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diff --git a/old/64705-0.txt b/old/64705-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 1e4a5cb..0000000 --- a/old/64705-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6310 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Pharaohs and Their People, by E. Berkley - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: The Pharaohs and Their People - Scenes of old Egyptian life and history - -Author: E. Berkley - -Release Date: March 05, 2021 [eBook #64705] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Turgut Dincer and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at - https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images - generously made available by The Internet Archive) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PHARAOHS AND THEIR PEOPLE *** - - - - -Transcriber’s Notes: - - Underscores “_” before and after a word or phrase indicate _italics_ - in the original text. - Small capitals have been converted to SOLID capitals. - Illustrations have been moved so they do not break up paragraphs. - Typographical errors have been silently corrected. - - - - -[Illustration: Vincent Brooks-Day & Son, Lith. - -TAI-TI, QUEEN OF AMENHOTEP III.] - - - - - THE PHARAOHS AND THEIR PEOPLE - - _SCENES OF OLD EGYPTIAN LIFE AND HISTORY_ - - BY - E. BERKLEY - - AUTHOR OF ‘A HISTORY OF ROME,’ ETC. ETC. - - _With Numerous Illustrations_ - - SEELEY, JACKSON & HALLIDAY, - FLEET STREET LONDON, MDCCCLXXXIV - - - - -PREFACE. - - -The growing interest that is felt in all that concerns Egypt and its -past has led me to hope that there may be many who will be glad of a -book containing, in a concise and easily accessible form, the chief -results of modern research and discovery in the valley of the Nile. - -The Manuscript of this work was submitted to Dr. Lushington, formerly -Professor of Greek at Glasgow University, and he has very kindly -permitted the publication of the following opinion:— - - ‘It appears to me very carefully and accurately - written, with diligent consultation of the most - trustworthy sources. The illustrative quotations - interspersed seem well calculated to inspire and - maintain interest in the reader as well as the - descriptive sketches. - - The subject well deserves, and is already beginning - to command, more general interest than a few years ago - it would have been possible to anticipate.’ - -The translations I have given are selected and freely rendered from -those that have appeared in _Records of the Past_, after comparison -with any others that were available. I am also much indebted throughout -to Dr. Brugsch’s valuable _History of Egypt_; and I wish especially to -mention my obligation to Mr. Villiers Stuart’s _Nile Gleanings_, with -its many interesting illustrations and accompanying descriptions—more -particularly those relating to the tombs of the third and fourth -dynasties, to the curious episode of Khu-en-aten’s reign, and to the -stirring times of Rameses the Great. - -My obligations to other authors are acknowledged in the respective -places. - -The hieroglyphs above the Table of Contents read, _em rek suteniu -tepau_, _i.e._ ‘in the time of former kings,’ and the cartouche at the -end of the line is that of ‘Pharaoh,’ to be read _Per-aa_, _i.e._ ‘the -Great House.’ The hawk is symbolic of divine protection, and the seal -it holds is the emblem of renewed and endless life. - - E. BERKLEY. - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - CHAPTER I. PAGE - Reign of the gods—Osiris, Isis, and Horus Myth—Ancient - Cities and early Kings, 1 - - CHAPTER II. - The Pyramid Builders, 17 - - CHAPTER III. - The Pyramid Builders—_continued_, 29 - - CHAPTER IV. - Civil War and Break-up of the Kingdom—Reunion and Recovery, 41 - - CHAPTER V. - Twelfth Dynasty—‘Instructions’ of Amenemhat I.— - Story of Saneha, 49 - - CHAPTER VI. - Successors of Amenemhat I.—Two Provinces added to Egypt, 64 - - CHAPTER VII. - Invasion and Rule of the Hyksos—War of Liberation. - (_Circa_ 2100-1600 B.C.), 79 - - CHAPTER VIII. - The Eighteenth Dynasty—Queen Hatasu and Thothmes III. - (_Circa_ 1600-1400 B.C.), 88 - - CHAPTER IX. - The Eighteenth Dynasty—_continued_. - (_Circa_ 1600-1400 B.C.), 125 - - CHAPTER X. - The Nineteenth Dynasty (_circa_ 1400-1200 B.C.)— - Rameses the Great, 142 - - CHAPTER XI. - Thebes; its People, Temples, and Tombs—Close of the - Nineteenth Dynasty, 175 - - CHAPTER XII. - Twentieth and Twenty-first Dynasties—The Ramessidæ and the - Priest-Kings. (_Circa_ 1200-970 B.C.), 212 - - CHAPTER XIII. - Shishak I. and the Twenty-second (Bubastite) - Dynasty—The Ethiopian Kings—The Assyrians in - Egypt—Sack of Thebes. (_Circa_ 970-666 B.C.), 237 - - CHAPTER XIV. - Psammetichus and the Saite Dynasty—The Persian Conquest— - Last Independent Dynasties. (666-340 B.C.), 263 - - APPENDIX I.—Table of Dynasties, 288 - - APPENDIX II.—Decipherment of the Hieroglyphs, 290 - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. - - - TAI-TI, QUEEN OF AMENHOTEP III., _Frontispiece_ - WINGED FIGURE,—ISIS OR NEPHTHYS, PAGE 2 - ISIS SUCKLING HORUS, 4 - THE SPHINX, 18 - THE PYRAMIDS, 23 - NETTING BIRDS, 31 - CARESSING A GAZELLE, 63 - BOATMEN AND CATTLE DRIVERS, 68 - PAINTING A STATUE, 72 - CARVING A STATUE, 73 - ASIATIC IMMIGRANTS, 76 - AMENHOTEP PRESENTED TO AMEN-RA BY HORUS, 118 - AMENHOTEP II. ON THE LAP OF A GODDESS, 122 - AMENHOTEP III., 128 - THE COLOSSI AT THEBES, 129 - RAMESES II., 162 - HALL IN THE GREAT TEMPLE OF ABU-SIMBEL, 166 - DISCOVERY OF MUMMIES AT DEIR EL BAHARI, 173 - TEMPLE AND GARDEN, 177 - THE SACRED ARK, 181 - PLAYING AT DRAUGHTS, 184 - THE WEIGHING OF ACTIONS, 193 - MUMMY AND MUMMY-CASE OF THE PRIEST NEBSENI, 231 - MUMMY OF A GAZELLE, 235 - THE WORSHIP OF APIS, 244 - SPHINX WITH HUMAN HANDS, 287 - -[Illustration: ANCIENT EGYPT.] - - - - -THE PHARAOHS AND THEIR PEOPLE. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -Reign of the gods—Osiris, Isis, and Horus Myth—Ancient cities and early -kings. - - -The first royal name that meets us on the monuments of Egypt, which was -inscribed there during the lifetime of the king who bore it, is that of -Senefru (predecessor of Khufu who built the Great Pyramid), and belongs -to a remote antiquity.[1] And yet we must look back through the dimness -of many more centuries still before we come to the name of Mena, first -King of Egypt—a name that seems to twinkle faintly from beyond the -abyss of long past ages like a far-off star on the horizon from beyond -the wide waste of waters. - -Mena, founder of Memphis, and his successors, we know, at least, by -name; but of the ‘old time before them’ the traditions of Egypt only -said that the gods governed the land. According to one ancient record, -Ptah, the ‘Hidden Being,’ the ‘Former of all,’ ruled in the beginning; -Ra, the bright Sun-god, Seb, the ancient Earth-god, followed; and later -still Osiris reigned, the ‘Good Being’ and ‘Lord of life.’ After having -conferred manifold blessings and benefits on the land, he was slain by -his brother and rival Set. Set concealed the body, but Isis, the ‘great -divine Mother,’ sister and wife of Osiris, sought after it. An ancient -hymn says, ‘No word of hers fails; good is she, and kind in will and -speech. It is Isis, the exalted one, the avenger of her brother: she -went up and down the world lamenting him.’ - -[Illustration: Vincent Brooks-Day & Son, Lith. - -WINGED FIGURE, ISIS OR NEPHTHYS.] - -The _Lamentations of Isis_ was one of the most revered of the sacred -writings:—‘My heart is full of bitterness for thee,’ she cries; ‘how -long will it be ere I see thee whom to behold is bliss! Come to her -that loveth thee—none hath loved thee more than I.... Heaven and earth -are mourning after thee. O mighty one, our lord,[2] speak, and dispel -the anguish of our souls! To behold thy face is life, and the joy of -our spirits is to gaze on thee!’ - -Nevertheless in bodily form Osiris appeared not on earth again; but -Isis ceased not from her search until she had found the remains, all -torn and mangled as they were by the malice of Set. ‘She made light -with her feathers,’ says the old hymn, ‘and wind with her wings; at his -burial she poured forth her prayers.’ - -‘She gave birth to a child; secretly and alone she nursed the infant—no -man knows where that was done. - -‘Now has the arm of that child become strong within the ancient -dwelling of Seb.’[3] - -The child of Isis, the beautiful and radiant Horus, was the avenger -of Osiris; he cast down the terrible Set, and destroyed his power; -then, on appearing resplendent from his triumph, he was hailed with -acclamation by gods and men, and reigned over the land, Osiris, -new-born—the Morning Sun which, having conquered night and darkness, -ascends the sky and rules from heaven; the Sun of to-day, which, if -another, is yet the same as that which sank down yesterday into the -bosom of the night. - -[Illustration: Isis suckling Horus.—From a statuette in the British -Museum.] - -The reign of Horus was welcomed with rapture and with song. ‘He -receives the title of his father and rules the world; he governs both -the men of Egypt and the northern barbarians. Every one glorifies his -goodness; mild is his love towards us; his tenderness embraceth every -heart; great is his love in all our bosoms. His foe falls under his -fury; the end of the evil-doer is at hand. The son of Isis, the avenger -of his father, appears. The worlds are at rest; evil flies, and earth -brings forth abundantly, and is at peace beneath her lord.’ - -But Osiris was not dead. In the unseen world he lived anew, and there -he ruled in righteousness, as Horus ruled on earth. Osiris, the divine -being who had died, was judge of the dead. Before him each departed -spirit must appear in the judgment-hall of Truth. There the heart is -weighed and the life is judged unerringly. He who passes that ordeal -becomes himself Osiris, and is henceforth called by his name. The new -Osiris lives again, and passes victoriously through every peril, until -he is at length admitted amongst the bright and blessed spirits who -accompany Ra for ever, and who ‘live, as he liveth, in Truth.’ - -Horus was the last of the divine race of kings. After him, some -traditions said that dynasties of demigods and of manes ruled before -King Mena ascended the throne, but the name by which the Egyptians -always distinguished the inhabitants of the land in prehistoric times -was _Horshesu_—followers of Horus. - -There were certain cities also in Egypt whose foundation was assigned -to those prehistoric times. The twin cities Thinis-Abydos were, so far -as we know, the most ancient in the land. Thinis was the cradle of -the Egyptian monarchy: the first Egyptian dynasties were Thinite, and -Mena went from thence to found his new capital. But Abydos was revered -as the burial-place and shrine of Osiris himself, and many devout -Egyptians in following ages directed their own tombs to be prepared and -their bodies laid in this consecrated spot. - -The origin of Pa-Ra,[4] the City of the Sun, is also lost in remote -antiquity. It stood not far from Memphis, and is better known to us by -the name of On. It was the centre of the worship of Ra, as Abydos was -of the worship of Osiris, but there was no jealousy or rivalry between -the two. They were, in fact, essentially one, and the same individual -might be priest or priestess of both sanctuaries. - -On was famous from time immemorial as a seat of learning, and its -priesthood was held in high repute. The city itself was of small -dimensions. ‘The walls may yet be traced,’ says Mr. Reginald Stuart -Poole, ‘enclosing an irregular square of about half a mile in the -measure of each of its sides.’ And of this limited space the great -temple of Ra must have occupied about half. The population, one would -think, must have been mainly composed of scholars, as the priests’ -dwellings would be within the temple precincts. Hither came the young -men of Egypt—who shall say how many thousand years ago!—to learn all -that the priests could teach at this, the most ancient university of -the world. Nor were the priests, who carefully cultivated and taught -the various branches of learning, by any means an exclusive caste. -They had family ties, mixed in social life, and could hold other than -priestly dignities. A royal prince was often priest of a temple, and -a priest might be a warrior, an architect, or a court official. So -far as we can gather, the teaching at an Egyptian university would -comprise a knowledge of the sacred books, besides general teaching in -morality. The study of the language itself must have been a somewhat -arduous undertaking even for a native-born Egyptian, and to write -the hieroglyphic characters, required considerable skill, and even -art.[5] Many branches of science must have been pursued—medicine, -law, geometry, astronomy, and chemistry, whilst in mechanics a quite -marvellous proficiency was attained. Music too was highly prized and -carefully taught, and it is not unlikely that architects and sculptors -also received their training in these schools. - -Long ages afterwards, when Greek and Roman travellers visited Egypt, -and sought to learn her wisdom, they heard an ancient tale concerning -the mysterious Phœnix, that came once in five hundred years from the -far-off land of spices and perfume to the sacred City of the Sun, where -he constructed for himself a funeral pile and perished in the flames, -but only to rise again in renewed life and splendour; then, spreading -his radiant wings, he took his flight to the distant land from whence -he came. What special truth this allegory veiled in the minds of those -who told it we can only guess; at the same time it may serve us well -as a type of the old ‘wisdom’ itself,[6] which did not perish with -its primeval seat, but sprang into renewed and glorious existence in -what, to us, is ‘ancient’ Greece—then, lost again when Greece was lost, -revived once more in our latter days. - -But Pa-Ra had a special claim to the veneration of the Egyptians as the -birthplace of their sacred literature. Here were written, or, as the -priests called it, ‘found,’ the original chapters of the most sacred of -the sacred writings, the ‘_Book of the coming forth into the Day_,’[7] -which tells of the conflicts and triumphs of the life after death. - -To secure that triumph, a knowledge of the holy book was required. -Portions of it are found written on coffin lids and on the walls of -tombs; every Egyptian desired to have it buried with him, and whilst -the rich would often have an entire copy laid in his tomb, the poor man -coveted at least a fragment. - -Memphis was founded by the first King of Egypt, but Abydos and On were -linked by tradition to the gods. - -One beautiful obelisk of red granite stands solitary among the green -fields to mark where stood the City of the Sun, and the wild bees store -their honey in its deep-cut hieroglyphs. - -If any remains at all exist of Abydos, they have long since been -buried deep beneath the piled up heaps of sand and mud amongst which -has been built a little Arab village named ‘Arabat the Buried.’ Whilst -exploring these mounds the famous discoverer Mariette found two -temples erected by well-known kings of far later date, Seti I. and -Rameses the Great, and dedicated by them to Osiris. Not far off there -arises amid the desolation a conical hillock sixty feet high, which is -called by the Arabs Kom-es-Sultan, the ‘Mound of the King.’ It is just -made up of tombs ‘packed together as closely as they can be wedged,’ -above a rock which was believed to have been the sepulchre of Osiris. -Here it was that so many during many generations desired to be laid; -through the excavations of explorers may be seen countless numbers of -the tombs where they hoped to rest in peace. But the mummy cases have -been rudely dragged to light, despoiled, and rifled of aught they might -have contained of commercial value, while the poor mummies themselves -are left, often broken into fragments, exposed to the careless gaze of -every passer-by and to the ‘full glare of the noon-day sun.’ Pits sunk -in the neighbourhood disclose nothing but tombs, ‘arches upon arches of -brick, each an Egyptian grave.’[8] - -Mena founded his new capital 360 miles north of Thinis. The Nahsi -or Negroes, in the south, were troublesome rather than dangerous -neighbours, and the whole length of the Nile valley was protected by -the natural defences of the Libyan hills on the west and the Arabian on -the east, but the Delta had no such shelter, and through its plains the -way to the rich luxuriant valley lay open to an invading force, whether -of the fair-haired Libyans from the west or the warlike tribes of the -Amu and the Herusha from the east. Memphis was built some miles south -of the point where the narrow valley of the Nile opens out into the -broad plains of the Delta.[9] Here the river ran near the Libyan hills; -so, by Mena’s orders, its course was turned aside to gain a wider space -for the new city—Mennefer, he called it—the ‘secure and beautiful.’ -He first of all erected a magnificent temple, which he dedicated to -Ptah, ‘Father of the beginning’ and ‘Creator of the world,’ of whose -worship Memphis continued to be the centre. It was well fortified and -guarded against inroads from the north, and protected the entrance to -the Nile valley, of which its rulers held the key. And it was fair to -look upon, lying along the banks of the great river—with artificial -lakes glittering in the cloudless sunshine, and stately temples and -palaces embosomed amongst groves of palm, sycamore, and date trees. -Thousands of years passed by, and in later days the ruthless tide of -war ebbed and flowed around its walls; siege, storm, and havoc did -their work—but in spite of all, so late as the 13th century A.D., an -Arabian physician who visited the ruins of Memphis tells us that they -extended a half-day’s journey every way, and he declares that the -wonders he beheld were sufficient to confound the mind; no eloquence -could describe them. Every new glance, he says, was a new cause of -delight. But the work of ruin was not ended in his day—Mahometan -fanaticism spares nothing, however time-honoured or beautiful; besides -which, the ruins of Memphis proved a convenient quarry for the -building of modern Cairo. Thus the ‘secure and beautiful’ city of King -Mena has disappeared at length as utterly as Babylon has done. A few -insignificant fragments and blocks are strewn confusedly about, and -serve to mark the site. One mighty statue lies prostrate—a colossal -figure of Rameses II., erected by himself in front of the temple of -Ptah. It is lying on its face in a broad ditch, deserted and alone, -save when some wandering Arab passes by, or cattle come to drink of the -water which, for most part of the year, fills the trench and submerges -the gigantic figure— - - Round the decay - Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare, - The lone and level sands stretch far away. - -Of historic details relating to the earliest dynasties next to nothing -has been preserved; the kings appear to have been able and enlightened -rulers, and encouragers of art and learning. In their days the system -of hieroglyphic writing existed, and we are told of works on the -healing arts, some of which were composed by the successor of Mena -himself, for ‘he was a physician.’ The earliest chapters of the sacred -books were extant, and the art of embalming was already practised, -though in a comparatively rude fashion. We are also informed that by a -decree of King Bai-en-neter of the second dynasty, women were declared -capable of succeeding to the crown—a statement which is only in harmony -with all that we know of the position of women in ancient Egypt.[10] - -One remarkable monument of these early dynasties remains. - -The Libyan hills, running from north to south, form the western -boundary of the Nile valley. Along their base there is a rocky -platform of considerable breadth, at a height of some 90 or 100 feet -above the plain. This vast platform was used as the necropolis of -Memphis—_Ank-ta_, ‘Land of life,’ they called it. For the space of -twenty miles in the neighbourhood of the city, it was covered with -groups of pyramids and tombs. In the centre of the most ancient of -these stands the pyramid of Sakkara, known as the ‘stepped pyramid,’ or -‘pyramid of degrees,’ which is considered as the burial-place of Ata, -fourth King of Egypt. In that case, it is the oldest known sepulchre in -the world. It is of grand and rugged aspect, about 200 feet in height, -and flattened at the summit. The exterior is formed of six rough -gigantic steps composed of stones, and nine or ten feet in thickness. - -The forms of King Mena and his successors may well appear dreamlike -in the dim light by which we discern them; but we seem to perceive -that Mena was, at any rate, the first who wore the ‘double crown,’ -which bespoke sovereignty over the whole land; the white upper crown -representing dominion over Upper, the red lower one dominion over Lower -Egypt. His successors were strong enough to repel invaders, to maintain -intact the power they inherited, and thus to transmit to following -dynasties the double crown they had received from Mena, the ‘Firm’ or -‘Constant.’ - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] The date that has been assigned to the Great Pyramid varies by at -least a thousand years, and is generally placed from about 3000 to 4000 -B.C. The present tendency is certainly rather in favour of the remoter -dates, as agreeing best with the requirements of historic data, and -harmonising with the results of recent discovery and research. - -[2] Isis is joined in her lamentations by her sister Nephthys, who was -wife of Set, but never shared his evil repute. - -[3] _i.e._ The Earth. Seb, the Earth-god, was father of Osiris; Nut, -the Heaven above, was his mother in Egyptian mythology. - -[4] In Greek _Heliopolis_, which bears the same meaning as Pa-Ra—‘City -of the Sun.’ - -[5] So much was this the case, that at a later period simpler forms of -writing, known as the hieratic and demotic were adopted for general -purposes; but the ancient hieroglyphic characters continued to be -employed on monuments and in the temples. - -[6] This comparison of the ancient ‘wisdom’ to the phœnix is taken -from Reginald Stuart Poole’s _Cities of Egypt_,—an interesting and -suggestive book, to which I have been more than once indebted, and -especially in the above description of On. - -[7] Generally known as the ‘Book’ or ‘Ritual of the Dead,’ but it was -never known to the Egyptians by any name of the kind. - -[8] Loftie’s _Ride in Egypt_. - -[9] The length of the Nile, from the spot where the Blue and White -Nile unite, down to the Mediterranean, is 1800 miles. The valley of -the Nile bounded east by the Arabian, west by the Libyan hills, varies -in breadth from fourteen to thirty-two miles, but the breadth of the -arable land does not exceed nine or ten miles.—Erasmus Wilson’s _Egypt -of the Past_. - -[10] That position was in remarkable contrast to the subjection and -seclusion of the Asiatic harem, and was superior to that assigned to -women in the domestic and social life of Greece itself. The Egyptian -was the husband of one wife, and she was regarded as the honoured -mistress of the household; the companion, not the slave or inferior, of -the man. In sculptures and paintings she is constantly seen sitting by -his side; she joins him in receiving and welcoming guests, and freely -takes her part in the occupations and enjoyments of social life. In the -tombs and memorial chambers of the dead, husband and wife are still -represented side by side. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -The Pyramid Builders. - - -There is no longer any need to trust to the scanty notices of these -early times that occur in writings of later date. Egyptian inscriptions -now tell their own story; the monuments begin to speak. In the valley -of Wady Maghara, in the peninsula of Sinai, carved upon the rocky -precipice, is to be seen King Senefru himself, in the act of striking -down an enemy; the accompanying inscription gives the name and titles -of the sovereign, and designates him the conqueror of the Mentu, the -‘foreigners of the East.’ - -In these rocky valleys rich mineral treasures had been discovered, -valuable copper ore, besides the blue and green precious stones so much -prized in Egypt. These mines were explored and worked by labourers sent -from Egypt, and the district gradually passed into possession of its -kings. - -Fortresses were erected and soldiers stationed there to protect the -workmen, and temples were erected that all might be carried on under -the protection of the gods. This treasure-yielding district was -jealously watched and guarded by the Egyptians, who were thus often -brought into collision with neighbouring tribes. Nor is Senefru’s -tablet by any means the sole record of battle and of conquest, for -his successors left many such memorials there. It is not, however, by -these alone, or by these principally, that their name and fame has been -preserved to modern days. - -[Illustration: THE SPHINX.] - -The rocky platform at the foot of the Libyan hills is of unequal -breadth; at one spot, near Memphis, it widens considerably, and forms -a sort of promontory jutting out into the plain. It was here that the -pyramids of Ghizeh rose in their stupendous majesty. Not far off a huge -block of limestone rock, bearing probably some accidental resemblance -to an animal at rest,[11] was transformed by the skill of the royal -architect into the colossal image of a mysterious being—a lion with -the head of a man wearing the crown and insignia of an Egyptian -monarch—symbol of strength, intellect, and royal dignity. He lay in -solemn repose, gazing ever towards the east, where arose each morning -Horus of the horizon (Hor-em-khu), the bright deity he represented. To -the south of the Sphinx (as the Greeks afterwards called the mystic -creature), Khufu, successor of Senefru, erected a temple to Isis, -‘Queen of the Pyramids,’ and to the north a temple to Osiris, ‘Lord of -the unseen world,’—thus consecrating the whole of that vast city of the -dead to the threefold guardianship of Osiris, Isis, and Horus, names so -nearly associated in the Egyptian mind with death, the unseen world, -and life triumphant and immortal. - -Whilst the great image of Horus was being shaped, and the temples -of Osiris and Isis were building, Khufu was by no means unmindful of -his own sepulchral monument. The colossal pile,—which he named ‘Khut’ -(Splendour of Light),—is known to us by the name of the ‘Great Pyramid.’ - -The building of these royal tombs, the pyramids, was the work of a -lifetime. A square was first formed, the corners of which were exactly -north, south, east, and west; course upon course was added as the years -went by, but it could be finished off at any given moment. The angles -were then filled in with granite or limestone, fitted with absolute -exactness, and the whole sloping surface was beautifully polished. As -King Khufu reigned for fifty-seven years, it is no wonder that his -sepulchral monument should have attained such gigantic proportions. To -form any idea of what the pyramids must once have been, we must restore -these polished casing-stones which are now all but gone, and have -probably been used in the building of Cairo. Now, ‘their stripped sides -present a rude, disjointed appearance,’ but then, the first and second -were of ‘brilliant white or yellow limestone, the third all glowing -with the red granite from the First Cataract,’ five hundred miles away. -‘Then you must build up or uncover the massive tombs, now broken or -choked up with sand, so as to restore the aspect of vast streets of -tombs, out of which the Great Pyramid would arise like a cathedral -above smaller churches. Lastly, you must enclose two other pyramids -with stone precincts and gigantic doorways; and, above all, you must -restore the Sphinx as he was in the days of his glory.’[12] - -Narrow passages lead into the heart of the mighty mass of Khufu’s -pyramid, which rises on a base of 764 feet to the height of 480 feet. -When the traveller has climbed, or crept, to the centre he finds -himself in a chamber, the walls of which are composed of polished red -granite. Nothing is left there now to tell of the royal builder but -his empty sarcophagus, and his name and titles, amongst other scrawls, -written by the masons in red ochre on the walls. - -Khafra, the successor of Khufu, is made very real to us by the -wonderful statue of him which was found uninjured amongst a number -of other broken ones of the same monarch, in a deep well near his -burial-place. It is of a bright greenish stone, and admirably executed. -The king’s features are life-like and benign. A hawk, symbol of Ra, not -seen in our illustration, stands behind, and embraces his head with -its wings, as if sheltering and protecting the sovereign, who was ‘Son -of the Sun.’ - -Khafra’s pyramid, called by him Ur, or the Great, is second in -size only to that of Khufu. On the upper part of it the original -casing-stone still remains. - -The third of the pyramids of Ghizeh, that of Menkaura, though only -about half the size of the other two, exceeded them both in costliness -and splendour; it was cased from top to bottom in brilliant red -granite, exquisitely finished. - -These ancient pyramids have long ago been rifled for the sake of -anything they contained of value, but in the red pyramid a sarcophagus -was discovered made of black basalt, beautifully wrought. It was -shipped for England, but lost off Gibraltar. Only the wooden case -reached London, and was deposited in the British Museum, together with -the bones that had been gathered out of poor Menkaura’s resting-place, -and which doubtless formed part of his skeleton.[13] - -[Illustration: The Pyramids of Khufu and Khafra.] - -Of the monarchs of the succeeding dynasties there is little to be said. -The names of many of them are found recorded in the valleys of Sinai as -‘conquerors of the Mentu,’ and they were each and all pyramid builders. -The names of their pyramids are known, but only a few of them have been -identified. - -Recent investigation of the pyramids of Sakkara has brought to light -the sepulchres of the last king of the fifth dynasty—Unas—and of Pepi -and Merienra of the sixth dynasty, together with their shrivelled -remains. From the corpse of the last-named king not only the ornaments, -but the coverings and bandages, had been torn away. - -Some rays of light are thrown upon the times of Pepi and Merienra -by an inscription that was found at Abydos, in the tomb of one Una, -who was Governor of the South. In the reign of Teta, first king of -the sixth dynasty, Una, then a young man, had been already intrusted -with important offices. He was crown-bearer, superintendent of the -storehouse, and registrar of the docks. Under Pepi he rose to yet -higher dignity and influence. ‘His Majesty gave me the rank of “King’s -friend;” I was royal scribe and chief over the treasury, and priest -of the royal pyramid. No secret was withheld from me; he allowed me -to hear all that was said. By his orders I brought a white stone -sarcophagus from the land of Ruau. It was embarked safely and brought, -together with the doors, cover, and pedestal, in a great boat belonging -to the palace. - -‘But now His Majesty was summoned to drive back the Amu and the -Herusha,[14] who were threatening the land. He levied soldiers from -beyond the southern frontier, and recruited negroes from very many -places. He placed me at the head of these troops. I summoned captains -and rulers from every part that they might train and drill the negro -forces. I was the representative of the king; everything fell upon me -alone, for there was no man above me but Pharaoh himself. To the utmost -of my power I laboured; I wore out my sandals in going hither and -thither. Never was any army better officered or disciplined. It marched -without let or hindrance until it arrived at the land of the Herusha. -It laid waste the country, burning the villages, and cutting down vine -and fig-trees; many thousands of the foe were taken prisoners. - -‘Five times was I sent to subdue revolts among the Herusha until the -land was completely conquered. King Merienra made me Governor of the -South, and bestowed high dignity upon me in his household. - -‘I was charged to bring the sarcophagus and statue for the pyramid of -Merienra, and I transported them in boats. I also quarried a great slab -of alabaster for the king in seventeen days. I constructed a boat of -100 feet in length, and 50 in breadth. But there was not water enough -to tow it in safety. Therefore I excavated four docks in the land of -the south, and next year at the time of the inundation I disembarked -in safety both the alabaster slab and all the granite required for the -pyramid Kha-nefer[15] of Merienra. Then for those docks I erected a -building in which the spirits of the king might be invoked, even of the -king Merienra, by whose command all had been done that was done. - -‘The beloved of his father, the praised of his mother, the delight of -his brethren, the chief, the Governor of the South, the truly devoted -to Osiris—Una.’ - -FOOTNOTES: - -[11] The face of the Sphinx is 30 feet long and 14 wide. Its body 140, -and its front paws 50 feet long. Between the paws was a small sanctuary. - -[12] Stanley’s _Sinai and Palestine_. - -[13] On the coffin-lid is a hieroglyphic inscription, which is -interesting as showing at how early a period the departed spirit was -regarded as one with Osiris. It runs thus: ‘O Osiris, King of Egypt, -Menkaura, living for ever! born of Heaven, offspring of Seb. May thy -Mother Nut (Heaven) stretch herself over thee, and cover thee in her -Name of Heavenly Mystery. May she render thee divine, destroying all -thine enemies, O King Menkaura, living for ever!’ - -[14] Tribes inhabiting the desert beyond the north-east frontier of -Egypt. - -[15] The Beautiful Rising. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -The Pyramid Builders—_Continued_. - - -The warlike expeditions described by Una, the Governor of the South, -form the exception rather than the rule in this early history. Fearing -no rivals at home, and almost entirely free from enemies abroad, these -powerful monarchs devoted their thoughts and care to the building of -temples and of those gigantic funeral piles that have immortalised -their names. - -It is certain that the pyramids could not have been erected without a -very considerable amount of scientific knowledge, whilst as records -of engineering skill they are simply marvellous. Immense blocks were -brought from a distance of 500 miles up the river, were polished like -glass, and fitted into their places with such exactness that the -joints could hardly be detected. ‘Nothing can be more wonderful,’ says -Fergusson, ‘than the extraordinary amount of knowledge and perfect -precision of execution displayed in the construction of the interior -chambers and galleries; nothing more perfect mechanically has ever been -executed since.’ - -A curious calculation has been made that the stone used in the -construction of Khufu’s pyramid would make a wall of six feet high and -half a yard broad, that would reach across the Atlantic from Liverpool -to Newfoundland. - -In the tombs which cluster round the royal pyramids have been -discovered records and relics of deeper and more human interest than -the pyramids themselves. At Meidoom were buried the great men of -Senefru’s time. Their tombs were formed of immense blocks of stone, -and have been long hidden from sight by the accumulation of soil above -them. The entrance passages are covered with figures and inscriptions. -The figures are wrought in a kind of mosaic work. Little square -holes were made, and filled with hard cement of various colours. The -brightness of the tints is wonderful, as if they had been laid on -yesterday; and in some places there can be discerned upon the sand, -marks of the footprints left there by the bearers of the coffin. - -[Illustration: Netting Birds.] - -Here we seem brought face to face with a very remote past. All is so -strangely distant and unlike, but at the same time all is strangely -near and like ourselves and our own life to-day. Here, _e.g._, is the -entrance-passage to the tomb of Nefer-mat, a high officer of state and -‘friend of the king,’ who married Atet, a royal princess. On one side -of the passage we see Nefer-mat, with his wife clinging to his arm; on -the other he is represented with his little son at his feet. In front -of us the husband and wife are again delineated; her long hair falls -loosely over her shoulders, and she places her hand upon her heart in -token of devoted affection. - -Atet appears to have survived her husband, and her own tomb is close at -hand. Amongst the scenes depicted there is one in which Nefer-mat is -employed in netting fowl; the wife is seated near, watching the sport, -and servants are bringing her the game. The hieroglyphic inscription -says: ‘Princess Atet receives with pleasure the game caught by the -chief noble, Nefer-mat.’ - -In another of these tombs were discovered the wonderful statues of -Ra-hotep and his beautiful wife Nefert, which are now in the museum -at Boulak. Ra-hotep was a prince, very likely a son of Senefru, who -died young; he was a captain in the army, and chief priest of Ra, at -On. These, the most ancient known statues in the world, are ‘marvels -of life-like reality.’ The Egyptians always excelled in portrait -sculpture; the figures may be stiff and ill-drawn, but the faces are -beyond doubt truthful and characteristic likenesses. Men of learning -were held in honour at the court of these early Pharaohs, as well as -architects and sculptors. But the literature of those days may be said -to have perished. Portions of it, enshrined in the sacred writings, -have survived, and there is, besides, one venerable manuscript of the -time of the fifth dynasty, which has come down to us. It is called -the _Maxims of Ptah-hotep_ and is the oldest manuscript known. The -writer was a prince by birth, and a governor; he lived to be more than -a hundred years old, and after a long and varied experience of life, -when the infirmities of old age had come upon him, he recorded, for -the use and benefit of all, the teaching of that serene and simple -wisdom which is never new and never old—such as the following:— - - ‘A good son is the gift of God.’ - - ‘If thou art a wise man, bring up thy son in the love - of God.’ - - ‘If any one bears himself proudly, he will be humbled - by God, who gave his strength.’ - - ‘If thou hast become great after having been lowly, - and art the first in thy town; if thou art known for - thy wealth, and art become a great lord—let not thy - heart grow proud because of thy riches, for it is - God who was the author of them for thee. Despise not - another who may be as thou once wast; be towards him as - towards thine equal.’ - - ‘With the courage that knowledge gives, discuss with - the ignorant as with the learned. Good words shine more - than the emerald, which the hand of the slave finds on - the pebbles.’ - - ‘He who obeys not does really nothing; he sees - knowledge in ignorance, virtue in vices; he commits - daily and boldly all sort of crimes, and lives as if he - was dead. What others know to be death, is his daily - life.’ - - ‘God lives through all that is good and pure.’ - -And he concludes:— - - ‘Thus shalt thou obtain health of body and the favour - of the king, and pass the years of thy life without - falsehood. I am become one of the ancients of the - earth. I have passed 110 years of life—fulfilling my - duty to the king, and I have continued to stand in his - favour.’ - -The venerable Ptah-hotep was buried in one of the tombs that are -grouped around the ancient pyramid of Sakkara. Near his burial-place -is the vast tomb of Thi, on which is recorded, in sculptured story, -the course of his daily life. Of his own birth and parentage nothing -is said, but he so distinguished himself that the king gave him -his daughter in marriage. Thi was royal scribe, president of royal -writings, and conductor of the king’s works. His tomb must indeed have -been the work of a lifetime. We see him there, amidst the scenes of -rural life, watching over the ingathering of the harvest, or fowling -in the marshes; one while he is listening to the strains of music, -another time he is steering his little vessel on the broad waters -of the Nile. Servant girls are carrying on their heads and in their -hands, in baskets or in jars, the produce of his estates—wine, bread, -geese, pigeons, fruit, and flowers. Above is depicted a humorous scene, -such as Egyptian artists delighted in. A number of donkeys pass in -file, their saddle-cloths are ornamented with fringes, and they are -laden with panniers of grain. Men walk by the side to steady the heavy -loads. One load, however, has shifted from its place, and two men are -trying to put it back; the animal is restive, and one man has hold of -him by the tail while another has grasped his nose. The donkey coming -immediately behind has seized the opportunity of the halt to give the -man in front of him a poke with his nose. Each driver is armed with a -stout stick, and one of them is just raising his against the unruly -animal. It is evident that donkeys were considered troublesome and -obstinate some four or five thousand years ago, that their humours -amused the Egyptian artists, and that donkey drivers then, as now, were -ready to use their sticks. - -In another drawing Thi is seen in a boat made of reeds, superintending -a hippopotamus hunt. One of his men has succeeded in getting a rope -round the neck of one savage-looking beast, and is preparing to -despatch him with a long club. The river is full of fish, and one of -the hippopotami has just seized a little crocodile between his enormous -jaws. In another picture a crocodile hunt is represented, whilst in one -drawing we see an angler who is evidently out for a day’s sport in one -of the small reed boats. He is in the act of drawing a fish out of the -water, and by his side he has loaves of bread, a cup, and a bottle. - -Nowhere is depicted a scene of battle or warlike display, everything -speaks of rural and domestic life. - -But we do not see the great men of Pharaoh’s court only in the scenes -and amusements of life. Funeral rites are also represented. The body -is seen embalmed and carried to its last resting-place; funeral gifts -are offered in rich abundance. No obligation was more sacred than that -of bringing funeral oblations and offering prayer for the departed -parent or friend. Inscriptions over the tombs called even on the -passer-by to stay a while and offer up the customary invocation. The -form of this invocation varied from age to age, but the main burden -of its petitions was that Osiris would ‘grant the funeral oblations -of all good things; that the departed one might not be repulsed at -the entrance of the unseen world, but might be glorified amongst the -blessed ones in presence of the Good Being, that he (or she) might -breathe the delicious breezes of the north wind, and drink from the -depth of the river.’ - -It was customary to build a chamber at the entrance to the tomb, in -which the family and friends of the departed assembled from time to -time to offer oblations and prayers, and to realise the actual presence -of those who were gone. The walls of these rooms were covered with -pictured and sculptured scenes taken from the varied scenes of daily -life. They were adorned ‘as for a home of pleasure and joy’—no thought -of gloom is even suggested. - -The names given to the pyramids by their royal builders are very -striking in this respect. Amongst them we find the ‘Abode of Life,’ the -‘Refreshing Place,’ the ‘Good Rising,’ the ‘Most Holy,’ ‘Most Lovely,’ -or ‘Most Abiding Place,’ the ‘Rising of the Soul.’ - -The earliest of the pyramids were unsculptured and unadorned within, -so there was attached to each of them a small sanctuary or memorial -chapel; the office of ‘priest of the royal pyramid’ being held in high -estimation and conferred on the most illustrious men of the day. - -During their lifetime the Pharaohs were regarded by their people as -representatives of the gods, or even as emanations from the Divine -Being. After their death their memory was preserved and sacred rites -were performed by the priests attached to their respective pyramids. -Down to the latest days of the Empire, and even in the reign of the -Ptolemies (three or four thousand years after they had been laid to -rest ‘each within his own house’), priests were still officiating in -memory of Khufu, Khafra, or Senefru—the far-famed pyramid builders. - -For whilst the names of some amongst the later Pharaohs are emblazoned -on the page of history as conquerors of high renown, who founded an -Egyptian empire and gathered in rich and varied tribute from many -subject races—those ancient monarchs are known and will ever be -remembered as the kings ‘who built the pyramids.’ - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -Civil War and Break-up of the Kingdom—Reunion and Recovery. - - -The last sovereign of the sixth dynasty was a queen named Nitocris. -After her death occurs a perfect blank in Egyptian history. Not a -line of hieroglyphic writing, not a fragment of a ruin has survived -from this period of darkness and silence. Of the seventh dynasty the -very names are lost; of the eighth, nothing but the names has been -preserved. The names, however, are so similar to those of the sixth -dynasty, that we may conclude that these rulers were of the same royal -line and descendants of Mena. - -It may be gathered from the bare fact of the accession of a female -sovereign that the direct male line had failed. Nitocris appears to -have left no children, and it is easy to imagine how rival claims and -dissension would arise; each claimant asserting his right as next of -kin, to wear the double crown. - -But at the same time the double crown lost much of its splendour. -Other pretenders started up, ambitious men, claiming no right of -kinship certainly, but anxious to make their own profit during this -period of discord and weakness in the ruling house. Egypt was divided -into forty-two districts or ‘nomes,’ and each of these possessed -its own governor (_hak_, or prince, he was called) and each was to -some extent a government complete within itself. The office of these -prince-governors was often hereditary, and there was always a danger -lest some powerful and popular governor should aim at setting up a -petty kingdom of his own, in the event of the ruling hand becoming -enfeebled. During a female reign the controlling power would be -lessened, whilst the prospect of a disputed succession was awakening -ambitious hopes and schemes. So long as Nitocris lived, the reverence -due to a direct representative of the Pharaohs might prove some -restraint, but at her death the smouldering ambitions and rivalries of -scions of the royal house and of powerful provincial governors could -hardly fail to burst forth, and find vent in fierce flames of discord -and of civil war. - -Would we form to ourselves some idea of the state of Egypt during the -ensuing centuries, we must picture a feeble scion of the ancient line -ruling at Memphis over a territory barely extending beyond the capital; -for in the north the foreign races would seize their opportunity for -invading and encroaching upon the rich Delta land, thus blocking the -great highway by the river; and farther south a rival dynasty is -established at Heracleopolis, in Middle Egypt, not to reckon the other -petty kingdoms or principalities into which the country is broken -up—the whole a scene of ceaseless jealousies and mutual conflict. - -At length in the extreme south certain king-like figures emerge of a -more commanding appearance, and seen by a clearer light. The Antefs -first, a family of ancient and illustrious, though not royal descent, -who had set up their dominion at a town then insignificant and unknown -to fame—Thebes. The burial-places of the kings of this family (who -are sometimes reckoned in the eleventh dynasty) have been discovered -in Western Thebes. Their tombs are plain, and but little ornamented; -there are some brick pyramids of no great size, and some fragments of -small broken obelisks. In one of the memorial chambers is depicted an -Antef who assumed the title of the ‘Great;’ he appears to have been -a sportsman, and is to be seen surrounded by his dogs, each of which -is distinguished by its name. From the days of these kings a literary -relic also has come down to us. The ‘festal dirge’ of the Egyptians -bears the name of the _Song of the House of King Antef_. Many, many -ages later, Herodotus, travelling in Egypt, told of the custom -which prevailed of carrying round during an entertainment a figure -representing a mummy, whilst the bearer repeated the words: ‘Cast your -eyes upon this figure; after death you yourself will resemble it; eat, -drink, then, and be happy;’ words plainly recalling the ‘solemn festal -dirge’ which dated back to the ‘House of Antef,’ about 2000 years -before his time, and which was to the following effect:— - - ‘All hail the good Prince, the worthy man who has - passed away! Behold the end! the end of those who - possess houses and of those who have them not. I have - heard the sayings of the wise:—“What is prosperity? - All passes as though it had not been—no man returneth - thence to tell us what they say or do.” - - ‘Fulfil, then, thy desire, O man, whilst yet thou - livest. Anoint thine head with oil, and clothe thee in - fine linen adorned with gold—Make use of God’s good - gifts. - - ‘For the day will come for thee also when voices are - heard no more; he who is at rest heareth not the cry of - those who mourn. No mourning may deliver him that is - within the tomb. - - ‘Feast, then, in peace—for none can carry away his - goods with him, nor can he who goeth hence return - again.’ - -There are, then, a few scanty records left of the Antef family and -their rule in the south. Still more distinct and commanding are the -figures of another family, the brave and warlike Mentuhoteps; who -eventually succeeded in restoring order over a considerable portion -of the distracted and divided land. This family was of Theban origin, -and the centre of their government was in that city, then so obscure, -though destined to become in after days the crown of ancient cities and -the wonder of the ancient world—‘hundred-gated Thebes.’ - -With wise forethought the Mentuhoteps devoted their attention to the -development of trade and industry in the south. The passage of the -great water-way of the Nile was impeded, but there was an outlet for -commerce by a route leading eastward from the Nile to the Red Sea. -Koptos, a town not far north of Thebes, stood at the entrance of -the desert rocky valley of Hammamat, through which merchantmen and -travellers made a weary and painful eight days’ journey to the Red -Sea. The Mentuhotep kings themselves took up their residence sometimes -at Koptos, and the gloomy valley of Hammamat gradually became a scene -of busy industry. Mines of gold and silver ore were worked there, and -stone was hewn from its quarries for building purposes at Thebes, which -was continually growing in extent and in importance. For the benefit of -the labourers in the hot valley, and for the refreshment of travellers -and their beasts, a deep well, ten cubits broad, was sunk by royal -order. The whole district was placed under the special guardianship of -the god Khem, who was known as the ‘Protecting Lord of the mountain.’ -The rocks near Koptos are to this day covered with inscriptions—the -invocations and prayers of many generations, both of workmen and of -wayfarers. The development of trade and industry brought an increase -both of wealth and power to the Mentuhoteps and their people. During -the reign of the last sovereign of the eleventh dynasty, a more distant -expedition was undertaken. - -The land of Punt[16] was well known by name and repute to the -Egyptians; they regarded it as a sacred region (_Ta-neter_, the ‘holy -land’), and it was known to be a hilly country, whose shores were -washed by the Red Sea, and to be celebrated for many rare and precious -products; for choice and costly woods; for gems and frankincense, -and fragrant spices; for trees and plants unknown at home; for birds -of strange plumage, giraffes, monkeys, and leopards. King Sankhkara -despatched an expedition thither under the command of a nobleman -named Hanno. Hanno tells us the story himself: ‘I was sent,’ he -says, ‘to conduct ships to the land of Punt, to fetch for the king -sweet-smelling spices.’ He started with 3000 men, well armed and -carefully provided with water, which was carried in skins on poles. -Through the valley of Hammamat he pressed on rapidly to the sea; there -he embarked, after offering up rich sacrifices. ‘I brought back,’ he -says, ‘all kinds of products, and I brought back precious stones for -the statues of the temples.’ - -The route between Koptos and the Red Sea continued to be a highway for -commerce down to the days of the Greeks and Romans. - -FOOTNOTE: - -[16] It is not quite certain whether Punt was on the Arabian or -Abyssinian shore of the Red Sea, probably the latter. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -Twelfth Dynasty—‘Instructions’ of Amenemhat I.—Story of Saneha. - - -There was a certain unity in Egyptian worships, but in various -localities the chief deities bore different names, and were regarded -under varying aspects. The worship of some of these chief deities, -however, became general, if not universal, at a very early period; -_e.g._ that of Osiris, Isis, and Horus, the triad of Abydos; that of Ra -and Turn,[17] chief gods of On, and that of Ptah, the centre of which -was Memphis. The Thebaid—_i.e._ the district surrounding Thebes—had its -own local divinities also. Khem, ‘Lord of the mountain,’ was adored at -Koptos; Amen (worshipped in connection with Mut, the ‘Divine Mother,’ -and Khons) was the chief god of Thebes. He was destined to become, -under the name of Amen-Ra, the chief amongst Egyptian gods at a later -day. - -The name of the first sovereign of the twelfth dynasty, Amenemhat -(‘Amen the leader’), bespeaks its southern origin. This great monarch -followed up the successes of the Mentuhoteps, and finally re-united -Egypt under one sceptre, although at the cost of many years of severe -conflict. Then he had to drive back the Kushites, who had encroached -on the south, and the Libyans and the Amu, who troubled the northern -borders; and after he had restored the ancient boundaries there -was still need of perpetual vigilance upon the frontiers. On the -north-east, where lay the greatest danger, he erected fortresses and -built a strong wall of defence. - -But although Amenemhat I. had been able to restore the ancient -boundaries of Egypt, and all the country was subject, nominally, to -his sway, it is certain that the kinglets and chieftains whom he had -reduced bore him but little affection, and yielded only a sullen -and constrained obedience; in fact there is evidence of a hatred so -vindictive that it did not scruple to resort even to the dagger of -midnight assassination. But King Amenemhat did not rest content with -the supremacy he had won; he strove, and not without success in the -end, to win the goodwill and affection of the people, and he bequeathed -to his successors a legacy of peace and prosperity that lasted for many -generations. In the ‘Instructions’ which he left for his son Usertesen -(whom he had associated with him on the throne), we may see both the -high ideal this great and wise sovereign had formed of his own duties, -and also form some idea of the perils and anxieties amidst which he -strove to perform them. - -‘Now thou art king,’ he says to his son; ‘strive to excel those who -have gone before thee. Keep peace between thy people and thyself, -lest they should be afraid of thee. Go amongst them, keep not thyself -aloof; do not let it be only great lords and nobles whom thou takest -to thy heart as brothers; nevertheless, let none come near thee whose -friendship thou hast not proved. - -‘Let thine own heart be strong, for know this, O man, that in the day -of adversity thy servants’ help will fail thee. As for me, I have given -to the lowly and I have strengthened the weak. I have breathed courage -into hearts where there was none. - -‘Thee have I exalted from being a subject, and I have upheld thee, that -men may fear before thee. I have adorned myself with fine linen, so -that I was like the pure water flowers; I anointed myself with fragrant -oil, as though it had been water. - -‘My remembrance lives in men’s hearts because I caused the sorrow of -the afflicted to cease; their cry was no longer heard. The conflicts -are over, though they had been renewed again and again, for the land -had become like a mighty one who is forgetful of the past. Neither the -ignorant nor the learned man was able to endure.[18] - -‘Once after supper, when the shades of night had fallen, I went to -seek repose. I lay down and stretched myself upon the carpets of -my house; my soul began to seek after sleep. But lo! armed men had -assembled to attack me; I was helpless as the torpid snake in the -field. Then I aroused myself, and collected all my strength, but it was -to strike at a foe who made no stand. If I encountered an armed rebel I -made the coward turn and fly; not even in the darkness was he brave; no -one fought. - -‘Nor was there ever a time of need that found me unprepared. And when -the day of my passing hence came, and I knew it not—I had never given -ear to the courtiers who desired me to abdicate in thy favour. I sat -ever by thy side, and planned all things for thee. - -‘I never neglected anything that was for the benefit of my servants. If -locusts came arrayed for plunder, if conspiracy assailed me at home, if -the Nile was low, and the wells were dry; if my enemies took advantage -of thyyouth to conspire to do ill,—I never faltered from the day that I -was born. Never was the like seen since the days of the heroes. - -‘My messengers have travelled to the south and to the north. I stood -upon the frontiers to keep watch, I stationed men armed with scimitars -upon the boundaries, and I was armed with a scimitar myself. - -‘I grew abundance of corn, and the god of corn gave me the rising of -the Nile over the cultivated land. None was hungry through me, none -thirsted through me; every one took heed to obey my words. All my -orders increased the affection my people had for me. - -‘I hunted the lion, and brought home the crocodile. I fought the -Nubians, and took the Libyans captive. I turned my forces against the -Sati; he fawned upon me like a dog. - -‘I built myself a house[19] adorned with gold; its ceiling was of -azure, its galleries of stone. It was made for eternity. I possess the -everlasting powers of the gods. There are many secret passages therein; -I alone possess the key. None knows the way but thee, O Usertesen. Thou -enterest, and thou wilt see me with thine eyes amongst the spirits who -do thee honour. - -‘All I have done is for thee. Do thou place upon my statue the double -crown and the tokens of divinity; let the seal of friendship unite us. -In the boat of Ra am I offering prayers for thee. It was my power that -raised thee to the throne and upheld thee there.’ - -The latter years of Amenemhat’s reign flowed tranquilly by. ‘The -land had rest’ from the warfare of centuries; and the sovereigns -applied themselves to restoring the temples of the gods which had been -neglected during the troublous times through which Egypt had passed. -Amenemhat laid the foundation of the Great Temple at Thebes, whose -colossal ruins still excite the wonder of the traveller at Karnak. - -During the joint reign of these two sovereigns peace and confidence -were so far restored that it was possible to deal generously with -fugitives and exiles. A kindly answer was accordingly sent to a -humble petition from one of these, Saneha by name, who had fled or -been banished the country many years before. He has left an account -of his experiences, which has fortunately come down to us. The first -lines are wanting that would have given the events which led to -his hurried flight; but it is not difficult to imagine how a young -and powerful noble might have become compromised in insurrection or -conspiracy during the earlier years of Amenemhat’s reign—so gravely -compromised that his recall and friendly reception by the kings was -regarded with suspicion and disapproval by some of the royal family -themselves. The narrative opens thus—‘When I was about to set out, my -heart was troubled, my hands trembled, numbness fell on my limbs. I -disguised myself as a seller of herbs;[20] twice I started and turned -back.... I passed the night in a garden; when it was day I arose, and -by supper-time had arrived at the town.... There I embarked on a barge -without a rudder, and came to Abu; the rest of the journey I made on -foot. I came to the fortress which the king built to keep off the -Sakti, and I was received by an old man, a seller of herbs. But I was -afraid when I beheld the watchmen upon the walls relieving each other -daily. In the dawn I proceeded, and went on my journey from place to -place. Thirst overtook me, and my throat was parched; it was as the -taste of death. But I encouraged myself, and my limbs waxed strong, for -I heard the pleasant voice of cattle. I saw a Sakti. He spoke to me, -saying, “O thou that art from Egypt! whither art thou going?” Then he -gave me water, and poured out milk for me. He brought me to his people, -and they conducted me from place to place till we came to Tennu. The -king said, “Remain with me; here thou wilt hear the language of Egypt.” -I told him what had happened; he understood my condition, and heard the -story of my disgrace. Then he questioned me, saying, “Why hast thou -done these things?... And is it true that the wealth of the house of -Amenemhat reacheth unto heaven?” And I said, “It is certain.”’ - -Saneha then tells the king of his earlier life; he extols the fame -of king Amenemhat and the martial prowess and great popularity of -his son—to which the king answers, ‘Yea, Egypt is safe—it is well. -Behold, so long as thou art with me, I will do thee good.’ And he -kept his word, giving the Egyptian exile lands and possessions and -marrying him to his eldest daughter. For many years Saneha dwelt in -the strange country, and saw his children grow up around him. Nor was -he unmindful of his own past sufferings, but was ever ready to ‘give -water to the thirsty and set the wanderer in the way.’ He aided the -king also against his enemies, so that, ‘beholding the valour of his -arm,’ he made him chief amongst his children. Presently Saneha receives -a challenge from a certain strong man, hitherto undisputed champion -of the Tennu. The prospect of this single combat excited intense -interest. All Tennu assembled to behold it, and ‘every heart was sorry -for Saneha,’ who was to encounter so redoubtable a foe. But of course -Saneha triumphs, and obtains possession of his enemy’s person and -goods. ‘I got great treasure and wealth, I got much cattle.’ - -In spite of riches and renown and royal favour, the heart of the -exile grows sad; old age is at hand, and an irrepressible longing -after home and native land seizes upon him. He ventures to approach -the all-powerful King of Egypt with a humble petition for pardon and -recall. ‘Let me be buried,’ he says, ‘in the place where I was born.’ -His petition was most graciously received. Usertesen sent a messenger -to the land of the Tennu, laden with many royal gifts and intrusted -with a mandate drawn up in his father’s name. ‘Thou hast passed through -the lands,’ writes the king, ‘going from country to country as thy -heart bade thee. Behold what thou hast done thou hast done. Thou shalt -not be called to account for what thou hast said in the assembly of -young men, nor for the business that thou didst devise. If thou comest -to Egypt, a house shall be prepared for thee. If thou dost homage to -Pharaoh, thou shalt be numbered amongst the king’s councillors.... Lo, -thou hast arrived at middle age; thou hast passed the flower of thy -youth. Think upon the day of burial, upon the passage to Amenti.[21] -Cedar oil and wrappings shall be given thee—service shall be done to -thee in the day of thy burial. At the door of thy tomb the poor shall -make supplication; invocations shall be made before thee.’ This letter -reached Saneha as he was in the midst of his people. Overcome with -emotion he prostrated himself upon the ground. He first caused the -mandate to be read aloud before his chosen men, and then assembled his -household to hear the news, ‘I being myself like one mad.’ Without -delay Saneha sent his answer, worded with the profoundest humility -and gratitude, anxious only that the king’s majesty should not hold -the people of Tennu responsible as though they had in any way been -concerned in his guilt or had aided his flight. - -Saneha immediately arranged everything for his departure; he set his -eldest son in his place, and appointed a director over his workmen. -Then he bade adieu to the friendly people among whom he had so long -sojourned, and they assembled in crowds to wish him a good journey and -happy arrival at court. When he reached the country he had left by -stealth, slinking away in disguise like a thief, he was met by princes -of the royal family, who conducted him forthwith into the presence -of the king. ‘I found his majesty in the old place, in the pavilion -of pure gold. I fell upon my face, as one amazed. The “god” addressed -me mildly, but I was as one brought out of the dark; my tongue was -dumb, my limbs failed me, I knew not whether I was alive or dead. His -majesty said to one of the councillors, “Lift him up that I may speak -to him.” His majesty said, “Behold, thou hast gone about the lands -like a runaway. Now old age has come upon thee. Thy renown is not -small; be not silent and without words, for thy name is famous.” Saneha -replies in broken utterances; ‘Behold, oh, my lord, how can I answer -these things? Is not God’s hand upon me; it is terrible. There is that -within me that causeth pain. I am before thee. Thou art mighty. Let thy -majesty do as it pleaseth thee.’ The royal family were now admitted, -and the king said to the queen, ‘Behold Saneha; he went away as an Amu; -he has become a Sakti.’[22] To add to the confusion and alarm of the -repentant exile, there now arises a great cry from some of the princes -of the royal family itself, who exclaim with one voice—‘He is not in -the right, O my lord the king!’ But Amenemhat, as we know, was not -one to be thwarted or turned aside from his purpose;[23] and he only -replies, ‘He is in the right,’ and proceeds forthwith to lavish tokens -of reconciliation and favour upon Saneha. He gives him precedence in -the palace, and appoints him one of the king’s intimate councillors. -He is clothed in fine linen, the attire of a prince, and is anointed -with fragrant oil. A princely habitation is assigned for his use whilst -the labourers are busily employed erecting for him a house ‘befitting -a councillor.’ No sooner is it completed than Saneha’s thoughts turn -to that other house which he must prepare for himself in the western -land—to the day of burial and the ‘passage to Amenti’ of which the -royal letter had spoken. He built himself a tomb of stone. The king -selected the spot, the chief painter designed and the sculptors carved -it; all the decorations were of hewn stone. The field in which it was -situated was made over to him as his own possession, and he adds: ‘My -image was engraved upon the portal in pure gold. His majesty commanded -it to be done. I was in favour with the king until the day of his death -came.’ - -[Illustration: Caressing a Gazelle.] - -FOOTNOTES: - -[17] Tum, symbolised in the setting, Ra, in the risen sun, appear -to signify respectively the hidden and the manifested deity—closely -corresponding with Osiris—Horus; for there is a unity underlying the -apparently endless varieties of Egyptian worships. - -[18] Words very suggestive as to the distractions and warfare of the -preceding centuries, when the land had indeed seemed to have ‘forgotten -the past.’ - -[19] I am inclined to think that this ‘house’ and its secret passages -meant his tomb, whither his son would resort to invoke his father’s -memory, who, in the ‘boat of Ra,’ would not forget Usertesen. - -[20] Or ‘I hid among the shrubs.’ There is often considerable -uncertainty in rendering the phrases of such ancient narratives as the -‘Story of Saneha.’ - -[21] The unseen or hidden world. - -[22] Foreign tribes on north-east frontier. The point is lost for us. - -[23] At least he says of himself in his Instructions, ‘I never faltered -since the day I was born.’ - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -Successors of Amenemhat I.—Two Provinces added to Egypt. - - -The stone for the sarcophagus of King Amenemhat I. was hewn in the -valley of Hammamat, and he was laid to rest in his pyramid called -_Kha-nefer_, the ‘Beautiful Rising,’ leaving behind him an honoured -name and an inheritance of peaceful days. Usertesen I., his son and -successor, reigned in profound tranquillity, and turned his attention -to the temples of the gods, which were neglected and falling into -decay. They were, he said, the only monuments that could truly confer -immortality on a king. First of all, he called together an assembly of -the chief men of the land in that ancient home of Egyptian wisdom and -learning, the City of the Sun, to consult about a temple that should -be raised, ‘worthy of the name of Ra.’ Usertesen himself laid the -foundation-stone, and gave the directions for the carrying out of the -work. The ruins of both temple and city are now buried deep beneath the -soil, but of the two stately obelisks of rose-coloured granite, which -stood at the gateway of the temple, one is still standing in solitary -grandeur amid the quiet fields; the hieroglyphs upon its surface -still record that ‘the Ruler of the North and South, Lord of the Two -Countries, Son of the Sun, Usertesen—beloved of the Gods of On, living -for ever, the good god,’ executed this work. - -At the ancient sanctuary of Abydos a temple was erected to Osiris, -and Memphis was not overlooked. But whilst duly careful for those -time-honoured sanctuaries, Usertesen did not neglect the new southern -capital, and he carried on the construction of the great temple of -Amen, which his father Amenemhat had begun. - -The frontiers were vigilantly guarded, and now that quiet times had -come back the mines in the Sinaitic peninsula were re-opened and -worked. A thousand years had passed since they were first explored -at the command of Senefru, and his name had become venerable in its -antiquity throughout that region, where he was worshipped as a guardian -deity, together with the goddess Hathor, protectress of the district. - -One warlike expedition was undertaken during this reign, for the -purpose of fixing the boundary to the south and of bringing back gold -from Nubia. The command was intrusted to one Ameni, who has left a -brief record of the expedition. The king’s eldest son accompanied -him, and his success was certainly remarkable, if his statement is -true, that of the 400 men he took with him not one was missing when -he returned with the golden spoil. This Ameni was the head of that -illustrious family, whose tombs at Beni-Hassan have proved such an -invaluable storehouse for the investigator. They were hereditary -governors of the district, or nome, and their power was very great. -Under the firm controlling hand of the sovereigns of this great -dynasty, the power and ambition of the prince-governors, which had -once split up and half ruined Egypt, were turned into nobler channels, -and sought after more peaceful honours. The _Maxims of Amenemhat I._ -seem to awaken a response and to find an echo in the memorials left -by some of the powerful governors, who were now serving loyally under -the crown. Ameni, who gives an account of his warlike doings in the -south, also tells us that he was a ‘kind master and gentle of heart, a -governor who loved his city.’ He ruled for many years in his district -of Mah, and he says: ‘I kept back nothing for myself; no little child -was vexed through me; no widow was afflicted. I never interfered with -the fisherman or troubled the shepherd. There was neither famine nor -hunger in my days. I diligently cultivated every field in my district, -from the north to the south, to its utmost extent, so that there was -food enough for all. I gave to the widow as to the married woman, and I -never showed favour to the great above the lowly.’ - -King and noble may alike have fallen short of their ideal, but at any -rate their standard was high, and their words recall those of the -departed spirit, who had to declare before Osiris in the judgment-hall -of Truth—‘I have not oppressed the miserable; I have not imposed -work beyond his power on any officer; I have allowed no master to -maltreat his slave; I have caused none to weep or to perish with -hunger. I have neither blasphemed the king nor my father, nor have I -mocked or despised God in my heart. I have given bread to the hungry, -water to him that was athirst, clothes to the naked, and shelter to -the wanderer.’ There is a beautiful eulogy somewhere recorded on an -Egyptian tomb—‘His love was the food of the poor, the blessing of the -weak, the riches of him who had nothing.’ - -Egypt was probably never more prosperous, nor her people happier, than -during the centuries in which the Amenemhats and Usertesens ruled -the land. The only reign in which serious warfare occurred was that -of Usertesen III. He determined to acquire for Egypt the disputed -territory in the south—_Ta-Khent_ (Nubia)—and, with it, its golden -treasures. But he did not succeed in finally conquering and driving -back the dark-hued tribes until after a very fierce and protracted -struggle. He erected fortresses on the southern frontier, and an -inscription on the rock proclaimed: ‘This is the southern boundary, -fixed in the eighth year of King Usertesen III. No negro shall be -permitted to pass it except for the purpose of bringing vessels -laden with their asses, camels, and goats, or of trading by barter -in Ta-Khent. To such negroes, on the contrary, every favour shall be -shown.’ - -[Illustration: Vincent Brooks-Day & Son, Lith. - -BOATMEN AND CATTLE DRIVERS.] - -If Usertesen III. secured one new province for Egypt by the ruthless -force of war, his successor, Amenemhat III., won another by gentler -means. - -Egypt is, no doubt, what Herodotus called it, the ‘gift’ of the Nile. -But for the Nile the burning wastes of Sahara would stretch eastwards -without interruption to the Red Sea. By means of the great river and -its yearly inundation, the long narrow valley between the Libyan and -the Arabian mountains is watered and richly fertilised for the space of -several miles; where the inundation ceases the desert sand begins. This -long strip of fertile country, together with the Delta into which it -expands, constituted Egypt;[24] _Khemi_ (the black country), its people -called it from the dark colour of its rich soil, which rewarded the -husbandman’s toil with two or three crops a year—crops of a luxuriance -difficult for us to realise. The name of Egypt was a synonym for rich -fertility: ‘Well watered everywhere,’ we read in Genesis, ‘like the -garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt.’ - -In the days when the twelfth dynasty ruled, _i.e._ probably more than -2000 B.C., the average rise of the Nile was more than twenty feet -higher than it is at the present day. At the point where Usertesen -III. had erected his frontier fortress, the height attained by the -river during many successive inundations is recorded. His successor, -Amenemhat III., not only carefully noted the annual rise, but turned -his attention to the great work of controlling the overflow, for the -country was liable to suffer severely in case either of an excess or a -deficiency. - -Westward from the Nile, behind the Libyan hills, lies the valley of -Fayoum, about 60 miles distant from Cairo. There the king ordered the -excavation of that immense basin or artificial sea known to us as -Lake Mœris, and caused it to be connected by canals with the river. -Lake Mœris was about 30 miles in circumference, and here the surplus -waters were stored, to be distributed by irrigation or withheld, as -might be best. The rock-encircled and desolate Fayoum thus became a -smiling oasis, full of the most luxuriant vegetation, and alive with -busy industry. When the Greek Herodotus visited Egypt, some 2000 years -later, Lake Mœris was still in existence, as were also the two pyramids -that stood either on its banks or in its centre. A still greater wonder -met the eye of the inquiring traveller, and excited his profoundest -amazement. This was the vast structure close by Lake Mœris, which -the Greeks called the Labyrinth, for what reason it is hard to say. -Herodotus tells us of this other gigantic work of Amenemhat III., -that it had twelve courts, with gates opposite each other, and that -it contained 3000 chambers, half of which were above and half below -ground; the courts were adorned with columns, and the walls covered -with inscriptions. This colossal edifice covered a space 1150 feet in -length, and 850 in breadth; its purpose is not altogether clear, but -there seems some reason to think that it may have been intended for a -vast Hall of Assembly. It is all in ruins now. Lepsius, who in 1844 -visited the district, which is 25 miles distant from the Nile, states -that it had been so arranged that three enormous masses of buildings -enclosed a square place 600 feet long by 500 broad, and that in this -square once stood the courts and columns mentioned by Herodotus, mighty -fragments of which the explorer dug up: upon them was carved the name -of the royal builder, Amenemhat III. - -[Illustration: Painting a Statue.] - -[Illustration: Carving a Statue.] - -After this peaceful victory, which won for Egypt so fair a province, -and adorned it with such marvels of art, there is not much left to -record concerning the twelfth dynasty. Its annals are quiet and -prosperous throughout, and its art was progressive and beautiful. -No man in the kingdom was more honoured than the artist, the man -‘of enlightened spirit and skilfully working hand.’ The office of -‘architect to Pharaoh’[25] was sometimes held by sons and grandsons -of the sovereign. There is a remarkable account of a great noble, -Mentuhotep, who was a judge and learned in the law, a priest and a -warrior. It is recorded of him that, as chief architect of the king, he -promoted the worship of the gods, and instructed the inhabitants of the -country according to the best of his knowledge, as God had commanded to -be done. He protected the unfortunate, and freed him that was in need -of freedom. ‘Peace was in the utterances of his mouth, and the learning -of the wise Thoth[26] was on his tongue. Very skilful in artistic work, -with his own hand he carried out his designs as they ought to be done.’ - -The beautiful rock-hewn caves of Beni-Hassan bear witness to the rare -excellence attained by architecture and sculpture. These tombs and -memorial chambers were excavated in a limestone cliff on the east bank -of the Nile, 160 miles south of Cairo. They were for generations the -burial-place of the illustrious family of the Khnumhoteps, descendants -of Ameni (p. 66), and hereditary governors of the district. The roofs -of these rock tombs are vaulted; at the entrance to the northernmost, -where Ameni, head of the family lay, are columns of great beauty, -so closely resembling those called Doric 2000 years later that it -is difficult not to believe that they served as prototypes. At the -entrance to another tomb are columns still more graceful in design; -these are purely Egyptian in style, and are formed of slender reeds -bound together, and expanding into capitals like papyrus or lotus buds -or flowers. Here was buried Khnumhotep, grandson of Ameni, a man of -high character and great renown. The walls of the interior are covered -with pictorial representations, invaluable for the insight they afford -into the daily life of those long past times. Amongst the scenes -depicted on the walls of Khnumhotep’s funeral chamber is one of much -significance. A family group, consisting of 37 persons, is ushered into -the presence of the great Egyptian lord, who receives them standing and -surrounded by his dogs. They are Amu—foreigners of the East—and their -errand is to bring from the land of Pitshu (Midian) a certain mineral -substance from which was prepared a paint for the eyes much used in -Egypt. Their faces are wholly unlike the Egyptians; they have aquiline -noses and long black beards. They are evidently immigrants come to -settle in the land. The men are armed, the women gaily dressed. They -bring with them presents—the ibis and gazelle, and the splendid wild -goat of the Sinai desert; one of the group is playing on a lyre of -antique form. The children are carried in panniers, and women walk by -their side; asses laden with baggage bring up the rear. - -[Illustration: Vincent Brooks-Day & Son, Lith. - -ASIATIC IMMIGRANTS.] - -This occurred in the sixth year of Usertesen II., and it was a scene -that was very likely often-times repeated. Families of foreigners came -to settle in Egypt, attracted by its luxuriant plenty, and gradually -developed into colonies. In the Delta more especially, foreigners -settled in great numbers. There were colonists bent on peaceful -industry, but there were others of a more restless and warlike type. It -is possible that some may have been established there since the dark -and troubled days that followed the sixth dynasty, when foreign tribes -very probably held possession of part at least of the Delta for a time. - -Egypt had often maintained a severe conflict on her southern frontier, -where the boundary line was now marked by grim fortresses; but if -trouble should ever overwhelm the land the storm would assuredly -gather in the north-east. Fortresses had been erected there also, -and Amenemhat’s wall of defence was still standing, but there was no -absolute line of demarcation. The north-east of Egypt was inhabited by -many settlers, aliens, who were allied more or less closely in blood to -restless and warlike peoples beyond the frontier. - -Their presence was but of ill omen to the land of their adoption. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[24] Egypt is the name given to the country by the Greeks, and is of -very uncertain derivation. - -[25] Pharaoh is derived from the words _Per-aa_, ‘Great House,’ and -answers pretty nearly to the ‘Sublime Porte’ at Constantinople. Later -on it is used as the sovereign’s name. - -[26] This god, symbolised in the moon, was more especially the god -of knowledge and science. He was the inventor of all arts, and the -inspirer of the sacred writings, the lawgiver, and the advocate and -justifier of the good before the tribunal of Osiris. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -Invasion and Rule of the Hyksos—War of Liberation. - -(_Circa_ 2100-1600 B.C.) - - -The close of the twelfth dynasty was followed at no distant date -by confusion and disaster. It appears, indeed, that the succeeding -dynasty held for a time, at least nominally, the supremacy of Egypt; -but sooner or later we find there was a rival dynasty (the fourteenth) -ruling at Xois, in the Delta. To the kings composing it is assigned an -average length of reign of little over two years, and this has led some -to suppose that they were not in any sense Kings of Egypt, but were -ruling in the Delta merely as governors—viceroys of foreign invaders. -But all details, all records, fail us here, and we have no account -of the events that led up to the crisis, when the long threatening -storm broke over the land at last. A warlike race, known to us as -the _Hyksos_,[27] aided no doubt by the wandering tribes beyond the -frontier, passed the north-east boundary of Egypt, seized upon the -Delta, and set up their kingdom at Avaris, and were doubtless welcomed -by the settlers of kindred blood already dwelling in the district. -Egypt was weakened by discord; the dissensions of rival dynasties had -probably led once more to the breaking up of the kingdom into small -principalities; no united opposition could be offered to the invaders, -and rival chieftains and kings were forced to acknowledge the supremacy -of the stranger at the point of the sword. - -The horse is never represented in Egyptian sculptures and drawings -previous to this date, and if, as is most probable, the Hyksos invaders -were mounted, it would be barely possible for foot soldiery to resist -their progress. Memphis fell into their hands, and the Egyptian -princes and governors as far south as Thebes were compelled to become -their vassals and pay tribute. ‘Under one of our kings,’ says a native -writer of later days,[28] in a fragment that has been preserved, ‘it -came to pass that God was angry with us, and men came from the East, -who subdued our country by force, though we never ventured on a battle -with them. When they had gotten our governors under their power, they -burnt down our cities and demolished the temples of the gods. Their -king lived at Memphis, and made the upper and the lower country pay -tribute, and he left garrisons in fitting places. He strengthened -Avaris greatly, building walls around it and filling it with armed men. -These people and their descendants kept possession of Egypt for 511 -years.’ - -The Egyptians might well have said, to use their favourite phrase, -‘Never had the like been seen since the days of Ra.’ There had been -wars on the frontiers, and there had been one long dark period of -division and civil war, but during the two or three thousand years -that Egypt had been a kingdom no foreign foe had set foot upon her -soil. Memphis, the ‘secure and beautiful’ city, had stood in all her -splendour, and had never seen a hostile banner unfurled against her. -The royal line of Mena had ruled,[29] the worship of the temples of -Abydos and of the City of the Sun had prevailed uninterruptedly since -the days of the pyramid builders and the ‘old time before them.’ It -is a wonderful chapter in the world’s history, and one turns the page -with regret. Nor can we be surprised at the burning shame and bitter -resentment with which the Egyptians of after times looked back upon -those days of disgrace and subjection. As far as it was possible -they obliterated every trace of the detested Hyksos supremacy; they -chiselled out the names of their kings, and destroyed their monumental -records. Very few traces survive, but it is plain, nevertheless, that -the conquerors soon adopted Egyptian customs and Egyptian civilisation. -The Hyksos kings assumed Egyptian titles and erected magnificent -temples. And it is more than likely that the feelings of the native -historians, galled and exasperated by the recollection of the harsh -supremacy of aliens, considerably exaggerated the tale of the suffering -and ruin entailed by their presence. - -This period, of about 500 years’ duration, is veiled from us in almost -impenetrable darkness. The records left of themselves by the Hyksos -Pharaohs were destroyed, and over the rest of the subject land there -brooded the darkness of a long-protracted eclipse. The tribute was -probably paid, and external quietude and order prevailed. - -At length a ray of light dispels the darkness for an instant. ‘It came -to pass,’ says an ancient papyrus, ‘that the land of Khemi belonged to -the enemy. No one was sovereign lord in the day when that happened. -The King Sekenen-Ra ruled in the south, but the enemy ruled in the -district of the Amu, and Apepi, their king, was in the city of Avaris; -the whole land did him homage with the best of its handiwork. King -Apepi took unto him Sutech for lord, refusing to serve any other god in -the whole land, and he built for him a temple of enduring workmanship. -King Apepi appointed festival days for making sacrifice to Sutech, as -in the temple of Ra-harmakhu.’ Here there is a break, after which the -manuscript goes on to tell how King Apepi, by the advice of his learned -councillors, sent an embassy to the ruler of the south (the tributary -native prince, Sekenen-Ra). ‘The ruler of the south said to the -messenger, “Who sent thee hither? Why art thou come? Is it to spy out -the land?”’ So far as we can gather from the text (which is here again -interrupted) the messenger’s reply related merely to the construction -of a certain well for cattle, although he adds that ‘sleep had not -come to him by day or by night until he had delivered his message.’ -‘The ruler of the south was amazed, and knew not how to reply to the -messenger of King Apepi.’ Here another vexatious break occurs in the -story. - -It is more than likely that a spirit of independence was awakening -in the south, under the brave Sekenen-Ra, and even that certain -secret preparations for an uprising might have been afoot; so that -the Hyksos messenger may, after all, have been neither more nor less -than a spy, although apparently charged with nothing but an innocent -message concerning a tank. It is at any rate clear that Sekenen-Ra’s -heart misgave him. His answer indeed is missing, but we read that ‘the -messenger of King Apepi rose to depart to where his royal master was,’ -and that the Egyptian chief, who evidently felt that the die was cast, -forthwith ‘bade summon his mighty chiefs, his captains and expert -guides.’ He repeated to them the whole story of the ‘words King Apepi -had sent concerning them. But they were silent, all of them in great -dismay, and wist not what to answer him, good or bad.’ Here the papyrus -breaks off suddenly, and darkness closes in again. - -We are left to guess the sequel, but it seems as though we can see how -the prince of the south cast off his allegiance and defied the Hyksos -sovereign. - -His successors bore the same name as himself, and also his family name -of Taa. They were known as Taa the Great and Taa the Victorious, and -followed up his bold initiative with vigour and success. It was very -slowly, and only by hard fighting and step by step, that Egypt was won -back from the stranger. But as these brave chieftains pushed their way -northward, one tributary prince after another would take heart and -join in the war of liberation. The horse must by this time have been -naturalised and made use of throughout the land, and thus one terrible -and fatal disadvantage would be removed. Old rivalries and minor -jealousies would melt away under the influence of a common need and a -common hope. Taa the Victorious prepared a flotilla of Nile vessels, -two of which bore the significant names of the ‘_North_,’ and the -‘_Going up into Memphis_.’ Doubtless it was under him that the ancient -capital was regained, after which all was ready for the final attack, -in view of which he had made ready his little navy,—the attack which -should drive the foe from his stronghold in the Delta, where by this -time he was standing desperately at bay. - -Taa the Victorious married his son Kames to the Princess Aah-hotep, an -heiress of the ancient line, and it was their son Aahmes who brought -the great war of liberation to a triumphant close, and placed upon his -brow the double crown of Upper and of Lower Egypt. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[27] Probably _Hak-shasu_, or Princes of the Shasu. The Shasu were -wandering tribes on the north-east, and it is not unlikely, Brugsch -thinks, that this name was assigned them in derision of their claim to -be considered Kings of Egypt. Kings of Egypt, indeed! No—haks (petty -princes) of the Shasu they were. An accidental coincidence of meaning -between Shasu and shepherd led to their being designated in later times -‘Shepherd Kings.’ - -[28] Manetho, the Egyptian priest, who, in the days of the Ptolemies, -wrote a history of his country in Greek. It is, unfortunately, lost, -excepting his list of kings and dynasties, and a few fragments quoted -by later writers. - -[29] Even during the civil wars some branch of the ancient line was -ruling, and it is probable that the eleventh dynasty was united by -marriage to the early kings. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -The Eighteenth Dynasty—Queen Hatasu and Thothmes III. - -(_Circa_ 1600-1400 B.C.) - - -On the east bank of the river, about 50 miles from Thebes, there stood -in ancient times a strong fortified city, surrounded by massive walls -of such thickness, that chariots might have been driven abreast upon -them. Of the city itself nothing survives save ruins; but in the valley -that lies eastward, behind the hills, are still to be seen long rows of -tombs and memorial sanctuaries, where were laid to rest the heroes of -the great war of liberation. - -The whole district was ruled by native governors, tributaries of the -Hyksos, throughout the whole period of the foreign supremacy, and -the daily course of Egyptian life seems to have gone on with but -little interruption. The tombs just mentioned belonged chiefly to one -family, and the walls are adorned as usual with inscriptions and -representations of scenes and events from daily life. Baba-Abana, head -of the family, tells us that he was the parent of 52 children, and was -able to provide abundant food and every necessary comfort for them all. -‘If any one supposes I am jesting,’ he adds, ‘I invoke the god Munt to -witness that I am speaking the truth.’ Baba-Abana was an officer under -Taa III. (the Victorious), and was no doubt actively engaged in helping -forward the construction of the Egyptian flotilla. He tells us further -of a famine that ‘lasted for many years,’ and that he provided corn for -his city each year of the famine. This must have been the same famine -that is mentioned in Genesis, when Joseph, at the court of the Hyksos -Pharaoh, was providing corn for the land—the famine which led to the -establishment of the Hebrew colony in the Goshen district of the Delta. -Their presence there would be welcome, as they were no doubt of kindred -race with those who then bore rule. - -One of the numerous family of Baba-Abana, named Aahmes (like the king), -did good service in the fleet during all the closing scenes of the -war. He has left us an account of his doings, which opens thus:—‘The -Chief of the fleet, Aahmes, son of Abana (the Blessed), speaketh to -you all, ye people, that you may know the honours that have fallen -to his lot.’ He was born, he tells us, in the city of Nek-heb (the -Greek Eileithyia), and as a lad he served King Aahmes on board a ship -called the ‘_Calf_.’ He married, and set up a house, after which he -was promoted, ‘because of his strength,’ to another vessel called -the ‘_North_.’ And when the king went out in his chariot, it was the -duty of the young captain to follow him on foot. In the siege of the -Hyksos stronghold, Avaris, he fought bravely on foot in presence of his -majesty. During the siege he was further promoted to the vessel called -‘_Going up into Memphis_.’ - -Hard fighting went on around Avaris, and Aahmes tells us of the -trophies of the dead[30] he brought in, as well as of his living -prisoners. One of the latter he had much difficulty in securing, for -he had to drag him some distance with a firm grasp through the water -to avoid the road to the town. His prisoners were assigned to him as -slaves, and many rewards and golden gifts were presented him for his -services. Avaris was taken at length, and the Hyksos driven beyond the -frontier, the king pursuing them as far as Sherohan, in Canaan, which -town he also captured in the sixth year of his reign. - -This was the final act of the long-protracted struggle in the north, -but the mountaineers of Nubia were still in arms. There was sharp -fighting in the south before the naval captain could record that his -majesty ‘had taken possession of the land, both of the north and of -the south.’ Aahmes received a gift of some acres of cultivated land -in his native district. Later on we find him, as a veteran warrior, -accompanying the two succeeding sovereigns on campaigns in the south, -where he fought as admiral, at the head of the fleet. His final -exploits were performed on a more distant field of battle—the ‘land of -the two rivers’—Naharina (Mesopotamia). There he captured a chariot, -with its horses and charioteers, for which deed he received for the -seventh time a gift in gold. He concludes his story thus:—‘Now I have -passed many days, and reached a grey old age. I too shall pass away to -Amenti, and I shall rest in the tomb which I have prepared for myself.’ -And there may still be seen a portrait of the old sailor and of his -wife. He is a ‘bluff, resolute-looking man, not handsome; a short -snub nose, and low solid brow—a short beard curling upwards from his -chin.’[31] - -The three monarchs under whom this distinguished officer served in -succession, Aahmes, Amenhotep I., and Thothmes I., were the first three -kings of the eighteenth dynasty. Aahmes inherited the throne by right -of his mother’s descent from Mena, but he strengthened his position -further by himself marrying a princess of the royal line, Nefertari, -who was greatly revered by succeeding generations, both as heiress in -her own right, and as mother and ancestress of an illustrious dynasty. - -The first twenty-two years of the reign of Aahmes were passed in -unremitting warfare. After the capture of Sherohan, he followed his -foes no farther, but contented himself with erecting fortresses to -protect the frontier. He would not feel his supremacy sufficiently -assured over the numerous princes and chieftains who had gladly -followed his victorious banner against the common foe, but would not -have been quite ready when success had been achieved to resign their -independent authority. At length, however, the king was able to lay -aside his sword, and to turn his attention to the much needed work of -restoring and renovating the temples of the gods. Again the limestone -quarries were opened, and there are representations now to be seen in -the sculptures of the huge blocks drawn along upon rollers by twelve or -more oxen on the way to Memphis. - -Aahmes left an infant son as heir to the crown, and the royal mother -acted as regent until he was of age to reign. Amenhotep I. died young, -and did not accomplish much; we learn, however, that during his reign -Ta-Khent (Nubia) was mastered—‘the land in its complete extent lay at -the feet of the king.’ - -In the great discovery of coffins and royal mummies, made not far from -Thebes in 1881, were brought to light the bodies of Taa the Victorious -(the last of the brave Sekenen-Ras), of Aahmes, and of his son -Amenhotep I. The conqueror of the Hyksos is enwreathed in garlands and -festoons, his young son is swathed in lotus leaves and flowers—amongst -them is a perfectly preserved wasp, that must have been accidentally -shut in when the coffin-lid was closed more than 3000 years ago. This -coffin and its case are in very good preservation; on the lid is an -effigy of the young king, which is evidently a portrait. The coffin of -Thothmes I. was found, but the mummy was missing. - -When Thothmes I. became king, the internal dissensions of Egypt had -quieted down, and, after one campaign in the south, the king proceeded -to ‘cool his heart’ by undertaking the war on which the mind of the -Egyptians was set—a war of retribution and of conquest. In this distant -expedition (already alluded to in the memoirs of Aahmes), Thothmes -rapidly pushed his way as far as Naharina (Mesopotamia), and returned -home laden with treasures and spoil, having exacted a promise of -annual tribute from many tribes in many regions. In the memorial chapel -of the Thothmes family a sculpture is still remaining to tell of his -triumphant home-coming. ‘The soldiers holding branches in their hands, -as emblems of peace, step out briskly as they approach their native -land, and are met by a deputation of citizens, who slay fat oxen and -sheep to feed them with. In the procession figure a couple of tigers, -led along by their keepers,’[32] and apparently tame. - -The king employed both his prisoners and his gold in continuing the -construction of the great temple of Amen-Ra at Thebes. Its foundation -had been laid by Amenemhat I. many centuries before, but the building -had been hindered, or had altogether stopped, during the long years of -foreign rule. - -When Thothmes I. died, he left behind him one daughter and two sons, -each of whom bore the same name as his father, but the younger of the -brothers was only a little child. Their sister Hatasu was a proud -ambitious woman, and had already been, to some extent, associated -with her father during his reign. When Thothmes II. succeeded, she -was formally associated with him in the government. We read but little -about this king; his reign was brief, and he was probably outshone by -the energetic partner of his throne. Hatasu, in fact, could ill brook -even the slight restraint imposed by his co-regency, and no sooner -was he dead than the proud queen, ‘throwing aside her womanly veil, -appeared in all the splendour of a Pharaoh—like a born king.’[33] She -assumed man’s attire, and was seen on state occasions in the dress and -regalia of an Egyptian king—even to the plaited beard. She revered her -father, and paid homage to his memory, but on the unfortunate Thothmes -II. she hastened to avenge herself for the wrong he had done her in -wearing a crown that was his own; she obliterated every trace of his -existence to the best of her ability, and, vindictively erasing his -name, she substituted her own. Hatasu also succeeded in having her name -inscribed by the priests on the roll of Egyptian sovereigns. - -Meantime the boy Thothmes, the rightful king, was sent by order of his -imperious sister to the almost inaccessible marshes of the Delta, where -he was doomed to wear out the years of his dreary boyhood, cherishing, -there can be little doubt, the most vindictive feelings towards the -sister who, having usurped his place, was ruling Egypt with splendour -and renown. - -No reign was more distinguished than that of Hatasu for art and -architecture. She completed the magnificent temple begun during her -joint reign with her brother. An avenue of sphinxes led up to the gate -towers and the obelisks, which were 97 feet in height, and made of red -granite capped with gold. The temple itself stood upon four broad and -stately terraces, which rose one above another until they touched the -dazzling marble-like limestone cliff against which they rested; the -terraces were covered with hieroglyphic inscriptions and carvings in -bas-relief. In the limestone rock above were excavated vast funeral -chambers, and here were buried the queen’s father and mother, a sister -who died young, and Thothmes II. Here also Hatasu herself and Thothmes -III. were laid in due time, but none of these royal mummies have been -suffered to remain in peace. To avoid violation and plunder, it became -customary some centuries later to examine and to report upon the state -of royal tombs and coffins from time to time, and to remove them -occasionally to securer resting-places. Thus it came to pass in the -great discovery of 1881, the empty coffin of Thothmes I. was found, -together with the coffin and mummy of his son and successor, Thothmes -II. - -To the architect Semnut, who so successfully carried out the grand -conception of the terraced temple, his royal mistress raised a -memorial—a statue in black granite in a sitting attitude of calm -repose; on his shoulder is the inscription—‘His ancestors were not -found in writing,’ _i.e._ they were unknown men, a not unfrequent -phrase in Egyptian inscriptions. Semnut is represented as saying, ‘I -loved _him_, and gained the admiration of the _lord_ of the country. -_He_ made me great, and I have become first of the first, clerk of -the works above all clerks. I lived during the reign of _King_ -Ma-Ka-Ra;[34] may _he_ live for ever!’ No doubt it was the general -custom thus to flatter the foible of their sovereign, who was, in fact, -designated by a name signifying ‘Lady-King.’ - -Under the queen’s rule, however, there was an entire cessation of -military enterprises, for Hatasu did not so far assume the character of -a Pharaoh as to put on armour and lead her troops to the battle-field. -Egypt therefore enjoyed unbroken tranquillity during her peaceful and -brilliant reign—a reign not only distinguished for the splendour of its -architecture, but memorable also for an expedition to the land of Punt. -This expedition is portrayed in curious and interesting detail upon -the stages of the terraced temple. Long ago we know that the Egyptian -imagination had been stirred by the supposed marvels of that ‘sacred -land’ of dream and legend. And in the days of Hatasu the expedition -sent thither by King Sankhkara, centuries before, would not have been -forgotten. By the queen’s command an embassy was despatched to its -shores. Princes and lords were intrusted with rich and royal gifts for -the purpose of conciliating the people of that land over which the -Lady-King desired to establish a supremacy, although not at the sword’s -point. - -The expedition arrived in safety, and found the people inhabiting -little dome-shaped dwellings, supported on piles and approached by -ladders, under the shade of their cocoa-nut and incense-trees. The -Egyptians, with their strong turn for natural history, were much -interested by the novelties they beheld around them, the unfamiliar -plants and trees, the strange birds and animals not known in Egypt. -All went well. Gifts were exchanged, and the natives promised to -acknowledge the supremacy of Egypt, and to send an annual tribute -thither. The king of the country appeared on the scene accompanied, say -the hieroglyphs, ‘by his enormously fat wife ... an ass serves the fat -wife to ride on.’ This lady, the queen of the fairyland of Egyptian -fancy, is in truth a painful object to behold; not merely fat but -bloated, and swollen in such an extraordinary manner as to render it -probable that, although the ‘Queen of Punt,’ she ‘was a leper.’ - -Soon began the work of packing and of lading the transport vessels -with the rare and beautiful products of the land. The busy scene is -delineated upon the walls of the temple, and the inscriptions relate -how the ‘ships were laden to the uttermost with all the wonderful -products of the land of Punt, with the precious woods of the divine -land, with heaps of the resin of incense and fresh incense-trees; with -ebony and objects carved in ivory and inlaid with gold, with sweet -woods and paint for the eyes, with dog-headed apes and long-tailed -monkeys, with greyhounds and with leopards, besides some of the natives -and their children.’ The Egyptians, on the voyage home, were evidently -much taken by the antics of the monkeys, as they sprang about amongst -the sails, up and down the rigging. The fresh incense-trees, thirty-one -in number, were carefully planted in tubs, and six men were assigned -for the transport of each of them to the vessel which was to carry it -north for transplantation into another soil. - -Several of the princes and chief men of Punt accompanied the -expedition on its return, and were received in state by the queen in -her male attire. It is a pity we have no records that might convey the -impression made by the wonders of Egypt upon the visitors in their -turn. The rich treasures they had brought were offered by Hatasu to the -god Amen-Ra with gladness and national rejoicings. The queen appeared -in royal pomp; the priests carried in solemn procession ‘the sacred -bark’ of the deity, before which the youthful Thothmes offered incense; -the warriors of Hatasu’s guard followed, bearing branches in their -hands as signs of peace, and tumultuous cries of joy rent the air on -all sides. - -The appearance of Thothmes on the scene proves that the time had come -when his claims could no longer be ignored nor he himself be detained -amid the distant and dreary marshes of the Delta by the jealous fears -of the queen. The sight of the brave and handsome youth who had been -King of Egypt by right for fifteen years could hardly fail to win -the people’s hearts, and his imperious sister found herself at last -compelled to let him take his place at her side, with what long -suppressed feelings of rancour and ill-will may be readily imagined. - -The coronation of Thothmes III. was celebrated with all fitting -splendour and state, and, for a short time at any rate, the brother and -sister ruled jointly. But Hatasu must have felt that her day was over, -and after a little while her name silently disappears from the historic -records. Of the close of her life we know nothing, but we know that -Thothmes, with vindictive satisfaction, chiselled out her name wherever -he could find it, and that he always dated the years of his own reign -from the time of his brother’s death, ignoring Hatasu’s sovereignty as -a usurpation. - -The reign of Thothmes, thus reckoned, was a very long one, close upon -54 years, and much of it was passed by the warlike sovereign in other -lands and upon distant battle-fields. - -Nubia was by this time really an Egyptian province, and was governed by -a viceroy, who was often one of the king’s sons. In the gold-yielding -districts a miserable population—prisoners, slaves, and criminals, -were toiling beneath the scorching sun, extracting the gold from the -stubborn stone; which had first to be hewn out, then crushed, and -finally the grains of the precious metals to be washed out. Elsewhere -the province was peopled by an active race, grouped around the temples, -fortresses, and garrison towns, where they found employment, and -received abundant supplies of food for their sustenance from Egypt; -others were engaged in the navigation of the dangerous cataracts. -The natives had grown accustomed to Egyptian rule, and were rapidly -adopting Egyptian religion and civilisation. Their chief city Napata -was indeed destined to become one day the seat of a strong Egyptian -dynasty, and a stronghold of the worship of Amen-Ra. - -There was therefore no cause for anxiety concerning the south, and the -eyes of the young sovereign turned eagerly to the regions where his -father had made his rapid campaign, and acquired military renown and -abundant spoil. The policy of ‘extending the frontiers of Egypt’ was no -doubt partly dictated by the desire of rendering the country safe from -any further invasion, by subduing the neighbouring lands; but it is -certain that the vision of establishing an Egyptian empire fascinated -the imagination of Thothmes III., and he was able to realise the dream. - -The course of Egyptian history had flowed on century after century, -for 2000 or 3000 years, in a sort of majestic solitude, like its own -mighty river, which for 1800 miles of its course receives no tributary -stream. The people might be said to have ‘dwelt alone.’ The position of -the land was isolated and secluded, its people had an innate dislike of -the sea, and possessed no sea-going ships; they were perfectly content -within the bounds of their own luxuriant domains, and knew and cared -very little about the world that lay beyond. The frontiers were well -guarded and no foe had crossed them, nor had any vision of conquest or -wide-spread empire arisen to dazzle the imagination of the early kings. - -The coming of the Hyksos had wrought a great change, and had broken -down the barriers of isolation. And the mighty wave of national energy, -which, gathering strength as it rose, swept away the foe, did not -thus spend all its force. A longing arose for retribution, conquest, -empire; the avenging campaign of Thothmes I. had stimulated rather than -satisfied a national craving for glory and for wealth. The Pharaohs -now emerge from the seclusion of the valley of the Nile, and enter -that blood-stained arena—the battle-field of the nations—the Syrian -and Mesopotamian lands. But the brilliant successes and far-reaching -supremacy of the Egyptian arms ended at last in disaster and decline, -from which there was no power of recovery. - -Far enough, however, were any such gloomy forebodings from the thoughts -of King Thothmes III., when he mounted his war-chariot and assembled -his troops upon the field of Zoan. The tributes promised to his father -by the conquered princes had for a long time ceased to be paid. They -knew that a female sovereign held the sceptre, and the tribes that -had acknowledged the father’s supremacy cast off all fealty to the -daughter. The town of Gaza alone had remained faithful to the Egyptian -allegiance. Here Thothmes took up his quarters for the night on the -twenty-third anniversary of his accession (dating _i.e._ from his -brother’s death). Next morning he left the city, ‘full of power and -strength, to conquer the miserable enemy, and to extend the frontiers -of Egypt, as his father Amen-Ra had promised him.’ - -The country known to us as Palestine or Syria was then, as at a later -date, divided into several petty kingdoms, each with a fortified -capital of its own. The general name by which its inhabitants were -known to the Egyptians was that of the Rutennu, and at this moment -their various tribes were allied against Egypt under the leadership of -the King of Kadesh, and, encamped within and around Megiddo, they were -waiting the attack of King Thothmes. - -There was a choice of roads before the invading host. One broad highway -led along the Mediterranean coast, keeping the sea in sight, until it -turned in an easterly direction, and opened out finally upon the wide -plain of Kadesh. Another way led along the banks of the Jordan, but it -was a dangerous route, often very narrow and amongst thickets, where a -foe might easily lurk unseen. After leaving the Jordan it went through -the narrow valley of the Orontes until it also reached the capital of -the King of Kadesh. Thothmes addressed his army, and told them of the -information he had just received concerning the position of the enemy, -who had said, ‘I will withstand the King of Egypt at Megiddo.’ ‘And -now,’ said the king, ‘tell me the way by which we shall go to break -into the city.’ The army with one accord entreated to be led by any way -but that which wound along by the Jordan. ‘It has been told us,’ they -said, ‘that the foe lies there in ambush, and the way is impassable for -a great host; one horse cannot stand there beside another, nor can one -man find room by another. The army would be blocked, and be helpless -before the enemy. There is a broad way that starts from Aluna, and -it offers no opportunity for an attack. Whithersoever our victorious -leader goes we will follow him, only we pray that he will not take -us by the impassable way.’ Thothmes decided on the broad road, and -made the soldiers take an oath that they would not go on in advance -of the king with any idea of protecting his person, but would let him -take the place of danger at their head. Dismounting from his chariot, -he advanced on foot in the forefront of the army. ‘He went forward,’ -says the story; ‘his divine father Amen-Ra was before him, and -Horus-Hormakhu was at his side.’ - -In a few days the camp was pitched opposite Megiddo. ‘Keep yourselves -ready,’ said the king, ‘look to your arms, for we shall meet the enemy -in battle early to-morrow morning.’ And they set the watch, saying, -‘Be of good courage; watch, watch—watch over the life in the king’s -tent.’ Next morning the assault was made, but the Canaanites were -unable to make a stand against the disciplined valour of the Egyptian -troops; they fled at the first onset ‘with terror on their faces.’ The -dead ‘lay on the ground like fishes,’ and the fugitives in their haste -left behind them their horses and their chariots of gold and silver, -and ‘were drawn up by their clothes as by ropes into the fortress.’ -The king’s own tent was captured on the field, amidst shouts of joy -and of thanks to Amen-Ra. Megiddo itself was taken, and the victor -entrenched himself there to await the submission and the tribute of the -confederated princes. Then the chiefs of the land came to do homage to -the king, and, though the civilisation of the Canaanitish tribes may -not have been high, yet there was no lack, at any rate, of a certain -splendour at their kings’ courts. They were graciously received by the -young conqueror, and laid rich gifts at his feet, gold, silver, and -_lapis lazuli_—wheat, wine, and wool,—besides many suits of brazen -armour and chariots plated with gold. - -The capture of Megiddo opened the way to the more distant field of -Mesopotamia. In former ages that country had been the seat of civilised -and highly cultivated states,[35] but these kingdoms had fallen, -probably before some foreign conquerors, about the time that the -twelfth dynasty was ruling in Egypt. About the period of the Hyksos -supremacy there seems to have been an empire established at Babylon -which included Assyria as a province; but this again had passed away, -and the country was broken up into a number of petty principalities, -which it was no hard task for Thothmes to subdue and reduce to some -sort of vassalage. Among the Asiatic princes who brought him tribute -are named those of _Assur_ and of _Babilu_. - -The supremacy of the Egyptian crown may thus be said to have been -acknowledged in some sort over the ‘known world;’ for the Egyptian -horizon did not extend beyond the Mediterranean Sea, the Euphrates, and -the range of Mount Taurus in Armenia. ‘I have placed the boundaries of -Egypt at the horizon,’ said Thothmes III., ‘and I have set Egypt at -the head of all nations, because its people are united with me in the -worship of Amen.’ - -These Asiatic campaigns were often renewed during this long reign; -thirteen or fourteen such are recorded. Each was followed by a longer -or shorter interval of peace. The principal episodes of the wars were -sculptured in bas-relief upon the walls of the great temple at Karnak, -where also was inscribed a careful geographical enumeration of the -conquered peoples, and a record of the tributes they respectively paid. -Full accounts were also preserved in the libraries attached to the -temples; but the Egyptian archives have perished, and Egyptian history -with them, except so far as it was carved on the enduring stone, or -written in the few papyri that have survived the general wreck. - -There is an inscription on the tomb of a valiant captain of Thothmes, -named Amenemhib, in which he tells us of the campaigns he was engaged -in by his master’s side. ‘I never left him,’ he says; ‘great was the -valour of his arm.’ Then he records his own deeds, and describes the -rich rewards assigned him. Twice he saved the king’s life when in -imminent peril. ‘I saw the lord of the two countries in the land of Ni; -he was hunting 120 elephants for the sake of their tusks. The largest -one of the herd rushed upon his majesty, but I cut his trunk, and -escaped through the water between the rocks.’ Another time the King of -Kadesh had started a wild horse to run upon the king. ‘I followed him -as he dashed among the warriors, and I slew him with my sword, and cut -off his tail, which I presented to the king as a trophy.’ In the siege -of Kadesh he led the party that stormed the walls. ‘I broke them open; -I led all the valiant. None other went before me.’ - -The return of the king and his army from these distant expeditions was -a sort of triumphal procession. No presage or foreboding of future -ill troubled the Egyptians as they looked out for the appearance of -their hero king and welcomed him with rapturous acclamations. In his -train came princes and princesses of Canaan, prisoners of war, and -slaves. Slaves formed a portion of the tribute imposed upon the subject -countries. Then came horses (amongst them snow-white and bay), wild -goats and asses, zebras or humped buffaloes, together with wilder -animals of rarer species—tigers, the cinnamon-coloured bear of Mount -Taurus, and occasionally a young elephant. The wealth brought home by -the conquerors was incalculable. From the fruitful land of Palestine, -corn, oil olive, and honey; Phœnicia sent her merchandise gathered in -from many lands—gold, silver, and gems; turquoise, ruby, and coral; -copper and lead, besides cedar and other fragrant woods. Nor were there -wanting specimens of skilled and splendid artistic workmanship. There -were chariots richly adorned with silver and gold, costly stuffs and -embroidery, and ‘goodly Babylonish garments;’ gold vases from North -Palestine are especially mentioned, inlaid with precious stones; -flowers were carved upon the rim, and the handles made in the shape -of some animal. In addition there was the tribute that flowed in -regularly from the South. The friendly inhabitants of Punt sent, in -recognition of the Egyptian supremacy, gums and fragrant spices in -abundance. Kush was now ruled by an Egyptian viceroy, who took care -that the contributions should never fail—negro slaves, long-horned -oxen, bloodhounds, apes, panther skins, ostrich eggs, ivory, ebony, -and rare trees. The last-named item possessed a special interest for -the Egyptians, who had a strong love for natural history. An artist -has depicted some wonderful plants, cactuses and water-lilies from the -southern lands, and underneath is the inscription:— - -‘Here are all sorts of plants and flowers from Ta-nuter. The king -speaks thus, “I swear by Ra, I call Amen-Ra to witness that everything -is plain truth. What the splendid soil brings forth I have portrayed, -to offer it to my father Amen-Ra, in his great temple as a memorial for -all time.”’ It is also recorded of Thothmes, at the close of one of -his campaigns, that four new species of birds that were brought to him -‘pleased the king more than all the rest.’ - -As might be expected, Thothmes did not neglect to immortalise his name -by erecting or adorning the temples of the gods. His greatest work -was the Hall of Columns, which he added to the great Temple of Amen, -begun by Amenemhat I., and still incomplete. He appointed ‘feasts of -victory’ to be celebrated on the festivals of Amen, thus linking his -own name very closely with that of his god, and he enriched the temple -with enormous donations, the mere enumeration of which would fill -pages. Neither gold nor silver, cedar wood or precious stones, need -be spared now when all that the world could offer of rich and rare -was flowing in a constant stream to add to the ‘treasures in Egypt.’ -Special mention is made, amongst countless other gifts, of a beautiful -harp of silver and gold and precious stones, to sing the praises of -Amen upon his splendid festival days. We read too of a great barge of -cedar wood inlaid with gold[36] for the purpose of receiving the god -when conducted in solemn procession down the river. Obelisks were also -erected by Thothmes, which were ‘reflected with their splendour on the -surface of the sacred lakes like stars upon the bosom of Nut.’ One of -them is now standing forlornly on the Thames embankment. - -Not only did Thothmes confer these numberless and costly gifts upon -the temples, but he endowed them munificently. Gardens and arable -lands were assigned them, and a fixed system of contributions for -their support was established. He also appointed many of his foreign -prisoners to the service of the temples and their gardens. Besides -these, there were great numbers that he could employ upon the public -works, whilst year by year the slaves who formed a part of the annual -tributes came to add to the multitude of poor captives. The service was -rigorous, and there can be little doubt that their lives were ‘made -bitter.’ There is a representation still existing of a number of these -bondmen engaged in brick-making. Their faces are of the Asiatic type, -and the following words are added by way of explanation:—‘They work at -the building with dexterous fingers; their overseers show themselves -in sight. They obey the words of the great skilful lord who directs -them. They are rewarded with wine, and all kinds of good things. They -are building a sanctuary for the god. The overseer says thus to the -labourers: “The stick is in my hand: be not idle.”’ - -Severe oversight, tempered by free access to the ‘flesh-pots of Egypt’ -was then, as at a later date, the portion of those to whom the land of -Egypt was the ‘house of bondage.’ - -[Illustration: Amenhotep presented to Amen-Ra by Horus.] - -There can be little doubt that the waste of life upon distant -battle-fields, the employment of foreign slave labour, and the luxury -born of immense accession of wealth, all combined to produce a -demoralisation and a weakening of the Egyptian people in due course -of time. For the present, however, all was joy and exultation. The -king was never weary of extolling the gods who had shown him such -distinguished favour, and their goodwill and his devotion are depicted -in every possible way. On one obelisk (the obelisk of the Lateran), -we see, _e.g._ the king kneeling and offering wine to Amen-Ra seated -on a throne, or adoring the sacred hawk, symbol of Horus, to which he -offers flowers, incense, and cakes of white bread. Again, Amen-Ra is -seen taking him by the hand in token of his favour and protection, -and at a memorial chapel in Nubia, the goddess Isis is represented as -about to kiss the Egyptian monarch, whilst in another picture he is -seen standing face to face with Sefek, the ‘Lady of Writings.’[37] It -is evident, therefore, that it had become customary and familiar to -represent the deities, who are but seldom delineated in the pictures -and sculptures belonging to the earlier dynasties. They are depicted in -various ways. Sometimes it is in human form with some symbol or emblem -attached or held in the hand, but very often the head of the deity is -represented by that of the animal which, for some reason or other, was -his symbol. Thus Horus is seen with a hawk’s head, Thoth with that of -an ibis. Isis is delineated not only as a woman, but as a cow, and -sometimes as a woman with a cow’s head. The Egyptians never appear -to have even attempted to embody the divine majesty or beauty in any -statue or picture. But certain objects, animate and inanimate, were -regarded as symbolic, and as such were attached to the figures of the -gods.[38] Of course they were not intended to be in any sense works of -art, which such strange unnatural objects could never be; nor were they -regarded as actually representative of the deities, which would have -been simply absurd and profane, but they were emblematic signs of the -divine attributes and nature, and were understood and recognised as -such. - -In one tablet at Karnak, Thothmes III. is depicted offering wine and -incense to his father Amen-Ra, and the accompanying inscription is an -heroic poem or hymn which must have been composed towards the close of -his victorious reign. In it the god himself recounts all that he has -brought to pass on behalf of his ‘son.’ - -‘Come to me,’ he says, ‘and rejoice in beholding my favour towards -thee, O my son Men-kheper-Ra,[39] thou who livest for evermore! I -am glorified by the vows thou renderest; my heart is glad when thou -drawest near to my temple; dear unto me is the piety that has set up -mine image within my sanctuary. - -‘Lo! I do reward thee—in that I give thee power and victory over all -nations, for it is through me that the fear of thee resteth upon the -whole earth and extendeth unto the pillars of heaven. - -‘I stretch forth my hand—for thee do I gather together the Annu by tens -of thousands, and the northern people in myriads. By me have thine -enemies been overthrown under thy feet. Thou hast penetrated into every -land, but none has dared to set foot within thy borders, though I have -protected thy steps when thou wast within their boundaries. Thou hast -passed over the broad rivers of Mesopotamia; thy war-cry has re-echoed -within the caverns of their hiding-places. I have bereft their nostrils -of the breath of life. - -‘I am come and I have given thee to smite the princes of Tahi (Syria); -I have made them behold thee like the star that flameth and that -sendeth down the evening dew. - -‘I am come, and I have given thee to smite the Western lands; I have -made them behold thee like a young bull valiant in his might—he hath -sharpened his horns—none may resist him. - -‘I am come, and I have given thee to smite all lands; I have made them -behold thee as it were a crocodile: terrible is he exceedingly, and -lord of the waters—none dare approach him. - -‘I am come, and I have given thee to smite the Tahennu in their -islands; I have made them behold thee as a lion in his wrath—he lieth -down upon the bodies of his prey and taketh his rest in the valleys. - -‘I am come, and I have given thee to smite the dwellers by the -water-side that they who abide by the great sea may be subdued beneath -thy feet; I have made them behold thee even like the king of birds who -marketh his prey from on high, and seizeth upon whatsoever he listeth. - -‘I am come, and I have given thee to smite the dwellers in the waste; -the Herusha are led captive; I have made them behold thee as it were -the jackal of the South—he hunteth throughout the land, and he hideth -his path in the darkness. - - -[Illustration: Vincent Brooks-Day & Son, Lith. - -AMENHOTEP ON THE LAP OF A GODDESS.] - -‘I am he that hath watched over thee—oh my son beloved! Horus crowned -in Thebes!’ - -Thothmes III. reigned very nearly 54 years. His faithful attendant -Amenemhib, whose prowess had saved his master from the elephant and the -wild horse, lived long enough to record that master’s end. - -‘So after many years of victory and power,’ he says, ‘the King ended -his course. He took his flight upwards into heaven and was joined unto -the company of Ra. When the morning broke and the sky grew bright then -was King Amenhotep (may he live for ever!) seated upon his father’s -throne; crowned like Horus, son of Isis, he took possession of Khemi.’ - -The magnificent terraced temple of Hatasu formed the mausoleum of the -Thothmes family; but, like his predecessors, Thothmes the Great has not -been suffered to remain undisquieted in the tomb. It was not far off -from Hatasu’s temple that his mummy also was discovered. The coffin -was much injured, and the mummy itself broken into three pieces—the -mutilated remains of this mighty Pharaoh are lying in the Museum at -Boulak. - -After the death of their conqueror, the kings of Canaan and the princes -of Mesopotamia threw off the foreign yoke. Amenhotep II. overran the -country and reduced its inhabitants once more to subjection. It is -recorded of him that he smote down and slew seven of the Canaanitish -chiefs with his battle-axe, and brought them back with him to Egypt. -‘Six of these enemies,’ says the story, ‘were hung upon the walls of -Thebes, and their hands were hung up in the same way;’ the other enemy -was brought up the river to Nubia, and hung upon the walls of the town -of Napata ‘to show to the people of the land of the negroes for all -time the victories of the king over his enemies.’ This is the chief -event recorded of the reign of Amenhotep II., who was succeeded by -Thothmes IV. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[30] These were the hands of the slain, which were cut off and counted -to ascertain the number of the fallen. - -[31] See _Nile Gleanings_, by Villiers Stuart. - -[32] _Nile Gleanings._ - -[33] Brugsch, _History of Egypt_. - -[34] Honorific or crown name which Hatasu, like other Egyptian -sovereigns, assumed at her accession, and which was distinct from the -personal or family name. - -[35] The literature and traditions of these early Chaldean states were -preserved and highly prized by the Assyrians, who appear to have had -none of their own. - -[36] This barge was presented in the reign of Thothmes IV. - -[37] These two pictures are given in _Nile Gleanings_. - -[38] It is comparatively easy to understand the choice of certain -animals as symbolic (see on p. 198), but it is impossible to comprehend -how an ostrich feather came to be the emblem of Ma, goddess of -truth, or a shuttle the sign of Neith, goddess of wisdom. A certain -resemblance in name seems sometimes to have suggested the symbol. - -[39] Honorific or crown name of Thothmes III. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -The Eighteenth Dynasty—_continued_. - -(_Circa_ 1600-1400 B.C.) - - -Of the reign of Thothmes IV. there is very little record left excepting -the curious story of his own youth, which was written on a tablet -suspended by his order upon the breast of the Sphinx at Ghizeh—to the -following effect:—‘Thothmes had been practising spear-throwing in the -neighbourhood of Memphis, where he also slung brazen bolts at a target -and hunted lions in the “valley of the gazelles.”[40] The prince rode -in his two-horsed chariot, and his horses were swifter than the wind. -With him were two of his servants. No man knew them. The hour came when -he gave his servants rest. Thothmes went alone to the little sanctuary -between the outstretched paws of the great image of Horus in the city -of the dead, to present an offering of the seeds of flowers upon the -heights, and to pray to the “great mother Isis” and to other deities. -A great enchantment rested on this place since the beginning of time -even as far as the district of Babylon,[41] the sacred road of the gods -to the western horizon. To the spot where the prince was standing the -inhabitants of Memphis and the surrounding country were wont to come, -to raise their hands in prayer and offer oblations. It so chanced that -on one of these feast days the prince arrived at this spot about the -hour of mid-day, and he laid himself down to rest in the shade of this -great god until sleep overtook him. The sun was in the zenith when he -dreamed, and lo! this great god spoke to him with his own mouth as a -father speaks to his son. “Behold me, look at me, my son Thothmes! I -am thy father Hormakhu-Ra. The kingdom shall be given thee; thou shalt -wear the white crown and the red crown on the throne of the earth god -Seb. The world shall be thine in its length and its breadth; plenty -and riches shall be thine, the best from the interior of the land, and -rich tributes from all nations. Long years shall be granted thee: my -heart clings to thee. - -The sand of this region in which I dwell has covered me up. Promise -me that thou wilt do that which my heart desireth; then shall I know -whether thou indeed art my helper.” The prince awoke and repeated these -words, and understood their meaning; and he laid them up in his heart, -saying to himself—“I see how the people of this city honour the god -with sacrificial gifts without ever thinking of freeing from sand the -noble image of Hormakhu.” - -The tablet here breaks off, but no doubt it recorded the fulfilment by -Thothmes of the god’s request. - -Amenhotep III., successor of Thothmes IV., maintained with vigour the -supremacy of Egypt both in the north and in the south. He must have -been no ordinary sportsman if he speared, as he is said to have done, -102 lions with his own hand in the forest lands of Mesopotamia. His -conquests were principally achieved in the south; for the sake of gold -quite as much as for increase of territory he carried his arms into the -Soudan, and subdued the negro peoples who dwelt beneath its burning -sun. But the chief glory of Amenhotep III. was not won by spearing -lions in Asia or conquering negroes in Africa; his name is remembered -chiefly through his architectural achievements at Thebes. He erected -a splendid gate-tower before the great temple at Karnak, and planned -the avenue of sphinxes which connected it with another temple which -he began at Luxor. To the north and south of the great temple he also -built two smaller ones. On the western bank he constructed another and -a magnificent temple. - -[Illustration: AMENHOTEP III. FROM A SCULPTURE IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM.] - -[Illustration: The Colossi at Thebes.] - -His architect and namesake, Amenhotep, has left some notices of his own -life and labours. ‘The king appointed me under secretary. I studied the -holy book and beheld the glories of the god Thoth. I was acquainted -with the sacred mysteries, and was a master in the art of speech.’ -Amenhotep was besides intrusted with the charge of the royal household -and the collection of the revenue, and he was commander-in-chief of the -king’s forces. All his varied services, however, might have sunk into -oblivion for later ages had it not been that in his capacity of chief -architect he devised a scheme for immortalising the memory of his royal -master by the execution of two portrait statues ‘in noble hard stone -for his great building,’ in Western Thebes. These colossal statues were -about 60 feet high, and each was cut out of a single block of stone. -Amenhotep caused eight ships to be built to convey them down the river; -he tells us that all the masons under his direction were full of ardour -in the work, and that the safe arrival and landing of the statues at -Thebes was a ‘joyful event.’ ‘Every heart,’ he says, ‘was filled with -joy, and the people shouted in praise of the king.’ They were raised in -their appointed place some little distance in front of the new temple -the king had founded on the western side of the river. And he tells us -that ‘they made the gate-towers look small. They were wonderful for -size and height, and they will last as long as heaven.’ - -A few scattered ruins only of the temple remain, but these two battered -giants sit there still and keep their watch upon the desert plain. -These were the statues called by Greek fancy the ‘statues of Memnon,’ -who was, they said, the son of Aurora, and came to the aid of the -Greeks at the siege of Troy. One of them was broken in two during a -terrible earthquake that wrought great destruction in Egypt in A.D. -27. The upper part fell to the ground, and it was after this event -that the statue became vocal, and emitted every morning at sunrise a -musical and melancholy strain. The fact of such a sound being heard was -attested by an immense number of inscriptions left there by both Greek -and Roman travellers. Septimius Severus afterwards repaired the statue, -and from that time the phenomenon ceased, but has ever since been -subject of curious speculation. - -As might be supposed from the extent and splendour of his works, the -reign of Amenhotep III. was not of short duration. We read of one -thirty years’ jubilee that was celebrated amid national rejoicings. -Some of the taxpayers brought, it is said, on that occasion ‘when the -overseer had spoken but one word, more than the actual amount due, and -the king rewarded their devotion by the presentation of golden chains -and collars—the customary badges of honour.’ - -The portraits of Egyptian kings and queens bear every sign of being -truthful and characteristic likenesses. The kings of the Thothmes -family are all fine-looking men, their noses straight, their features -well formed; those of the second and third Thothmes being particularly -refined and delicately cut. And Queen Tai-ti, wife of Amenhotep III., -is unquestionably the most beautiful amongst the Egyptian queens -that we know. But the monarch who reigned next, or next but one to -the last-named sovereign, is of quite peculiar ugliness; he has a -retreating forehead, a very long aquiline nose, and an extraordinary -chin, long and pointed. His figure is thin and effeminate, his legs -feeble and attenuated, and his expression somewhat idiotic. It is -difficult to believe that he could have belonged to the same family, or -even the same nation as the Thothmes and Amenhoteps, his predecessors, -and one is inclined to conclude with Mr. Villiers Stuart,[42] that a -princess must have unexpectedly succeeded to the throne whose husband -was a foreigner. This idea would agree with the fact that the new -sovereign actually introduced a new form of worship into the country. - -The mysterious god of Thebes was worshipped under the name and figure -of the sun, but this was regarded as only one of his manifestations, -who was a being ‘of many names, of holy transformations, of mysterious -forms.’[43] But the new king worshipped Aten or the sun’s disk, and -recognised no other god. He also adopted the name of Khu-en-aten -or ‘Splendour of the Disk.’ It is hard to understand theological -controversies of so very ancient a date, but it is easy to feel what -must have been the indignation among the priests and people at Thebes, -when a royal edict was issued commanding that the names of Amen and -of Mut should be erased from all the monuments in this, the ancient -seat of their worship. Royal authority, however, proved sufficient to -accomplish this outrage upon the national faith, but the king’s further -scheme of erecting a temple to his god Aten in Thebes itself could not -be carried out, the influence of the rich and powerful priesthood and -the strength of the national feeling were too great. - -Khu-en-aten therefore abandoned Thebes altogether, and migrated with -his court to a spot about midway between that city and Memphis. Here he -built an entirely new city and a splendid temple, with fire altars in -honour of Aten. He summoned the masons of all Egypt to his work, and -called together the chief men of the people, most of whom must have -rendered but a sullen and unwilling obedience. There were courtiers, -however, ready to adopt the royal creed, and to become, some of them -at least, its zealous advocates. Amongst these the foremost was one -Meri-ra, who was promoted to the dignity of chief seer. ‘Be thou chief -seer of the disk of the sun according to thy wish,’ said the king, ‘for -thou wast my servant who wast obedient to the teaching. Thou treasurer -of the chamber of silver and gold! reward the chief seer of Aten—place -a gold chain around his neck, and join it behind—place gold at his -feet, because he was obedient unto the teaching of the king.’ - -At Tel-el-Amarna, east of the Nile, are still to be seen the ruins of -this great and hastily constructed city, which was about two miles in -length, but very narrow in width. Travellers say that the ground-plan -of the houses may still be traced, and that there are some immense -mounds covered by the drifting sand, where temples and palaces might -be buried. Four miles off are tombs and rock-temples excavated in the -hill-side, but often entirely blocked up by sand. Wherever the new -worship was portrayed, the sun’s disk is represented above, with long -rays reaching downwards, and each ending in a hand—the sign of divine -protection; the hand often holds the symbol of life before the king. - -The family life of Khu-en-aten is depicted more than once. In one -group he is seen with his queen Nefer-tai and their young daughters, -distributing gifts of honour at some festival. One little boy is there -too, but he is too young to take part in the distribution, and is -caressing his mother’s face. Strong affection appears to have united -the royal family, who doubtless felt their position a very isolated -one. The prayers and praises, however, that are recorded as forming -part of the new ritual, are very similar in tone and expression -to those used in the customary worship. Prayer for the reigning -sovereigns is frequent; on one festive occasion we read that the king -gave his city the name of ‘Delight of the Sun’s disk,’ and offered -sacrifices with solemn invocation. ‘Tender love fills my heart for the -queen and her young children. Grant long years of life to Nefer-tai, -that she may keep the king’s hand. Grant long life to the royal -daughters, that they may keep the hand of the queen, their mother, -for evermore.’ Nefer-tai appears to have died comparatively young; in -one of the sculptures she is represented ‘with terrible fidelity,’ -Mr. Villiers Stuart says, as apparently in the last stage of wasting -disease. Her only son must have died quite in childhood; he is not -represented again, but the daughters, seven in number, are frequently -seen. As Khu-en-aten died without a male heir, the crown passed to his -daughters’ husbands, two if not three of whom reigned in succession. -They soon returned to Thebes, and to the worship of Amen-Ra, but none -of them were ever acknowledged as true-born kings; it is doubtful -whether they were crowned at Thebes. Ai was the last of them, and a -beautiful rose-coloured sarcophagus of granite found in a tomb to the -west of the royal sepulchres bears his cartouche.[44] It is worthy -of notice that he is styled _prince_, not king. Each of these rulers, -in fact, occupied the throne only in right of his wife,[45] and were -themselves apparently merely officers in high position at Khu-en-aten’s -court—a fact sufficient to account for the coldness with which the -priests of Amen regarded them, in spite of their official return to the -national worship. The government, however, appears to have been well -administered by them, and foreign tributes were duly paid. A scene is -represented on the walls of a tomb at Thebes, in which the governor -of the south (whose tomb it was) is introducing a negro queen into -the presence of Tutankh-amen, one of these princes. She has come in -person to lay tribute and gifts at his feet. The boats are depicted -in which the party have travelled and brought with them giraffes and -leopards from the South, which are now presented to the king with other -offerings, amongst which is a model of one of the negro dome-shaped -huts with palm trees, around the tops of which giraffes are nibbling. -The dark-hued princess made use of a sort of chariot drawn by oxen; her -offerings are by no means devoid of artistic merit, though they cannot -vie, in this respect, with those presented at the same levée by Asiatic -princes of red complexion, and long curling black hair; they bring -costly works wrought in gold, silver, and precious stones—the produce -of skilled Phœnician art. - -None of these kings apparently left any children. The official lists of -sovereigns do not include any names between that of Amenhotep III. and -Horus. It was to Horus that all eyes turned when the direct succession -failed. He was then living in retirement at a city called Ha-Suten -in middle Egypt, but had held high office at court at one time, and -had been promoted to the dignity of ‘guardian,’ and afterwards of -‘Adon’ or ‘Lord,’ of the land—if indeed he had not been in some way -recognised as heir to the throne itself. Horus was esteemed and beloved -for the uprightness and gentleness of his character. ‘He took pleasure -in justice,’ it is said of him, ‘which he carried in his heart; he -followed the gods Thoth and Ptah in all their ways, and they were -his shield and protectors on earth for evermore.’ He was especially -acceptable to the priesthood on account of his fervent attachment to -the old faith and the national gods—the god Horus being regarded as his -special patron and guardian. To him was ascribed his elevation to the -royal dignity. ‘Horus made his son great, and willed to prolong his -life until the day came when he should receive the office destined for -him.’ It is doubtful whether he was himself of royal descent, but it is -certain that he married a princess of the direct line, and that no one -else was thought of for a moment when the throne became vacant. There -is a long account preserved of his accession, and solemn reception, -and coronation at Thebes. ‘Heaven and earth rejoice together—the gods -invested him with the double crown. Heaven kept festival, and all the -land was glad. The deities rejoiced on high, and the people of Egypt -raised their rapturous songs of praise even unto heaven; great and -small united their voices with one accord. It was as if Horus, son of -Isis, were once more presenting himself after his triumph over Set.’ - -The new king was indeed regarded as, in some sense, an avenger -triumphing over evil. One can imagine that even though the previous -rulers had returned to Thebes and its gods, it would have been hardly -possible for their wives, who must have shared their sovereignty, to -indulge in any bitter animosity towards the city in which they had been -brought up, towards the worship which their father had established -there, or towards the names and memory of their parents. But at the -accession of Horus, all restraint was removed, and the full tide of -animosity let loose against the ‘city of the delight of the sun’s -disk.’ City, temples, and tombs were destroyed, and every vestige and -trace of the reign and the religion of Khu-en-aten effaced as far as -possible. The stone was taken to be employed in the building of Theban -temples. Only a few ruins and a few inscriptions have escaped to tell -the traveller of this curious episode in Egyptian history. - -Equal diligence was shown by this sovereign in rebuilding and -beautifying the temples which had long been neglected. The cities of -the gods, we are told in decidedly hyperbolical language, ‘lay as heaps -of rubbish.’ ‘He renewed the temples of the sun-god,’ we read, ‘and Ra -rejoiced to see that renewed which had been destroyed in former times.’ -The king also provided for the sacrifices; he appointed holy persons, -singers, and bodyguards for the temples, and assigned for their use -and service arable land, cattle, and all that was required—that ‘they -might sing thus each new morning unto Ra: “Thou hast made the kingdom -great for us in thy son the delight of thy heart, King Horus. Grant him -length of years and victory in all lands, even as unto Horus, son of -Isis.”’ - -Horus reigned for more than twenty years, and his death was followed by -the accession of a new dynasty—the nineteenth. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[40] This valley lay west of the pyramids in the Libyan desert, and -was a favourite resort of sportsmen for hunting lions and other wild -animals. - -[41] This district of ‘Babylon’ was that where Cairo now stands. - -[42] See the _Nile Gleanings_, where the portraits of the sovereigns -are given. If Khu-en-aten’s is a caricature even, it is a caricature -founded on a different type of countenance. - -[43] From a chapter in the Ritual. - -[44] The oval in which the royal names are always inscribed. - -[45] And the wives, _in all probability_, inherited only through their -mother, Khu-en-aten’s wife. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -The Nineteenth Dynasty (_circa_ 1400-1200 B.C.) - -Rameses the Great. - - -The peace of Egypt was not disturbed, although the direct succession -again failed at the death of Horus. It is more than doubtful whether -the soldier Rameses who now came to the front was of the royal line at -all. He married his son Seti to a princess of the house of Pharaoh, and -associated him with himself in the government. After a brief reign, -of which next to nothing is recorded, he died, and left the crown to -Seti. The wife of this sovereign was regarded with reverence as the -descendant of the ancient line; and her claim to remembrance in after -times was not so much that she was the wife of Seti, as that she was -mother of Rameses II., in whose person the direct line was again -restored. The child was associated with his father from a very early -age, so that at any rate the sanction of a true-born Pharaoh might be -given, however nominally, to all that was done. - -The reign of Seti I. was not long, but it was full of stirring events, -which are recorded on a wall of the great temple at Karnak. Egypt had -been absorbed in religious and domestic dissensions, and her claims to -supremacy and empire in Asia had been allowed to lapse. Encouraged by -this apparent indifference, the wandering Shasu tribes had ventured -to cross the frontier, and had entered the Delta. Seti was a man of -war, and was no doubt glad at heart to veil the obscurity of his birth -and his doubtful right to the crown in a dazzling cloud of military -triumph and renown. He marched against the intruding Shasu, and soon -discomfited them. ‘The king was against them as a fierce lion; not one -escaped to tell of his strength to the distant nations,’ it is said. -Nevertheless, we find them soon after able to rally and make a stand -upon Phœnician soil with the Phœnicians as allies. The king, whose -horses on this occasion bore the name, ‘Amen gives him strength,’ -again attacked and overthrew them; then, turning upon their allies, -he defeated them also, the Egyptian chariots meeting the Phœnician in -furious encounter. Afterwards he marched upon the Rutennu (Canaanites), -and his horses were called ‘big with victory.’ So rapid was his -success, that his approach took the great Syrian stronghold of Kadesh -unawares. Herds and flocks were quietly pasturing under its walls when -the Egyptian army appeared in sight. In hot haste herds and herdsmen -fled within the city walls for shelter; the garrison forthwith made a -sally, but Seti was too strong for them, and the fortress was stormed -and captured. - -A more formidable enemy remained. Northwards from Syria dwelt the -powerful nation of the Kheta (or Hittites), who now appear upon the -scene for the first time. Over their well-ordered hosts likewise Seti -claims a victory. ‘As a jackal,’ say the inscriptions, ‘he rushes -through the land and seeks after his prey—he is as a fierce lion that -haunteth the most hidden paths in every land—as a mighty bull that hath -whetted his horns for the strife. He hath smitten down the Asiatics, -and thrown the Kheta to the ground; their princes hath he slain by the -sword.’ It is quite plain, nevertheless, that the Egyptian monarch -was glad enough to conclude a peace on equal terms with his brave -opponents, and to return home again. On his way he visited the country -of Limmanon (Lebanon) to procure cedar trees for the construction of a -vessel to be used in the processions of Amen-Ra, and for the erection -of the masts on the gate-towers of the temple. The people of that -region received him with every mark of friendliness and respect; they -are seen in the pictured story busily engaged in cutting down the -tallest and finest of the trees for the service of the king. - -Seti re-entered Egypt in triumph, laden with rich spoil; he was greeted -with acclamations, and welcomed with peaceful offerings of fragrant -flowers, songs of victory, and shouts of exultation. ‘Thou hast -triumphed over thy foes, and hast quenched the fury of thy heart. Ra -himself has established thy boundaries. His hand has protected thee -when thy battle-axe was raised aloft above the heads of thine enemies; -their kings fell by thy sword.’ - -No doubt in this blaze of glory and glitter of spoil all remaining -misgivings as to the ‘right divine’ were dispelled and forgotten, -especially as in a succeeding campaign the boy Rameses accompanied him. -From his very birth this boy had been the object of regard and almost -of devotion. He is seen in early infancy caressed by his mother and -the ladies of the court. Later on he stands by his father’s side doing -homage to his ancestors or to the gods in the temple of Abydos. On -state occasions he occupied a prominent position, and was the central -point of interest—the idol of his parents, and the hope of the nation, -who cherished a real and most effective belief in the divine right of -the god-descended race of their sovereigns. In a small Nubian temple is -a sculpture, in which the youth is represented as returning from his -first campaign, and receiving a loving welcome from his mother. She has -noble features, as became her lineage, and there is a likeness between -her and her son—so that although she is represented as a goddess, the -face is no doubt intended as a portrait. The campaign from which she -welcomes home her son, was against the Libyans, and, not unlikely, he -stood by his father’s side when the chariot, drawn by horses called -‘Victorious is Amen,’ fell upon the foe. ‘He utterly destroyed them,’ -it is said, ‘as they stood upon the field of battle; they could not -hold their bows, and they remained hidden in their caves like foxes, -for fear of the king.’ - -Seti again celebrated a triumph, and dedicated his spoil to Amen-Ra, -together with the prisoners, whom he gave to the service of the temple, -both as men and women servants. ‘The kings of the nations that did not -know Egypt,’ so they sang on the occasion, ‘are brought by Pharaoh. -They magnify his mighty deeds, saying: “Hail to thee, King of Egypt! -Mighty is thy name. Happy is the people that is subject to thy will, -but he who oversteppeth thy boundaries shall appear led in chains as a -prisoner. We did not know Egypt; our fathers had not entered it. Grant -us freedom out of thy hand.”’ - -The events of Seti’s campaigns are sculptured on the north wall of -his Hall of Columns at Karnak. He is spoken of there as taking an -intense and ferocious delight in battle. ‘Dear to him is the fray! his -delight is to dash therein; his heart is satisfied when he beholds -streams of blood gush forth, and strikes off the heads of his enemies. -One moment of the strife of men is more precious to him than a whole -day of pleasure. With one stroke he smiteth down the foe and spareth -none, and whosoever is left alive he carrieth down into Egypt alive as -a prisoner.’ So keen and savage a delight in bloodshed has confirmed -some writers in the idea that Seti came of some alien race, as it -is out of harmony with the mildness and humanity that characterised -the Egyptian character. His name is considered as probably showing a -close connection with the Delta, where Set was worshipped, chiefly -by the foreign settlers; whilst the name of that god was so hateful -in Egyptian eyes that it was chiselled away from the monuments, both -during Seti’s life and after his death, even though it occurred as part -of the royal name, and the king himself appears frequently to have -changed his own objectionable name for that of Osiris. It may also be -noted that the type of face of the sovereigns of the nineteenth dynasty -is different from that of the preceding kings, and is decidedly of a -more Semitic cast. - -Although Seti had reconquered Syria, and possibly the adjacent lands, -it does not seem that the stream of tribute flowed in such abundance -as during the reign of Thothmes the Great. Treasure, however, was -required, and the king resolved to have the valley of Hammamat -thoroughly explored and worked. He went there himself in the ninth -year of his reign, for, as the inscription says, ‘his heart wished -to see the mines whence the gold is brought.’ Water was, of course, -the first necessity as of old in the days of the eleventh dynasty, -and Seti visited the hills in company with those who knew most about -the water-courses. The desolation of the hot waterless valleys struck -the king. After a journey of some miles he is said to have halted to -meditate quietly, and he ‘said within himself, “If the road be without -water the wayfarers must perish; they die of parching thirst. Where -shall I find a place where the burning thirst may be quenched? Vast -is this region, and far does it extend. He who is here overtaken by -thirst will cry out, ‘O this land of perdition!’ Those who come hither -will come to perform their obligations towards me; I must do that which -will enable them to live. Thus shall my name be venerated throughout -future generations.”’ When the king had said thus within himself he -went up into the hills to found there a sanctuary wherein prayer might -be offered to the god. After that it pleased him to assemble workmen -to quarry the stone, and to form a reservoir there amongst the hills -for the purpose of sustaining the fainting by giving him fresh water -in the time of the summer heat. And the water came in great abundance, -like the waters of the Nile at Abu. The king spake and said, ‘The god -has heard my prayer; the water has come forth abundantly out of the -rocks; the road that had no water has been made good under my reign. -The shepherds shall have pasture for their flocks.’ - -A town was afterwards built at this new centre of industry, and a -temple erected where Seti offered worship ‘to his fathers the gods.’ -Guards were appointed to protect the convoyers of the precious metal, -which was largely used by the king in adorning both temples and -statues of the gods. Indeed, all the works ascribed to this reign -are remarkable for their beauty and perfect finish, so that Seti I. -can hardly be looked upon, after all, as nothing more than a man of -blood and a lover of the fray. The chief of his works is a grand -Hall of Columns that he added to the Great Temple at Karnak, founded -so long before by Amenemhat I. It contained 134 immense columns of -massive proportions, but, like his other undertakings, it had to be -left incomplete, as his reign was not of long duration. In one of -the corridors of his beautiful temple at Abydos was found the famous -‘Tablet,’ so invaluable to students of Egyptian history. It contained -the names of 76 royal ancestors of Rameses II., going back to King -Mena himself; and the young Rameses is seen standing by his father and -offering homage to their memories; on the opposite wall are inscribed -the names of the Egyptian gods and goddesses, and a beautifully -executed bas-relief represents the prince, under his father’s -direction, pouring out in honour of the deities a libation, which is -received into a vessel full of flowers. - -The strong affection borne by Seti to his young son was fully returned, -and it was with the most reverent heed that Rameses, on his accession, -carried out and completed all that his father had begun. In Western -Thebes Seti had founded a memorial sanctuary to his father’s name, -which he intended as his own burial-place. But ‘he died,’ says Rameses, -‘and entered the realm of heaven and united himself with Ra, whilst -this his house was being built. The gates showed a vacant place; all -the works of stone and brick had yet to be raised, and all the writing -and painting to be done.’ The mummy of the king had, it seems, been -placed meanwhile in his temple at Abydos. One morning it happened -that, after celebrating a magnificent festival of Amen-Ra at Thebes, -Rameses started at dawn of day for his new and favourite capital in the -Delta.[46] The royal ships, it is said, threw their brightness on the -river. Orders had been given for the journey down the stream, but on -reaching the canal that led to Abydos the young king gave directions -to turn aside thither that he might ‘behold the face of his father -and offer sacrifice.’ But on arriving, he was much struck by the -general dilapidation of the tombs, and the marks of careless neglect -on every side. ‘Nothing had been built up,’ he said, ‘by the son for -the father, though he should have been careful to preserve it according -to his expectations, since its possessor had taken flight to heaven. -But not one son had renewed the memorial of his father who rested in -the grave.’ On examining his own father’s temple, he found evidence -not only of neglect but of dishonesty. ‘The revenues had failed, the -servants of the temple had taken, without exception, whatever had come -in for themselves.’ Consequently the columns were not raised on their -bases, the statues lay prostrate on the ground. Rameses forthwith -called together the princes, the captains and the architects, and after -their prostrations and flattering speeches were ended he addressed -them. After speaking of the state of things he had found at Abydos, he -went on to say: ‘The most beautiful thing to behold, the best thing -to hear, is a child with a thankful breast, whose heart beats for his -father. When I was but a little boy I attained to the supremacy. The -lord of all himself nourished and brought me up; he gave over to me -the land. I sat on his lap as a child, and he presented me publicly to -the people, saying, “I will have him crowned king, for my desire is to -behold his glory whilst I am yet alive. Place the royal diadem upon his -brow. May he restore order and set up again that which has fallen into -ruin. May he care for the people, the inhabitants of the land.” Thus -graciously did he speak out of his tender love towards me. Therefore -will I do what is fitting and good for Seti Menephtah.[47] I will renew -his memory. I will not neglect his tomb, as children are accustomed to -do who do not remember their parents. I will complete it because I am -lord of the country. I will take care of it because it is right and -seemly.’ He is answered with profuse flatteries, and is assured that -none but he and Horus, son of Isis, imagine and perform such things. -The king then appoints the following song for his own honour and in his -father’s memory:— - - ‘Awake, lift up thy face towards heaven; behold - the sun, O my father, thou who hast become like God. - Here am I who will make thy name to live. I myself, I - myself am come here to build thy temple near to that of - Unnefer,[48] the eternal king.’ - -Rameses proceeds to tell of all his gifts and rich endowments, and then -addresses his father thus:— - - ‘Thou hast entered into the realm of heaven. Thou art - in the company of Ra. Thou art united with the moon and - stars. Thou restest in the deep like those who dwell - with Unnefer the eternal king. When the sun ariseth - thou dost behold its splendour: when he sinketh down - to rest, thou art in his train. Thou enterest within - the secret house, and remainest in the company of the - gods. Speak thou to Ra and to Unnefer with a heart - full of love, that he may grant long years and feasts - of jubilee unto King Rameses. Well will it be for thee - that I should reign for a long time, for thou wilt be - honoured by a good son who remembers his father.’ - -In answer to this invocation Seti appears and promises all that the -heart of a king could desire, and more especially the length of days -entreated by his son. - -Long life was certainly appointed to King Rameses, who reigned for 67 -years. Whilst still a youth he was summoned to serious conflict. Not -only had the Syrian princes again risen, but the powerful and civilised -nation of the Kheta had prepared to put forth all its strength against -its mighty rival. Their country lay north of Syria, and their dominion -extended eastward over a part of Mesopotamia, and westward to the coast -of Asia Minor. Seti had encountered them, but although he claimed a -great victory, he had found it advisable immediately afterwards to -conclude a treaty and to return home. Khetasir, king of the Kheta, -encouraged perhaps by the extreme youth of Seti’s successor, had -formed a strong confederacy against Egypt, and placed himself at its -head. Besides his Syrian and Phœnician allies, he had called together -the inhabitants of Mesopotamia on the east, and of the towns on the -sea-coast, including, some have imagined, a contingent from Ilium,[49] -as yet unbesieged of Greek, and unknown in song. The Egyptian forces -reached Kadesh and pitched their camp in its neighbourhood. - -The scenes of this campaign are made very real and living to us, being -painted and sculptured in full detail on the walls of the Theban -temples, and its chief episode is immortalised in the heroic poem of -Pentaur. We see the Egyptian camp in the form of a square, with a -temporary wall of enclosure, formed by piled up shields; servants are -resting, asses are wandering about; there too is the lion of Rameses, -the famous beast who accompanied him in his campaigns, and whose name -was Semem-kheftu-ef: ‘Tearer to pieces of his enemies.’ The king’s tent -is seen, and near it is the shrine of the god. An inscription duly -informs us: ‘This is the first legion of Amen, who bestows victory on -King Rameses. Pharaoh is with it. It is pitching its camp.’ - -Another picture gives us an important episode. The inscription tell -us: ‘This is the arrival of the spies of Pharaoh. They are bringing -two spies of the Kheta before the king. They are beating them to make -them declare where the king of the Kheta is.’ For the plain fact was -that the Egyptians were very much at a loss. Not long before two men -had come into the camp, professing themselves to be leaders of the -Shasu, who were wishing to desert the cause of the Kheta and to join -the Egyptian army; for the king of the Kheta was far away, and was -remaining in the country of the Khilibu for fear of the Egyptians. -Rameses, it is not unlikely, was flattered by this tribute to the -terror inspired by his very name; at any rate he believed their story -too easily, and set out at once with slender forces in a north-westerly -direction, leaving the main body to follow more leisurely. But at this -juncture the two spies mentioned in the inscription were captured, -and from them was extorted the confession that the Kheta were not -by any means far off, but were at that moment lying in ambush close -at hand, had horses and riders in great number, and all implements -of war, and were ‘more in number than the sands of the sea.’ Anger -swelled high in the breast of the young king; he called together the -leaders and captains, and bitterly upbraided them for their neglect and -carelessness. ‘You have been telling me every day that the enemy are -far away in the country of the Khilibu, and now, hear what these men -say. Bring up our forces to the attack—they are close at our side.’ But -meanwhile the king of the Kheta had fallen suddenly upon the main body -of the Egyptian army, who were following the advanced guard slowly and -in careless security, and had taken them completely by surprise. They -gave way and fell back upon the road that led to the place where the -king was stationed with his advanced guard. But ‘when Pharaoh saw this -he was wroth; he seized his armour and appeared like unto the god of -war in his hour. He mounted his chariot and rushed forth alone. None -was with him. He rushed upon the foe and cast them down, and subdued -the people before him. Then did the king of the Kheta lift up his hands -in supplication.’ - -The scene is a favourite one, and is depicted more than once. We see -the orderly masses of the Kheta in contrast to their less regular and -less warlike allies. We see the heroic onslaught of the king, and the -desperate encounter of the chariots on the plain of the Orontes. The -Khetan chariots are beheld overthrown and hurled into the river, where -the horsemen are confusedly struggling. One prince is being dragged out -and held with his head hanging down, and we learn ‘This is the King of -Khilibu; his warriors are raising him up after Pharaoh has thrown him -into the water.’ - -Such was the battle of Kadesh, in which it is evident that the Egyptian -army, after having been brought by bad generalship to the brink of -destruction, was saved from ruin by the desperate valour and personal -prowess of Rameses himself. It is this exploit that is celebrated by -the poet Pentaur two years later in such glowing poetic hyperbole:— - - ‘He arose like unto Mentu, the god of war, and put - speed to his horses, and urged on his steeds,—named - “Triumph in Thebes,” and “Mut[50] is content.” None - dared follow his headlong assault. He was alone and - none other with him. And lo! he was encircled by - the Khetan host; 2500 chariots were around him, and - countless hosts cut off the way behind. On each chariot - three men stood, and all were massed together man to - man.’ - -The king now speaks:— - - ‘Not a prince, not a captain was by me. My chiefs and - knights had failed. No man was there to take my part - against the foe. O Amen, my father, I know thee; where - art thou? Has ever a father forgotten his son? Thy - precepts, thy will have I ever denied? has ought I have - done been apart from thee? These hosts of the foe, - what are they to thee! Amen can humble the imperious - and proud. To thee I built temples and offered rich - gifts. The wealth of the nations I laid at thy feet. - Lo! I am alone, and none other is with me. I called on - my soldiers, and none heard my cry. More to me is thy - power than myriads of men—than thousand times thousand - arrayed for the war. On thee, father Amen, on thee do I - call! - - ‘In far-off Hermonthis my prayer was heard. He stood - by my side. “Lo! I am come! Rameses Meri-amen,[51] thy - prayer has been heard. I _am_ more to thee than - thousand times thousand. And the brave heart I - love—my blessing is his. Nor can ought that I will of - accomplishment fail.” - - ‘Then I rose up like Mentu and smote down the foe. A - terror seized them and none dared fight. No man could - shoot nor grasp the spear. Headlong they plunged into - the stream like the crocodile. Still stood the King of - Kheta to behold King Rameses, for—“He was alone, none - other with him.” Once more did he attack with all his - power, but I rushed upon them like a flame of fire and - slew them where they stood. Each man cried unto his - fellow, saying: “No mortal man is he who is against - us. It is Set the mighty—‘tis the god of war. Whoso - draws near him his hand drops, nor can he grasp the - bow or spear.” I called upon my foot and horse: “Take - heart—be firm—behold my victory.” I was alone, but - Amen was beside me.’ - -The whole poem is too long to be given here, but we learn that when at -length the terror-stricken forces rallied upon seeing the victory of -the king and beholding the multitude of corpses, they approached with -adulation and flattery, extolling the hero to the skies. No wonder that -his reply is stern:— - - ‘The king spake and said: “O my captains and soldiers - who have _not_ fought! of what profit is all your - devotion? Which of you has done his duty before his - king? Who ever did for you what I did? and now have ye - altogether failed me; none stood by to help me in the - battle. Shame upon my horse and foot! shame more than - words can say! As for my horses, they indeed were with - me, and upheld me when I was alone amid the raging foe. - Henceforth shall they eat food before me in my palace - for ever.”’ - -Next day the battle was resumed with fury, and at the close the Kheta -sued for peace, which Rameses, apparently, was glad enough to grant. -Accepting their submission he returned to Egypt ‘joyful and glad at -heart.’ - -[Illustration: RAMESES THE GREAT. - -FROM A SCULPTURE IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM.] - -A hearty welcome was accorded to the conqueror throughout Egypt, but -nowhere was he so warmly received as in his favourite seat San-Tanis, -better known to us as Zoan. In the early days of the monarchy this -had been an important city and an emporium of trade. It stood on one -of the arms of the Nile, and was not far from the eastern frontier of -the Delta. The Hyksos kings had occupied it soon after their invasion; -they often resided there, and under them it attained great splendour -and importance. After their expulsion it was neglected, nor did it come -again into prominence until the days of Rameses, who almost rebuilt -it, and under whom it became one of the most magnificent of the great -cities of Egypt. It was known as Pa-Ramessu, the ‘city of Rameses,’ -and we are fortunate in possessing a description of it by an Egyptian -writer, written apparently in prospect of the king’s triumphal entry: -‘I came to the city of Rameses Meri-amen. Beautiful is she exceedingly. -Thebes itself is not comparable unto her—the secret of happiness is -here. Her meadows are full of all things fair and good, daily producing -abundance of food; the pools are full of fish, and the lakes swarm -with waterfowl; the fields are green with verdure; the melons are -sweet as honey. The barns and threshing-floors are full of wheat and -barley, heaped up even unto heaven; herbs of all kinds abound in the -gardens; there the apple-tree blooms, the vine, the citron, and the -fig-tree. Sweet is the wine like honey. The canal yields salt, the lake -of Paher, natron (soda). The ships come and go daily, and there is -plenty without stint. Gladness dwells in Pa-Ramessu, and happy is he -whose habitation is therein. The lowly ones are like unto the great. -They all unite to say: “Come and let us celebrate the heavenly and the -earthly festivals!” The people of the marsh land bring lilies, and from -Pshenhor come the crimson-tinted flowers of the pools. The maidens -of the “conqueror’s city” are adorned as for a day of festivity. -They stand at the doors, and their hands are filled with flowers and -garlands on the morning of the day when King Rameses Meri-amen, the -war-god upon earth, makes his entry. All flock together, neighbour with -neighbour; each man bringing his petition. - -‘Sweet is the wine of the conqueror’s city. Cider and delicious drinks -abound. Sweet song by the women of the school of Memphis resounds; joy -is in every heart. All are as one to celebrate the praises of this -god—even of King Rameses Meri-amen, the war-god of the world.’ - -In the early part of his reign, Rameses was engaged in more than one -warlike enterprise, but none ever created so much excitement, or so -fascinated the popular imagination as that of the first campaign by -the Orontes at Kadesh, which was celebrated with such true poetic -licence in Pentaur’s epic song. Never, indeed, were the records of any -sovereign’s life and victories so blazoned abroad as those of King -Rameses; the walls of the temples in Egypt and in Nubia are covered -with inscriptions, paintings, and sculptures belonging to this reign. -One while we see him in what appears most inglorious warfare—trampling -down a crowd of negroes, who are represented as pigmies, and over whom -he is driving his chariot of war. Some have escaped, and are flying -in hot haste towards their homes, represented by the little huts like -bee-hives, such as are still common in Africa. A little child rushes -forward to greet them, but the mother stands still, holding up her -hands in an attitude of despair; a little farther off another negress -is seen with a pot over the fire, which she is carefully watching that -it may be ready for the returning soldier. She does not yet see the -boy who is even at that moment running up to bring the fatal news. -At another time the king is seen seated upon his throne in state -receiving the negro tribute—giraffes, oxen, ostriches, and several -monkeys appear in the drawing. Or he is receiving prisoners brought in -by his generals, whilst Semem-kheftu-ef, the ‘Tearer to pieces of his -enemies,’ is lying quietly at the foot of the throne. - -On the walls of the colossal temple of Abu-simbel in Nubia, is a whole -series of tableaux pertaining to the life of Rameses II. There is one -striking bas-relief representing three of his sons following him in -a headlong charge upon the battle-field. The three princes speed on, -each in his chariot, side by side, and each of them is attended by a -charioteer, who carries a large shield for their defence. But Rameses -himself is alone, in the forefront. Not even a charioteer stands beside -him. The reins are fastened round his waist, whilst he bends the bow -firmly with his hands. Above his head flies the hawk, the bird of -Ra, ensign of the protection of the god. In another bas-relief, he -is pausing for a moment, and checking his steeds. Semem-kheftu-ef is -running by his side like a dog. - -[Illustration: Vincent Brooks-Day & Son, Lith. - -HALL IN THE GREAT TEMPLE AT IPSAMBUL.] - -These are only two illustrations out of the multitude carved with -spirit and fidelity upon the interior of the great temple hewn in -the sandstone rock at Abu-simbel, in Nubia, which, even in its -present condition, excites a wonder that is akin to awe. In front -of the entrance stand four colossal statues of the king seated on -his throne, each of which is 66 feet in height. The face is grandly -represented; a calm, haughty repose marks the features, and the placid, -if not scornful, smile so characteristic of the king rests upon his -lips—accustomed to speak in accents of command from early childhood -and on to extreme old age. Close by is a smaller temple erected by -queen Nefertari, the loved wife of his early manhood, in honour of her -lord. Within its walls we may see family groups sculptured—the king -in the prime of manhood, his beautiful young wife, and her children. -An inscription tells us that—‘To the sovereign of the two lands, son -of the Sun, lord of crowns, Rameses Meri-amen, his loving lady, queen, -and princess Nefertari, has built a temple at Abu by the waters. Grant -him life for evermore!’ In the great temple, Nefertari is only once -depicted; here the children are grown up, and the sons follow their -father to the battle. Rameses himself is older, the glow and ardour of -early years have given way to the placidity and repose of later life, -when his wars and his victories were over; for, though renowned as -a conqueror, the greater part of his long reign passed by in peace. -Nefertari herself does not seem to have lived long, and Rameses -apparently was married two or three times; his last wife (so far as -we can gather) was a foreign princess, whose hand was the pledge of -lasting friendship and alliance between the two leading nations of the -day.[52] - -The proposal came from Khetasir, king of the Kheta. A tacit respect -for each other seems to have prevented a renewal of the war which had -opened with the battle of Kadesh, but Khetasir wished to go further. -Between the two great and civilised nations lay the seething and -restless masses of the Canaanitish tribes. Powerful kings had ruled -ere this in Elam and in Mesopotamia, and might rule there again. No -worse policy could be conceived than that of mutual rivalry and strife -between Egypt and Kheta. An envoy brought to King Rameses a copy of -the proposed treaty written on a silver tablet, and on its acceptance -Khetasir himself came to Egypt and was received in all state by Rameses -at the city of Zoan, where the treaty was duly ratified, and the King -of Egypt received the hand of the Khetan princess in token of lasting -amity and goodwill. ‘Peace and good brotherhood shall be between us for -ever,’ so runs the treaty; ‘he shall be at peace with me and I with -him for ever. The children’s children of the King of Kheta shall be -in good brotherhood and peace with the children’s children of Rameses -Meri-amen, the great ruler of Egypt. The King of Kheta shall not -invade Egypt, nor the great ruler of Egypt invade Kheta, to carry away -anything from it. If any enemy shall come against the land of Rameses -he shall send to the ruler of Kheta, who shall help him to smite the -enemy.’ All the gods of both countries are solemnly called upon to -witness to this treaty, and to visit with dire penalties any infraction -of its provisions. A further clause of ‘extradition’ is added, but it -is humanely stipulated that any refugees given up in fulfilment of its -demands shall not be punished with severity in any way. The treaty thus -made was well and truly kept. The marriage of Rameses with the daughter -of his ally is recorded in the rock-temple of Abu-simbel. ‘The Prince -of Kheta, 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 Egyptian name of Urma-Neferura.’ Not only did -all hostilities cease henceforth between the two great empires, but a -calm ensued throughout Syria, where the tribal kings could no longer -look for support to their powerful neighbours. It seems as if Rameses -quietly allowed his claims to supremacy in Mesopotamia to lapse; and -the Phœnicians were not a warlike race, but, as a rule, were ready to -acknowledge the supremacy of a stronger nation so long as they could -pursue their commerce and gain wealth at their ease. - -It is possible, then, that thirty or forty years of peace may have -remained for King Rameses, and his time and energies were devoted to -architectural, instead of warlike, achievements. He lived to be at -least eighty years of age, and survived twelve of his sons, being -succeeded by the thirteenth, Menephtah. - -Behind the Libyan hills, which encircle the plain of Western Thebes, is -a wild and desolate valley. At its entrance stood a beautiful temple, -begun by Seti I. in memory of his father, and completed by Rameses. -In the hills surrounding this lonely valley (called by the Arabs -_Biban-el-Moluk_, Tombs of the Kings) were the burial-places of the -nineteenth and twentieth dynasties. In another and an equally dreary -valley were the tombs of the queens and princesses of the royal house. -Their fate has been a sad one, for the graves have been ruthlessly -searched and the mummies torn to pieces in hopes of plunder, and when -all of value had been taken, the dishonoured remains of the queens and -princesses appear to have been replaced, without care or ceremony, in -their rock-hewn tombs, and burned in heaps. The fire thus kindled has -calcined the walls of the tombs and sorely damaged the paintings and -inscriptions. A few only have escaped; amongst them is a very perfectly -preserved portrait of Tai-ti, the beautiful wife of Amenhotep III.[53] - -The care taken in inspecting, and from time to time removing, the -bodies of the kings prevented such wholesale destruction; but little -could Thothmes or Rameses have dreamt of the destiny that should befall -them. Discovered at last in their final hiding-place, their mummies, -together with others of earlier and later date, were conveyed down -the sacred stream, and, by a strange irony of fate, are now exhibited -amongst other curiosities in a museum. - -[Illustration: Discovery of Mummies at Deir el Bahari, near Thebes.] - -FOOTNOTES: - -[46] See on p. 162. - -[47] Or Meri-en-Ptah, Seti’s crown name, meaning ‘Beloved of Ptah.’ - -[48] The Good Being, _i.e._ Osiris. - -[49] The identification of the name is but doubtful. - -[50] The ‘Divine Mother,’—worshipped at Thebes with Amen-Ra. - -[51] Crown name, meaning ‘beloved of Amen.’ - -[52] For the substance of this and of the foregoing paragraphs, I have -been much indebted to _Nile Gleanings_ and to its very interesting -illustrations. - -[53] See _Nile Gleanings_. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -Thebes; its People, Temples, and Tombs—Close of the Nineteenth Dynasty. - - -In an inscription on the walls of the rock-temple at Abu-simbel, -Rameses is represented as saying to the god Ptah, ‘I have cared for the -land to create for thee a new Egypt, such as it existed in the olden -times,’ and he specially mentions the splendid sanctuary he had built -for that deity in Memphis. And not at Memphis alone, but everywhere -throughout the land, from the city of Rameses in the north to the -wonderful rock-temples of the south, we can see the magnificent traces -left by the hand of this mighty sovereign. In Thebes itself, he added -a grand court to the temple of Luxor founded by Amenhotep III. of the -preceding dynasty. This temple was connected by an avenue of sphinxes -with the still more magnificent ‘great Temple of Amen,’ the foundation -of which had been laid by Amenemhat I., not long after the close of the -civil wars, and before the Hyksos invasion. - -[Illustration: Temple and Garden.] - -However the Egyptian temples might differ in size or splendour, the -idea and plan were alike—so that it has been said, ‘If you have seen -one temple, you have seen all.’ A wall of enclosure surrounded the -precincts, which were adorned with trees, flowers, and artificial -lakes. The temple itself was approached by an avenue of sphinxes. -Before the entrance stood obelisks and colossal statues. On either side -of the gateway rose the pylons—massive towers, broader at the base -than at the summit; they were covered with pictorial and sculptured -representations of the great events of the day, and above them rose -the tall masts of cedar wood, whence floated the gay streamers on -days of festival and rejoicing. Passing through between the pylons, -a vast court was entered, surrounded by columns and open to the sky. -Beyond were halls, the roofs supported on pillars, and in these the -light glimmered but faintly amidst the forest of majestic columns. -Each hall or court was of less size than the one before it, and the -innermost sanctuary was small, dark, and mysterious in its solemn -obscurity. Here was the sacred shrine (containing some hidden emblem -or image of the god), which on solemn occasions was brought out and -carried in procession through the city or down the river. These -shrines or arks are seen depicted in brightly coloured tints on the -bas-reliefs. The sacred bark is standing on an altar, which is covered -by a red cloth. On two lesser altars stand flowers and vessels for -libation or for incense. In the centre of the boat is the ark itself, -a sort of chest partially veiled, in which is for ever hidden the -mystic symbol of the god. In the bark are small images of men kneeling -in adoration, and immense artificial lotus and papyrus flowers. Tall -banners or sun-screens stand behind, ready to be carried in solemn -state in the processions. On the prow of the boat is the sacred hawk, -and behind it a sphinx, emblem of the king. Underneath are the shafts -on which it rests when it is taken from the altar and borne on the -shoulders of the priests. Not only the mystic shrine itself, but -statues or images of the gods were frequently carried in procession -with music, song, and universal rejoicings—queens and princesses -deeming it an honour to take part, carrying the sistrum or musical -instrument used in the service of the gods. As a rule the people -probably were allowed only to enter the vast outer court, kings and -priests alone penetrating to the interior recesses, where sacrifices -were offered and incense ascended in clouds. Sublimity and mystery were -the ideas expressed in these Egyptian temples,[54] with their vast -halls and shrouded recesses. Comparatively little thought and care were -expended on private residences, which were simple and unpretending. -The poor were content if they had shelter from the heat and a place of -storage for their goods. In the construction of the houses belonging to -the richer classes the leading idea was still protection from the heat, -so that the windows were small, and had wooden shutters. The walls -inside were decorated with paintings, and even the outside was gaily -tinted by this colour-loving people, who coloured everything that -would admit of it. On the flat roofs of the houses much time was spent, -as also in the beautiful gardens watered by small canals in the absence -of rain, and adorned with fish-ponds, trees, and abundance of flowers. -A late Greek writer goes so far as to say that ‘flowers of every sort -grew all the year round, and that roses and violets especially grew at -all seasons.’ Be that as it may, the love of the Egyptians for flowers -was very great. Flowers are used on all occasions—in social banquets -they are in profusion, and they are never wanting in the funeral -solemnities; they furnish both decorations for the rooms and houses and -oblations for the gods. - -[Illustration: The Sacred Ark.] - -The house was generally built round a court-yard planted with trees -and refreshed by a fountain. In the country the farm-yards and sheds -were at some distance from the dwelling-house; the cattle were tied -up at feeding-time to rings placed in rows, and were often fed by the -hand. Around the country-houses were orchards of fig-trees, together -with sycamore, peach, pomegranate, date, olive, and almond trees, -besides others of names and kinds unknown. Monkeys were sometimes -employed in gathering the fruit, and we see from the pictures that -they did not fail to help themselves at the same time. Our museums -show us the tables and chairs of all sorts that were used by the -Egyptians—common chairs, camp-stools, and arm-chairs of elegant -workmanship, sometimes of ebony inlaid with ivory. There are the double -chairs where the master and mistress of the house sat when receiving -their guests—couches, footstools, carpets which served as bedding, and -the wooden rests on which the head was placed at night. Children’s toys -of all kinds may be seen, and a variety of musical instruments; for -music was much studied, and was employed not only in the service of the -temples, but in the social gatherings of the people, which seem to have -been frequent. But both music and dancing on such occasions appear to -have been performed for the amusement of the guests, who are themselves -only lookers-on. Buffoons also exhibited, who seem generally to have -been negroes; they are oddly dressed in a bit of bullock’s hide, with -the tail attached and tags hanging like beads from their elbows. -The chase was a most popular amusement, and besides stags, hares, -etc., there was the exciting sport of hunting wilder beasts, wolves, -jackals, and lions in the desert lands. Fowling and fishing were common -pastimes. We do not meet with the least trace of anything approaching -to gladiatorial shows; such scenes would have been abhorrent to the -Egyptian nature. Amongst indoor games we see odd and even—_mora_ (a -guessing game), draughts, and others unknown to us. Athletic games -and outdoor exercises were encouraged amongst children, and there was -a great fondness for playing ball, especially amongst the girls, who -attained great skill in the exercise, sometimes catching two or three -balls at a time. There was great freedom in social intercourse, and -women mixed in society quite as freely as men.[55] - -[Illustration: Vincent Brooks-Day & Son, Lith. - -PLAYING AT DRAUGHTS.] - -The Egyptians have, in fact, painted their social life for us -themselves in fullest detail, whether it is the king standing proudly -in his war-chariot and striking down his foe, or the potter patiently -turning his wheel; the priest officiating in the temple rites, or the -fisherman directing his tiny craft upon the river. We see the baker -kneading the dough with his feet, and the flat loaves being carried -round to the customers; the shoemaker, sitting on his three-legged -stool, is busy fashioning the leather sandal; spinning-wheel and loom -are producing the ‘fine linen’ of Egypt, and the needle is skilful in -beautiful embroidered work. The pottery is of varied and graceful form, -the jewellery of exquisite workmanship. Glass is fashioned, and so is -brightly tinted porcelain ware; veneering too is practised with much -skill. - -We may picture to ourselves the active life and gay animation that -reigned in the streets of the mighty city that had grown up around -the great temples of Amen, or, on the broad waters of the stream, the -scene of constant traffic, where boats laden with merchandise, fishing -vessels, and gay-looking pleasure-boats went to and fro in ceaseless -motion. The Nile valley is of unusual breadth on both sides of the -river here, and forms a sort of amphitheatre closed in by mountain -ranges of varied outlines. It seemed hidden away out of the invader’s -track, the ‘great city’ in all her imperial beauty, _Apu_, the ‘city of -thrones,’ or _Nu_, ‘the city,’ as her people called her of old. The sky -is of a deeper blue than in the northern part of the country; and in -spite of ceaseless sunshine the fields are clothed in richest verdure. -Here, as everywhere, light and colour reign, the shadows themselves -are luminous, so radiant is the light, and the colour harmonies of the -sunset are thus described:— - -‘The western horizon is a furnace of molten gold, the stems and foliage -of the palm trees are likewise gold, and through this dazzling glow -the purple tints of the hills can just be perceived. The sky and the -Nile become in turn rose-coloured and violet, like the colour of an -amethyst; then the light dies away.’[56] - -Let us follow the western sun, and cross the stream, leaving behind us -the life and animation of the great city. Here, too, is a city—Western -Thebes[57]—and its streets contain a population vaster far than that -upon the other side. But all is silent here; no man buys or sells -or joins in festive mirth. It is the City of the Dead. Here lie in -countless numbers the embalmed bodies of those who have passed away -generation after generation: kings and priests—men, women, children—the -freeman and the slave. The hills encircling the plain are pierced and -honeycombed in all directions with passages and tombs. Here are the -‘eternal dwellings’ of those who on the other side inhabit ‘hostelries’ -as strangers of a day. And far more thought and care are bestowed upon -those than upon these.[58] There are large common tombs, in which the -bodies of the poor lie ranged side by side. And there are the funeral -chambers of the rich, with their sculptured façades, whence winding -galleries lead into the heart of the rock. Shafts are sunk, false -passages that lead nowhere are constructed. Everything is done that -human ingenuity can suggest, if only the body hidden there might never -be seen or handled again.[59] Nor is the silent city of the dead -without its stately palaces and temples. The two colossal twin statues -of Amenhotep III. sit there upon the plain, and behind them is his -magnificent temple. A little farther is the Ramesseum, a great temple -erected by Rameses ‘to his name,’ and to the memory of his ancestors, -marvellous for size and splendour. In the face of the limestone cliff -to the north-west arises the stately terraced temple of Queen Hatasu, -and not far off is the narrow gorge leading to the desolate valley of -the ‘tombs of the kings.’ - -The priests attached to the service of these temples must have lived in -the neighbourhood and kept up intercourse with the world outside, and -in Western Thebes were the dwellings of all those whose business was -with the bodies of the dead,—of those who first opened the corpse, who -were reckoned ceremonially unclean, and of those who skilfully embalmed -and bandaged it afterwards. Not a day could have passed on which some -company of mourners, rich or poor, did not land—their ‘dark freight, -a vanished life;’ whilst now and again a gorgeous funeral procession -wound its way through the narrow defile, bearing beneath a funeral tent -of exquisite workmanship the body of some prince or princess of the -Pharaoh’s house to its last long home in the western hills. - -One day in the year (as we should say, on All Souls’ Day) the family -and friends of the departed assembled amidst the dead. On that day the -silent city was alive and Eastern Thebes deserted. All day long boats -of every sort plied to and fro, and the western plain was covered with -vast crowds bringing flowers and garlands and funeral gifts. Within -the funeral chambers, richly and brightly adorned with paintings and -sculptures, the family groups assembled, the scenes around awakening -vivid associations of the past. The sound of human talk was heard, and -the voice of minstrelsy and song. The feast is spread, and here, says -a modern writer[60] who has vividly described the whole scene, the -assembled family in their social union ‘remembered their departed ones -as if they were travellers who had found happiness in a distant land, -and whom they might hope to see once again sooner or later.’ In fact, -at the feast thus spread the dead were always looked upon as guests, -although unseen, and were addressed in the festive songs. One of these -songs, known as the ‘Lay of the Harper,’ has been preserved. It is in -memory of a priest of Amen named Neferhotep; part is to the following -effect:— - - ‘Truly is he now at rest, faithfully his work - fulfilled. Men go hence since days of Ra. Youths arise - to take their place.’ - - ‘Holy prophet,[61] keep the feast-day! Fragrant oil, - delicious balsam, lo, we bring, and flowery wreaths - twine we round her breast and arms: Her thy sister - dearly loved, resting ever by thy side.’ - - ‘Lift the song and strike the chords, in the presence - chamber here! Leave all idle cares behind, and be - mindful, Man, of joy, till thy day for going hence, - when the traveller findeth rest, in the silence-loving - land.’ - - ‘Holy prophet, keep the feast-day! Perfect thou and - pure of heart. They who lived have passed away—are - as though they had not been. Thy soul dwells amongst - them there, by the sacred river’s side, drinking of the - crystal stream.’ - - ‘Holy prophet, keep the feast-day! Neferhotep, pure - of heart.... Nought might all his works avail, to add - one moment to his years....’ - - ‘Mind thee of the day, O man, when thou too must take - thy way to the land whence none return. Good for thee - then an honest life. For he who loveth Right is blest.’ - - ‘Brave nor coward flee the grave. Proud and humble - meet one fate. Give, then, freely, as ’tis meet. Isis - will bless the good. Happy shall thine old age prove.’ - -The memorial chambers in which these feasts were celebrated were -adorned with pictures and carving representing the familiar scenes -of daily life, but in the gloomy recesses beyond mystic and awful -scenes are depicted. The representations of the gods, not often met -with in earlier times, had now become common and familiar; and so -does Amenti itself cease to be the ‘hidden’ world, and the scenes and -events of the life after death appear in visible though mystic shape. -The Egyptian from of old believed in the judgment before Osiris, but -now it was depicted. The heart is seen weighed in the balance; Osiris -is enthroned as judge; Thoth records the result.[62] The trials that -await the spirit take bodily form as foul and hideous monsters that -must be encountered and overcome; good and guardian powers appear as -star-crowned genii of light; and for the impure spirit the furnace of -purifying fire is kindled, behind which stands a figure holding in his -hand the emblem of the purity that must be won. - -[Illustration: The Weighing of Actions.] - -Nor is it the conflicts and triumphs of the human spirit alone that -are portrayed, but the conflicts and triumphs of the gods themselves. -We read in a very ancient chapter of the sacred book: ‘I am Ra in his -first supremacy—the great god, self-existing. There was a battle-field -of the gods prepared when I spake.’ Later on a more tangible shape and -form is given to this great battle. In the tomb of Seti I. we may see -it all in allegory and mystic symbol. Here is depicted in a series of -tableaux the ‘passage of the Sun through the hours of the day and of -the night,’ _i.e._ of the visible and invisible world, beholding and -ruling all, both mortal and immortal. Ra in his bark, the ‘ancient and -unknown One in his mystery,’ accompanied by gods and spirits, finds -the ‘field of battle prepared.’ The serpent of evil, Apepi, lies in -wait, hidden beneath the waves of the celestial rivers—the ether. -After a hard struggle he is drawn out and destroyed, and the heavenly -bark disappears in peace behind the western horizon, received by the -mother goddess Nut.[63] A hymn addressed to Ra, ‘Lord of the horizon,’ -celebrates his triumph: ‘Thou awakenest, triumphant and blessed One, -thou who comest in radiance and travellest in thy disk! Thy divine -bark[64] speeds on, blest by thy mother Nut each day; thy foes fall -as thou turnest thy face to the western heaven. Glad are the mariners -of thy bark; Ra hath quelled his impious foe, he striketh down the -evil one, thou breakest his strength, casting him into the fire that -encircleth in its season the children of wickedness.’ - -An eminent writer who has devoted himself to the study of ancient -religions says:—‘In spite of the abundance of materials, in spite -of the ruins of temples and numberless statues and half-deciphered -papyri—I must confess that we have not yet come very near the beatings -of the heart that gave life to all this strange and mysterious -grandeur.’[65] This is only what might be expected; for the symbolism -of any religion is apt to assume an unmeaning and often a grotesque -appearance in the eyes of men professing another faith, and no religion -was ever so pervaded by symbolism as that of ancient Egypt. Symbols are -not, in any sense, works of art; they are never chosen for intrinsic -worth or beauty,[66] and are valueless, excepting for the sake of some -association of idea, which led to their selection. They are intended -to represent, but not seldom also to veil, thoughts and mysteries that -cannot be uttered in language, or _expressed_ in any form or image. But -in all religions there is a tendency to separate the symbol from the -thought, and this, carried to its fullest extent, ends in idolatry; -the mere symbol seems to the ignorant and superstitious to be endowed -with power and divine attributes, and becomes itself a god. That which -gave the Egyptian religion an especially strange and even absurd -aspect, in the eyes of Greek and Roman travellers of a later day, was -its use of living symbols, _i.e._ of the sacred animals, which was then -so excessive as to have become its prominent feature on first sight, -and which led to idolatry of the most base and degraded kind. - -There are a few traces of the existence of animal worship under the -early dynasties; they are but few, however, and, so far as I am aware, -no notice of sacred animals occurs between the age of Khufu and the -reign of Rameses II. Nor are the gods depicted in the memorial chambers -of the departed before the times of the eighteenth dynasty. Under -Thothmes III., their figures are constantly met with, often with the -head of the symbolic creature that was their emblem (see p. 119). The -reason for the selection is often plain. The bull or the ram might -denote undaunted strength and the protection of the weak, the hawk -unerring sight, the crocodile terror, the scarabæus tender foresight -and unwearied care for its offspring. And not only were the gods -represented under the form of these and other objects, but the living -animals themselves were symbolic and sacred. Each district had its own -sacred animal, fed and tended with the devoutest care. Certain of them, -however, attained to far greater celebrity than the rest—the Ram of -Mendes; Mnevis, the bull sacred to Ra, at Heliopolis; and, above all, -Apis, the bull sacred to Ptah, at Memphis. The eldest son of Rameses, -named Khamus, who was governor of Memphis, was also high priest of -Ptah, and more especially under his form or manifestation as Apis. -It requires very little knowledge of human nature, and very little -acquaintance with history, to feel assured that the crowds who gathered -round these symbolic creatures would regard them with superstitious -reverence, and that to not a few the animal would be no longer a symbol -but a god. - -Animal worship grew and developed immensely after the days of Rameses. -At a later period we find Greek and Roman travellers noticing it with -curiosity or contempt. Herodotus and Strabo saw the sacred crocodiles -in the Fayoum, adorned with golden ornaments, and fed with the flesh -of the sacrifices. Diodorus tells us of the furious wrath of Egyptian -villagers against a Roman soldier who had killed a cat. The comic -writers of Greece and the satirists of Rome made merry over these -peculiar deities. - -‘You are never done laughing every day of your lives at the Egyptians,’ -says an early Christian writer to his heathen contemporaries. Philo, -the Jewish philosopher of Alexandria, tells us that foreigners coming -to Egypt knew not what to do for laughter at the divine animals, but -that in the end they were themselves overpowered by the superstition. -There were not wanting those who, acknowledging that the animals were -to be regarded merely as symbolic, based their arguments against the -custom on that very ground.[67] The days of foreign criticism were, -however, as yet in the distant future when the kings of the nineteenth -dynasty were on the throne. - -The growth of animal worship seems to speak of degradation in the -national religion, and there are not wanting at the same time evidences -both of a decay in the national morality and of a decline in art. When -art is required to work by the acre its productions are not likely -to be distinguished by high excellence or exquisite finish. In the -drawings of the time of Rameses the heads indeed are still good and the -portraits characteristic, but the figures are ill-drawn in the extreme, -and often most hastily finished off. Egyptian art suffered severely -under the influence of certain fixed rules concerning the drawing and -the proportion of figures. Under the earlier dynasties there are signs -of greater freedom of treatment than prevailed at a later period, when -the conventional rules, which no one ventured to infringe, had checked -the progress of all true art by putting a stop to its free exercise. -This following of a stereotyped pattern, combined with the absence -of perspective, gives the Egyptian drawings a very odd and stiff -appearance. The portraiture remained excellent, and much spirit was -often shown in the drawing of animals and in humorous scenes; indeed, -the manner in which, in hieroglyphic writing, the individual character -of an animal or bird is given in a few minute lines is quite wonderful. -The graceful outline of their pottery, the exquisite workmanship of -their jewellery, show how much true artistic power was there, had -it only been allowed free scope. But there never was a nation that -clung so tenaciously to fixed laws and forms. Their monarchy, their -religion, lasted unchanged as no other has yet done;[68] the very -fashion of their dress varied but little with the centuries, and their -magnificent temples were built and rebuilt on the same scheme. But -already, under the nineteenth dynasty, other influences were strongly -at work. The Delta was full of foreign settlers, and the names of -some of its cities were Semitic. Literature was affected, and the -younger writers of the day were given to introducing Semitic words and -phrases—just as an English or German author does with French. Whole -bodies of mercenary troops were employed in the army under a special -commander; others were used in the naval service, which was never very -popular in Egypt, but which was becoming of more and more importance. -Others again, not judged fit for these branches, were reduced to -serfage, being employed in the service of the kings and of the temples, -or in still harder bondage on the public buildings, in the quarries, or -the mines. Many of these, we learn, were branded with the name of the -god or master to whom they were assigned, and here we see at once the -arising of that distrust and fear which always beset the ease of the -owners of the slave. Slavery was universal in the ancient world, but in -Egypt it had always worn a milder aspect than it ever assumed in any -other country, unless it were Greece, much of whose early civilisation -came from the land of the Nile. Even in the days of harsher servitude -at which we have now arrived, there were no such hideous cruelties as -we meet with in the blood-stained pages of Roman, Carthaginian, or -American slavery. The Egyptian slave was well fed, and by the moral and -religious code maltreatment of a slave was an offence. We do not know -the legal code on this subject, but the moral tone is clearly shown in -the confession every ruler had to make before Osiris: ‘I have allowed -no master to maltreat his slave.’ But moral feeling can grow blunt, and -maltreatment was not wanting in the days of Rameses II. - -The Hebrew colony in Goshen, so warmly welcomed by the Hyksos kings, -must have been regarded with distrust on the accession of the native -dynasty, which ‘knew not Joseph,’ and had the utmost aversion for aught -that was connected with the rulers he had served. Under Rameses, or one -of his predecessors, the Hebrews had been reduced to cruel bondage; -‘they built for Pharaoh treasure-cities, Pithom and Raamses.’[69] -Their future deliverer, rescued from death by a princess of the royal -house,[70] must have spent many years at Zoan, the favourite residence -of Rameses, which was close to the district of Goshen, and there he -would have the opportunity at any moment of ‘going out to his brethren -and looking upon their burdens.’ - -Moses did not return from his exile during the lifetime of Rameses, -but ‘in _process of time_’ that sovereign died.[71] On the accession -of Menephtah the hardships of the people were intensified, but their -deliverance was close at hand. There is no need to relate the familiar -story of their marvellous escape, and of the pursuit, in which so many -of the chosen chariots and horses of Menephtah perished. - -No inscriptions or records have, as yet, been found relating to the -long sojourn of the Israelites in Egypt, to the oppression, or to the -exodus, though there can be little doubt that some of the highest -interest might be brought to light were the exploration of the historic -sites of the Delta undertaken in earnest.[72] The chief event recorded -of the reign of Menephtah is connected with the western boundary. On -the north-east the frontier district bristled with fortresses, where -sentinels kept their daily and nightly watch. The great military route -that started thence was well guarded, and a regular communication -kept up with the Egyptian garrisons, which were still maintained in -some parts of Syria. By the same road there was a constant commercial -intercourse with Phœnicia, and probably also to some extent with -the distant Khetan allies;—we find, at any rate, from an incidental -allusion, that during a famine in that land, the lives of the people -were saved by corn sent from Egypt at Menephtah’s direction. But on -the western frontier, the limits were not so definite. There was less -anxiety and less watchfulness. Whilst the utmost thought and vigilance -had been exerted in the north-east, the west had been left practically -undefended. Whole districts had long been harassed by the inroads -of the Libyan tribes, and cultivation had ceased. The invaders had -even gained a firm footing in some places, and had ventured to settle -themselves in the neighbourhood of the towns, whilst the fortifications -of Memphis itself had been suffered to fall into neglect. The Libyan -people apparently regarded these settlements as a sort of advanced -posts, and in the fifth year of Menephtah they were followed up by -the further advance upon Egypt of an immense host, composed of the -Libyans, their mercenary troops, and allies drawn from every part of -North Africa, and possibly from more distant regions still. Tidings -were brought the king that Marmaiu, the Libyan king, had ‘sought out -the best of all the combatants and of all the quick runners, and had -brought his wife and children with him’—being apparently sure of -success, and intent on finding a new home in the rich Egyptian land. -No little alarm was excited throughout the country and even in the -army itself, for we are told that the king addressed his troops ‘with -flashing eyes,’ and upbraided them with trembling like geese, and not -knowing what to do or how to meet the enemy. ‘The pillagers,’ he said, -‘are devastating the country; they have come, following their chief, -that they may gain cultivated lands, and fill their mouths with food -daily. Fain would they establish themselves in Khemi.... Behold, I am -your shepherd. Who is like me to keep life in his children? Should -they be anxious and frightened like birds?’ These remonstrances were -received in silence. Then the king proceeded to declare that he would -not ‘await the enemy’s approach, so that the land should be wasted -by the advance of the foreign peoples. Their king is like a dog; -he brags with his mouth, but his courage is naught.’ Pharaoh’s own -heart, however, may not have been quite at ease, in spite of his brave -speeches, when he retired to rest that night—but his confidence was -revived by a dream. The god Ptah appeared to him, and put a scimitar -into his hand, exhorting him to ‘put away dejection and desponding -thoughts.’ ‘What am I to do?’ inquired the king. Ptah, in reply, -directed him to proceed with all his forces, and join battle with the -foe at Pi-ari-sheps (Prosopis). Accordingly, he there attacked the -confederates, and gained a complete victory. The brunt of the battle, -however, seems to have been borne by the mercenary troops. ‘For six -hours,’ says the narrative, ‘the foreign mercenaries of his majesty -hewed down the foe. The sword gave no mercy, and the land was full of -corpses.’ The fugitives, amongst whom was the Libyan king himself, were -pursued by the horsemen. All the goods and ornaments of the hostile -prince were captured, and the skin tents of the Libyans burnt upon the -field of battle. More than 14,000 were reckoned amongst the slain, -and over 9000 were made prisoners. The battle of Prosopis secured -tranquillity upon the frontier for a considerable time. - -The reign of Seti Menephtah II. affords very little worthy of notice. -It was quiet and uneventful, but was followed by a period of confusion -and civil war. The names of rival kings are preserved, but the details -of the history are very obscure. A good general impression, however, -of the disastrous scenes amidst which the nineteenth dynasty closed -is given by Rameses III., first king of the succeeding dynasty. ‘The -land,’ he tells us, ‘had fallen into confusion; each man did as he -chose; there was no sovereign master. The princes of the nomes bore -sway, and men slaughtered each other through fear and jealousy. The end -of these years of calamity was that Aarsu, a Syrian by birth, gained -the chief supremacy, and the whole land did him homage. The gods fared -no better than men; their images were overthrown, and no oblations were -brought to the temples. - -‘Then was Setnekht, the beloved of Amen, raised up by the gods. He was -like Set in the day of his wrath, and terrible like the god of war. -He took command of the whole country, and destroyed the evil-doers -who had wasted Lower Egypt; he purified the great throne of Khemi, -and restored that which had been disturbed. Each man saw and knew -his brother again, from whom he had been separated as by a wall. The -sacrifices were reinstated for the gods. He made me heir of the throne -of Seb, and ruler of the lands of Khemi. Then he sought repose among -the gods; the royal bark crossed the river, and he entered his eternal -dwelling-place in Western Thebes.’ - -FOOTNOTES: - -[54] In one hall, forming only a _part_ of the temple in which it -stands, the Cathedral of Notre Dame, at Paris, could stand without -touching the walls! - -[55] For the foregoing particulars and some of the following, see Sir -J. Gardner Wilkinson’s _Ancient Egyptians_. - -[56] Ampère, _Voyage en Egypte et Nubie_. - -[57] Thebes was indeed always considered as two cities. Homer makes it -plural, and it has ever since been so—_Thebæ_. - -[58] The Greek writer Diodorus Siculus says: ‘The Egyptians call their -houses hostelries, since they can enjoy them for a brief space only; -whereas their tombs are the eternal dwelling-places of the future.’ - -[59] For some parts of the description of the cities of Thebes, see -Karl Oppel’s _Land der Pyramiden_. - -[60] Ebers, in his Egyptian novel of the time of Rameses II., _Uarda_. - -[61] Addressed to the departed seer. - -[62] I am not sure at how early a date the judgment scene is depicted -in any existing funeral papyri; but I believe there is no doubt that -neither that nor any ‘other world’ scene occurs in the tombs of the -earlier dynasties, so far as they are yet known. - -[63] Notice the similarity of thought underlying this myth and that of -Osiris and Set. - -[64] This idea of a sacred bark appears also in the form assigned to -the sacred shrine, p. 177. - -[65] Max Müller, _Science of Religion_. - -[66] Take in illustration the symbols on any national flag. There is -no intrinsic beauty in three coloured stripes, or in the grotesque -figures of lions rampant. Yet for the sake of the nation of which they -have become symbolic, men will die sooner than surrender the banners -on which they are depicted. It is the same with the symbols of rival -religions. How fierce the conflict waged by Saracen and Christian -beneath the respective symbols of the Crescent and the Cross! - -[67] The biographer of Apollonius of Tyana records the following -conversation. ‘The beasts and birds,’ says Apollonius, ‘may derive -dignity from such representations, but the gods will lose theirs.’ ‘I -think,’ says his opponent, ‘you slight our mode of worship before you -have given it a fair examination. For surely what we are speaking of is -wise, if anything Egyptian is so; the Egyptians do not venture to give -any form to their deities, they only give them in symbols which have an -occult meaning, that renders them venerable.’ Apollonius, however, is -not convinced: he admits that the mind forms to itself an idea which it -pictures better than any art can do, but he complains that the Egyptian -custom takes from the gods the very power of appearing beautiful -either to the eye or to the mind. Porphyry also regards the worship as -symbolic; he says that ‘under the semblance of animals the Egyptians -worship the universal power which the gods have revealed in the various -forms of living nature.’ These quotations and those in the text are -taken from Le Page Renout’s _Hibbert Lectures_. - -[68] We may, perhaps, except the Chinese. - -[69] Recent investigation has identified Tel-el-Maschuta, a spot not -far from the modern Ismailia, as the site of both the Pithom and the -Succoth of the Old Testament; the former was the sacred, the latter the -civil name of the city, which is thus shown to have been one of the -store-cities built by the Israelites (Ex. i. II), and also the first -stage reached by them on their journey (Ex. xii. 37; xiii. 20). The -word _Ar_, meaning storehouse, occurs in the inscription by which M. -Naville first identified Pithom-Succoth. - -[70] Generally supposed to have been a daughter of Rameses, but if -Moses was eighty when he stood before the successor of that monarch, -that would have been impossible. - -[71] Ex. ii. 23. How well this incidental allusion coincides with the -sixty-seven years’ reign of Rameses II.! - -[72] Such an investigation has been recently undertaken by the _Egypt -Exploration Fund_. The extent to which it may be carried depends -entirely on the means placed at its disposal. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -Twentieth and Twenty-first Dynasties—The Ramessidæ and the Priest-Kings. - -(_Circa_ 1200-970 B.C.) - - -It may be doubtful whether Rameses III., son of the Setnekht who -pacified Egypt and restored order, was connected by blood with the -preceding dynasties. He bore the name of an illustrious predecessor, -however, and throughout his reign he appears to have made it his aim -to emulate the great Rameses. His first task was to reorganise the -public service, which had fallen into great disorder; to appoint and -to regulate the station and office of the prince-governors, of the -soldiers of the army and their foreign auxiliaries, of the inferior -servants and the bondsmen. The earliest years of his reign were -disturbed by invasion both from east and west. The Shashu and the -Libyans, ever hanging on the confines, were always ready to cross the -border of the Delta when opportunity served, and during the tumults, -amidst which the nineteenth dynasty closed, such an opportunity -certainly presented itself. After assailing the invaders and driving -them back, Rameses transplanted his prisoners into large fortified -places, where they were kept under guard, and a certain quantity of -woven stuff and corn was yearly exacted from them, for the service -of the temples. But a more dangerous foe remained to be assailed. A -certain tribe, known as the Mashausha, had penetrated the land south -of Memphis, had entered the oasis of the Fayoum, and had not only -gradually crept south, but had advanced eastwards from the Fayoum -to the Nile itself. Of certain towns these foreigners had even held -possession for years. In the fifth year of his reign, Rameses III. -attacked the Mashausha, and, after a fearful slaughter, drove them out -of the land. The prisoners appear to have been employed as mercenaries -in the army and navy, whilst their wives and children were removed to -fortified places, and their flocks and herds confiscated to the service -of the temple of Amen-Ra. - -At the head of the Red Sea the king constructed a well, carefully -guarded by fortifications, and re-opened trade with Punt by way of -Koptos and the sea. He also renewed the working of the _mafek_[73] and -copper mines. Then he tells us he planted trees and shrubs throughout -the land, that the people might sit under the shade, and he says -further, that the country was so safe that the weakest woman might -travel alone without fear of molestation. ‘The soldiers of the horse -and foot,’ continues his account, ‘live at ease; the Sardinian and -Libyan auxiliaries stretch themselves full length upon their backs. -They are not on the watch, for the enemy have ceased to invade. Their -bows and arrows lie useless. They eat and drink with their wives and -children, and make themselves merry. I am among them as a protector -ready to defend.’ - -But soon another dark cloud, gathering in the distance, rapidly -approached, and broke in a torrent of invasion upon the northern shore. -The foe came this time from the distant regions of Asia Minor. - -The old claims of Egypt to supremacy in Asia had long been suffered to -lapse, and the course of time brought many changes. - -In the earliest ages, strong and civilised kingdoms (perhaps coeval -with the pyramids) had existed at Ur, Larsa, and other cities of -Chaldea. But they had fallen and passed away when Thothmes III. entered -Mesopotamia. The country was then divided into petty principalities, -which were subdued with little difficulty. By the time Rameses II. was -on the throne (the fourteenth century B.C.), Nineveh and Babylon had -become the capitals of strong and important states, and were constantly -engaged in mortal conflict for supremacy. They were absorbed in this -mutual strife and in warding off the hostile assaults of the Elamites -and other neighbouring nations; neither state was as yet thinking of -far-extended conquest and dominion. The Israelites entered Canaan and -carried on a war of extermination against its inhabitants, but they -only succeeded in establishing themselves in parts of the country, -generally in the more hilly districts, as the Canaanites, possessing -chariots and horses, were able to maintain possession of the plains. -The Egyptians probably viewed this fierce conflict with indifference, -careful only that the great military road should not be interfered -with, and the Israelites, maintaining their hold of the ‘promised land’ -with much difficulty, were by no means prepared for any such attempt. -North of Syria the power of the Kheta had greatly diminished, and was -still further weakened by the assault of a mighty host of confederated -tribes, which, emerging at this juncture from the hills and coast lands -of Asia Minor, poured in a resistless stream towards the south. With -them may have been allied, in hope of plunder, Etruscans, pirates from -of old, and not unlikely roving Greeks from the isles and shores of the -Mediterranean, probably little better than pirates themselves. For this -formidable onslaught was made by sea and land simultaneously. The land -forces defeated the Kheta, occupied Kadi (Galilee), and pitched their -camp for a while in the land of the Amorites, ravaging and plundering -as they went. The sequel may be described in the graphic narrative -of Rameses III.: ‘They came leaping from their coasts and islands, -and spread themselves at once over all lands; no people stood before -their arms. Their nostrils snuffed the air of the southern lands; -their desire was to breathe a balmy atmosphere. On they came against -the Egyptian land. But there was in readiness a fiery furnace before -their faces on the side of Egypt. Their hearts were full of confidence, -their minds of plans. But an ambush was prepared for them, and they -were taken in the snare like birds. They who reached the boundaries -of my land never reaped harvest more. Their soul and spirit passed -away for ever. A mighty firebrand was lighted before those who were -assembled on the great sea in front of the mouths of the river. A wall -of iron shut them in on the lake. They were caught like birds in a -net, and were made prisoners; their ships and all they possessed lay -strewn on the mirror of the water. Those who came by the way of the -land, Amen-Ra pursued and annihilated them. Thus have I taken from -the nations the desire to direct their thoughts against Egypt.’ This -account of the great battle of Migdol, which secured a long period of -repose from hostile attack, is inscribed upon the walls of the great -temple which Rameses III. erected not far from the colossi of Amenhotep -III. in Western Thebes. Here are also pictorial representations of the -scene where naval warfare is for the first time depicted. No doubt the -services of the mercenaries, so largely employed in the fleet, stood -the Egyptians in good stead at this crisis, the naval service never -being popular with the native population. - -The great temple of Rameses III. at Medinet Habou (to which, for the -first time, so far as we know, a palace was annexed) was enriched with -vast donations by the king; he also conferred immense gifts on other -temples, which are detailed in almost endless lists. For Rameses III., -at some period, undertook wars of retribution, and won victories, and -acquired rich spoil, both on the mainland and in the Mediterranean -isles, more especially in Cilicia and in Cyprus. Fabulous stories were -current in after times concerning King Rampsinitus (as the Greeks -called this monarch) and his wonderful treasure-house. Herodotus heard -some of these sensational narratives, and recorded them at full length -in his writings. - -In the construction of this temple, Rameses III. did not scruple to -employ materials taken from those of his predecessors. Bricks with -the names of Seti I. and Rameses II. were freely used to build up its -walls. Nor was this all he borrowed, for, as if he had not acquired -sufficient renown on his own account, he adopted an inscription in -honour of Rameses the Great as his own. It is a long panegyric in the -most grandiloquent language, and not only abounds in general phrases of -much high-flown glorification of the king, but especially commemorates -his building up of the city of Zoan and his first meeting with the -Princess of Kheta. Rameses III. had the whole panegyric copied, with a -few slight necessary changes. He, however, let it appear as if he had -been the builder of Zoan, only stopping short of claiming the Khetan -princess as his bride. It is curious that, after all, these attempts of -the third Rameses to associate and almost to identify himself with the -second Rameses may be said to have so far succeeded that they were in -fact often confused with each other by foreign historians, and it is -doubtful to this day which of the two was meant by the Sesostris of the -Greeks—the probability being that he was a personage created out the -confused traditions of both the Egyptian conquerors. - -In spite of riches and renown, the throne of the third Rameses was not -too securely based. It may have been that he was not of the ancient -race, so long venerated and deified by the people, or it may have been -that there was a general decay in Egyptian loyalty, but the fact is -certain that a conspiracy of the most alarming extent was discovered, -originating in the royal household itself. The conspirators were -detected in time, and the record of their trial has been preserved. -Many officers of high rank and many ladies in the palace were -implicated. The first page of the papyrus is unfortunately defaced, so -that the precise object and nature of the plot must remain uncertain. -The royal commission to the judges is in the following terms:—‘Those -who are accused by the country I give them into your charge. As to -the talk of men I know nothing about it. Go ye and judge. Let what -they have done be upon their own heads.’ Sentence of death[74] was -pronounced on most of the criminals, others were condemned to have -their noses and ears cut off, the women appear to have been sentenced -to a sort of penal servitude. - -Amongst the means resorted to by the conspirators magic and sorcery -played a conspicuous part. One Penhi, superintendent of the herds, is -reported to have said:—‘If only I possessed a writing that would give -me power and strength!’ Having succeeded in procuring such a writing, -an ‘enchantment fell upon him so that he gained admittance to the -women’s house and to the deep and secret place. He made human figures -in wax for the purpose of alienating the mind of one of the maidens and -of bewitching another, inciting them to all kinds of wickedness and -villainy by his writings.’ - -There is good evidence that the practice of sorcery and magical arts -of all sorts was greatly on the increase. The very tales that have -been preserved belonging to this period are of wonder and enchantment; -superstition was rife on all hands. The god especially honoured under -the twentieth dynasty was the oracle-giving Khons;[75] the chapters of -the ritual assigned to this date are full of elaborate ceremonial, and -the use of certain portions as a spell or talisman is more and more -insisted on. Great virtue was also assigned to the mere repetition of -long and apparently meaningless names. Omens of all kinds were much -regarded, and so were lucky and unlucky days in the calendar.[76] -Nevertheless, alongside of these superstitious notions and practices -there existed a higher and a nobler life; no hymns preserved to us are -more lofty and beautiful in tone than some that are assigned to this -period. In one addressed to Amen-Ra, we read:— - - ‘O Ra, adored in Thebes! Thy love pervades the earth. - Thou makest grass for the cattle and fruit-bearing - trees for men. He causeth fish to live in the river, - and giveth food to the birds upon the wing, food to the - mice in their holes, and to the flying creatures on the - trees. - - ‘Hail to thee! say all creatures, from the height of - heaven to the breadth of the earth, and to the deep - places of the sea—Adoration unto thee who hast created - us! - - ‘The spirits thou hast made bow down before thee; the - gods adore thy majesty. We, the creatures of thy hand, - praise thee for our being, we give thanks to thee for - thy mercy towards us,—whose name is hidden from his - creatures—in his Name which is AMEN.’[77] - -The hymn to the Nile, which is ascribed to the preceding dynasty, is -very remarkable from the twofold aspect it presents us. At first we -seem to behold only the river or some local deity impersonated in the -river:— - - ‘Hail to thee, O Nile! - Coming in peace, giving life to Khemi, - Watering the land unceasingly, - He maketh the fields ready for the plough; - Every creature receiveth food.’ - -After the song has proceeded for some time in this strain, all on a -sudden the Nile disappears from view, and the worshipper is in the -presence of the divine and unutterable, though with no apparent change -of person:— - - ‘He is not graven in marble, - No eye of man can behold him; - He hath no ministers nor offerings! - He is not adored in sanctuaries, - His dwelling is not known; - No shrine is found, nor pictured words, - No building may contain him!’ - -But then the loftier strain subsides again, and the hymn closes with -the words:— - - ‘Shine forth, shine forth, O Nile! - Giving life to men by his oxen, - Life to his oxen by his meadow land— - Shine forth, shine forth, O Nile!’ - -Rameses III. constructed for himself in the ‘valley of the kings,’ a -tomb which contained eight or ten chambers adorned with pictures of -scenes taken from both the present and the future life. Amongst them -occurs one evidently intended as an allegoric representation of the -hope of life after death—‘The horizon of heaven supported by a female -figure, and the sun just rising above it; this is so placed that a ray -of light can penetrate from the entrance of the tomb, 350 feet off, -and pass over the sarcophagus and illuminate this emblem of eternal -hope.’[78] - -The thirteen succeeding sovereigns all bore the name of Rameses, but -hardly any record is left of their reigns. There are inscriptions -extant which belong to this period, lofty and bombastic in the extreme, -and exceeding in the pompous assumption of their style those of their -predecessors, if possible. They are mere empty phrases, which produce -only an impression of absurdity when applied to the Ramessidæ as they -pass across the stage in monotonous succession, and leave behind no -achievements or triumphs either of peace or of war. The fourth, sixth, -and seventh of these kings were sons of Rameses III.; the fifth of the -name was a usurper, so it is not likely that the reigns of all the four -together occupied any considerable period. One or two of the Ramessidæ -constructed tombs for themselves in the ‘valley of the kings;’ they -were given to carving their names and inscriptions on the monuments of -their predecessors, but all of them in succession did not quite achieve -the completion of the small oracle-temple of Khons, which was the -family sanctuary of their house. The chief event which is recorded of -these dull times is, however, significant, as showing how the profound -sense of veneration for the ‘eternal dwelling-places’ of the departed -must have been deadened, if not lost. In the reign of Rameses IX., it -was discovered that there was an organised scheme for breaking open -and plundering the tombs supposed most likely to contain treasure; the -resting-places of the sovereigns themselves were not respected. The -accused were brought to trial, and a careful investigation of the tombs -was instituted. It was found that in many cases the difficult task of -reaching the carefully concealed sarcophagus had been successfully -accomplished; the mummies had been dragged out, and the funeral gifts, -and aught else of value, carried off. Under the twentieth dynasty -the throne was no longer safe from conspiracy and domestic treason; -the very sanctity of the grave was violated, and the mummies of the -departed were not secure from outrage and plunder. - -The oracle-temple of Khons was consulted on every important occasion, -and its fame seems to have spread far beyond the limits of Egypt -itself. A curious episode belonging to the reign of Rameses XII. has -been preserved, in a story written on the walls of this temple. It -relates that the king had married a princess of the land of Bakhten, -and that on a certain festival day there came a messenger from that -country bringing presents for the king, accompanied by a request from -the King of Bakhten. His daughter, the younger sister of the Queen -of Egypt, had become possessed by a strange malady, and his majesty -implored that a learned man acquainted with such things might be sent -from Egypt to see her. Rameses XII. accordingly sent a learned man -thither, who found the princess ‘in the state of one possessed with -spirits,’ but the spirit was hostile, nor could the learned man prevail -over him. A second message came from the troubled father, entreating -that an Egyptian god might be sent to Bakhten. Pharaoh was standing -before the shrine of the oracle-giving Khons, who was especially noted -for power over such maladies. On inquiring whether the god would be -willing to undertake the journey, the king received a favourable -answer. Accordingly the shrine of Khons was borne upon the shoulders -of twelve priests the whole way from Egypt to Bakhten, a journey of -one year and five months, attended by chariots and horsemen on the -right hand and on the left. The king and the princes came forth to -meet and to welcome the ark, and prostrated themselves on the ground -before it, and the god proceeded to the palace where the princess was, -and speedily effected a cure. The expelled spirit thereupon made a -humble submission to the god as his slave, and expressed his readiness -to return whence he came—only, he asked that, first of all, a great -sacrifice might be made in his honour. His request was granted, and, -says the story, ‘the spirit went in peace wherever he chose by order -of Khons, the giver of oracles. The prince of the land of Bakhten was -very much delighted, and so was every one in the land. He said: “I -will not let this god go back to Egypt; he shall stay in my country.” -Three years, four months, five weeks, and one day did the god remain -in Bakhten. Then it happened that the king saw in a dream the god come -out of his shrine in the likeness of a hawk of gold; he spread forth -his wings and flew on high towards the land of Khemi. When the king -awoke he was troubled in his mind, and he called the prophet of Khons -and said to him: “This god is hostile to us, let us send him back to -Egypt.” And he gave him many presents, besides troops and very many -horsemen. They reached Egypt in peace, and the presents were offered -to the god. So Khons re-entered his house in peace in the thirty-third -year of the king’s reign.’ - -The custom now so prevalent of consulting the oracle, and of acting -according to its dictates, is one amongst other significant signs of -the increasing power and influence of the priesthood and of the part -they were gradually assuming in the government of the country. Under -Rameses IX. the positions of king and priest seem already reversed. In -former days the kings recorded the story of the magnificent buildings -they erected in honour of the gods, and the munificent gifts with -which they endowed the temples, received by the priesthood with loyal -gratitude. But in the reign of Rameses IX. it is a chief priest of -Amen-Ra who carves upon the temple wall a full account of all _he_ -has done in rebuilding and adorning the sacred edifice—the ‘holy house -of the chief priests of Amen.’ He, however, inscribes upon the work -the full name of Pharaoh, and thus dedicates it to the king, who duly -acknowledges his obligation, and orders rich rewards and honours to be -bestowed upon the chief priest in token of the royal gratitude. - -The shadowy forms of the Ramessid kings grow more and more indistinct; -of the three last, whose names are preserved as the fourteenth, -fifteenth, and sixteenth Rameses, it is quite uncertain whether they -were ever crowned in Thebes. The power of the chief priests during -the reign of so many feeble monarchs had, on the other hand, steadily -increased, until the government of the country was virtually in their -hands. Their ambition grew with what it fed on, and by repeated -intermarriages with princesses of the royal house, they might seem to -acquire a certain legitimate claim to the throne, of which they at last -took possession—Her-hor, ‘chief priest and first prophet of Amen,’ -being proclaimed King of Upper and Lower Egypt probably about 1100 B.C. - -[Illustration: Mummy and Mummy-case of the Priest Nebseni.] - -The priests of Egypt formed, as we know, no distinct and isolated -caste. They were governors of cities, commanders on the battle-field, -physicians, architects, scribes; and thus were often seen in secular -employments, although they alone could enter within the sacred recesses -of the temple and officiate in its services. The kings themselves were -so far regarded as priests, that they were admitted to perform sacred -rites, and thus the regal and sacerdotal offices had long been in some -sense blended before Her-hor assumed the crown as the first sovereign -of the twenty-first dynasty—the dynasty of the priest-kings. - -The sovereigns of this dynasty showed an especial solicitude in -preserving from injury and outrage the mortal remains of their -predecessors. They continued the custom, which had prevailed since the -spoliation of tombs came to light under Rameses IX., of a periodical -inspection, carried out officially, the results of which were recorded -on the spot by a scribe. Her-hor chose for his own family burial-place -a lonely spot not far from the terraced temple of Queen Hatasu. A mass -of broken rock almost hid the entrance, whence, by the descent of -a perpendicular shaft, 25 feet deep, by 7 feet wide, a subterranean -gallery of 200 feet in length was reached. Beyond was the vault, which -measured about 25 feet by 14. There were either six or seven sovereigns -of the twenty-first dynasty; and the last but one of them foreseeing, -it is not unlikely, that a time of trouble and danger was at hand, -gathered into the gloomy unadorned recesses of the gallery and vault -of his family tomb the coffins of many illustrious predecessors. He -then appears to have finally closed the tomb and suffered himself to -be buried elsewhere. It was here that the remains of so many Egyptian -sovereigns, both of the twenty-first and of earlier dynasties, were -found in the great discovery of 1881. The little we know concerning -even the names and succession of the priestly dynasty has been chiefly -derived from this their family burial-place. We find that four of them -married wives who were princesses in their own right. One of these -queens, wife of Pinotem II., fourth king of the dynasty, is buried -with her new-born babe by her side. The papyrus, containing portions -of the ritual, which according to custom was laid in the sarcophagus, -is in perfect preservation; it is beautifully written, and is full -of richly-coloured illustrations, of which the tints are as fresh as -if laid on yesterday. The last sovereign buried in this tomb was the -wife of the king who finally closed it. With her were found the usual -funereal papyrus, vases, and small statues; and besides these there was -the rich and beautifully adorned canopy under which her body had been -conveyed across the river to the city of the dead, and in a hamper -by her side was the funeral repast of meat and fruits, which, being -dedicated to her, show her to have been the last occupant of the family -vault. With the mummy of the deceased queen was interred a mummied -gazelle, that had probably been a pet with her in her lifetime. Both -vault and gallery were now full, and the king closed it; his own tomb -and that of his successor, the last monarch of the dynasty, are unknown. - -[Illustration: Mummy of a Gazelle.] - -FOOTNOTES: - -[73] Sometimes supposed to have been the turquoise, but it is doubtful -whether correctly so. - -[74] The wording of the judgment seems to imply a judicial suicide. - -[75] Khons was the son of Amen and of Mut, the ‘divine mother,’ and -formed with them the sacred triad of Thebes: but his worship never -assumed a prominent place before this period. In many respects -resembling Thoth, and, like him, connected with the moon, he was the -especial god of the priesthood and giver of oracles. - -[76] Tiele, _Hist. of Egyp. Relig._ - -[77] The Hidden or Unseen. - -[78] Villiers Stuart, _Nile Gleanings_. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - - Shishak I. and the Twenty-second (Bubastite) - Dynasty—The Ethiopian Kings—The Assyrians in - Egypt—Sack of Thebes. (_Circa_ 970-666 B.C.) - -It might seem as though the name of Rameses had power sufficient to -hold together the fabric of the state so long as the twentieth dynasty -was on the throne. With the dethronement and exile of the Ramessid -kings, all unity was at an end. Her-hor had claimed the sovereignty of -all Egypt, but his successors ruled over a diminishing territory, and -the dominion of the last of the priest-kings did not probably extend -much, if at all, beyond the Thebaid. Whilst they had been reigning -at Thebes, an independent dynasty (regarded indeed by Manetho as the -twenty-first), ruled in the Delta, having its seat at Tanis, _i.e._ -Zoan. But the Delta had long been the home of naturalised foreigners -of different nationalities, and amongst them were settlers bearing -Assyrian names—warlike and ambitious men, apparently of distinguished -birth, who intermarried with princesses of the Ramessid family, and -succeeded in founding the twenty-second dynasty. The names of the -family who thus came to the front are clearly not Egyptian,—Nimruth, -Usarkon, Takelath are the Assyrian Nimrod, Sargon, and Tiglath; but -whilst their names point to an Assyrian origin, their religion and -customs had become purely Egyptian, even before they set up their -throne at Bubastis.[79] The first sovereign of this dynasty was -Sheshenk (the Shishak of the Old Testament), who gained the ascendency -over the whole land, and drove the last of the priest-kings to take -refuge in Nubia. The city of Napata, standing on the bank of the Nile, -and near a lofty hill known as the Holy Mountain, became the seat -of the sacerdotal kings. It was a fertile, prosperous, and peaceful -region, and its people, long ago completely Egyptianised, were devoted -to the worship of Amen-Ra. Here the priest-kings disappeared from -sight, but not for ever. - -It has been conjectured that the founders of the twenty-second or -Bubastite dynasty may have been fugitives of high birth from Assyria, -who had been hospitably received and honourably entertained in Egypt. -The fortunes of Assyria were indeed at this time at a very low ebb, -after having risen very high. The long-continued struggle between -Assyria and Babylon already alluded to (p. 215) had ended in the -complete ascendency of the former state. About the middle of the -twelfth century, the first Assyrian empire rose, and lasted for about -seventy years. It was an empire based on mere military ascendency, was -maintained by force and cruelty, and rested on no enduring foundation. -The Kings of Assyria subdued Babylon, and conquered the Hittites (the -Kheta of Rameses II.) and other neighbouring nations. But in process -of time the Hittites rose in arms, and were joined by the Babylonians -(ever restless under the Assyrian supremacy), and the Assyrian empire -fell before their combined attack. For some time, it would seem, there -was not even an independent sovereign reigning at Nineveh. - -The time was propitious for the growth and development of new states. -Assyria was prostrate, Babylon unaggressive, Egypt inert, the Hittites -content with their newly recovered independence. - -The cities of Phœnicia, on the coast of Palestine, were engaged, as -of old, in busy commerce throughout the known world, coming even so -far as to the British Isles in quest of tin. They colonised, but did -not conquer other lands. Their religion, with its cruel and licentious -rites, was the same as that of the neighbouring Canaanitish tribes, but -the latter were probably greatly inferior in civilisation; they still -maintained their ground in certain parts of Palestine. - -During the times of the Judges there had been no national unity -amongst the Israelites—no central controlling power; they were still -in the tribal state. The Philistines, a small but strong and warlike -nationality, settled in the southern towns of the sea-coast, almost -expelled them from the land. Disarmed and helpless, they were furtively -hiding in the caves of the limestone hills, when, under the energetic -leadership of Saul, they arose to repel the foe. The Philistines were -defeated, but the strife continued, and in the end the monarchy of Saul -was overthrown. It was reserved for David to subdue these inveterate -foes, to capture Jerusalem from the Canaanites, and make it the centre -of a kingdom which he enlarged by continual wars with the neighbouring -states, until he bequeathed to Solomon an Israelitish empire—peaceful, -wealthy, and magnificent whilst it lasted, but destined scarcely to -outlast the generation that had seen its foundation. Between the -sovereign of this new empire and the ancient monarchy of Egypt there -was close friendship and alliance, and a ‘daughter of Pharaoh’[80] -became Queen of Israel. Close commercial intercourse was also kept -up. Hitherto, the Israelites had been content to employ asses and -mules, and their troops had consisted of infantry only, but Solomon -introduced horses and chariots in great numbers from the land of Egypt, -both for domestic use and for military service. It may be possible to -trace Egyptian influence in the Israelitish court. It may have kindled -the love of Solomon for natural history, or have suggested his first -expedition to the land of spices; it may have moulded certain parts of -the architecture of temple and of palace, or have left its traces on -the literature of the time. All this is possible, though little more -than guesswork. Nor did the alliance last long; it was sundered even -before luxury and despotism had undermined and overthrown the empire -of Solomon. Sheshenk I., the founder of the twenty-second dynasty, was -on the Egyptian throne when the fugitive Jeroboam arrived in Egypt—his -heart full of his ambitious schemes, and on the death of Solomon it was -not with his son, but with his rebellious servant Jeroboam that the -Egyptian monarchy was in alliance. Shishak marched into Judah, entered -Jerusalem, and carried off thence the treasures both of the temple and -palace of King Solomon. The Levites, throughout the land, had remained -faithful to the house of David and the service of the temple, and -Shishak, it appears, captured and despoiled many of their cities, even -those that lay in the kingdom of Israel. The names of all the towns -subdued by him in this campaign are recorded on the walls of the temple -at Karnak. - -The hostility of the Levites to the rule of Jeroboam is easy to -understand, as he set up a rival worship of his own at Dan and Bethel, -and appointed priests of his own selection. The form assumed by the -objects of this worship might very possibly have been adopted by -Jeroboam in remembrance of what he had seen in Egypt, and even as a -pledge of his alliance with its king. Never, indeed, had the worship -of Apis reached so extravagant a pitch as under this dynasty. In the -Serapeum, the burial-place of the sacred bulls, are still preserved the -tablets which tell of their installation, death, and interment. ‘On -such a day of the month and year,’ say the records, ‘this great god -was carried to his rest in the beautiful region of the west—at rest -with the great gods—with Osiris, and with the gods and goddesses of -the west. His glory was sought for in all places of Pi-tomih (Lower -Egypt). He was found after some months in the city of Hashed-abtu, -after they had searched through all the lakes and islands. He was -solemnly introduced into the temple of Ptah, beside his father Ptah.’ -The date is carefully given, and the full lifetime of the ‘god.’ The -burial of the Apis was on a scale of regal magnificence, and a national -mourning of seventy days was observed. The finding of a successor[81] -and his installation was celebrated with the wildest exultation, and -with national rejoicing. Little room is left for the idea of symbol or -sign; the sacred creature is an emanation of the Divine, is a ‘god,’ -and as such the object of the grossest and most grotesque idolatry. -An indescribable national enthusiasm gathered around the Apis—he was -lodged with sumptuous magnificence, the centre of a crowd of devotees -and of those who came to learn the secrets of the future.[82] The -successive deaths and interments of the Apis bulls, form, in fact, very -nearly all the events recorded during the reigns of the eight kings who -succeeded the warlike Shishak. Takelath II., the sixth in succession of -this dynasty, sent his son Usarkon, who had been appointed high priest -of Amen, to Thebes, to examine and to regulate the temple endowments -there. The same inscription tells of some celestial portent which -excited general attention, and was considered to portend trouble at -hand. - -[Illustration: THE WORSHIP OF APIS. - -FROM A STATUETTE IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM.] - -Celestial omens were hardly needed to tell that dark days were near. -The last kings of the twenty-second dynasty had to contend with rival -princes who founded dynasties in the Delta, and, in the hopeless -confusion arising from the mutual jealousies and struggles for -supremacy amongst these contending families, the descendants of the -priest-kings, closely watching the course of events from their Nubian -retreat,[83] beheld the long looked-for opportunity arrived. About the -middle of the eighth century B.C., they had already established their -dominion at Thebes, where they had been warmly welcomed, and they were -putting forth claims to a supremacy over the whole land. One of the -warring princes in the north, Tafnekht, ruler of Sais, had at the same -time formed a scheme for reducing the country to his allegiance. He was -commander of the mercenary troops, who, in such unsettled times, might -well avail to turn the balance in favour of any warlike and ambitious -leader. Of the conflict that ensued we possess a full and interesting -account, recorded in an inscription at Napata by Piankhi-meramen, the -ruler of the south. Disquieting intelligence reached the king in his -Nubian stronghold. Tafnekht ‘was advancing up the river; multitudes of -soldiers followed him, and the chiefs and governors were like dogs at -his feet. No fortress was closed to him; the cities had opened their -gates at his approach.’ Thebes was in consternation, and appealed to -Piankhi against the invader: ‘Art thou silent and forgetful of the -southern land as well as of the middle country?’ - -Piankhi despatched troops without delay; at their setting forth the -priest-king solemnly enjoined them to perform all due ceremonial rites -and purifications on entering the city of Thebes. ‘Lay down your arms -before the Divine Leader; there is no victory gained over men without -his knowledge. Glorious deeds hath he wrought by his mighty arm; many -shall be turned back by a few, one man shall put a thousand to flight. -Prostrate yourselves before him, and say: “Cover for us the path of -war with the shadow of thy scimitar, grant strength unto the young men -whom thou hast appointed, that they may cast down many ten thousands.”‘ -The army of Piankhi encountered the enemy, and defeated them. King -Nimrod,[84] ruler of Hermopolis, one of the confederated princes, -hearing of their victorious advance, hastened to shut himself up in -his city, and prepared to stand a siege. Piankhi‘s troops continued to -be successful in repeated encounters with the foe, but their king was -not content, for Hermopolis was untaken. Priests had been accustomed -to appear on the battle-field from the days of old, so that there was -nothing anomalous in Piankhi’s now girding on the sword and appearing -in person on the scene. ‘Behold, they have made a stand!’ he cried -reproachfully to his forces; ‘you have fought them without courage; -will you not complete the pursuit, spreading the fear of my name even -unto the north of the land of Egypt?’ - -Animated by the presence of the king, the troops now pressed the -siege with redoubled energy, and the town surrendered ‘prostrate in -supplication before the face of the sovereign.’ Nimrod first sent his -wife and the princesses to intercede with the conqueror, and afterwards -offered his own humble submission with many gifts, which Piankhi -graciously accepted. He entered Hermopolis, and, on examining the state -of things in general, was roused to anger by discovering that certain -horses there had been left without sufficient food. He expressed the -bitterest displeasure,—‘Vile are they to my heart that have starved my -horses; more is this than any other abomination that thou, O Nimrod, -hast wrought altogether!’ - -After this decisive victory, other princes and governors came in and -offered their submission; and various towns surrendered to the promised -clemency of the conqueror. Mertum, indeed, had closed its gates; but -‘his majesty sent to them, saying, “Two ways are before you; choose as -you will—open and live; shut the gates and die. His majesty does not -pass by any closed fort.” And lo! they opened forthwith.’ - -Meantime Tafnekht had thrown himself into Memphis with 8000 men, -both soldiers and marines; he had provisioned it carefully and -strengthened the fortifications. King Piankhi, says the story, ‘found -the lofty walls strengthened with new works, and the bulwarks fitted -up with great strength. There was no way found to assault it.’ But -Tafnekht himself slipped away as soon as the siege began; his troops -(probably the mercenaries), deprived of the encouragement of their -leader’s presence, were disheartened, and Memphis yielded to a -combined assault by land and water. ‘The city was taken as by a storm -of rain; multitudes were slain within it, or brought as captives to -his majesty.’ Next day, Piankhi entered, as was his custom in every -captured town, the temples; there he offered sacrifices to Ptah and to -the other gods. - -Piankhi afterwards visited the ancient and far-famed City of the Sun, -not far from Memphis. There he ‘offered oblations on the waters of -the lake of Horns; he purified himself in the heart of the cool lake, -bathing his face in the stream of the sacred waters, wherein Ra bathes -his countenance daily.’ Then on the sandy heights of On he made ‘a -great sacrifice before the face of Ra at his rising.’ The priest-king -then demanded admission into the innermost sanctuary and to the sacred -shrine of the god. - -The chief priest, possibly somewhat dismayed, offered intercession for -the king, duly purified him with incense and sprinkling, and brought -him garlands from the temple of the obelisks. He girded on the sacred -vestments, and, passing through the outer halls, advanced within the -most holy place. ‘The king stood himself, the great one alone; he drew -the bolt, he threw back the doors, he saw the face of his father Ra in -the temple, and on the sacred bark. Then he closed the doors, and set -thereon seals of clay marked with the royal signet, and he commanded -the priests, saying: “I have set my seal; let no other king whatever -enter therein.”’[85] - -During his stay at Memphis the king received the submission and the -tributary offerings of all the petty governors and kings, but of those -who sought to enter the royal presence none were admitted but Nimrod, -because ‘he was not an eater of fish,[86] a thing forbidden in the -royal palace.’ - -Tafnekht did not appear in person from his distant retreat; he sent -his submission by an embassy—‘Hail to thee! I could not look upon -thy face nor stand before thy terror. I have reached the islands of -the Mediterranean. Behold! thy servant is cleansed from his pride. I -beseech thee to take my goods into thy treasury, the gold and all the -precious stones. O send a messenger unto me as a reconciler.’ Piankhi, -after having received the submission of the confederated opponents, -returned to Thebes with great rejoicing and triumph. - -It is very doubtful, however, whether the supremacy, thus triumphantly -acquired, was maintained even so long as during Piankhi’s own lifetime. -His successor, Nutmeramen, was moved by a dream to reconquer it. ‘His -majesty beheld two snakes, one to his right, the other to his left, and -when he awoke he found them no more. He said: “Explain these things to -me in a moment,” and lo! they explained it to him, saying: “Thou wilt -have the southern lands, and thou shalt seize upon the northern, and -both crowns shall be set upon thy head.”’ - -The king, collecting a numerous army, advanced down the stream, and met -with no opposition until he reached Memphis. Here he gained a victory, -whereupon the ‘chiefs of the north’ entered their walled towns, so -that there was no reaching their retreats. A pause ensued, neither -party seeming willing to take further steps. However, the suspense -ended by a voluntary surrender of the northern princes, who came to -Memphis to offer their homage, and were gladly received and hospitably -entertained. Being dismissed from the royal presence, they returned to -their respective governments, and the ‘men of the north’ sailed up to -the place where his majesty was, to offer gifts and tribute in token of -fealty. - -The power of the twenty-fifth or ‘Ethiopian’ dynasty was gradually -increasing and consolidating itself; its supremacy was in the end -recognised in some sort throughout the land, although in Lower Egypt it -was always uncertain and precarious. The descendants of the ‘chiefs of -the north’ never rendered more than a reluctant and sullen obedience to -the rulers from the south. The successors of Piankhi, however, were not -content to rule, as he had done, from their distant seat in Napata, but -they set up their throne in the heart of Egypt itself, claiming and, as -far as possible, exercising the rights of an over-lord. - -Stormy times were close at hand, and a strong hand and a resolute will -would be wanted at the helm. The Assyrian power, reviving from its -deep depression, had gradually gained strength. Tiglath-Pileser II. -(744-726 B.C.) was the founder of the second Assyrian empire, destined -to be for more than a century the scourge of every neighbouring nation, -and the dread of those that were far off. The lesser states that -had risen to power on the fall of the first Assyrian empire, instead -of friendly alliance against a common foe, continued the policy of -mutual rivalry and bitter antagonism—thus preparing the way for the -conqueror’s feet. The two kingdoms into which the empire of Solomon had -been split were at enmity with each other, and both were constantly -at feud with the king of Syria. On the accession of the feeble Ahaz -to the throne of Judah he was sore pressed by the assaults of the -Edomites and Philistines, and panic-stricken by the news of a coalition -formed by the kings of Syria and Israel to dethrone him and set up a -creature of their own in his place. ‘At that time did Ahaz send to the -kings of Assyria to help him.’ In an evil hour he declared himself the -vassal of Tiglath-Pileser, and confiscated the treasures of the temple, -as an offering to his new master. In swift response the Assyrian -king advanced, took Damascus, carried its people away captive, and -destroyed the power of Syria with a blow. With another fell swoop he -desolated the Israelitish territory east of the Jordan, and carried -into captivity the tribes who dwelt there. His successor, Shalmaneser, -crossed the Jordan, and marching upon Samaria, reduced Hoshea, king of -Israel, to vassalage. It was not long, however, before Hoshea threw off -the Assyrian yoke, ceased to pay tribute, and sought the aid of Shebek -(or Sabaco, the So of 2 Kings xvii. 4), who had succeeded Piankhi on -the throne. But the forces sent by Shebek, or by some of the other -princes of the north, were routed, and Hoshea carried prisoner to -Assyria—‘cut off like foam upon the water.’ The siege of Samaria was -begun, but Shalmaneser died soon after. It was his successor Sargon, -who not only captured Ashdod, after defeating the Egypto-Ethiopian -forces, who aided in its defence, but brought the siege of Samaria to -a close 721 B.C., and carried the people of the land into captivity. -Egypt, unable to afford any efficient help, seems to have become an -asylum of some of the ‘outcasts of Israel.’[87] - -Ahaz of Judah appears to have continued submissive and tributary to -the end of his days, but his son Hezekiah inaugurated a nobler policy. -He cast off the Assyrian yoke, and sought the alliance of Taharak -(Tirhakah), king of Ethiopia and Egypt. Tirhakah, at the early age of -twenty, began his troubled and eventful reign. Many years had to be -spent in assuring his own sovereignty over the land he claimed to rule. -That land was, as he must have known, the prize on which the Assyrian -kings had ‘cast their eyes,’ but, whilst his grasp of the central power -was so uncertain, inaction and delay appeared the safest policy—‘their -strength was to sit still’ (Isa. xxx. 7.) The Delta being always in a -state of disaffection and disunion, it was no easy task to undertake -military enterprises beyond the borders—‘city’ being ever ready to -‘fight against city, and kingdom against kingdom’ (see Isa. xix. 2). - -Meantime the rush of Assyrian invasion had swept over Palestine. Sargon -had attacked Ashdod; Sennacherib directed his march upon Lachish; both -lay on the road that led to Egypt, towards which country the Assyrians -had been gradually creeping nearer and nearer across the ruins of -conquered states. - -Forty-six fenced cities of Judah, besides many smaller towns, were -taken and plundered by the invaders, and Hezekiah was ‘shut up in -Jerusalem like a bird in his cage.’ The king of Judah delayed no longer -to send his humble submission, and the arrears of his unpaid tribute, -to Sennacherib encamped before Lachish. But the submission was hollow -and the tribute extorted, for Hezekiah was in treaty with Egypt all -the while. His messengers made the weary journey through the burning -desert, their camels and asses laden with gifts and offerings,[88] to -implore the aid of the king, who seems then to have been at Zoan in the -Delta—preparing at last to march against the foe. Nor was the haughty -Assyrian monarch unaware of the secret hopes of the king of Judah. -He had captured Lachish, with the cruel massacre and torture of the -captives that usually accompanied Assyrian conquests. His attack upon -Libnah was postponed, for tidings came that Tirhakah, at the head of -the Egypto-Ethiopian army, had crossed the frontiers. Aware of the -secret understanding between that sovereign and the king of Judah, -Sennacherib vented his bitter indignation and scorn in menaces and -insult. He now demanded from Hezekiah nothing less than unconditional -and absolute surrender, and taunted him with his vain reliance upon -that ‘broken reed,’ the king of Egypt. At this crisis silence falls -upon the scene, a silence broken only by the exulting cry of the great -Hebrew prophet, as the mighty Assyrian host perishes before an unseen -foe. - -Judah breathed freely again, and a respite was accorded to Egypt, -though not of long duration. Sennacherib, though engaged in many -warlike enterprises during the remainder of his reign, left it to his -successor Esar-haddon (680-668 B.C.), to renew the attempt upon Egypt. -Judah was unmolested this time, and took no part in the terrible and -desolating struggle that ensued. - -Tirhakah had entered into an alliance with the king of Tyre, against -the common foe. Esar-haddon laid siege to Tyre, and then, advancing -along the old military road, trodden of old by the armies of Thothmes -and of Rameses in the opposite direction, he entered Egypt. Tirhakah -was defeated, and retreated to the south; the Assyrian king annexed the -whole country, portioning it out into twenty districts, over which he -placed governors to rule, as vassals in his name. Then, concluding a -treaty with Tirhakah, he returned to Nineveh. Soon after he fell sick, -and associated his son Assur-bani-pal in the government. It is from -the records left by the latter that we learn the proceedings both of -his father and of himself in Egypt. Tirhakah, probably on hearing of -the illness of Esar-haddon, emerged from his retreat, and advancing -north, regardless of his treaty, occupied Memphis, and expelled the -Assyrian garrisons and governors. They fled to Nineveh, and told what -had happened; Assur-bani-pal immediately assembled a large army, and -entered Egypt. ‘When Tirhakah had heard in the city of Memphis of the -approach of my army,’ says the king, ‘he numbered his hosts, and drew -them up in battle array. In a fierce battle he was put to flight. Fear -seized upon him, and he escaped from Memphis, the city of his honour, -and fled away in ships to save himself alive. He came to Nia, to the -great city. I sent my servants after him; a journey of one month and -ten days. Then he left Thebes, the city of his empire, and went up the -river. My soldiers made a slaughter in that city.’ Assur-ban-ipal then -reinstated the governors in their respective districts, and returned to -Nineveh with great spoil. But Tirhakah, undaunted by defeat, came forth -once more from the Nubian hills, and the vassal governors entered into -a league with him. Many of them were Egyptian by birth, and unwilling -subjects of the Assyrian king, and all were for the moment more afraid -of Tirhakah, who was so near at hand, than of the distant power of -Assyria. News, however, soon reached Nineveh of what was going on. -Letters had been intercepted by ‘judges,’ and the insurgent vassals -were sent to Nineveh bound hand and foot in chains. Assur-bani-pal -once more took the field, breathing vengeance and slaughter. He found -it politic, however, to restore Necho,[89] prince of Memphis, chief -of the rebellious vassals, and to uphold him against Tirhakah. But the -hand of the Assyrian was heavy on the land. ‘Memphis, Sais, Mendes, -and Zoan,’ he says, ‘and all the cities they had led away with them, -I took by storm, putting to death both small and great.’ Soon after -this the gallant Tirhakah died, after a reign of twenty-six years, and -his successor, Urdamaneh, following in his steps, occupied Thebes, and -once more attempted to wrest Egypt from the invader. Assur-bani-pal -took the field in person, and again compelled his foe to retire to the -far south. On Thebes he took dire vengeance. ‘My warriors attacked the -city, and razed it to the ground like a thunderbolt.’ Thebes certainly -was not ‘razed to the ground,’ as the proud conqueror boasts, but -the destruction was terrible, and the city never recovered the blow. -‘Gold and silver, the treasures of the land, precious stones, horses, -men and women, huge apes from the mountains—my soldiers took out -of the midst of the city as spoil. They brought it to Nineveh, the -city of my dominion, and they kissed my feet.’ Not far from Nineveh -there was living at this time an exile from Israel, who may himself -have seen the Egyptian prisoners and the spoil of Thebes. In his -indignant denunciation of Nineveh and her king, he thus addresses the -magnificent and cruel city: ‘Art thou better than No-Amon “(the city of -Amen = Thebes),” that was enthroned among the streams, and the floods -were round about her; her rampart was upon the river, and the waters -her defence. Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength, and it was infinite; -Put and Lubim were her helpers. Yet was she carried away and went into -captivity; her young children were dashed in pieces at the top of all -the streets: they cast lots for her honourable men, and her great men -were bound with chains’ (Nahum iii. 8-10).[90] - -It was little more than half a century later that Nineveh herself fell -with a mightier and more overwhelming destruction. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[79] The Egyptian Pa-Bast, or the city of Bast. It was situated in the -eastern portion of the Delta, and was of immemorial antiquity. Under -the kings of the twenty-second dynasty, it attained great splendour, -and the worship of Bast became wide-spread and popular. Herodotus saw -her magnificent temple, and the festival celebrated in her honour with -such splendour and revelry. Bast was almost identical with Sechet—the -lioness and the cat were sacred to her. Her worship was exceedingly -popular under the later dynasties, and this led to the wide-spread -reverence with which the cat was regarded in those days. - -[80] Probably a princess of the dynasty ruling at Tanis; the -priest-kings, whose seat of power was in the far south, are less likely -to have connected themselves with the kingdom of Israel. - -[81] The Apis must be black, with certain white marks of mystical -import. - -[82] One mode of consulting the sacred bull was by offering him food. -Germanicus is said to have thus consulted him; the Apis refused to eat, -and this unfavourable reception was considered to have foreboded his -untimely fate. - -[83] The country known as Nubia then formed part of the land of Kush, -_i.e._ Ethiopia. - -[84] A descendant, doubtless, of the twenty-second dynasty kings, of -Assyrian origin. - -[85] This would be meant to apply only to all the rival claimants to -sovereignty in the north, not to his own successors. - -[86] The priests were prohibited from eating fish, which was considered -as unclean food—at any rate sea fish, of which the more devout and -scrupulous Egyptians would not partake. - -[87] Compare Isa. xi. 11, xxvii. 13; Hosea ix. 6. - -[88] Isa. xxx. 4-7. - -[89] He was an Egyptian, and son of Tafnekht, who headed the league of -northern chiefs against Piankhi (p. 246). - -[90] In this and in other quotations from the Old Testament the -renderings of Ewald and Stanley have sometimes been adopted. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -Psammetichus and the Saite Dynasty—The Persian Conquest—Last -Independent Dynasties. (666-340 B.C.) - - -After the capture and sack of Thebes, the successors of Tirhakah made -no further attempts to recover their lost dominion. The princes who -ruled in the north, more or less as the vassals of Assyria, were often -engaged in mutual strife, and the twenty satrapies established there -by Esar-haddon had dwindled down to twelve—the ‘Dodecarchy,’ of Greek -writers. Bravest and most conspicuous amongst the twelve princes was -Psamtek (Psammetichus), son of that Necho who had been imprisoned and -restored by Assur-bani-pal[91] (p. 260). Banished by the jealousy -of his rivals, Psammetichus[92] determined on a new and energetic -policy. He formed an alliance with the king of Lydia, and obtained -the assistance of a large number of Greek mercenaries—chiefly Carians -and Ionians by birth. He resolved, by their aid, to win back the -independence of Egypt by driving out the Assyrians, and to reunite the -divided land, by bringing it all under his own sceptre. At Momemphis -he defeated the Assyrians in a great battle, and they left Egypt to -return no more. Assur-bani-pal, who had conquered Egypt and devastated -Thebes, was still reigning at Nineveh; and it must have been not a -little humiliating to his pride, to be unable to make another attempt -to regain what he had lost. But the time had come when Assyria had no -soldiers to spare for foreign conquests; they were all wanted at home -to defend the monarchy. Weakened by the incessant warfare that had won -so triumphant a military ascendency, she was assailed on every side by -the nations to whom she had long been a terror, and by her own subject -provinces, ever restlessly eager to cast off the yoke of her tyranny. - -Meanwhile Psammetichus successfully achieved the other portion of his -task; he re-united the north under his sway, and made peace with the -rulers of the south. The descendants of the priest-king, of Piankhi and -of Tirhakah henceforth made Napata the centre of their dominion, and -abandoned all thought of ruling even in Upper Egypt. The friendship -thus formed was cemented by the marriage of Psammetichus with a -princess of the southern dynasty. She was daughter of a king named -Piankhi and his beautiful wife Ameniritis: a statue of her has been -preserved, of which Brugsch says, “Sweet peace seems to hover about her -features; the very flowers in her hand suggest her high mission as the -reconciler of the long feud.”’ - -Under the Saite[93] dynasty, established by Psammetichus, Egypt enjoyed -peace and prosperity for more than a century. The sun of her former -greatness had indeed set, but under Psammetichus and his successors she -enjoyed a long and brilliant after-glow of light. This period, which -has been called the Egyptian _renaissance_, was distinguished by a -revival of art, tasteful and refined in character. - -Psammetichus never forgot how much he owed to the Greek mercenaries; -he gave them land, encouraged them to settle in Egypt, and, in short, -showed them so much favour that, Herodotus tells us, the jealousy -of the native soldiery was aroused; they deserted the camp in large -numbers, and took refuge within the Ethiopian dominions, now become -more essentially Egyptian than many parts of Egypt proper. Nor was -the king content with showing favour to the mercenaries to whom he -owed his crown; he also threw the country open to foreign commerce of -every kind. Greek factories were built, and Greek merchants settled -in Egypt in large numbers, more especially at Naukratis, which became -the emporium of Greek trade. In spite of the favour they showed to -foreigners neither Psammetichus nor his successors neglected the -national religion and the national superstitions. They cared for -the temples, and when an Apis died they buried him with lavish and -extraordinary magnificence. The long reign of Psammetichus (666-612) -was distinguished by one military enterprise, the taking of Azotus, -after a prolonged siege of twenty-nine years. And it was during his -reign that the devastating hordes of the Scythians from the far north -poured over the Assyrian provinces like a countless swarm of locusts, -leaving ruin and desolation behind. They approached the confines of -Egypt, but Psammetichus succeeded in buying them off; they may have -been sated with plunder and spoil, or may not have cared to undertake -the hard and weary journey through the waterless Sinai desert. They -disappeared from sight suddenly as they had come into sight, but their -terrible onslaught and the havoc they wrought was a fatal blow to -Assyria’s declining power. It was at the crisis of her fall that Necho -(612-596) ascended the throne of Egypt. - -Babylon, Elam, and Arabia, leagued against Assyria about 650 B.C., -had been successively defeated by King Assur-bani-pal, who took -Babylon itself 648 B.C. A pause ensued, for it was no light task to -encounter the Assyrian even in the hour of his decline; but on the -death of Assur-bani-pal there appears to have been a revolt of some -kind, and Nabopolassar, a general who succeeded in putting it down, -was made ruler of Babylon by the king of Nineveh. But the ambitious -Nabopolassar formed an alliance with the king of Media, and their -combined attack was the death-blow of the Assyrian monarchy. It was, -perhaps, through a common understanding with the allied states that -Psammetichus had besieged Azotus, which lay on the old military road -by the sea-coast. Necho took a more active part, and led his army as -far as the Euphrates. Whilst on the march, Josiah, king of Judah, had -rashly come out to offer him battle, and had been defeated and slain -at Megiddo. It must have been at this crisis that Nineveh fell; but -though her fall must have shaken the earth no record has come to us -concerning it—its precise date is unknown. Only in the exultant cry of -a Hebrew prophet[94] do we hear any echo of the shout of execration and -the outburst of triumph that went up as the great city fell:— - - ‘Nineveh is laid waste! who will bemoan her? Whence - shall I seek for comforters for thee?... There is no - healing of thy hurt; thy wound is incurable: all that - hear of thee shall clap their hands over thee: for upon - whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?’ - -Upon the ruins of Assyria the genius of Nebuchadnezzar, son of -Nabopolassar, raised that mighty Babylonian empire which for about -seventy years ruled over the conquered nations. Babylon had never -before been distinguished as an ambitious or aggressive state, but the -force and energy of this mighty monarch has made her name synonymous -with imperial strength, magnificence, and pride. For a brief space -Necho had occupied the scene of the triumphs of Thothmes and of -Rameses; he deposed the successor of Josiah at Jerusalem, and made -Jehoiakim king of Judah. But if he had been visited by any flattering -visions of a revival of Egyptian empire they were soon rudely -dispelled. The young king of Babylon attacked and routed the Egyptian -army, which was encamped at Karchemish, on the Euphrates, and forced -Necho to retreat within the boundaries of Egypt. The invasion and the -repulse of the Egyptian king has been vividly portrayed in the pages of -Jewish prophecy. ‘Egypt riseth up like the river, his waters are moved -like the floods; and he saith, I will go up and will cover the earth; -I will destroy the city, with the inhabitants thereof.’[95] The horses -and chariots are arrayed for battle, the well-equipped mercenary troops -stand in serried ranks; but it was all in vain. ‘Wherefore have I seen -them dismayed and turned back? their mighty ones have fled apace, and -look not back.... They said, Arise and let us go again to our own -people, and to the land of our nativity, from the oppressing sword.’[96] - -It was not only by this ambitious enterprise, and by its utter -failure, that Necho’s reign was distinguished. He had been compelled -to abandon the attempt to construct a canal across the isthmus between -the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, but a naval expedition that he sent -out was more successful. The vessels were manned by Phœnicians, and, -starting from the Red Sea, returned to Egypt in three years’ time by -way of the Mediterranean, having circumnavigated Africa and noted with -amazement that during the first part of their voyage the sun had risen -on their left, but afterwards it had risen to the right. To the Greeks -of a later day this fact appeared to be on the face of it so incredible -that they doubted the truth of the whole story. To us it only affords -an additional reason for believing it. - -Psammetichus II., the successor of Necho, reigned only about five -years, and was followed by Uahpra (or Apries, the _Hophra_ of the Old -Testament). The aid of this king was sought both from east and west. -After the defeat of Necho, and the homeward flight of the Egyptian -army, no military expedition had been undertaken. ‘The king of Egypt -came not again any more out of his land; for the king of Babylon -had taken from the river of Egypt unto the river Euphrates all that -pertained to the king of Egypt.’[97] For a moment indeed, Apries -seemed to be moved by the cry for aid that came from Jerusalem. In his -triumphal march of successful conquest, Nebuchadnezzar had besieged -the city, and carried off its king and many others as prisoners to -Babylon; he had then placed Zedekiah on the throne, after exacting -from him a solemn oath of fealty. But in an evil moment the vassal -king rebelled, and, in the hope that is sometimes born of desperation, -sent ambassadors into Egypt ‘that they might give him horses and much -people’ (see Ezekiel xvii. 11-21). Irritated by the successive acts of -submission and revolt, Nebuchadnezzar now advanced upon the unhappy -little country of Judah, which had come to be the sport, as it were, -of two mighty states, and resolved to make an end of it altogether. -The hope of Zedekiah came to naught; only for a brief interval was the -siege suspended, by the news that an Egyptian army was on the march. -Soon after, however, it was resumed, and, after it had lasted eighteen -months, Jerusalem fell with a sad and terrible destruction—by famine, -fire, and slaughter (588 B.C.) The only aid actually rendered by Egypt -was the shelter given to the fugitives who sought refuge there after -the murder of Gedaliah, the governor appointed by the king of Babylon. -They dreaded the vengeance of Nebuchadnezzar; they were weary of -suffering, and said one to another: ‘We will go into the land of Egypt, -where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor have -hunger of bread, and there will we dwell.’ And in Egypt they took -refuge in spite of the remonstrances of the prophet Jeremiah, whom they -forced to accompany them. - -The Egyptian army, whose advance had momentarily raised the siege of -Jerusalem appears to have taken Gaza, but to have retired without -encountering the Babylonians. Another expedition was despatched to the -west in aid of the Libyans. The Greek colony at Cyrene had received a -large number of new settlers, and they had established themselves by -dispossessing the natives of their lands. Apries sent an army composed -of native Egyptians[98] against Cyrene, but they were defeated, and -this defeat was followed by a military revolt. The mutineers complained -that they had been selected for the expedition in order that the loss -might fall on them, rather than on the Greek mercenaries. The king -sent an officer, named Amasis, to the camp, who was popular with the -soldiery, and they immediately saluted him as king. Apries then sent a -general, named Patahbeni, with orders to bring Amasis back a prisoner, -but Amasis replied: ‘Tell the king that I will myself lead the army -to his very feet.’ Apries was so enraged at the ill success of his -messenger, that he ordered the unfortunate man’s nose and ears to be -cut off (a punishment intended for the lowest traitors). This brutal -act only incensed the soldiery still further, and the whole army -joined in the revolt. Apries, with his Greek mercenaries, met them -at Momemphis, but was defeated, and fell into the hands of Amasis, -who at first treated him with kindness and respect, but the people -murmured at this leniency, and Amasis yielded. Apries was strangled, -but his body was buried with due ceremonial in his own sepulchre. Such -is the narrative of Greek writers, but there seem some grounds for -assuming that the real story was somewhat different; that the king of -Babylon himself was at that time in Egypt, and that it was his hand -that deposed and slew king Apries and placed Amasis on the throne -(572 B.C.). The new king showed even greater favour to the Greeks -than his predecessors had done. He gave them possession of the town -of Naukratis, with all rights of local self-government and religious -worship. Four Greek temples were erected there by different Grecian -nationalities. Amasis also sent gifts to Delphi and other Grecian -shrines, and he married Ladice of Cyrene, a Greek by birth. He formed -alliances with Crœsus of Lydia, and Polycrates of Samos, and his own -body-guard was composed of Greek mercenaries. - -Whether or not Amasis had ascended the throne as a vassal of Babylon, -he certainly reigned as an independent monarch. Nebuchadnezzar, after -spending more than thirty years in warfare and in conquest, passed -the concluding years of his reign in splendid luxury in the city -which he had raised to be the head of the nations, and the glory and -wonder of the world. ‘Is not this great Babylon which I have built? I -have made completely strong the defences of Babylon; may it last for -ever!’ It was only three years after his death that Cyrus resolved -to free Persia from the dominion of Media; he accomplished this task -after a hard struggle, and then embarked upon that career of conquest -which only paused after the eventful night when Babylon, given up to -careless revelry, was taken by a foe who could ‘show no mercy’ (539 -B.C.). Surprise was mingled with exultation as, at the cry, ‘Babylon -is taken,’ ‘the earth trembled, and the sound was heard amongst the -nations.’ ‘How is the praise of the whole earth surprised! How is -Babylon become an astonishment—a desolation among the nations!’ - -But the nations were not free although the empire of Nebuchadnezzar -had fallen; they had but exchanged masters. The ambition of the -conqueror was not sated; the enthusiasm excited by his genius and his -triumphs amongst his hardy, warlike, and uncultured followers, did not -ebb when Babylon had fallen. There is little doubt that Cyrus planned -the invasion of Egypt which was carried out by his son Cambyses[99] -(527 B.C.). - -Amasis, who had been raised to the throne by so unexpected a stroke -of fortune, was a genial and pleasure-loving man—fond of the wine-cup -and the merry jest, but he governed Egypt well and prudently during -a reign of more than forty years. When he died he bequeathed to his -son Psammetichus III. ‘the inheritance of a lost kingdom.’[100] -The Persians entered Egypt, and in a desperate battle at Pelusium -the Egyptians were defeated; Memphis was then captured with great -slaughter. The unfortunate Psammetichus, who had only reigned six -months, was taken prisoner; it is said that he was put to death later -on upon a charge of conspiracy. Cambyses assumed an Egyptian title, and -reigned over the land as the first monarch of the twenty-seventh, or -Persian dynasty. He appears at first to have treated his new subjects -with forbearance; he visited the celebrated temple at Sais, inquired -into the rites and mysteries of the worship of Neith, and redressed -certain grievances of which the priests complained.[101] But to the -passionate ambition of Cambyses, the possession of Egypt was only a -stepping-stone to the accomplishment of other and far-reaching schemes. -He designed to march westward against the rising city of Carthage; -to occupy the oasis of Amen, and to conquer the kingdom of Ethiopia. -But his Phœnician mercenaries refused to be led against their kinsmen -at Carthage; the army, 50,000 strong, which he despatched across the -desert, was lost in the burning sands, and the forces which he himself -led against Ethiopia were repulsed, and suffered terribly on the -retreat from the ravages of famine. The survivors appear to have vented -some of their ill-will upon the monuments and statues of Thebes as -they passed through on the way to Memphis. The mood in which Cambyses -entered that city may be imagined; mortified and exasperated as he -was, he found the whole city given up to festivities and rejoicings, -and concluded that they must be celebrating his disastrous defeat. -Thereupon his fury turned to madness; and when he heard that the -people were celebrating the finding of an Apis, he ordered the priests -to be scourged, and the chief men of the city to be slain. Then he -ordered the sacred bull to be brought into his presence, and stabbed -him with his own dagger. There can be little doubt that in an excess of -madness, Cambyses wrought terrible havoc on the temples and monuments -of the land, though he may not have been guilty of all that was laid -to his charge by a people who execrated his memory, and regarded his -madness as the just visitation of Heaven. But suddenly there came news -of an insurrection in Persia, and Cambyses instantly started for his -capital. At Ecbatana, as he was mounting his horse, he stabbed himself -(voluntarily or accidentally) with his own dagger—with the same weapon -with which he had killed the Apis, the awe-struck Egyptians told -Herodotus, and in the very same part of the body. - -The short but terrible tyranny of Cambyses was over, and Darius, who -succeeded in 522 B.C., proved a mild and forbearing ruler. But after -his defeat by the Athenians at Marathon, the Egyptians rose in revolt; -Xerxes had to put down this insurrection before he too went against -Greece. - -During the two centuries when hostilities were so often renewed -between Persians and Greeks, there was friendship between Egypt and -Greece, and not unfrequently alliance against the Persian kings. The -relations between these two countries had long been of a friendly -character. Egypt representing all that was wisest and greatest in -the long æon that was closing, Greece representing all that was -brightest and fairest in the era that was opening. Homer already -knew, concerning Egypt, that it was a fertile and a wealthy land—a -land especially famed for the skill of its physicians; he tells of -its ‘god-descended stream,’ and of the Isle of Pharos, with the safe -anchorage by it afforded to storm-tossed mariners. Nor was he ignorant -of Thebes in the far south, and her imperial magnificence—Egyptian -Thebes, the ‘treasure-house of countless wealth, who boasts her hundred -gates—through each of which with horse and car two hundred warriors -march.’[102] - -To the Egyptians of Homer’s time, the Greeks were probably known -as roving pirates of the Mediterranean; afterwards, by a natural -transition, as mercenary troops—later on, as busy and successful -merchants. Greeks, however, visited Egypt on nobler errands than the -mere pursuit of wealth. In the reign of Amasis, Solon, the Athenian -lawgiver, resided for a while both at the ‘city of the Sun,’ the most -ancient seat of Egyptian learning, and at Sais, the sanctuary of the -goddess of wisdom. To him it was that an old Egyptian priest, who was -his friend, addressed the memorable words—‘O Solon! Solon! you Greeks -are ever children; having no ancient opinion nor any discipline of long -standing.’ The earliest Greek philosophers, Pythagoras of Samos, and -Thales of Miletus, were believed to have visited Egypt, and no doubt -their eager restless inquiries also seemed to the Egyptians like those -of ‘children,’ who can so easily ask more than the wisest man can ever -answer. - -Nothing could be more natural, or indeed inevitable, than that the -awakening intellectual and artistic life of Greece should be strongly -attracted towards the ancient wisdom and civilisation of Egypt.[103] -Geometric and other scientific ideas they certainly carried home from -the Land of the Pyramids, and the rudiments of their own civilisation -and learning were always said by the Greeks to have come from Egypt. - -Persia had conquered Egypt, and was threatening Greece, but the -invasion of Xerxes was triumphantly repulsed, and the Athenians -subsequently sent aid to the Egyptians in their renewed attempt to cast -off the yoke of the common foe. - -The revolt was at first successful, but on the arrival of Persian -reinforcements the Athenians were driven from Memphis, and forced to -retire to an island on the Nile. Here they were blockaded for eighteen -months; the foe then, diverting the river from its course, took the -Athenian camp by storm, and a fleet of fifty Athenian ships, which -entered the Nile in ignorance of the disastrous turn of events, fell -into the hands of the Persians. Amyrtæus, who had been proclaimed king, -took flight, and sought refuge in the inaccessible marshes of the Delta. - -Thus Egypt passed once more under the Persian yoke, but the Persian -power itself was declining, and Amyrtæus of Sais (the grandson of the -Amyrtæus who fled to the marshes) made himself King of Egypt. His reign -of six years constitutes the twenty-eighth dynasty. - -This was succeeded by the twenty-ninth (of Mendes), and the thirtieth -(of Sebennytus). Under these, her last native dynasties, Egypt -maintained her recovered independence for sixty years, during which -period she sent aid both to the Lacedæmonians and to the king of -Cyprus, in the long-protracted conflict with Persia. Art also revived -once more, and was distinguished by a grace and finish that seem to -speak of Grecian influences. - -Under one of the kings of the thirtieth dynasty, Agesilaus of Sparta -was invited to command the Egyptian army. It is said that on his -arrival the Egyptians were taken by surprise to find so renowned a -king and warrior ‘a little deformed old man, clad in mean attire, and -regardless of show and luxury,’ who ‘would sit carelessly upon the -grass amongst his soldiers.’[104] At any rate they only intrusted him -with the command of the mercenaries. Angry at the affront, the Spartan -king supported a rival prince, who displaced Takos, the reigning -sovereign, and assumed his place. This king, Nectanebus (361 B.C.), was -the last of the long line of kings that opens with king Mena. - -Ochus, a cruel but energetic sovereign, succeeded Artaxerxes II. on -the Persian throne; the energies of Greece were concentrated in the -struggle against Philip of Macedon. Ochus invaded Egypt with an immense -army (ten thousand of whom were Greek mercenaries!). Nectanebus was an -incompetent general, but, confident of his own ability, he commanded in -person the army of Egyptians and Greek mercenaries, who encountered the -Persians at Pelusium. He was defeated, and instantly fled to Memphis; -on hearing of the further progress of the enemy, he quitted Memphis -and fled southward, until he reached the safe shelter of the Ethiopian -land. With this hurried and ignominious retreat, the ancient monarchy -of Egypt ceased to be. Deprived of their king and leader, the people at -once submitted (about 340 B.C.). - -But the Persian conquerors only ruled for twelve years longer—years of -danger and distress for their country. Greece had been subjugated by -Macedon, and Alexander, son of Philip, rapidly conquered the Persian -provinces. Egypt alone remained; in 332 B.C., he entered that country, -where he met with no resistance, but was rather hailed as a deliverer. -He went to Memphis, where he offered sacrifice to the Apis. Alexander -also visited the temple of Amen (of Zeus Ammon, the Greeks called it), -in the oasis, twelve days’ journey from Memphis, and in the heart of -the desert. This temple was of great renown in antiquity, and its -oracle was consulted far and wide. The conqueror was received by the -priests with the most flattering assurances. He was the ‘son of Zeus,’ -they told him, and should ‘pursue his career of victory until he was -taken to the gods.’ - -Before quitting Egypt, Alexander planned the foundation of the city -that was destined to be so famed in after times both as an emporium of -trade and as a school of learning and philosophy—Alexandria. - -The battle of Arbela decided the fate of the Persian monarchy. But -Alexander did not live to rule long over the empire he had won; on his -death his dominions were divided amongst his successors. Egypt fell to -the Ptolemies, and remained under their rule for three hundred years, -until 30 B.C., when it became a Roman province. - -[Illustration: Sphinx.] - -FOOTNOTES: - -[91] And thus a descendant of Tafnekht, the ambitious prince of Sais, -defeated by Piankhi (p. 246). - -[92] The story told by Herodotus is that an oracle had declared that -that prince who should make libation out of a brazen goblet should -reign over all Egypt. One day all the princes appeared to offer -sacrifice, but the high priest by mistake brought only eleven golden -vessels, whereupon Psammetichus took off his helmet and used it for -the libation. When it was observed that the oracle had thus, though -inadvertently, been fulfilled, it was thought a prudent measure -to depose and banish Psammetichus. He consulted the oracle, which -announced that vengeance would come by brazen men, showing themselves -from seaward. When he heard of pirates clad in brazen armour who had -showed themselves in the Delta, he perceived the meaning of the oracle. -By enlisting the Greek mercenaries in their panoplies of brass, he -accordingly triumphed over his rivals, expelled the Assyrians, and -became king of all Egypt. - -[93] Sais, in the Delta, was a magnificent city, and the temple of -the goddess Neith, who was worshipped there, was celebrated for its -splendour. The worship of Neith goes back to the earliest times, but -under the dynasty which had its seat at Sais it attained very great -prominence. Neith was a nature-goddess, and was called the ‘mother -of the sun.’ She represents the hidden and mysterious ground of all -things, and hence was naturally regarded as the goddess of wisdom. -Like Athena, to whom the Greeks compared her, she was at the same time -goddess of war. Over her temple was the inscription: ‘I am what is, -what shall be, and what has been, and no man hath lifted my veil; I am -the great mother of Ra.’ - -[94] Nahum iii. 7, 19; ‘No spark of pity mingles with the prophet’s -delight.’—Stanley, _Jewish Church_. - -[95] Jer. xlvi. 8, 9. - -[96] Jer. xlvi. 5, 16. - -[97] 2 Kings xxiv. 7. - -[98] It was natural not to send Greeks against their fellow-countrymen, -though the action was otherwise interpreted. - -[99] The story of Herodotus is that an Egyptian oculist had been sent -to Persia to cure the king, who was suffering from some complaint of -the eyes. Cambyses heard so much from him of the beauty of the daughter -of Amasis, that he desired to have her for his wife. Amasis, unwilling -to send his own daughter, substituted the daughter of his predecessor -Apries. Cambyses, on discovering the fraud, was so enraged that he -undertook the invasion of Egypt to punish the perfidy of its king. -Cambyses certainly was not the man to wait for a pretext, whether the -story be true or not. The narratives of Herodotus are by no means to be -relied on; all that he relates as an eye-witness is of the utmost value. - -[100] Brugsch, _History of Egypt_. - -[101] It was Uah-hor-penres, priest of Neith, of whom Cambyses -inquired, and who seems to have won great respect from the king. Sais -appears, through his influence and good offices, to have been ‘saved in -the great calamity that fell upon the land.’ - -[102] Lord Derby’s translation. - -[103] ‘All intellectual Greeks,’ says Grote, ‘were naturally attracted -to go and visit the wonders on the banks of the Nile.’ - -[104] Grote. - - - - -APPENDIX I. - -TABLE OF DYNASTIES. - - - DYNASTY I.—THINITE. - Mena. Hesepti. - Teta. Merbap. - Atet. Sememptah. - Ata. Kebeh. - - DYNASTY II.—THINITE. - Betau. Uatnes. - Kakau. Senta. - Bai-en-neter. - - DYNASTY III.—MEMPHITE. - Tati. Teta I. - Bebi. Setes. - Nebka. Neferkara. - Sersa. Senefru. - - DYNASTY IV.—MEMPHITE. - Khufu. Menkaura. - Tetefra. Aseskaf. - Khafra. - - DYNASTY V.—MEMPHITE. - Userkaf. Userenra. - Sehura. Menkauhor. - Kaka. Tetkara. - Neferarkara. Unas. - - DYNASTY VI.—ELEPHANTINE. - Teta II. Merienra II. - Userkara. Neterkara. - Pepi Meri-ra. Menkara. - Merienra I. Netakerti - Neferkara I. (Nitocris). - - DYNASTY VII.—MEMPHITE. - No records or names preserved. - - DYNASTY VIII.—MEMPHITE. - Neferkara II. Neferkahor. - Neferkara Nebi. Neferkara V. - Tetkara. Seneferka Annu. - Neferkara III. ... Kaura. - Merenhor. Neferkaura. - Seneferka. Neferkauhor. - Enkara. Neferarkara. - Neferkara IV. - - DYNASTIES IX. AND X. - (HERACLEOPOLIS.) - Probably contemporary with foregoing. - Names unknown. - - DYNASTY XI.—THEBAN. - Ten kings—amongst them the Antefs - and Mentuhoteps. Egypt - re-united under last two kings - of this dynasty: - Nebtaura. Sankhkara. - - DYNASTY XII.—THEBAN. - Amenemhat I. Amenemhat III. - Usertesen I. Amenemhat IV. - Amenemhat II. Sebeknefrura - Usertesen II. (Queen). - Usertesen III. - - DYNASTY XIII.—THEBAN. - Sebekhotep I. - Six successors bearing same name. - - DYNASTY XIV.—XOITE. - Seventy-six kings ruling in 184 years. - - DYNASTIES XV. AND XVI. - The Hyksos Kings. - - DYNASTY XVII.—THEBAN. - Native rulers in the south—at - first tributary to Hyksos Kings. - War of liberation by— - Sekenenra. Taa-aa. Taa-ken. - - DYNASTY XVIII.—THEBAN. - Aahmes. Amenhotep III. - Amenhotep I. Amenhotep IV. - Thothmes I. Khu-en-aten. - Thothmes II. Saanekht. - Hatasu. Tutankh-amen. - Thothmes III. Ai. - Amenhotep II. Horus. - Thothmes IV. - - DYNASTY XIX.—THEBAN. - Rameses I. Seti Menephtah II. - Seti I. Amenmeses. - Rameses II. Siptah. - Menephtah I. Setnekht. - - DYNASTY XX.—THEBAN. - Rameses III. - Ten or more successors - of the same name. - - DYNASTY XXI.—PRIEST-KINGS. - Her-hor. Pinotem II. - Piankhi. Menkheperra. - Pinotem I. Pinotem III. - - DYNASTY XXII.—BUBASTITE. - Sheshenk I. Sheshenk II. - (Shishak.) Takeleth II. - Usarken I. Sheskenk III. - Takeleth I. Pimai. - Usarken II. Sheshenk IV. - - DYNASTY XXIII.—TANITE. - Petubast. Usarken III. Psemaut. - - DYNASTY XXIV.—SAITE. - Bakenrenef. - Petty rulers in Delta. - - DYNASTY XXV.—ETHIOPIAN. - Shebek Taharak - (Sabaco). (Tirhakah). - Piankhi. Rutamen. - Nutmeramen. - - DYNASTY XXVI.—SAITE. - Psemtek I. (Psammetichus). - Nekau (Necho). - Psemtek II. - Uahabra (Apries). - Aahmes II. (Amasis). - Psemtek III. - - DYNASTY XXVII.—PERSIAN. - Cambyses and six successors. - - DYNASTY XXVIII.—SAITE. - Amyrtæus. - - DYNASTY XXIX.—MENDESIAN. - Naifaaret I. Psemant. - Haker. Naifaaret II. - - DYNASTY XXX.—SEBENNYTE. - Nekhthorheb (Nectanebo). - Tether. - Nekhtnebef. - - _This list, with some slight variations, follows - that given by Sir Erasmus Wilson as an appendix - to_ ‘EGYPT OF THE PAST.’ - - - - -APPENDIX II. - -DECIPHERMENT OF THE HIEROGLYPHS. - - -The idea long prevailed that the hieroglyphic characters were -ideographic—_i.e._ that they represented ideas, not sounds; and any -attempt at decipherment was hopeless. Before the end of last century, -however, a hint had been thrown out that the characters might prove to -be phonetic—_i.e._ representing sounds like the letters of our ordinary -alphabets. And a further suggestion had been offered that the words -enclosed within ovals might be the names of royal personages. But -unless some means existed of comparing those names with the same names -written in a known language, not a single hieroglyph could be read. The -discovery of the Rosetta stone in 1799 supplied the means required. -On that stone was engraved an inscription in three characters—the -hieroglyphic, the demotic or popular Egyptian, and the Greek. Scholars, -however, turned their attention at first rather to the comparison -of the demotic and the Greek, as the idea still prevailed that the -hieroglyphs were not phonetic. It happened, also, that the beginning -of the hieroglyphic and the end of the Greek inscription were wanting, -which added greatly to the difficulty of comparing the texts. Thus ‘the -seals of the mysterious book were still unclosed’ when Champollion -began his labours. He succeeded in identifying the names of Ptolemy and -Cleopatra, and by comparing them with each other and with their Greek -counterparts he identified ten letters which were clearly phonetic. -The first and second characters in the king’s name were found in their -right places in that of the queen, and the initial letter of Cleopatra -did not occur in the name of Ptolemy, etc. By the examination and -comparison of other proper names other letters were determined, and a -phonetic alphabet gradually acquired. But the formidable task remained -of examining, reducing to order, and deciphering the vast mass of -characters that were still unread. - -The fact is that in the Egyptian hieroglyphic writing, hundreds of -characters are employed as well as the letters of the alphabet; these -characters represent syllables, words, or ideas, and could be used -instead of the letters, almost at the pleasure of the writer. This -gradually became apparent to Champollion, and as, fortunately, there -are a very great number of copies extant of the same MSS., he was able, -by laborious and persevering collation of those MSS., to determine -the phonetic value of a great number of characters. To use a familiar -illustration, it is as though two copies of an English sentence were -compared by a foreigner who was acquainted only with the alphabet; in -one of them occurred the word _three_ and the word _and_, whilst in -the other copy, in the places occupied by those words, appeared the -character 3 and the character &; or in an astronomical treatise, he -would find the words _sun_ and _Taurus_ interchangeable with the signs -☉ and ♉. It would clearly be possible for him to read the four signs -into the words for which they respectively stand, by a comparison of -copies. The only difference is that the use of signs, whether for -syllables, words, or ideas, is carried to such an immense extent in the -old Egyptian writing, that their decipherment was a work of the most -arduous kind. Champollion, nevertheless, succeeded in recovering and -reading the old Egyptian language to a great extent, and his work has -been ardently carried forward by his successors. The language, however, -even when deciphered and read, must have remained unintelligible, if -modern Coptic (the descendant of the ancient tongue) had not afforded -the key to its translation. - - - - -INDEX. - - - Aahmes, conqueror of the Hyksos, 87, 93. - ——— his mummy discovered, 94. - Aahmes, admiral of the fleet, exploits of, 90 _seq_. - Aah-hotep, queen, 87. - Aarsu, the Syrian, 210. - Abydos, shrine of Osiris, 6. - ——— ruins of, 10, 11. - ——— tablet of, 151. - ——— visit of Rameses II. to, 152 _seq_. - Abu-simbel, rock-temples and colossal statues at, 166, 167. - Agesilaus of Sparta in Egypt, 284. - Alexander the Great in Egypt, 286. - Alexandria founded, 286. - Amasis, King; his policy and character, 275, 277. - Amen, god of Thebes, 49, 132, 223. - Amen-Ra, hymn to, 222, 223. - Amen, great temple of, at Thebes, (Karnak), 55, 65, 95, 128, 151. - Amenemhat I., instructions of, 51 _seq_. - ——— conspiracy against, 52, 53. - ——— pyramid of, 64. - Amenemhat III. notes rise of Nile, 70. - ——— constructs Lake Mœris and the Labyrinth, 71, _seq_. - Amenemhib, inscription of, 112, 123. - Amenhotep I., 93, 94. - Amenhotep II., 124. - Amenhotep III., his campaigns in the South, 128. - ——— his buildings at Thebes, 128. - ——— colossi of, 129 _seq_. - Amenhotep, architect, 128 _seq_. - Ameni, inscription of, 66, 67. - Amenritis, queen of Ethiopia, 265. - Amenti, scenes in, depicted, 192 _seq_. - Amu, the, 26, 76. - Amyrtæus, 283. - Animal worship, 198 _seq_. - Antef, the family, 43, - ——— festal dirge of house of, 44, 45. - Apepi, serpent of evil, 195, 196. - Apepi, Hyksos king; his embassy to the ruler of the South, 83. - Apis, sacred bull of Memphis, 199. - Apis-worship, development of, 243, 244. - Apollonius of Tyana on animal worship, 200 _note_. - Apries, King (Hophra), 272 _seq_. - Ark, the sacred, 179. - Art, excellence and defects of, 201, 202. - Assyrian empire, first, 239. - ——— second, rise of, 253. - ——— ——— fall of, 269. - Assyrians first enter Egypt, 259. - ——— finally expelled, 264. - Assur-bani-pal, king of Assyria, 259 _seq_. - Ata, King, 16. - Aten the Disk, worship of, 133 _seq_. - Atet, Princess, tomb of, 33. - Avaris, fortified by the Hyksos, 81. - siege and capture of, 90, 91. - Azotus, siege of, 267. - - Baba-Abana, inscription of, 89. - Babylon, conflicts with Assyria, 215, 239. - ——— empire of, 269. - ——— fall of, 276. - Bai-en-neter, decree of King, 15. - Bast or Pasht, the goddess, 238 _note_. - Beni-Hassan, rock tombs of, 75. - Biban-el-Moluk; tombs of the kings, 171. - Book of the ‘Manifestation’ or ‘Coming forth into Day’; - commonly called ‘Book’ or ‘Ritual of the Dead,’ 10. - Bubastis, city of, 238. - - Cambyses invades and conquers Egypt, 277. - ——— his disaster, cruelty and madness, 279. - ——— his end, 280. - Chaldea, early civilisation of, 215. - Columns, Hall of, at Karnak, 151. - Confession, the Negative, 67, 68. - Crown, double, of Egypt, 16. - Cyrene, Greek colony of, 273. - Cyrus, King, 276. - - Darius, king of Persia, 280. - Dodecarchy, the, 263. - - Esar-haddon, king of Assyria, 259. - - Famine, many years of, 89. - Fayoum, oasis of, 70. - Funeral celebrations, 39, 190, 191. - - Ghizeh, pyramids of, 18 _seq._ - Gods, representation of, 119,192 _seq._ - Greece, early, as known to the Egyptians, 281. - ——— influence of Egypt on, 282. - ——— alliances between Egypt and, 280, 283, 284. - Greek mercenaries, 264, 266. - Greek merchants and colonists, 267, 273. - - Hammamat, valley of, 46, 149. - Hanno, expedition of, 47. - Harper, Lay of the, 191, 192. - Hatasu, Queen; her pride and ambition, 96. - ——— splendid temple of, 97. - ——— her expedition to Punt, 99 _seq_. - Hebrew colonists in Goshen, 89. - ——— reduced to bondage, 204. - ——— exodus of, 205. - Herodotus, the historian, 44, 69, 71, 200, 218, 263, 266, 277. - Her-hor, priest-king, his family vault, 230, 234. - Herusha, the, 26, 27. - Hezekiah, alliance with Tirhakah, 256, 257. - Homer, his acquaintance with Egypt, 281. - Hophra, _see_ Apries. - Horse, first appearance of, 80. - Horus, the god, son of Isis, 3 _seq_. - Horus, King, 139. - Houses and gardens, 180 _seq_. - Hyksos, invasion of, 80. - ——— rule and expulsion of, 81 _seq_. - - Immigrants, Asiatic, 76, 77. - Invocation, customary funeral, 39. - Isis, the goddess, 2 _seq_. - ——— Lamentations of, 2 _seq_. - Israelites in Canaan, 215. - Israelitish empire, 241. - - Jeremiah in Egypt, 273. - Jerusalem, siege and destruction of, 273. - Jeroboam in Egypt, 242. - Joseph in Egypt, 89. - Josiah, King, 268. - - Kadesh, battle of, 159. - Kames, Prince, 86. - Karchemish, battle of, 270. - Khafra, pyramid and statue of, 23. - Khamus, Prince, priest of Apis, 199. - Khem, ‘lord of the mountain,’ 49. - Khemi, a name of Egypt, 69. - Kheta (Hittites), campaign of Seti I. against, 144. - ——— war of Rameses II. with, 156 _seq_. - ——— treaty of Rameses with, 169 _seq_. - Khetasir, king of Kheta, 156, 168, 169. - Khnumhotep, family and tomb of, 75. - Khons, the god, 49, 222 _note_. - ——— oracle-temple of, 222, 225. - ——— visit of, to Bakhten, 227, _seq_. - Khufu, great pyramid of, 22, 23. - Khu-en-aten, new religion of, 133. - ——— family life of, 135, 136. - Kom-es-Sultan, mound of, 11. - Koptos, town of, 46, 214. - - Labyrinth, The, 71. - Lebanon, visit of Seti I. to, 145. - Libyan invasion of Egypt, 207 _seq_. - Luxor, temple of, 128, 175. - - Magic, practice of, 221, 222. - Manetho, the historian, 81 _note_. - Marmaiu, Libyan king, 207. - Mashuasha, defeat of, 213. - Medinet Habou, temple of, 218. - Megiddo, battle of, 109. - Meidoom, early tombs at, 30. - Memnon, statues of, 130. - Memphis, founded by Mena, 12. - Mena, first king of Egypt, 1, 12. - Mendes, ram of, 199. - Menephtah I. defeats the Libyans, 209 _seq_. - Menkaura, his pyramid and sarcophagus, 24. - Mentuhoteps, princely family of, 46. - Mentuhotep, a great noble, 74, 75. - Mercenary troops, 209, 246, 264. - Merienra, King; sepulchre and mummy of, 25. - Mesopotamia, campaigns in, 94, 110. - Migdol, battle of, 217. - Mines of copper and _mafek_, 17, 65, 214. - Mnevis, sacred bull of Heliopolis, 199. - Mœris, Lake, 71. - Momemphis, battle of, 264. - Morality, standard of, 67, 68. - Moses, 205. - Mut, the Divine Mother, 49. - - Naharina, _see_ Mesopotamia. - Nahum, the prophet, 262, 269. - Napata, city of, 238, 265. - Necho, Assyrian viceroy at Memphis, 260. - Necho, King, defeated at Karchemish, 270. - ——— his naval expedition, 271. - Necropolis of Memphis, 15. - Nectanebus, last native king, 284, 285. - Nefert, Princess, statue of, 34. - Nefe-rmat, tomb of, 33. - Nefer-tai, wife of Khu-en-aten, 136. - Nefertari, wife of Rameses II., 167. - Neith, the goddess, 265, 266 _note_. - Negroes (or Nahsi), 12, 69, 128, 165. - Negro queen, visit of, 137. - Nile, Egypt the gift of, 69. - ——— rise of, recorded, 70. - ——— Hymn to the, 223, 224. - Nineveh, fall of, 269. - Nitocris, Queen, 41. - Nomes, Egypt divided into, 42. - Nubia, added to Egypt, 68. - Nut—the Heaven—mother of Osiris, 3 _note_, 25 _note_, 196. - Nutmeramen, King; dream of, 252. - - Oasis of Amen, 278, 286. - ——— Fayoum, 70. - Obelisks of Heliopolis, 10, 64, 65. - ——— of Hatasu, 97. - ——— of Thothmes III., 116. - Ochus, King of Persia, 285. - Oracle-temple of Khons, 222, 225. - On (Heliopolis), ancient city of, 7 _seq._, 64, 250. - Osiris, myth of, and Isis, 2 _seq_. - ——— judgment of the spirit before, 5, 67, 192. - - Palestine or Canaan, land of, 107, 113, 124, 144, 215. - Pa-Ra, City of the Sun, 6, 64, 250. - Pa-Ramessu, city of Rameses, poetical description of, 163, 164. - Pasht or Basht, the goddess, 238 _note_. - Pelusium, battle of, 277. - Pentaur, heroic poem of, 160 _seq_. - Pepi, King; sepulchre and mummy of, 25. - Persian empire, rise of, 276. - Persians first enter Egypt, 277. - ——— final conquest by, 285. - Philistines, nation of, 240, 241. - Phœnicians, the, 113, 143, 156, 170, 240. - Phœnix, story of the, 9. - Philo of Alexandria on the sacred animals, 200. - Piankhi, the Ethiopian king, 246. - ——— inscription of, 247 _seq_. - Pinotem II., his wife and child, 234. - Pithom, store-city, 205. - ——— site of, identified, 205 _note_. - Priesthood of Egypt, 8. - ——— growth of power at Thebes, 229. - Priest-kings, 230 _seq_. - Priest-kings, their family tomb, 233. - ——— discovery of mummies there, 234 _seq_. - Princess, the possessed, of Bakhten, 226 _seq_. - Prosopis, battle of, 209. - Psamtek (Psammetichus) I., 263. - ——— II., 271. - ——— III., 277. - Ptah, the god, 2, 12, 208. - Ptah-hotep, maxims of, 34, 35. - Punt; expedition of Sankhkara, 47. - ——— ——— of Hatasu, 99, _seq_. - Pyramid builders, 17 _seq_. - Pyramid of Sakkara, 16. - ——— the Great, 22, 23. - ——— of Khafra, 23. - ——— of Menkaura, 24. - ——— of Amenemhat I., 64. - Pyramids, construction of, 22, 29, 30. - ——— names of, 39. - - Ra, worship of, at On, 2, 49. - ——— his triumph over Apepi, 196. - Raamses, store-city, 205. - Ra-hotep, statue of Prince, 34. - Rameses I., 142. - Rameses II., childhood of, 146. - ——— visit to Abydos, 152 _seq_. - ——— invocation of his father, 155. - ——— war with the Kheta, 156 _seq_. - ——— danger and prowess of, 159. - ——— campaigns and exploits, 165 _seq_. - ——— architectural achievements, 163, 167, 175. - ——— colossal statues of, 14, 167. - ——— fate of his mummy, 172. - Rameses III., drives back invading tribes, 213. - ——— repels great invasion of confederates, 217. - ——— victories and spoils, 218. - ——— conspiracy against, 220 _seq_. - ——— tomb of, 224. - Ramessidæ, successors of Rameses III., 225 _seq_. - Rameses IX., violation of tombs discovered under, 226. - Rameses XII., the god Khons sent to Bakhten by, 226 _seq_. - Ramesseum, the, 189. - Rampsinitus, Rameses III. so called by the Greeks, 218. - Rome, Egypt a province of, 287. - - Sais, city of, 265. - ——— visit of Cambyses to, 278. - Sakkara, pyramids of, 16. - Samaria taken by Sargon, 255. - Saneha, story of, 55 _seq_. - San-Tanis or Zoan, 162 _seq_. - Scythians, the, in Asia, 267. - Seb, Earth-god, father of Osiris, 2, 3 _note_. - Sechet, the goddess, _see_ Pasht. - Sefek, ‘Lady of Writings,’ 119. - Sekenen-Ra, a patriot, 85. - Semem-kheftu-ef, tame lion of Rameses, 157, 166, 167. - Semnut, architect of Hatasu, 98. - Senefru, King, 17. - Serapeum, the, 243. - Sesostris, of the Greeks, 220. - Set, brother and foe of Osiris, story of, 2, 3. - Seti I., his campaign in Palestine, 144. - ——— against the Kheta, 144 _seq_. - ——— triumph of, 145, 147. - ——— his Hall of Columns and his temple at Abydos, 151. - Seti Menephtah II., 209. - Setnekht, founder of Dynasty XX., 210, 211. - Shebek, King, (So or Sabaco), 255. - Sheshenk I., (Shishak), 242. - ——— his campaign in Judæa, 242, 243. - Slavery in Egypt, 116, 117, 203, 204. - Solomon, king of Israel, 241. - Solon in Egypt, 281, 282. - Sphinx, the Great, 21. - Superstition, growth of, 222. - Symbolism in religion, 197. - Symbols, animals as, 198, 199. - - Taa, the family of, 86 _seq_. - Tafnekht, a prince of the north, 24 _seq_. - Tai-ti, Queen, 132, 172. - Ta-khent or Nubia, 68. - Ta-neter, the ‘divine land,’ 47. - Tel-el-Amarna, site of city of Khu-en-aten, 134. - Temples, Egyptian, 176 _seq_. - Thebes, first mention of, 43. - ——— in her magnificence, 186, 187. - ——— Western, the City of the Dead, 187 _seq_. - ——— sack of, by Assur-bani-pal, 261, 262. - Thi, tomb of, 36, 38. - Thinis-Abydos, twin cities of, 6. - Thoth, the god, 75 _note_, 192. - Thothmes I., campaign in Mesopotamia, 94. - Thothmes II., 96. - Thothmes III., his boyhood, 97. - ——— coronation of, 103. - ——— enters Palestine, 107. - ——— his victorious campaigns in Asia; extent of empire, 109-111. - ——— his wealth, and gifts to the temples, 113-115. - ——— heroic song in honour of, 120, 121. - ——— fate of his mummy, 123, 124. - Thothmes IV., dream of, 125 _seq_. - Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, 253. - Tirhakah, king of Ethiopia and Egypt; - his long conflict with Assyria, 259 _seq_. - Trade, manufactures, and amusements of the people, 182-186. - Tum, the god, worship of, 49 _and note_. - Tutankh-amen, King, 137. - - Uahpra, _see_ Apries. - Uah-hor-penres, priest of Neith, 278 _note_. - Una, inscription of, 26. - Unas, King, 25. - University, ancient, of On, 8. - Usertesen I. associated with his father, 51. - ——— his obelisk and other buildings, 64, 65. - Usertesen III., conquers Nubia, 68, 69. - - Wady Maghara, mines in the valley of, 17, 65. - - Zedekiah, king of Judah, 272. - Zoan, city of, 162 _seq_., 169, 237, 257. - -PRINTED BY T. 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