as soon as the earth becomes light (again). We have hastened to thee to do what there is to do, for (14) great is the number of thy astonishing works, since thou hast appeared as king in the country. We heard nothing, we saw nothing, and yet what is there, it was done just as it is. All the sayings of thy mouth are like the words of Hormakhu. Thy tongue is a balance; thy lips are a standard measure (15) according to the just scales of the god Thut. Where is that hidden which thou didst not know? Where is the wise man who might be like thee. There is no place found, which thou hast not seen; there is no land which thou hast not trodden. Everything excellent found an entrance into thy ears since (16) thou wast an Adon of this land. Thou didst act with wisdom when thou didst still sit in the egg. In thy time of childhood that happened which thou saidst, for the welfare of the land. When thou grewest up to boyhood with the look of hair of youth, no memorial saw the light without thy command. (17) No business was carried out without thy knowledge. Thou wast raised to be an overseer (Rohir) of this land, when thou wast a youth and didst count ten full years. All buildings went forward under thy hand, and the laying of their foundation stones was carried out. When thou spakest to the water: Come upon the mountain, then appeared the rain (18) immediately at thy command. Thou art like the Sun-god. As the body of the Creator, so is that which he begets. Truly thou art the living likeness of Ea, the heir of thy father Tum of Heliopolis. Taste is on thy tongue, feeling is in thy heart. The place of thy tongue is the shrine of truth. The divinity sits on thy lips, and all thy words will be performed for ever. (19) What thy understanding has done is like the works of Ptah, the fashioner of the works of art. Thou art ever he whose intentions are all carried out, whose words are all fulfilled, thou our great lord and ruler! As regards the land of Khita, may a decision be made according to the counsel taken concerning it."
'Then spake the king's son of the miserable land of Kush, [83] (20) saying thus before the king: "(The land) is in this state. It is accursed for want of water since the time of Ra. People die of thirst in it. All former kings wished to bore wells in it, but they were not successful. (21) King Seti I. also did the same. He had a well bored 120 cubits deep in his time, but they abandoned it, for no water made its appearance. If then now thou thyself wouldest speak to thy father, the Nile-god Hapi, (22) the father of the gods: 'Let the water come up on the mountain,' he will do all that thou sayest, yea, indeed, all which thou hast designed will be accomplished before us, and not only according to hearsay, because thy fathers the gods love thee more than all kings (23) which have been since the time of Ra."
'Says the king to the princes: "If all is true that ye have spoken, and water has not been opened in that country since the time of the god, as ye have said, then I will bore a well there, to afford water perpetually, yea! that the well (24) may be under the command of the father Amon-Ra, the Theban god, and Hor, the lords of the land of Nubia, that their heart may be fixed in love. I will therefore appoint that it be called after [their name." And the princes] (25) praised their lord and entreated him, and fell prostrate before him (the king), and raised shouts of joy (26) to the heights of heaven.
'Then spake the king to a royal scribe [who was near him: Spare thyself and betake thyself to the] (27) road to the land of Khita. Let the second day of the month be the day on [which] thou shalt [carry out thy mission." The scribe did] (28) just as he was bidden. Behold, he assembled the people [which were skilful in boring, that they should work and form a well; which should furnish water to those who travelled] (30) the road to the land of Khita. Never was the like done since the earlier kings. [And of the water which streamed out brooks were formed, and] (31) fishermen from the islands in the neighbourhood of the lagoons of Natho enjoyed themselves, for they built [small boats and made use of the ] (32) as a rudder with the wind.
'Then there came the bearer of a letter from the king's son of the miserable land of Kush [about the well, to say to the king: "All has in fact been done] (33) that thy Holiness has spoken with his own mouth. There has appeared water out of it 12 cubits deep. There were 4 cubits in it .... the depth .... [84] The god has inclined his heart favourably through thy love. Never has such a thing happened [since the time of the god Ra]."
(35) [And the inhabitants of] Akita made joyful music on great drums (?) Those who had diseased eyes [washed themselves with the water and were healed. They all sang: (36) "Hail] to the king! The water which is in the depth was obedient to him. He hath opened the water on the [mountain.'' And they offered thanks] (37) to him through the king's son, because of his mission. That was more pleasant to [the heart of the king than all else. Thus then were] (38) his plans well carried out. Beautiful was the acknowledgment which [the inhabitants of the district] uttered. [A road was made from] (39) this well to the well of Ramses Miamun the conqueror [in the land ...].'

Already in the time of the eleventh dynasty we find dear traces of borings for water in the waste valleys of Hammamat. Twelve hundred years before the accession of king Ramses II., one of his ancestors, Sankh-ka-ra, had made four wells on the old road from Coptos to Qosseir, the remains of which can still be distinguished.¹¹⁴ Thus did the ancients anticipate the enterprises of our later generations, and execute works, the utility and importance of which are still recognised and valued by the travellers through the deserts of Africa in the present day.

From Ramses, the borer of wells, to Ramses the builder of temples and the founder of cities, is only a step. What he performed in this respect in the very commencement of his reign, the Pharaoh has himself narrated to us so explicitly, that it is almost impossible to forget it. Abydus was the first scene of his new erections, although we are incidentally informed that he had built two temple-gates in Thebes and Memphis [85] to the memory of his father, at the entrance to which the statues of Seti kept a watch of honour.

Concerning the city of Memphis, and its buildings erected by Ramses, we have detailed information from a conversation between Ramses II. and Ptah, the ancient god of the city and the great architect of the world. A stone has perpetuated this, and the curious reader may still at the present day listen to the words of the two, as inscribed near the second cataract.

On the memorial tablet of Ibsambul, which bears at its head the date of the 35th year, and the 13th of Tyhi, in the reign of Ramses II., we find first, in the conversation between the God and Ramses, very remarkable information on the relations between Egypt and Khita. The god begins his long address with the usual flatteries addressed to the king, from which I cite the following passage in a faithful translation. The god says:

'I have given thee strength and might and the power of thy and in all countries. Thou hast wounded the hearts of all peoples, which are placed under thy feet. When thou comest forth on each new day, the great kings of all nations lead to thee a captive people, to do homage to thee with their children. They are given into the power of thy strong arm, to do with them whatsoever pleases thee, King Ramses II. I have placed in all hearts reverence for thee.
'The lore of all peoples is turned towards thee. Thy manly courage is spread abroad over all the plains, and the fear of thee goes through the mountains. The kings tremble at the thought of thee, and thou art regarded as their established head. They come to thee with a prayer to entreat thy friendship. Thou allowest to lire whom thou wiliest: thou killest whom it pleases thee. The throne of all peoples is with thee.'

Some lines farther on is the passage which is of importance for us:

[86] 'The people of Khita are subjects of thy palace. I have placed it in their hearts to serve thee, while they humbly approach thy person with their productions and the booty in prisoners of their king. All their property is brought to thee. His eldest daughter stands forward at their head, to soften the heart of king Ramses II., a great inconceivable wonder. She herself knew not the impression which her beauty made on thy heart .Thy name is great and glorious for ever. Thou art the most complete example of strength and power. One is inconceivably great, who orders and does not obey. Since the times of the traditions of the gods, which are hidden in the house of the rolls of writing, from the times of the sun-god Ra down to thee, history had nothing to report about the Khita people, but that they had one heart and one soul with Egypt.'

The Pharaoh, moved by so much goodwill and kindness, does not want for an answer to his divine father. His reply is not less rich in images and ideas, which, thirty-two centuries before our day, furnish the tasteful expression of his thoughts. The king's answer touches especially on the most essential point of his gratitude towards the Memphian God, proved by the Ramses-buildings in the interior of the great temple-city of Memphis. We will not withhold from the eyes of the curious reader his statements on this subject, together with the accompanying introduction. He says, word for word:

'Thou hast committed to me what thou hast created. I do and I will do again all good for thee, so long as 1 shall be sole king, just as thou hast been. I have cared for the land, in order to create for thee a new Egypt, just as it existed in the old time. I have set up images of the gods, according to thy likeness, yea, according to their colour and form, which hold possession of Egypt according to their desire. They have been formed by the hand of the artist in the temples. Thy sanctuary in the town of Memphis was enlarged. It was beautified by long-enduring works, and by well-executed works in stone, which are adorned with gold and jewels.
[87] I have caused a court to be opened for thee on the north, with a splendid double-winged tower in Punt. Its gates are like the heavenly orb of light. The people offer their prayers there. I have built for thee a splendid sanctuary in the interior of the walled enclosure. Each god's image is in the unapproachable shrine, and remains in its exalted place. I have provided them with priests and prophets of the land of Egypt, with arable land and herds of cattle. The account of the property of the temple in all things amounts to millions. All thy great thirty years' feasts of jubilee are celebrated. Thus has everything which thou hast commanded me been carried out in rich abundance according to thy wish. There are oxen and calves without end; all their sacrificial meat is provided, to the number of hundreds of thousands; the smell of their &t reaches to heaven; the heavenly ones receive it. I cause the whole world to admire the completeness of the monuments which I have dedicated to thee. I brand with a hot iron the foreign peoples of the whole earth with thy name. They belong to thy person for evermore. Thou hast in truth created them.'

According to this, Ramses had cared in a splendid manner for the temple of Ptah in Memphis. He had raised to him the whole northern court, together with the propylaea belonging to it; a temple built within the surrounding wall, numerous remains of which have lately been discovered near the Arab village of Qasrieh. He had erected images of the gods, and had provided the necessary means for the holy service of the great Architect. There is no dearth of statues of Ramses II. and the members of his family. The most celebrated and most often visited is the great torso of Ramses, the property of the English nation, which, lying in a trench among the ruins of the very celebrated temple of Ptah near the present Arab village of Mitrahenne, in vain awaits its re-erection. Besides this, the smaller statues of the king, and of his wife and daughters, have been [88] torn away from the surface of the grove of palm trees at the same place. The wall of the temple at Abydus has already made us acquainted with the statues of king Seti. The king also raised in Memphis other temples and buildings to his name. The chief master of the house of Pharaoh and the leader of the Mazai (policemen), Hi, was also 'administrator of a Ramses-temple in K-neb-am, and the administrator of the sun-temple of Ramessu-Miamun in the southern part of Memphis.'¹¹⁵ For the building of the last 'the people,' and the 'red-skins,' (Apuirui, not Hebrews but Erythraeans)¹¹⁶ were doomed to the laborious task of dragging over the heavy blocks of stone out of the quarries of the Trojan range of mountains on the other side of the river. These people were likewise employed as drawers of stone for the building of the great propylon called 'Meriu-ma,' which Ramses erected at the temple of Ptah, and for which a certain Ameneman had undertaken the office of architect and chief of the policemen. The family of Ameneman plays too great a part in the Egyptian monumental history of this period, to be passed over in silence. We can all the less do so, as the several members of the genealogical tree, which we lay before our readers as a separate table,¹¹⁷ were invested with the most important offices in the land of [89] the Pharaohs, and Ameneman himself was probably the immediate oppressor placed by Ramses II. over the children of Israel in Egypt. The genealogical tree has been compiled on the authority of a pictured family group, which is preserved in the collection of antiquities at Naples, a precious and rare memorial of ancient times.

Like Abydus and Memphis, so also the old capital of the empire, Thebes, was the object of the especial care of Ramses II. New temples were erected on both sides of the river, or those which already existed were enlarged. In the great sanctuary of Ape (Karnak), the king first completed the mighty hall of Seti I., by the erection of the fifty-four columns which were wanting on the south side, and of a stone wall to surround the whole temple on the east as far as the wall of the Hall of Columns just mentioned. In Luqsor the temple of Amon, founded but not finished by Amenhotep IV., was completed, the two splendid propylaea were placed before it, and two beautiful obelisks¹¹⁸ were erected beside the giant sitting statues of the king in granite, as guards of honour at the middle gate. On the western side, the temple of the dead built by Seti I. at Old Qurnah was finished, and on the south-western side of it, as a special temple of victory, the so-called 'Ramesseum' was dedicated to the God Amon. Here stood also the largest statues of the king, which, according to tradition, Cambyses, on his visit to Thebes, threw down from their position. [90] We should be forced to overstep the limits of this work, were we even to attempt to describe the several parts of all these remarkable buildings, or to call attention to the remains of all the other edifices which still exist in Thebes, although only in their last ruins, and bear on their face the name of the great Sesostris. We should have to write a history of the monuments and not a history of the Pharaohs.

We must likewise necessarily abstain from the attempt to mention even the names and situations of the buildings erected by the same king in the other parts of Egypt, whether we know them by trustworthy documentary records, or from the last remnants of them which still exist. The name of Ramses II. is thus everywhere to be found, and there appears from this point of view to be truth in his assertion, that 'he made Egypt anew.' (See above, p. 86.)

In Nubia, Ramses must be especially designated as a founder of temples and towns 'to his name,' for the works of Ramses put life into many formerly desert spots in these lonely regions of rocks. 'The sun-town,' Pira, near Dirr, the Amon-town, Piamon near Wady Sebua, the Ptah-town, Pi-Ptah, near Gerf-Hussein, are works of Ramses, which still to the present day form points of attraction much visited by curious travellers, although the original plan of the buildings erected in the heart of the rocky mountain range seems to have been imperfectly carried out. But what shall we say, on the other hand, of the rock-temple of Ibsambul, the wonderful facade of which surpasses everything which our imagination can conceive of [91] grandeur in a human work? How small, how insignificant appear, in comparison with it, the pretty erections of our day, or the brick boxes full of windows, which serve for private use, or for public purposes, in the midst of our populous districts, and which have been erected with the help of steam and the most complete appliances of machinery! There in Nubia, on a solitary wall of rock, removed from the dwellings of men, in hoary antiquity a temple was hewn to the great gods of the land of Egypt, Amon of Thebes, Ptah of Memphis, Hormakhu of Heliopolis, and, as a fourth united with these, the new god Ramessu-Miamun hewn as if by enchantment for this is the proper word, so bold, so powerful, so exceeding all human measure, as if giants had turned the bare rocks into a living work of art! Standing before this work, achieved by the hands of men, the thoughtful child of our modem age first feels the greatness of antiquity in its all-powerful might. It was not clever calculation, not profit, nor utility, but the most elevated feeling of gratitude to God, that caused such a work to be executed; a work worthy of and fit for the immortal, inconceivable, almighty Deity, to whom the ancients dedicated it in high veneration for the Everlasting and the Incomprehensible.

The name of the place, as now expressed in the tongue of the Arabs, is Abu Simbel, that is 'father of the sickle.' None of the sitting figures, which stand out from the wall of rock like giant forms of the olden time, and with a disdainful smile upon their lips look down upon the pigmy race at their feet, carries any emblem in the hand, which can in the least [92] degree be compared to a sickle. More correct, because there is a foundation for it, is the designation Ibsambul, for it has a direct relation to the ancient name Psampolis, which in old Greek times travellers gave to this wonderful place; that is, the city (polis) of Fsam. This last designation, again, came from the old Egyptian name of the place, Pimases or Pimas, Pimsa, from which the Greeks formed the more euphonious name of Psampolis.

We must refrain from entering the temple, to admire the wall-pictures in the freshest colours, and to see here the Khita, there the Libyans, here the negroes, there the Phoenicians, falling beneath the sword of Ramessu 'the god.' We must deny ourselves the pleasure of wandering through the halls of the gods, and reading the inscriptions on the walls and pillars, and on the enormous memorial tablets. After long wanderings, we step out of the darkness of the primeval cave back into the bright light of day, silent, our thoughts turned within, confounded and almost overpowered by the indescribable impression of our own helplessness. We have experienced, in the gigantic tomb of a time long passed away, some portion of that nameless feeling, which moved our forefathers of old in their inmost being, at the sight of the most sublime of all dwellings made for the gods, the wonderful rock temple of Ibsambul.

Who was the architect? who conceived the thought? who laid down the plan? who carried it out? who were the artists that executed these gigantic works? On such questions history keeps a deep silence.

[93] But whoever the forgotten author of such a building may have been, he was a man full of enthusiasm, whose heart guided his hand, who sought not vain Mammon as his reward, but the eternal duration of his immortal and incomparable work.

Although Ramses raised his monuments in Thebes, and went up to the old capital of the empire to celebrate the festival of Amon; although he held public courts in Memphis, to take counsel about the gold-fields in the Nubian country; although he visited Abydus, to see the tombs of the kings and the temple of the dead built by his father; not to mention Heliopolis, in which he dedicated a temple and obelisks to the sun-god;¹¹⁹ yet neither these nor other cities formed his permanent abode. On the eastern frontier of Egypt, to the low-lands of the Delta, in Zoan-Tanis, was the proper royal residence of the Pharaoh.

We have often mentioned this city, and have come to understand its important position. Connected with the sea, being situated on the then broad and navigable Tanitic arm of the Nile, it commanded also the entrance [94] of the great road, covered by 'Khetams,' or fortresses, which led to Palestine either in a north-easterly direction through Pelusium, or in an easterly direction through Migdol, on the royal road. Zoan-Tanis was, in the proper sense of the word, the key of Egypt. Impressed with the importance of the position of this 'great city,' Ramessu transferred his court to Zoan, strengthened its fortifications, and founded a new temple-city, the holy places of which were dedicated to the great gods of the country, Amon, Ptah, and Hormakhu, with whom as a fourth he associated the foreign Baal-Sutekh. With the newly established divinities, the person of the king was united both by his effigy and his names, and there appeared in due order an Amon of Ramessu, a Ptah, a Hormakhu, and finally a Sutekh, of the same Pharaoh. The new temple-city had a superabundance of statues and obelisks, memorial stones, and other works. The most wonderful memorial must ever continue to be the stone, which has already been mentioned, with the date of the year 400 of king Nub.¹²⁰ The translation of it, so far as it belongs to the historical scope of this work, runs thus:

'His Majesty (king Ramessu II.) gave orders to raise a great memorial of granite (of Syene) to the exalted name of his father, animated by the desire to uphold thereby the name of his (royal) father and of his forefathers.
'May the remembrance of king Mineptah Seti II. remain, and endure for ever, to-day and every day.
'In the year 400, the month Mosori, the 4th day, of king Set 'Apehuti-Nub, the friend of the god Hormakhu, may he live [95] for ever and ever! When there had come (to this city) the hereditary lord and the chief governor of the city, the fan-bearer on the right of the king, the leader of the foreign legions and captain of the foreigners, the constable of the fortress of Khetarn (the Etham of Scripture) of Zal, the leader of the Mami (police), the royal scribe, the chief master of the horse, the high priest of the Ram-god in Mendes, the high priest of the god Sutekh and the praying-priest of the goddess Bute Aptani, the chief of the prophets of all the gods, Seti, the son of the hereditary prince, the commander of the foreign legions, the captain of the foreigners, the constable of Khetam in Zal, the royal scribe and master of the horse, Pira Messu, the child of the lady and priestess of the Sun-god Ra, Thaa, then spake he thus: "Hail to thee. Set, son of Nnb, thou strong one, in the holy ship, etc.; grant me a fortunate existence, that I may serve thee, and grant me to remain [in thy house for evermore]."'

The plain covered with the ruins resembles a vast charnel-house, on which the dead remnants of stones, memorials of Ramses the Great, lie scattered broadcast, broken, and worn, like the mouldering bones of generations slain long ago. From several inscriptions (not leas than a dozen), on the obelisks and fragments of ruins at Tanis, we derive incidentally much important information of an historical and mythological character. One of these describes the king as

'Warrior (mohar) of the goddess Antha ( Anaftis), Bull of the god Sutekh (Baal).'

Another calls him 'the bull in the land of Buten' (sic); another again boasts of him, that he has made a great slaughter among the Shasu Arabs. Inscriptions on pillars say that 'he has prepared festivals for the temples of the god Sutekh,' that 'he has conquered Kush and led into captivity the people of the Shasu;' there, where he opened a road, he has taken them for [96] his possession.' For the knowledge of these and similar records, which throw light on the history of the king and on the importance of Tanis, science is indebted to the researches of E. de Rouge.¹²¹

The hieratic rolls of papyrus, which have outlived the ravages of time, with one voice designate the newly founded temple-city (for the kings of the 18th dynasty had quite abandoned the old Zoan) as the central point of the court history of Egypt. Here resided the scribes, who in their letters have left behind for us the manifold information which the life at the court, the ordinances of the king and of the chief officials, and their relations with their families in the most distant parts of the country, required them to give without reserve. Zoan, or as the place is henceforth called, Pi-Eamessu, 'the city of Ramses,' became henceforward the especial capital of the empire.

It will be useful to the reader to hear in what manner an Egyptian letter-writer described the importance of this town on the occasion of his visit to it:¹²²

'So I arrived in the city of Ramses-Miamun, and I have found it excellent, for nothing can compare with it on the Theban land and soil. (Here is the seat) of the court.¹²³ It is pleasant to live [97] in. Its fields are full of good things, and life passes in constant plenty and abundance. Its canals are rich in fish, its lakes swarm with birds, its meadows are green with vegetables, there is no end of the lentils; melons with a taste like honey grow in the irrigated fields. Its barns are full of wheat and durra, and reach as high as heaven. Onions and sesame are in the enclosures, and the apple-tree blooms (?). The vine, the almond-tree, and the fig-tree grow in the gardens. Sweet is their wine for the inhabitants of Kemi. They mix it with honey. The red fish is in the lotus-canal, the Borian-fish in the ponds, many kinds of Bori-fish, besides carp and pike,¹²⁴ in the canal of Pu-harotha; fat fish and Khipti-pennu fish are in the pools of the inundation, the Hauaz-fish in the full mouth of the Nile, near the 'city of the conqueror' (Tanis). The city-canal Pshenhor produces salt, the lake region of Pahir natron. Their sea-ships enter the harbour, plenty and abundance is perpetual in it. He rejoices who has settled there. My information is no jest. The common people, as well as the higher classes, say, "Come hither! let us celebrate to him his heavenly and his earthly feasts.'' The inhabitants of the reedy lake (Thufi) arrived with lilies, those of Pahensor with papyrus flowers. Fruits from the nurseries, flowers from the gardens, birds from the ponds, are dedicated to him. Those who dwell near the sea came with fish, and the inhabitants of their lakes honoured him. The youths of the "Conqueror's city" were perpetually clad in festive attire. Fine oil was on their heads of fresh curled hair. They stood at their doors, their hands laden with branches and flowers from Pahathor, and with garlands from Pahir, on the day of the entry of king Ramessu-Miamun, the god of war Monthu upon earth, in the early morning of the monthly feast of Kihith (that is, on the 1st of Khoiakh). All people were assembled, neighbour with neighbour, to bring forward their complaints.
[98] 'Delicious was the wine for the inhabitants of the ''Conqueror's city.'' Their cider was like ...., their sherbets were like almonds mixed with honey. There was beer from Kati (Galilee) in the harbour, wine in the gardens, fine oil at the lake Sagabi, garlands in the apple-orchards. The sweet song of women resounded to the tunes of Memphis. So they sat there with joyful heart, or walked about without ceasing. King Ramessu-Mia-mun, he was the god they celebrated.'¹²⁵

In spite of the unexplained names of the fishes and plants, the scribe could hardly have given a clearer or livelier account of the impression made on his susceptible mind by the new city of Ramses in its festal garments on the day of the entry of Pharaoh. We may suppose that many a Hebrew, perhaps Moses himself, jostled the Egyptian scribe in his wandering through the gaily dressed streets of the temple-city.

And this city of Ramses is the very same which is named in Holy Scripture as one of the two places in which Pharaoh had built for him 'arei miskenoth,' 'treasure cities,' as the translators understand it.¹²⁶ It would be better, having regard to the actual Egyptian word 'meskct,' 'meskenet,' 'temple, holy place' (as, for example, king Darius designates his temple erected in the great Oasis to the Theban Anion) to translate it 'temple-cities.' The new Pharaoh, 'who knew not [99] Joseph,' who adorned the city of Ramses, the capital of the Tanitic nome, and the city of Pithom, the capital of what was afterwards the Sethroitic nome, with temple-cities, is no other, can be no other than Ramessu II., of whose buildings at Zoan the monuments and the papyrus-rolls speak in complete agreement. And although, as it happens, Fitum is not named as a city in which Ramses erected new temples to the local divinities, the fact is all the more certain, that Zoan contained a new city of Ramses, the great temple-district of the newly-founded sanctuaries of the above-named gods. Ramessu is the Pharaoh of the oppression, and the father of that unnamed princess, who found the child Moses exposed in the bulrushes on the bank of the river.

While the fact, that the Pharaoh we have named was the founder of the city of Ramses, is so strongly demonstrated by the evidence of the Egyptian records both on stone and papyrus, that only want of intelligence and mental blindness can deny it, the inscriptions do not mention one syllable about the Israelites. We must suppose that the captives were included in the general name of foreigners, of whom the documents make such frequent mention. The hope, however, is not completely excluded, that some hidden papyrus may still give us information about them, as unexpected as it would be welcome.

We must again remark, and insist with strong emphasis on the fact, that from this time, and in the future history of the empire, the town of Zoan-Tanis is of great importance. On the wide plains before Zoan, [100] the hosts of the warriors were mustered to be exercised in the manoeuvres of battle; here the chariots of war rolled by with their stamping pairs of horses; the sea-going ships and their crews came to land at the harbours on the broad river. From this place Thutmes III. had started¹²⁷ in his war against Western Asia; it was to Tanis that Ramses II. had directed his return from Thebes;¹²⁸ here he had received the embassy of peace from the king of Khita;¹²⁹ and from hence, as we shall presently have to relate, Moses led the Hebrews out of the land of bondage to the land of promise, to give his people the milk and honey of the Holy Land, in exchange for the flesh-pots of Egypt.

The numbers of prisoners who were transplanted to the Nile valley from foreign countries, in the campaigns of the Egyptians, and from whose best representatives, as the inscriptions expressly state, the gaps in the native population, caused by war and sickness, were filled up according to ancient usage, must under Ramses Sesostris have reached an unprecedented height. If we add to these the descendants of the foreigners transplanted to Egypt after former wars, a total number is reached, which certainly amounted to a third, and probably still more, of all the families of Egypt. So far as the contemporary information will allow us to judge, it was the custom to place the northern groups in the south, and the southern people in the north, in order by this prudent measure to prevent any dangerous combination of neighbours related in blood.

[101] The foreigners were employed in various services, according to their qualities and capacity. Those most active, and most experienced in war, were formed into foreign legions, the commanders of which, for the most part Egyptians, bore the name of Hir-pit ('captain of the foreigners'). Others, experienced in sea life, were enrolled in the Egyptian fleet. Others again were assigned to the service of the royal palace or of the temples or of distinguished personages, while no less a number were employed on the buildings, in the quarries, or in the mines. The king's name was branded upon them with a hot iron, to prevent their flight, and to facilitate their recapture. On the whole, the prisoners were treated with a certain mildness, yet their captivity could not be regarded otherwise than as slavery in our sense of the word.

The influx of Semite-Asiatic hostages and prisoners exercised a continually increasing influence on religion, manners, and language. The Egyptian language was enriched (we might almost say, for our profit) with foreign expressions, often indeed from mere whim, but more often for good reasons, in order properly to designate unknown objects by their native names. The letters and documents of the time of the Ramessids are full of Semitic words thus introduced, and in this re-elect they are scarcely less affected than the German language now, the strength and beauty of which are so much degraded by the borrowing of outlandish words. The learned court-scribes, especially, seem to have felt a sentimental craving for the use of foreign words without any necessity, in order to give themselves in the [102] eyes of the public an air of learned culture. The Egyptian expressions for designating a 'hero' were supplanted by the words Mohar, or Ariel, borrowed from the Semitic; the Egyptian Nofer, 'a young man,' was changed for the Semitic name Na'ara-na; the army was in the same way called Zeba, and many other incongruous expressions were adopted.

The young Egyptian world, satiated with the traditions of the past thousands of years which had now vanished away, found pleasure in the fresh and lively vigour of the Semitic spirit, to which a different and more attractive view of the universe gave an onward impulse. Besides all this, the long campaigns in foreign countries had paralysed the religious development in the native schools of the priests. The caste of the holy fathers itself counted many discontented persons in its ranks, who preferred the life abroad, and the adventures of a campaign, to the quiet contemplative existence within the temple walls; although the old teachers had used their utmost endeavours to put a ban upon the disinclination to scientific occupation, by epistolary warnings and even threatenings, some of which have been preserved to the present day. Among the young poets and historians within the temple walls there was awakened a desire hitherto unknown to set forth the warlike deeds of the Egyptian heroes in measured rhythm. It is to this impulse that we owe the heroic poem of the priest Pentaur, the beauty of which seems to have enchanted even the old masters of the language. Much mediocrity, on the other hand, was mingled with all this, and was for this reason alone rejected and con- [103] demned by the judgment of the cultivated priests. In order to give the reader a specimen of the views of the masters in this respect, we will lay before them the reply of one of them to his former pupil, who, as a scribe of Pharaoh, entertained the belief that, while portraying his hero in an artificial and confused composition, he had achieved a masterpiece. The answer of the priestly teacher is as biting and sharp, as it is scrupulously respectful. In placing a literal translation of the whole piece before my readers, I have endeavoured to represent the words borrowed from the Semitic by the French expressions answering to them. The reader of the English translation will thus best form an idea of the impression which the original writing must have made on an admirer of the pure language of ancient Egypt, free from foreign words, at the epoch of B.C. 1300.

The whole contents of this letter were first made available for science, in the year 1866, by the united labour of two scholars, one French and the other English, both men of the highest merit in the pursuit of ancient Egyptian researches. We must express our regret that the judgment we formerly pronounced on the result of the labour of these two colleagues was such as to arouse much ill-feeling. Although we gave full praise to the rich fullness of the explanations of words in the old language which had been till then unknown or wrongly interpreted, we had the frankness to remark upon the less successful parts in the translation referred to, more particularly as to the conception of the meaning which forms the foundation of the whole letter. The learned world may now examine the translation I [104] offer, and compare it with the translation of those scholars, and after a scrupulous and minute examination may form their own judgment on the justice of our former assertions. We of course allow for the new advances which the science has made since the appearance of that remarkable work, and of which we have availed ourselves in our own translation. But even after making allowance for these acquisitions towards the better understanding of this letter of the time of Ramses II., which is so remarkable in an historical sense, we can in no respect withdraw our former judgment, for in our opinion it is the simple truth, and we believe it to be the part of an honourable man under all circumstances to contend for the truth. And in having the course to bear witness to this truth, according to the best of my knowledge and my conscience, without consideration for persons and circumstances, I believed that I was doing service, not to myself, but to science alone.

'Thy piece of writing has too much glare. It is a cargo of high flown phrases, the meaning of which may be the reward of those who seek for it; a cargo which thou hast laden at thy pleasure. I describe a champion, so sayest thou repeatedly; we on the other hand say, Is there truth in thy portraiture.
'Set out! examine thy yoke, the horses gallop like foxes; their eye is reddened; they are like the hurricane, when it bursts forth. Put on the armour! seize the bow! We will admire the deeds of thy hand.
'I will portray for thee the likeness of a champion; I will let thee know what he does. Thou hast not gone to the land of Khita, neither hast thou beheld the land of Aupa. The appearance of Khatuma (Adama?) thou knowest not. Likewise the land of Igad'ai, what is it like? The Zor of Sosostris and the city of Khilibu (Haleb) is on none of its sides. How is its ford? Thou hast not taken thy road to Kadesh and Tubikhi, [105] neither hast thou gone to the Shasu with numerous foreign soldiers, neither hast thou trodden the way to the Magar (Migron), where the heaven is darkened in the daytime. It is planted with maple-trees, oaks, and acacias, which reach up to heaven; full of beasts, hears and lions; and surrounded by Shasu in all directions. Thou hast not gone up to the mountain of Shaua (Shawah), neither hast thou trodden it; there thy hands hold fast to the [rim] of thy chariot; a jerk has shaken thy horses in drawing it. I pray thee, let us go to the city of (Hi-1) Birotha. Thou must hasten to its ascent, after thou hast passed over its ford, in front of it.
'Do thou explain the relish for the champion! Thy chariot lies there [before] thee; thy [strength] has fallen lame; thou treadest the backward path at eventide. All thy limbs are ground small. Thy [bones] are broken to pieces. Sweet is the [sleep]. Thou awakest. There has been a time for the thief in this unfortunate night. Thou wast alone, in the belief that the brother would not come to the brother. Some grooms entered into the stable; the horse kicks out, the thief goes back in the night; thy clothes are stolen. Thy groom wakes up in the night, he sees what has happened to him, he takes what is left, ho goes to the evil doers, ho mixes himself up with the tribes of the Shasu. He acts as if he were an Amu. The enemies come, they [feel about] for the robber. He is discovered, and is immovable from terror. Thou wakest, thou findest no trace of them, for they have carried off thy property.
'Become (again) a champion who is fully accoutred. Let thy ear be full of that which I will relate to thee besides.
'The town 'Hidden,' such is the meaning of its name Kapuna, what is its state? Its goddess (we will speech of) at another time. Thou hast not visited it. Be good enough to look out for Birotha ( Berrtus), Zidima (Sidon), and Zareptha (Sarepta). Where are the fords of the land of Nazana? The land of Authu (Avathus), what is its state. They speak of another city in the sea, Zor (Tyrus), the lake is her name. The drinking water is brought to her in boats. She is richer in fishes than in sand. I tell thee of something else. Dangerous is it to enter into Zar'au-na (Zaroah).¹³⁰ Thou wilt say, [106] it is burning with a very painful sting! Champion, come! look forwards on the way to the K'aikana. Where is the road of 'Aksapu (Achsib). Towards no city. Pray look at the mountain of User. How is its crest? Where is the mountain of Ikama? Who can surmount it? Champion, whither must you take a journey to the city of Huzor (Hazor)? How is its ford? Let me (choose) the road to Hamatha (Hamath), Dagana (Beth-Dagon), and Dagal-ael (Migdal-El?). Here is the place where all champions meet. Be good enough to spy out its road, cast a look on I'ana (Ijon). When one goes to Adamin (Adumim), to what is one opposite? Do not draw back, but instruct us! Guide us! that we may know, thou leader!
'I will name to thee other cities besides these. Thou hast not gone to the land of Takhis, to Kafir-Marlena, Thamnah (Thimnah), Kadesh (Kedes), Dapur (Tabor), Azai, Haimemma (Horonaim), nor hast thou beheld Qairtha-Anbu (Kiriath-eneb) near Bitha-Thupail (Tophel), nor dost thou know Adulma (Adullam), Zidiputha (Jotapata), nor dost thou know any better the name of Khaanroza, in the land of Aupa, the bull on its frontiers. Here is the place, where all the mighty warriors are seen. Be good enough to look and see how Sina is situated, and tell me about Rehobu. Describe Bitha-Sheal (Bethshean), and Tharqa-ael. The ford of Jirduna (Jordan), how is it crossed? Teach me to know the passage in order to enter into the city of Makitha (Megiddo), which lies in front of it. Verily thou art a champion, well skilled in the work of the strong hand. Pray, is there found a champion like thee, to place at the head of the army, or a seigneur, who can beat thee in shooting?
'Drive along the edge of the precipice, on the slippery height, over a depth of 2,000 cubits, full of rocks and boulders. Thou takest thy way back in a zigzag, thou bearest thy bow, thou takest the iron in thy left hand. Thou lettest the old men see, if their eyes are good, how, worn out with fatigue, thou supportest thyself with thy hand. II est perdu, le chameau, le champion. Eh bien. Make to thyself a name among the champions and the knights of the land of Egypt. Let thy name be like that of Qazailoni,¹³¹ [107] the lord of Asel, because he discovered lions in the interior of the balsam-forest of Baka, at the narrow passes, which are rendered dangerous by the Shasu, who lie in ambush among the trees. They measured 11 cubits by 5 cubits. Their nose reached to the soles of their feet. Of a grim appearance, without softness, they ceased not for caresses. Thou art alone, no stronger one is with thee, no arm^e is behind thee, thou findest no lion de dieu (ariel),¹³² who prepares the way for thee, and gives thee counsel on the road before thee. Thou knowest not the road. The hair of thy head stands on end; it bristles up. Thy soul is given into thy hands. Thy path is full of rocks and boulders, there is no way out near, it is overgrown with thorns and thistles, with creepers and wolf's-foot. Abysses are on one side of thee, the mountain and the wall of rock on the other. Thou drivest in against it. The chariot jumps, on which thou art. Thou art troubled to hold up thy horses. If it falls into the abyss, the pole drags thee down too. Thy creatures are pulled away. They fall down. Thou shacklest the horse, because the pole is broken on the path of the narrow pass. Not knowing how to bind it up, thou understandest not how it is to be repaired. The essieu is left on the spot, as the load is too heavy for the horses. Thy courage has evaporated. Thou beginnest to run. The heaven is cloudless. Thou art thirsty; the enemy is behind thee; a trembling seizes thee; a twig of thorny acacia worries thee; thou thrustest it aside; the horse is scratched, till at length thou endest rest.
'Explain thou (to me) thy relish for the champion!
'Thou comest into Jopu (Joppa). Thou findest the date-tree in full bloom in its time. Thou openest wide the hole of thy mouth, in order to eat. Thou findest that the maid who keeps the garden is fair. She does whatever thou wantest of her. She yields [108] to thee the skin of her bosom. Thou art recognised, thou art brought to trial, and owest thy preservation to the champion. Thy girdle of the finest stuff, thou payest it as the price for a bad rag.¹³³ Thou sleepest every evening with a rug of fur over thee. Thou sleepest a deep sleep, for thou art weary. A thief takes thy bow and thy sword from thy side; thy quiver and thy armour are cut to pieces in the darkness; thy pair of horses run away. The groom takes his course over a slippery path, which rises before him. Ho breaks thy chariot in pieces; he follows thy foot-tracks. [He finds] thy equipments, which had fallen on the ground, and had sunk into the sand] it becomes again (i.e., leaving only) an empty place. 'Prayer does not avail thee; even when thy mouth says, "Give food in addition to water, that I may reach my goal in safety:" they are deaf, and will not hear. They say not yes to thy words. The iron-workers enter into the smithy; they rummage in the workshops of the carpenters; the handicraftsmen and saddlers are at hand; they do whatever thou requirest. They put together thy chariot; they put aside the parts of it that are made useless; thy spokes are of facionne quite new; thy wheels are put on, they put the courroies on the axles, and on the hinder part; they splice thy yoke, they put on the box of thy chariot; the [workmen] in iron forge them; they put the ring that is wanting on thy whip, they replace the lanieres upon it.
'Thou goest quickly onward to fight on the battle-field, to do the works of a strong hand and of firm courage.
'Before I wrote 1 sought me out a champion^ who knows his power (lit. hand), and leads the jeunessey a chief in the nome, [who goes forward] even to the end of the world.
'Answer me not, "That is good, this is bad; "repeat not to me your opinion. Come, I will tell thee all which lies before thee, at the end of thy journey.
'I begin for thee with the city of Sesostiis. Thou hast not set foot in it by force. Thou hast not eaten the fish in the brook. .... Thou hast not washed thyself in it. With thy permission I will remind thee of Hazina; where are its fortifications ] Come, [109] I pray thee, to Uti, the strong fortress of Sesostris User-maa-ra, to Sabaq-Ael and Ab-saqabn. I will inform thee of the position of Aini, the customs of which thon knowest not. Nakhai and Rehoburotha thou hast not seen, since thou wast born, champion! Rapih (Kaphia) is widely extended. What is its wall like? It extends for a mile in the direction of Qazatha (Gaza).
'Answer quickly. That which I have said is my idea of a champion in reply to thee. I let the people keep away from thy name, I wish them a seigneur. If thou art angry at the speech which I have uttered to thee, yet I know how to estimate thy heart in every way. A father chastises, but he knows the right measure a hundred thousand times. I know thee. To put on armour is really beyond thy ability. No man, whose hand and courage is warlike, makes himself famous in my esteem. I am open and clear, like the spring-water of the god Monthu. It is very unimportant what flows over thy tongue, for thy compositions are very confused. Thou comest to me in a covering of misrepresentations, with a cargo of blunders. Thou tearest the words to tatters, just as it comes into thy mind. Thou dost not take pains to find out their force for thyself. If thou rushest wildly forward, thou wilt not succeed. What comparison is there between one who does not know the goal that he wishes to reach, and one who reaches it? Now, what is he like? I have not gone back, but I have reached (my goal). Soften thy heart, let thy heart be cheerful; may the way to eat cause thee no trouble.
'I have struck out for thee the end of thy composition, and I return to thee thy descriptions. What thy words contain, that is altogether on my tongue, it has remained on my lips. It is a confused medley, when one hears it; an uneducated person could not understand it. It is like a man from the lowlands speaking with a man from Elephantine. But since thou art the scribe of Pharaoh, thou resemblest the water for the land, that it may become fertile. Take my meaning kindly, and do not say, "Thou hast made my name to stink before all other men.'' Understand me as having wished to impart to thee the true position of a champion, in doing which I have visited for thee every foreign people, and placed before thee in a general view the countries, and (every) city according to its special character. Acquaint us kindly, that thou so understandest it. If thou findest that the remarks upon thy work are apposite, thou wilt be for as like the famous Uah.'

[110] Ramses II. enjoyed a long reign. The monuments expressly testify to a rule of sixty-seven years, of which probably more than half must be assigned to his joint reign with his father. His thirty-years' jubilee as (sole?) Pharaoh was the occasion for great festivities throughout the whole country, of which we have frequent mention in the inscriptions at Silsilis, El Kab, Bigeh, Sehel, and even upon several scarabaei. The prince and high priest of Ptah of Memphis, Khamus, travelled through the principal cities of the land with this object, in order to make the necessary preparations, through the governors, for celebrating this great feast of joy in honour of his father in a proper manner.

The return of this festival also seems to have been reckoned according to a fixed cycle of years, perhaps when the lunar and solar years coincided¹³⁴ at short intervals of three or four years, in the same manner as the festivals. In the 30th year Khamus celebrated the feast under his own superintendence, according to usage and prescription, in Bigeh and in Silsilis, where at that time Khai was governor of the district, while at El Kab the governor Ta conducted the festivities. The repetition of the succeeding jubilees took place the second in the 34th year, the third in the 37th year, and the fourth in the 40th year, of the reign of Ramses II.

Great in war, and active in the works of peace, Ramses seems also to have enjoyed the richest blessings of heaven in his family life. The outer wall of the front of the temple  of Abydus gives us the pictures [111] and the names (only partially preserved) of 119 children (59 sons and 60 daughters); which gives ground for supposing a great number of concubines, besides his lawful wives, already known to us, namely, his favourite Tsenofer, the mother of Khamus, the queen Nofer-ari, Mienmut, and the daughter of the king of Khita.

Among his sons, Khamus held a fond place in his father's heart. He was high priest of Ptah in Memphis, and in that character did his best to restore the decayed worship of the holy Apis-bulls, which were regarded as the living type of Ptah-Sokari, and to invest it with the greatest splendour! His buildings in Memphis, and in the so-called Serapeum, the burial place of the holy bulls, are celebrated by inscriptions as splendid works of the age, and their author is overwhelmed with praises. According to all that the monuments tell us about Khamus, in words more or less clear, the king's son seems to have been a learned and pious prince, who devoted himself especially to the holy service of the deity, and who remained in the temple of Ptah at Memphis, keeping himself more estranged from state affairs than was altogether pleasing to his royal father.

The elder sons, including Khamus, died during the long reign of their father. The fourteenth in the long list of children, by name Mineptah, 'the friend of Ptah,' was chosen by destiny to mount at last the throne of the Pharaohs. He had already taken part in the affairs of government during the lifetime of his aged father, and in this capacity he appears on the monuments of Ramses II., by the side of his royal parent.

Of the daughters of the king, the monuments name, [112] during the lifetime of the Pharaoh, as real queens and wives of Egyptian kings (perhaps sub-kings or brothers), his favourite daughter, called by the Semitic name of Bint-antha, 'the daughter of Anaitis,' and Meri-amon, and Neb-taui. A much younger sister of the name of Meri deserves to be mentioned, since her name reminds us of the Princess Merris (also called Thermuthis), according to the Jewish tradition,¹³⁵ who found the child Moses on the bank of the stream, when she went to bathe. Is it by accident, or by divine providence, that in the reign of Ramses III., about 100 years after the death of his ancestor, the great Sesostris, a place is mentioned in Middle Egypt, which bears the name of the great Jewish legislator? It is called T-en-Mosh, 'the island of Moses' or 'the river-bank of Moses.' It lay on the eastern side of the river, near the city of the heretic king Khu-n-aten.¹³⁶ The place still existed in the time of the Romans; those who describe Egypt at that time designate it with a mistaken apprehension of its true meaning, as Musai, or Muson, as if it had some connection with the Greek Muses.

The list of contemporaries during the long reign of the king, about whom the monuments furnish us with information, is almost innumerable. It were a
labour which would repay the cost, to collect together their names and families, so as to form a general view of their generations under Ramses II. Among them, that Bekenkhonsu occupied a distinguished place, upon whose [113] statue (in Munich) the following notice of his career is handed down to the latest generations:

'(1) The hereditary lord and first prophet of Amon Beken-khonsu thus speaks: I have been truthful and virtuous towards my lords. I undertook with pleasure that which my god taught me. I walked in his ways. I performed the deeds of virtue within his temple. I was a great architect in the town of Amon, my heart being filled with good works for my lord.
'O ye men, all of you altogether, of reflecting mind, (2) ye who remain now upon the earth, and ye who will come after me for thousands and later thousands of years, according to your age and frailty, whose heart is possessed by the knowledge of virtue, I give you to know what services I performed on earth, in that office which was my lot from my birth.
'I was for four years a very little child. For twelve years (3) I was a boy. I was the superintendent of the office for the sustenance of the king Mineptah Seti. I was a priest of Amon for four years. I was a holy father of Amon for twelve years. I was third prophet of Amon for sixteen years. I was second prophet of Amon for twelve years. He (the king) rewarded me, and distinguished me because of my deserts. He named me as first prophet of Amon for six years. I was (4) a good father for my temple servants, in that I afforded sustenance to their families, and stretched out my hand to the fallen, and gave food to the poor, and did my best for my temple. I was the great architect of the Theban palace for his (Seti's) son, who sprang from his loins, the king Ramses II. He himself raised a memorial to his father Amon, (5) when he was placed upon the throne as king.
'The skilled in art, and the first prophet of Amon, Bekenkhonsu, he speaks thus: I performed the best I could for the temple of Amon as architect of my lord. I executed the pylon of Ramessu II., the friend of Amon, who listens to those who pray to him, (thus is he named) at the first gate of the temple of Amon. I placed obelisks at the same made of granite. Their height reaches to the vault of heaven. A propylon is (6) before the same in sight of the city of Thebes, and ponds and gardens, with flourishing trees. I made two great double doors of gold. Their height reaches to heaven. I caused to be made a double pair of great masts. 1 set them up in the splendid court in sight [114] of his temple. I had great barks built on the river for Amon Mat, and Khonsu.'

Although the day of the death of Beken-khonsu is not given in the inscription, yet it is clear that he must have departed this life while priest of Amon,
after having completed sixty-six years.¹³⁷ We can therefore divide his whole life of sixty-six years into the following sections:

It is hardly probable that the great Sesostris died leaving his earthly empire in peaceful circumstances. A large family of sons and grandsons were ready in his advanced years to dispute the inheritance of their father. The seeds of stormy and unquiet times were sown. The historical records in the sequel justify these anticipations in the most striking manner.

The body of Pharaoh was laid in his burial chamber in the rocky valley of Biban-el-Moluk. The son of Seti, so full of gratitude to his father, in spite of the large number of his children, had not left one descendant [115] who prepared for him a tomb worthy of his deeds and great name, a tomb which might even be compared to the splendid sepulchre of Seti. The tomb of Ramses is an insignificant structure, of rather tasteless work, seldom visited by travellers in the Nile valley, who scarcely imagine that the great Sesostris of Greek legend can have found his last resting-place in these modest chambers. At his death, Pharaoh might have said of himself, 'I stood alone, no other was with me,' as formerly in his struggle against the Khita.

MINEPTAH II. HOTEP-HI-MA (MENEPHTHES). B.C. 1300

We must still retain our judgment, which we expressed in the first edition of our History of Egypt, upon the mean character of the works of this king.
In opposition to the opinion of a learned colleague, who never set his foot on Egyptian soil, we must be permitted again to affirm, with all decision, on the ground of the most minute examination of the monuments, that Mineptah II. does not rank with those Pharaohs who have transmitted their remembrance to posterity by grand buildings and the construction of new temples, or by the enlargement of such as already existed. A glance at the detailed architectural plan of the temple of Karnak, which M. Mariette has recently published, with the names of all the royal builders, is alone sufficient to prove that Mineptah did as good as nothing for the great temple of the empire at Api. With the exception of small portions, hardly worthy of being named, the new Pharaoh contented him- [116] self with the cheap glory of utilizing, or rather misusing, the monuments of his predecessors, as far back as the l9th dynasty and not excepting even the works of the Hyksos, as bearers of his royal shields; for in the cartouches of former kings, whence he had chiselled out their names, he unscrupulously inserted his own, without any respect for the judgment of posterity. Short, unimportant, badly executed inscriptions, for the most part during the first years of his reign, commemorate merely his existence, without any further information of historical value. We must make an exception in favour of that single important record, which Mineptah caused to be chiselled on the inner side-wall of one of the southern forecourts of the great temple of Amon, to call to the remembrance of the Thebans his great friendship with the gods.

The contents of this inscription, unfortunately injured in its upper portion, are extremely important, for it announces to us the irruption of the Libyan peoples and their allies into Egypt, and their repulse by the victorious Egyptian army. We lay before our readers the most important part of this inscription in an accurate translation, and we do not hesitate to give the completion of the parts that are wanting, as they must necessarily be supplied from a connection of the whole and of the several parts:¹³⁸

'(1) Catalogue of the peoples which were smitten by the king: ]i the A-qa-ua-sha, the Tiilisha, the Liku, the Shair-dan, the Sha-ka-li-sha, peoples of the North, which came hither out of all countries. [117] '(2) on the year V., in the month ...., in the reign of the lord of the diadem] to whom his father Amon has given power, the king of Upper and Lower Egypt, Mineptah Hotephima, the dispenser of life, the divine benefactor, was [in the town of Memphis, to thank the god Ptah] (3) [for] his [benefits]. For all gods protect him, all peoples were in fear of his glance. The king Mineptah (4) [received at that time a message, that the king of the Libyans bad fallen upon the towns of the country] and plundered them, and turned them into heaps of rubbish; that the cowards had submitted to his will; that he had overstepped the boundaries of his country, that he had gained the upper hand.
'(5) [Then the king caused the towns to be fortified, and measures to be taken] in all directions for the protection of the breath of life. He gave it back to the inhabitants who were without it, sitting still in (their) hiding places. Powerful was his might to (6) [attain his end. He had entrenchments drawn] to protect the city of On, the city of the sun-god Tum, and to protect the great fortress of Tanen (i.e., Memphis), and to extend [the works for the protection of other cities] in great numbers.
'(7) [For the foreign peoples had long since made inroads from the East, and had pitched] their tents before the town of Pi-bailos (Byblus, Bilbeis); they found themselves (already) on the canal Sha-ka-na, to the north of the canal An (of Heliopolis), (8.) [that the adjoining land] was not cultivated, but was left as pasture for the cattle on account of the foreigners. It lay waste there from the times of our forefathers. All kings of Upper Egypt sent in their entrenchments (9) [and were occupied in building themselves memorials], and the kings of Lower Egypt found themselves in the midst of their cities, surrounded with earthworks, cut off from, everything by warriors, for they had no mercenaries to oppose to them.
'Thus had it been (10) [until the day when king Mineptah] ascended the throne of Horns. He was crowned to preserve life to mortals. He was brought in as king to protect men. There vas the strength in him to do this, because he was the likeness of the [beautiful] faced (11) [god, i.e., Ptah. And the king sent messengers to the land of Ma?]-bair. The most choice of his mercenaries were equipped; his chariots were assembled from all directions; and his spies [betook them to the road to keep him infinnied. Thus had he] prepared [everything] for his equipment [118] in (12) [a short time. And thus was he armed for the approaching struggle. For he is a hero]; he takes no count of hundreds of thousands (of enemies) on the day of the turmoil of battle. His life-guards marched forwards, there came on the most powerful warriors, and beautiful was the appearance on the entrance of the mercenaries for all the inhabitants [of Egypt].
'(13) [And they came to announce to the king: "In ....] month of the summer has it happened, that the miserable king of the hostile land of Libu, Mar-ajui, a son of Did, has made an irruption into the land of the Thuhennu (the Marmaridse) with his foreign mercenaries, (14) [the catalogue of whom is as follows: the Shairdan, the Shakalsha, the Qauasha, the Liku, the Turiaha: since he has sought out the best of all combatants, and of all the quick runners of his country. He has also brought with him his wife and his children, (15) on that account there are come with him the princes] and the captains of the host. He has reached the boundaries of the west land at the fields of the town of Pi-arshop (Prosopis)."
'Then his Majesty was enraged against him like a lion, (16) [and he assembled the princes and leaders of his host and spake thus:] "Listen to the sayings of your lord. I give you [to know] what you have to do at my word. For I am the king, your shepherd. My care is to enquire (17) [what tends to piety for the land. Who among] you is like him, to keep life for his children? Should they be anxious like the birds? You do not know the goodness of his intentions." No answer (was made to this) on the part of (18) [the princes. And the king continued: "It is not my intention to await the enemy, so that the land] should be wasted and abandoned at the advance of all foreign peoples, to plunder its boundaries. The enemies (19) overstep them daily. Each takes [what he pleases, and it is their intention] to plunder the frontier cities. They have already advanced into the fields of Egypt from the side of the river. They have gained a firm footing, and spend days and months therein. [They have] settled themselves (20) [near the towns. Others of them] have reached the mountains of the Oasis, and the lauds in sight of the nome of Taahu.¹³⁹ It was a privilege ever since the kings of Upper Egypt, on the ground of the historical records of other times. But no [119] one (21) knows [that they ever came in large numbers] like Tennin. Let no more be granted to them than their belly requires. If they love death and hate life, if their temper is haughty to do (22) [what they wish, then let them apply to] their king, let them remain on (their) ground and soil, and go to the battle, so as always to fill their bodies. They have come to Egypt to seek sustenance for their mouth. They [direct] their mind (23) [to this, to fill] their belly [with] my property, just like the fishermen. Their king is like a dog, a bragging fellow. His courage is naught. Having arrived, he sits there planning (24) [a treaty, to carry out with him] the people of the Piti-shu, whom I allowed to take away wheat in ships, to preserve the life of this people of Khita, because I, the king, am he whom the gods have chosen. All plenty, (25) [all sustenance, Hes] in my hand, the king Mineplah, the distributor of life. In my name are laid [the supporting columns] of my [buildings]. I act as king of the country. [All] happens (26) [in my name in the land of Egypt]. What is spoken in Thebes pleases Amon. He has turned himself away from the people of the Mashauasha (Maxyes), and (he) looks [no more] on the people of the Thamhu, they are (27) [lost.''
'Thus spake the king to] the leaders of the host, who stood before him, that they should destroy the people of the Libu. They went forth, and the hand of God was with them. Amon was at their [side] as a shield. The news reached the [people] of Egypt, (28) [namely, that the king in his own person would take part] in the campaign on the fourteenth day. Then his Majesty beheld in a dream as if the statue of Ptah, which is placed at the [gate of the temple] stepped down to Pharaoh. It was like a giant. (29) [And it was as if it spoke to him: "Remain altogether behind," and, handing to him the battle sword, "Mayest thou cast off the lazy disposition that is in thee." And Pharaoh spoke to it: ''Behold! (30) [thy word shall be accomplished]."
'And my warriors and the chariots in sufficient number had prepared an ambush before them in the high land of the country of the nome of Prosopis.
'Then the miserable king of (31) [the hostile Libu caused his warriors and his mercenaries to advance] in the night of the first of Epiphi, when the earth became light enough for the encounter. When the miserable king of the hostile Libu had arrived, about the time of the 3rd of Epiphi, he had brought (32) [with [120] him all his hosts. But] they held back. When the warriors of his Majesty had charged forward, together with the chariots, then was Amon-Ra with them, and the god Nub reached out to. them his hand. Each (33) [man fought bravely. A great defeat was inflicted on them, and they lay there in] their blood. No man was left remaining of them, for the foreign mercenaries of his Majesty had spent six hours in annihilating them. The sword gave (34) [no mercy, so that] the land was [full of corpses.]
'While they thus fought, the miserable king of the Libu stood there full of fear, his courage deserted him; then fled (35) [he in quick flight, and left] his sandals, his bow, his quiver, in his haste behind him; and [all other things] which he had with him. He, in whose body there was no timidity, and whose form was animated by a great manly courage, (36) [he fled like a woman. Then the mercenaries of his Majesty took what he had left] of his property, his money which he had gathered in, his silver, his gold, his vessels of iron, the ornaments of his wife, his chairs, his bows, his weapons, and all other things which he had brought (37) [with him. All was allotted to the] palace of the king, whither it was brought together with the prisoners. When in the meantime the miserable king of the Libu had hurried forth in his flight, then there [followed] him a number (38) [of the people of his nation, since they had escaped] destruction by the sword. Then did the knights who sat upon their horses spring forward to pursue them. [The enemy] fell in (39) [their flight into their hands, and great destruction was inflicted on them]. No [man] has seen the like in the historical records of the kings of Lower Egypt, at the time when this land of Egypt was in their [power], when the enemy maintained their ground firmly, at the time when the kings of Upper Egypt (40) [would afford no assistance]. But [all] this was done by the gods from love to their son who loves them, to preserve the land of Egypt for its ruler, and to protect the temples of the land of Ta-Mera, in order to exalt (41) [the glory of the king to the latest generations.
'Then the governor] of the frontier garrisons of the west land sent a report to the royal court to the following effect: "The enemy Mauri has arrived in flight; his body trembled; he escaped far away only by favour of the night. (42) [His flight, however, does no harm, for] want [will be his fate.] Ho has fallen. All the gods are for [121] Egypt. He promised which he had made are become Tain, and all his words have rolled back on his own head. His fate is not known, whether he is dead, (43) [or whether he is living. Thou, O king I ] leave him his life. If he is alive, he will not raise himself up any more. He has fallen down, and his people have become hostile (to him). Thou wilt be the man who will undertake it, by giving orders to kill (44) [the rebels among the inhabitants] in the land of the Thamhu, and [of the Libu]. Let them set up another in his place, one of his brothers, who took part in the battle. He will be obliged to acknowledge him, since he is himself despised by the princes as a (45) [monster without an equal."
'Then the king gave the order that there should return home] the leaders of the foreign mercenaries, the life-guards, the chariots of war, and all the warriors of the army whose service was ended. Bat those who were of the young men, in full vigour, (46) [received the command to drive] before them the asses which were loaded with the (cut off) members of the uncircumcised people of the Libu, and with the (cut off) hands of all the peoples which were with them, like foals in the clover, and with all things (47) [which the warriors of Egypt had taken as booty from] the enemy, to their own country. Then the whole land rejoiced to the height of heaven; the towns and villages sang the wonderful deeds that had been done; the (48) [river resounded with the joyful shouts of the dwellers on its banks, and they] carried the booty under the window of the palace in order that his Majesty might behold their conquests.
'This is the catalogue of the prisoners, who were carried away oat of this land of the Libu, together with the foreign peoples, whom they had brought with them in great numbers, likewise of the things (49) [which had been taken from them] and brought to the magazines of king Mineptah; (who was called) "the Annihilator of the Thuhennu," in the town of Prosopis, and to the upper towns of the county from the place called "of Mineptah" (50) [to the city ..,.].
'1. Members of the uncircumcised:
Of king's children and brothers of the king of the Libu ...... 6 men
their members were cut off and delivered over.
[122] [Of leaders and people] of the Libu. Their members were cut off and delivered over. ..... 6,359 men
Making together: of king's children, leaders  (51) [and common people of the Libu, whose members were cut off and delivered over . . . . ... . 6,365 men.
'(52) [2. Hands of the circumcised: namely, of the Tulisha, the Sharjdina (sic) the Shakalsha, and the Aqaiuasha of the lands of the sea' ...
(53) Shakalsha: 242 men, number of the hands .... 250
Tulisha: 750 .....  790
'(54) Shairdana (sic) [x  ..........    x]
Aqaiuasha, who were circumcised, and whose hands were cut off and delivered over, though they were circumcised.
[Number of the hands  ............    ....  .......  1,040+x].
'(55) [The members and hands were stored up in] heaps. The members of the uncircumcised were brought to the place where the king was. Their number, of 6,111 men, amounted in all to ....    ......  .......  .......   x pieces.
'(56) [Of the circumcised the number] of their hands [amounted to], of common men (namely) ..... 2,370
'3. As living captives, there were delivered of the Shakalsha and Talisha, who had come with the hostile tribes of the Libu ..... [9,146] men.
'(57) [Further of the .... and] Libu ........ 218 men
Of the women of the king of the hostile Libu, whom he had brought with him, living women ... 12.
So that altogether those who were delivered over [of the enemy as living prisoners, the (58) number amounted to] of men and women .... 9,376
'4. Other booty.
Weapons that were in their hands, or that had been taken from the prisoners ; bronze swords of the Mashuasha . ...... 9,111 pieces.
[123] '(59) [Swords, daggers, and other weapons of the] land [of the Libu]  ......... 120,214 pieces.
'Pairs of chariot-horses, which had been driven by the king of the Libu, and the children [and brothers] of the king of the Libu, and which were delivered over alive .....    ......   113 pairs.
'(60) The objects [which were otherwise taken as booty] with the Maahnaaha [were given as a present to the warriors] of the king, who had fought against the hostile Libu:
Of cattle of various sorts ....   .......  1,308 head.
Of goats ....  ...... .........  ..... ............ [x]
Of various [.. ..... .....] .. ...... ...... .... [54]
Silver flagons . . ....... ....... .... ........  x pieces
 Swords .... ...... ....... ................ ..... 104
 ..... bronze armours and daggers, and many other implements ...... 3,174
'(61) When [the booty, as the number has been written above], was placed apart, fire was set to the camp, to their tents of skins, and to all their baggage.'

Such was the great battle of Prosopis, in the 5th year¹⁴⁰ of the reign of Mineptah, by which the threatening irruption of the Libyans (Libu) and their allies upon Egypt was repulsed. With the Libyans, who were held in contempt by the Egyptians as uncircumcised, were joined mercenary troops of the Caucaso-Colchian race, who in these times had migrated into Libya,¹⁴¹ and rendered military service for pay, partly in Egypt and partly in Libya. In the times of Ramses III. they appeared again on the scene of Egyptian history, increased by some names of peoples [124] and races, some of which have been preserved among the Greeks in the exact equivalent forms. We annex the list of them, in order that we may here at once dispose of the question as to the origin of these peoples, who were highly esteemed by the Egyptians as being circumcised:

'1. Qaiqasha, the Caucasians.
2. Aqaiuasha, the Achseans of the Caucasus.
3. Shardana, the Sardones, Chartani.
4. Shalkalsha, the people of Zagylis.
5. Tursha, the Tauiians.
6. Zakar, Zakkaii, the Zyges, Zygritsd.
7. Leku, the Ligyes.
8. Usfihash, the Ossetes.'

To identify these circumcised tribes, as some have done, with the Achaeans, Sardinians, Siculians, Etruscans, Teucrians, Lycians, and Oscans of classical antiquity, is in effect to introduce a serious error into the primitive history of the classic nations.

We ought to give all credit to the assurances of the inscriptions on stone and the writings on papyrus, when they tell us how, after her deliverance from such dangerous enemies as the Libyans and their allies, Egypt again took breath with joyful courage, and the people, feeling themselves freed from a pressing incubus, gave loud and jubilant utterance to their joyous sense of victory. The chief share in this rejoicing must have belonged to the Egyptian lowlanders of the Delta, whose cities and villages touched, to the west, on the borders of the enemies, and especially on the Clolchian group and the Carian immigrants, whom we shall again meet with presently when we come to describe the [125] wars of Ramses III. against the Libyans. In what was afterwards called the Mareotic nome, the Danau were settled in the district named by the geographer Ptolemy Teneia, or Taineia. Their next neighbours were the Purosatha, the Prosoditi of the same writer; while onwards along the coast, as far as the great Catabathmus, the last remnant of the Shakalsha still remained at the time of the Romans in the village of Zagylis; and the descendants of the Shardana and the Zakkar were perpetuated in the small tribes of the Chartani and the Zygritae. The whole coast beyond; as far as Cyrene, appears to have been a gathering-ground of warlike adventurers of the Colchio-Cretan tribes, up to the Dardani,¹⁴² whose name again is faithfully reflected in that of the city of Dardanis.

The officials and priests at the court of Mineptah were not the last to exalt their Pharaoh to the heavens. The fragments which happen to have been preserved of the writings and epistolary communications of some of these officers display a poetical enthusiasm in extolling the king, whom they commonly introduce under his throne-name of Bi-n-ra (or Bi-n-pra, 'soul of Ra'), as an invincible conqueror; and they exhaust themselves usque ad nauseam in the most flattering descriptions of his exploits.

The relations which Mineptah maintained with the Khita, towards the east, were of the most friendly nature, in consequence of the treaty of peace.¹⁴³ His contribution of com to the people of the Khita, already mentioned,¹⁴⁴ gives the most striking confirmation of this [126] view. The fortresses and wells, which the kings Thutmes III. and Ramses II. had established in Canaan, and had provided with Egyptian garrisons, still existed under Mineptah. With them, as well as with the inhabitants of Gaza, who were dependent on Egypt, a constant intercourse was regularly maintained, and messengers went to and fro as bearers of the king's orders, or to carry tidings to the court from the east. The official bearers of despatches belonged mostly to the people of the Canaanites, as their names fully prove. We cite, as an example, with some corrections, the records of despatches inscribed on the back of the papyrus Anastasi III. (first deciphered by M. Chabas), which was written in the third regnal year of king Mineptah:

'In the year 3, Pachons, day 15. There have gone up (i.e. departed) from Graza the servant Ba'al .... son of Zapur, who is bound for Khal (Phoenicia); two government despatches of miscellaneous contents. The messenger of the controller (?) Khaa; one despatch. The prince (king) of Zor (Tyi-us), Ba'al-ma-rom-ga-bu; one despatch.'
'In the year 3, Pachons, day 27. There have arrived the leaders of the foreign legion of the fountain of Mineptah-Hotephima, in order that these overseers might vindicate themselves in the fortress of Khetan (the Etham of the Bible), in the district of Zor (the Tanitic nome).'
'In the year 3, Pachons, day 28. There have departed from Gaza the servant Thut, son of Za-ka-li-man, the Maza (?) Duin, son of Tha-ma-Ba'al, from the same place; Sutekh-mes, son of 'Aper-d'ar, from the same place; who have gone to the king; the steward of the controller (1) Khaa. Replies: one despatch.'
'There have departed from the tower of Mineptah-Hotephima (Ostracine), the servant Nech-amon, son of Zor, who goes to the [127] land of Zurdnna,¹⁴⁵ and who is bound for Khal (Phoenicia); two despatches of miscellaneous contents. The steward of the controller (?), Peri-amon; one despatch. The temple-overseer, Ramessu, from this city (i.e. Tanis); one despatch. The town-reeve, Tani, from the city of Mineptah-Hotephima, which is situated in the district of Amor, who are going to the king; two despatches of miscellaneous contents. The steward of the controller (?) Pr'a-em-hib; one despatch. The .... (1) ... Pr'a-em-hib; one de^Mitch.'
'In the year 3, Pachons, day 25. There has departed the commander of the war-chariots, An-ua-uu, of the administration of the court of the king Bi-n-ra Miamun.'

In this list of officers departing and arriving, we have to recognise nothing more than the business-entries of some scribe, to serve as his memoranda on future occasions.

The nomad tribes of the Edomite Shasu, who under Seti I. still regarded the eastern region of the Delta, up to the neighbourhood of Zoan, the city of Ramses, as their own possession, until they were driven out by that Pharaoh over the eastern frontier, bestirred themselves anew under Mineptah, but now in a manner alike peaceful and loyal. As faithful subjects of Pharaoh, they asked for a passage through the border fortress of Khetam, in the land of Thuku (Sukoth), in order to find sustenance for themselves and their herds in the rich pasture lands of the lake district about the city of Edom.

On this subject an Egyptian official makes the following report:

'Another matter for the satisfaction of my master's heart. We hare carried into effect the passage of the tribes of the Shasu from [128] the land of Aduma (Edom), through, the fortress (Khetam) of Mineptah-Hotephima, which is situated in Thuku (Sukoth), to the lakes of the city Pi-tum, of Mineptah-Hotephima, which are situated in the land of Thuku, in order to feed themselves and to feed their herds on the possessions of Pharaoh, who is there a beneficent sun for all peoples. In the year 8 .... Set, I caused them to be conducted, according the list of the .... for the .... of the other names of the days, on which the fortress (Khetam) of Mineptah-Hotephima is opened for their passage.'¹⁴⁶

Ramses-Sesostiis, the builder of the temple-city of the same name in the territory of Zoan-Tanis, must be regarded beyond all doubt as the Pharaoh under whom the Jewish legislator Moses first saw the light, so the chronological relations—having regard to the great age of the two contemporaries, Ramses II. and Moses—demand that Mineptah should in all probability be acknowledged as the Pharaoh of the Exodus. He also had his royal seat in the city of Ramses, and seems to have strengthened its fortifications. The Bible speaks of him only under the general name of Pharaoh, that is, under a true Egyptian title, which was becoming more and more frequent at the time now under our notice. Pir-ao—'great house, high gate' is, according to the monuments, the designation of the king of the land of Egypt for the time being. This does not of itself furnish a decisive argument. Only the incidental statement of the Psalmist, that Moses wrought his wonders in the field of Zoan,¹⁴⁷ carries us back again to those sovereigns, Ramses II. and Mineptah, who were fond of holding their court in Zoan-Ramses.

Some have very recently wished to recognise the Egyptian appellation of the Hebrews in the name of [129] the so-called 'Aper, 'Apura, or 'Aperiu, the Erythraean people in the east of the nome of Heliopolis, in what is known as the 'red country' on the 'red mountain; ' and hence they have drawn conclusions which—speaking modestly, according to our knowledge of the monuments—rest on a weak foundation. According to the inscriptions, the name of this people appears in connection with the breeding of horses and the art of horsemanship. In a historical narrative of the time of Thutmes III. (unfortunately much obliterated),¹⁴⁸ the 'Apura are named as horsemen, or knights (senen), who mount their horses at the kill's command. In another document, of the time of Ramses III., long after the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt, 2,083 'Aperiu are introduced, as settlers in Heliopolis, with the words, 'Knights, sons of the kings and noble lords (Marina) of the 'Aper, settled people, who dwell in this place.' Under Ramses IV. we again meet with 'Aper, 800 in number, as inhabitants of foreign origin in the district of Ani or 'Aini, on the western shore of the Red Sea, in the neighbourhood of the modern Suez.

These and similar data completely exclude all thought of the Hebrews, unless one is disposed to have recourse to suppositions and conjectures against the most explicit statements of the biblical records. On the other hand, the hope can scarcely be cherished that we shall ever find on the public monuments— rather let us say in some hidden roll of papyrus —the events, repeated in an Egyptian version, which relate [130] to the Exodus of the Jews and the destruction of Pharaoh m the Red Sea. For the record of these events was inseparately connected with the humiliating confession of a divine visitation, to which a patriotic writer at the court of Pharaoh would hardly have brought his mind.

Presupposing, then, that Mineptah is to be regarded as the Pharaoh of the Exodus, this ruler must have had to endure serious disturbances of all kinds during the time of his reign:  in the west the Libyans, in the east the Hebrews, and let us at once add in the south a spirit of rebellion, which declared itself by the insurrection of a rival king of the family of the great Ramses-Sesostris. The events, which form the lamentable close of his rule over Egypt, are passed over by the monuments with perfect silence. The dumb tumulus covers the misfortune which was suffered.

In casting a glance over the most eminent contemporaries of this king, we are reminded especially of his viceroy in Egypt, the 'king's son of Kush,' named Mas, the same who had been invested with this high office in the southern province under Ramses II. His memory has been perpetuated in a rock inscription at Assuan. We may further make mention—instructed by a record in the quarries of Silsilis—of the noble Pinehas, an Egyptian namesake of the Hebrew Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron. In conclusion, let us not forget the very influential high-priest of Amon, Roi or Loi, Lui (i.e. Levi), who under Mineptah held the command of the legion of Amon, administered the treasury of Amon, and, according to the custom of [131] the time,¹⁴⁹ was chief architect to Pharaoh. To be sure this must have been an easy office for him, since there was not much building, except perhaps the royal sepulchre, which the drowned Pharaoh probably never entered.

The more troublous the times, the less thought was there of heroic expeditions, and the greater was the attention paid to the pursuit of elegant knowledge under a learned priesthood. The worthy Thebans have left us many specimens of their works. History, divinity, practical philosophy, poetry and tales, all that unbent the mind from the anxieties of worldly business was brought within the sphere of their activity. The following temple scribes are among the brilliant stars of this galaxy of writers: Qa-ga-bu, Hor, Anna, Merem-aput, Bek-en-ptah, Hor-a, Amon-masu, Su-an-ro, 8er-ptah. If we add to these the name, belonging to the earlier time, of Pentaur, the author of the epic of Bam8es-Sesostris, also of Amen-em-ant, the director of the Theban library, as well as the names of Amon-em-api and Pan-bas, we have completed the cycle of the lights of learning in those times from Ramses II. downwards.

Mineptah II. was succeeded in his dominion by his son and heir; SETI II. MINEPTAH III., surnamed by the official name of; U8ER-KHEPEKU-RA, B.C. 1206. Already during the lifetime of his royal father, [132] Seti II. enjoyed a special distinction, inasmuch as, with reference to his future dignity as Pharaoh, the son is frequently designated, and that with unmistakable emphasis, as Crown Prince of the empire. We possess records of the first two years only of his reign, which at that time extended over all Egypt, in inscriptions scattered here and there as far to the south as Ibsambul. The Ramses-city of Zoan-Tanis remained, as before, the special residence of the court, whence were issued the king's orders to his officers, especially with regard to the administration of the Egyptian posts in Western Asia. As in the time before, special attention was devoted to the fortresses eastward of Tanis, which covered the entrance from Syria. Here was the old royal road, which offered fugitives the only opportunity of escaping from the king's power, though not without danger. That such attempts were often made, is proved by the following report of a scribe, who had gone out upon the road from the city of Ramses, in order to retake two fugitive servants of the court:

'I set out (he says) from the hall of the royal palace on the 9th day of the month Epiphi, in the evening, after the two servants. I arrived at the fortress of Thuku (Sukoth) on the 10th of Epiphi. I was informed that the men had resolved to take their way towards the south. On the 12th I reached Khetam (Etham). There I was informed that grooms, who had come from the neighbourhood [of the 'sedge-city,' had reported] that the fugitives had already passed the rampart (i.e. the Shur of the Bible, Gerrhon of the Greeks) to the north of the Migdol of king Seti Mineptah.'¹⁵⁰

[133] Notwithstanding the apparent shortness of his reign, in consequence of the power of one or two anti-kings, of whom we shall have to speak further, Seti II. found the tune and means to erect a special sanctuary to his father Amon in the great temple of the empire at Api. This is the small temple, consisting of three chambers, to the north-west of the great front court;¹⁵¹ an insignificant building, which merely attests the official acknowledgment of the king on the part of the priestly guild of Thebes. Loi (Levi), the high-priest of the god Amon, was friendly to the king, as was also his son and successor in office, Roma. Both were declared adherents of the king, whose affection for the pious Others of Amon shows itself also in other forms in the extant papyri. It was for him, while he was still crown prince, that a temple-scribe composed that wonderful tale of 'The Two Brothers,' the translation of which, by the late master of Egyptology, E. de Rouge, gave such an unexpected surprise to the learned world.¹⁵²

The sepulchre of this king, in the rocky valley of Biban-el-Moluk, is really prince-like and magnificent. In it also we have a new proof of the priestly recognition of his sovereignty over the land of Egypt.

After his death the sovereignty passed in regular succession to his son:

[134]

SETNAKHT-MEREIUMIAMUN H., BC. 1233,

called by his official surname

USER-KHA-RA MIAMUN SOTEP-EN-RA.

All that we are able to say of him can be condensed into a few words; that he was the father of a great illustrious king, and that he lived in times full of disturbance and trouble. As his father had, in all probability, been opposed by a rival king, Amen-messu, so had the son of the latter, Mineptah Siptah, become a dangerous successor against Setnakht. Siptah, the husband of that queen Ta-user, whose grave obtained a very distinguished position in the valley of the kings at Thebes, in the midst of those of the men, seems to have been favoured by a number of adherents in the city of Amon, and to have owed his elevation to the throne to the help of an Egyptian noble, named Ri. This latter held the office of one of the first confidential servants of the king, and he declares on his own behalf that he 'put away falsehood and gave honour to the truth, inasmuch as he set the king upon his father's throne, he, the great keeper of the seal for all the land, Ramessu-kha-em-nutem-Ri.' Among the remaining adherents of the anti-king, no insignificant part was played by his governor of the southern lands, Seti, whose memory has been perpetuated by an inscription on the south wall of the rock temple of Ibsambul. In that representation, this official exhibits himself as a zealous worshipper of the Theban Amon, and there is appended an inscription of four lines, giving the following explanation:

[135] '(1) Worship offered to Amon, that he may grant life, prosperity and health to the person of the king's envoy into all lands, the companion (2) of the lord of the land, of the friend of Hor (i.e. the king) in his house, the first commander of the war-chariots of his Majesty, (3) who understood his purpose, when the king came, to exalt (him) the king's son of Kush, (4) Seti, upon his throne (or, the throne of his father) in the first year of the lord of the land, Ramessu Siptah.'

On the summit of a group of rocks on the island of Sehel, in the neighbourhood of Philae, there remains the following inscription of the same Seti, annexed to the name of his king:

'In the year 3, Pachons, day 21. Honour to thy name, O king! May it attest the acknowledgments of the person of the commander of the chariots, and the King's son of Kush, and the governor of the southern lands, Seti.'

Underneath is an inscription nearly to the same effect:

'The hereditary prince, bearer of the fan. King's son of Kush, governor of the southern Uuids, Seti.'

We cannot tell what other historical information the inscriptions and papyrus-rolls of these rival and anti-kings might have been ready to give us (i.e. if they had not been cancelled by the successful rival). On the last visit which we paid at Thebes, a year ago, to the grave of 'the great queen and lady of the land, the princess of Upper and Lower Egypt, Ta-user,' we were able again to corroborate the fact, that the names of her husband Siptah are seen at its entrance, while in the interior, on the piece which was laid on to cover the names of the queen, the royal shields of Setnakht meet the spectator in a re-engraving.

[136] Setnakht took possession of his predecessor's sepulchre, or rather that of his wife, without in a single case replacing the feminine grammatical signs in the inscriptions by the corresponding masculine forms. His rival having been driven out, Setnakht could deal with the tomb at his pleasure.

Nor was it only against native claimants of the throne, that Setnakht had to maintain a conflict for the double crown: foreigners also contributed their efforts to turn Egypt upside down. A certain Ehial, or Phoenician, had seized the throne, maintained himself on it for some time, driven the Egyptians into banishment, and grievously oppressed those left in the land. This is that Arisu or Alisu, Arius or Ahus, whom the great Harris papyrus first made known to us. We conclude with a translation of the part of this record of the nineteenth dynasty which refers to him, while we regret our inability to suppress the remark, that the translations hitherto put forth by several scholars have completely mistaken the sense of the document just in its most important passages.¹⁵³

King Ramses III., the son of Setnakht, gives, by way of introduction to his own reign, the following summary of the events immediately before his accession to the throne:

[137] 'Thus says king Ramessu III., the great god, to the princes and leaders of the land, to the warriors and to the chariot soldiers, to the Shairdana, and the numerous foreign mercenaries, and to all the living inhabitants of the land of Ta-mera: Hearken! I make you to know my glorious deeds, which I have performed as king of men.
'The people of Egypt lived in banishment abroad. Of those who lived in the interior of the land, none had any to care for him. So passed away long years, until other times came. The land of Egypt belonged to princes from foreign parts. They slew one another, whether noble or mean.
'Other times came on afterwards, during years of scarcity. Ansa, a Phoenician, had raised himself among them to be a prince, and he compelled all the people to pay him tribute. Whatever any had gathered together, that his (i.e. the Phoenician's) companions robbed them of. Thus did they.
'The gods were treated like the men. They went without the appointed sin-offerings in the temples.
'Then did the gods turn this state of things to prosperity. They restored to the land its even balance, such as its condition bitterly required. And they established their son, who had come forth from their body, as king of the whole land on their exalted throne. This was king Setnakht Merer Miamun.
'He was like the person of Set when he is indignant. He took care for the whole land. If rebels showed themselves, he slew the wicked who made a disturbance in the land of Ta-mera.
'He purified the exalted royal throne of Egypt, and so he was the ruler of the inhabitants on the throne of the sun-god Tum, when he raised up their faces. Such as showed themselves refusing to acknowledge any one as a brother, were locked up.¹⁵⁴
'He restored order to the temples, granting the sacred revenues for the due offerings to the gods, as their statutes prescribe.
'He raised me up as heir to the throne on the seat of the truth-god Seb, to be the great governor of the Egyptian dominions [138] in care for the whole people, who have found themselves united together again.
'And he went to his rest oat of his orbit of light, like the company of the celestials. The (funeral) rites of Osiris were accomplished for him. He was borne (to his grave) in his royal boat over the river, and was laid in his everlasting house on the west side of Thebes.
'And my father Amon, the lord of the gods, and Ra, and Ptah with the beautiful face, caused me to be crowned as lord of the land on the throne of my parent.
'I received the dignities of my father amidst shouts of joy. The people were content and delighted because of the peace. They rejoiced in my countenance as king of the land, for I was like Horus, who was king over the land on the throne of Osiris. Thus was I crowned with the Atef-crown, together with the Uraeus-serpents; I put on the ornament of the double plumes, like the god Tatanen; thus I reposed myself on the throne-seat of Hormakhu; thus was I clothed with the robes of state, like Tum.'

King Ramses, the third of the name, opened the long series of Pharaohs of the succeeding dynasty. With him also we begin a new chapter of our History of Egypt.

[139]

CHAPTER XV

THE TWENTIETH DYNASTY—RAMSES II. HAQ-ON. BC. 1200.

As this king's official name was User ma-ra Miamun, he is only distinguished from Ramses II. by the title Haq-On, that is, 'Prince of Heliopolis.' Among the people, as is proved by the monuments, he bore the appellation of Ramessu-pa-nuter, or pa-nuti, that is, 'Ramses the god,' from which the Greeks formed the well-known name of Rhampsinitus.¹⁵⁵ And, as his name, so also his deeds, nay even his wealth in the blessing of children, remind us of Ramses Sesostris, whom he evidently honoured as the ideal type and model of a great Pharaoh.

The miserable state of Egypt before his accession could not be better described than in his own words, cited in the last chapter. The same Harris papyrus, which has enabled us to lay before our readers such valuable information on the condition of the land of the pharaohs at the time referred to, proceeds to give a general view of the 'glorious deeds' of this Ramses. It is a comprehensive outline of his eventful life, of [140] which, following the king's own words, we propose to set forth in order the chief occurrences.

The first care of king Rhampsinitus, after his accession, was for the restoration and demarcation of the several castes, which he arranged in their descending degrees, as follows: The Ab en Pir'ao, 'counsellors of Pharaoh,' an office with which we have seen Joseph invested at the court of Pharaoh:¹⁵⁶ the 'great princes,' evidently the governors and representatives of the king in the several nomes: 'the infantry and chariot-soldiers;' the mercenaries of the tribes of the Shardana and the Âahak: and, lastly, the lowest classes of the officers and servants.

He was next occupied with wars against foreign nations, who had invaded the borders of Egypt, and for whose punishment he prepared severe blows in their own laud. The Danau were pursued by Pharaoh to the Cilician coast, and were there defeated; so in Cyprus were the Zekkaru (Zygritaj), and the Perusatha (Prosoditae); while the Colchio-Caucasian Shardana (Sardones), and the Uashasha (Ossetes), on the other hand, were exterminated in their settlements west of the Delta, and were transplanted to Egypt in great masses, with their families. They were compelled to settle in a Ramesseum, a fortress still unknown to us, and to pay every year, according to the custom of the country, a tribute of woven stuffs and corn to the temples of Egypt.

On the east of Egypt, the arms of the king achieved a like success against the Sahir, the Seirites of Holy Scripture, who are clearly recognised as a [141] branch of the Shasu. The king plundered their tents and the dwellers in them, seized their possessions and effects, with their cattle, and carried off the people as prisoners to Egypt, to give them as special slaves to the temples.

A new war was kindled by the Libyans and Maxyans. In like manner as had already happened under the reign of Mineptah II., these nomad and warlike tribes of the west had made an inroad into the Delta, and occupied the whole country which stretched along the left bank of the Canopic branch of the Nile, from Memphis as far as Carbana (Canopus). In the neighbourhood of the latter place, along the seashore, lay the district of Gautut, the cities of which they had held for many years. They and their allies were defeated by the Pharaoh, and among the latter the king mentions by name the Asbita (Asbytss), the Kaikasha (Caucasians), the Shai-ap (who cannot be more closely defined), the Hasa (Ausees), the Bakana (Bakaloi). The king of the Libu, his family, and the whole people, together with their herds, were transplanted as captives to Egypt, where some were placed in the fortified 'Ramessea,' and others branded with hot iron 'in the name of the king' as sailors. A magnificent gift was made of their herds to the temple of Amon at Thebes.

For the protection of the eastern frontier towards Suez, the king formed a great well, and surrounded it with strong defences, in the country of 'Aina or 'Aian (the home of the 'Aperiu, or Erythroeans). The walls had a height of thirty Egyptian cubits (nearly sixteen (metres, 52.1 English feet). In the harbour of Suez, [142] and, therefore, in close proximity to the fortress of the well, Ramses III. built a fleet of large and small ships, to make voyages on the Red Sea to the coasts of Punt and 'the holy land.' The bringing of the costly productions of those distant lands, and especially of incense, is expressly set forth as the immediate purpose of their construction. Connected with these objects was the establishing of trade relations with the kings and princes of the countries on those coasts, and a caravan trade by land was established on the road from Kosseir to Coptos on the Nile. In a word, Ramses III. opened a direct intercourse by land and sea with the rich countries on the shores of the Indian Ocean, which in later times was renewed by the Ptolemies with great advantage to the commerce of the whole world.

Not less important for Egypt, which above all things required copper for a variety of objects of industrial activity, was the despatch of a mission by land (on asses!), and on ships by sea, for the discovery of the rich copper mines of 'Athaka (in the neighbourhood of the gulf of Akaba?); and the metal, shining like gold, and in the form of bricks, was brought from the smelting-houses in those parts and laden on the ships.

The king also turned his attention anew to the treasures of the peninsula of Sinai, which from the times of king Senoferu¹⁵⁷ had appeared so desirable to the Egyptians. Laden with rich presents for the temple of the goddess Hathor, protectress of the Mafka peninsula, distinguished officials went thither on the [143] king's commission, to bring to the treasuries of Pharaoh the much prized greenish-blue copper-stone (Mafka turquoises?).

In the whole land of Egypt (thus the king concludes his remarkable account) he planted trees and shrubs to give the inhabitants rest under their cool shade. The benefit which he conferred on his country by this measure will be fully appreciated by those who have passed long years of their life in the valley of the Nile. The planting of trees has likewise been undertaken in the most recent times by the present ruler of Egypt, the Khedive Ismail Pasha, and complete success has attended this beneficent work.

In a beautiful poetic effusion of rhetoric Rhampsinitus, in conclusion, extols the peaceful condition of the whole country. The weakest woman could travel unmolested on all the roads.¹⁵⁸ The Shardana and the Kahak remained quietly in their cities. Kush had ceased to annoy Egypt with its attacks. The Phoenicians let their bows and arrows rest in peace.

In a prolonged strain of praise to himself, the king enumerates his benefits towards gods and men, towards poor and rich; and finally, in the 32nd year of his reign, he recommends his son Ramses IV., whom he had raised to the throne as joint king with himself, to the recognition and obedience of his fortunate subjects.

We have thus placed clearly before the eyes of our [144] readers a short sketch of the deeds of this Egyptian Pharaoh during his reign of thirty-two years. In so far as the monuments do not desert us as sure guides, we will endeavour to fill up with more definite lines this broad outline of his deeds. The material for our work is supplied by the Ramesseum at Medinet-Abu; that enormous building which, lying to the west of the city of Thebes, and to the south-west of the gigantic statues of Memnon, was turned from a treasure-house into a complete temple of victory. The 5th, 8th, and 11th years of the reign of Ramses III. designate the period of time occupied in the gradual completion of the plan laid down for the buildings, from west to east.¹⁵⁹ The treasure-chambers, on the southern side of the hind- [145] most hall, are now empty. Pictures and words alone replace the 'mammon' which is wanting. If it be true, as the inscriptions clearly and distinctly declare, that the treasures once hoarded here were dedicated by Rhampsinitus as gifts to the Theban Amon, the god had no reason to complain of the king. Gold in grains, in full purses up to the weight of 1000 lbs., from the mines of Amamu in the land of Kush, of Edfu (Apollinopolis Magna), of Ombos and of Koptos; bars of silver; whole pyramids of blue and green stones, besides the much prized bluestone of Tafrer (the land of the Tybarenes?), and the real greenstone of Koshatha; copper ore; lead; precious sorts of incense from Punt and from the holy lands; moreover gold and silver statues, images of animals, vases, chests, and other ornaments, down to the seal-rings with the name of the king upon them; all these and many other things a hundred thousandfold did the Pharaoh dedicate to show his gratitude to the god, as appears evident from his elaborate address:

'I dedicate this to thee as a memorial for thy temple consisting of dear raw copper, and raw gold, and [of all works of art], which have come forth from the workshops of the sculptor. The productions of the land of Ruthen shall be brought to thee as gifts, to fin the treasury of thy temple with the best things of all lands.'

Again:

'Thou hast received gold and silver like sand on the [sea] shore. What thou hast created in the river and in the mountain, that I dedicate to thee by heaps upon the earth. Let it be an adornment for thy Majesty for ever. I offer to thee blue and green precious stones, and all kinds of jewels in chests of bright copper. I have made for thee numberless talismans out of all kinds of valuable precious stones.'

[146] In truth Rhampsinitus was in this respect no niggard, and if we may be allowed from the costliness of his gifts to draw a safe conclusion as to the position of the donor, Ramses III. must have enjoyed enormous wealth. We shall not omit the opportunity presently, on the authority of information contained in the Harris papyrus, to set in a clear light the boundless generosity of the king, not only towards the temple of Amon, but also towards the sanctuaries of the great national gods, Ptah of Memphis, and Ra of Heliopolis.

When Ramses III. came to the throne, things looked bad for Egypt, as well in the east as in the west. 'The hostile Asiatics and Thuhennu robbers (the Libyan Marmaridae) showed themselves only to injure the state of Egypt. The land lay open before them in weakness since the time of the earlier kings. They did evil to gods as well as to men. No one had so strong an arm as to oppose them, on account of their hostile intentions.' In the 5th year of his reign the enemies prepared a fresh attack on Egypt from the west. 'The people of the Thamhu assembled together in one place. The tribes of the Maxyes prepared themselves for a raid out of their own country. The leaders of their warriors had confidence in their plans.' As in former times the Libyan kings, Didi, Mashakau, and Mar-aju, were the promoters of the hostilities against Egypt, so now the kings Zamar and Zautmar of Libya appear as instigators and leaders in battle. Their last great place of reunion was the country of Libya in the narrower sense of the word. The victory of the king over the enemy was very [147] decisive. It took place in the neighbourhood of the Ramses fortress of Khesef-Thamhue. The defeat of the enemy, both circumcised and uncircumcised tribes, was tremendous. 12,535 members and hands, which were cut off from dead enemies, were counted over before the proud victorious king.

Three years after this event, which was the occasion for great festivities in Egypt, there broke out a warlike movement against Egypt from the north, caused by the migrations of the Carian-Colchian nations which, from Cilicia and the mountains of Armenia, portly by land through Asia Minor, and partly by water on the Mediterranean, made a formidable campaign against Egypt, only to be at last utterly defeated in a naval engagement at Migdol, at the mouth of the Pelusiac branch of the Nile. The inscriptions of the temple of victory relate to us this great event in the following manner:

'A quivering¹⁶⁰ seized the people in their limbs: they came up leaping from their coasts and islands, and spread themselves all at ooee over the lands. No people stood before their arms, beginning with the people of Khita, of Kadi (Oalilee), and Karchemish, Axmdtts, and Alus. They wasted these countries, and pitched a camp at one place in the land of the Amorites. They plundered the inhabitants and the territory as if they had been nothing. And they came on (against Egypt), but there was held in readiness fiery furnace before their countenance on the side of Egypt. Their home was in the land of the Purdsatha, the Zakkar, the Shalkalsha, the Daanau, and the Uashuash. These nations had leagued together; they laid their hand on the double land of Egypt, to encircle the land. Their heart was full of confidence, they were full of plans. This happened, since such was the will of this god, [148] the lord of the gods (Amon of Thebes). An ambush was prepared to take them in the snare like birds. He (Amon) gave me strength, and granted success to my plans. My arm was strong as iron when I broke forth. I had guarded well my boundary up to Zah (Philistia). There stood in ambush over against them the chief leaders, the governors, the noble marinas, and the chief people of the warriors. [A defence] was built on the water, like a strong wall, of ships of war, of merchantmen, of boats and skiffs. They were manned from the forepart to the hind-part with the bravest warriors, who bore their arms, and with the best life-guards of the land of Egypt. They were like roaring lions on the mountain. The knights were of the swiftest in the race, and the most distinguished horsemen of a skilful hand. Their horses quivered in all their limbs, ready to trample the nations under their hoofs. I was like the war-god Monthu, the strong. I held my ground before them. They beheld the battle of my hands. I, King Ramessu III., I made a long step forward, conscious of my might, strong of arm, protecting my soldiers in the day of battle. They who had reached the boundary of my country never more reaped harvest. Their soul and their spirit has passed away for ever. They who had assembled themselves over against the others on the great sea, a mighty firebrand lightened before them, in front of the mouths of the river. A wall of iron shut them in upon the lake. They were driven away, dashed to the ground, hewn down on the bank of the water. They were slain by hundreds of heaps of corpses. The end was a new beginning. Their ships and all their possessions lay strewn on the mirror of the water. Thus have I taken from the nations the desire to direct their thoughts towards Egypt. They exalt my name in their country; yea, their heart is on fire for me so long as I shall sit on the throne of Hormakhu.'

Such was this great battle by sea and land against those invaders, of whom numerous inscriptions, some longer, some shorter, tell us so much in eloquent language. I will here give two examples:

'A trembling seized the inhabitants of the northern regions in their body, because of the Purosatha and the Zakkar, because they plundered their land. If they went out to meet them, their [149] spirit filled. Some were brave people by land, others on the sea.¹⁶¹ Those who came by way of the land Amon-ra pursued them, and annihilated them. Those who entered into the mouths of the NiIe were caught like birds in nets. They were made prisoners.'

Again:

'It came to pass that the people of the northern regions, who reside in their islands and on their coasts, shuddered in their bodies. They entered into the lakes of the mouths of the Nile. Their noses snuffed the wind;¹⁶² their desire was to breathe a soft air. The king broke forth like a whirlwind upon them, to fight them in the battle-field, like all his heroes. Their spirit was annihilated where they stood, their soul was taken from them; a stronger than they came upon them.'

But few years of peace and rest had passed by, when A new struggle, in the 11th year of Rhampsinitus, threatened the safety of the country from the west.  The Maxyes attacked Egypt under the leadership of their king Mashashal (Massala), a son of Kapur, in great force, in order to obtain possession of the rich districts on the banks, of the Canopic mouth of the Nile. A great battle was fought about the month of Mesori in the same year, and the enemy were utterly defeated. The number of the enemy who were killed was very considerable, and as they were circumcised, only their hands were cut off. Not less was the number of the prisoners, and the amount of the booty, of which a detailed list has been handed down to us. I will here give the translation of the remarkable document relating to these details:

[150]

This list seems to deserve special attention, as it gives the impression of being a faithful and complete account.

That the campaigns thus described were not the only ones conducted by the king on the blood-stained field of honour during his reign, appears from many inscriptions and tablets of victory. We know that he undertook expeditions on the south of Egypt, and conquered the negroes (Nahasi), the Thiraui, and the [151] Amarai or Amalai. We are also informed from the same sources that, besides the Furosatha, the 'Tuirsha of the sea' were numbered among his enemies, and that the Khal (Phoenicians) and the Amprites received a severe chastisement from the Egyptian king.

Of very special value are the pictures of the conquered foreign kings and leaders, which the Pharaoh Ramses III. caused to be painted in a long series, one after the other, in his so-called palace by the side of the temple of Amon at Medinet Abu, and that, as appears to us, in a portraiture quite true to life. So far as this has been preserved, we will give at least the translation of the appended inscriptions, as they are placed in order by the side of the pictures of the several persons:

'1. The king of the miserable land of Kush (Ethiopia),
2-3. Destroyed,
4. The king of the libu (libja),
5. The king of Tunes (land of the, Negroes),
6. The king of the Mashauasha (Maxyes),
7. The king of Tarana (land of the Negroes),
8. The miserable king of Khita (Hethites) as a living prisoner,
9. The miserable king of the Amori (Amorites),
10. The leader of the hostile bands of the Zakkari (Zygritae),
11. The people of the sea of Shairdana (Khartani),
12. The leader of the hostile bands of the Shasu (Edomites),
13. The people of the sea of Tuirsha (Taurus),
14. The leader of the hostile bands of the Fu[rosatha] ProBoditae.'

The campaign of vengeance which Ramses III. undertook against several of the nations above named, in order to attack them in their own homes, by land and sea, must have been far more instructive than the detailed descriptions of the wars on African soil.

[152] That this campaign actually took place, we have all reasonable assurance in the names of the conquered foreign cities and countries, which cover one side of the pylon of the temple of Medinet-Abu, and which we will now give in an exact translation. The reader cannot fail to share our astonishment at recognising among them names well known to classical antiquity, in the form in which they were written 1200 years before the Christian era:¹⁶³

[153] Even if some of the parallel names should receive rectification hereafter, yet still on the whole the fact remains certain that, in this list of the conquered towns, places on the coast and islands of Asia Minor were intended by the Egyptians. In making the comparison we must at once set aside the idea, that the succession of the names corresponds to the situation of the towns and countries; since even the lists of the better-known towns, as for instance those of Canaan, are thrown together on the monuments in inextricable confusion. Even the assumption, which has lately found favour, of different campaigns having been made in different directions, does not help us to get completely over the difficulty of the totally irregular succession of the towns. In the case before us, we may assume as certain, that the places enumerated were the seats of Carian peoples in Asia Minor and on the neighbouring islands, and especially in Cilicia and Cyprus. I am happy to have been able first to point out this fact to the learned world.¹⁶⁴

The rich booty, which the king carried off in his campaigns from the captured cities and the conquered peoples, enabled him to enrich most lavishly with gifts not only the sanctuaries in Thebes, but also the temples of Heliopolis, Memphis, and other places in Egypt, to adorn them with buildings 'in his name,' the so-called 'Ramessea,' and to devote the prisoners of war as slaves to the holy service of the gods in Upper and Lower [154] Egypt. The presents and buildings, for which the gods were indebted to their grateful son Ramses III., are all set forth according to their situation, number, and description, in the great Harris papyrus, which from this point of view has all the value of an important temple archive. We would have laid before our readers the catalogue contained in it, if only in a general summary, if this comprehensive document, which has never yet been published, had been brought to our knowledge in its full extent. The translations of it, which several scholars have written with the document before them, are partly unintelligible, unless we have the original at hand, partly evidently incorrect, so that it is difficult to obtain a clear view of the several buildings and donations mentioned in it. The Ramessea are found in various parts of the country. Thebes possesses the lion's share, and next to it Heliopolis and Memphis. With regard to other places, new temples of Ramses III. are named in a summary, in their succession from south to north:

A Ramesseum in Thinis (Vlllth nome) in honour of the Egyptian Mars, Anhur (called Onuris by the Greeks),
A Ramesseum in Abydus (^Tlltli nome) for the god Osiris,
A Ramesseum in Coptos (Vth nome),
A Ramesseum in Apu (Panopolis, IXth nome).
Two Ramessea in Lycopolis (Xlllth nome),
Two Ramessea in Hermopolis (XVth nome),
A Ramesseum in the temple-town of Sutekh, in the city of Pi-Ramses Miamun (the Raamses of the Bible).

[155] The reader desirous of further information will find in my 'Geographical Dictionary' a general list of the buildings and sanctuaries, which Ramses III. erected both in Upper and Lower Egypt. The great Harris papyrus, which has been made known in the meantime, enables us to supply the gaps which were perceptible in that list.

The temple of Amon at Medinet Abu, on Nebankh, the holy mountain of the dead, still remains the most beautiful and remarkable monument of this king. The rich pictures, which cover the interior and exterior walls, represent some detached episodes in his campaigns, even to an occasional lion-hunt, in a lifelike and artistic style. The appended inscriptions give an instructive explanation of the pictures. Other inscriptions, as the one on the wall which runs along the south side, give us an insight into the order of the feasts, as it was then observed, inclusive of the sacrifices,¹⁶⁵ and into the fixed holidays of the old Egyptian calendar, according to the latest arrangement. We find here a 'heavenly' calendar, expressly distinguished from the 'earthly' one. To the general holidays belonged the 29th, 30th, 1st, 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, and 15th days of each month. The days are set forth in this order, according to the Egyptian assumption that the 29th day is that on which the conjunction of the sun and moon takes place, and on which [156] the world was created.¹⁶⁶ So far as the several feast-days have been preserved, they give us a further insight into the festivals celebrated at Thebes in the 13th century B.C., as the reader will see from the following extract:

[157] The feasts which follow these are unfortunately obliterated. To these particular feast-days must be added still further the 26th of Pachons, in commemoration of the king's accession to the throne.

On the eastern side of Thebes, Ramses III. laid the foundation-stone of an oracle-giving temple of the god Khonsu, the son of Amon and of the goddess Mut He likewise founded a new Ramesseum, which adjoined on the south the great forecourt of the temple of Amon, and which was dedicated to Amon of Ape. To this day it still stands tolerably well preserved m its parts, but it is a very ordinary piece of architecture, almost worthless in an artistic point of view. An inscription on its eastern outer side hands down to us the record of a royal ordinance, according to which Ramses IIL, in the 16th year of his reign, in the month Payni, appointed particular sacrifices for the god. The altar dedicated for this purpose was a work of art made of silver.

Not only in Egypt proper, but in foreign countries also, temples were built in honour of the gods by the command of Ramses. According to a statement in the Harris papyrus, the king erected in the land of Zahi (the Philistia of later times), a Ramesseum to Amon in the city of Ranaan, which is already well known to us. A statue of the god was set up in its holy of holies in the name of the king. The obligation was laid on the tribes of the Ruthen to provide this temple with all necessaries.

That Ramses, in spite of his good fortune and his riches, did not enjoy his throne without cares and [158] alarms, is proved by a harem conspiracy, which aimed at his fall. The highest officials and servants were mixed up in this plot. The threads of the conspiracy had their centre in the women's apartments, and extended even beyond the king's court. It was discovered. The king immediately summoned a court of justice, and himself named the judges who were to try and sentence the guilty. By great good fortune the judgments which were delivered have been handed down to us nearly complete. Science has to thank our deceased French friend, Deveria, for having first brought to light by his explanations this remarkable document, which is now in Turin.¹⁶⁷ The names of the judges are contained in the following extract:

'And the commission was given to the treasurer Monthu-em-tani, the treasurer Paif-roui, the fan-bearer Karo, the councillor Pi-besat, the councillor Kedenden, the councillor Baal-niahar, the councillor Pi-aru-stmu, the councillor Thut-rech-nofer, the royal interpreter Pen-rennu, the scribe Mai, the scribe Pra-em-hib of the chancery, the colour-bearer Hor-a, of the garrison; to this effect:
'Regarding the discourses which the people have spoken, and which are unknown, you shall institute an enquiry about them. They shall be brought to a trial to see if they deserve death. Then they shall put themselves to death with their own hand.'

Ramses III. warns the judges to conduct the affair conscientiously, and concludes with these words:

'If all that has happened was such that it was actually done by them, let their doing be upon their own heads. I am the guardian and protector for ever, and bearer of the royal insignia of [159] justice in presence of the god-king Amon-ra, and in presence of the prince of eternity, Osiris.'

This is followed by a second and longer section, which enables us to understand very clearly the result of the trial:

'These are the people who were brought up on account of their great crimes before the judgment-seat, to be judged by the treasurer Monthu-em-taui, by the treasurer Paif-roui, by the fan-hewer Karo, by the councillor Pi-besat, by the scribe Mai of the chancery, and by the standard-bearer Hor-a, and who were judged lad found guilty, and to whom punishment was awarded, that their office might be expiated.
'The chief culprit Boka-kamon. He was house-steward. He was brought up because of actual participation in the doings of the wife Thi and the women of the harem. He had conspired with them, and had carried abroad their commission given by word of mouth to their mothers and sisters there, to stir up the people, and to assemble the malcontents, to commit a crime against their lord. They set him before the elders of the judgment-seat. They judged his offence, and found him guilty of having done so, and he was fully convicted of his crime. The judges awarded him his punishment.
'The chief culprit Mestu-su-ra. He was a councillor. He was brought up because of his actual participation in the doings of fioka-kamon, the house-steward. He had conspired with the women to stir up the malcontents to commit a crime against their lord. They set him before the elders of the judgment-seat. They judged his offence. They found him guilty, and awarded him his punishment.
'The chief culprit Panauk. He was the royal secretary of the harem, for the service of the women's house. He was brought up on account of his actual participation in the conspiracy of Bokarkamon and Mestu-su-ra, to commit a crime against their lord. They set him before the elders of the judgment-seat. They judged his offence. They found him guilty, and awarded him his punishment.
'The chief culprit Pen-tuauu. He was the royal secretary of the harem, for the service of the women's house. He was brought [160] up on account of his actual participation in the conspiracy of Bokarkamon and Mestil-su-ra and the other chief culprit, who was the overseer of the harem of the women in the women's house, to increase the number of the opponents who had conspired to commit a crime against their lord. They set him before the elders of the judgment-seat. They judged his offence. They found him guilty, and awarded him his punishment.
'The chief culprit Pi-nif-emtu-amon. He was a land-surveyor, for the service of the women's house. He was brought up because he had listened to the speeches which the conspirators and the women of the women's house had indulged in, without giving information of them. He was set before the elders of the judgment-seat. They judged his offence, and found him guilty, and awarded him his punishment.
'The chief culprit Karpusa. He was a land-surveyor, for the service of the women's house. He was brought up on account of the talk which he had heard, but had kept silence. He was set before the elders of the judgment-seat, and they judged his offence, and found him guilty, and awarded him his punishment.
'The chief culprit Kha-m-apet. He was a land-surveyor, for the service of the women's house. He was brought up on account of the talk which he had heard, but had kept silence. He was set before the elders of the judgment-seat, and they judged his offence and found him guilty, and awarded him his punishment.
'The chief culprit Kha-em-mtuinro. He was a land-surveyor, for the service of the women's house. He was brought up because of the talk which he had heard, but had kept silence. He was set before the elders of the judgment-seat, and they judged his offence and found him guilty, and awarded him his punishment.
'The chief culprit Seti-em-pi-thut. He was a land-surveyor, for the service of the women's house. He was brought up on account of the talk which he had heard, but had kept silence. He was set before the elders of the judgment-seat, and they judged his offence and found him guilty, and awarded him his punishment.
'The chief culprit Seti-em-pi-amon. He was a land-surveyor, for the service of the women's house. He was brought up on account of the talk which he had heard, but had kept silence. He was set before the elders of the judgment-seat, and they judged his offence, and found him guilty, and awarded him his punishment.
[161] 'The chief culprit Ua-ro-ma. He was a councillor. He was brought up because he bad been an ear-witness of the communications of the overseer of the house, and had held his mouth and kept alone, without giving any information thereof. He was set before the elders of the judgment-seat, and they found him guilty, and awarded him his punishment.
'The chief culprit Akh-hib-set. He was the accomplice of Boka-kamon. He was brought up because he had been an ear-witness of the communications of Boka-kamon. He had been his confidant, without having reported it. He was set before the elders of the judgment-seat, and they found him guilty, and awarded him his punishment.
'The chief culprit Pi-lo-ka. He was a councillor, and scribe of the treasury. He was brought up on account of his actual participation with Boka-kamon. He had also heard his communications, without having made report of them. He was set before the Men of the judgment-seat, they found him guilty, and awarded his punishment.
'The chief culprit, the Libyan Inini. He was a councillor. He was brought up because of his actual participation with Bokakamon. He had listened to his communications without having made report of them. He was set before the elders of the judgment-seat, they found him guilty, and awarded him his punishment.
'The wives of the people of the gate of the women's house, who had joined the conspirators, were brought before the elders of the judgment-seat. They found them guilty, and awarded them their punishment. Six women.
'The chief culprit Pi-keti, a son of Lema. He was treasurer. He was brought up on account of his actual participation with the chief accused, Pen-hiban. He had conspired with him to assemble the malcontents, to commit a crime against their lord. He was brought before the elders of the judgment-seat. They found him guilty, and awarded him his punishment.
'The chief culprit Ran-em-us. He was the captain of the foreign legion of the Kushi. He was brought up on account of a message, which his sister, who was in the service of the women's house, had sent to him, to stir up the people who were malcontent (saying), "Come, accomplish the crime against thy lord." He was set before Kedenden, Baal-mahar, Pi-aru-sunu, and Thut-rekhnofer. [162] They judged him, and found him guilty, and awarded him his punishment.
'Feraens who were brought up on account of their crime, and on account of their actual participation with Boka-kamon, (namely), Pi-as and Pen-ta-ur. They were set before the elders of the judgment-seat to be tried. They found them guilty, laid them down upon their arms at the judgment-seat, and they died of themselves, without their expiation being completed.
'The chief accused Pi-as: he was a leader of the soldiers. The chief accused Mes-sui: he was a scribe of the treasury. The chief accused Kamon: he was an overseer. The chief accused I-ri: he was a priest of the goddess Sokhet. The chief accused Nebzeu: he was a councillor. The chief accused Shat-sotem: he was a scribe of the treasury. Making together, 6.
'These are the persons who were brought up, on account of their crime, to the judgment-seat, before Kedenden, Baal-mahar, Pi-aru-sunu, Thut-rekh-nofer, and Meri-usi-amon. They judged them for their offence, they found them guilty. They laid them down before the tribunal. They died by their own hand.
'Pen-ta-ur, so is called the second of this name. He was brought up because of his actual participation with Thi, his mother, when they hatched the conspiracy with the women of the women's house, and because of the crime which was to have been committed against their lord. He was set before the councillors to be judged. They found him guilty, they laid him down where he stood. He died by his own hand.
'The chief accused Han-uten-amon. He was a councillor. He was brought up because of the crime of the women of the women's house. He bad been an ear-witness in the midst of them, without having given information. They set him before the councillors to judge him. They found him guilty. They laid him down where he stood. He died by his own hand.
'The chief accused Amen-khau. He was Adon for the service of the women's house. He was brought up because of the crime of the women of the women's house. He had been an ear-witness among them, without having given information. They set him before the councillors to be judged. They found h\m guilty. They laid him down where he stood. He died by his own hand.
'The chief accused Pi-ari. He was a royal scribe of the harem, for the service of the women's house. He was brought up [168] because of the crime of the women of the women's house. He hid been an ear-witness in the midst of them, without having given information of it. They set him before the councillors to be jogged. They found him guilty. They laid him down where he stood. He died by his own hand.
'These are the persons who received their punishment, and had their noses and their ears cut off, because they had in fact neglected to give full evidence in their depositions. The women had tried and had reached the place where these were. They kept a bear-house there, and they were in league with Pi-as. Their crime was thus expiated.
'The chief culprit Pi-bast He was a councillor. His punishment was accomplished on him. He died by his own hand.
'The chief culprit Mal. He was scribe in the chancery.
'The chief culprit Tai-nakht-tha. He was an officer in the
'The chief culprit Nanai. He was the overseer of the Sakht (?).
'Persons, about whom it was doubtful if they had conspired with them with thoroughly evil intentions.
'They laid down, without completing his expiation, the chief court Hor-a. He was the standard-bearer of the garrison.'

Here ends the Turip papyrus. The following extracts, which belong to the same trial, are found in two different fragments of the Lee and Bollin papyrus.

The translation of the first named is as follows:

' .... to all the people of this place, in which I am staying, and to all inhabitants of the country. Thus then spake Penhi, who was superintendent of the herds of cattle, to him: "If I only a wilting, which would give me power and strength!" "Then he gave him a writing from the rolls of the books of the great god, his lord. Then there came upon him a divine magic, an enchantment for men. He reached (thereby ) to the side of the women's house, and into that other great and deep place. He formed human figures of wax, with the intention of having them carried in by the hand of the land-surveyor Adi; I to alienate the mind of one of the girls, and to bewitch the Some of the discourses were carried in, others were brought out. Now, however, he was brought to trial on account of them, [164] and there was found in them incitation to all kinds of wickedness, and all kinds of villainy, which it was his intention to do. It was true, that he had done all this in conjunction with the other chief culprits, who, like him, were without a god or a goddess. They inflicted on him the great punishment of death, such as the holy writings pronounced against him.'

In a second fragment of the same papyrus the following words can be further made out:

'[He had committed this offence and was judged] for it. They found in it the material for all kinds of wickedness and all kinds of villainy which his heart had imagined to do. It was true, (namely) [all that he had done in conjunction with] the other chief culprits, who, like him, were without a god or a goddess. Such were the grievous crimes, worthy of death, and the grievous sins [in the country], which he had done. But now he was convicted on account of these grievous offences worthy of death, which he had committed. He died by his own hand. For the elders, who were before him, had given sentence that he should die by his own hand [with the other chief culprits, who like him] were without the sun-god Ka, according as the holy writings declared what should be done to him.'

The contents of the Bollin papyrus, and likewise a fragment of a greater papyrus, are confined to the following official statement:

'He had made some magic writings to ward off ill luck; he had made some gods of wax, and some human figures, to paralyze the limbs of a man; and he had put these into the hand of Bokakamon, without the sun-god Ra having permitted that he should accomplish this, either he or the superintendent of the house, or the other chief culprits, because he (the god) said, "Let them proceed into it, that they may furnish grounds for proceeding against them." Thus had he attempted to complete the shameful deeds which he had prepared, without the sun-god Ra having granted them real success. He was brought to trial, and they found out the real facts, consisting in all kinds of crime and all sorts of villainy, which his heart had imagined to do. It was true that he had purposed to do all this in concert with all the chief culprits, who [165] were like him. This was a grievous crime, worthy of death, and grievous wickedness for the land, which he had committed. But they found out the grievous crime, worthy of death, which he had committed. He died by his own hand.'

The reader can now, from the preceding translations, form his own idea of the way in which the harem conspiracy endeavoured to compass the destruction of the king by magical influence. At the head of the women of the royal harem there was a lady, Thi, who is frequently named, and her son Pentaur, a second accused person of this name. We shall not err in supposing her to have been a wife of the king, and her son the son of Ramses III., who had plotted, during the lifetime of his own father, to place himself upon the throne. This wide-spread conspiracy, in which humble and distinguished persons took part, and above all the immediate officials of the king in the service of the harem, points to an agitation at the court in opposition to the reigning king, which vividly reminds us of similar events in Eastern history. In spite of the parts that are missing of this great trial, what has been preserved will always form a remarkable contribution to the life of the Pharaohs, and the dangers which threatened them in their immediate circle.

The wife of Ramses, or at least the one of whose name and origin the monuments inform us, bore, besides her Egyptian appellation, Ise, that is, Isis, the foreign name of Hema-rozath, or Hemalozatha. The name also of her father, Hebuanrozanath, has nothing of an Egyptian sound, so that we may suppose that the Pharaoh had followed the custom of the time, [166] and had brought home a foreign princess, (of Khita? or Assyria?) as his wife, and had placed her beside him on the throne. We are accurately informed from the monuments about the number and names of his sons. The list of them in the temple of victory of Medinet-Abu is all the more precious, because it gives us likewise the opportunity of knowing beforehand and setting the names of the successors of the king. The following are the sons in their order:

1. Prince Bamessu I., commander of the infantry, afterwards king Ramessu IV.
2. Prince Ramessu II., afterwards king Ramessu VI.
3. Prince Ramessu III., royal master of the horse, afterwards king Ramessa VII.
4. Prince Ramessu IV., Set-hi-khopeshef, royal master of the horse, afterwards king Ramessu VIII.
5. Prince Pra-hi-unamif, first captain of the chariots of war.
6. Prince Menthu-hi-khopeshef, chief marshal of the army.
7. Prince Ramessu V., Meritum, high priest of the Sun in Heliopolis, afterwards king Meritum .
8. Prince Ramessu VI., Khamus, high priest of Ptah-Sokar in Memphis.
9. Prince Ramessu VII., Amon-hi-khopei-chef.
10. Prince Ramessu VIII., Miamun.

Of eight other princes and fourteen princesses we do not know the names. The portraits have no explanatory inscriptions appended.

Among the contemporaries of the king we must mention, above all the rest, the Theban chief priest of Amon, Meribast.

After the example of his predecessors, Ramses II. had prepared during his lifetime his 'orbit of light,' that is, his future sepulchre hi the valley of the royal tombs, according to the pattern of the age, in the form of a [167] long tunnel in the rock, divided into rooms and halls. In its decoration it corresponds with the modest proportions of the other buildings of the king, being remarkable only for a range of side-chambers, in which, among other things, the possessions of the king, such as weapons, household furniture, and so forth, are represented in coloured pictures, just as they were once actually deposited in the rooms apportioned for them.

After the death of king Rhampsinitus, the eldest of his sons ascended the throne,

RAMESSU IV. MIAMUN III. HAQ MAA,

or, as he afterwards changed his name, according to the probable supposition of Lepsius,

RAMESSU RA. MIAMUN III. MAMA. ABOUT B.C. 1166.

According to the inscriptions which cover the walls of the rock in the valleys of Hammamat, this Ramses took especial pleasure in the exploration of the desert mountain valleys on the Arabian side of Egypt. Under the pretext of making search there for stones suitable for the erection of monuments, the most distinguished Egyptians were sent away to these gloomy regions, and their mission was perpetuated by inscriptions on the rock. We will subjoin in a literal translation the historical contents of a rock-tablet of the third year of his reign, in order to give an idea of the number of officials and workmen who, in the twelfth century before our era, gave life to these wild valleys.

[168] The memorial tablet begins with the date of the 27th Payni, in the third year of the reign of king Ramessu. We will, as usual, pass over in silence the long list of official flatteries, of which two, unusually detailed, must have had an historical foundation. In one of them the praise of the Pharaoh is sung, for that he had 'laid waste the lands and plundered the inhabitants in their valleys,' which evidently refers to a war in some mountain regions. In the other it is vauntingly declared that 'good times were in Egypt, as in those of the sun-god Ra, in his kingdom, for this divine benefactor was like the god Thut, on account of the keeping of the laws.' Without doubt our Ramses IV. must have occupied himself in bringing about orderly times by means of wise ordinances; and this is the more likely, as it is evidently not without a purpose that the remark follows immediately, 'the offenders were increased, but the lies were put down, and the land was restored to a peaceful state in the time of his reign.' After the closing words, in the usual official language, 'he prepared joy for Egypt a hundred-thousandfold,' the especial purport of the memorial tablet begins to be set forth in the following terms:

'His heart watched to seek out something good for his father (Hor of Coptos), the creator of his body. He caused to be opened for him (9) an entrance to the holy land, which was not known before, because the (existing) road to it was too distant for all the people, and their consideration was not sufficient to discover it. Then the king considered in his mind, like his father Horns, the son of Isis, how he might lay down a road, to reach the place at his pleasure. (10) He made a circuit through this splendid mountain land, for the creation of monuments of granite for his father and for his ancestors, and for the gods and goddesses, who are the [169] lords of Egypt. He set up a memorial-tablet on the summit of this mountain, inscribed with the full name of King Ramessu.
'(11) Then did the king give directions to the scribe of the the sciences, Ramessu-akhtu-hib, and to the scribe of Pharaoh, Hora, and to the seer, User-ma-ra-nakhtu, of the temple of Khim-Hor, and of Isis in Coptos, to seek a suitable site for (12) a temple in the mountain of Bukhan. When they had gone (thither) [they found a fit place], which was very good. There were great quarries of granite.
'And the king issued a command, and gave directions to the chief priest of Amon, and the chief architect (13) Bamessu-nakhtu to bring such (monuments) to Egypt.
'These are the distinguished councillors, who were in his comply (namely):
The royal councillor User-ma-ra-Sekheper,
The royal councillor Nakhtu-amon,
And the Adon Kha-m-thir of the warriors,
(14) The superintendent of the quarry, prince Amon-mas of the city (Thebes),
The superintendent of the quarry and overseer of the (holy) herds, Bok-en-khonsu, of the temple of User-ma-ra-Miamun,
The colonel of the war chariots, Nakhtu-amon of the court.
The scribe of the enlistment of the warriors, Suanar,
His scribe of the Adon of the warriors, Ramessu-nakhtu,
20 scribes of the warriors,
20 superior officials of the court administration,
The colonel of the marshall-men of the warriors, Kha-m-maa-uiar,
20 marshall-men of the warriors,
(16) 50 captains of the two-horse chariots,
60 superiors of the seers, superintendents of the (holy) animals,
•eers, scribes, and land surveyors,
5,000 people of the warriors,
(17) 200 foremen of the guild of the fishermen,
800 redskins (Erythrseans, 'Aper) from the tribes of 'Ain (between the Red Sea and the Nile),
2,000 house servants of the house of Pharaoh,
1 Adon as chief overseer (of these),
50 men of the police (Mazai),
The superintendent of the works of art, Nakhtu-amon,
[170] 3 architects for the workmen of the (18) quarries,
130 quarrymen and masons,
2 draftsmen,
4 sculptors;
900 of the number had died in consequence of the long journey, making together, 8,368 men.¹⁶⁸
'(19) And the necessaries for them were carried on ten carts. Six pair of oxen drew each cart, which was brought from Egypt to the mountains of Bukhan. (20) [There were also] many runners, who were laden with bread, fresh, and vegetables, for they had not placed them thereon (i.e. on the waggons); and there were also brought the expiatory offerings for the gods of heaven and of the earth from the capital city of Patoris (Thebes) in great purity.'

After some unintelligible and half-obliterated words, the conclusion of the inscription follows:

'(21) And the priests made a proper offering, the oxen were slain, the calves were killed, the incense steamed heavenward, wine flowed as if in rivers, and there was no end of the mead, in that place. The singers raised their song. Then was made the holy offering to Khim, to Horns, to Isis, [to Amon, to Mut, to Khonsu], and to the divinities, the lords of these mountains. Their heart was joyful, they received the gifts, which may they requite with millions of 30-years' feasts of jubilee to their dear son, king Ramessu, the dispenser of life for ever!'

[171] With the exception of some additions to the temple of Khonsu in Thebes, erected by his father, and some insignificant sculptures on the walls and columns of the great temple of Amon at Api, the memory of this king has not been preserved in any remarkable manner. With what object he sent a company so grandly equipped to the valley of monuments at Hammamat, we can hardly understand, since no traces have been preserved of important monuments bearing his name, light this whole journey have been undertaken only with the object of driving away, or perhaps exterminating, a number of disaffected people? The immense number of 900 deaths at least favours this conjecture.

That his rule over Egypt was contested by a claimant to the throne, who was beyond the immediate family of Ramses III., is proved by the name of his successor,

RAMESSU V. AMUNHIKHOPESHEF L MIAMUN IV.,

whose sepulchral chamber, in the valley of Biban-el-Holuk, was appropriated by Ramses VI., herein a true son of Ramses III., after he had substituted his own names for those of his hated rival. What this Ramses V. thought of himself, is proved by the contents of his rock tablet at Silsilis:

'If a mountain of gold he enlightens the whole world, like the god of the circle of light. Men were enraptured at his coronation and the gods were highly delighted on account of his proofs of love, since he rendered to them what was due, whereby they live, as a good son does for his father. His ordinances caused contentment, his measures doubled his kingdom and his revenues. The Nile-god opened his mouth at his (the king's) name. There [172] was in his whole realm plenty without measure. He adorned the houses of the gods with monuments, preparing them well for eternity. Like the Sun in heaven is his duration of life, equalling the duration of His life. His being is like that of Monthu. He has doubled the revenues of the gods for their sacrifices, which are well provided with all necessaries, to satisfy them by reason of good laws. It was he who made the whole people what it is. Small and great rejoice, because they are subjected to his name. He is to them like the new moon, so to speak: people go to bed, and he is received as a benefactor; they wake up, and he is born as a father.'

Poetic self-praises of this kind, without any historic background, merely cause disgust, since the empty forms of speech have not even the merit of beauty of language, or any richness of new thought. With the Ramessids of the 19th dynasty the true poetic inspiration appears to have vanished, during a troublous and disastrous period, and the dry official tone and the legal forms seem to have taken its place. Some productions of value in a higher style of language prove on a closer examination to be copies of the masterpieces of earlier times. The Thutmeses, Amenhoteps, and Ramses found imitators among the Pharaohs with little trouble, but new models have now and henceforward disappeared from Egyptian history.

Of the sons of Ramses III., who followed next in order, two seem to have reigned simultaneously, namely, the seventh son, Ramessu Meritum, a son of the Queen Muf-nofer-ari, whose cartouche, with the name Miamun Meritum, I accidentally discovered many years ago, during a visit to the ruins of Heliopolis, on one of the stones lying in the road. It led me to the conjecture, that Meritum reigned his viceroy in Lower Egypt [173] in the name of his brother. The Theban monuments give us the names of this brother with perfect distinctness. He was called

RA-NEB-MA MIAMUN R^MESSU VI. AMEN-KHOPESHEF IL NUTER HAQ-ON.

The inscriptions which mention him speak with a certain emphasis of his monuments in honour of the gods; but of these, those which have survived the ravages of time are reduced to a very small number. The most important edifice, and the most instructive on account of its representations and inscriptions, is his great and splendid tomb in the royal valley of Biban-el-Moluk. The tables of the hours, with the times of the risings of the stars, which formed the houses of the sun's course in the 36 or 37 weeks of the Egyptian year, will be for all times the most valuable contribution to astronomical science in the 12th century before our era. According to the researches of the French savant, Biot, whose labours in the department of astronomical calculation, in order to fix certain epochs of Egyptian history, are almost the only ones which have treated the subject with scientific accuracy, the drawing up of these tables of stars would fall in the reign of Ramessu VI., in the year 1240 B.C. Our learned fellow countryman, Professor Lepsius, has, however, from his own point of view, sought to prove that herein lay an error and that, on the authority of the already cited table of hours in the grave of this king, the year 1194 is indicated as the only proper date. This last view does not differ very much from our calculation of 1166, deduced from the number of successive generations.

[174] We cannot pass over in silence a record of this time, which has faithfully preserved the name of the king in a sepulchral chamber in Nubia. We refer to the following document, which we now for the first time present to the learned world in a literal translation:

'Land (which is devoted to the maintenance of the holy service) of the statue of king Ramessu VI., which is dedicated to the city of 'Ama (consisting of the following districts):
'I. The district to the north of Pi-ra (that is the temple of the sun), and of the town in the midst of the temple of Ra, the lord of this earth, and to the east and south of the fields of the land of the (statue) of Queen Nofer-tera, which is dedicated to the city of 'Ama. (The position of this district is as follows): (it is hounded) on the east by the great mountain, on the north by the papyrus field of Pharaoh, on the west is the river. Size, 3 x 100 cubits.
'II. The district at the commencement (lesha-t, head) of the land of Ma-iu, opposite to the field of the Adon of Wawa, on the south by the land of the statue of the king, which was under the administration of the chief priest Amen-em-api, on the east by the great mountain, on the north by the papyrus field of Pharaoh, which is set apart as a field for the Adon of Wawa, on the west by the river. Size, 2 x 100 cubits.
'III. The district of the overseers of the temple of the goddess, east of the field just described: on the east by the great mountain, on the south by the field of the estate of the king's statue, which is under the administration of the Adon Meri of the land of Wawa, on the north by the field of the keeper of the herds (1) Bih, on the west by the river. Size, 4 x 100 cubits.
'IV. The district at the commencement of the land of Thuhen, at the extreme west boundary of the basin of Thuheu, in the direction of the papyrus field of Pharaoh, and behind the field that has been described: east by the great mountain, south by the papyrus field of Pharaoh, which lies east of the great mountain, [175] north by the field of the land of Airos, west by the river. Size, 6 x 100 ells.
Total superficies of the fields, which belong to him (the statue), 15 X 100 cubits.
'V. With regard to the high-lying field (of) Nif-ti, the Adon Fenni, the son of Heru-nofer, has written and set up his proprietorship of the land of Wawa as an estate, which he has chosen, to famish him with (sustenance) for each ox, which is yearly slaughtered in his honour.
'The circuit of the superficies of the fields of the potters' earth, which are in the possession of the (former) Adon of Wawa, are not included in the roll.
Its west is at the gravelly land of the Adon Pen-ni, its south is at the gravelly fields of the Adon Pen-ni, on the north are the fields with potters' earth, which are the property of Pharaoh, the east is at the gravelly fields of the Adon Pen-ni. Size of the whole, 4 x 200, and 2 x 200 cubits.
'Anyone who will not observe these demarcations, to him will Amon-Ra be an avenger, from one avenging to (another) avenging;
Mot will take vengeance on his wife, Khonsu will take vengeance on his children, he shall hunger, he shall thirst, he shall be miserable, he shall vanish away.'

The foregoing inscription is found in a rock-tomb at Anibe, little visited by travellers, on the western bank of the Nile, opposite the village of Ibrim, about fifty kilometres (31 miles) north of Ibsambul. The owner of the tomb was an official of king Ramessu VI., of the name of Penni, who, in his office as Adon or governor of the land of Wawa, died and was buried in this lonely region. The directions he left behind him, particularly with regard to the number of estates, the produce of which was devoted to the maintenance of the service of a statue of the king, hardly require an explanation. What makes the inscription particularly valuable is the designation of lands in those parts, [176] and the offices connected with them. He himself, as we have already remarked, was Adon of Wawa.¹⁶⁹ Another Adon is mentioned by the name of Meri. The city of Pira is the ancient designation of the modem place Derr, or Dirr. The city mentioned by the name of Ama, in which a Nubian Horns enjoyed an especial worship, is very often named in the inscriptions, and seems to have been the ancient appellation of Ibrim. At Pira (Derr), in all probability, was the seat of the administration of the whole country of Wawa. The districts of Ahi and the gold land of Akita¹⁷⁰ belonged to it, the revenues of which Penni had to collect and pay over to the Pharaoh. For his especial diligence in the fulfilment of his service to the court he was most warmly commended by the 'King's son of Kush' of that time, whose name unfortunately is passed over in silence. On a royal visit, the king appears accompanied by the above-named Meri, who is also called 'the superintendent of the temple,' to recommend his officials to the grace of Pharaoh. The statue of the royal lord, which had been set up, plays here an important part. His Majesty appears to have been much pleased with the services of his faithful servant, since he presented Penni with two silver vessels filled with precious ointments, as a reward of honour. Penni was certainly an artist, as is shown by the statue of Pharaoh, and his rock tomb adorned with rich sculptures in stone, but especially by his office, mentioned in the inscriptions, of 'master of the quarry,' besides that of a 'superintendent of the temple of Horus, the lord of the town of 'Ama.'

[177] These and similar statements are confirmed by the pictures and writings in his eternal dwelling, where he rests surrounded by his numerous relations. The several members of his family appear all to have held during their lifetime various offices in the Horus-dty of 'Ama. I find among them a chief priest of Isis (H'atae), whose son was the Amenemapi named in the inscription; also two treasurers of the king in 'Ama, a captain of the city of 'Ama, a priest and a scribe, while the women are mostly named as female singers of Amon or of Horns, the lord of the town of 'Ama.

When all historical data for depicting the life and deeds of a king fail, the family information contained in the tomb of a contemporary becomes of importance, even if it teaches us nothing else than that in the times of Ramessu VI. the Egyptian dominion south of the tropic was still maintained, and that among the 'King's sons of Kush' there were several Adons, corresponding to the districts of Kush, to whom again were subordinated the H'a, or governors of the towns.

Passing over in silence the two insignificant successors and brothers of this king, who perhaps reigned simultaneously as Pharaohs, and of whom the monuments have merely handed down the names, Ramessu VII. and Ramessu VIII., we now come to the last Ramessids of the 20th dynasty.

Our attention is first claimed by Ramessu IX., who bore the full name of,

[178]

NOFER-KA-RA SOTEP-EN-RA RAMESSU IX. MIAMUN VI. KHAMUS. BC. 1133.

It is not his deeds, about which the monuments tell us next to nothing, nor his buildings, which are extremely few in number (his pictures and inscriptions are placed on the already existing monuments of his predecessors), but his relations to the chief priests of Amon at Thebes at this time, that require us to pay particular attention to his memory.

The enquirer who examines the monuments of the Theban capital with a clear and discerning eye, and who knows how to read between the lines, cannot avoid being struck with the very evident fact that, from the time of Ramses III., the holy fathers, who bore the highest dignity of chief priest in the temple-city of Amon, are always coming more and more into the foreground of Egyptian history. Their influence with the kings assumes, step by step, a growing importance. As formerly it was the priests who expressed in the name of the gods their thanks to the kings for the temple-buildings in Thebes, so now it is the kings who begin to testify their gratitude to the chief priest of Amon for the care bestowed on the temple of Amon by the erection of new buildings, and by the improvement and maintenance of the older ones.

In this connection, a great value belongs to the representations and inscriptions on the eastern wall and the adjoining buildings, which connect the third and fourth pylon to the south of the temple of Amon at Ape. We there see the 'hereditary prince and [179] chief priest of Amon-ra, the king of the gods, Amen-hotep, in the place of his father, the chief priest of Amon-ra in Api, Ramessu-nakht;' in other words, the chief priest Amenhotep, who had just taken the place of his predecessor and father. Opposite to him stands king Ramessu IX., and the meaning of his presence in this place is made quite clear by the appended inscription:

'The king in person, he speaks to the princes and companions by his side: Give rich reward and much recompense in good gold and silver, and in a hundred-thousandfold of good things, to the high priest of Amon-ra, the king of the gods, Amenhotep, on account of these many splendid buildings [which he has erected] at the temple of Amon-ra to the great name of the divine benefactor, the king Ramessu IX.'

The presentation of the reward took place in a right worthy and official manner. The appended document, of which a literal translation is here for the first time published, gives us not only information of this fact, but at the same time preserves for us an excellent example of the court language of the period:

'In the 10th year, the month Athyr, the 19th day, in the temple of Amon-ra, the king of the gods. The chief priest of Amon-ra, the king of the gods, Amenhotep, was conducted to the great forecourt of the temple of Amon. His (the king's) words uttered his reward, to honour him by good and choice disarms.' These are the princes, who had come to reward him, namely: the treasurer of Pharaoh and the royal councillor, Amen-hotep, the royal councillor, Nee-Amon, the secretary of Pharaoh and the royal councillor, Noferkara-â-m-piamon, who is the interpreter of Pharaoh.

'The discourses which were addressed to him related to the [180] rewards for his services on this day in the great forecourt of Amon-ra, the king of the gods. They were of this import:
'Monthu was invoked as a witness;
'As witness is invoked the name of Amon-ra, the king of the gods, that of the god Hormakhu, of Ptah of Memphis, of Thot, the lord of the holy speech, of the gods of heaven, of the gods of the earth;
'As witness is invoked the name of Ramessn IX., the great king of Egypt, the son and Mend of all the gods, for levying all services. Let the taxing and the usufruct of the labours of the inhabitants for the temple of Amon-ra, the king of the gods, be placed under thy administration. Let the full revenues be given over to thee, according to their number. Thou shalt collect the duties. Thou shalt undertake the interior administration (literally, aide) of the treasuries, the provision houses, and of the granaries of the temple of Amon-ra, the king of the gods; so that the income of the heads and hands for the maintenance of Amon-ra, the king of the gods, may be applied to the service. [Thus does] Pharaoh, thy lord, [reward] the deeds of a good and distinguished servant of Pharaoh, his lord. He shall be strengthened to do the best for Amon-ra, the king of the gods, the great and glorious god, and to do the beat for Pharaoh, his lord, who has seen and admired what thou hast done. This is for explanation of the commission to these (present) treasurers and the two councillors of Pharaoh concerning the gold, silver, [and all other gifts, which are given to thee as a reward].'

In fact, the representation belonging to this inscription shows that the words of the king were exactly fulfilled, for the two councillors of Pharaoh ('Ab-en- pira-o)¹⁷¹ who are named adorn the meritorious priest of Amon with necklaces and other jewels.

What he did for the temple of his god is related to us at the place we have mentioned, in his own words:

'Thus has the teacher of the king, the chief priest of Amon-ra, the king of the gods, Amenhotep, done, namely: [181] I found this holy house of the chief priests of Amon of old time, which is in the temple of Amon-ra, the king of the gods, listening to decay. What was done to it dates since the time of King Usnrtaaen I.¹⁷² I took the building in hand, and restored it anew in good work, and in a work pleasant to look at. I strengthened its walls behind, around, and in front. I built it anew. I made its columns, which were bound together with great stones in skilful work. I inserted in the gates great folding doors of acacia wood, fin: dosing them up. I built out on its great stone wall, which is seen at the .... I built my high new house for the chief priest of Amon, who dwells in the temple of Amon. I inserted the whole gate of [acacia wood]. The bolts in it are of copper; the engraved pictures are of the finest gold and [silver]. I had a great forecourt of stone, which opens on the southern temple-like, [to serve for] the purification in the temple of Amon. I chased [the whole with .... ] of Seb. I set up its great blocks of curved stone in the connecting hall. The valves of the doors are of acacia wood. I [caused to be erected one] of great carved blocks of stone. The outlines of the carved work were drawn in red chalk.  .... The whole was inscribed with the full name of Pharaoh. Also a new treasury was built on the ground within the great hall which bears the name: .... The columns are of stone, the doors of acacia wood, painted with .... [Also I built a chamber for] the king. It lies behind the store-chamber for the necessaries of the temple of Amon. [It is constructed] of stone, the doors and door-valves are of acacia wood [I made and set up statues in] the great splendid forecourt for each chief priest of Amon-ra [the king of the gods. I laid out gardens behind] Asheru.¹⁷³ They were planted with trees.'

We break off the translation here, because the great gape in the following lines destroy all connection in the sense. Towards the end, the architect declares that he had done all this, 'to glorify my lord Amon-ra, the king of the gods, whose greatness, doctrine, and [power?] I acknowledge.' With this is connected the usual prayer [182] for life, welfare, health, and a long enjoyment of existence for the king and for himself.

Emphatically as Amenhotep, the chief priest of Amon, and also called repeatedly the 'great architect in the city of Amon' speaks of 'his lord the Pharaoh,' the power of the latter was already broken. For with Amenhotep the chief priests began to play that double part which at last raised them to the royal throne. It is right, therefore, to pay particular attention beforehand to their names, since they are not only of importance for determining the chronology by the succession of their generations, but also in a purely historical relation they have the value of actual kings' names.

To the time of the same king, who occupied such a peculiar position in relation to his high priest, belong? the burglaries and thefts in the tombs of the earlier kings, about which a whole series of judicial documents on papyrus afford us express information. There existed in Thebes a regularly constituted thieves' society, formed for the secret opening and robbing of the tombs of the kings, in which even sacerdotal persons took a part. It required full and extensive enquiries to follow the track of the offenders. Among the persons entrusted in the name of the king with the conduct of this official enquiry, according to extant documents, there are some officials of Pharaoh whose acquaintance we have already made. They are the following: the chief priest of Amon, Amenhotep; the governor of Thebes, Khamus; the governor of Thebes, Ranebma-Nakht; the royal councillor and [183] scribe of Pharaoh, Nes-su-amon; the royal councillor and interpreter of Pharaoh, Noferkara-em-piamon; Pharaoh's councillor and secretary, Pi-notem; the leader of the Mazaiu (police), Menthu-khopeshef; and some other persons, whose names we will pass over. The tombs, which were broken open and partly plundered, contained the kings and queens of the 11th, 13th, 17th, and 18th dynasties, a catalogue of whom we have already laid before our readers.¹⁷⁴

According to the arrangement of Lepsius, the following are to be ranked as Pharaohs following Ramessu IX.:

Kheper-ma-ra Sotep-en-ra Ramessu X. Amen-bi-khopeehef;
SekhAren-ra Miamun Ramessu XI.;
User-ma-ra Sotep-en-ra Miamun Ramessu XII.

Their names are found only here and there on the monuments, most frequently in the small oracle-temple of Khonsu in Thebes, which their forefather Ramessu III. had founded, and which since that time had received the particular attention of the kings of the 20th dynasty, as a sort of family temple. The god Khonsu, the young son of Amon and of the goddess Mut of Aflheru, was worshipped in this temple in his particular character as Khonsu-em-us Nofer-hotep, that is, 'Khonsu of Thebes, the good and friendly,' and a special importance was attached to his oracles on all grave occasions. The kings and queens enquire of him, and he gives his answers as he pleases.

These introductory remarks appear to us necessary [184] in order to understand the following inscription on a stone of the time of king Ramessu XII., which was formerly set up in the temple of Khonsu. We pass over as unimportant for our purpose the king's names and titles of honour, and begin with the properly historical introduction, which, commencing at the 4th line, runs as follows:

'(4) When Pharaoh was in the river-land of Naharain, as his custom was every year, the kings of all the nations came with humility and friendship to the person of Pharaoh. From the extremest ends (of their countries) they brought the gifts of gold, silver, blue and (5) green stones; and all sorts of (sweet smelling) woods of the holy land were upon their shoulders, and each one endeavoured to outdo his neighbour.
'Then the king of Bakhatana brought his tribute, and placed at the head of it his eldest daughter, to honour Pharaoh and to be for his friendship. And the woman (6) was much more beautiful to please Pharaoh than all other things. Then was the king's name written upon her, as the king's wife, Noferu-Ra. When the Pharaoh had come to Egypt, everything was done for her which a queen required to use.
'It happened in the year 15, in the month Payni, on the 22nd day. Then Pharaoh was in Thebes, the strong, the queen of cities, in order to thank (7) his father Amon-ra, the lord of Thebes, at his beautiful feast of Api of the south, the seat of his desire from the beginning. They came to announce to Pharaoh. A messenger of the king of Bakhatana has arrived with rich gifts for the queen. Then was he brought (8) before Pharaoh, together with his gifts. He spoke in honour of Pharaoh: "Greeting to thee, thou sun of the nations, let us live before thee!" Thus he spake, while he fell down before Pharaoh, and repeated the message to Pharaoh: "I am come to thee, the great lord, on account of Bintrresh, the youngest sister of the queen Noferu-ra. (9) She is suffering in her body. May thy Majesty send a learned expert to see her." Then spake Pharaoh: "Let them bring to me the learned men from the places of the holy sciences, and the knowers of the most intimate secrets." (10) They brought them to him forthwith. Then [185] spoke Pharaoh after a time: "Ye have been assembled here to hear these words. Now, then, bring to me a man of a clever mind, and a finger skilful in writing, out of your company." When the royal scribe, (11) Thut-emhib, had come before Pharaoh, Pharaoh bade him, that he should start for Bakhatana with the enquiry, who was present. When the expert had reached the city of the land of Bakhatana, in which Bint-resh tarried after the manner of one possessed with a spirit, then he found himself (12) unable to contend with him (the spirit).
'And the king again sent to Pharaoh, speaking thus: "Great lord and ruler! May thy Majesty order that the god may be [Khonsu, the oracular, of Thebes, to the youngest sister of the queen." (13) And the messenger remained with] Pharaoh till the 26th year. In the month Pachons (of that year), at the time of the feast of Amon, Pharaoh abode in Thebes, and Pharaoh stood again before the god Khonsu of Thebes, the kind and friendly, while he spake thus: "O thou good lord! I present myself again before thee on account of the daughter of the king of Bakhatutt." (14) Then went from thence the god Khonsu of Thebes, the kind and friendly, to Khonsu, the oracular, the great god, the driver away of evil. Then spake Pharaoh in presence of Khonsu of Thebes, the kind and friendly, "Thou good lord, shouldest thou not charge Khonsu (15) the oracular, the great god, the driver away of evil, that he may betake himself to Bakhatana!" To that there was a very gracious consent. Then spake Pharaoh, "Give him thy talisman to take with him. I will let his Holiness be drawn to Bakhatana, to release the daughter of the king of Bakbatana." (16) Thereupon a very gracious consent of Khonsu of Thebes, the kind and friendly. Then he gave the talisman to Khonsu, the oracular, of Thebes, at four different times. And Pharaoh gave command, to cause Khonsu, the oracular, of Thebes, to embark on the great ship. Five barks and many (17) carriages and horses were on his right and on his left.
'That god reached the city of the land of Bakhatana in the space of a year and five months. Then the king of Bakhatana and his people and his princes went to meet Khonsu, the oracular. And he threw himself (18) prostrate, and spake thus: "Come to us, be friendly to us, according to the commands of the king of Upper and Lower Egypt, Miamun Ramessu." Then that god went to the place where Bint-resh dwelt. Then he [186] caused the talisman to work upon the daughter of the king of Bakhatana. She became well (19) on the spot. Then spake that spirit, which possessed her, before Khonsu, the oracular, of Thebes: ''Welcome as a friend, thou great god, driver away of evil. Thine is the city of Bakhatana. Thy servants are its inhabitants. I am thy servant. (20) I will return whence I came, to make thy heart satisfied about the object for which thou wast brought hither. May I request thy Holiness, that there may be a feast celebrated in my company and in the company of the king of Bakhatana. Then this god assented graciously to his prophet, and he said (21): "Let the king of Bakhatana prepare a great sacrifice for this spirit. When that has been done, then will Khonsu, the oracular, unite himself with the spirit." And the king of Bakhatana stood there, together with his people, and was very much afraid. Then (22) he prepared a great sacrifice for Khonsu, the oracular, of Thebes, and for this spirit. The king of Bakhatana celebrated a feast for them. Then the glorious spirit went thence, whither it pleased him, as Khonsu, the oracular, of Thebes, had commanded. (23) And king of Bakhatana was delighted beyond all measure, together with all the men who dwelt in Bakhatana. Then he considered in his heart, and he spake to them thus: ''Might it be so, that this god should remain in the city of the land of Bakhatana. I will not let him return to Egypt." Then (24) this god remained three years and nine months in Bakhatana. Then the king of Bak-hatana rested on his bed, and he saw as if this god stepped out from his holy shrine, as in the form of a golden sparrow-hawk he took his flight heavenwards towards Egypt. (25) When he awoke he was lame. Then spake he to the prophet of Khonsu, the oracular, of Thebes: "This god he staid among us, and now he withdraws to Egypt. His carriage must return to Egypt." (26) Then the king of Bakhatana had the god drawn back to Egypt, and gave him very many presents of all sorts of good things, and they arrived safely at Thebes. Then went Khonsu, the oracular, of Thebes (27) into the temple of Khonsu of Thebes, the kind and friendly, and he laid down the presents just as the king of Bakhatana had presented them to him, namely, all kinds of good things, before Khonsu of Thebes, the kind and friendly; he kept nothing of them for his house. But Khonsu, the oracular, of Thebes, (28) happily returned to his house in the 33rd year, in the month of Mechir, on the 13th day, of king Miamun Ramessu. Such was [187] what happened to him; to him the dispenser of life to-day and for over.'

A great number of reflections will naturally crowd upon the reader's mind on the perusal of this inscription, the first interpretation of which is due to the labours of two masters of our science, Dr. S. Birch and Monsieur E. de Rouge. Our own translation has, perhaps, the modest merit of having utilized the latest discoveries in old Egyptian philology for the elucidation of this stone. It is difficult to say where the land of Bakhatana should be sought. A journey of seventeen months from Thebes to the foreign city shows that it was very distant. The (doubtful?) stay of Ramessu XII. in the river-land of Naharain suggests a Syrian town. Its identification with Bagistan, as proposed by E. de Rouge, as well as my own with Ecbatana, must be given up, in face of the fact that, in those times of the decay of the rule of the Ramessids, such distant towns and countries could not have been subject to the empire of the Pharaohs. Probably the town of Bakhi or Bakh may be referred to, which is mentioned in the lists of the victories of Ramessu III. and earlier kings as a conquered place.

With his successor,

MEN-MA-RA SOTEP-EN-PTAH KHAMUS MIAMUN RAMESSU XIII. NUTER HAQ-ON, B.C. 1100,

we seem to have arrived at the end of this dynasty, although it is proved by the monuments that some Ramessids, as unimportant petty kings, put forward [188] their claim to the throne of their fathers, even in the time of the Assyrian conqueror, Shashanq I. They did so truly with little success, for the chief priests of the god Amon had already placed the crown of the country on their own heads, and being the lords of Thebes they behaved as lords also of the whole country. The temple of Khonsu at Thebes, which was likewise the family chapel of the last Ramessids, had been finished under Ramessu XIII., as far as the open forecourt with the small colonnade round it. The king prides himself on having erected these last buildings 'as a memorial to his father Khonsu;' and 'the kind and friendly Khonsu of Thebes' promises him as a reward 'the kingdom of Tum.' In other parts of the first hall the king insists in a still more earnest manner on his own importance as a builder. Thus he caused these words to be engraved on a carved stone:

'Splendid things has he made, many and wonderful monuments; all his schemes were carried out immediately like those of his father, the Memphian Ptah. He has embellished Thebes with great monuments. No other king has done the like.'

Poor king! While he gave life to the dead stones by these and other inscriptions in the temple of his house, in honour of his name, to hand down his remembrance to posterity, the traitor was lurking behind his back, who gave the death-blow to him and to his race. This was the chief priest of Amon, Hirhor, who became the founder of the following dynasty.

I learn by a letter from my honoured friend, Mariette-Bey, that the discovery was made last year [189] (1876), at Abydus, on the spot named Shune-el-zebib, of a memorial-stone of Ramses XIII., bearing the date of the 27th year, the month Mesori, the 8th day. Also, in the collection of papyrus-rolls in the Turin Museum, as published by M. Pleyte, there exists what is possibly an autograph letter of the same king, with the date of the 17th year, the month Khoiahk, the 25th day. The contents of this MS. (omitting the formal introduction) will be best understood from the following translation:

'A royal order is issued to the King's son of Kush, the royal scribe of the warriors, the superintendent of the granaries, the commander. Pharaoh's foreigners, Painehas, to the following effect: The king's order will be brought to thee, making the communication, that Tani, the Major-domus and counsellor (Ab) of Pharaoh has set out on his journey. His departure has been caused by commissions from Pharaoh, his lord, which he has started to execute in the land of the South. As soon as this letter of Pharaoh, thy lord, reaches thee, do thou act in the fullest accord with him, for he is to execute the commissions of Pharaoh, his lord, on account of which he has departed from hence.
'Thou art to look up the hand-barrows of the great goddess, to lord them and put them on board the ship. Thou art to have them brought into his presence, where the statue is appointed to stand.
'Thou art to have the precious stones (here follows a list of unknown sorts of stones), brought together to the same place where the statue stands, to deliver them into the hands of the artists. Let no delay be interposed in the execution of this communion, or else I should degrade thee. Behold! I expect thy best attention to this message. Such is the message which is made known to thee.'

The conclusion of the letter is clear and explicit, evidently on the assumption that the viceroy of Ethiopia might prove a negligent servant.

[190]

List of Values and Prices, about b.c. 1000

Preliminary Note¹⁷⁵

1 Ten = 10 Ket.
1 Ket = 9.0959 grammes = 154 grains nearly (or ⅓ oz. Troy).
1 Ten = 90.959       "  = 1537 grains (above ¼ lb. Troy).
Ratio of silver to copper, 1 : 80.
1 Slave cost 3 Ten, 1 Ket, silver.
1 Ox " 1 Ket, silver (=8 Ten, copper).
1 Goat " 2 Ten, copper.
1 Pair of Fowls (Geese 1) cost ⅓ Ten, copper.
500 Fish, of a particular kind, cost 1 Ket, silver (= 8 Ten, copper).
800 Fish, of another kind, cost 1 Ket, silver.
100 Fish, of a third kind,     "   1  "        "
1 Tena of Com of Upper Egypt cost 5-7 Ten, copper.
1 Hotep of Wheat cost 2 Ten, copper.
I  "          "  Spelt     "  2      "        "
5 Hin of Honey       "  4       "        "
(Hence 1 Hin of Honey cost 8 Ket, copper).
365 Hin of Honey cost 3⅔ Ten, silver.
(Hence 1 Hin of Honey cost ⅔ Ket, silver).
11 Hin of Oil cost 17 Ten, copper.
50 Acres (Set) of arable land cost 5 Ten, silver.
1 Garden land cost 2 Ten, silver.
1 Knife cost 3 Ten, copper.
1 Razor   "   1   "         "
1 Metal Vessel, weighing 20 Ten, cost 40 Ten, copper.
1 Ditto       "            "         6     "      "   18    "        "
1 Ditto        "            "        1      "      "   3      "        "
1 Apron of fine stuff cost 3 Ten, copper.

The above values are derived from inscriptions, and there can be no doubt as to the accuracy of their interpretation.

[191]

CHAPTER XVI

THE TWENTY-FIRST DYNASTY. THE PRIEST HIRHOR AND HIS SUCCESSORS. 1100-906 B.C.

The king of Upper and Lower Egypt, the chief priest of Amon,

SI-AMON (SON OF AMON) HIRHOR

Thus did the ambitious priest of Amon, the head of the Theban clergy, style himself officially, when he took possession of the throne of Egypt, or, to speak more correctly, of that of the Thebaid in particular. Ramessu XIII., his lord, had before his own fall honoured the first servant of the god Amon in a distinguished manner, inasmuch as he had entrusted him with the highest and most important offices of the government. Hirhor calls himself, in the representations of his person by the side of the king, an 'hereditary prince, the fan-bearer on the right of the king, King's son of Kush, chief architect of the king, chief general of the army in Upper and Lower Egypt, administrator of the granaries,' as Joseph was of old at the court of Pharaoh. Such high employments, which in the course of time were held by one and the same person, either together [192] or in succession, must have essentially facilitated his project, when once formed, to overthrow the sovereign. His position and inviolability as the chief priest of Amon secured to the proud Hirhor, on the other hand, no inconsiderable following among the most powerful of all the priestly societies in the whole country, which gave a steady support to his secret plans. If in Upper Egypt it was the inhabitants of the Theban nome and the priests of Amon who took part with the new king, so, on the other hand, in Lower Egypt he had won over a moderate but not to be despised number at the priestly societies of the holy fathers of the Ramses-city of Zoan-Tanis, who stood in close connection with the imperial city of Thebes owing to their common worship of Amon. The letters and documents of the first Ramessids which have come down to us leave not the slightest doubt upon this point. And yet the plans of Hirhor were not destined to attain complete success. While Ramessu XIII. and his successors, according to all probability, ate the bread of banishment in the Great Oasis, they had raised up in silence an enemy to the priest-kings, whose power and importance might be brought to aid their cause.

On the east, in the vast plains of Mesopotamia, the great empire of the Khita had been succeeded by a new race of rulers, which is known to us in history under the name of the Assyrian Empire. The Egyptian monuments of the time give to the successors of the Khita the short name which with the assistance of the cuneiform inscriptions we understand as Mat, [193] and they designate the king of the Mat, that is the peoples as the 'great king of the Mat, the great king of kings.' Even though, in a representation which is more pompous than historically true, Hirhor conferred on himself the honorary title of conqueror of the Ruthen, to which in all probability he had no right, it may be assumed that the power of the Assyrians, these Mat, developed a strength which must at any rate have restrained the priest-king, in the internal decay of the Egyptian empire, from thinking of conquests on the East.

The successors of the priest-king, whom the reader will find named in the Genealogical Table (IV.), were far from securing a firm position in the country. Their most determined enemies were the banished race of the Ramessids, who succeeded in forming alliances with Assyria. A great grandson of that Ramessu XIII. who was overthrown by Hirhor, according to oar reckoning Ramessu XVI., married an unnamed daughter of the great king of the Assyrians, whose name is distinctly transmitted to us. The monuments call him Pallasharnes. The name in its first part reminds us of the second portion of the Assyrian royal names, Ninip-Pallasar and Teglath-phalasar (about 1100 B.C.), as they have been read by interpreters of the Assyrian cuneiform inscriptions.

The consequences of such a connection of the banished but legitimate royal race of the Egyptians with the powerful dynasty of Nineveh quickly appeared. The Assyrians marched against Egypt. At that time Pinotem I., a grandson of Hirhor, [194] ruled the land as king and high priest. His residence was at Tanis, already familiar to us as the strong frontier fortress in the Delta towards the east. In the twenty-fifth year of his reign, disturbances had broken out in the Thebaid in favour of the banished Ramessids. Pinotem I., who had to await the attack of the great king of Assyria, Nimrod, and his army, remained in Tanis. His son, Men-kheper-ra, was sent with full powers to Thebes, to check the insurrection. After succeeding in doing this, though how far must remain uncertain, he is named as the successor of his father in the .high priesthood of Amon. His first act was to recall the Egyptians banished to the Oasis, namely, the Ramessids and their adherents. This was apparently done with the consent of the god Amon, whose oracle had approved the proposal of Men-kheper-ra.

This fact is transmitted to us by an inscription, in which, in spite of many lacunae, we can clearly under stand the general connection. I give now for the first time the translation of this important document, after having had the opportunity of again comparing it with the original at Thebes:

'(1) In the year 25, the month Epiphi, the 29th day, at the same time as the feast of the god Amon-ra, the king of the gods, at his [beautiful] monthly feast of Ape [of the south] (2) Nef-hir-hor in their multitude. It was the Majesty of this noble god Amon[-ni, the king of the gods] .... (3) Thebes. He showed the way to the scribes, the land-surveyors, and people (4) In the year 25, in the first month of the year .... Amon-Ra, the lord of Thebes (5) .... the high priest of Amon-ra, the king of the gods, the general in chief of the army, Men-khepei'-ra, the son of the king Miamim Pinotem at his feet. [195] (6) Their heart was joyfully moved on account of his design. He had come to Patoris (to the south land) in victorious power, to restore order in the land and to chastise the opponents. He gave to them [the punishment they deserved, and established the old order of things, just as] (7) it had been in the times of the reign of the sun-god Ra. He entered the city (of Thebes) with a contented soul. The families of Thebes received him with songs of joy. Messengers had been sent before him. The Majesty of this noble god, the lord of the gods, Amon-ra, the lord of Thebes, was brought out in procession. (He) (8) rewarded (?) him very much. He placed him in the seat of his father as chief priest of Amon-ra, the king of the gods, and as general in chief of the army of Upper and Lower Egypt. He dedicated to him numerous and splendid wonderful works, such as had never been seen before.
'Now [had reached its end] (9) the month Meson. On the 4th intercalary day, the day of the birthday feast of Isis, at the same time as the feast of Amon on the new year, the Majesty of this glorious god, the lord of the gods, Amon-ra, the king of the gods, was brought out in procession. He came to the great hall of the temple of Amon, and rested before the pylon of Amon. And (10) the general in chief of the army, Men-kheper-ra, went in to Amon-ra, the king of the gods. He worshipped him much with many prayers, and set before him an offering of all sorts of good things. Then the high priest of Amon-ra, Men-kheper-ra, added the words: "O thou, my good lord! There is a talk and it is repeated [by the people.]" (11) Then the god gave full assent to him. Then he went to the god, and thus spake: "O, thou my good lord! This talk of the people is a complaint, on account of thy anger trust those who are in the Oasis, in the land which thou hast appointed for them." Then the god gave full assent (12) to him. Therefore this chief captain lifted up his hands praying, in order to worship his lord. As the moon changes with the sun, thus he spake: "Hail to thee! thou creator of all [being, thou bringer forth] of all being which exists, father of the gods, creator of the goddesses, as they remain in the cities and in the villages, begetter (13) of men, bearer of women, who dispenses life to all men, for he is a skilful master of work the life .... of the great god Ptah, (the fashioner) [who creates provisions] in abundance, who brings forth sustenance for gods and men, sunshine by day, moonshine by night, who traverses the heaven in peace, (14) without [196] rest, as the greatest among the spirits, powerful as the god Sokhet, resembling the sun .... [be again friendly disposed to the banished ones, against whom thy command went out.] Do thou recall it, to heal what is diseased; look [graciously upon] this people, who do not stand before thy countenance, for there are (15) a hundred thousand of them. Is any one able to appease thee, if thou at all turnest thyself away) [Hail to thee] thou shining beam! [Listen to] my words on this very day. Mayest thou [feel a pity for] the servants, whom thou hast banished (16) to the Oasis, that they may be brought back to Egypt." Then the great god gave full assent to him. Then went in the captain of the army again to the great god, speaking thus: "O thou my good lord! Since [thou hast assented] to their return, let it be published abroad, that thou [art] friendly [disposed] to [the banished ones"]. Then the great god gave full assent to him. Then went he in again (17) to the great god, and spake thus: "O thou my good lord! Give forth a valid command in thy name, that no inhabitant of the land shall be banished to the far distance of the Oasis, that no one .... from this very day for ever. (18) Then the great god gave full assent to him. Then he spake again to him: "Speak that it may be done thus according to thy command, which shall [be written down], on a memorial stone in] writing], and set up in thy cities, to last and to remain for ever."
'Then spake again the chief priest (19) of Amon, Men-kheper-ra: "O thou my good lord! Now am I contented a hundred thousand times; this was my intention, that all families should hear it. All (their) words express contentment with me. I am thy servant in truth, [for I am thy likeness] (20) in youthful form for thy city. I was created as originator of all riches according to thy [word], when I was yet in my mother's womb. Thou didst fashion mo in the egg. Thou didst bring me to the light to the great joy of thy people. Give me a beautiful duration of life (21) in the service of thy [being], and purity and protection from all thy plagues (1). Let my feet walk in thy ways, and make thy path straight for me. May my heart be friendly towards (thy]) house, to do [what thy commands enjoin]. (22) Give me consideration with the great god, in peace, that I may abide and live in thy glorious house. In like manner may all reward be mine from ..." (23) Then did the high priest of Amon, Men kheper-ra, go in to the great god, and spake thus: "If any one of the people [197] should in thy presence contradict, saying that he has done great things for the people, that the land may gain life, then destroy him, kill him." And he gave full assent to him.'

The distracted state of the empire could not have been more clearly exhibited than in this inscription. Even if we reject 'the 100,000 banished ones,' of whom the high priest speaks to the god, at all events the whole proceeding throws a sad light on the state of things then prevailing in Egypt. Persecutions and banishments form, in every age, a measure of the internal condition of an empire. That the recall of the banished ones from the Oasis, proposed by the priest-king Men-kheper-ra to the god Amon, did not spring from any special goodness of heart, but was a politic measure, to quiet the agitation fermenting in the country, can hardly require further proof on our part. While these events were taking place, which the inscription sets forth in such an ambiguous manner, it spears that Naromath (Nimrod), the great king of Assyria, who had been associated on the throne by his father Shashanq, had advanced into Egypt with an army, not only to render help and support to the Ramessids, but also with the intention of conquering the country, and turning it into an Assyrian dependency. Here in Egypt death surprised him. His mother, Mehet-en-usekh, was an Egyptian, in all probability a daughter of the 14th Ramessu. According to her desire, her son, the great king of kings, was buried in Abydus, and the feasts of the dead were instituted in his honour, the cost of which was to be defrayed from the income of certain estates. At the same time men and women were appointed for the preservation of his tomb, herds [198] of cattle were purchased, and all other things provided, which could serve for a worthy establishment in honour of the dead.

When Egypt had thus become virtually a province of the Assyrian empire, Shashanq, the son of the great king Naromath (Nimrod), of whom we have just spoken, was made king. Pisebkhan I., the brother of the chief priest Men-kheper-ra, was, according to the Assyrian practice, left as under-king in Tanis, while Shashanq fixed his royal seat in the town of Bubastus. Men-kheper-ra carried on his functions as chief priest of Amon in Thebes, where, as we have reason to suppose, Ramses XVI. was for some time, in name at least, recognised as king.

These measures were evidently taken during the presence of the great king of Assyria, Shashanq, in Egypt.¹⁷⁶ He visited Thebes, and did not fail, on his journey to the city of Amou, to pay a visit to the grave of his beloved son at Abydus. He was bitterly chagrined at its neglected state. The Egyptian officials, who probably had little inclination for honouring the remains of an Assyrian great king, had plundered, as far as they could, both the living and lifeless temple-revenues which had been appointed for keeping up the grave. They were brought to an account by the great King Shashanq, and, with the approval of the Theban god Amon, they were all punished with death.

[199] These circumstances have been handed down to us in an inscription of unusual magnitude on the front side of a granite block in Abydus. Even though the whole upper half of the stone is probably wanting, and must lie buried somewhere in Abydus, the under part is, however, well preserved, so far at least that the contents of this remarkable memorial tablet can be read without misunderstanding. It was with great trouble that I made a transcript from its weather-beaten surface. It will give my readers a general representation of the decrees of the Assyrian great king, whose names and titles, especially in what relates to the truly Eastern appellations of honour of the king of kings, are completely preserved. I here give the translation of the part which has been preserved, in the persuasion that my colleagues in these studies will welcome with pleasure the publication of this remarkable but hitherto unknown inscription:

'[To Amon-ra spake the great king of Assyria, when] the great king, the king Shashanq [had visited] his son, at his beautiful burial-place with his father Osiris, where his body had been laid on his bed of rest in the city of Nifur (Abydus), in sight of [the temple of Osiris]: "Thou hast freed him from attaining to an infirm old age, while he remained on earth. Thou hast granted him his rest. My feasts will consist in this, to receive the undivided notary." Very, very much did the great god give assent to him.
'Then spake his Majesty anew to the great god thus: "thou good lord, put to death [the captains] of the army, the .... secretary, the land-surveyor, and all ... 1 whom [I] sent [with a commission] to this estate, and who plundered [the property] of the altar of the Osirian great lord of Assyria, Na-ro-math (Nimrod), the son of Mehet-en-usekh, which is in Abydus, and all the people who have robbed his holy property, his people, his herds of cattle, his gardens, his offerings, and all that was dedicated for his honour. Act according to thy great spirit from the very banning, [200] to replace them again, and to replace the women and their children." The great god assented to this most graciously.
'Then his Majesty threw himself on the ground before him, and his Majesty spake thus: ''Grant triumph to Shashanq, the great king of Assyria, the great king of kings, the glorious .... and all those who ace with him, and all warriors, and all [his people] together."
'Then [spake to him] Amon-ra, the king of the gods: ''I will do [according to thy wish]. Thou shalt receive (the blessing of) a great age and remain on earth, and thy heir shall sit on thy throne for ever.'
'Then his Majesty had the statue, in the form of a walking man, of the Osirian great king of Assyria, the great king of kings, Na-ro-math, brought up the river to Abydus. There were in attendance on it a large body of soldiers in many ships, no man knows their number, together with the ambassadors of the great king of Assyria. And it was set down in the splendid royal chamber of the holy of holies of the right eye of the sun, to carry the offerings on the altar-table of Nifour. According to the direction of the holy anointing, the dedication was accomplished.
'The incense was burnt in the room of the star-chamber for three days. This was set up for the temple-ordinances in the form of a written record, according to the contents of the ordinances for the feasts of the gods. A memorial tablet was erected in the language of the land of Bab[el], containing the command [of the great lord] in his name. And it (the memorial tablet) was laid up in the holy of holies of the gods for ever and ever.
'[This is the catalogue] of that which was appointed for the altar of the Osirian great king of the Assyrians, Na-ro-math, the son of Mehet-en-usekh, who is buried at Abydus. There were allotted (to it) the people who had been [bought]] out of [the countries 1] of the great king of Assyria, namely: Ai'romapatut, of the people of the Phoenicians, and obedient at call: Khu-amon .... and .... a Phoenician (called) Bek-ptah. [The price of] his purchase makes in silver money 15 lbs. His Majesty had given for them in silver money 20 lbs., making together 35 lbs. This is the number of that which they cost. The 50 arurae of land, which are situated in the region of the heights to the south of Abydus, which is called 'permanent duration of the kingdom (Heh-suteni),' cost 5 lbs. of silver money. The (fields) which are situated by the side (?) of the canal, which is at Abydus, an estate of 50 arurae, for these there was paid 5 lbs. in [201] silver money. This makes together an estate [of 100 8 x 01.88] in then two places in the region of the heights to the south of Abydus, and in the region of the heights to the north of Abydus. For this estate of 100 arurae there was also paid 10 lbs. in silver.
[catalogue of the servants for the estate]: His servant Pi-uer, his servant .., his servant Ari-bek, his servant Bu-pi-amon-khiy his servant Nai-shennu, his servant Pesh-en-Hor. Making a total of 6 servants, for whom there was paid for each 3 lbs. and 1 ounce of silver money, making in all l[8] pounds 6 ounces of silver money. [His boy (?) . . and his boy (1) . . . . son of Hor-si-ise, for these was paid 4 ounces of silver money.
'The garden, which is situated in the district of the northern lights of Abydus, cost 2 lbs. of silver money; the gardener, Hor-Bimi, the son of Pen-mer, x + ⅔ ounces of silver money, the water Anier .... , the son of .... for 6} ounces of silver money.
'Catalogue of maid-servants: Nes-ta-tep, whose mother is Tat-mes; the maiden Tat-ise, the daughter of Nebt-hepet, whose Bother is Ariamakh; the maiden Tat-amon, the daughter of Pinehas, [the maiden .... , the daughter of .... ], each one for 5 ounces of silver money.
'The outlay for the purchase of honey is to amount to 3lbs. of silver money, and is charged upon the treasury of Osiris, so that a hin-measure of honey shall be given by the treasury of Osiris [for the daily supply of honey of the Osirian] great king of Assyria, Na-ro-math, whose father is the great king of kings, [Shashanq, and whose mother is Mehet-en-usekh, for all eternity]. The treasury of Osiris is charged with the money for this, neither more nor less. [The outlay for the purchase] of balsam shall amount to 4lbs. of silver money, and is charged on the treasury of Osiris, 10 that 4 ounces of balsam shall be delivered from the treasury of every day for the offering of the Osirian great king of the Assyrians, Na-ro-math, whose mother is Mehet-en-usekh, to all eternity. For the provision of the balsam the treasury of Osiris is thus charged with the money, neither more nor less. [The outlay far the purchase of] incense shall amount to 58 ounces of silver booty, and is charged on the treasury of Osiris, so that a bin of x + ⅔ ounces shall be delivered from the treasury of Osiris every day for the [keeping up] of the burning of incense for the Osirian great king of Assyria, Na-ro-math, whoso mother is Mehet-en-usekh, to all times. For the procuring of the incense the treasury of Osiris [202] is thus charged with the money, neither more nor less. [The outlay for the different persons of the spice-kitchen, and for the persons of the labours of the harvest, shall amount to for each] x + 3 ounces, and for each 1 ounce of silver money, and these are charged on the treasury of Osiris; so that there shall be delivered [ ... . the spice-cakes] each day from the treasury of Osiris, and [that there shall be delivered .... ] from the treasury of Osiris, and that there shall be delivered .... from the treasury of Osiris for the altars of the Osirian great king of Assyria, Na-ro-math, whose mother is Mehet-en-usekh, to all eternity. For the support of the workmen of his spice-kitchen, the money for it also is charged on the treasury of Osiris. [Also for the] harvest workers in the upper fields, [the payments for these] are charged on the treasury of Osiris, to the amount of .... in silver money, neither more nor less. This is the sum total of the silver money for the people, which is charged on the treasury of Osiris, [so that all payments shall be made from it] which are to be borne by [the treasury of Osiris] for the altars of the Osirian great king of Assyria, the king of kings, Na-ro-math, the son of the great king of the Assyrians, Shashanq, whose mother is Mehet-en-usekh. It is assigned for the Osirian great king of the Assyrians, Na-ro-math, the son of Mehet-en-usekh, who [is buried] in Abydus, for the estate of 100 arurae of land, for the 25 men and women, for the gardens, and it amounts in silver money to 100 + x lbs, x ounces.'

My respected colleagues in science will I think readily admit, that in spite of its very ruinous and injured state, this inscription is one of the most remarkable, and, I will add, one of the most surprising, ever found on the Egyptian soil. Who could have expected such direct evidence of the presence of an Assyrian great king in the valley of the Nile, when the monuments had obstinately suppressed all information of the fact? We can only suppose that the Egyptians, after the departure of their Assyrian great kings, carefully destroyed all their monuments, and that the one we have quoted only escaped the same fate because it was [203] used as a convenient block to work into some building in the cemetery of Abydus.

I will add to these remarks the mention of a new and not less remarkable fact. It relates to the statue of the great king Nimrod, about which mention is made in the inscription. By a strange accident of fate this also has been preserved. From the hieroglyphic inscription chiselled upon it, which has been thoroughly well preserved in the most important passages, I have recognised it in a sitting figure of red granite, which is exhibited in the middle of the chief hall of the Egyptian collection in Florence.

Who could ever have supposed that this headless statue represented the likeness of an Assyrian great king of about 1000 B.C.? But the surprises about this matter are not yet exhausted. I shall prove, as we go on, the presence of Assyrian satraps of the family of this same Nimrod, who have hitherto been set before our eyes in inscriptions, without the conjecture occurring to any scholar, that Ser-'a-mat, 'the great prince of the peoples,' was an Assyrian official title.

As we have already remarked, a son of that great king Nimrod was raised to the Egyptian throne. He is the same Shashanq of whom, as the founder of the 22nd dynasty, we have to speak in the next chapter.

At about the same time, by direction of this Shashanq, the affair of the inheritance of the princess Karamat (for thus, and not Mat-ke-ra or Ra-malke, ought the name to be read) was regulated by express royal command, in the name of the Theban circle of gods. This lady was the offspring of the marriage [204] of king Pisebkhan with a Theban (Ramessid?), and according to a frequent Egyptian custom, she had been robbed of her patrimony situated in Upper Egypt by her marriage with king Shashanq I., (for this Kar-am-at was his wife), her position was completely changed. The ordinance, which relates to the agreement for placing the princess in her full hereditary right, is signed in large letters on the north wall of the third pylon on the south of the great temple of Amon in Qimak. The upper half of this wall is completely destroyed; and m tins case also the first lines of the inscription, which contained the date and the name of the king, are still fortunately wanting.¹⁷⁷ We give the complete literal translation of this stone document, so important historically, and leave it to our readers themselves to draw the conclusions which follow from it:

'Thus spake Amon-ra, the king of the gods, the great god of the beginning of all being, and Mut and Khonsu, and the great gods:
'With regard to any object of any kind, which Karamat, the daughter of the king of Upper Egypt, Miamim Pisebkhan, has brought with her, of the hereditary possession which bad descended to her in the southern district of the country, and with regard to each object of any kind whatever, which (1) (the people) of the land have presented to her, which they have at any time taken from the (royal) lady, we hereby restore it to her. Any object of any kind whatsoever [which] belongs [as an inheritance to the children], that [we hereby restore] to her children for all time. Thus speaks Amon-ra, the king of the gods, the great king of the beginning of all being, Mut, Khonsu, and the great gods: (2) ''Every king, every chief priest of Amon, every general, every captain, and the people of every condition, whether male or female, who had [205] great designs, and they who carried out their designs later, they shall restore the property of all kinds, which Karamat, the daughter of the king of Upper Egypt, Miamun Pisebkhan, brought with her is her inherited estate in the southern district (3) of the country, together with all possessions of all kinds, which the inhabitants of the country have given her, and what they have at any tune taken from the lady, it shall be restored into her hand, we restore it into the hand of her son and of her grandson, and to her daughter and to her grand-daughter, the child of the child of her daughter. It shall be preserved to the latest times."
'Again [spake Amon-ra], the king of the gods, the great god of the beginning (4) of all being, and Mut, and Khonsu, and the great gods: "Slain shall be all people of every condition of the whole land, whether male or female, who shall claim any object of any kind whatsoever, which Karamat, the daughter of the king and lord of the land, Miamun Pisebkhan, brought with her, as inherited estate of the south land, and any object of any kind whatsoever, which the inhabitants (5) of the land have given her, which they have at any time taken from the lady as property. They who shall keep back any object thereof one morning after (another) morning, upon them shall our great spirits fall heavily, they will not be a helper (1) to them. They will lie in full ambush for them, by the side of the great god, of Mut, of Khonsu, and of the gods."
'Then spake Amon-ra, the king of the gods, the great god [of the beginning of all being, and Mut, and Khonsu, and the great gods:] (6) "We will slay every inhabitant of every condition in the whole land, whether male or female, who shall claim any object of any sort whatsoever, which Karamat, the daughter of the king of Upper Egypt and the lord of the land, Miamun Pisebkhan, brought with her, as inherited estate of the south land, and any object of any kind whatsoever, which the inhabitants of the country have presented to her, and which they have at any time taken away from the lady as their possession. They who shall keep back any object thereof (7) one morning after the (other) morning, to them shall our great spirits be heavy. We will not be any help to them we will sink (their) noses into the earth, we will.

[206]

CHAPTER XVII

THE TWENTY-SECOND DYNASTY

HAT-KHEPER-RA-SOTEP-EN-RA MIAMUN SHASHANQ I

The throne of Egypt was mounted, as has been said, by the son of an Assyrian sovereign, the great Nimrod, who had met his death in Egypt and was buried at Abydus. This remarkable and hitherto unknown event, the foundation by the son of n actual king of Assyria of a kingdom in Egypt for himself and his family, is further confirmed by the chief names of his children and successors: for Takeloth, Usarkon, Nemaroth, represent in the Egyptian form and writing the names Tiglath, Sargon, and Nimrod, so well known in Assyria.

As we have remarked above, Shashanq,¹⁷⁸ had set up his seat of royalty in Bubastus, and only seldom extended his visits to the upper country of Patoris. He lived on the best understanding with the Ramessids, and therein followed the traditions of his family, who had contracted marriages with the daughters of the Ramessids, as had these also on their part with the daughters of the great king of Assyria. We have already remarked elsewhere, that the children of Ramses [207] XVI., the Prince Zi-hor-auf-ankh and the Princess Zi-ao-Dub-aui-ankh, had testified their friendly homage to king Shashanq I. by marriage presents.

Shashanq I., the Shishak of the Bible, the Sesonchis of Manetho, has become a conspicuous person in the history of Egypt, in connection with the records of the Jewish monarchy, through his expedition against die kingdom of Judah. It is well known how Jeroboam, the servant of king Solomon, rebelled against the king his master. After the prophet Ahijah had publicly designated him beforehand, as the man best qualified to be the future sovereign, Jeroboam was obliged to save himself from the anger and the snares of the king, and for this reason he fled to Egypt, to the court of Shashanq I.¹⁷⁹ Recalled after the death of Solomon, he returned to his home, to be elected king of Israel according to the word of the prophet, while the crown of Judah fell to Solomon's son, Rehoboam.¹⁸⁰ In the fifth year of this latter king's reign, and probably at the instigation of his former guest (Jeroboam), Shashanq made his expedition against the kingdom of Judah, which ended in the capture and pillaging of Jerusalem.¹⁸¹

This attack of the Egyptian king on the kingdom of Judah and the levitical cities, which the Scripture relates fully and in all its details, has been also handed down to later ages in outline on a wall of the temple of Amon in the Theban Api. On the south external wall, [208] behind the picture of the victories of king Ramessu II., to the east of the room called the Hall of the Bubastids,¹⁸² the spectator beholds the colossal image of the Egyptian sovereign dealing the heavy blows of his victorious club on the captive Jews. The names of the towns and districts, which Shashanq I. conquered in his expedition against Judah, are paraded in long rows, in their Egyptian forms of writing, and frequently with Considerable repetitions, each name being enclosed in an embattled shield.

We subjoin a list of them, so far as the names and signs are preserved in a legible form:

The speech, with which the divine Amon of Thebes accompanies his delivery of the conquered cities to his beloved son, Shashanq I., contains not the slightest indication from which we can construct a background of facts for the names of the conquered peoples, or for the historical events connected with them. The whole representation, in accordance with the general pattern [210] of Egyptian temple-pictures, is a mere skeleton without flesh and blood, which, as usual, gives the enquirer more to guess at than to understand.

The single indication contained in the speech of the god Amon to the victorious king is confined to general appellations. The smitten peoples (Jews  and Edomites) are named 'the 'Am of a distant land' and the 'Fenekh' (Phoenicians).¹⁸³ The 'Am would, in this case, answer exactly to the equivalent Hebrew 'ilm, which signifies 'people,' but especially the people of Israel and their tribes. As to the meaning of the Fenekh, I have a presentiment that we shall one day discover the evidence of their most intimate relationship with the Jews.

In Karnak, that is, to use the language of the Egyptians, in Ape, Shashanq I. built a sort of entrance hall, which leads from the south, close by the east wall of the sanctuary of Ramses III., into the great front court of the temple. Seeing that the family names of the line of Shashanq have been perpetuated here, from the builder of this modest hall down to several of his successors, we have a full right to regard the edifice as the memorial hall of the Bubastis. Respecting the building and the architect of this hall, some instructive information is furnished by a very remarkable inscription in the quarries of Silsilis.

The record runs as follows:

'In the 21st year, in the month Fayni, at that time his Majesty was in his capital city, the abode of the great presence of the god Hormakho. And his Majesty gave command and issued an aider to the priest of the god Amon, the privy councillor of the city of [211] Hormakhu, and the architect of the monuments of the lord of the land, Hor-em-saf whose skill was great in all manner of work, to view the best stone of Silsilis, in order to make many and great monuments for the temple of his glorious father, Amon-ra, the lord of Thebes.
'His Majesty issued the order to build a great temple-gate of wrought stones in order to glorify the city (Thebes) to set up its door several cubits in height, to build a festival-hall for his father Amon-ra, the king of the gods, and to enclose the house of the god with a thick wall.
'And Horem-saf, the priest of Amon-ra the king of the gods, the privy councillor of the city of Hormakhu, the architect over the house of king Shashanq I. at Thebes, had a prosperous journey back to the city of Fatoris (Thebes), to the place where his Majesty resided; and his love was great towards his master, the lord of might, the lord of the land, for he spake thus:
'"An thy words shall be accomplished, my good lord! I win not sleep by night, I will not slumber by day. The building shall go on uninterruptedly, without rest or pause."
'And he was received graciously by the king, who gave him presents in silver and gold.'

What gives a special value to this inscription, which tends more to the praise of the architect than of the king, is the discovery, which I first made in the year 1859, of the position of this architect in the genealogy of his race, the last scion of which, by name Rhnum-ab-ra, an architect like all his ancestors, has perpetuated his name in different places on the cliffs of the valley of Hammamat, in the 29th and 30th years of the Persian king Darius I. Hor-em-sefa, his fourteenth ancestor, falls exactly on the line of the pedigree, on which his master and contemporary, king Shashanq, is found.¹⁸⁴

[212] The quarries of Silslis have elsewhere also furnished to this architect who, like all the successors of his race, was devoted to the Assyrian rulers, the fit opportunity of immortalizing the memory of king Shashanq I. in a conspicuous manner. On a great memorial tablet the king is seen in company with his son Aupijth. Uus goddess Mut, the Egyptian Istar, presents him, or both of them (the king and his son), to the three chief gods of Egypt, Amon of Thebes, Hormakhu-Tum of Heliopolis, Ptah of Memphis, as king and lord of the land in solemn form, as beseems gods. In the inscription beneath, the king is eulogized under his official names, (among them that of a great conqueror of all people) and it is further said of him as follows:

'This is the divine benefactor. The sun-god Ra has his form. He is the image of Hormakhu. Amon has placed him on his throne to make good what he had began in taking possession of Egypt for the second time. This is King Shashanq. He caused a new quarry to be opened in order to begin a building, the work of King Shashanq I. Of such a nature is the service which he has done to his father, the Theban Amon-ra. May he grant him the thirty years' jubilee-feasts of Ra, and the years of the god Tum. May the king live for ever!'

After this promising introduction, the king himself comes forward as the speaker, and gives us the opportunity of listening, twenty-eight centuries later, to the substance of the words addressed by him to the god:

'My gracious lord! Grant that my words may live for hundreds of thousands of years. It is a high privilege to work for Amon. Grant me, in recompense for what I have done, a lasting kingdom. I have caused a new quarry to be opened for him for the beginning of a work. It has been carried out by Auputh, the [213] high priest of Amon, the king of the gods, and the commander-in chief of the most excellent soldiery, the head of the whole body of warriors of Patoris, the son of King Shashanq I. for his lord Amon-ra, the king of the gods. May he grant life, welfare, health, long term of life, power, and strength, an old age in prosperity! My gracious lord. Grant that my words may live for hundreds of thousands of years. It is a high privilege to work for Amon. Gnat me power, in recompense for what I have done.'

The new person, who here comes into the foreground, is the king's eldest son, Auputh, who, however, died afterwards before his father. After the example of the priest-kings of the line of Hir-hor, the prince and heir-apparent was already invested with the high function of chief priest of the Theban Amon. With this dignity was joined the high position of commander-in-chief of the whole military force in the South, that is, the land of Patoris. In a side-inscription, near the memorial tablet mentioned above, he has not omitted to recall himself once more to the special remembrance of future generations:

'This was made by the chief priest of Amon-ra, the king of the gods, the commander-in-chief and general, Anpnth, who stands at the bead of the whole body of the great warriors of Patoris, the of king Shashanq I.'

In the hall of the Bubastids at Kamak, also, the name of this high-priest of the god Amon appears beside the name of his father.

After the death of Shashanq, the throne was mounted by his second son,

[214]

SEKHEM-KHEPER-RA MIAMUN-USARKON I. (SARGON). B.C. 933

Except a passing mention of his name, the monuments tell us nothing about this son of Shashanq. Of his two wives, who are mentioned in the Egyptian monumental inscriptions, the one, by name Tashed-khuns, bore him a son, Takelath (Tiglath), who was his successor in the kingdom. His right as the first-born appears to have secured him this position.

The second son, Shashanq, born of his marriage with his second wife, the daughter of the Tanite king Hor-Pisebkhan II., and thus of royal race, was named high-priest of Amon, and was invested with the same rank which had been held by his under and predecessor, Auputh, as commander-in-chief of the soldiery; only with this difference, that not only the military force of Patoris, but the whole Egyptian army, was placed under his command.

There seems to have been a contest between the brothers for the crown. The inheritance, which was assured to the first by his right as the firstborn, seemed to the second to belong rightfully to him, as son of a royal princess. Hence we may explain the phenomenon, that some monuments assign to him the royal cartouche, with the remarkable addition of 'Lord of Upper and Lower Egypt.' The claim, which was not admitted in his person, seems however to have been conceded to his descendants, the younger line of kings of the race of Shashanq.

[2l5] Takelath (Tiglath) received, as king of Egypt, the name of

HAT-RA SOTEP-EN-AMON NUTER HAQ-US MIAMUN SI-ISE THAKELATH I.: B.C. 900:

also called in short Thakeluth and Thakelath.¹⁸⁵ The monuments pass over the history of his time with persistent silence.

His son by his wife Kapos, an Usarkon (Sargon), his successor. His full name as king ran thus:

USER-MA-BA SOTEP-EN-AMON MIAMUN SI-BAST USARKON II. B.C. 866.

According to the monuments he had two wives. The first had the name, already well-known to us, of Âa-ra-ma. She is the mother of his first-born son, Shashanq, who as crown prince was at once invested with the dignity of a chief-priest of Ptah of Memphis. In this character he conducted the burial of the Apis-bull, which died in the 23rd year of the reign of Usarkon II.

His younger brother Naromath (Nimrod), a son of the second wife Mut-ut-ankhes, was next appointed overseer of the prophets and commander of the soldiery; Rhinensu (Ahnas), that is, Heracleopolis Magna; but the office was also conferred on him of a governor of Patoris and a chief-priest of Amon of Thebes. His descendants, down to the last Pi-son-Hor,¹⁸⁶ succeeded [216] their father in the hereditary office of priests of Khnum, in the city of Heracleopolis Magna. On the other hand, the descendants of prince Shaahanq, the chief-priest of Ftah of Memphis, inherited in like manner the high office of their father, and appear as officiatmg high-priests at the burial of several holy Apis-bulls.

With Usarkon II. the elder Intimate line of the kings died out, and a second branch within the same dynasty began, which embraces the descendants of Shashanq, the high-priest of Amon. After the death of Usarkon II., a grandson of Shashanq, of the same name, mounted the throne, and received as king the full name of

SEKHEM-KHEPER-RA. SOTEP-EN-AMON MIAMUN SHASHANQ H. B.C. 833.

There is a universal silence of the monuments about his time and history.

After him reigned a Thakelath, in all probability his son, with the full name of

HAT-KHEPER-RA SOTEP-EN-RA MIAMUN SI-ISE THAKELATH II. B.C. 800.

He is the husband of the queen Mi-mut Keromama Sit-amen Mut-em-hat, a daughter of Nimrod, the high-priest of Amon. Their eldest son is expressly designated by the inscriptions as high-priest of the Theban Amon, and as commander-in-chief of the military force [2l7] of the whole land; and he was at the same time a petty king. He is the Usarkon of whom so much is related on a long memorial tablet in the interior of the Hall of the Bubastids. This account begins with the date of the 9th of the month Thoth in the 12th regnal year of his father. Although the continuity of the record is broken in several places by greater or lesser gaps, yet the following sense comes out with full certainty from a careful examination of the still extant and legible portions of the great inscription.

In the year above named, the prince Usarkon went to Thebes in his character of high-priest of Amon, to enter on his office. His mission had also the agreeable purpose of subjecting the Theban temple and its territory to a careful examination, and of restoring the offerings to the god Amon, and his festivals, in a splendid manner according to the good old custom. Thus came in the unlucky 15th year of the king's reign. Grievous times were at hand ; for, as is expressly said in the inscription:

'When now had arrived the 15th year, the month Mesori, the 25th day, under the reign of his father, the lordly Horus, the god, the prince of Thebes, the heaven could not be distinguished the moon was eclipsed (literally, was horrible), for a sign of the (coming) events in this land; as it also happened, for enemies (literally, the children of revolt) invaded with war the southern and northern district (of Egypt).'

I have not the slightest doubt that the foregoing Words have reference to the irruptions of the Ethiopians from the South and to the attack of the Assyrian power from the North. The Assyrian inscriptions will some [218] day no longer withhold from us the answer the question, which it was of the rulers of Assyria, of the family of Shalmaneser III, who made a hostile invasion of Egypt, and to whom the descendants of Shashanq I., Takelath and his son Petise, both high-priests at Memphis, as Assyrian satraps, showed themselves, in remembrance of the old family connection, especially compliant.

The eclipse of the moon, which is mentioned in the discourse as a warning of the coming events, still continues to maintain, notwithstanding all the objections of M. Chabas. So long as no better-founded objection is brought against it than such as have been hitherto urged, it must surely be accepted as a fact| that on the 25th of Mesori,¹⁸⁷ in the 16th year of the reign of Song Thakelath II., a total eclipse of the moon took place in Egypt.

The rest of the inscription allows us to suppose the return, however temporary, of a period of rest for Egypt. The priest-king Usarkon used this respite to evince his complete devotion to Am on, the god of Thebes, and to his temple. The sacrifices were established in such a manner, that certain sums of money were put aside for the maintenance of the offerings, exactly as we have already seen in the case of the memorial tablet of Abydus.

Before we turn our attention to the kingdom of the Ethiopians, which had established itself in the south of Egypt and had begun its attacks upon Kemi, [219] it seems proper first to look a little closer at the last descendants of the line of Shashanq, who had sunk to the position of petty kings in the divided realm. Their names and succession, with reference to their chronology, are given in the Genealogical Table.¹⁸⁸ We here take the opportunity that occurs to make the reader acquainted with their full names:

USER-MA-RA SOTEP-EN-RA MIAMUN SI-BAST SHASHANQ III. B.C. 768.
USER-MA-RA SOnTEP-EN-AMON MIAMUN PIMAI. B.C. 783.
A-KHEPER-RA SHASHANQ IV. B.C. 700.

Their historical importance disappears in the conflict of the petty kings who rose up against one another, now on the side of the Assyrians, now on that of the Ethiopians. We owe our knowledge of them chiefly to the Apis-bulls, whose inscribed tombstones refer to the reigns of these kings with all the needful data of time.

The royal seat and locality of their petty kingdom, in the eighth century, can be pretty clearly seen from these Apis-tablets. If they no longer possessed the seat of government of their old house, Bubastus in Lower Egypt, the city of the goddess Bast, which had now become Assyrian, yet still the ancient and important capital of Memphis remained in their possession. It was here that the sacred Bull lived in the temple of Ptah-Sokar-Osiris; and hence it was that [220] the solemn translation of the deceased Apis was made, on a car fitted with thick heavy wheels of wood, to the Serapeum in the desert between the Arabian villages of Abusir (the ancient K-usiri, 'temple of Osiris'), Saqqarah (the name of which clearly calls to remembrance that of the god Sokar).

We subjoin a literal translation of the memorial stones, which the fortunate discoverer of the Serapeum, Mariette-Bey, brought to light during the year of our residence on the spot and under our own eye (1850), in so far as they relate to the above-named last kings of the 22nd dynasty. Quite apart from their special importance for determining the length of each king's reign, the reader will probably find an interest in learning the contents of these inscriptions, which have also contributed to throw light on the darkest parts of the great picture of Egyptian history, and which for the first time exhibit a true image of the strange Bull-worship practised by the people of Memphis.

I. Memorial Stone of the Priest and Seer of the Apis-Bull, Senebef, son of Shed-nofar-tum, and of his son, The Memphian Priest Hor-heb.

'In the year [2], the month [Mechirj on the [let] day, under the reign of king Pimai, the friend of the Apis-god in the West. This is the day on which the (deceased) god was carried to the beautiful region of the West, and was laid at rest in the grave, at rest with the great god, with Osiris, with Anubis, and with the goddesses of the nether world, in the West. His introduction into the temple of Ptah beside his father, the Memphian god Ptah, had taken place in the year 29, in the month Paophi, in the time of king Shaahanq III.'

[221]

II. Memorial Stone of the High-Priest of Memphis, Petise.

'In the year 2, the month Mechir, on the 1st day, under the reign of king Pimai, the friend of the great god Apis in the West. This is the day on which the god was carried to his rest, in the beautiful region of the West, and was laid in the grave, and on which he was deposited in his everlasting house and in his eternal abode. He was born in the year 28, in the times of the deceased king Shashanq III. His glory was sought for in all places of Pitomih (that is, Lower Egypt). He was found, after (some) months, in the city of Ha-shed-abot. They had searched through the lakes of Natho and all the islands of Pitomih. He had been solemnly introduced into the temple of Ptah, beside his father, the Memphian god Ptah of the south wall, by the high priest in the temple of Ptah, the great [prince] of the Mashush (the Mazyes), Petise, the son of the high-priest [of Memphis and the great prince of the] Mashush, Thakelath, and of the princess of royal race, Tbes-bast-pir, in the year 28,¹⁸⁹ in the month Paophi, on the 1st day. The full lifetime of this god amounted to 26 years.'

III. Memorial Stone of the Memphian Priest, Hor-si-ise.

'In the year 2, the month Mechir, the 1st day, under the reign of king Pimai, the friend of the great god Apis in the West, the god was carried to his rest in the beautiful region of the West. He had been solemnly introduced into the temple of Ptah beside his lather, the Memphian god Ptah of the south wall, in the year under the reign of King Shashanq ... [in the year] 5 [+ x] after he had shown his ....?...., after they had sought for his glory ...]. The full lifetime of this god amounted to 26 years. (This tablet is dedicated) by the hereditary [prince] (here follows a string of titles in the priestly style) Hor-si-ise, the son of the high-priest [of Memphis and prince of the] Mashush, [222] Petrise, and of the eldest of the wives [and by the] Thakelath whose mother Ta-ti-hor .... is.'¹⁹⁰

lV. Memorial Stone of the Satrap Pet-ise, and his Sons
Pef-tot-bast and Thakelath

'In the 28th year of king Shashanq.'

Then follows a sculpture, in which three men are seen before the bull-headed god, 'Apis-Tum with horns on his head.' The first of them has on his head the fillet of an Assyrian satrap; the last is adorned with the youth-locks worn by royal and princely persons. Above and beside these persons are the following inscriptions:

'May he grant health, life, prosperity, to the Assyrian satrap Pet-ise, the son of the Assyrian satrap Thakelath—his mother is Thes-bast-pir —the son of the first and greatest of the princely heirs of his Majesty Shashanq, the son of the king and lord of the land, Usarkon II.,
'and to his venerator and friend, the high priest of Ptah, Pef-tot-bast, the son of the satrap Pet-ise, whose mother . is Ta-ari, a daughter of the satrap Thakelath,
'and to his venerator and friend, the priest of Ptah, Thakelath, the son of the satrap Pet-ise and of (his wife) Herse.'

From these four inscriptions it follows, with irrefragable certainty that, under the reign of Shashanq III., Petise and his son Peftotbast ascribe to themselves the title and the badges of Satraps. This was exactly the time when the Assyrians had laid their hands on Egypt, and it was only by their permission that Shashanq ruled as king over the low country of Lower Egypt. The new Apis is sought for in all Lower Egypt of Upper [223] Egypt, where Usarkon, the king and high-priest of Amon, maintained the kingdom, mitil the time when the Ethiopian Pi-ankhi broke his power, the inscription is completely silent.

On the memorial tablets of king Pimai the title Sar'a en Mat ('Satrap') disappears, and is replaced by another, Sar'a en Mashush, 'Prince of the Maxyes,' doubtless with reference to the Ethiopian conquerors, who had at this time taken possession of the land, as will be shown more particularly below.

With regard to the Apis himself, the following results are obtained from the four memorial tablets now cited: He was born in the 28th year of the reign of King Shashanq III., at the city of Hashed-abot in Lower Egypt. Months passed by before he was discovered. On the 1st of Paophi, in the 29th regnal year of the king,¹⁹¹ he was solemnly introduced into the temple of Ptah of Memphis. After a life of 26 years, he was buried in the Serapemn of Memphis on the 1st of Mechir in the 2nd year of the reign of King Pimai. His death must therefore have happened 70 days earlier, that is, on the 20th of Athyr. Supposing him to have lived 26 years complete, as the inscription expressly testifies, his birth must have fallen on the 20th of Athyr in the 28th regnal year of King Shashanq III. In that case about ten months and a half would have elapsed till his introduction into Memphis on the 1st of Paophi in the 29th year of the reign of Shashanq III.

[224]

THE TWENTY-THIRD DYNASTY, OF TANIS

Under this title, the priest Manetho, in his Book of the Kings, sets down the reigns of the three kings:

Petubastes, with 40 years;
Osorkhon, with 9 years;
Psamus, with 10 years.

All three, again, disappear in the struggle waged against Egypt with varying success by Ethiopia from the South and Assyria from the North. Hence their names emerge but occasionally in the historical records of this time. In these, Petubastes appears with the full names, Se-her-ab-ra Pet-si-bast; Osorkhon as A-kheper-ra Sotep-en-amon Miamun Usarkan; and the third, lastly, meets us as Us(er)ra Sotep-en-ptah Psimut. Judging from the elements contained in these titles, Petubastes seems to have had his royal seat in Bubastus; Osorkhon in Thebes or Tanis; Psamus in Memphis. The last we shall have to recognise again, under his Assyrian appellation of Is-pi-ma-tu, in the story of the conquest by the Assyrians, as a contemporary of King Tirhaqa, about 700 B.C. And now we pass on to the Ethiopians.¹⁹²

[225]

CHAPTER XVIII

THE TWENTY-FIFTH DYNASTY—THE ETHIOPIANS

We have already had occasion to become acquainted with and to estimate the position and character of Hirhor, the high-priest of the Theban Amon, and founder of the Twenty-first Dynasty.¹⁹³ Urged on by haughty pride, Hirhor had realized his ambitious designs upon the crown of Egypt, had robbed his benefactor Ramessu XIII. of his throne, had banished his whole family and connections to the Great Oasis, and had placed himself, to the best of his power, in the forefront of Egyptian history. Retribution was not long delayed; and the avenger came from Assyria. The history of the Dynasty ended with the overthrow of the royal and priestly family, which suddenly vanishes from the stage, as soon as Shashanq I. obtained the throne, to find however in Ethiopia the satisfaction of their lust for a sceptre and a crown.

Towards the end of the eleventh century, Egypt had far too much to do in defending herself and her independence, to trouble herself further about the
supremacy in the South, which she had formerly won, [226] and till now had carefully guarded. The 'Viceroys of the South' and 'King's sons of Kush' are now struck out of the official list of court dignitaries, and the 'Kings of Kush' take their place. The whole South, from the boundary line at the city of Syene, recovers its freedom, and the tribes of Ethiopia begin to enjoy a state of independence. Meanwhile however, if the power of Egypt was no longer felt, Egyptian civilization and the Egyptian doctrine of the gods had survived. All that was wanting was a leader, to keep alive the ideas that had been once acquired.

Nothing could have appeared more opportune for the priests of Amon, who had now become unpopular, in order to make their profit out of the favourable opportunity of the moment, than this state of things in Nubia and Ethiopia, where the minds of an imperfectly developed people must needs, under skilful guidance, soon show themselves pliable and submissive to the dominant priestly caste. Mount Barkal, where Amenhotep III. had already raised for the great Amon of Thebes a sanctuary in the form of a strongly fortified temple-city,¹⁹⁴ was the site chosen by the newly arrived priests of Amon for the seat of their future royalty. The capital of this newly founded kingdom of Kush was the city of Nap or Napata, which is so often mentioned in the inscriptions of Ethiopian origin.

It is difficult to say which it was of the chief-priests of Amon of the race of Hirhor, that first entered Napata and made preparations for the foundation of [227] that Ethiopian kingdom which became afterwards so dangerous to the Egyptians. The Ethiopian monuments, from which the royal shields have been carefully erased by a later Egyptian dynasty, give not the slightest information on this point. So much the more important is the circumstance, that several successors of this priest, — among whom we have already met with the son and successor of Hirhor—bore the same name, namely, that of the priest-king Pi-ankhi, an Egyptian word, which signifies 'the living one.' Before we pass on to that Rankhi whose invasion of Egypt who form the most striking subject of this chapter, it seems convenient to premise, however briefly, some observations on the kingdom of Kush.

As we have already stated, the sovereign enthroned at Napata, 'the City of the Holy Moimtain,' called himself 'King of the land of Kush.' The Theban Amon-ra was reverenced as the supreme god of the country. The king's full name was formed exactly according to the old-Egyptian pattern. The Egyptian language and writing, divisions of time, and everything else relating to manners and customs, were preserved. A distinguished position was assigned to the mother, daughters, and sisters of the king; each of whom bore the title of honour 'Queen of Kush.'

In the course of time, the power of the Ethiopians extended beyond the southern boundary of Egypt; till at last the whole of Patoris came into their possession, and the 'great city' of Ni-'a, that is, Thebes, became their capital in that region. While the Assyr- [228] ians regarded Lower Egypt—the Muzur¹⁹⁵ so often mentioned in the cuneiform inscriptions—as their permanent fief, the districts of Patoris were virtually an Ethiopian province. Middle Egypt formed a 'march,' contested on both sides between the two kingdoms, and likewise a barrier which tended to hinder the outbreak of open hostilities between the one and the other.

Thus the old priestly race had succeeded in again acquiring full possession of Thebes, the city out of which the Assyrian Shashanq I. had chased them with contumely and shame. The loss of the city of Amon, through the occasional expeditions of the Assyrians southwards, was to them equivalent to suffering a conquest. That this in fact did sometimes happen, we shall presently see authentic evidence.

As in Lower Egypt the Assyrians were content with drawing a tribute from the petty kings and satraps, whom they confirmed in power, so in Patoris and Middle Egypt petty kings or vassals were set up by the Ethiopians, whose supremacy these princes had to recognise, and to pay their taxes. Ethiopian garrisons served to guard the Ethiopia-Egyptian territory, under the command of Ethiopian generals.

Thus had Egypt become a shuttlecock in the hands of the Assyrians and the Ethiopians, those princes of Naph or Noph¹⁹⁶ whom we find mentioned in Scripture. The great kingdom of Kemi was split up into little dependent states, which leant, now on Ethiopia, now on [229] Assyria, as each foreign master gained preponderance for the time.

About the year 766 (estimating the chronology by the sequence of generations) the Assyrians still held Lower Egypt in their possession. Petty kings and Assyrian satraps obeyed the Great King. At this time a revolt broke out under an enterprising petty king of Sai's and Memphis, by name Tafhakhth, the Technactis or Tnephachthus of the classic writers. Profiting by the momentary weakness of the Assyrian Empire, he had prevailed on the other princes of Lower Egypt to join him, whether through persuasion or force. As soon as he was thus strengthened, he made an inroad with his whole force upon Middle Egypt, where the Egyptian vassals of Piankhi at once submitted to him. The tidings reached Piankhi, who forthwith sent orders to his generals to check the advance of Tafnakth, and so to force the bold petty king to beat a retreat.

We leave our readers to construct for themselves a picture of the whole campaign from the long and remarkable description of it preserved for us on the memorial stone of Piankhi, discovered several years ago at Mount Barkal. This monument, a block of granite covered with writing on all sides, up to the very edges, was set up on the spot where it now stands, by command of the Ethiopian king Pi-ankhi, in remembrance of his complete conquest of Middle and Lower Egypt. The subjoined translation¹⁹⁷ of this record will set in the [230] clearest light, far better than any description, the several stages of the Ethiopian expedition, and the peculiar position of the Egyptian petty kings and satraps. Of these we give a list according to the account furnished by the stone:

King and Satrap Tafhakhth, Prince of Sais and Memphis;
King Nimrod, lord of Hermopolis Magna;
King Aupoth, of the nome of Clysma;
Satrap Shashanq, of the city of Busiris;
Satrap Zi-amun-aof-ankh, of the city of Mendes:
His eldest son Ankh-hor, commander of the city of Hermopolis, in Lower Egypt.
The hereditary lord, Bok-en-nisi;
Satrap Nes-na-ai (or Nes-na-Keti), of the nome of Xois;
King Usarkon, of the city of Bubastus;
Prince Paf-tot-bast, of the city of Heracleopolis Magna;
The hereditary lord, Pet-ise, of the city of Athribis;
Satrap Pi-thenef, of Pi-saptu (the Arabian nome);
Satrap Pi-ma, of the (second) city (named) Busiris;
Satrap Nakht-hor-na-shennu, of Phagroriopolis;
Satrap of Tanis (not named, being a native Assyrian);
Satrap of Ostracine (not named, for the same reason);
Prophet of Horus, Pet-hor-sam-taui, of the city of Letopolis;
Prince He-ro-bi-sa, of the cities of Sa and Hesaui;
Prince Zi-chi-au, of Khont-nofer (Onnphites);
Prince Pi-bi-sa, of Babylon and Nilopolis (in the Heliopolitan nome).

[231] We have also indicated, by the addition 'Vassal,' on the great Genealogical Table,¹⁹⁸ the princes subject to King Pi-ankhi, in order to show that the events, of which the inscription of the Ethiopian king gives us such precise information, must have taken place, as to their chronology, within the period of the one generation between 766 and 733.

Having premised these necessary remarks, we leave our readers to follow the translation of this record of victory.

'In the 2lst year, in the month Thoth, under the reign of the king of Upper and Lower Egypt, Miamun Piankhi—may he live for ever!—My Royal Majesty issued the command that men should be informed of what I have done, more than all my predecessors. I the king am a part of God, a living image of Tum. As soon as I came out of my mother's womb I was chosen to be ruler, before whom the great men were afraid, knowing that I [was to be a powerful lord].
(2) 'His mother well knew that he was destined for a ruler in his mother's womb, he, the god-like benefactor, the friend of the gods, the son of Ra, who had formed him with his hands, Miamun Pi-ankhi.
'Messengers came to inform the king: "The lord of the West country (that is, the Western part of the Delta), the great prince in the holy city (Sais), Tafhakhth, has established himself in the nome [name wanting], in the nome of Xois, in the city of Hap (Nilopolis), in the city [....], (3) in the city of 'Ain, in the city Pi-nub (Momemphis), and in the city of Memphis ; he has taken possession of the whole West country, from the Mediterranean coast (of Buto) up to the boundary city (between Upper and Lower Egypt). He is advancing up the river with many warriors. The inhabitants of both parts of Egypt have joined themselves to him. The princes and lords of the cities are like dogs at his feet. The fortresses are not shut (against him) (4) of the nomes of the South.
[232] The cities of Mi-tom (Meidnm), Pi-sekhem-kheper-ra (Crocodopolis, the city of Usarkon I., at the entrance to the Faium), Pinaz (Qxyrynchus), Thekanath, and all the (other) cities of the West have opened their gates to him, through fear of him. He tans himself to the nomes of the East. They open their gates to him, namely, the following: Habennu (the Phoenix-citgr, Hipponom), Tai-uzai, and Aphroditopolis. He is preparing (5) to beleaguer the city of Heracleopolis Magna. He has surrounded it as with a ring. None who would go out can go out, none who would go can go in, because of the uninterrupted assaults. He has girt it round on every side. All the princes who acknowledge his power, he lets them abide every one in his own district, as princes and kings of the cities. And they [do homage to him] (6) as to CM who is distinguished through his wise mind; his heart is joyful.
'And the lords and the princes and the chiefs of the warrior everyone according to his duty, sent continual messages to his Majesty (i.e. Piankhi) to this effect: Art thou then silent, so as not to wish to have any knowledge of the South country and of the inland regions. Takakhth is winning them to himself, and finds no one that withstands him. Nimrod, the [lord of Hermopolis Magna] (7) and prince of Ha-uar (Megalopolis), has demolished the fortress of Nofrus, and has razed his city with his own hands, through fear that he (Takakhth) should take it from him, in order to cut it off after the manner of the other cities. Now he has departed, to throw himself at his feet, and he has renounced allegiance to his Majesty. He is leagued with him like any [of the other princes. The lord] (8) of the nome of Oxyrhynchus has offered him gifts according to his heart's desire, of everything that he could find."
'Then his Majesty sent orders to the princes and captains of the army, who were set over the land of Egypt (namely) the captain Pi-ua-ro-ma, and the captain La-mis-ke-ni, and to all his Majesty's captains, who were set over the land of Egypt, that they should hasten to prevent the arming (of the rebels) for war, to invest [the city of Hermopolis], (9) to take captive its inhabitants, their cattle, and their vessels on the river, to let no labourer go out to the field, nor suffer any ploughman to plough, and to destroy everything in the city of Hermopolis, and to fight against it without censing. And they did so.
'Then his Majesty sent his warriors to Egypt, enjoining upon [233] them very very strictly: "Take [care, watch, do not pass] (10) the night in the enjoyment of play. Be on the alert against the attack (of the enemy), and be armed for the battle even afar off. If any (of the commanders) says, 'The army and the chariots are to turn to another city: why will ye delay to go against its army?' ye shall fight as he has said. If any (of the enemy) attempts to fetch his defenders from another city, (11) turn about to meet them. If any of these princes should have brought with him, for his protection, warriors from Marmarica, or combatants from those faithful (to him), arm yourselves to fight against them. As an old hero says, 'It avails not to gather together the warriors and numerous chariots with the best horses out of the stable, but, (12) when going into the battle, to confess that Amon, the divine, is he who sends us.' When you have arrived at Thebes, in sight of (the temple of) Ape, go into the water, wash yourselves in the river, draw yourselves up at the chief canal, unstring your bows and lay aside your weapons before (13) the king (of the gods), as the Almighty. No strength shall the man have who despises him; he makes the weak strong, and however many there be of them (the strong), they must turn their back before the few, and be one (ever so weak), he copes with a thousand. Sprinkle yourselves with the water from his altars of sacrifice, fall down before him on your foes, and speak (14) to him thus: 'Show us the way to fight in the shadow of thy mighty arm. The peoples that go forth for thee shall beat down the enemy in many defeats.'"
'Then they threw themselves prostrate before his Majesty (saying): ''Is it not thy name that makes our arm strong? Is it not thy wisdom that gives firmness to thy warriors. Thy bread is in our bodies during all our march, and thy mead (15) quenches our thirst. Does not thy power give us strength and manly courage at the thought of thee. An army is naught, whose commander is a coward. And who is like unto thee. Thou art the king whose hands create victory, a master in the work of war."
'When they had gone (16) down the river, they reached the city of Thebes, and did all that his Majesty had commanded. Proceeding down the stream upon the river, they met a number of vessels sailing up the stream with soldiers, sailors, and captains, of the bent warriors of Upper Egypt, equipped with all munitions, (17) for the war against the army of his Majesty. Then they inflicted on them a great overthrow. No one knows the number [234] of their prisoners, together with their ships, who were brought as living prisoners to the place where his Majesty resided. When they had advanced further to the city of Heracleopolis Magna, they arrayed themselves for the battle.
'The following is the list of the princes and kings of lower Egypt:
The king Nimrod, and
The king Aupoth:
The satrap Shashanq, of the city of Bnsiris; and
The satrap Zi-amun-aaf-ankh of the city of Mendes; and
His eldest son, who was military commander of the city of of Hermopolis Parva:
The warriors of the hereditary lord Bok-en-nisi; and
His eldest son, the satrap (19) Nes-na-'ai of the name of Xois:
The grand-master of the fan-bearers in Lower Egypt; and
The king Usarkon, who resides in the city of Bnbastos and in the city of Un-u-n-r'a-nofer:
and all the princes and kings of the cities on the West side opt the East side, and on the islands between. They had gathered themselves together at the bidding of that one, and they sat thus at the feet of the great lord of the West country, the prince of the cities of Lower Egypt, the prophet of Neith, the Lady of Safe, (20) and the high-priest of Ptah (of Memphis), Tafnakhth.
'When they had advanced further, they inflicted on them a great defeat, greater than ever, and captured their ships upon the river. When the survivors had fled, they landed on the West side, in the territory of the city of Pi-pek. When the earth had become light in the early morning (of the next day), the warriors of his Majesty advanced (21) against them, and army joined in battle with army. Then they slew much people of them, as well as their horses. No one knows the number of the slain. Those that were left alive fled to Lower Egypt, because of the tremendous overthrow, for it was more terrible than ever.
'List of the people of them that were killed: Men [........] '(22) The king Nimrod (advanced) up the river to Upper Egypt, because the news had been brought to him that the city of Hermopolis Magna had fallen into the power of the enemy, meaning the warriors of his Majesty, who had captured its inhabitants [235] and their cattle. Then he came before Hermopolis. But the army of his Majesty was on the river at the harbour (23) of the Hermopolitan nome. When they heard that the king (Nimrod) had surrounded them on all four sides, so that none could go either out or in, they sent a messenger to his Majesty Miamun Pi-ankhi, the dispenser of life, (to tell him) of the complete overthrow which had been prepared for them by all the forces of his Majesty (King Nimrod).
'Then was his Majesty wroth with them, like a panther, (and said): "Then did they leave (24) a remnant of the army of Lower Egypt surviving, and suffer to escape from them whosoever would escape in order to give information, that he might advance, so that they should not suffer death, (but) make their escape. I swear, as truly as I love the god Ra, as truly as I hallow the god Amon, I will myself go down the river; I will frustrate (25) what that man has done; I will drive him back, even should the struggle last long; after performing the solemnity of the customary rites of the new year's feast. I will offer a sacrifice to my father Amon at his beautiful feast; he shall celebrate his procession on the beautiful day of the new year. I will go in peace to behold Amon on his beautiful feast of the Theban month (Paopi). I will cause his image to go forth (26) to Api of the south on his beautiful feast of the Theban month (Paopi), in the night of the feast which is established for Thebes, and which the sun-god Ea first instituted for him. I will conduct him back to his temple, where he sits on his throne. But on the day of the god's return, on the second of the month Athyr, I will let the people of Lower Egypt feel the weight of my finger."¹⁹⁹
(27) 'Then the king's warriors remained in Egypt. They had heard of the wrath which his Majesty had conceived against them. Then they fought against the city of Pi-maz, in the Oxyrhynchite nome, and they took it like a flood of water. And they sent a message to his Majesty; but his heart was not appeased thereby.
'Then they fought against the very strong city of Ta-tehan (now Tehneh), and they found it filled (28) with soldiers, from the best warriors of Lower Egypt. Then they made the batter- [236] ing-ram play against it, which threw down its walk. They inflicted on them a great overthrow, no one knows the number, among them (the slain) was also the son of the satrap Tuftialrhth. Then they sent a message to his Majesty; but his heart was not appeased thereby.
(29) 'Then they fought against the city of Ha-bennu and broke it open, and the warriors of his Majesty entered. Then they sent a message to his Majesty; but his heart was not appeased thereby.
'In the month Thoth, on the 9th day of the month, when his Majesty had gone down to Thebes, he celebrated the feast of Amdi in the Theban month Paop. When his Majesty had sailed (30) down the river to he city of Hermopolis Magna, he came out of the cabin of his ship, caused the horses to be harnessed, and mounted his war-chariots, the names of which were, 'The Ibar of his Majesty reaches to the Asiatics,' and, 'The hearts of all men fear him.' When his majesty had marched on, he threw upon the (31) haters of his warriors, full of wrath against them, like the panther, (saying): "Are they not standing there? Mighty I tell you! This is loitering over my business. The time is at length come once for all to make the land of Lower Egypt respect me." A mighty overthrow was inflicted upon them, frightful for the slaughter which they suffered.
'His tent was pitched on the south-west of Hermopolis Magna. The city remained cut off (32) continually. A rampart was thrown up, to overtop the high wall of the fortress. When the wooden structure (raised) against it was high enough, the archers shot in (their arrows), and the catapults (lit. slinging-machines) threw stones, so as continually to kill the people. This lasted three days. Then those in Hermopolis had become stinking, and had lost their sweet savour.²⁰⁰ (33) Then Hermopolis surrendered, [237] and supplicated the king of Lower Egypt, and ambassadors came out of it and presented themselves with all things good to behold, gold, precious stones, garments of cotton, (before his Majesty), who had pat on the serpent-diadem, in order to inspire respect for his presence. But several days passed before they dared to supplicate his Uraeus. Then (Nimrod) sent forth (34) his wife, the queen and daughter of a king, Nes-thent-nes, to supplicate the queens and the royal concubines and the king's daughters and sisters. And they threw themselves prostrate in the women's house before the queens (saying): "Pray come to me, ye queens, king's daughters, and king's sisters! Appease Horus, the ruler of the palace. Exalted is his person, great his triumph. Cause (35) his [anger to be appeased before] my [prayer]; else he will give [over to death the king, my husband, but] (36) he is brought low." When they had finished [their speech, her Majesty] (37) was moved in her heart at the supplication of the queen (38-50) (This part of the inscription is entirely erased) (51) before (1) thee. Who is leader? Who is leader] Who, he is led, who is led .... (52) to thee the boon of living. Is not the swollen stream like an arrow? I am .... (53)' The inhabitants of the South bowed down; the people of the North said, "Let us be under thy shadow! If any one has done wrong, let him [come] to [thee] (54) with his peace-offerings. His is the helm which turns about (like a ship) its governor towards him who belongs (henceforth) to the divine person. He has seen the fire in ... . (55) Worth naught is the great man, admired for his father's sake. Thy fields are full of little men."
'Then he (king Nimrod) threw himself prostrate before his Majesty [speaking thus: ''Thou art] (56) Horus, the lord of the palace. Wilt thou not grant me to become one of the king's servants, and to pay tribute of my productions for the treasury [like those who pay contributions] (57) of their productions? I will famish thee more than they do."
'Then he offered silver, gold, blue and green stones, iron, and many jewels. (58) Then was the treasury filled with these gifts. He led forward a horse with his right hand, in his left was a sistrum, and the striking-plate was of gold and blue stones. Then the king went forth out of (59) his palace, and betook himself to the temple of Thut, the lord of the city of the eight (gods) [238] (Achnum, Hermopolis Magna). He sacrificed oxen, calves, and birds, to his father That, the lord of the city of the eight (gods), and to the eight deities in the (60) temple of the eight deities. And the people of Hermopolis played a hymn, and they sang: "Beautiful is Horus, who abides in (61) his city, the son of the Sun, Pi-ankh ! Thou makest festival for us, as if thou wert the tutelar lord of the nome of Hermopolis."
'When the king had entered into (62) the house of king Nimrod, he visited all the chambers of the king, his treasury and his store-rooms. And he was content.
'Then came (63) to him the king^s wives and the king's daughters, and they praised his Majesty after the manner of women, but his Majesty did not turn his countenance upon (64) them.
'When his Majesty visited the stables and the studs of foals, he observed that [they had] (65) let them starve. He said: "I swear, as surely as the youthful Sun-god Ra loves me, as surely as I breathe in life, it is a viler thing to my heart (66) to let the horses starve, than all the other faults that thou hast committed. That thou hast laid thy heart bare through this, evidence is furnished me of thy habitual views (?). (67) Hast thou forgotten that the shadow of god rests upon me? The proof thereof shall not be wanting to him on my part! (68) Would that another had done such a thing to me, an ignorant man, not a haughty one, as he is! I was born out of my mother's womb, and created out of the egg of a divine essence. I was begotten (69) by aged. By his name I I will not forget him in what he has commanded me to do." Then he had his (Nimrod's) possessions assigned to the treasury, (70) and his granaries to the property of the god Amon of Api.
'When the prince of Heracleopolis Magna, Paf-tot-bast, had come with his presents (71) to the great house of the god-like one (Pi-ankhi), with gold, silver, fine precious stones, horses from the best of his stable, then he threw himself prostrate before his Majesty, and spake thus: "Hail to thee, Horus, (72) mighty king! Bull, that wardest off the bulls. The abyss has swallowed me up; I am sunk in darkness; give me light (73) for my countenance. I have not found a friend in the day of adversity, nor one that could stand in the day of battle, save thee, O king! (74) Chase away the darkness from before my face. I will be a servant (to thee), together with my subjects of Heracleopolis Magna, who will pay [239] tribute (75) to thy house; for thou art like the god Hormakhu, the prince of the planets. He is what thou art as king. He does not pass away, (76) thou dost not pass away, O king of Upper and Lower Egypt, Pi-ankhi, the ever-living."
'When his Majesty had sailed downwards to the point of the lake region (the Faium), to the place of the sluice (77) of the canal, he came to the city of Pi-sekhem-kheper-ra (the capital of Usarkon I.), whose walls were high and its citadel close shut, filled with the best troops of the land of Lower Egypt. Then he sent a summons to it, saying: "To live in dying is awful: (78) thy life shall be [rescued] from death, if (the gates) are at once opened. If you do not open to me, you are counted in the number of my fallen foes. It is an affront to a king, to shut him out before the gates. Your life will be good for the high court of justice, good will be this day, from him who loves death up to him who hates life. (79) [Make your decision] in the field of the whole land."
'Then they sent an embassy to his Majesty, to address him thus: "The shadow of God rests upon thee, thou son of the goddess Nut. He lends thee his hand. What thy heart wishes, that forthwith happens. As the word is uttered from the mouth of God, so it comes to pass. Thou art born of God, to behold us in thy hand. Safe is the city which is thine, and the possessions in its houses."
(80) 'Then they threw open all that was shut. Whoever would go in went in, and whoever would come out came out ; his Majesty did as it pleased him. Then they came out with a son of the satrap Tafnakhth. When the warriors of his Majesty had entered, they did not kill one of the inhabitants. He found (81) [the people of the prince busy] with the officers of the court in putting seals on his property. But his treasuries were assigned to the (king's) treasury, and his granaries to the property of his father, the Theban Amon-ra.
'When his Majesty had sailed down the river, he reached the city of Mi-tum (Meidum), the city of Sokar, the lord of enlightenment. It was shut and not to be entered, for their intention was to fight, and [they had] (82) gathered [many warriors, but] they were afraid of his power, and they (the people of the city) had shut their mouth. Then his Majesty sent them a message, to this effect: "Two ways lie before you; it is for you to choose. Decide to open, then you shall live; to shut, then you are doomed to death. My Majesty does not miss by any shut-up city." Then they opened forthwith. [240] His Majesty entered. He offered (83) [a sacrifice to the] god Men-hi, the author of enlightenment. He assigned his treasury (to his own) and his granaries to the property of the god Amon of Api.
'When his Majesty had sailed down the river to the city of Thi-taui (on the borders of Upper and Lower Egypt), he found the fortress shut and the walls full of warriors from Lower Egypt. Then they opened the bolts and threw themselves prostrate, (84) [saying to] his Majesty: "Thy father hath given thee the charge of his inheritance. Thou art the world; thou art that which is in it; thou art the lord of all that is upon the earth." When his Majesty had set out, a great sacrifice was offered to the gods in this city, of oxen, calves, birds, and all things good and clean. Then his treasury was assigned to the treasury, and his granaries to the property (85) [of the god Amon of Api].
'When his Majesty had reached the city of Memphis, he sent it a summons to this effect: "Shut not; fight not; thou seat of the god Shou from the beginning of all things! Whoever will go in, let him go in; and whoever will come out, let him come out. No traveller shall be molested. I wish to celebrate a sacrifice to the god Ftah, and to the gods of Memphis. I wish to do homage to the god Sokar in his crypt. I wish to behold the god Anbu-ris-ef. Then I will proceed down the river in peace. (86) [No harm shall befall the inhabitants] of Memphis; let them prosper and be in health; the children shall not weep. Look at each several district of the South country. No one was killed, except the impious, who blasphemed the gods. None but felons were delivered up to execution."
'But they shut up their fortress, and sent out warriors to some of the warriors of his Majesty (disguised) as workmen, master-masons, and sailors, (87) [who approached] the harbour of Memphis. For at the same time the prince of Sai's had arrived at the city of Memphis towards evening, having given directions to his warriors, his sailors, and all the captains of his warriors, 8,000 men. And he had very very urgently given them (the following) directions: "Memphis is full of warriors, of the best of Lower Egypt. There is in it wheat, durra, and all manner of com of the granaries, in abundant measure;²⁰⁰  all sorts of implements (88) [of [241] war are prepared]. The citadel [is well fortified]; the battlements are strong, where the work is planned with reference to the river which surrounds it on the East. At that part no assault is possible. The cattle-layers are full of oxen. The treasury is provided with all that is needful, in silver, gold, bronze, woven stuffs, balsam, honey, butter. I am advancing, I will give up their possessions to the under-kings of the south country. I am (again) opening their territories; I will be (89) [their deliverer. Only wait during] the days till my return."
'When he had mounted his horse, for he did not desire his war-chariot, and when he had gone down the river through fear of his Majesty, the earth grew light on (the next) morning very early. Then his Majesty came to the city of Memphis, and he landed on its north side, and he found the water reaching up to the walls. The veils came to land (90) at the harbour of Memphis. Then his Majesty saw how strong the city was. The walls were high, quite newly built, the battlements were formed strongly, so that there was no means of assaulting it. Among the warriors of his Majesty every one spoke in conversation of all possible modes of attack, and every one said: ''Come now! Let us blockade [the city." Whereupon the king said:] "The soldiers must not make too many words about the pas- sage to it. We will raise up the earth up to its wall; we will &8ten wood-works together; we will set up masts; we will make a bridge to the yard-arms, we will reach by help of them to all its parts by means of the ladders and (92) [bridges] against its north side, so as to raise up the earth to its wall. So shall we find a way for our feet."
'For was his Majesty furious against them, like a panther. He said: "I swear, as truly as I love the Sun-god Ra, as truly as I reverence my father Amon, I have found that all this happens according to the will of Amon. But this comes from the fact that the people say: '[The king had an easy task] with the districts of the South. They opened to him even from afar.' They do not regard Amon in their heart; they do not know that what he has ordained must happen, in order that his presence may show itself, and that his power may be manifest. I will come upon them like a flood of water. What he commands me (94) [that shall happen]."
'Then he ordered his ships and his warriors to advance, to fight against the harbour of Memphis. They brought to him all the [242] vessels, all the barges, all the passenger-vessels and ships of burthen, as many as there were of them. The landing took place at the harbour of Memphis. The foremost landed at the houses [of the port. (95) The inhabitants of it, great and] small wept because of all the army of his Majesty. Then came his Majesty in person, to lead on the ships, as many as there were. Then his Majesty ordered his warriors: "Take heed in encircling the walls and entering the dwelling-houses from the river. Each of you, when he has set foot on the wall, let him not remain standing in his place. (96) [Go forwards], do not press the commanders back; that would be miserable to bear. Our fortress is the South country; let our landing-place be the North country; we will establish ourselves in the city of Makhi-taui (a quarter of Memphis)."
'Then was Memphis taken, like an inundation, and many people in it were killed or were brought alive as prisoners to the king. When (97) [the earth] grew light, on the second day, his Majesty sent people to the city, to guard the temples of God. For it was of great moment with him, on account of the supreme holiness of the gods, to offer libations of water to the chief gods of Memphis, and to purify Memphis with salt, balsam, and frankincense, and to set the priests in their place upon their feet. His Majesty went into the house (98) [of Ptah], purifying himself with the holy water in the star-chamber. He performed all that is prescribed for the king. He entered the house of the god, where a great sacrifice was prepared to his father Ptah of his south wall, of bulls, calves, birds, and of all good things.
'When his Majesty had entered his house, the inhabitants heard thereof in all the districts that lie round about Memphis (namely): Heri the town, Peni- (99) na-'au'a'a, the tower of Bui and the village of Bin. They opened their gates and they fled all at once, without any one's knowing whither they were gone.
'Upon the arrival of Aupoth, and the satrap A-ka-neschu, and the hereditary lord Petise, (100), and all the princes of Lower Egypt, with their presents, to behold the prince of his Majesty, the treasuries and the grannaries of the city of Memphis were assigned to the possession of Amon, of Ptah, and of the company of divinities in the city of Ptah.
'When the earth new light, at the dawn of the next morning, his Majesty proceeded eastward. A libation of holy water was poured out to the god Tum of Khar-kharan (Babylon), (101) and [243] to the host of divinities in the temple of Pi-paut, a grotto, and to the gods there, of bulls, calves, and birds, in order that they might grant life, prosperity, and health, to the king of Upper and Lower Egypt, Pi-ankhi, the ever-living.
'His Majesty proceeded to On, over that hill of Babylon, along the road of the god Sep to Babylon. His Majesty entered the tent, which (was pitched) on the west side of the canal of Ao. He performed his purification by bathing in the middle (102) of the lake Kebhu, and he washed his face with the milk of the Nun (i.e. with the water of the rising Nile), where Ra is wont to wash his face. His Majesty went to the sand-hill in On, and offered a great sacrifice on the sand-hill in On, before the Sun-god Ha at his rising, of white cows, milk, balsam, and frankincense, of the best and (103) the most fragrant woods.
'Returning and on his way to the temple of the Sun, he was greeted most warmly by the overseer of the house of the god, and the leader of the prayers pronounced the formula "of the keeping away of evil spirits from the king.'' The arrangement of the house of stars was completed, the fillets were put on, he was purified with balsam and holy water, and the flowers were presented to him for the house of the obelisk (Ha-benben). He took the flowers, ascended (104) the stairs to the great window, to look upon the Sun-god Ra in the house of the obelisk. Thus the king himself stood there. The prince was alone. He drew back the bolt and opened the doors, and beheld his father Ra in the exalted house of the obelisk, and the morning-bark of Ba and the evening-bark of Tum. The doors were (then) shut, the sealing-clay was laid (105) on, and the king himself impressed his seal. He commanded the priests (as follows): "I have satisfied myself of the secure closing; none other of all the kings shall enter any more." As he stood there, they threw themselves prostrate before his Majesty, while they spake thus: "May Horus, the friend of the city of On, endure and increase and never vanish away!" On his return, as he entered the temple of Tum, the statue of (106) his father, the god Tum, the creator, the king of On, was brought in (in procession).
'Then came the king Usarkon to behold the grace of his Majesty.
'When the earth grew light, at the dawn of the next morning, the king took the road to the harbour, and the foremost of his [244] ships sailed to the harbour of the nome of Athribis. There a tent was pitched for his Majesty on the south of the place (called) Kahani on the east side of the (107) nome of Athribis.
'When the kings of Upper Egypt, and the princes of Lower Egypt, all the grand-masters of the whole body of fan-bearers, all the grand-masters of the whole body of the kings' grandsons, had arrived from the "West country and from the East country and from the islands between, with the purpose of beholding the grace of his Majesty, the hereditary lord Pet-ise laid himself prostrate (108) before his Majesty, saying thus: ''Come to the nome of Athribis; look upon the god Khonti-khetthi of the cities; honour the goddess Khui; offer a sacrifice to Horus in his temple, of bulls, calves, and birds; enter into my house, I lay open to thee my treasury, with the possessions inherited from my father. I give thee gold after the desire of thy heart, (109) green stones, heaped up before thy face, and numerous horses of the noblest breed out of the stalls, the best from the prince's stable."
'When his Majesty had gone into the temple of Horus Khont-Kheteth, a sacrifice was offered of bulls, calves, and birds to his father, Hor-Khont-Khethi, the lord of Kem-ur (Athribis). (Then) his Majesty went into the house of the hereditary lord Pet-ise, who made him a present of silver, gold (110), blue and green stones, a great abundance of every sort, woven stuffs, cloths of byssus in great number, beds covered with linen, frankincense, oil in anointing-vials, stallions and mules, of the best of his stable. He took an oath of expurgation before God, in the presence of those kings of Upper Egypt and of the great princes of the land of (111) Lower Egypt—(for) every one of them (had said that) he had hidden away his horses and had concealed his riches, because they desired that he might die the death of his father—(and he spoke thus): "This is what I wished, that ye desire to crush a servant (of the king). Be well assured, that the lord is on my side. Your talk is what I wished, that I have hidden from his Majesty the whole inheritance (112) of the house of my father. The gold, the golden objects (set) with precious stones, in all manner of vessels and rings on the hands, the golden neck-chains, the best ornaments composed of precious stones, the talismans for every part of the body, the head-bands, the earrings, and all other royal array, all the vessels of gold and jewels for the king's ablutions,—all these (113) I here openly present. The stuffs of byssus and the [245] woven cloths by thousands, are of the best from my house. I know now that thou art content with them. Go into the prince's table, choose according to thy pleasure of all the horses whichever thou desirest." And his Majesty did so.
'And the kings and the princes said to his Majesty: "Let us go (each) to our city; we will open (114) our treasuries; we will select whatever thy health loveth; we will bring to thee the best of our stable, the most excellent of our horses." Then his Majesty did so.
'This is the list of them: namely:
King Usarkon of Bubostus and Uu-n-r'a nofer;
King Aupoth of the city of Thent-ram and Ta-'ain-ta;
(115) Prince Zi-amun-auf-ankh of Mendes and Ta-'ap-r'a;
His eldest son, a lord, captain of Hermopolis Parva, 'Ankh Hor;
Prince (Stitrnp²⁰¹) A-ka-nesh of Sebennytus, of Hebi (Iseum) and of Samhud (Diospolis Parva) ;
Prince and Satrap Pi-thenef, of Pi-saptu and in 'Ap-en- Anbu-hat;
(116) Prince and Satrap Pi-ma of Busiris;
Prince and Satrap Nes-na-Keti of Xois;
Prince and Satrap Nacht-hor-na-shennu of Pi-garer (Phagroriopolis);
Prince and Satrap (unnamed) of Ta-ur (Tanis);
Prince and Satrap (unnamed) of Bekhen (Ostracine);
(117) Prophet of Horus, the lord of Letopolis, Pet-hor-sam-taui;
Prince He-ro-bisa of the city of the goddess Sekhet, the lady of Sa, and of the city of Sekhet, the lady of Hesani;
Piince Zi-chi-au of Khont-nofer (Onuphis 1);
Prince Pi-bi-sa of Babylon and Nilopolis (in the Heliopolitan nome.)
'They brought to him their presents of all good things; (118) of gold, silver, [blue and green stones], of [stuffs, beds] covered
[246] with linen, of frankincense, of (119) anointing vials, of trappings (?) well adapted for the horses, (120) of .....
'After this (messengers) came to his Majesty saying: (121) ["The king and satrap Tafnakhth of] the city of [Sais] has assembled his [warriors]. He has razed the walls (122) [of his city,] he has set fire to [his] treasury, [he has fled to the islands] in the midst of the river, he has strengthened the city of Mas-di (123) with his warriors. Whatever [he needs] is brought to him."
'Then his Majesty ordered his soldiers to go forth (124) and see what had happened, and the legion of Manifi was entrusted to the hereditary lord Pet-ise. Then they came to report to (125) his Majesty as follows: "We have killed all the people that we found there." Then his Majesty gave rewards to (126) the hereditary lord Pet-ise. When the king and satrap Tafnakhth heard this, he sent (127) an ambassador to the place where his Majesty was staying, to supplicate his grace thus: "Be of friendly mind! I have not beheld thy face in (128) the days of disgrace. I cannot stand before thy fire. My manhood is in thy power, for thou art the god Nub in the land of the South, (thou art) Monthu, (129) the powerful bull. K thou settest thy face towards any thing, thou findest no servant (able) to resist thee, so that I betook myself to the islands of the great river (130). I am full of anguish before thy presence on account of the sentence that the flaming fire is preparing enmity for me. (131) Is not your Majesty's heart softened by all that you have done to me! If I have been a despiser of the truth, punish me not after the measure of my guilt. (132) Measured with the balance is the produce in ounces.²⁰² Thou hast dealt it to me threefold. The seed is sown for thee, which was (sown) for me. Is it then proper to cut down (133) the fruit-trees, instead of gathering them (i.e. the fruit)! By thy name! The fear of thee is in my body and distress before thee in my bones. I sit not in (134) the festive hall (lit. the chamber of mead), nor do I take down the harp. I [247] eat bread for hunger, and I drink water for (135) thirst every day, since thou hast heard of my name. A shivering is in my bones, my head is shorn, my garments (136) are old, in order that I may appease the goddess Neith. Long is the race which has brought thee to me. Turn thy (face from) above on me who am below. Is it well to (137) torment my existence? Purify thy servant from his haughtiness. Come! receive my property for thy treasury; (138) gold and jewels, also the most excellent of the horses. They may pay for all. (139) Let a messenger straightway come to me. Let him chase away the anguish from my heart. My desire is to go out into a sanctuary before him; I will purify myself by an oath (140) before God."
'Then his Majesty sent the leader of the prayers Pet-amon-nes-taui, and the general Pi-ur-ma. He (i.e, Tafnakhth) presented (141) them with silver and gold. He went out into a sanctuary. He prayed to God, he (142) purified himself by an oath before God, speaking thus: "I will not transgress the king's command, nor will I neglect the words of his Majesty. I will not compass harm to any prince without thy knowledge. I will behave according to the words (143) of the king, and will not transgress what he has commanded." With this his Majesty was contented.
'Tidings were brought to (145) his Majesty: "The city of Crocodilopolis has opened its fortress and the city of Matennu has surrendered."
(146) 'Thus no district was shut against his Majesty, of the nomes of the South and of the North. The West and the East and the islands in the midst had submitted through fear before him, and (147) brought their presents to the place where his Majesty resided, as subjects of the palace.
'When the earth grew light, in the morning, (148) very early, there came the two kings of the South and two kings of the North, with their loyal serpent-diadems, to worship before the presence (149) of his Majesty. With them also the kings of Upper Egypt and the princes of Lower Egypt, who came to behold the grace of his Majesty. (150) Their legs were the legs of women. They did not enter the king's house, because they were unclean (151) and besides they ate fish, which is an abomination to the king. But as for King Nimrod, he went (152) into the king's house, because he was clean and ate no fish. They stood [248] there (153) upon their legs, every one at the entrance of the king^s house.
'Then were the ships laden with silver, gold, bronze, (164) stuffs, and all the good things of Lower Egypt, and with all the products of Phoenicia and with all the woods of the Holy Land.
'When his Majesty sailed up (155) the river, his heart was glad. All its banks resounded wit