7;cL

^:y,

^. B.CLARKE

^ .^

Co'1

BooKSL'-^1^|i-.-STATioNERsl

Park

St.

Church Boston.!
,

PUBLISHERS' NOTE
Messrs. Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., Ltd., beg to
announce that they have still in stock a limited number of the
larger edition of the hieroglyphic text

and translation

of the

Book of the Dead, with the hieroglyphic vocabulary by Dr. Wallis Budge, which appeared in
three volumes under the title " Chapter of Coming Forth
Theban Recension

BY Day,"

of the

late in 1897.

Price for the Entire Work,

10s.

Volume I. contains all the known Chapters of the Theban

Recension of the Book of the Dead, printed in hieroglyphic
type (pp. 1 517), and a description of the papyri in the British
Museum from which they have been edited, and a list of

Chapters, etc. (pp.

i.

xl.).

This edition

is

the most complete

which has hitherto been published.

Volume

II.

contains a

full

vocabulary (pp.

hieroglyphic texts of the Chapters of the

the

Book

of the

Dead and

386) to

III. contains

the
of

to the supplementary Chapters from

the Saite Recension which are given therewith in

The volume contains about 35,000 references.

Volume

all

Theban Recension

Volume

I.

Preface and list of Chapters (i.-xxxvi.).

Introduction (pp. xxxvii.-cciv.)
Chap. I. The History of the Book of the Dead.
This
Chapter is accompanied by eighteen plates which illus1.

trate the palaeography of the various Recensions of the

Book of the Dead from the Vth Dynasty to the Roman

Period.

VOL. IV.

Chap.

II. Osiris and the Resurrection.

The Judgment of the Dead.
IV. The Elysian Fields or Heaven. With extracts
from the Pyramid Texts.
v. The Magic of the Book of the Dead.
VI. The Object and Contents of the Book of the Dead.
VII. The Book of the Dead of Nesi-Khonsu, about

III.

B.C.

1000 (English translation).

The Book of Breathings (English translation).

The Papyrus of Takhert-puru-abt (English

VIII.

IX.

translation).

Translation of the Book of the Dead

The volume also contains three scenes from the
famous Papyrus of Ani representing the Judgment Scene, the
Funeral Procession, and the Elysian Fields, which have been
2.

English

(pp. 1

354).

reproduced in

full

photo-lithographer.

colours by Mr.

W.

Griggs, the eminent

ISoolis

on Bo^pt an^ Cbal^aea

A HISTORY OF EGYPT
From the End of the Neolithic Period to
THE Death of Cleopatra VII.

b.c.

30

Vol. IV.

EGYPT AND HER ASIATIC EMPIRE

on iBQWi ^n& Cbalbaea

1Boo\\B

EGYPT

AND HER

ASIATIC EMPIRE

E.

A.

WALLIS BUDGE,

M.A., Litt.D.,

D.Lit

KEEPER OF THE EGYPTIAN AND ASSYRIAN ANTIQUITIES

IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM

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HENRY FROWDE
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
AMERICAN BRANCH
1902

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PREFACE
The

period of Egyptian History treated in the present

volume has been continued from the end of the reign

of Thothmes II. to the end of the rule of the XVIIIth
Dynasty, i.e., from about 1550 to 1400 B.C. This period,
though comparatively short, is one of extreme interest,
for in it the

Egyptians succeeded in establishing their

empire in Palestine and Syria, and extended their rule

which cannot have

In this
been very far from the river Euphrates.
period, moreover, are included the reigns of Thothmes
III. and Amen-hetep III., whose energy and ability
raised Egypt to an exalted position among the civilized
nations of the world, and made her feared by Nubians,
Libyans, and the Semitic tribes of the Eastern Desert,
and of Sinai, and of Western Asia. Thothmes III.
consolidated the Egyptian power in Nubia and Syria,
and Amen-hetep III. administered the vast empire
which his great ancestor had won by his sword. On
the death of Amen-hetep III. Egypt may be said to
have extended from the Atbara river in the Eastern
Sudan to the city of Aleppo in Northern Syria. Hand
in hand with the growth of power went increase in the
wealth of Egypt, and the buildings which the greatest
kings of the XYIIIth Dynasty set up in their capital,
Thebes, testify to the lavishness with which they spent
the money that had been given to them by Amen-Pia^
the king of the gods.
The shrines of local gods which
as far eastwards as the city of Ni,

PREFACE

Vlll

had

fallen into

ruin were restored

with a generous

hand, and on a scale never before equalled and never

The endowments

surpassed.

set apart for the

tenance of the sanctuary and priesthood of

were on a hitherto unknown

which the
inferior

priests

that

to

sculptors,

temples

and the power

enjoyed in consequence was little

of

in

of the

colossal statues,

the

and engineers
capital

gods,

and

scale,

the reigning family.

architects,

employment

main-

Amen-Ka

in

found abundant
with

the

obelisks,

and

connection

and the granite

fine

Painters,

bas-reliefs prove their skill

In short, the period of the XVIIIth

and ability.
Dynasty included the Grolden Age of Egypt, and
though the kings of the succeeding dynasties were
more boastful than those of the XYIIIth Dynasty,
their works

and merits were

far inferior to theirs.

though certainly not the most

important of the kings of the XYIIIth Dynasty, was
Amen-hetep IV., the son of Amen-hetep III. by the
This remarkable woman
Mitannian princess Thi.
appears to have been as intelligent as she was beautiful,
and the influence which she exerted on the mind of
her son during his boyhood produced some very unHe seems to have imbibed a strongexpected results.
hatred of the religion and worship which were inculcated by the powerful priesthood of Amen-Ka at
Thebes, but whether this was the result of his mother's
This hatred
teaching or of his own wish is unknown.

The most

made

itself

interesting,

apparent soon after his accession to the

throne, and he lost no time in declaring himself to be a

devout believer in the worship of that form of the Snn-

PREFACE

now

god wliich

is

the Disk.

Among

generally

IX

known

as the heresy of

his titles he adopted that of

high

Ra-Harmachis, but although he was tolerant

of the worship of all the ancient forms of the Sun-god
of Heliopolis he was very hostile to the cult of AmenRa, the Sun-god of Thebes he even went so far as to
priest of

build a shrine in

temple precincts at

honour of Harmachis within the

Thebes. At length an open rupture

took place between the priests of

Amen and

himself,

and, as a result, he forsook the old capital and built

himself a new one further to the north at a place near

modern Tell el-'Amarna. Here he founded a

temple in honour of the Disk, and changed his name to
the

Khu-en-Aten,

i.e.,

Disk, and

Grlory of the

gathered

about him painters, sculptors, and handicraftsmen of

who developed

new

Egyptian art,
which is characterized by great realism and freedom
from conventionality.
The king, his family, and his

every kind,

courtiers led a

life

style of

of pleasure here for a few years,

he himself was perfectly content to neglect the

and

affairs

of his empire, provided he could play the part of a

upon his

priest

and bestow

gifts

while,

the peoples

who were

favourites.

Mean-

him

in Asia

subject to

were hard pressed by the Kheta and the allied nations,

who had by

become very powerful, and the

tribute which had been paid for many years past by
the great cities of Syria and Palestine to Egypt was
now diverted from that country. The few governors of
cities who were strong enough to remain loyal to Egypt
this time

sent

numerous despatches

him

of the

to

Amen-hetep lY.

to

warn

growth of disaffection and revolt throughout

PREFACE

might be speedily
sent to enable them to maintain their authority and the
interests of Egypt.
But their appeals fell on deaf ears,
and as no reinforcements came the possessions of Egypt
in Western Asia fell, one after another, into the hands
of the nomadic tribes who were strong enough to seize
whatever territory they wished. A very strong light
is thrown upon this phase of Egyptian history by the
Tell el-'Amarna Tablets, from which we are able to
trace the growth of the revolt from its beginning to the
period when Egypt was compelled to abandon her

their territories, and asked that help

These

Syrian dependencies.

letters

portance for Egyptian history that

well to give a tolerably complete

contents;

this will

present volume.

at

least

has been thought

it

summary

of their

be found on pp. 184-241 of the

The power

much shaken during

she

are of such im-

of

Egypt

in

Syria was

the regency of Hatshepset, but

maintained the old

traditions

of

the

and supported the national priesthood by

every means in her power, and spared no pains to make
her capital great and splendid. Her descendant Amencountry,

hetep IV.^ however, forsook

his

capital,

reviled

the

national god, undermined as far as possible the power

of the national priesthood, and, in addition to all this,

succeeded in finally

destroying the

empire in Asia

which the earlier Amen-hetep and Thothmes kings

had built up with such great expenditure of labour
and blood, for Egypt never again was really mistress
of that Asiatic empire as she had been in the days of
Thothmes III.
E. A.

Wallis Budge.

CONTENTS

PAGE

Chapter I. Queen Hatshepset. Her titles. Her

HeR EXPEDITION
ROYAL descent. HeR REGENCY.
ThE ASSEMBLY
TO PUNT AND ITS GREAT RESULTS.
OF NOBLES IN THE NINTH YEAR OF HER REIGN. ThE
TEMPLE OF DeR AL-BaHARI AND THE ARCHITECT
Sen-Mut.
The obelisks of Hatshepset and
THEIR inscriptions. HeR MINING OPERATIONS AND
THE TEMPLE SpEOS ArTEMIDOS. HaTSHEPSET THE
DAUGHTER OF AmEN INCARNATE IN HER FATHER.
Story of her divine conception and the creation
OF HER body by KhNEMU.
HeR BIRTH AND
Acknowledged by Amen as his
EDUCATION.
daughter. Her journey through Egypt. Her
coronation and reign.
Thothmes III.
His
accession and titles. His reign of fifty-three
His hatred of his aunt Hatshepset.
YEARS.
His campaigns in Syria. The battle of Megiddo.
Attack upon Kadesh on the Orontes. Capture
AND SACK OF MeGIDDO. CoNQUEST OF NORTHERN
Syria, Cyprus, Kush, and Uauat. Clearing of
THE Canal in the Cataract. Tomb of Thothmes
III.
Annals of Thothmes III. Summary of

CONTENTS

Xll

CONQUESTS. Building of Thothmes III. Obelisks

AT Karnak. Puam and Eekh-ma-Ea. Eomance
OF Tehuti-a and the taking of Joppa.
The
Apure.
Amen-hetep II.
Expedition against
Thakisa. Arrival in Ni. Eebellion at Akathi.
Slaughter of seven kings.
Tomb of Amenhetep II. Discovery of his mummy. Thothmes
IV.
Expeditions to Nubia and Phoenicia.
The official Amen-hetep. The Sphinx buried
IN SAND.
Dream of Thothmes IY. Eestoration
OF THE temple OF THE SpHINX. TaBLET OF THE
Sphinx. Thothmes IV. and Artatama of Baby-

Amen-hetep

Great prosperity of
Egypt. Expedition into Nubia. His wives from
Western Asia. Gilukhipa, Tatumkhipa, Thi.
Scarabs and lion hunts of Amen-hetep III. His
divine origin.
The temple of Luxor. The
CoLOssL
Amen-hetep, son of Hap, and his
worship. Temples of El-Kab and Soleb. Tomb
OF Amen-hetep III, His son Amen-hetep IV.
Queen Nefertith. Introduction of Aten worship.
The Benben at Thebes. Amen-hetep IV.
FORSAKES Thebes, builds a new capital, and
CHANGES his NAME TO KhU-EN-AtEN. WORSHIP OF
Aten a glorified materialism. The king a
PRIEST OF Aten. His palace. Bek the architect.
Eealism of Egyptian art.
Hymns to Aten.
Physical characteristics of Amen-hetep IV.
His tomb and mummy. Family of Amen-hetep IV.
The Tell el-'Amarna Tablets. Eevolts in
Palestine. Decline of Egypt's power in Syria.
Character of Amen-hetep IV.
Se-aa-ka-Ea.
Tut-ankh-Amen.
Eoyal son of Kush. The
CAPITAL OF KhU-EN-AtEN DESERTED. ThEBES ONCE
AGAIN THE CAPITAL, KiNG Al. HeRU-EM-HEB.
His life and history. His courts of justice
AND administration. EXPEDITION INTO SyRIA
lonia.

III.

CONTENTS
Chapter

II.

XVII Ith

Dynasty

Xlll

Summary.

PAGE

Decline

OF Egypt's power in Syria. A viceroy established IN Nubia. Cuneiform writing in Syria.

Eelations of Egypt with Babylonia, Assyria,
Mitanni, etc. Rise of the Kheta power. The

Keftiu,

Lukkl

Lycians,

The

new

capital

Khut-en-Aten. Exclusiveness of Aten worship.

The tombs of the kings at Thebes. Realistic
development of art. The temples and obelisks
OF Karnak and Luxor.
Architecture.
The
PRIESTHOOD OF AmEN. EGYPTIAN OFFICIALS. ThE
horse INTRODUCED INTO THE EGYPTIAN ARMY. ThE
Golden Age of Egypt

160

The Tell el-'Amarna Tablets. Their

LeTTER FROM AmEN-HETEP
Letters from KallimmaSiN TO Amen-hetep III. Letters from Tushratta
TO Amen-hetep III. Letters from BurraburiYASH TO Amen-hetep IV. Letter from Ashuruballit to Amen-hetep IV.
Letters from
Tushratta to Amen-hetep IV.
Letter from
Tushratta to Tht, Queen of Egypt. Letters
to the king of Egypt from Alashiya
from
Adad-nirari, king of Nuhashshi
FROM AbdAshratum, governor OF Amurri
from the
people of Tunip from Aziru to the king, and

Chapter

III.

DISCOVERY AND NUMBER.

III. TO Kallimma-Sin.

FROM THE king TO AziRU FROM RiB-AdDA, KING

FROM RiB-AdDA TO AmANAPPA FROM
OF GeBAL
the king from the people of Irto
Rabimur
from Ammunira, governor of Berut
KATA
FROM Akizzi, governor OF Katna prom NamYAWIZA, GOVERNOR OF KUMIDI
FROM ItAKAMA,
KaDESH
OF
FROM
ZiMRIDA,
GOVERNOR
GOVERNOR
FROM AbI-MILKI, KING OF TyRE FROM
OF SiDON
SURATA OF ACCHO FROM ZaTANA OF ACCHO FROM
Artamanya, king of Zir-bashan FROM Lapaya
;

CONTENTS

XIV

PAGE

ShUARDATA
FROM MiLKILI AND FROM A
FROM AbDI-KHIBA, GOVERNOR OF
ROYAL LADY
Jerusalem from Addu-mihir and Tagi
from
BiRiDiYA OF Megiddo
from Wyashdata and
Shuardata from Abdi-Tirshi of Hazor from
Yapakhi, governor of Gezer
from Widya,
GOVERNOR OF ASKELON FROM YaBITIRI, GOVERNOR
OF Gaza and Joppa
from Dagan-Takala
FROM ZiMRIDA and YabNI-ILU OF LACHISH ETC.
AND

184

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

1.

2.

HaTSHEPSET, THE

"

MORNING StAR"

....

PAGE

The King and Queen of Punt and their sons

and daughters bringing gifts of the produce
OF THE LAND TO THE ENVOY OF HaTSHEPSET

The loading of Hatshepset's ships in a harbour

AT Punt with the Products of Punt
A Negro from Nubia
Stele inscribed with a summary of the conquests
of Thothmes III

45

6.

55

7.

Statue of Netchem, an official of Thothmes

8.

Statue of the royal mother Teta-Khart

9.

UsHABTi figure OF Amen-hetep II

3.

4.
5.

Libyan

11.

The royal sculptor Autha at work on a statue

OF PRINCESS BaKET-AtEN
wife, the

great lady op

Hunting Scarab of Amen-hetep

14.

Scarab of Amen-hetep
of his empire

15.

81

91

LANDS, QUEEN OF THE TWO LANDS, ThI

13.

64
71

Upper portion of the Stele of the Sphinx

The royal

49

62

III.

10.

12.

III.

III. describing

two

the

...
.

97

100

the limits
101

Amen-hetep III. and his double being presented

TO Amen-ra

103

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

XVI

PAGE
16.

The Colossi of Amen-hetep

17.

Aten shining on the names op Amen-hetep IV.

AND his wife
The rays of Aten bestowing "life" and "sove-

18.

107

III

reignty"
19.

121

Amen-hetep IV. and his wife bestowing

gifts

UPON courtiers
20.

Aten shining upon Amen-hetep IV. and

123
his wife,

ETC
21.

120

127

Aten shining upon Amen-hetep IV. seated on

his

throne

133

22.

The Sarcophagus of Ai

147

23.

Letter of Tushratta, king of Mitanni, to Amenhetep III.

193

24.

Letter of Eib-Adda to the king of Egypt

.211

EGYPT
AND HER

ASIATIC EMPIRE.
CHAPTEE

I.

THE EIGHTEENTH DYNASTY. FEOM THEBES.

Maat-ka, son

of tlie Sun,

Amen-klinemet-HATSHEPSET.

Queen Hatshepset, tlie widow

Thothmes 11., thougli unmentioned

of
in

King Lists, as niucli deserves to be commemorated among tlie

great monarchs of Egypt as any king or
queen who ever sat upon its throne
and for
during
^J
J
the XYIIIth Dynasty,

the Egyptian

uu

USEET-KAU,
the Horus

name

Hatshepset.

Of

and the

this reasou she is here included,

'

great events of her rule are considered in

separate paragraphs without reference to the narrative
of the life

The

and deeds of her nephew Thothmes

inscriptions

which

this great

her show that she adopted

VOL.

IV.

queen has

left

III.

behind

the following series

of

THE REIGN OF HATSHEPSET

:" Bestower

titles

"goddess of risings
" lands,
"

i.e.,

"

vivifier

Sun], the conqueror of

of her earliest titles

khnemet-hat," which means

" the chief bride of

Amen," but

Hat-shepset,

" the

"

i.e.,

women," and

what seemed
the

name

" great

all

to her

something like

among

favourite

the

apparently being wearied of

an unworthy

of Hat-shepsu,

and

was

later she called herself

first

later,

still

mighty one of

of hearts, the

One

doubles," etc.

i.e.,

Amen

[like the

of gold, the

the world, beautiful goddess, lady of the

two lands, the

" hau,

Horns

of years, the

[B.C. 1533

title,

" the

i.e.,

honourable nobles

of

she gave herself

first

the

among the
kingdom. ^^

Hatshepset was associated with her father Thothmes

in the rule of the

I.

kingdom shortly before his death,

and at this time she appears to have been unmarried

but there

is

reason for thinking that, before his death,

the old king married her to her half-brother Thothmes

II.,

foreseeing the trouble in the matter of succession

which

would

Thothmes
side,

II.

inevitably

but Hatshepset was of

and

if

he

did

was of royal descent only on his

mother's side as
cases,

unless

arise

Avell,

royal

descent

so.

father's

on her

a most important thing in such

she married her brother he would be able

succeed to the throne of Egypt without difficulty.

to

As

soon as Thothmes

shepset and his son

I.

was dead, his daughter Hat-

Thothmes

II.

became the rulers of

Egypt.
^

This point was

p. 94?;

first

and see Maspero,

made by M. Naville in Recueil,

Hist. Anc, torn. ii. p. 238.

torn, xviii.

^^^
.

The Neter Tuat

or liigh-priestess of Amen-Ra, the king of the gods, Maat-ka-Ra,

or Hatshepset.

THE REIGN OF HATSHEPSET

[B.C. 1533

been generally supposed that Thotlimes

It lias

II.

was a man wlio was strong neither physically nor

mentally,

and that he was

unable to emulate the

and personally conduct the

exploits of his ancestors

we know, were
being so, much of

military expeditions which,

carried out

during his reign

the govern-

ment
is

this

it

pretty certain that, though Thotlimes II. gained the

credit for whatsoever

the plan for

to

and

of the country fell into his queen's hands,

was done, Hatshepset supplied

and indicated the methods which were

it,

be employed in carrying

The experience

out.

it

which she gained in the time of her father was of the

greatest use to her, and her natural ability

by

profit

it

short reign

which has

Thothmes
called

to

the king
left

III.,

A set,

the

so

utmost.
died,

After

made her

comparatively

probably of the

many marks on

to

disease

his body,

and as

the son of her husband by another wife

was then a mere

child,

Hatshepset naturally

undertook the rule of Egypt, and we are quite justified

in saying that the interests of the country suffered in

no way through being in her hands.

As

far

as is

known, no really great military expedition was undertaken by Hatshepset, and

when

she

had made

arrangements for the succession of Thothmes

also

for his marriage in future

daughter,

who

also bore the

III.,

years with her

name

all

and

own

of Hatshepset, she

undertook the development of the natural resources of

the country, and spent a great deal of her energy and
ability

in

planning the erection

of

buildings

and

THE EXPEDITION TO PUNT

B.C. 1533]

and in watching

obelisks,

carrying

tlie

out of lier

ideas.

The most important event

was the famous expedition

in the reign of the

to Punt,

queen

which was planned

and carried out under her guidance

the principal

incidents of this expedition are depicted on the walls of

her temple at Der al-Bahari, which buildiDg will be

We

described later.

have already referred in several

places to the friendly relations

which always seem

to

have existed between the Egyptians and the people of

D -^^

Punt,

and these were due partly

Egyptians into

fact that the entrance of the historical

Egypt was connected with

this

country, and partly

because the Egyptians obtained from

gums and

the temples.
discussed,

exact

it

many

making the incense which was burnt in

The position of Punt has been much

and many attempts have been made

site

of the

which were used in embalming the

spices

dead, and for

to the

for

it,

but,

speaking

generally,

to fix

"

an

Punt

seems to have been a name given by the Egyptians

to a portion of the coast on each side of the southern

part of the
,

Red

Sea, which they also called Ta-neter,

the " Divine Land."

and most probably

These names may

did, include a portion of Somaliland,

which, in fine weather, the Egyptian

have had no

know

difficulty in reaching.

that the Egyptians went to

spices,

and

it

is

also,

sailors

would

In any case we

Punt

for

gums and

pretty certain that they went to that

THE EXPEDITION TO PUNT

6
part of

Adane

which in later days supplied the port of

it

Arabia Felix, 'ApafSia

in

articles of

the

Ked

fitted

and

ships,

five

out by Hatshepset consisted

made

having

considerable

distance

fact that the huts of the

sented

quite

near

the

water,

have gone

to

This

inland.^

by the

have sailed up

to

and

coast,

way down

their

seem

Sea, their captains

some river on the African

a

with similar

ivSalficov,

commerce.

The expedition
of

[B.C. 1533

indicated

is

natives

and

it

is

are

repre-

more than

probable that the place of barter or market would be

situated

inland.

According

some

to

writers

the

market was situated some distance up the Elephant

which

Eiver,

runs

Eas

between

and

al-Fil

Cape

Guardafui, where ebony trees grow in abundance, and

where

all

the products which the Egyptians brought

back from Punt are to be found.

The men

pointed beards, and were physically a

people

of

Punt wore

fine, tall,

well-made

they lived side by side with black or dark-

skinned men,

who seem

to

have resembled some of

the modern nations of Abyssinia.

expedition, having left his boat,

men armed with

The captain

of the

marched with eight

spears and bows, and advanced to the

place where the gifts which were to be offered by

^

The most recent publication

of the reliefs

which

expedition to Punt are published by M. Naville

descriptions of

them

him

illustrate the

for these

and

his

see his Temple of Deir el-Baliari, 3 parts, folio,

London, 1896-1898.
^ Maspero,
De Qiielques Navigations {Bihl. Egtjptologique, tom
viii. p. 75 ff.)
Brugsch, Egypt, vol. i. p. 305.
;

be

1:31

bo

o
EH

THE EXPEDITION TO PUNT

laid

Punt on

prince of

to the

upon a

table

these gifts consisted of an axe, a

some

nH

by

'

He

bracelets.

met by the prince of Pnnt, who

f^^

Hatshepset w^re

belialf of

necklaces, and

dagger, some

[B.C. 1533

Parehu,

called

is

^^^^ ^^^^ ^^ followed

is

by his wife and

two sons and daughter, and by an ass laden

their

The

with a bale of goods, and by some menservants.

prince carries a boomerang, and wears a dagger in his

belt,

and his wife wears a single yellow garment

figure

lady's

Egyptian

must

officer,

have

but

appeared

to

the

said that certain tribes of

is

it

strange

the

East Africa consider a figure of the kind beautiful, and

that the young
such.
ofQcer

"

women

spare no pains in attaining to

The prince of Pant then asks the Egyptian

Nehsi how he managed to arrive in the country.

Have ye come through

" the

the sky, or did ye sail on the

sea to the land of Ta-neter whereunto

" brought you

Behold, there

no road which

is

" stopped before the king of Egypt,

"breath which he

giveth

us."

Ea hath

and we

live

is

by the
answer

suitable

having been returned, the envoy and the prince proceed

to

business

number

the

prince

of gold rings,
'

of dnti,

'^

of

Punt produces a large

and boomerangs, and a great

gum

for incense,

pile

and whilst these

things are being carried to his ships, the envoy Nehsi

entertains the prince and the nobles of Punt.
dition to these things,

we

were loaded with dnti

In ad-

are told that the Egyptian ships

trees,

ebony,

j^

W^

nebm,

HATSHEPSET's gifts to AMEN-RA

10

and

ivory,

J^

and green gold,i

'

'

[B.C. 1533

"Mk

of

Amu,

and precious woods, and incense, and eye-paint, and

dog-lieaded

V %^

a^a^^

apes,
'

'

'^ ^^^

^^^ panther

(?)

i,

and

monkeys,

Products of

skins.

tliis

kind come from the Sudan, and must always have done

and

so,

it

is

therefore clear that the place where the

Egyptians went was a well-known market, wherefrom

such things were usually exported.
ships

arrived

at

Thebes,

where

In due course the

crews were

their

Of the valuable loads which

received with great joy.

they brought home, Hatshepset dedicated large offerings to

Amen-Ka, and some

of the incense trees were

planted by her orders in the garden attached to the

temple of that god

Thoth, the scribe of the gods,

depicted in the act of writing a

list

is

of the myriads of

things which were dedicated by the queen to the great

god of Thebes.

We have

no means of knowing in what

year the expedition was sent to Punt, but there

to believe that

is

reason

the event took place before the joint

reign of Hatshepset and her

and not many years

after the

nephew Thothmes

III.,

death of her husband.

In the ninth year of her reign she gathered together

her nobles and proclaimed before them
things which her father
1

I.e.,

fl)C^4*
version,

Amen-Ra had

all

the great

suggested to her

"pure gold"; compare the Ethiopic dl^'^A'I'JA

:

"greenness

Psalm

of

Ixviii. 13).

gold"

in

Psalm

Ixvii.

14

(English

SHE ASSUMES MALE ATTRIBUTES

B.C. 1533]

to do,

and showed tliem liow she had performed them

all to his entire satisfaction.

The journey

Punt probably occupied two

years, or more,

is

II

to

and from

and thus

it

must have been despatched

clear that the expedition

In the

in the early years of her reign.

relief

which

what she has done, she

represents the queen declaring

appears in the form of a man, and she wears male attire

she

sometimes depicted as a boy, but she never

is

appears in the form of

personifies a goddess.

woman

When

when she

except

seated in a shrine she

always wears the headdress of a god, and to her chin a

beard

is

In the inscriptions masculine pro-

attached.

nouns and verbal forms are used in speaking of her,

and masculine attributes are ascribed

benefits
to

The

which accrued to Egypt through the expedition

Punt must

character,
profit

her.

to

have been

and there

is

of

little

a purely

doubt that the material

must have been very considerable

leopards, cheetas,

commercial

and apes would serve

the giraffes,

for

no useful

purpose in Egypt, but the gold and precious stones, to

say nothing of the dnti gum, would form very valuable
assets.

We

have already said that no great military

expedition was undertaken during her reign, and

must therefore regard the statement that "

" and all desert lands, and the

who

is

countries,

Ha-nebu [come]

"feet of this beautiful goddess, and

" praise her

all

we

all rational

to the

beings

their life," rather as an evidence

that none of the hereditary foes of

Naville, op.

cit.,

Egypt disputed her

Pt. 3, plate 85.

PROSPERITY OF EGYPT

12
autliority
it

is

[B.C. 1533

than that she really conquered them.

Still,

a remarkable fact that during the whole of her

long

comparatively

Egyptians enjoyed a

the

reign

period of peace in which trade prospered and the arts

progressed.

Though renowned through her expedition

Hatshepset

Temple

of

more

is

Der

remarkable of

to Punt,

famous as the builder of the

al-Bahari,

most beautiful

the

and

the funerary temples in Egypt.

all

It

was built by the great queen, partly according to plans

which had been prepared during the reign of her father

Thothmes
to

and partly according

I.,

to ideas of

her own,

which a practical form was given by her distinguished

Her

architect Sen-Mut.

was

object

to provide a place

of burial for her father and herself, and those

loved,

whom

she

and a temple wherein on the appointed days

offerings

might be made to the double of herself and of

The

her father.

site

of the kings of the

temple there

this

chosen was holy ground, for one

Xlth Dynasty had already built a

temple is now in ruins. The whole

temple was enclosed by a wall, and was approached by

means

of an avenue of sphinxes

at the entrance,

which led

where stood two

obelisks.

to the pylon

The

ing consisted of three platforms or terraces,

buildlower,

middle, and upper, which rose one above the other, ac-

cording to the rise of the hill on the side of which the

whole temple was

built.

The middle and upper

plat-

forms were approached by flights of steps, and the end

of each platform rested

upon a portico

or colonnade

B.C. 1533]

THE TEMPLE OF DER AL-BAHARi

the

wliicli

wall

ornamented

partly

the

illustrated

supports

with

upper

the
a

expedition

of

series

I3

platform was
reliefs

which

Punt, and partly with

to

a series of texts and scenes which relate to the birth of

and her enthronement by Thothmes

Hatshepset,

On

I.

the floor of the upper platform are built a series of

chambers, and the central one extends backwards into

the mountain, and ends in a corridor

and chamber,

which was probably the shrine, and which

The

of the mountain itself.

itself

was about 800

The

and

pleasure,

was doomed

many.
of

on

to

total length of the building

feet.

which

temple

Hatshepset

which

she

built

with

such

lavished

such

care,

suffer ill-treatment at

Everywhere may be seen

her name

be seen the erasures of the

which were made by order of

and Eameses

in

it

hands

the

the

by her nephew Thothmes

II.,

many

erasures

who

III.,

in

places

who attempted

to repair

this damage, took the opportunity of adding his

cartouches to the inscriptions

great queen.
finished,

It

is

doubtful

but enough of

it

if

in

of Egypt.

own

the temple of the

the temple was ever

remains to show that

one of the most graceful and artistic of

ings

of

may
name of the god Amen
the heretic king Amen-

hated her with a deadly hatred

hetep IV.

hewn out

is

all

In connection with the

was

it

the build-

temple

of

Hatshepset mention must be made of her architect

Sen-Mut,
art

aaa/^

a\

who was both

and her loyal servant.

a master of his

It is impossible to say

with

SENMUT THE GREAT ARCHITECT

14

whom

tlie

idea of hewing a temple wholly or in part

out of the solid rock originated, but there

that

it

[B.C. 1533

was the practical

ability

no doubt

is

which he possessed

that enabled her to carry out her artistic conceptions

and designs, and

into character and

woman who

says a great deal for the insight

it

for the

good sense of the ablest

ever sat upon the throne of Egypt, that she

gave Sen-Mut the opportunity of building an

edifice

which has shed glory on the name both of the subject

and of his great sovereign.

The
tions

published

the

inscrip-

which are found on a statue of Sen-Mut in

the Berlin

held

Lepsius

Dr.

late

Museum, and from these we

numbers

high

of

in

offices

he

see that

connection

with

the temple and estates of the god Amen, and in the

On

queen's household.

one

shoulder of the

statue

are the words " not were found in writing ancestors,"

,^u. A>^T?

6M

^1)

words which have

been supposed to indicate that Sen-Mut was a

low birth and origin

but this

is

man

of

not necessarily their

meaning, and they only imply that no account of his

ancestors

had been

kept.

from his sepulchral

As

a matter of fact

stele that

his

mother was called

Hat-nefer, ==^ T, and his father Ka-mes,

queen, however, rewarded

him

well^ for

main inscription that he was an

^

Lepsius, Denkmdler,

we know

we

f]

1.

see from the

erpci ltd prince,

iii.

pi. 25.

The

and a

AND THE GREAT GRANITE OBELISKS

B.C. 1533]

S7ner greatly "beloved,

and

tlie

Lower down he

"Amen."

"loved his lord

steward of

tlie

"I was

says,

15

temple

a noble

ol

who

Hatshepset in her capacity as

(i.e.,

" king), and I entered into the favour of the lady of the

"two
"

He

lands.

magnified

me

before the two lands,

and he made me the upper door

(i.e.,

entrance) of his

....

"house, and the inspector of his lands like his

"I

was made chief of the

" overseers of his works,

chiefs,

^]

and the overseer of the

^wv^

^--^
i

" was in this land under his orders

....

Y)

and I

and I was

"alive in the reign of the lady of the two lands, the

" king of the

" ever

"

South and North, Maat-ka-Ka, living

Sen-Mut seems

to

for

have been the " father of

" the chief nurse of the royal daughter, the mistress of

" the

two lands, the divine wife Ea-neferu."

Among

other works which Sen-Mut performed for the

great queen
"

must be mentioned the bringing of the

two great obelisks

Aswan

"

from the granite quarries of

to Thebes, for it

was certainly one of the most

They were set up

at Karnak, behind the two obelisks of Thothmes I.,
and were dedicated by Hatshepset to the memory of
her father Thothmes I. one has fallen down, and only

wonderful of

all his

achievements.

a portion of

and

is

it still

remains, but the other

'

_V
25

q.

stands,

a true witness of the marvellous skill which was

possessed by the engineers of the

pi.

still

^"^

1111 "5?^

te^enui urui

XYIIIth Dynasty

see Lepsius, DenJcmdIei\ in.

hatshepset's obelisks

i6

[B.C. 1533

the working of an intractable stone like granite.

in

In connection with this statement

membered that

they had

no

appliances, and that all the

them

in

the inclined plane, and

human

means

it

be

re-

mechanical

available to help

of stone consisted of

knowledge of the use of

labour; they had neither

cranes nor hydraulic jacks, and even

quainted with the pulley

mnst

elaborate

moving such huge masses

ropes, wedges, levers, rollers, a

it

if

they were ac-

would help them

raising of an obelisk of granite.

little in

the

Originally there was

down

a single vertical column of hieroglyphics running

each of the four sides of each obelisk, but afterwards

scenes were added, in which Hatshepset and her father

and brother are depicted

to

Amen-Ka;

making

offerings

name of this god was erased, and

by Amen-hetep IV., the heretic

the

his figure also,

was

in the act of

king,

wherever possible by the early kings of

but

it

the

XlXth Dynasty.

re- cut

often

On

each of the four sides of the

base of the standing obelisk are eight lines of inscription,

which record the queen's names and

declare
says, "

and

her object in setting up the obelisks.

She

made monuments

to her

She

" father

titles

(i.e.,

herself) hath

Amen, the

lord of the thrones of the two lands,

" the dweller in the Apts,

and she hath made

for

him

" two great obelisks of granite of the south, and the

"

summit of each

is

covered with copper and gold, the

''very best wdiich can be obtained from the countries of

" the world.
"

They

and they shall

shall be seen

flood the

from untold distances,

two lands with their rays of

AND THEIR INSCRIPTIONS

B.C. 1533]

and the Disk

17

up between them in the

"morning, even as he riseth from the horizon of
"liglit,

risetli

I have done these things because of the

"heaven.

towards

my

father

have entered where he hath

led,

and I

"loving heart which I possess

"Amen.
"

my

have done

" will,

utmost to act according to his august

and from the very beginning I never hesitated

" do so.

make

these things

known unto

to

who

those

"will come into being during the double hen period,i

"whose minds
"

have made to

will consider this

my

father,

" questions concerning

"

it.

monument which

and whose words

will

form

w^hen they have looked upon

it

as I sat in the palace,

I,

"that made me, and

"him two

my

remembered who it was

heart was moved to make for

obelisks with

copper and gold [on their

" summits],
" in this

which should tower up among the pillars

venerable hall which stands between the two

"great pylons of the king, the mighty

bull, the

king of

"the South and North, Aa-kheper-ka-Ka (Thothmes

"I), and should pierce the sky. I have [dedicated]
"these two great obelisks, which have been worked
" with copper

" desire that

"temple,
"

Each

AAAA/v\

120 years.

VOL.

my name

and endure

obelisk

"t <==^
1

and gold,

IV.

),

-i

is

to

Amen

with the

should abide permanently in this

there

for

monolith

and has in

<j,

[my] father

it

ever

and

(literally,

'

for

stone

ever.

one

neither join nor division.

henti, literally,

two periods

of 60 years,

i.e.

HATSHEPSETS OBELISKS

i8

My

"

[B.C. 1533

Majesty began to work on tliem on the

" of the second

" year of

my

month

reign,

first

day

of the season Pert, of the fifteenth

and continued

" last day of the fourth

month

" in the sixteenth year of

my

so to do until the

of the season of Shemut,

reign, that is to say, the

work lasted seven months ^ from the time when it

The
"was begun in the mountain" [at Aswan].
"

height of the obelisk of Hatshepset

about ninety-eight

feet,

weigh over 3650 tons

of the vast

amount of

The following

is

and

now standing

has been estimated to

it

these figures will give an idea

skill

and practice required

the Eg-yptian calendar

to cut

MONTH.

MONTH.

^3

is

Phamenoth,

Pharmuthi.

Pakhoii.

^^'^'^^

Paoni

/WVW\

Epep.

Thoth.i'

o'

o
o
^ o

Paopi.
1

Hathor.

Khoiak.

Tobi.

Mekhir.

s^
/WVVV\

W lo,
AAA/W\
AAAAAA ^^

(J

2^

Mesore.e

Season of sowing.

The mouth

Season of growing.
Season of harvest and inundation.
The year consisted of 12 months, each containing 30 days, and

^
e

of 5

of

Thoth began on August

epagomenal days.

29.

THE SPECS ARTEMIDOS

B.C. 1533]

IQ

the blocks out of their beds in the quarry, and to float

them down the

or injury

and
all

river,

and

them up without break

to set

and when we remember that the quarrying,

transport,

and

and

erection,

inscribing

were

done in seven months the matter savours of the

marvellous.

To
found

carry on her great building operations Hatshepset

it

necessary to work the old quarries in Egypt,

and the inscriptions in the Wadi Maghara and

else-

where in the Sinaitic Peninsula prove that the old

mines there also were re-opened, and, judging from the
queen's well attested practical ability, they were profitably worked under
ruins of buildings in

name

competent superintendence.

many

of Hatshepset, and there

restorations

inscriptions

Of

little.

is

no doubt that the

which

are

in extent, but the fragmentary

found

upon them

teach us

special interest, however, is the remarkable

temple which she built in honour of the goddess

Pakht near the modern Arab

;

"Stabl

'Antar,''

village of

called it "

Upper Egypt the Greeks

and the name by which it
i.e.,

is

to the

Arabs

is

the ^'Stable of 'Ant ar," a famous

beauty, and ability which

to possess.

Beni Hasan in

Speos Artemidos,''

known

Arab hero who was endowed with

1881

Egypt contain the

which she carried out were both many in

number and considerable

little

parts of

The

it

is

all

the strength,

possible for mortal

man

In this temple M. Grolenischeff copied in

an inscription which throws considerable light

upon the building policy

of

Hatshepset, and shows

HATSHEPSET REBUILDS THE TEMPLES

20
that

she

restored

seems as

it

made

"my
luu,

made

y^^

fwi

copper,

She claims that

o.

foreign lands to submit,"

Kushau,

peoples

foreign

many gods and

of

she presented them with images

if

of gokl and
will

shrines

and re-established their worship in them,

goddesses,

and

the

[B.C. 1533

and that the

^^ Hil "^ ^ [X]

and

"did not hide themselves from

Vi.[Jv],

She cleared out and

before her Majesty.'^

temple of the goddess Hathor of Cusae

rebuilt the

whose

had become completely buried under the ruins

of the building, and whose hall had become a play-

shrine

ground
she

ZZ

the

repaired
t [

who danced about in it, and

shrines of the Khemenniu gods

for the children,^

^^

and of Khnemu, and Heqet, and Ee-

nenet, and Meskhenet, and Nehemauai, and

Nehebkau.

Most interesting of

passage in

which the queen

"people,

all,

says, "

whosoever ye

however,

is

the

Hearken unto me

may

be: I

then,

have done these

"things with a humble and a lowly heart.

"made
"

to flourish again that

ye

which was in

I have

ruins,

and I

have raised up the buildings which were begun in olden

"time,

for

there

were the Aamu,

"hordes in the middle of the country of the north and

^^ ^111

JJ1ilZ,^>tiTtO n

DESTROYED BY THE HYKSOS

B.C. 1533]

"in
"
"

Avaris,

r"vn

<?

\\

%\

Y>

and hordes of foreigners,

,,

21

Mt^

I,

of their peoples over-

threw the buiklings, and they reigned having no

"knowledge whatsoever of the god

Aamu who

Ra.'^

In the

we have a plain
the Semitic hordes who are commonly

ence to

are mentioned here

refer-

called

Hyksos, and the allusions to the destruction of buildings which they wrought, and

make

it

to

their city Avaris,

quite certain that Hatshepset

is

speaking of

when
they destroyed the temples of the gods, and knew
nothing about the god Ra and his worship. The inscrip-

the older period of the occupation of the country

tion

is

of great value, as showing that the queen

was

wishful to care for the shrines of the old goddesses as

new god Amen-Ra,

well as for the comparatively

the

king of the gods.

has already been mentioned that one of Hatshepset's

titles was " Khnemet Amen," i.e., " she who is closely
It

related to

Amen," and we know that

it

was a

title of

very rare occurrence, and in the case of Hatshepset

was believed

to

have a very special

it

signification, for she

thought that she was the offspring of the god Amen, and

bone of his bone, and

flesh of his flesh.

wall of the middle colonnade

Bahari, which she

^

the northern

of h^r temple at

^^

Der

torn, vi. p. 20.

Naville, op.

cit., pt.

11, pi.

46

ft".

al-

" Tcheser-Tcheser,"

See the paper and text by Golenischeff in Recueil. torn.

pp. 1
^

called

On

iii.

22

HATSHEPSET DAUGHTER OF AMEN-RA

"

i.e., tlie

of Holies " [of

Holy

Amen]

are a

[B.C. 1533

number

scenes wliicli are very important as showing

tlie

of

views

The god Amen

one day summoned the twelve great gods of Egypt to
him, i.e., Menthu, Temu, Shu, Tefnut, Seb, Nut, Osiris,
wliicli

Isis,

the queen held as to her origin.

NejDhthys, Set, Horus, and Hathor, and told them

that a great princess was to be born, and asked

make her

take her under their protection and to

and prosperous^
"peace

for her the

"her

all

what

Amen

am

to

rich

going to unite in

two lands, and I am going to give

The

lands."

Thoth, the

said he, " I

for,

them

gods, of course, agreed to

do

This having been arranged,

asked them.

spirit of the creator, led the

god

Amen

into

who became the

Hatshepset, and he caused Amen to make her

the place where was queen Aahmes,

mother of

to inhale the

breath of

Next Amen took upon

life.

himself the form of Thothmes

Aahmes, and entered

opposite to her

I.,

the husband of queen

chamber and took his

into a

seat

with his right hand he presented to

her the symbol of "

life," -r-,

and with

his left he held to

her nostrils another symbol of "life," wherefrom she

inhaled the breath and attribute of "life."

The god and

the queen sat upon a seat which was supported by the

goddesses Neith and Selq

these goddesses sat upon a

couch, the tops of the four legs of which were

the form of the heads of lions.

caresses of the god with joy,

the breath of

life,

and as

The queen

made

in

received the

and she inhaled from him

Amen was

about to leave her

he announced to her that she would give birth to a

KHNEMU CREATES HER BODY

B.C. 1533]

daughter wlio would be

own

liis

child,

23

and wlio would

reign over the two lands of Egypt, and would become

the sovereign of the whole world.

When
the

the god

god who

said to have

is

Khnemu,

the queen he sent for

left

assisted in performing

the behests of Thoth which resulted in the creation

of the world, and

upon a

potter's wheel,

him the body

be

have fashioned the

to

born

into

of his

and asked him

answer to Amen's request

to fashion for

who was about

daughter,

world

this

queen

of

man

first

Khnemu

to

Aahmes.

In

"I

will

replied,

"fashion the body of thy daughter for thee, and her

" appearance shall be

"gods, since she

"

King

more glorious than that

of the

destined to the exalted rank of

is

of the South and North."

Thereupon Khnemu

fashioned two bodies exactly alike, and since Hatshepset

decreed that she was to be represented in male form,
the bodies were

made to be those

was that of the future queen

of her

lici

or "double,"

was never

to

Khnemu had
was done

of two little boys

(king),

life

or in death

body of the queen.

finished fashioning the bodies his

but they were without

one

and the other that

which whether in

leave the

life,

When
work

and remained

inanimate until the goddess Heqet, the wife of Khnemu,

who was

represented in the form of a frogheaded woman,

stepped forward, and having knelt down, held up to their

nostrils the

breath of

symbol of

life,

and

so

life,

wherefrom they inhaled the

became living

souls.

When Khnemu had created the bodies of the queen and

HEQET GIVES HER A SOUL

24
lier ha,

Thotli went to

lier

[B.C. 1533

mother Aahmes and recited

and dignities which had been ordered to

to her the titles

be conferred upon the daughter to Avhom she was about

At length, when her appointed time

to give

birth.

arrived,

Khnemu and

his wife

chamber where she was

among the

titles

Heqet led her into the

to bring forth Hatshepset,

which were given

to her

and

was one which

declared that she was to be the " sovereign of

all

women,"

^^^

to

her daughter Hatshepset in the presence of several

-In

due course the queen gave birth

goddesses, and of the spirits of the North, and South,

and East, and West, and of the goddess Meskhenet, the

genius of the birth chamber, and of the deities Ta-urt and

Bes

the queen received her daughter in her arms, and

a goddess standing behind her at the same time touched

her on her head with the symbol of

this

Amen went

to see his

she was shown to

Shortly after

life.

daughter Hatshepset, and

him by the goddess Hathor, and

as

soon as he saw her he addressed her as " daughter of

"^

my

body, Maat-ka-Ka, emanation glorious, thou ex-

" alted issue of

my

loins,

thou shalt

sit

upon the throne

" of

Horus and have dominion over the two lands like

"Ea." Amen then took his daughter into his arms,

and embraced her and kissed her lovingly, and declared

that she should be the sovereign of Egypt.

Hatshepset,

having been acknowledged by her father,

handed over
deities

who

children,

to

was then

the Hathor goddesses and the other

presided over the

rearing

and the fourteen kau, or

and safety of

" doubles,"

which

SHE

B.C. 1533]

IS

ACKNOWLEDGED BY AMEN

were attributed to her, were reared by

tlie

25

same means.

In due course she was presented to each of the great

gods of the Egyptians, and from each of them she
received some gift which assisted in the development
of her

mind and body.

When

a certain period in her chihlhood was reached

she was taken, probably to

Amen and

ceremony

to

Horus,

upou

performed

head

and

temple, by the gods

the

purification

of

her

by

made

then

w^as

which

Amen showed

the gods, and

to
*'

"

him,

the queen,

bestow

daughter Hatshepset
is

"

life
;

form, to

and peace upon

behold, she

is

said

thy

this

thy daughter,

is

equipped with

of her

mother

sea.

" to be her possessions,

soul,

all

Whilst she was yet

lands and countries

" were hers, yea, whatsoever is covered

"surrounded by the

all

paid to thee, and thy words

and thy great crown.

womb

is

Thou hast given unto her thy

and the homage which

" in the

purifi-

sprung from what came forth from thee,

qualities.

" of power,

the

who had male

" and thou didst beget her, and she

"thy

After

when they had looked upon her they

"We

and she

her

over

ceremony seems to be the equivalent of

this

baptism among Christian nations.

cation

gods

these

water

pouring

submit

to

by the sky and

All these things thou makest

and thou knowest the hen

"periods which thou wilt give her; and we wdll grant

" unto her a portion of life like unto that of Horus,

Literally, henti periods

see above, p. 17.

and

through EGYPT

26 HATSHEPSET's journey
"years equal unto those of

Wlien the ceremony

human

with power."

Set,

of purification

shepset set out with her

visit

god

tlie

[B.C. 1533

was ended Hat-

father,

Thothmes

the shrines of the gods of Egypt, and she

I.,

is at

to

this

time described as being " most beautiful, with the voice

" of a god, and the form of a god,"

of a god, and she acted in every

a " beautiful damsel,"

and

all

way

like a god; she

was

and the goddess Uatch made her

She went

form and beauty to increase.

of Hathor,

and her soul was that

to the shrines

Uatchet, Amen, Temu, Menthu,

Khnemu^

the other gods of the South and North, and they

accepted her, and took her under their protection

they foretold what she would do when she

It is pretty clear

reign.

which

scription

princess

made

came

and
to

from the wording of the in-

these details that the

relates

a pilgrimage

which extended as

young
far as

Per-Uatchet in the north and as Elephantine in the

south

Heliopolis

mentioned among the

is

cities

which

she visited, but not Abydos, the shrine of Osiris.

her way

it

is

probable that certain repairs and restora-

tions were carried out

the

texts

by her father and

speak of her

as " restoring

up monuments

"ruins, and setting

" providing the altars of the

" offerings in abundance."

also refer to her great deeds,

"

On

herself, for

what was

in thy temples,

in

and

god who begot thee with

The gods

in their speech

"

Thou makest thy

and say,

way through mountainous lands innumerable, and

" makest thyself master of

" of the

Thehennu

them

^^H. r^^*^
|

thou seizest the lands

thou smitest with thy

SHE

B.C. 1533]

IS

MADE CO-REGENT
Anti M

'

weapons the

'

the heads of their soldiers

'

nobles of Ketennu,

'

devilisli

ings after the

^^^

manner

ffl

fjl

^^

27

and cuttest

i,

of!

thou art master of the

v^ ^^:^

of thy father

with slaughter-

thou hast tribute

'

from the people and takest prisoners by hundreds of

'

thousands

thou makest them to be workmen on the

'lands and estates of the temples, and thou bringest

'

sacrifices

'

(i.e.,

'

(or offerings)

Karnak)

Amen-Ka, the

into the temple of the Apts

to the steps of the shrine of the

king

lord of the thrones of the two lands."

After Hatshepset had visited the

again presented to the god Amen,

shrines she was

who superintended

the performance of another ceremony in which she was

brought into a sacred chamber and was arrayed in

the garb of the god Osiris, and was

hands the whip

which this god

(or, flail)

is

made

and crook

to hold in her

(or sceptre),

with

always represented^ and the united

crowns of the South and North were placed upon her

The

head.

princess Hatshepset was then ready to be

crowned ruler of
to the throne

the greater

Thothmes

all

seems to have been against the wishes of

number
I.,

Egypt, and although her elevation

of the people of Egypt, her father,

determined to make her co-regent.

To

carry this into effect he caused a suitable tent to be

prepared, and the princess^ having donned the garb of a

man, was led forth by her father, who said to the assembled nobles, " I hereby set
^

For the text see Naville,

my

daughter Hiitshepset

op. cit., p. 3, plate 57.

CORONATION OF HATSHEPSET

28
" in

my

place and seat lier

my

upon

[B.C. 1533

throne,

and from

" this time forward she shall sit on the holy throne with
" steps.

She

shall give

her commands unto

all

the

" dwellers in the palace^ and she shall be your leader,

'^and ye shall hearken unto her words, and obey her
"

"

Whosoever

commands.

" shall

live,

but he

Majesty shall

the kiDg

die."

shall ascribe praise unto her

who speaketh evil

The nobles heard

against

her

the words of

and forthwith they cast themselves down

before their

new sovereign and

did homage, and then

they rose up and danced for joy

when the king saw

that they accepted his daughter, though a maiden, as

their ruler

men

learned

he
to

rejoiced,

and ordered the

chiefs of the

come into his presence and

the "great names" of the

new queen,

i.e.,

to

draw up

her Horus

name, and the other names which have already been

described at the beginning of this section.

The names

having been decided upon, the new queen was led into
the "great house," and the god Khas,

water

over

her,

and when

into another part

this

^^,

was done she went

of the building,

where the double

crown was placed upon her head by two

had dressed themselves

and Set

priests,

to represent the gods

who

Horus

the day on which this ceremony was performed

was made the

first

day of a new chronological

the reign of the queen was reckoned from

is

poured

it.

era,

and

The above

a brief account of the ceremonies which were per-

formed when Thothmes

Amen "

I.

decided that the " daughter of

should become the queen of Egypt.

THE REIGN OF THOTHMES

B.C. 1533]

6.

^\^ fo c^

"^ r^ 1 pi

29

III.

Ea-men-kheper,

son of the Sim, Tehuti-mes [HI.].

Tehuti-mes
the

or

Thothmes

III.,

Misphragmuthosis of Manetho, was

Thothmes

the son of
Aset,

III.,

II.

by the queen

and the nephew of the great queen

Hatshepset, and the grandson of Thoth-

mes

I.

according to the versions of the

King List

down

of

to us,

Manetho which have come

he reigned twenty- six years,

but the dated monuments prove that he

ffi

ka-nekht-ehaem-Uast,

%?oTCeTSr^

more than double

claimed to have rei2;ned
o
that time, and that he must have included in his reckoning the years which

he ruled as co-regent with his aunt.

He

throne on the third or fourth day of the

the season Shemut,

i.e.,

the

ascended the
first

month Pakhon,

month

ol

or Pakhons,

when he was still a child, and the royal titles assigned

to him were, " Mighty Bull, rising like the sun in
Thebes," "Mighty Bull, crowned with truth," "the
Lord, maker of created things," " Mighty Bull, exalted

by truth," "the King, established like the sun in

heaven," "the Horus of gold," "holy one of crowns,"
" Prince^ doubly brave," and, of course,

shrines

of

Nekhebet

" lord

and Per-Uatchet."

died on the last day of the third

month

of the

Thothmes

of the season

DEATH OF HATSHEPSET

30
Pert,

i.e.,

month Phamenoth,

the

[B.C. 1533

in the fifty-fonrth

year of his reign, and he must therefore have reigned

about fifty-three years, twenty-one years as co-regent

with Hatshepset, and about thirty-two years alone. In
the last year or two of his

Amen-hetep

As soon

life

he seems to have associated

with him in the rule of the kingdom.

II.

Thothmes

as Hatshepset died,

himself compelled to undertake

III.

found

of warlike

series

expeditions on a scale which the Egyptians had never

before contemplated, for in every portion of the Egyptian

empire the nations that had paid tribute to his aunt

suddenly refused to continue to do

desert tribes in

the Egyptian

Western Asia and

yoke,

and

this,

in

and

the

all

Nubia threw

proclaimed themselves

off

in-

The punishments which Thothmes I. had

inflicted upon them were entirely forgotten, and the
new generations which had grown up during the reigns
dependent.

of

Thothmes

II.

and Hatshepset seem never

had any deep-seated

to

have

fear of those sovereigns of Egypt,

and leagues against Egypt were made by the allied

tribes, each with the other, in a quick and alarming

The young king

manner.

of Egypt, for he

must have

been under thirty years of age, soon found that the

policy of Hatshepset
trouble,

had brought in

and that almost every

tribe

its

that

the

people

of Northern

her, but it is quite clear that

serious

and nation which

had formerly acknowledged the supremacy

in a state of hostility towards him.

train

of

Egypt was

Hatshepset boasted

Syria paid tribute to

even in her time Egypt

HATSHEPSET HATED BY THOTHMES

B.C. 1533]

well-nigli lost in that country the influence

had

her father had obtained there

the

man

of the desert, and the

and

for her death,

all

seem

to

gifts

to

Negro were

all

and

waiting

have decided that when

would cease

this event took place they

which

in fact, the Syrian,

3I

III.

to carry their

Egypt, where they were employed chiefly in

building great temples in honour of gods

Of the private

strange to them.

Thothmes
which he

life

who were

and character of

we know nothing, but the inscriptions

behind on his buildings at Karnak prove

III.
left

that he was both a great soldier and a great builder.

may

It

small

be urged that he displayed the possession of a

mind

figures

in

hammering out the

of queen

inscriptions

and

Hatshepset from the walls of her

temple at Der al-Bahari, but considering the strength

of his hatred for his aunt,

wonder

is

and his absolute power, the

not that he destroyed so much, but that he

We

did not destroy more.

can only be thankful that

he did not overthrow the whole building.

The

chief authorities for the

military

undertaken by Thothmes III. are the

expeditions

official

which are inscribed on a part of the

Annals

Temple

of

Karnak,^ and an inscription of Amen-em-heb, one of

the generals of
of

Amen-hetep

Thothmes
II.

III.,

who

and was buried

died in the reign

at

Kurna, on the

For the texts see Lepsms, DenTcmdler iii. plates 31 and 32

pi. 5 ff.
Maspero, Recueil, torn. ii. p. 48 ff.
Birch, The Annals of Thothmes III., London, 1853 (Archaeologia,
1

Mariette, Karnak,

vol. XXXV. p. 116-166).

THE REIGN OF THOTHMES

32

bank

western

the

these

The

of

following

Thothmes

compiled
the

statement to

from

effect

gave the order that the narrative

III.

of the victories,

Tliebes

been

have

facts

Annals open with

that

opposite

Nile,

tlie

[B.C. 1533

III.

and a

list

which he had

of the spoil

gained by them, should be inscribed npon the temple

built

by him in honour of the god Amen-Eil, who

had made him

of the fourth

On

be victorious.

to

month

day

the 25th

of the season Pert

(i.e.,

Phar-

muthi), in the 22nd year of his reign, Thothmes III.

^^

city of Tchalu,

was in the

campaign to enlarge the

s=5

that were

cities

M T f c^

left

to

.andlrtcha,

month

first

<==>

() |)

On

Shemut

of the season

been in

Egypt were Sharuhen,

the villages as far as the swamps.

the

liad

and the only

a disturbed state for some years past,

loyal

The people

frontiers of Egypt.

of the country of the Eethennu,

his first

in

^^^

and

the third day of

(i.e.,

Pakhon), in

the 23rd year of his reign, which was the anniversary

of

his

^ ""^x

accession

v^

day,

rv/x^

6th,

III.

at

two days

left

on the expedition which Amen-

ordered him to undertake.

he arrived

was at Gaza,

Katchatu, which he

later in order to set out

Ea had

Thothmes

Ihem,

[1

\^

The next

^^

[^^:-^

day, the

where he

held a council of war, and learned that the peoples of

Neherina,
Qetsliu

and the Shasu, and the Kharu, and the

had made a league together, and had assembled

HIS EXPEDITION INTO SYRIA

B.C. 1553]

horses and chariots in order to do battle with

all their

the king of Egypt

which route

to

quickly,

the

for

he discussed with his

follow

order

in

had

rebellion

Of the three roads which

by the generals

reach

to

officers

Megiddo

spread with

and the whole country was in

rapidity,

rejected

33

great

revolt.

led to Megiddo, two were

king

as unsuitable, but the

decided to march there by one of them, and his officers

were obliged to say that they would follow him whither-

Amen

soever he went^ and they prayed that his god

Thereupon Thothmes

would guard him.

having

III.,

put himself at the head of his army, set out, and his

advanced

troops

in

formation,

single

and

marched

through the rocky valleys to the north of Carmel.

After

one day's rest he marched on again, and he

succeeded in collecting
little

after

of

noon

war,

allied

the

to

south

his

the

of

forces

city

later in the day the

when he

rebels

all

in

decided

to

a place

at

Megiddo

of

soon

king held a council

give

battle

to

the

Megiddo on the following day, and

the generals then returned to their companies and

informed them of the positions which they were to

occupy on the following day.

In the evening rations

were served out, and when sentries had been posted,

the Egyptian host settled down for the night, with
the exception of the king,

who

he had trustworthy news that

refused to
all

was

lie

down

quiet.

until

At day-

break on the 21st the whole army marched out in

single formation, its right

VOL. IV.

wing resting on the

river

ATTACK ON MEGIDDO

34

[B.C. 1533

stretching out along the plain and reaching

and

its left

to

Megiddo

on

north-western

its

side

king

the

standing upright in his bright metal chariot occupied

the centre, and to his troops he appeared like the god

Horus with

The

his spear, or the

allied hosts of the

god Menthu of Thebes.

enemy, who did not expect to

be attacked so early in the day,

horror and dismay, and having

were struck with

left their

chariots and

horses they fled to the city for refuge, but the inhabitants

of the

city,

seeing

what had happened, and

having no wish that the Egyptian soldiers should gain

possession of the city as well as capture their enemies,

promptly shut the gates and refused to open them.

down cords and

drew up the leaders of the revolt by means of them
over the walls in this way the prince of Kadesh and

Some

of the inhabitants of the city let

the prince of Megiddo

escaped from the Egyptians,

but the fear of the king of Egypt had paralyzed them,

and their limbs shook with terror

at the sight of the

slaughter which he had made.

Meanwhile the Egyptians returned

field,

to the stricken

and gathered together the gold and

silver plated

chariots of their enemies, and the daggers and other

weapons, and having cut

off a

hand from each

and collected their prisoners, they brought

before the king,

The

whom

king, however,

were, for

corpse,

all their spoil

they greeted with shouts of joy.

was not

as well pleased as

had they pressed home their

first

they

attack and

followed up their foes to the walls of Megiddo, instead

SURRENDER OF MEGIDDO

B.C. 1533]

of turning aside to take

spoil,

35

would have

city

tlie

been in his hands, and to have taken the city that day

would have been equivalent to taking a thousand

because
inside

the leaders

all

and with

to take the city,

He

his arrangements.

wood
to be

of the trees

dug

all

king to do was

for the

left

view he made

this object in

stationed his soldiers round the

and having provided shelters

city,

them made

for

round the

city

he encircled the ditch

behind which he

men, and

he built a

to the

he

occupied

east

called

himself.

it

of the

which he cut down, he caused a ditch

with a wooden fence,

which

up

of the revolt were shut

The only thing

it.

cities,

placed his

sort of blockhouse

" Men-kheper-Ka-uah-Sati,^^

The inhabitants

of

and

Megiddo soon

found that they could not get out to obtain supplies,

and that supplies could not be brought in

when they

to them,

further discovered that the Egyptian soldiers

kept constant vigil they surrendered to Thothmes

and marching out they brought

his feet.

and

The

gifts

and

laid

III.,

them

annalist says that a diary of the

was kept, and that

all

at

war

the mighty deeds which were

performed by the king were written therein, and that

a copy of
laid

it

was made upon a leather

roll

which was

up in the temple of Amen.

The spoil obtained from Megiddo was very great and

among other things enumerated in the list are 2041 mares,
;

340 prisoners, 191 young horses, 200 suits of armour,

I.e.,

**

Men-kheper-Ra who quieteth

tlie

Asiatics."

THE SPOIL OF MEGIDDO

36

[B.C. 1533

502 bows, 924 chariots, one chariot with a canopy plated

with gokl, the chariot of a chief which also was gold

Kadesh with

plated, the tent of the prince of

wood

poles of choice
goats,

296

bulls,

inlaid with silver,

1949 oxen, 2000

Among

20,500 sheep.

83 hands, each of which had been cut

foe,

and thus

battle

seems that the actual

was not very

generally

many

it

great.

the king

this booty were

from a dead

off

loss of life in the

the country of Syria

much
1796 men and women
also

prisoners, viz.,

From

seven

its

obtained

spoil

and

slaves,

103

starving captives of the enemy, 87 sons of chiefs and

others, a large Syrian cup, a large

shapes and

vessels of all

1784 pounds, gold

and

sizes,

silver

number

of vases and

97 swords weighing
rings

weighing 966

pounds, a silver statue with a head of gold, objects

made
and

of ivory, ebony, etc., inlaid with gold,

footstools, ivory

thrones

and cedar-wood tables inlaid with

gold and precious stones, the sceptre of the chief of the

enemy

By

inlaid with gold, vessels of bronze, clothing, etc.

the orders of the king a

list

was made of

all

the

corn lands which lay between Megiddo and the waste

lands, and, the

amount

in one harvest
officer,

of the corn which they produced

having been calculated by the king's

the people of the district were compelled to give

208,000 measures of corn, and this did not include

what the Egyptian troops had cut for their use meanWith this great booty Thothmes III. returned
while.
to Egypt,

ciated

and the inhabitants of the country appre-

highly the

results

of

the

expedition

which

SECOND EXPEDITION TO SYRIA

B.C. 1533]

broiiglit into tlieir possessiou

siicli

37

vast quantities of

valuable property.

In

the

24:tli

year

of

Tliotlimes

reign

III.

on Lis second expedition against the tribes

set out

of Palestine and Syria,

him

liis

and he brought back with

and

pieces of lapis-lazuli, vessels of gold,

and precious

stones,

which had been brought

silver,

to

him

by the governor of Assyria, and a king's daughter, and

ornaments of gold and

silver,

9 chariots plated with

gold,

goats, suits of bronze

^

65 slaves,

lapis-lazuli,
bulls,

sheep

oxen,

and

armour, 823 vessels of incense,

1718 vessels of wine, honey, ivory, and precious woods

from the chiefs of the Eethennu. In the 25th year of
his reign

Thothmes

marched into Northern Syria,

III.

and occupied the whole of the country to the west of

the city of Aleppo and in the neighbourhood of

Karkemish;

in

addition

to

the

various

which

may

be described

number

of plants or

were given to him by the tribes which

as his vassals, he brought back a

gifts

shrubs which were highly prized in Egypt, for he

wished

to introduce the cultivation of

country.

that

the

Thothmes

into the

These plants were so highly appreciated

representations of
walls

them

of

the

them were sculptured upon

temple

of

Amen-Rfi

at

Thebes.

III. sent expeditions into Syria in the

26th

no records of them

and 27th years of his

reign, but

have been preserved.

It is probable that

they were

only undertaken to collect the annual tribute which

the Egyptian king had imposed upon the tribes of the

SIXTH EXPEDITION TO SYRIA

38

had there been any serious fighting we

country, for

should probably have been told about

officer

general

or

[B.C. 1S33

like

Amen-em-heb.

it

by some

In the 28th

year of his reign Thothmes III. marched into Syria,

with the intention of reducing the whole country in the

neighbourhood of Aleppo

done he marched to

this

Karkemish, and passing the "water of Neherna" he

entered and took possession of the country of Mitanni,
^-^^

which

of

nK

.wwvN

r^^\y]

was
A?\

v^

the city

Mdthena, one of the chief

v\ r^^^
H

Tunip,

A^AAAA

Tunipa

comprised gold,

of copper, and

the

spoil

TJieiqni,

some hundreds of

or

taken from

lapis-lazuli,

silver,

cities

captives,

vessels

and the

Egyptians seized a boat on one of the rivers near,

which was laden with copper.

to

Egypt Thothmes

On

the return journey

III. attacked the flourishing city

of Arvad, apparently about

the

end of the time of

was being threshed, and the

harvest, for

the

grapes were

being trodden in the wine-presses

city

corn

the

was taken, and the trees cut down, and the land

laid waste,

and when the Egyptian

themselves with
to their

own

all

soldiers

had laden

they could carry they departed

country, fully satisfied with their booty.

They took with them

silver,

copper, precious stones,

incense, wine, grain, horses, sheep

and

cattle, etc.

In the 30th year of his reign Thothmes III. set out once

more

to the country of the

Eethennu, and wheresoever

he went he cut down the trees and reaped the corn

CAPTURE OF KADESH, SIMYRA, ETC.

B.C. 1533]

took

lie

<=^

^\

attack upon

tlie

Aruthtic, whicli
tliat

>^^

of Kadesli,

cities

tlie

city of Arvad,

i^

QA

was once more despoiled.

iv^\^

seems

It

the chiefs of the country had not yet decided to

Egypt without a

struggle, for in

order to ensure their good behaviour

to

and

Tchamdru, and made another

[vi:^

accept the rule of

felt

39

Thothmes

III.

obliged to carry some of their sons and brothers off

Egypt and

to hold

them there

Among

as hostages.

the spoil taken on this, the sixth expedition

king, were nearly 200 prisoners,

of the

188 mares, and 40

In the 31st year of his reign Thothmes III.

chariots.

took the city of Anruthu,

fjl

>

rv/^

which

seems to have been situated on a river or lake in

^a^ww^K

Northern Syria called Neserna,

n=c,

and

captured about 500 prisoners, together with a number

of horses and chariots

on the same expedition the

Eethennu paid him a very large

tribute,

which comprised the usual precious metals and

stones,

chiefs

of the

copper, sheep and cattle, etc.

he found a company of people

On his return to Egypt

who had been sent from

Nubia, and the country lying to the south of

present to

him

ivory, ebony,

Uauat, a

tribute^

and black slaves

district in

III.

in the

to

cattle,

and the people of

Nubia, sent a number of

Of the expedition

Thothmes

which consisted of gum,

it,

cattle.

32nd year of the reign of

we know nothing, but

in his 33rd year

ELEPHANT HUNT NEAR

40
he marcliecl

tlirouo'li

land

tlie

NI

[B.C. 1533

of Tclialii,

or

Phoenicia, and then on to the country of Nehern, or

Neherina,

^^^^wva

ra

v\
_^^

\\

ra

[i:^

A.WVVA

he took

all

r^^^

the cities in this region, and killed or put to flight

and in the

their inhabitants,

which was situated near a

by

tablet, side

father,

of

city

to a misunderstanding,
/w^w\
''

Neni

[ I

" or

up

set

r^y^

jj^

which his grand-

mark the

there, to

but

Western

supposed

formerly

Nineveh,

(I

up a memorial

set

to the east in

Ni was

of

city

the

represent

had

I.,

Egyptian Empire

The

he

river,

side with the tablet

Thothmes

limit of the

Asia.

city of Ni,

was

this

to

due

whereby the words " en Ni,"

" of the country of Ni," were read

"Nini," which in the early days of Egypto-

logy was thought to be a faithful transcription of the

Hebrew form
city of

name Ninewek.

of the

Nineveh seems not yet

to

The name

of the

have been found in

the hieroglyphic inscriptions, probably because the city

was not yet in existence, but

the north in the

if it

was

was too

it

kingdom of Assyria,

Assure, to be of any great size or importance.

Thothmes
ing to

III.

Whilst

was in the neighbourhood of Ni, accord-

the statement

Amen-em-heb,

far to

he

of one

hunted

hundred and twenty.

of his

elephants

Among

those
O

him was the king

of Sinjar, [j

generals called

and

who

slew

one

sent a gift to

/WVVV\

Z5

rv/N^

TRIBUTE FROM PUNT, UAUAT, ETC.

B.C. 1533]

Sankaru, who probably

Thothmes

to

liad liis capital in the

site of

Mountains, near the

the modern city

some genuine

III.

4I
Sinjar

he sent

lapis-lazuli,

and a

quantity of the excellent imitation of the stone which

was made in those days

at

Bebru,

that has been identified with Babylon.

a place

In this year

the chiefs of the Ruthennu, and of the lands of the

Khatti, and

Punt, and

Uauat,

also

sent

gifts

and

tribute.

In the 34th year of his reign Thothmes III. again

marched

into

Anaukasa,

of

[j

situated in the

number

and

Tchahi,

then

on to the

^ S ^^^ ^

Lebanon mountains

of the inhabitants prisoners,

the city gave

him

1^^^
;

and the

In the same

(Cyprus?), sent

large quantities of copper of two kinds,

ivory, thrones, etc.

districts of

lead,

and Kush and Uauat, two great

Nubia, sent slaves, male and female, ivory,

ebony, cattle, and grain.

the

chiefs of

quantities of gold^ silver, precious

year the chiefs of the island of Asi

him

which was

here he took a

stones, woods, chariots, mares, asses, etc.

to

district

Ruthennu was very

The

tribute of the chiefs of

great this year, and

we may

note that balks of timber were brought in boats to

Egypt, for the building of the palace of the king.

In

the 35th year of the reign of Thothmes III. the king

again marched to Tchahi (Phoenicia), and then went

on and attacked the city of Areana, at or near which

the king of Nehern (Western Babylonia) had collected

TRIBUTE OF THE SHASU

42
a

number

of horses

[B.C. 1533

and men in order

The

advance of the Egyptian king.

to

resist the

was the

result

usual one, for the Egyptians defeated their foes,

who

were compelled to give them chariots inlaid with gold

and

silver,

suits of armour,

etc.,

and

promise to pay tribute in future years.

to

the same year the people of

weapons of bronze, bows,

Kush

also

In

sent the usual

gifts of slaves, ivory, ebony, cattle, etc., besides a large

quantity of grain.

The thirteenth expedition

place

38th year of

the

in

marched

III.

took

reign,

and

having

directed

his

course

his

he

Phoenicia

into

Thothmes

of

towards the district of Anaukasa; having laid waste

one or more rebellious

and brought

him

to

to those of the

cities,

gifts

the inhabitants came

similar

in

neighbouring nations.

Arurekh, Asi (Cyprus

many

respects

The kings

of

Punt, and Uauat also sent

?),

In the 39th year of his reign Thothmes III.

tribute.

marched

into the land of the Rethennu,

and using this

country as a base for operations, he made attacks upon

the

nomad

Western
T^T^ T

desert tribes that lived in the country of

Mesopotamia,

^^ Jv] ^

result

of

these

and were called the Shasu,

attacks,

have no

but

it

is

details

of the

probable

who were owners of large

and who could not in consequence

that

the great slieMis

flocks

and herds,

escape

into the desert, gave gifts to the king of Egypt, which

were

duly

enumerated

among

was received during that year.

the

tribute

which

But Thothmes

III.

B.C. 1533]

THE EGYPTIAN GENERAL AmEN-EM-HEB 43

could never have possessed any real power

over

tlie

purely desert tribes, for by retreating into the fastnesses

of the desert, to which they were well accustomed, they

were able to place themselves beyond the reach of their

Want

pursuers.
obstacle
desert,"

to

of water has always been a serious

" great and terrible

the passage of that

and the transport arrangements of the Egyptian

army must, even under Thothmes

III.,

have been of a

most elementary character.

In the 40th and 41st years of his reign he received
tribute from the kings of Cyprus,

and from the Nubian

In the 42nd

districts

year of

his

of

reign

Eethennu, Kheta,

Kush and Uauat.

he made his last

expedition into Northern Syria, and on this occasion

he laid waste the

cities

of Tunep, Arkata, and

all

the region round about the city of Kadesh, and part

of the country of Nehern.
tells

and

His general, Amen-em-heb,

us that one day whilst the forces, both chariots

Thothmes were drawn up ready to make

the king of Kadesh turned out a mare and

soldiers, of

an attack,

sent her towards the Egyptian stallions, which at once

became very much excited and were on the point of

The situation was, however, saved by

Amen-em-heb, who ran after the mare and having ripped
breaking loose.

her open with his sword, cut off her

presented to the king.^

Thothmes

III.

The

tribute

tail,

which he

collected

on this expedition was very large, and

by
it

comprised about 700 prisoners, about 300 slaves, male

'

See Borchardt, Aeg.

Zeitschrift, vol. 31, 1893, p. 61.

DEATH OF THOTHMES

44

and female,

liorses,

[B.C. 1533

III.

mares, vessels of gold and silver,

skins of beasts, lead, suits of armour, lapis-lazuli, copper,

etc.

In

tlie

same year the people of Uauat sent a large

quantity of gold to the king, and the prince of another

foreign land, probably near Uauat, sent
silver,

him a

and three massive vessels in bronze.

vessel in

The Annals

end with the account of the expedition undertaken in

the 42nd year of the king^s reign.

It is impossible to

think that no further expeditions

were

undertaken

during the last twelve years of the reign of Thothmes

III., for

had

this been the case few, if any, of the tribes

and nations would have paid the tribute due from them
but

it

is

extremely probable that the king no longer

conducted them in person, and that he handed over the

command

of further expeditions to his son or to his

generals.

In the 50th year of his reign

it

seems as

if

some

military operations were conducted against the Nubians,

for

an inscription, which was discovered by the late

Mr. Wilbour, on a rock on the Island of Sahal in the

First Cataract, mentions that on the
first

month

22nd day

of the

of the season Shemut, in the 50th year of

the reign of Thothmes III., the king

commanded that

the old canal in the Cataract, which had become blocked

up with

stones, should be

cleared out, and that this

having been done he went on his way to the south with

a joyful heart .^

Four years

later the king

^

died,

on the 30th day

Reciieil, torn. xiii. p. 203.

TOMB OF THOTHMES

B.C. 1533]

of

month Phamenoth, and was buried

tlie

wbicli

the

III.

was

specially prepared for

Tombs

him

45
in a

tomb

in the Valley of

of the Kings.

This tomb was discovered

M.

by

Loret

spring
lies

short

at a

from

the

Kameses

and

1898,

of

the

in

it

distance

tomb

of

The

walls

III.

of the chambers of the

tomb

ornamented

are

with

gods,

of

figures

and inscriptions, among

others being a long

list

of gods, and a complete

copy of the funeral work

entitled, "

Book

ing what

is

world."

On

the

of

know-

in the under-

a column in

second chamber we

see a figure of

Thothmes,

followed by those of his

mother

Aset,

wives

and

and

daughter.

The sarcophagus
course,

empty,

found
for

was

from

tomb

was, of
to

the

mummy
its

his

be

king's

removed

Negro from Nubia,

to the hiding-place at

Der

al-Bahari,

46

THE MUMMY OF THOTHMES

where

was

it

The

years ago.

it

mummy

was found

measured

when

it

robbers, in ancient days,

ratlier

tlian

less

was opened

in July,

most deplorable state

three pieces

into

[B.C. 1533

about twenty-

coffin

its

to be in a

had been broken

it

witli

height, and

five feet in

1881,

found

WRECKED

III.

by the tomb

but these had been placed

some short

together^ and the whole, with the help of

pieces of wood, which were employed to give the

rigidity,

had been re-bandaged, probably

some time

at

The covering was

XYIIIth Dynasty.

in the

body

torn into

three strips, and was inscribed with a most interesting

text,

which

now known

is

is

CLIY.

Amen-hetep

II.,

states that

monuments

"

which would make the

to his father,"

"

and

spirit of

who had

Thothmes

already
III.

are two

the texts

that

said

the

Annals

of

but

documents which must be noticed in

oldest copy of this Chapter

Mus. No. 10,471, sheet 18)

Forth by Day, text,

who made

in places, very fragmentary,

The

(Brit.

are,

been

was king

the deceased king

" perfect done in writina;,"

has

it

the son of Thothmes III.,

"

there

One

generally called the "Litany of the Sun."

vertical line of hieroglyphics

It

Book

of the

and with extracts from the funeral work

of the Dead,^

which

as Chapter

is

found in the Papyrus

see

p. 398.

Maspero, Les Momies Royales,

p. 548.

my

Chapters of

of

Nu

Commg

THE CAMPAIGNS OF AMEN-EM-HEB

B.C. 1533]

connexion with tliem

found on

wliicli is

tlie

first

tlie

walls of

is

inscription

tlie

tomb

tlie

47

of

Amen-em-

heb at Shekli 'Abd al-Kurna, and the second

Thothmes

inscription on the stele of

the Cairo

Museum,

in

is

the

III. preserved in

which the god Amen addresses

summary of all the

which he made him to do. Amen-em-heb

great works

the king and gives a

tells

us that

he was the greatly trusted and intimate friend of the

king of the South and North, and that he followed his
lord to the lands of the

Nekeb

the land of

He went

North and South.

^\

r^^-"

captured three prisoners alive

to

near Aleppo, and

when he went with

the

king to Nehern he captured another prisoner^

and

later,

when he went

v^^
v\

^'^

D=^

went

next

^'^

west

Kliarebu,

Aamu, 70

prisoners of the

He

the

to

country of Uan,
Aleppo,

of

If

etc.

r^^"^

the

to

asses,

he

captured

13

13 bronze weapons,

with his king to Karkemish,

I?M'^[Jv]'

^\\QTQ

he

captured more prisoners, and sailing over the "water

Nehern,"

of

^^

entered

Ci=^^^
I

See Ebers, Aeg.

Melanges, torn.
2

he

It contains

ii.

the

He was

Zeitschrift,

region

of

Sentchar,

present at the

1873, pp. 1-9, 63, 64;

sieo'e

of

Chabas,

pp. 279-306.

important scenes in which the Syrians and others

are depicted bringing tribute to the king.

48 AMEN-EM-HEB SAVES HIS MASTER'S LIFE

Kadesli, and his

bravery was

specially

rewarded by the

Thakhsi,

)l

great

so

In

king.

[B.C. 1533

that he was

the

land of

he took more prisoners and was

again rewarded, and whilst he was in the neighbonr-

hood of Ni,
120

jX], he helped the king to hunt

[ [

^^^

elephants,

n1^

of the elephants

Amen-em-heb

J^

probably

for this act of

The

episode

been referred

the

raised

saved

his

after this

says, the

the mare

to,

and we pass on

his city,

master's

at

Kadesh

still

has

already

and in leading the Egyptians

of

6nemy;

the

he returned to Egypt.

exploit

Thus, he

king passed many happy years in fighting,

<^^

'

Phamenoth he departed

to the sun's disk Aten,

god.

Amen-em-heb

reign

of

by

to his next deed of

^iid so lived

the 1st to the 54th year of his reign

life

whilst he was

headquarters

the

into

it

...

of

largest

bravery he was again rewarded.

of

up round

through

"

The

when he succeeded in making a breach

new walls which the king of Kadesh had

valour,
in

hunted turned upon the king, but

cutting off the trunk of the beast

alive

Amen-hetep

J] ^'^^^-^

on the

to heaven,

irom

last

day

and was united

and became a follower of the

lived for
II.,

2^.^.

the

some years during the

son

Literally,

and successor of
"I cut

off his

hand."

tMM^&iZr^MU'i^^tZUZ\i:t.mi^i ^/iMmrri,Si[Hii:iV"y-tA^/^""tM/yz^i-iiii'r

:^iitZTL}^i^"JUik'{4rj'um^^i'^::^zLi:^
t/^;:^tv;:;^WL^L/ylV':y";7:i^^:tr:^t;rni^rii^ sr
Lit/TF/*r/:./f T>^ii]f:^^^:i ymr^.z ^i^ ! : 'y/r w
;

}^dMLimMli!k' (^iyi:T':w/i/-f :Lc,:r Tfym

/:i^iir:r^iv^/fe' t^iiA'^.iii!f?tf 'yr::f.:::?ftm

tzswM'f^fi
^y.

Tjg 1, i--7i.ui:^7^z:::ir:^i

.'ZjHS/^^^ji
--r/:;5^>^LT^a
^r#::t^Lt?>i

Rt rrf

k i^^tA r^i-^;r^^mv/<^;::MtAM
n- !^^tA'/y!4^i"."'^i;;{fei4rt:^MtAi/i

k \^<iAzrji/jtjfjBnui:zinm

mi^4f/i^^/l^\U^'^il^'i>-^1^rM^l\Et1^T^\TLiy\
%^gfefWiJi:fUU^'^y-l/l^tn::r^^?1tVfglZg?
^einf}//i^t^^^r/.i^tr/rii:iri:^rf"/i^o

stele inscribed withja

summary

of the conquests of

Thothmes

Egyptian Museum at Cairo.

VOL.

IV.

III.

50 CONQUESTS OF
Thotlimes

III.,

THOTHMES

The summary

whicb

upon a large stone

text

at

set

and

up

Thothmes

god Amen,

to the

stele,

was originally
upon

[B.C. 1533

made.

lie

of the conquests of

which are attributed

Northern Apt

SUMMARY

but was probably too old to join him

in tlie expeditions

stele

III.

III.,

inscribed

is

of great interest; this

is

in the great temple of the

Karnak, and

possible that the

is

it

formed a song of victory, or hymn, which

it

was sung by the

Amen

priests of

on state occasions.

the upper, rounded portion of the stele we have two

scenes in the first Thothmes III. is " making a drink

On

offering to

Amen-Ea,"

offering of incense to

the

first

in the second he is

Amen-Ea."

'^

making an

Behind the king

in

scene stands the goddess of Thebes, holding-

bows in one hand and the symbol of life in the other,

and in the second scene stands the same goddess, but
with bows and arrows in one hand and a club in the
other.

Above both scenes

the

is

winged

disk

of

" Behutet, the great god, lord of heaven," with pendent

uraei, w^earing

the crowns

The

respectively.

"give

all

life,

South and North

of text

between the

Amen-Ea, the king

of the gods,

line

vertical

scenes declares that

will

of the

and

all

protection,

and

life,

" stability, and power, and all health, and

"heart,

like

inscription

Ea

reads

for
:

ever,"

Saith

thrones of the two lands

"

my

"

make

to

Thothmes

Amen-Ea, the
:

(1)

"

and

all

joy of

III.

The

lord of the

Come then unto me,

brave son Men-kheper-Ea, the everliving, and

thyself to rejoice at the sight of

my

beautiful

SPEECH OF AMEN-RA

B.C. 1533]

'

form.

51

I shine because of tliy love [for me], and

my

'heart expandeth with joy (2) at thy fortunate visits

my

I have laid both

temple.

my

hands upon the

'

to

'

limbs of thy body in giving thee the protection of

'life,

and doubly sweet

my

divine, visible body.

'

'in

my

thy mighty presence unto

is

I have established thee (3)

and I have made thee

dwelling-place,

'a divine wonder [unto me].

'

might and victory over

'

made thy

all

will (or, souls)

to be

I have given unto thee

foreign lands, and I have

and the fear of thee

'in all the lands of the world,

to be

and mighty terror of

'thee reacheth even unto the (4) four pillars of the

'

sky.^

I have magnified thy irresistible

might in [the

made the sound of

'the roarings of thy Majesty to go round about among
'the Nine Bow barbarians.
The chiefs of all the
'

sight of] all bodies, and I have

'

foreign lands are gathered together within thy grasp.

'

(5)

I have stretched out

my

two hands and have tied

'together for thee as with a rope the Anti tribes of

'Nubia by tens of thousands and thousands, and I

'

have made thousands,, and I have made prisoners

'thee of the

peoples

'thousands.

(6)

of the

North by hundreds of

have made to

for

fall

down thine

'

opponents under thy sandals, and thou hast destroyed^

'

even according to the decree which I had made, the

'

The allusion here

is to

the belief that the sky, which was

at each corner

by a

pillar

each pillar

made

was supported
was guarded by a god, and

of a perfectly flat iron plate, rectangular in shape,

the four pillars represented the four cardinal points.

CONQUESTS OF THOTHMES

52

III.

SUMMARY

[B.C. 1533

" liosts of the rebellious ones tlirougliout the length

and

"breadth of the land, and the peoples of the West and

" the nations of the

East are

beneath thy throne

[set]

"for thee.

(7)

Thou hast marched with

"heart over

all

foreign lands which

" entered until the time of

"

a joyful

had never been

thy Majesty, and I myself

was thy guide when thou didst go forth to attack

Thou

"them.
" Circle

hast sailed over the waters of the Great

of (8)

" mightily

Nehern

Western Mesopotamia)

(i.e.,

and victoriously.

I decreed for thee that

"the peoples thereof should hear the noise of thy

" roarings

as thou didst

"I removed from their

'^
(9) I made the terror

My

"their hearts.
" brow,
"

it

consumed with

"

breath of

life.

upon thy

set

is

fire,

and hath

into captivity the rebellious

the coast of Palestine.

(10) It

who were

dwelling

fire all

places,

those

and

it

cut off the chiefs of

Aamu,- and they were not able

to escape,

and

it

hath overthrown him that came within the reach of

"its power.

(11) I

have made thy valiant deeds to go

" round about through all the lands,

" the light of
"

and

of thy Majesty to enter into

away

i.e.,

"in their swampy

" the

the

uraeus crown

to lead

"peoples of Qet,
" hath

nostrils

hath burned them with the

made thee

caves,

enter into their

whole
^

The

my

and I have cast

crown upon thy body.

circuit of the skies

Within the

no enemy of thine existeth,

allusion here is to the rivers

which enclose the Island of

Mesopotamia.
2

I.e.,

the

nomad

Semitic tribes of the Eastern Desert.

SPEECH OF AMEN-RA

B.C. 1533]

"

and

come bearing

tliey

53

upon

offerings

[tlieir]

tlieir

"backs with (12) homage to thy Majesty, even in

" accordance with the decree which I made.
I made the
"rebels to put on chains
" their hearts

" came,

and I made thee

"

throughout their lands.

upon their

"(Asia),

made thy Majesty

feet

to look

and thou didst shine

divine Image.

(14) I came^

made thee to smite those who were in Satet

and I made thee to lead.. into captivity the

" chiefs of the

"

of light,

my

faces as

(13) I

them under thy

(Phoenicia), and I drove

"upon them with rays

and

subdue the mighty chiefs of

to

Tchah

" and I

to thee,

burned and their limbs quaked.

"

"

when they came

Aamu

of Kethennu.

made them

to

behold thy Majesty when thou wast equipped in thy

"panoply of war and wast grasping thy weapons and

" doing battle from [thy] chariot.
"

made thee

to smite the land of the East,

"didst trample under foot

" regions of Ta-neter.^

"

(15) I came,

those

to look

Majesty as one who revolveth like

" shooteth out fire as it circleth

" dew.

and thou

who were

made them

and I

in

the

upon thy

star

which

and sendeth forth

its

and I made thee to smite the

(16) I came,

"land of the West, and the foreign land of Kefti,

r^/^^

I.e.,

the

" I.e.,

Eed
^

Sea,
I.e.,

,^

and Asi,

nomad Semitic

~7r'[

tribes of

(.

r^^^ (Cyprus

?),

are

Northern Syria.

the eastern and western shores of the southern half of the

and perhaps part

the

countries

of Somaliland.

of

Asia

Mediterranean, including Crete.

Minor on

the

shore

of

the

THOTHMES

III.

awesome power.

54 CONQUESTS OF

under

tliy

SUMMARY

[B.C. 1533

made them

look

to

upon thy Majesty as a young and very vigorous bull

which

equipped with horns and cannot be ap-

is

(17) I came,

proached.

and I made thee to smite

who were dwelling in the swampy places of the

land of Mathen (Mitanni), and they quaked through
fear of thee.
I made them to look upon thy Majesty
those

as a

most

terrible crocodile of the waters

not be approached.
smite those

who

Great Green

(18) I came,

which could

and I made thee to

dwell in the isles in the midst of the

the Mediterranean), by means of

(i.e.,

thy roarings, 1 made them to look upon thy Majesty

as the slaughterer

of the animal

Thehennu

which he

(Libyans),
h^"^

raging

putteth himself upon the back

(19) I came^

sacrifice.

souls)

who

,1

about to

offer

and I made thee

and

the

to look

lands

thee to smite the peoples

as

Uthenti,

of

will (or

as a

to flee into

(20) I came, and I

who dwelt

to smite the

upon thy Majesty

and thou didst make them

their holes in the valley.

up

power of thy

are in the

made them

lion,

is

made

in the lands at

the back of the countries of the Circles,- the Great

1

I.e., tlie

coast of Libya.

The Egyptians regarded Mesopotamia as an island which was

surrounded by a river, and they considered the Tigris and
^

Euphrates to spring from one source;

"Circle,"

^^^^'^^^^

was the name given to this double river, and the description
"Great Circle" is only added for emphasis. See Miiller, Asien
und Europa, p. 252.

SPEECH OF AMEN-RA

B.C. 1533]

Circle,

and

made them

tliey are

hawk

of

gathered up within thy grasp.

as

the

Horus,

the

lord of pinions,

which

by means of the

fierce

his

eye

glance

of

upon

to look

Majesty

thy

55

carrieth off whatsoever

he

pleaseth.

(21)

made thee
smite the people who

came, and I
to

dwelt in the foreparts

and thou

of the lands,

didst

take

the Dwellers

prisoners

on the Sand

nomad
I made

living

as

the

(i.e.,

desert

tribes).

thetn

look

to

upon thy Majesty as a

jackal

of

the

south

which travelleth swiftly

and

disappeareth

ra-

pidly through the two

lands.

(22)

and I made
smite
of

came,

thee

to

the Anti tribes

Nubia,

[and

their

lands] as far as Kept,

JL^[Jv], are

in thy grasp.

Libyan.

made them

to look

56 CONQUESTS OF

THOTHMES

III.

SUMMARY

[B.C. 1533

"upon thy Majesty as thy two divine brethren. I

"have gathered together their hands to thee
" (23) thy two sisters, and I have placed them at
" thy side to protect thee.
The hands of my Majesty
" are in heaven above to drive away evil [from thee].
"I have made thee to be glorious,
my son, my be" loved one, thou mighty Bull who risest like the sun
.

" in

"

(24)

Thothmes, the overliving one, who hast performed every

" wish of mine.

" place in
" hast

Thou

work which

made

it

monuments

" king

who hath

make

Horus

" living

The above

a dwelling

and thou

ever was before,

Thou hast
of the beauties of Amen-Ka, and
(25)

are greater than those of any other

ever existed.

commanded

thee to

hast been content to do so;

have stablished thee upon the throne of

for millions of years,

.

it

a great pylon.

"make them, and thou

" therefore I

me

shall endure for ever,

" celebrated the festival

" thy

hast created for

longer and wider than

" and [thou didst]

"

....

Thebes, I have begotten thee with

and thou shalt guide the

."

inscription indicates that

Thothmes

III.

devoted a large portion of the spoil which he obtained

from his vassal kings

to

enlarging the temples

of

the gods and to the support of the priesthood of Amen^

and as we see this

inscriptions

of

of the ancient

recent

years

fact

his
cities

reflected also in

reign,

so

we

find

in

the

official

the ruins

which have been excavated in

the remains

of the

temples which

he

founded or re-founded, and of the shrines which he

B.C. 1533]

BUILDING OPERATIONS OF THOTHMES

cleansed,

and of the buildings which he repaired, and of

architectural

the

liberality

but

works which

he

57

III.

His

completed.

seems to have been unbounded in this respect,

must be remembered that the vast amount

it

tribute

which he had been able

of

to collect in the course

of his fourteen or fifteen expeditions enabled

him

to

undertake the building of temples and other sacred

edifices

on a scale which had before been impossible for

And

want of funds.

whom

besides,

he made the prisoners

he had brought to Egypt labour in the building

of the temples,

and there

every reason for thinking

is

that they were employed upon public works in general.

At Heliopolis he

built a door,^

and enclosed the temple

with a wall

Memphis he

repaired the temple of

Ptah

at

he completed the Speos Artemidos which Hat;

he built a temple at Abydos,

of which

have, however^ disappeared, and

shepset had begun

all

traces

dedicated
it

statue

colossal

of

the

god Osiris

he restored and completed the temple of Den-

dera,

which

is

said

have been founded by Khufu

to

(Cheops), and repaired by Pepi Mer-en-Ea

the

to

temple

at

Coptos

sandstone temple to

he rebuilt

he added a granite portal

and a door to the temple

shepset never finished

at

Der al-Bahari, which Hat-

he built and dedicated a small

Amen

at

Medinet Habu

and he

must have carried on building operations on a very

large scale at several places and shrines on the west

The chief works of Thothmes

Wiedemann, Aeg. Geschichte, p. 359 ff.
^

III.

are

summarized bj

58 BUILDING OPERATIONS OF

bank

THOTHMES

[B.C. 1533

III.

But the

of the Nile opposite Tliebes.

greatest

and best of his architectural works were reserved

the

temple

of

Amen-Ea, the

of the world, in the Southern

by 50

feet

Apt

of

feet,

the thrones

at Thebes.

colonnade which

he built a large

150

lord

measured about

The columns

pillars.

of great interest, for they taper downwards,

which are made

flowers, are inverted

Here

with a roof that rested on 40 granite

columns and 32 rectangular

capitals,

for

are

and their

in the forms of the cups of

the pillars and the walls supported

a roof, upon which rose small pillars^ with an architrave

to the height of the central columns,

and these in their

turn supported one side of the roof over the central

portion of the hall.
of rooms

Close to this colonnade was a series

which were ornamented with

reliefs

whereon

were represented in great detail the animals and plants

which Thothmes

Rethennu on

III.

brought back from the land of

his return from his third expedition to

that country, which took place in the twenty-fifth year

of his reign.

Thothmes

III. also built a pylon to the

temple, and on the walls on each side of the granite

doorway he inscribed the names of

tribes,

and

subjection.

cities,

all

the peoples, and

and lands which he had brought into

The famous Annals

of

Thothmes

III. are

inscribed on the walls of a passage near the shrine of

the temple of Karnak, but the texts are

much mutilated

the two granite pillars, one bearing the lotus of the

South and the other the papyrus of the North, which

were

set

up by Thothmes

III., still

stand in the court by

AT SOLEB, GEBEL BARKAL, ETC.

B.C. 1533]

which entrance
this,

Besides

gained to the shrine.

is

59
all

the king built a small temple which was entered

through a gateway built in the wall that joined the

pylons erected by his aunt and himself respectively, and

behind

he dug the sacred lake, whereon at stated

it

intervals processions of sacred boats used to take place.

At Hermonthis, Esna, El-kab, Edfu,

Silsila,

Kom

Ombo,

he carried on building operations, and on the Island of

Elephantine he built a temple in honour of the god

Khnemu

this temple

it

was

Muhammad

Ali,

was standing in 1822, but

soon after pulled down by the orders of

who wished

to build a palace with the blocks of stone

from

Aswan

at

it

At several places

Nubia he

in

restored or founded small temples, and he was the founder

of the large temple at Soleb, which

Egyptian

ancient
called

settlement

Menen-en-kha-em-Maat,

marks the

site of

the

Third Cataract

in the

a/^wv^
AAAAAA

^^^^ )

_rV^

this

temple was greatly enlarged and beautified by Amen-

There are several places between Soleb and

hetep III.

the foot of the Fourth Cataract (Grebel Barkal) where

remains of XVIIIth Dynasty buildings are to be found,

and

it

is

reign of

very probable that

Thothmes

III.

old settlements were

many

inscriptions of the

would be found

excavated.

if

the sites of

So able a king must

have had his outposts held by Egyptians much further

south than Soleb, otherwise he could never have maintained his hold upon the country;

kingdom extended from the Euphrates

to Soleb

in
at

any case his

Ni on the north

on the south, and his buildings and inscriptions

Cleopatra's needle

6o

in the Sinaitic peninsula prove tliat

[B.C. 1533

lie

was master of

the Eastern Desert also.

The
set

up

and

Lateran,"

Rome

at

it

Rameses
a

of

who

II.,

second

the
in

feet

obelisk

in

Thothmes

it

New
The

in London.

III.

Lateran

is

it.

in

and
Part

Con-

York, and a fourth,

up on the Thames

last

by some to be the two obelisks which

two are supposed

^'

king Mesphres

have made, and which are reported by Pliny

said to

is

John

IV. /

and re-erected

Cleopatra's Needle," has been set

Embankment

the

III.

height and contains in-

Thothmes

of
is

of

hill

III.,

repaired

a third

stantinople,
^'

105

Thothmes

of

scriptions

on

stands
is

Thothmes

called the " Obelisk of St.

commonly

is

obelisks which

of the

largest

"
^

bave stood at the door of Caesar's temple in Alex-

to

andria.

In an inscription found in the temple at Der

al-Bahari

which were
cubits,

No

i.e.,

is

it

set

said that the height of the

up

in front of that temple

was 108

each obelisk was more than 180 feet high.

remains of these obelisks have up to the present

been found in Egypt, in spite of

have been made

to trace

has been put forward

them.

all

the efforts which

Recently a theory has

that the " obelisk " which

stands in the Hippodrome at Constantinople

upper part of an obelisk, and that

obelisks

The

text on

it

it is

is

only the

in fact a j)ortion

says that there was an interval of thirty-five

years between the reigns of Thothmes III. and Thothmes IV.

2
^

Hist. Naf.,

now

Bk. xxxvi. 15, 69.

ii. p. 131

Petrie, History, vol.

ff.

OBELISKS OF THOTHMES

B.C. 1533]

of one of
set^s

two obelisks which stood before Hatshep-

tlie

The

temple at Der al-Bahari.

it refer,

6l

HI.

inscriptions

however, to Thothmes III., but this

upon

held to

is

be no difficulty in the way of the identification, for the

obelisks might well have been set

queen's death by her nephew.

"obelisk "at Constantinople

obelisk,

and as

it is

It

after the great

seems clear that the

only a portion of an

is

only about

up

fifty feet

to be too slender for its height, if

high

appears

it

we may judge from

the proportions of the other obelisks of the reign of

Thothmes

III.

which are known

that he set up those at the

The height

temple.

when

it

was

probably

first

of the

''^

entrance to his

a considerable time; and

is

it is

down by an earthquake and

it

it is

some of the lower portion of

aunt's

obelisk" at Constantinople

brought there

much higher than

to us, always supposing

it

not known, but

now, for

it

was

was thrown

it

upon the ground for

more than probable that
lay

was broken

off,

and that

how to join the pieces together the

who re-erected it by the command

not knowing

prefect

Proclus,

of the

Emperor

Theodosius,^

set

up

the

largest

Curiously enough, in addition to the marble

portion.

reliefs

with

which the base was ornamented by the Praetorian

prefect, the top was surmounted by a large brass pine-

The Latin inscription on the base of the obelisk reads

Difficilis quondam Dominis parere serenis
Jussus et extinctis palmam portare tyrannis
Omnia Theodosio cedunt subolique perenni.
Ter denis sic victus ego domitusque diebus,
Judice sub Proclo superas elatus ad auras.

THE ARCHITECT PUAM

62

apple or fir-cone

this,

[B.C. 1533

however, was thrown down by

an earthquake, which fortunately left the portion of the

obelisk standing where

it

now

is.

For the carrying out of

the

great

building

tions planned

by Thothmes

the services of a very

III.,

number

large

and

opera-

officials

of

workmen

of

different

ranks and grades must have

been

and

required,

leaders of these

must have

been men of great

who

possessed

theoretical

and

the

ability,

good

practical

knowledge of architecture.

Among

such was the

official

Puam,

D%^(

and in

his

tomb

at

Kurna

scene in which this

is

represented

official

seated on a

chair, whilst six

before

is

him with

men

stand

their

left

hands touching their right

statue of Netcliem, an

official of

Thothmes III.
Museum, No.

British

shoulders,

hands
forearms
three

of

and their right

840,

they are
the works

all

of

overseers,

the

clasping

their

left

or superintendents,

temple

of

Amen, and

THE PRIME MINISTER REKH-MA-RA

B.C. 1533]

three

the

of

As

handicraftsmen.^

same scene in the tomb we

obelisks,

see

63

part

of

the

drawings

of

two

on which, when perfect, were inscribed the

names and

titles of

Thothmes

III.,

and we are quite

assuming that they were head men who

'justified in

planned and carried out the setting up of the great

obelisks

Thothmes

of

III.

the king

and^ trusted servant of

y

i.e.,

"he who

ancestors

had held high

Thothmes

II.,

official

was Kekh-ma-Ka,

as wise as

Ka," whose

under Thothmes

office

Thothmes

year of this king's reign

it is

III.

I.,

from the 32nd

until the early years of the

The tomb

reign of Amen-hetep II.

Kurna, and

is

great

and queen Hatshepset; he himself was

the prime minister of

at

Another

of

Eekh-ma-Ea

is

one of the most interesting of the

tombs of the period.

The

scenes on its walls represent

the envoys of the peoples of Punt, Kefti, Nubia, Syria,

and the Islands of the Mediterranean Sea

tribute to his master;

(?)

bringing

and the performance of the duties

which devolved upon him in connexion with his duties

as governor of the city,

and judge, and steward of the

temple of Amen, and confidential adviser to the king

and the

superintending of the work of the various

artificers

and handicraftsmen employed in his master's

service

and in his own

pictures in

'

"

it

and there are some

which show how

this

great

interesting;

man found

See Lepsius, DenTcmdler, iii. pi. 39.

See Newberry, Life of Behhmara, London, 1900,

p. 14.

AMEN-EM-HEB THE GENERAL

64

[B.C. 1533

relaxation and solace in listening to singing and musical

instruments.

To the famous general Amen-em-heb we

liave often referred already,

and

it is

Limestone statue of the royarmother.Teta-khart,

Britisli

soldier

and in

Puam was

all

Museum, No.

22,558

^(m}

military matters he was as expert as

as an architect, or

administrator.

certain that as a

The scenes

Kekh-ma-Ea
in his tomb

as a judge

and

Kurna

are

at

THE ROMANCE OF TEHUTI-A

B.C. 1533]

65

representations of the Syrian tribes bringing tribute to

him

for his

dress,

and

because the

master

the details of their postures, and

of

articles

man

tribute

whom

for

very interesting,

are

the scenes were painted was

a witness of the events which they commemorated, and

we may be

sure that he followed the artist's

work with

a critical eye.

Among

other important officials must be mentioned

Tehuti-a, .5^

whom

legend

associated

the taking of the city of Joppa.

"

who

"

and the islands which were

" Sea,"

filled

the heart of the king in

'Mk ^^f by which we

man was

This

hd prince, and a " divine father, loving

in

stand the Mediterranean Sea, he "

and one

Grod,

the countries

all

Great Green

the

the treasury

filled

" with gold, and lapis-lazuli, and silver," and he

of countries,"

bowmen," a royal

scribe,

For some reason

etc.

are probably to under-

" general of the

with

was

an " overseer

or

other

the

character of Tehuti-a appealed to the imagination of

who straightway composed an

taking of the city of Joppa by him. At

some Egyptian
account of the

one

time

this

writer,

account was

unhesitatingly.!

as

a strictly

and a scholar and Egyptologist

historical document,

of such eminence as

regarded

Goodwin accepted

The

text of the

in the hieratic character,

it

in this light

document

is

written

and forms one of the com-

which are found in the Harris Papyrus, No.

positions
1

VOL. IV.

See Trans. Soc. Bihl, Arch.,

vol,

iii.

p.

340

ff.

THE ROMANCE OF TEHUTI-A

66
500,

now preserved

in

Museum

British

the

[B.C. 1533

is

it

written in three columns on the back of the papyrus in

a neat, careful hand of the

XlXth

As

Dynasty.

far as

can be made out from the text, the writer wished to

who was

Tehuti-a was a very able soldier

say that

thoroughly well skilled in the art of war, that he had

many rewards

received

for his bravery,

and that he had

accompanied his master Thothmes III. on his campaigns

in. several countries.

One day a messenger came from

Tchahi (Phoenicia), and reported that the miserable

chief of

Joppa had

soldiers

revolted,

and that he had

slain the

and charioteers of the kiog, and that no man

could resist

him

as soon as

words he swore by his god

the city of Joppa,

Thothmes

Amen

III. heard these

that he would destroy

and went about

raging

like

Then he called together his chiefs and

officers and told them what had happened, but they
At this moment
knew not how to answer him.

panther.

Tehuti-a said to the king, " Give

"

,;^ O

*'

soldiers

(^

dunnu, of Thothmes

III.,

the great

and

staff,

let valiant

and charioteers be sent with me, and I will

"kill the wretched prince of

the king was

Tehuti-a

me

all

Joppa and take his town

pleased with

the proposal,

that he desired.

Soon

;"

and gave

after this,

when

Tehuti-a was in the country of Phoenicia with his men,

he made a leather sack large enough to hold a man,

and forged some iron

fetters for the

shackles and wooden yokes, and

jars, etc.

hands and

made

feet,

and

four hundred large

AND THE CAPTURE OF JOPPA

B.C. 1533]

When

these

were

67

ready he sent a messenger to

the prince of Joppa to say that he was sent to him

by Tehnti-a, who was the commander-in-chief of the

army

of

Thothmes

but who was greatly envied

III.,

by the king on account of his bravery, and that the

king wanted to slay him
escaped

for this reason Tehiiti-a

from the court

had

and that he had brought

with him, hidden in his horses^ fodder, the staff of

Thothmes

III.,

and that

Tehuti-a woukl give

it

and invited Tehuti-a,

him.

come

him
and hold himself and them at

The prince

his disposal.

to Joppa,

When

the prince of Joppa wished

and woukl come

to him,

with his brave soldiers

tion, to

if

of

whom

to

Joppa replied graciously

he

kne*vv well

and promised

Tehuti-a arrived,

by reputa-

to be a brother to

the

prince

of

Joppa

with his wives and children went out to meet him,

and when they met he embraced him, and begged the

Egyptian general to come into his camp, taking

care,

however, not to allow his troops and their horses to

come in with him.

When

Tehuti-a had eaten and

drunk, the prince of Joppa asked where the staff was,

and in reply Tehuti-a seems

soldiers

might be allowed

to

have asked that his

come and feed

and that a man of the Apure,

and order them

told off to go

to

their horses,

jX],

to do so

might be

the prince of

Joppa assented, and when the fodder was brought in

to

the horses, the

staff

after this, the prince of

see the staff,

was found inside

Joppa asked

it.

Soon

to be allowed to

and when Tehuti-a had brought

it,

he

THE ROMANCE OF TEHUTI-A

68
held

before him, and said, " Look,

it

" one, this is the staff of

Thothmes

"lion, the son of Sekhet^ unto

thou wretched
III.,

whom

Then he

"hath given strength."

[B.C. 1533

the mighty

his father

stood

Amen

up and smote

the prince of Joppa with the staff on his head, and

he

fell

down

senseless

Tehuti-a brought forth his iron

hands and

fetters for the

feet^

and having fastened

him

them on the

prince of Joppa he placed

leather sack.

This done, he called in two hundred of

his soldiers
jars

in the

and made them get into some of the large

which he had made, and having sealed up the

them the cords by which they

were to be carried,* he loaded them upon the backs of
strong men, whom he told to march into the city, and
tops and fastened round

to

break open the jars when they arrived there, and to

let

the soldiers out, and to seize and bind the inhabiof the city

tants

hundred men would get into the

then made some of the

men

of the prince
tell

him

five

Tehuti-a

city of Joppa.

go to the master of the horse and

to the

In this way

without delay.

of

Joppa

to proclaim

queen that the god Sutekh had delivered the

Egyptians into the hands of the men of Joppa, and as the

result the master of the horse

the gates to the

the

enemy

soldiers

men

into

and his townsmen opened

carrying the jars, and so admitted

the

city.

opened the jars and

Once
let

seized

them with

and put on the

ropes,

yokes which they had

Tehuti-a^s

out their companions,

who straightway

the

there,

inhabitants
fetters

and bound

and wooden

brought with them.

Later,

AND THE CAPTURE OF JOPPA

B.C. 1533]

6g

wlien the army of Thotlimes III. came and wished to

take possession of the city Tehiiti-a sent a message to

his master, saying, " Eejoice, for thy father

Amen

" given thee the wretched prince of Joppa, with

''subjects

and his

"and take him

who

slaves

Mayest thou

prisoner.

" house of thy father

"with

Send thy servants

city.

Amen-Ea, the king

shall

" beneath thy feet."

of Joppa, and

clear that

it

is

Such

a historical romance.

that

It

M. Chabas thought

his

come

full

the

of the gods,

for

ever

bow

the story of the capture

is

may

and

ever

for

all

to

fill

hath

it

nothing more than

is

be mentioned in passing

that the

Apure who are men-

tioned above were to be identified with the Hebrews,

but though this alleged similarity of name was as good

as any of the identificatioDS

which were put forward

in the early days of Egyptology,

by
as

capable

an

scholars,

example

of

and

the

is

effort

it

was not accepted

now regarded merely

which was made at

that time to find Biblical names in the hieroglyphic

inscriptions.

7.

M r

i'l

r^

"^

fi

i^A-AA

KHEPEPtU, son of the Sun, Amen-hetep, god, prince of

Thebes.
The incidents of the story are placed
M. Maspero in his Contes Ecjyptiens, p. 87.
1

in a connected

form by

THE REIGN OF AMEN-HETEP

70

Amen-hetep

Amenopliis

or

II.,

was the son of Tliothmes

sliepset,

wlio

styled

is

"beloved

who was

the
of

PEH-PEH, the

of

Horns name of
Amen-hetep II.

Ea" fo

Tliothmes

(i.e.,

by Hat-

" royal wife

Hatshepset

mother,

royal

II.,

^J

^1,

and

the daughter of the great queen,

Hatshepset.

Ka-nekht, ur

III.

tlie

"greatly beloved of liim

"III.),

[B.C. 1500

II.

He

succeeded to the throne

Egypt on the day following that on

which his father

died,

i.e.,

the

1st

of

Pharmuthi, but we know that he had been associated

with his father in the rule of the kingdom some years

In addition to his Horus name, "Mighty Bull,

before.

mighty of two-fold valour," he styled himself, " Lord of

" the shrines of Nekhebet and Uatchet, whose power is
" wide-spread,

and maketh [him]

and

"

Horus

of gold,

all

lands."-

Under

old

general,

faithful

who conquereth by
his

him

to

father's

his

might in

experienced

and

Amen-em-heb, he had already

learned the art of war, and

for

to rise in Thebes,"

it

was, apparently, necessary

begin at once to justify his position as

successor of one of the greatest and most able of the

kings

who

ever sat

upon the throne

of Egypt,

out on an expedition to Western Asia.

Q
s;

by setting

This expedition

EXPEDITION AGAINST TAKHISA

B.C. 1500]

71

must have taken place

end

the

at

the

of

or in the second

first

year

his

of

M. Maspero

as

for,

reign,

the

in

points

out,^

stele at

'Amada, which

was

np by him

set

in

his third year, he describes

how he

ficed

the

sacri-

prisoners

whom he had
Takhisa,

taken in

a country which lay to

the north of Kadesh.

An

account

expedition

found

is

very mutilated

in

the

of

on

state

stele

in

the ruins of the great

temple

Karnak.^

at

Hist.

Anc,

torn.

ii.

p. 291.
2

See Champollion, Notorn.

tices,

ii.

Maspero, Aeg.
p. 55

ff.

Gesc/i., p.

p.

Zeit.,

185

1879,

WiedemanB, Aeg.
373; and Erman,

Aeg. Zeit, 1889, p. 39

ff.

Gray diorite ushabti

figure of king-

Amen-

II., inscribed with a text of the Vlth

Chapter of the Book of the Dead,
British Museum, No. 35,365.

hetep

FIGHT WITH NOMADIC TRIBES

72

From

we

tliis

of

first

f\ czsm V>

nr-i

country

the

to

all

that Amen-hetep

learn

marclied

II.

Shemshii - atu - ma,

of

Xk-i^^

^ %^

[B.C. 1500

where he fought

a "fierce lion," and defeated the enemy, and took

prisoners

the

net

result

was

On

prisoners alive and 16 oxen.

first

month

the

capture

like

many
18

of

the 26th day of the

of the season Shemut, his majesty passed

over the arm of the Orontes,

<^S^

mdshetet Arenth, and having led his army across, he

began

march through the land with the valour of

to

the god

Menthu

as he

well in advance of the

perceived

was journeying along, probably

main body

at a distance a

number

his troops, he

of

of nomads,

mounted

on horses, who were coming to meet him, with the view

of preventing any further advance

majesty then made

ready

on his part.

His

weapons of war, and

his

charged into the body of nomads, and laid about him

who drew up

with such vigour that the court

scribe,

this account of the fight, declared

he was as terrible as

the god Set

when

in a fierce rage.

As soon

as his

majesty cast one glance of his eyes upon them they

fled,

and he seized

nomad
.

all

chief with him, he led

and disarmed him.

Erman's suggestion that

men by sweeping

goods, and taking the

their

him

Among
tlie

to the frontiers of

the spoil which the

king only descried this body of

the horizon with his eyes shaded by his hand

is

probably correct
in any case it is what every traveller in the
desert does to-day, and it has always been the custom of the natives
;

to keep

watch and look out

in this

way.

B.C. 1500]

REBELLION OF AKATHI

king took are

mentioned 12 bows, a quiver

arrows, and its leather straps, etc.

73
full

of

Amen-lietep tlien

returned to Tliebes in peace, aud celebrated a festival

in

honour of the god Amen,

whom

to

he

It is easy to see that the

suitable offering.

Asiatics that the king

met belonged

made

body of

to a caravan,

which

they were escorting from one place to another, and that

this encounter,

which was thought

to deserve

ration on a granite stele in the temple of

commemoAmen, was

nothing more than one of a series of attacks, similar to

those

which are perpetrated daily in the East by

marauding Arabs^ who

From

by attacking caravans.

live

the end of the inscription

we

learn that on the

10th day of the third month of the season Shemut, the

king arrived at the city of Ni, which was very near or
actually on the Euphrates, and the inhabitants, both

male and female, took up their places on the walls and

sang songs of praise to him.
Akathi,

'--^

had been

Finally a place called

which until the coming of the king

in a state of rebellion,

became tranquil as he

approached, and, no doubt, gave the customary gifts to

him.

The expedition

of

Amen-hetep

into Syria

and

the neighbourhood cannot be regarded as a campaign,

for there

was no serious fighting

to be

the inhabitants of the cities and the

done, because

nomad

tribes

had

not had time to prepare for revolt on a large scale, and

the remembrance of the tribute which they had been

compelled to pay by Thothmes III., and of the swift

punishments which came upon them when they tried

to

THE STELE OF 'AMADA

74
evade

was too

it,

iu their memories for

fresli

The

wish to fight just then.

Egypt was willing and able

it

come

to

had done

as quickly as his father

the king obtained a large

served chiefly

to the country

on the other hand,

number

of

gifts

governors of cities and the heads of tribes.

made

war

to this

to

and others that the new king

to prove to the Syrians

is

them

results of the expedition

were rather moral than material, and

of

[B.C. 1500

from the
Eeference

an inscription which the king

in

ordered to be cut upon a stele in the temple of 'Amada

and from this we obtain some interesting

in Nubia,

Usertsen
a

state

temple was

This

details.

II.,

but had fallen out of repair, and was in

ruia

of

Thothmes

until

When

restoration.

founded in the reign of

III.

undertook

its

Amen-hetep returned from Syria

he went to 'Amada, and celebrated the festival of the

laying of the foundation stone on the 15th day of the
third

month

his reign,

of the season

Shemut, in the third year of

and he formally

offered to the

god of the

temple the repairs which Thothmes III. had made,

and the additions

additions

from the

were
first

to

it

very
fifteen

this stele

of the

lines

" after

himself.
as

considerable,

the description of these

made

made by

These

we may

stele.

see

Following

we have the statement that he

his majesty came from Upper

D
A

D
I

'

'

AAAAAA
iii.

pi. 65.

_Z1

Lepsius, Denhndler,

B.C. 1500]

SLAUGHTER OF SEVEN KINGS

"Eetheiinu,

^^

c^^::^

75
over-

liaving

AA/V\AA

"thrown

all

"frontiers of

"His

and

enemies

liis

Egypt

in

first

liis

made

broader

tlie

campaign.

victorious

came with a heart expanded with

father Amen, [for] he had slain seven

majesty

"joy

to

" chiefs with his

" the

when they were living in

Thekhsi, and he hung them up

own

country of

"head downwards

club

"which bore the name

"Tol^n

'^^^^

bows of his majesty's boat,

at the

" stretched out high

of

'

Ka-aa-kheperu-smen-taui,'

^ ^.

Six of these he had

up on the walls which were opposite

pylon of Thebes, together with their hands,

" to the

and the other he placed in a boat and had conveyed

" to the rebel chief of Ta-kens, i.e.. Nubia, and hung

"

"upon

the walls of the city of Napata,i ^ ^[X], so

the folk there might understand the mighty

"that

all

" acts

and deeds

" all

the

countries

" mountainous

desert

" Negroes, 7j\

" grasped with his

" the

nomads

"folk

who

the

of

lands

world,
of

and

in

all

the

the

country

of

the

hands and conquered the

Aamu

(i.e.,

of the eastern frontier), and the northern

lived

away

Amen-hetep

for ever in

and might know that he had

swamps

in the

"remote parts of the country."

which

and

[of the king] for ever

A large

Nubian

claimed

to

city not far

The

in

the

most

countries over

have made

from Gebel Barkal.

himself

BUILDINGS OF AMEN-HETEP

76

[B.C. 1500

II.

master are enumerated in a scene in a tomb at Kiirna,

Eetennu,

published by Lepsius/ and are as follows

Mennu,

of

Neherna,

Kefti,

Menti,

Anti

Kenset,

Sekbet-Am, and Ta-melit,

Tlieliennu, Pat, Tares,

i.e.,

Nubia, the Eastern Desert, Libya, the Oases, the lands

of the northern shores of the Mediterranean, Palestine,

The building operations

and Babylonia.

Syria,

Amen-hetep do not seem

very large
of

scale,

ancient

the

to

have been conducted on a

although his name

shrines

of

is

found in several

throughout

the length and

As he worked the quarries at

would seem, as Wiedemann supposes, that he

breadth of Egypt.

Tara

it

must

have

some of the

repaired

old

buildings

of

At Karnak he

Memphis, but no trace of such remains.

two pylons of an old temple a small

built between

temple, which seems never to have been finished.

This

building consisted of a gallery with fourteen square

pillars

ornamented with

reliefs,

a hall, entered through

a granite door, with a roof supported by sixteen square

columns, and a series of small chambers which flank the

hall.

The

coloured.

bas-reliefs are

On

good, and some of

them

one of the large pylons he had sculptured

on each side of the gateway a scene in which he

depicted in the act of slaughtering his enemies.
repaired

or

are

added

Elephantine, and at

to
all

the

temples

at

is

He

Hermonthis,

the principal sites between the

First and Second Cataracts, and he caused some works

Denl'mdler,

iii.

pi. 63.

MUMMY AND TOMB

HIS

B.C. 1500]

']']

Kmnmeh, where he

to be carried out at

is

depicted in

Khnemu,
The mummy

the act of pouring out libations to the god

and of makiDg

offerings of various kinds.

of Amen-hetep II.

was discovered

Tombs

Valley of the

M. Loret, early

of

Kings

the

tomb

in his

in the

Thebes,

at

by

The tomb much

Thothmes III., and its

in the year 1898.

resembled that of his father,

walls are ornamented with a large series of figures of

the gods and with the text of the great funereal work
entitled, "

The Book

in

with

a
;

Osiris,

royal

all

the

and a gash

skull,

Amen-hetep built
Thothmes III., and
the Kamesseum.

of statues
etc.;

kinds

of

Sekhet,

a set of Canopic
a

large

series

of

and a collection of mummies of

personages,

already been enumerated.

for
its

Ea-men-kheperu, son
KHAU.

the

a series

and amulets of

and

in

Horns, Ptah,

alabaster vessels

kings

is in

fragments of a pink leather cuirass

worn by the king

vases,

hole

large

the breast

Anubis,

which

In the tomb were found three mummies,

underworld."

each

of [knowing] that

The
himself

remains

whose

names

have

funeral chapel which

was

may

of the Sun,

near

that

ol

be seen close to

Tehuti-mes-kha-

REIGN OF THOTHMES

78

Tehuti-mes
the

IY.,

[B.C. 1566

IV.

Thothmes

or

of Manetho,

TovdjjbwaL^

IV.,

said

is

to

have reigned nine years, but of the events

reign hardly anything

of his

known.

is

In addition to his Horus name "Mighty

Bull, form of risings [like the Sun]," he

adopted as his
in

stable

Temu/'
Ki-NEKHT-TUTKHATT, the

Horus name of
Thothmes IV.

mighty

like

is

doubly

god

the

Lord of the shrines of Nek-

and

hebet

kingdom

his
"

He who

titles, "

"Horus

Uatchet,"

one

of

of

gold,

destroyer

strength,

of

Bows" (or Pat),^ "Crown of

The one who riseth with risings " the

the Nine

crowns,"
last title

or,

is

Judging from a scene

lies

at

little

the northern end of the Island of

Nubia

in the seventh year of his reign.

see the king in the act of slaying

his club in the presence

Bu

of the

Nubia^ and every foreign land.^

two Nubians with

Nubian god Tetun,

all

the Anti tribes of

On

an inscription

<f^^^

An

interesting variant of his

prenomen is

Men-kheperu-Rfi, prince of Law."

^

Here

-^^j and the god Khas^ ^^~\ these gods declare

that they have given to the king

island in the

Thothmes IV. must have undertaken an expedi-

tion into

we

name Thothmes.^

cut on a rock on Konosso, a

Nile which
Philae,

he often introduced into the cartouche con-

taining his

which

"

Lepsius, Denkmdler,

iii.

pi.

69 e.

O i"""^
(

HIS EXPEDITION INTO NUBIA

B.C. 1466]

'Amada

in the temple at

79

Thothmes IV.

in Nubia,

is

described as the " Beautiful god, the valiant one in

" very
"

(Kush)

conqueror

the

truth,
l^^""^

J^^

" be as if they

(or

destroyer)

who maketh the

had never

of Kesli

frontiers thereof to

existed, the

mighty king by

"reason of his bravery like the god Menthu, firm of

" heart

among the

" lands "

multitudes, crusher of

and thus

all

foreign

made the
which the Egyptian kings usually made into

raid

Nubia

in the

obtained

much

it

seems as

if

the king

whereby they

course

of their

spoil.

In an inscription, dated in the

reigns,

ninth year of the king, published by M. de Morgan,

mention

made how Thothmes IV.

is

and conquered

all

the tribes

all

to be feared

That Thothmes IV. made an expedition

like Sekhet.-

inscriptions

Nubia

and also in

how Ka made him

foreign countries, and

into Tchahi,

there

sailed into

\\

on

the

rv^

or Phoenicia, is proved

tomb

of

at Thebes,^

the

scribe

by the

Tchanni,

wherein he says that

he followed his master there, and that he registered the

names

of large

numbers of

soldiers [there],

and that

the king laid waste the gardens and orchards there,

and compelled the nobles of the country to bring

tribute to him.

Another witness of the expedition into

Lepsius, BenTcmdler,

J.

iii.

pi.

69/.

de Morgan, Catalogue, pp. 66, 67.

ChampoUion, Monuments, p. 831 ; the most recent description

of the

tomb

is

by

Scheil, Miss. Arcli. Frangaise, torn. v. p. 592,

THOTHMES

8o
Syria

the stele of Amen-hetep, the

is

god An-her,
of his

CLEARS THE SPHINX

IV.

i\

^, who

^^=^

Thothmes

(i.e.,

liigli

[B.C. 1466

priest of the

says that he was a follower

footsteps

lY.)

the foreign

in

lands " of the south and north [when] he went into

" Nehepin^

i^^"^

\\

[-|-i

and Kari,

^^

r-^"^^

/VV^A/^,^

the two countries which represented the

liraits of

and south respectively.

to the north

The name

Thothmes IV.

of

many

the temples at

is

found on the walls of

Egypt and Nubia, but

the buildings of Karnak was com-

his contribution to

places in

paratively small, consisting as

it

did of a part of the wall

which encloses the obelisks that were

set

up by Hat-

shepset, and the inscribing of a list of gifts

made

to the

Egypt

Amen when he

god

successful raids.

returned from one of his

In his short reign of nine years

him to

impossible for

which he

erect a large temple

whereon

scribe a record of his raids or expeditions into

and

Syria,

to do so,

and

it

was

to in-

Nubia

probable that he had no great wish

it is

inasmuch

as

he saw that both these countries

had been subdued by his predecessors, and that he was

reaping the benefits which accrued through their labours.

One
ever,

of the

works which he undertook

how-

keep his memory green for centuries, that

to say, the clearing

at

will,

Gizeh.

We

away

have

is

of the sand from the Sphinx

already

mentioned

in

con-

nexion with the Pyramids at Gizeh, that the early

history of this remarkable object
^

Sharpe, Egyptian Inscriptions,

is

unknown, and that

pi. 93, lines 5, 6.

VOL. IV.

HISTORY OF THE SPHINX

82

different views as to its

those

whom we

judges

is

age exist

[B.C. 1566

the view held by

should naturally expect to be the best

that the Sphinx dates from the period of the

Early Empire, and that

it is

lYth Dynasty,

as old as the

or older, but a recent theory declares that

Xllth Dynasty by Amenemhat

in the

III.

is

it

it

was forgotten
1817

In

the

sand

in

which

to

was

of this

in sand,

it

and

at

on excavations

carrying

about this time turned his

digging out of the

to

it

was buried.

work he discovered a

of his

of

is,

for centuries.

and

attention

up

was wholly buried

Caviglia

at the Pyramids,

the

It

in the early hieroglyphic inscriptions, but

quite likely that

that

was made

made

course, a curious thing that no mention is

monument

it

Sphinx from

In

the

of steps leading

flight

the monument, and between the paws

Sphinx a well-laid pavement; passing

the pavement nearest

its

course

to the

of the

end of

breast were the remains of

what had once evidently been a small open temple.

Between the paws of the Sphinx is an altar of red
granite,

and immediately in front of

its

breast

is

a huge

red granite tablet, fourteen feet in height, upon which

is

inscribed the account of

Sphinx out of the sand.

how Thothmes IV. dug

On

tablet is a vaulted sky, beneath

of

the upper portion of the

which

Heru-Behutet with pendent

are two scenes in

the

is

uraei.

which Thothmes IV.

the winged disk

Beneath these
is

seen

making

an offering of incense and pouring out a libation before

two human-headed

lions, or

sphinxes, couchant upon

THE TABLET OF THE SPHINX

B.C. 1466]

who

pedestals,

^^^

fCh

are the visible types of

vertical line of hieroglyphics

Heru-em-khut,

Between

Harinachis.

or

which

83

these

is

reads, " I grant that

"Ka-men-kheperu-Tehnti-mes-kha-khau shall

rise like

" the sun upon the throne of the god Seb, and that he
" shall attain to the rank of the god Tern
" I give victory to the lord

says,

"

and the other

says,

''

I give

"

one sphinx

of the two

Thothmes, who riseth with risings

" sun,"

lands,

like [those of] the

life

and power unto

" the lord of the two lands, Thothmes,

who riseth with

Below these scenes

"risings like [those] of the sun."

are

several lines of text/ from

facts are

The
month

drawn

tablet

king's reign,

was

of the

which the following

set

season

and

after

up on the 19th day of the third

Shat in the

first

year of the

enumerating a number of high-

flown titles which identify Thothmes IV. with several

of the gods,
"

e.g.,

"Beautiful god, the son of Tern, the

avenger of Heru-khuti (Harmachis), the living sphinx,

u^^

-, of Neb-er-tcher," the text goes

"Behold, his Majesty was

"

like a babe,

on to say,

^,

Horus the Child among the papyrus swamps."

like

And,

"Behold, he made a hunt in order that he might give

" his heart pleasure in the desert country

"Memphis
^

(literally,

the

See Lepsius, Benkmdler,

round about

White Wall), and along

iii.

pi.

Brugscli, Aeg. Zeitschrift, 1876, p. 89.

68

its

and for the text see

HERUKHUTI-KHEPERA-RA-TEMU

84

[B.C. 1466

"roads, which went south and north, in order that he

^, with

And he hunted

the lions

and he used

to drive

''might practise shooting at a target,

" [arrows tipped with] copper.

"and gazelle
" away in his

chariot [which

"were

than the wind; and he would have with

in the mountains,

fleeter

"him two

was drawn by] horses that

attendants, and no

"where he went with them.

" once

when

Harmachis

"and

was the hour

for allowing his servants to

he wished to perform an act of worship to

"rest,
"

it

man was able to know

And it came to pass that

to

Seker in the underworld,

at the shrine of

make an

offering of cornflowers,

" the goddess Isis, the lady of the

" the

South Wall, and

to

to

North Wall and of

Sekhet of Xoi'9 T I and to Set.

"

Now

"

from the beginning of all time, and

a great magical power

" the region as far as

and to pray

had existed
it

in this place

extended over

Kher-Ahaut wherefrom

all

led the

" road of the gods unto the western border of heaven,

" Heliopolis.

"

And

at this time the

Sphinx form of the

most mighty god Khepera came unto this place, and

" the greatest of the Souls,

" ones rested therein,

" of

Memphis and

and the holiest of the holy

and the inhabitants of

in all the

all

the city

towns in his territory round

" about raised their hands in adoration unto him, and

" brought rich offerings unto his ka (or double)."

One

day the king was hunting in this neighbourhood about

I.e.,

a spell had been laid on the country.

-^

APPEARS TO THOTHMES

B.C. 1466]

the time of noon, and

of the

Sphinx

lie

85

IV.

halted to rest under the shadow

whilst he was resting sleep overcame

him, and he dreamed a dream just at the time when the

He

sun reached his highest point in the heavens.

thought that the majesty of the venerable god came to

him and began

him

to speak to

face to face, even as a

my

father speaketh to his son^ saying, " Behold me,

am thy

father Heru-khuti-Khepera-

'

son Thothmes, I

'

Ka-Temu, and unto thee

'

my

'

wear upon thy head the crowns of the South and of the

'

North, and thou shalt

shall

it

be granted to

sit

upon

throne and to rule among the living, and thou shalt

sit

upon the throne of Seb, the

Every country upon which the

'prince of the gods.

the god of the universe,

'

light of Neb-er-tcher,

'

falleth shall be thine

'

and whatsoever

'

thine, together

'

of the world, and thou shalt live countless years of

'

life.

'

set

towards thee for good, and thou art indeed enveloped

'

by

my

'

hath closed me in on

My

is

i.e.,

throughout

length and breadth,

produced by the two lands shall be

with tribute from the other countries

and

face is turned towards thee,

But the sand whereon

being.

me

all sides

wilt do for

'

that thou art indeed

'

Draw nigh unto me, and

'

will guide thee."

the

all

god

my

I have

say unto

me

heart

my

my

had

is

being

that thou

that I desire, and then I shall

'

When

its

know

son and he that will help me.

I will be with thee,

said

woke up, and took heed

to

these

the

words

and I

Thothmes

words of the god,

and pondered on the meaning thereof.

Then he

rose

THOTHMES

86

up and made
to

IV.

CLEARS AWAY
the

to

offerings

do what the god had

[B.C. 1466

and determined

god,

asked him

The

do.

to

lower portion of the stele from which the above facts

are derived is broken away, and the last few lines on

the portion which remains are in a very fragmentary

state,

but the few legible words in line 14

the Sphinx was

made by king Khaf-Ea, and

the image of the god Temu-Harmachis.

information

very important, for

is

tell

us that

that

it

was

This piece of

proves that in the

it

XVIIIth Dynasty the priests of Memphis or Heliopolis,

who advised the king to undertake the work of clearing
away the sand from the Sphinx, believed that it was
image

the

of

Temu-Harmachis,

fashioned by Khaf-Ka,

pyramid

builder

that
of

was

it

the

second

Gizeh about two thousand years before that

at

There

date.

the

and

is

no reason

for believing that the stele

which we have been considering

that the text on

it is

is

not authentic, or

not genuine, and there

strange about the king's resolve to clear

except that

it

trivial task for

is

nothing

away the

sand,

might be considered a comparatively

Thothmes

to undertake.

It

however, a trivial task, for even in the

was

not,

days when

unlimited labour could be obtained for nothing the

removal of hundreds of thousands of tons of sand was

no small matter, and

expense

it

must have entailed considerable

from many points

of

view,

however,

inscription is of great interest, especially as

from
in

it

that

Thothmes seems

doubt as to

liis

at one time to

succession

to

the

the

we gather
have been

throne of his

THE SAND FROM THE SPHINX

B.C. 1466]

father Amen-lietep

hetep

II.

He was

II.

the

87

son

Amen-

of

by a wife who was not of royal rank, and the

Sphinx seems to indicate that

text on the stele of the

he would become king only on the condition that he

away the

cleared

sand

from

the

image of Temu-

Harmachis, and so restored the worship of the god.

From

would

this it

seem that the priests of Annu,

also

or Heliopolis, promised to give

ance, provided he cleared out

of the form of the

Thothmes

their assist-

and restored the sanctuary

Sun-god which they worshipped,

and when we consider that the king's ancestors had

been firm and zealous worshippers of the god
or

Amen-Ka,

this

it is

a remarkable fact that he performed

work,

unless

in

obtaining

them

Amen

he received great assistance from

the

throne.

Thothmes preferred the worship

It

may

be

that

of the old Heliopolitan

gods to that of Amen-Ea, and that the priests of

Heliopolis,

knowing

this,

persuaded him to help to

restore the worship of one of the oldest gods of the

northern kingdom.

On

the other hand, we

know

that

the heresy of the Aten worshippers, which culminated

in the reign of

respects

to

the

Amen-hetep
old

lY.,

worship of

was akin in some

Aten,

and

as

this

heresy was introduced into Egypt by the princesses

from
it

of
his

Mesopotamia

may

who

married

kings

of

Egypt,

be that Thothmes IV. supported the priests

Heliopolis
chief wife,

Babylonia.

because

their

cult

resembled that of

who came from Mitanni,

or

Western

THOTHMES

88

IV.

was the

Wlietlier Tliotlimes IV.

Egypt who entered into

and Mitanni

(Mathen)

and that they continued during the

Thus

two of his successors.

of

of tlie kings of

but we know that in his reign such

said,

relations existed,

reigns

first

[B.C. 1466

friendly relations with the kings

(Karaduniyash)

of Babylonia

cannot be

AND ARTATAMA

in the Tell

el-'Amarna tablet, Berlin, No. 24,^ Tushratta, the king

and fourth paragraphs of

of Mitanni, says in the third

Amen-hetep IV.,

his epistle to

"

Now, my

brother, let

"the friendship which existeth between me and thee be

''ten times stronger
"

than that which existed between

Nimmuriya ^ and myself.

In all the
which he had with me he never caused me

thy father

" dealings
" sorrow

by any word which he spake, and I never

"caused him sorrow by any word which I spake;

"whatsoever I asked him
" very day,
" I
"

did

to

do that he did on that

and whatsoever he asked me

on

very

that

Nimmuriya

Thothmes

(i.e.

" grandfather

and asked

When

day.

the

IV.) sent to

for his

to

do that

father

Artatama

daughter to wife

" grandfather refused his request,

of

my
my

and though he sent

" the fifth time,

and the sixth time, he would not give

"her

It

to

him.

was only

after

he had sent [the

" seventh time] that he gave her to him, being [com" pelled for

many

reasons] to give her."

direct evidence that

Thus we have

Thothmes IV. married a princess

Winckler, Die Tliontafeln von Tell-el-Amarna, p. 51.

I.e.,

i|

^^^^ j Neb-Maat-Ila (Amen-lietep

III.).

QUEEN MUT-EM-UA

B.C. 1466]

8g

of Mitanni, and some have thought that she

identified
''

with the queen

divine wife Mut-em-iia 1

friendly relations

whom

("

is to

he

the Egyptians called

^,^nJ| ."

The

which existed between the courts of

Babylonia and Eg-ypt are referred to in another Tell

el-'Amarna

letter, Brit.

Mus. No. 29,786,^ and Burra-

buriyash, writing to Amen-hetep IV., says, "

" time of Kara-indash,'^
" to

my fathers, even

when your

father's

From

the

envoys came

unto the present time our relations

''have been friendly, and you and I also are on friendly

" terms

your envoys have come to

"but they have brought me no

"my

me

rich

three times,

gift,

part also have sent you no rich

gift.

"refused nothing I will refuse nothing."

may

see that in the reign of

and I on
If I

am

Thus we

Thothmes IV. a great

king of Mesopotamia sought to gain the favour of

the Pharaoh of

all

Egypt by giving him

his daughter

in marriage.

NEB, son of the Sun, Amen-iietep-heq-Uast.

See Aeg.

Anc,
"

torn.

ii.

Zeitsclirift, vol. 28, p.

112

and

also Maspero, Hist.

p. 295,

Bezold-Budge, Tell el-Amarna Tablets in the

Britisli

p. xxxi.
^

Kara-iudash was the grandfather of Burraburijash.

Museum,

THE REIGN OF AMEN-HETEP

go

Amen-hetep

[B.C. 1450

III.

Amenopliis

III., or

III.,

was the son of Tliotlimes IV. and queen

Mut-em-ua, and as Hatshepset maintained
that the god

Amen became

incarnate in

her earthly father at the time when she

was begotten, and was therefore her true

father, so

father
em-Uast,
the Horns

name of

Amen-hetep

III.

Thothmes

incarnate in

queen

Amen and

Amen-hetep

Mut-em-ua.^^

'A/jLi'(o(f)L^,

his

and that he was the

IV.,

offspring of the union of

or

reigned

thirty-one

the

III.,

years,

monuments prove that

according to Manetho, but the

his reign

III. declared that

Amen became

the god

Ka-nekht-kha-

Amen-hetep

was nearer forty than thirty

years.

He was

crowned king on the 13th day of the third month of

the season Shemut, soon after his father's death, and

His

probable that he was not twenty years of age.

is

Horus names were seven

his titles,

Maat

(or,

"Mighty

in

it

number, and he adopted as

with

Bull, rising [like the sun]

diademed with Maat)

"

"He who

uniteth the

white crown, beloved of Heliopolis,"

"

The

stable

Ifff ^.
far-reaching,"

one

of

many

^l^^^^^^;
^:^

/]
|

whose power

Bull,

''^^^*bty

festivals,^'
is

."t^.'

prince of princes," '^^^

Copies of the reliefs illustrating

Monumenti

and

years

tliis

"Mighty

Bull,

"Mighty

Bull,

will

be found in Rosellini,

Beali, plates 38-41; Lepsius, Denkmdler,

iii.

74, 75

etc.

GREAT PROSPERITY OF EGYPT

92

the form of risings [like

" Prince

of

all

tlie

sun],"

5^L=!0

kau;'

living

fjjj]

"

Lord of the shrines

Horus of

of

gold, stablisher of laws,

monuments,

"^

"f

unifier of the

"^

_y

Nekhebet and Uatchet

,
.

"

,^,
"

>

The

subduer of the two

lands, great one, smiter of the Asiatics

of

,^

[B.C. 1450

'^

"

Mighty one

two lands, whose might

extendeth from Heliopolis to Hermonthis, smiter of the

Menti, subduer of the Libyans,

subduer of the Pati,

conqueror of the Anti of Nubia, king of kings, avenger

of the gods, lord of Kenset, great god," etc.

Amen-

hetep III. was, undoubtedly, one of the greatest of the

kings of Egypt, and

in

his

long reign the country

attained to a state of prosperity and greatness the like

of

He

which had never before been seen therein.

solidated the empire

con-

which his great ancestors had won,

and although, with one exception, he carried on no

great wars, his supremacy was recognized from the
most southerly limit of Nubia known
to the northernmost parts of Syria

to the

Egyptians

and Mesopotamia.

Vassal nations paid to him the appointed tribute unhesitatingly, because they

knew that they had

to deal

with the representative of a power which in the past

had smitten them

they believed

swiftly, hard,

that

and

representative

often,

was

and because
prepared

smite them as swiftly and as hard again.

to

Under the

strong but peaceful rule of Amen-hetep trade between

Egypt and her neighbours

subject mutually benefited

flourished,

and king and

by the wealth which was

EXPEDITION INTO NUBIA

B.C. 1450]

poured

into

tlie

country from

her

93

possessions,

in

Asia.

During the

first

four years of the reign of Amen-hetep

Egypt remained undisturbed^ but in the fifth

year a rebellion of some magnitude broke out in Nubia,
the peace of

and

it

the

was necessary

tribes

inflicted

king to go and

for the

inflict

punishment which

there the

by every new king of Egypt.

had

The

upon

to

be

centre of

the part of the country which had broken into rebellion

was Abhat, a

which seems

district

to

have been

situ-

ated in the Eastern Desert about thirty miles south of

Behen, or the modern town of

Wadi

Haifa.

To

this

place the king marched^ and, having joined his forces

to

those of Merimes, the " Prince of Kush," he did

battle with the Nubians,

and defeated them utterly

the sticks^ staves, and clubs of the

Nubian tribes could

resist but weakly the metal weapons of the Egyptians,
and the troops of Pharaoh were accustomed to conquer.

The booty captured

among other things

campaign was

in this

included

it

great,

about 750 prisoners

the hands cut off were over three hundred, so

that at least that

number

must

been

raid

have

we know

of rebels were killed.

on

and

large

scale,

and

This
the

Egyptians were proud of their success, which they

described in the usual

the rocks on the

iii.

See
pi.

J.

82

a-.

way by

little

cutting inscriptions on

Island of Konosso,^ and at

de Morgan, Catalogue,

p.

67

and Lepsius, Denhndler,

THE TEMPLE AT SOLEB

94

Aswaii,^ and on a large stele at

Cataract.

To commemorate

[B.C. 1550

Semneh, in the Second

this success the king built

a large temple, with two pylons, and two courts, and

two hypostyle

halls,

Menen-en-kha-em-Maat, near

at

the modern village of Soleb, and not far from the head
of the Third Cataract

building ever erected in

hundred

in

feet

was the largest Egyptian

it

Nnbia, and was over three

Upon

length.

the

sculptured scenes in which the king

pylons

are

represented in

is

the act of smiting the heads of a group of his foes in

the traditional manner, and a

Nubian

tribes that

unquestionably

of the

the

names of the

The

he had conquered.

the temple buildings are

are

list

ruins of

very considerable, and

still

preserved

best

of

all

the

is

due

Egyptian monuments in Nubia, a result which

to the

some distance from

fact that the building lies

native villages, and the people have found the task of

carrying aw^ay the stones too heavy for them.

larger columns are nearly seven feet in diameter.

use of this temple was twofold

it

The
The

served to remind the

natives of their conqueror, and in time of need parts of

it

could easily be

made

into a fortress.

The

inhabi-

tants of the country, seeing the large figures of the

king

on

the

pylons,

would

importance to them, and

superstitious

the building, which would

who were accustomed

to live

and huts made of palm branches and

reeds,

appear massive to natives

in tents

attach

indicated the presence of a power in the land which

^

Lepsius, op.

cit., iii. pi.

81h.

THE WIVES OF AMEN-HETEP

B.C. 1450]

was

to be permaiieut.

Sudan of

95

view taken by tbe

Tliis is tlie

natives of the Eastern

III.

tlie

huge red brick

palace which Lord Kitchener built at Khartum, and

more than probable that both Amen-hetep

is

modern representative, the

his

III.

it

and

Sirdar, were as mindful

of the moral eifect which their buildings would have

upon the natives as

edifices

In

maintained

were

Syria,

Western

and

Babylonia

make raids, for the

was regularly paid to Egypt by the vassal
The relations which he
of these countries.

Amen-hetep
chiefs

which the

themselves could be put.

Palestine,

tribute

of the practical uses to

with the
very

of

had no need

III.

el-'Amarna

kings

great

friendly

of

character,

prove

tablets

to

that

Western Asia
and the

Kallimma-Sin,

Tell
or

Kadashman-Bel,' king of Karaduniyash (Babylonia),

and Tushratta, king of Mitanni, were connexions of his

Thus Amen-hetep

by marriage.

III. married a sister

and from the information given in

of Kallimma-Sin,

own letter to this king (Brit. Mus.

29,784) we know that Amen-hetep III. also

the draft of his

No.

married one,
daughters.

if

He

not two,

of

the

Babylonian king's

married, but apparently not with her

father's full consent, a daughter of Shutarna,

king of

Mitanni, and also a daughter of Tushratta, the son

and successor
1

This

is

of

Shutarna;

Amen-hetep

III.

probably the correct reading of the king's name, but as

is now well-known it has been used in

the reading Kallimma-Sin

this work.

that

GILUKHIPA, TATUM-KHIPA, THI

96

married two princesses of Mitanni

[B.C. 1450

proved by

is

tlie

fourth paragrapli of Tusliratta's letter to Amen-lietep

IV. (Berlin, No. 21).

Grilukhipa^

and

Tushratta's

mentioned in the inscription on

is

slie

was called

sister

one of the sets of royal scarabs which Amen-hetep III.

caused to be made, in these words

" they brought to

'^

his majesty the daughter of Satharna, the prince of

''

Neherna, the lady Grilukhipa,

"her principal women, w^ho were

aX^

J|

and

317 in number."

Tushratta's daughter was called Tatum-khipa, a fact

which we learn from the

last lines of the Berlin tablet.

No. 296^ wherein we have, following

the things, this statemeut
" of all the

wedding

" Mitanni, gave to

gifts

"

his

after the list of

is

a complete

daughter Tatum-khipa

to

III.) his

when he
Nimmuriya in

he gave these

list

which Tushratta, king of

Nimmuriya (Amen-hetep

" brother, his son-in-law

" gave

" This

gifts

But of all the Mesopotamian or

North Syrian women whom Amen-hetep married, the
Egypt

wife."

to

best beloved

w^as

name appears

the beautiful

Thi, or Tiii, whose

Egyptian texts under the form

in the

n(](j\\J]J, and in the Tell el-'Amarna tablets as

t>-

'^T

^^

^TI

None

"

acknowledged to be

of the other Asiatic wives was

Queen

of Egypt," this

honour

Her

father's

being reserved solely for the lady Thi.

name was
Thuaa,

luaa,

s=5 v^

(1(1

nK

(I

J)

^^. ^^, and her mother's

she

seems not

to

have

B.C. 1550]

QUEEN THI

97

" The royal wife, the great lady of the two lands, queen of the two lands Thi."

VOL. IV.

SCARABS OF AMEN-HETEP

98

[B.C. 1450

III.

belonged to any royal house in Mesopotamia, but

perfectly certain

she was

that

accorded the highest

rank and honour which a woman could

Egypt, where she
"royal
lady

the

of

whom
fair

sister,

she

is

described

is

royal mother,

and

South

identified

obtain in

" royal

as

daughter,

great

royal wife,

The

North."

is

represented

characteristics

families

certain

Syria to

this

of

the

who may be

day.

lady,

lady with

as

having a

complexion and blue eyes, and she has

physical

it is

the

all

women belonging
seen

in

to

north-eastern

Tin was the mother of Amen-

hetep IV., and of his sister Amen-sat, and Amen-hetep

gave her name prominence everywhere equal to

III.

that of his own.

It

has been commonly said that he

married her in the tenth year of his reign, but there

no evidence

for

statement,

this

because

the

is

large

scarabs which are quoted in proof say nothing of the

These scarabs are of four kinds

kind.

dated in the tenth, and one

reign,
first

in,

is

the eleventh year of his

and two kinds are undated.

group of scarabs

one kind

The

text on the

reads: "Year tenth

"majesty of Horus, the mighty

bull^

under the

diademed

(or

" rising) with law, lord of the shrines of Nekhebet and

" Uatchet, establisher of laws, pacifier of the

two

lands,,

"the Horus of gold, mighty of valour, smiter of the

"Asiatics,
"

maker

king of the

South and North, the lord

of created things,

Neb-Maat-Ea, chosen of Ea,

" son of the Sun, Amen-hetep, prince of Thebes, giver

" of

life

the

royal wife, the mighty lady,

Thi, the

AMEN-HETEP THE LION HUNTER

B.C. 1450]

" living

"name

one

the

name

of lier father Avas

mother was Thuaa.

of her

"brought

to

"Kirkipa

(Grilukhipa), the

" prince of

his majesty,

Neherna, and

"number."

Thus

QQ
luaa, the

strength, and

life,

They

Wonders.

health,

daughter of Satharna, the

all

her chief women, 317 in

beyond a doubt

this scarab proves

that Amen-hetep III. was in the tenth

year of his

when Shutarna^s daughter

him in Egypt. The group

reign already married to Thi

Gilukhipa was brought to

of scarabs dated in the eleventh year of his reign gives

the names and

way and

titles of

in the

himself and Thi in the same

same order as the

class dated in the

tenth year, and then we are told on them that " his

"majesty ordered the making of a lake

" wife, the great lady, Thi, in her city

(?)

"Its length was 3600

its

"cubits.

"by

The

and

cubits,

for the royal

of Tcharukha.

breadth 600

was performed

festival of inauguration

his majesty on the 16th day of the third

" the season Shat,

"his boat called

when
'

month of

his majesty sailed over

Aten-neferu.^

classes of scarabs repeat the

it

in

The two undated

"

names and

titles of

the

king and Thi in the same way and in the same order,
but one class records that in the
his reign
^|\

jf^

-*^

own hand,

one hundred and two

fierce lions,

III.

and the second that the

extended from Karei,

ten years of

shot with his

Amen-hetep
H^=^

first

frontiers

^
I

I
1

south of Nubia, to Neharina,

r^^^

of
,

11
|

^^

his

kingdom

in the extreme
^v

'^

AMEN-HETEP THE LION HUNTER

100
or

Western Babylonia.

from

tlie

Thus

it

is

[B.C. 1550

impossible to

large scarabs the year of the reign of

lietep III. in

tell

Amen-

which he married Thi.

Scarab of Amen-hetep III., with text recording the jlaaiphter of 102 hens by the
king during the first ten yenrs of his reign. British Museum, No. 24,169.
,^

The building operations

many and

of

of

Amen-hetep

III.

were

various kinds, and remains of them are

to be fonnd from one

end of Egypt and Nnbia to the

B.C. 1450]

In

otlier.

the

THE EXTENT OF
tlie

quarries

KINGDOM

early years of his reign

of

Apis chapels of

HIS

lie

lOI
re-opened

Tura to enable him to build the

the Serapeum at Sakkara, the oldest

part of which dates from his reign^ and the

Scarab of Amen-hetep III., inscribed with a statement as

kingdom. British Museum, No. 16,988.

to the

first

Apis

hmits of his

Bull which was laid to rest there was deposited in

subterranean chamber during his reign. ^
in the Sinaitic Peninsula prove that

its

Inscriptions

work was carried

The Serapeum was excavated by Marietta

in 1850.

THE TEMPLE OF LUXOR

102

[B.C. 1450

on there for the king in the 36th year of his reign,

and

at Silsila

and elsewhere the quarries were worked

continuously, so that abundant supply of good stone

might be forthcoming

Karnak he

At

for his buildings at Thebes.

and completed certain

built a large pylon,

works which had been begun in the reign or reigns of

his predecessors, and he cut inscriptions
reliefs

upon some

and sculptured

of the walls of the great temple of

Amen-Ra which enumerate

the various gifts that he

dedicated to the great god of Thebes, and illustrate the

great boat

of the

temple processions
all

Sun which was employed in the

at that period.
But the greatest of

the buildings which he set

Nile at Thebes

is

east

bank

the temple dedicated to the

Triad of Amen-Ra,

Khensu,

up on the

V^

"^^^^
(]

.J],

^ J),

Mut,

^X

"^

of the

Theban
J),

and

which was styled by its builder

The House of Amen in the Northern Apt," and is

now known as the " Temple of Luxor." It was and
"

still

is

must have been the

a wonderful building, and

handsomest temple

at Thebes.

long and about 180 feet wide

Karnak by means

was nearly 500

It
;

it

feet

was connected with

of a paved way, on

each side of

which was arranged a row of rams with their faces

turned towards

its

Heru-em-heb, Seti

main
I.,

axis.

It

Rameses

II.,

was added

to

by

and others, and

it

must have been considered a shrine of great sanctity

for several

hundreds of years.

heretic king Amen-lietep IV.,

Amen-hetep's son, the

ordered the

name and

&Ki>

THE TEMPLE OF LUXOR

104

Amen

of

fig'ure

be erased from the walls, and he

to

built a shrine near the temple in

his death, however,

which formed

The

building.

it

honour of Aten

nsed in

greatest

other

injury to

of the

parts

temple was

the

wrought by the early Christians, who smashed

statues,

disfigured bas-reliefs, and destroyed the shrines in

with characteristic savage and ignorant zeal

parts of

they altered and

it

at

was pulled down, and the stones

were

it

[B.C. 1450

it

certain

turned into " churches,"

In the sanctuary at the south end

is

a chamber in

which are depicted scenes of the transformation of

Amen, who under the form

the

father of

Amen-hetep

of

Thothmes IV. becomes

III.,

and rearing of the royal

birth,

are, of course,

temple

of

and the conception,

child.

These scenes

copied from those on the walls of the

Der al-Bahari, which

origin of the great

describe

queen Hatshepset.

the diviue

At Thebes Amen-

hetep III. built a temple in honour of the god Menthu^

and another

to the

goddess Mut, which he provided

with a large number of black basalt seated statues of

the goddess Sekhet, sphinxes,

On

the west bank of the Nile he built a large temple,

and in front of
self,

etc.

it

he set up two colossal statues of him-

which are generally known throughout the world

as the "Colossi of

Memnon."

of quartzite sandstone, and

These statues are made

when new were about 53

feet high, not, of course, including the crovois,

were several feet in height

port

them

which

the pedestals which sup-

are each a little over twelve feet high.

The

THE COLOSSI OF MEMNON

B.C. 1450]

northern statue

is

tlie

better preserved, and before

was repaired by Septimius Severus

it

was said

sweet, sad note daily just after sunrise

the

Memnon, the son

of Tithonus

for this reason

At a comparatively

late period,
fact,

when the

they identified

the statue with the son of Eos, although

was well

it

that the statue was one intended to represent

Amen-hetep [HI.].

many

to emit a

and Eos, and brother of

Greeks became acquainted with this

known

it

became known as the vocal statue of

colossus

Emathion.

IO5

The sound, which was heard by

in ancient days, is variously described as the ring

of a piece of metal

when

struck, or a singing

human voice, or a low soft sound from a

Many celebrated visitors to Egypt journeyed
of a

Memnon's

expressly to hear

were disappointed
their gratitude

apparently those

horn,
to

etc.

Thebes

sometimes they

who heard showed

by inscribing verses of poetry on the

statue, but it is a

tions found on

note, but

sound as

it

noteworthy fact that of all the inscriponly one

is

in the

Egyptian language.

The upper part of the statue was cracked and thrown

down during an earthquake, B.C. 27, but an attempt to
make the damage good was made by Septimius Severus,
who built on the part of the statue in situ several layers
of sandstone, after which the sounds at sunrise were no

longer heard.
1 A
great deal has been written about the cause of the sound
emitted by the statue of Memnon, but every one who has passed the
night among the ruins of old stone buildings in the East is quite

familiar with the singing noises which detached pillars, statues,

and stones emit.

have heard such sounds come from the lime-

AMEN-HETEP SON OF HAP

I06

Egyptian

Tlie

building

in

tlie

of

Memnon

"

wlio

official

of

was

tlie

was

temple

[B.C. 1^50

most
the

of

Amen-hetep, the

and grandson of Kha-em-Uast, an

concerned

son

" Colossi
Hap,^

of

of high

official

rank who flourished in the reign of Thothmes III.

The

inscriptions

found

supply a considerable
his duties, and

chief minister.

it

own

his

broken

statue

amount of information about

would seem that he was the king's

After twenty-six lines of introductory

matter, in which
scribes his

upon

Amen-hetep, the son of Hap, de-

abilities

and how the god Thoth had

given him the understanding which made him a most

valuable servant to his lord, and an adept in the knowledge of " divine books," he goes on to say that

Amen-

hetep III. appointed him to be a royal scribe, and that

he became skilled in the "book of the god," and saw the

glories of Thoth,

and knew

all

the deep mysteries of

and that every secret thing was known

literature,

him.

He

him

to be

then became an orator, and the king promoted

an inspector of the people, and he assessed

the taxes justly, and did this in such a

people

to

who were taxed applauded him.

way that the

He

appointed

stone pillars at Palmyra in the early morning, and from stones in

the Valley of Giran in the Singar Mountains, and in mountains
between Biredjik and Urfa, and at Aswan and at several places in
the Sudan.

Dr. Brvigsch also heard the same kind of sound in

the temple at Karnak.

(Egypt, vol.

i.

p. 431.)
'

l'

He was

also

sui*named

Hui

compare

"
]

THE COLOSSI OF MEMNON

B.C. 1450]

inspectors to
lands,

and

to

patrol

tlie

107

roads which led into foreign

make the people dwell

in their appointed

places on the east and west banks of the Nile, and they

were supposed to keep

called

Nemausha,

strict

aaaaaa

watch upon the nomads

^^

M^

Jy

he also made men to keep watch over the river ways

The

into Egypt,

Colossi of

Am^n-hetep III. at Thebes.

From a photograph by A. Beato, Luxor.

and he was the captain of the company of

men who manned

the king's boats for this service.

He

divined what his master wished to do in respect of the

people that were subject to
of the prisoners taken

him

and he was in charge

by the king.

these services the king

In return

made him overseer

for all

of works,

AMEN-HETEP SON OF HAP

T08

mer

'--'

name

of

hat,

and the able servant made

great king for

tlie

stone had been created.

"which was

my

in

[B.C. 1450

to live the

whom the mountains

He says, " Through

heart I worked to

of sand-

the love

make

his

two

" images in this his great temple^'rom block[s] of stone

" each of

which

as solid as heaven."

is

The

like

was

never done for any king of Egypt since the days of

the Sun-god Ea,- and as each statue was forty cubits

pylon of the temple behind them seemed

the

high,

comparatively iusignificant; when each statue had been

set in its place the

To

Temu.

pair resembled the gods

Ka and

fetch the blocks of stone for the statues the

overseer of works tells us that he had to build eight

and that when they were

boats,

set

up the heart of

man who had been employed by him

every

was very

service

architect

glad.

must have

in

the

The thankfulness which the

felt at

the end of this difficult task

can be better imagined than described.

Amen-hetep, the son of Hap, also built a temple at the

place

now

called

Amen-hetep

month

III.

Der al-Medina, and by a decree which

promulgated on the 6th day of the fourth

of the season Shat, in the eleventh year of his

reign, it

was ordered that the building should be main-

_M^

LD

AAw.^

Mariette, Karnalc,
-

I.e., tlie like

"^-^
_

_m^_ ^mh

pi. 36.

had never been done

at

all.

anrn
EED

^
J

AND HIS WORSHIP

B.C. 1450]

tained for

all

lOQ

time out of the endowments provided for

Amen-Ea, the king

the temple of

of the gods,

and that

the sons of the great architect should be the priests

The king then pronounced

thereof for ever.

awful nrses, which in

Babylonian

found on
successors

respects resemble those

landmarks, upon

who should allow the temple

who should

or

many

any of

his

to fall into ruin,

alienate any part of the income set aside

for its up-keep,

and enumerates the honours which shall

come upon those who seek

to carry out the terms of the

In course of time the temple

decree. 1

a series of

fell

into decay,

but in the time of the Ptolemies another was built in

place,

and the builder of

the

original

its

temple was

worshipped in the new one as a god whose word never

faileth.

It

was believed that Amen-hetep, the son of

Hap, was possessed of magical knowledge, and that he

wrote certain formulae which he had always used for
his

own

protection

he composed
preserved in

is

a copy of the words of power which

extant in the papyrus of Heter,

the Louvre

in a papyrus at Leyden.^

at

Paris,-

now

and another

is

In short Amen-hetep was

included in the group of divine sages such as Herutata-f

and

I-em-hetep,

or

Imouthis,

and

to

his

copy of this decree will be found in Birch, Inscriptions in

and Demotic Character, pi. 29 see also Brugsch, Ae^.
Zeitschrift, 1875, p. 123 f.
The stele on which it is written is in
^

the Hieratic

the British

p.

Museum

(No. 138).

See Maspero, Memoires

See Pleyte,

71

ff.

Chapitres

sior

quelques papyrus, pp. 23, 58.

supplementaires au

Livre

des

Morts,

no

TEMPLE AT EL-KAB

words was

attributed power

cbaracter.

Curiously enough,

hetep

sage

tlie

of

[B.C, 1450

most remarkable

mention

occurs in the tract which

wrote against Apion

(i.

26),

wherein

"king (Amenophis) was desirous

" of the gods, as

Amen-

of

Jose23hus

" This

is said,

it

to

become a spectator

had Orus, one of

his predecessors in

"that kingdom, desired the same before him; he also

"

communicated that his desire

" ophis,

who was

knowledge of futuries."

request Amen-hetep
" gods, if he
"

namesake Amen-

the son of Papis, and one that seemed

" to partake of a divine nature,

" the

to his

would

" told

both as to wisdom and

In answer to the king's

him that he might

clear the

see the

whole country of the lepers

and of the other impure people."

Now

given to Amen-hetep's father by Josephus,

name

the
i.e.,

Papis,

nothing but the Egyptian name of his father. Hap,

is

with the article pa, "the," added thereto.

In other parts of his kingdom Amen-hetep III. built

largely.

At El-kab he completed the small temple

which Thothmes IV. had begun

to build in

honour of

the goddess Nekhebet, and at Elephantine he built a

small but most interesting temple in honour of

the

Nubian god

of the First Cataract.

was comparatively
flight of steps,

small,

and was approached by a short

capital.

temple were seven square

This was

p. 147.

first

This building

on each side of which, at the top, was a

column with a lotus

Khnemu,

On each

pillars,

side

of the

and a portico ran

pointed out by Erman, Aeg.

Zeitsclirift,

1887,

TEMPLE OF SOLEB

B.C. 1450]

III

round the building, which consisted of one hall and a

small shrine chamber leading out of it; the main portion
of the ediiice measured about 40 feet, by 30 feet,

This temple was

feet.

by 13

standing, and was in a good

still

when in 1799 the members of the

French Expedition made drawings of it, which they

state of preservation

great

fortunately published later

i
;

but in

822

Muhammad

Ali wished to have a palace built for himself at Aswan,

and the whole building was torn down, stone by stone,

by the

local governor,

make lime

stone to

of granite,

etc.,

At

palace.

make

buildings in
that country.
tioned, but

and employed the blocks

the foundations of the

refer

Nubia

works of

to

by Amen-hetep

carried on

III.,

various

kinds

we may note

of Soleb has already been

men-

in passing that the importance

Amen-hetep

its

builder

is testified

III. specially visited

to attend the inauguration ceremonies.

little to

Cataract are

testify to his care for the shrines of

The temple

fact that

new

and the remains of his

possessed in the opinion of

it

by the

for mortar,

the slabs of calcareous

several places in the First

which

inscriptions

which

to

who burnt

Nubia

At Sedenga, a

the north of Soleb, he built a small temple in

honour of his wife Thi, and here may be seen the

cartouche of the queen side by side with those of her

To Amen-hetep

husband.
credit of

having

first

III. is

sometimes given the

discovered the suitability of the

plain which lies between Gebel Barkal and the Nile for

building purposes, and there

1

is

no doubt that he built a

Description de VEgypte, torn.

i.

plates 34-37.

TOMB OF AMEN-HETEP

112

[B.C. 1450

III.

temple there, for otlierwise the two granite lions in the

British

Museum, and the

Museum,

names and

The

of

all

colossal

ram

in the Berlin

which are inscribed with the king's

titles,

would not have been found

saw many fragments of

writer, however,

there.

stelae

and

statues which had all the appearance of having belonged

monuments

to

possible

to

Xllth Dynasty, and

of the

believe

that

Egyptian

the

is

it

officers

im-

and

who visited Nubia long before the period of

the XYIlIth Dynasty, did not recognise the importance
generals,

of such a station a few miles from the foot of the

Cataract, whether for a fortress or a temple.

to above,

pair of lions referred

Fourth

The

fine

which were brought

from the ruins of the temples at Gebel Barkal by Lord

Prudhoe, are thought by some to have been taken there

from the north by the king who usurped them, but

that seems unlikely.^

Amen-hetep hewed
solid rock in the

for

himself a tomb out of the

Western Valley of the Tombs

Kings, and he appears to have been the

make

a sepulchre there.

The

first

of the

king to

walls of the corridors and

chambers were ornamented with coloured representations

of the king holding converse with the various great gods,

The king whose name occurs with that

upon the

lions is

Tut-ankh-Amen, f[

of

Amen-hetep

III.

^^Nkoirnlj, and

monuments of his father," M. Loret

was the son of Amen-hetep III., and that he
repaired the temples which that great king had built at Gebel
in the words

"he

restored the

sees a proof that he

Barkal.

See EecueiJ,

torn. xi. p. 212.

REIGN OF AMEN-HETEP

B.C. 1530]

but nearly

all tliese liave

The tomb seems

disappeared.

many
and many of

113

IV.

not to have been finished, for

of the scenes on the

walls are incomplete,

the rooms are orna-

mented neither with

texts nor inscriptions.

When MM.

and Devilliers discovered the tomb in 1799 they

Jollois

found in

it

the cover of a red granite sarcophagus, and

several fragments of ushabtiu figures

second

chamber were

"

of [knowing]

Book

mummy

inscribed

what

of the king

on the walls of the

passages

from

the

The
Amen-

the underworld."

is in

was found in the tomb of

hetep II. by M. Loret, as has already been said.

Ra-nefer-kheperu-ua-en-Ea, son of the Sun, AmenHETEP-neter-heq-Uast.

Amen-hetep
the

'^ilpo'i

of Manetho,

Amen-hetep

IV., or

III.,

Amenophis

IV.,

was the son of

and his Mitannian wife

Thi; of the circumstances which caused

him

to be selected

Amen-hetep
Qa-shuti,
the Horus name
of

from among the sons of

III. to be

king of Egypt we

have no knowledge whatsoever, but his

accession to the throne

was most probably

Amen-hetep IV.

arranged by Thi, the favourite wife of his

father.

Besides his Horus

name Qa-shuti,

or "Exalted

one of the double plumes," he adopted as his

"

titles,

Divine prince of Thebes," and " King of the South

VOL. IV.

AmEN-HETEP

114

"and North,

liigli-priest of

AND HIS

IV.

[B.C. 1530

Ra-Heru-kliuti (Ra-Harina-

name

"chis), the exalted one in the horizon in his

Shu who

"

" duration of life."

and " Mighty one in his

in his disk,"

is

of

It appears that in the early years

mother Thi took a prominent part in

of his reign his

the government of the country, and that she ordered

works

certain

to

be carried out as

mistress of Egypt, but there

assumed

she

position

nothing to show that

similar

when Thothmes

Hatshe^Dset

is

she were the

if

held

that

to

When

was a boy.

III.

by

Amen-hetep IV. ascended the throne he must have

arrived at man's estate, for he was married, and

he

thought that
the

in
t

married

"Royal

texts,

^^^ (\S

wife

great

wife,

who

lady,

called

is

Nefer-tith,"

towards the end of his father's reign.

We

know from

the

king

Tushratta,

of

Tell

Amen-hetep

to

letter to the

Egyptian king

he says in the
Egypt,

"who

my

loveth

first

'^

his

daughter

III. to wife, for,

(Brit.

that

in

his

Mus. No. 29,793),3

"To Nimmuriya, king of

my son-in-law, whom I love, and

Tushratta,

M1!l^ VI
o

gave

tablets

paragraph,

brother,

me,

el-'Amarna

Mitanni,

Tatumkhipa

"

the

it is

king of Mitanni, who

cO]
'^

LJ

a/vwna

^ w

See Bezold-Budge, Tell el-Amanm Tablets, No. 10, p. 42.

WIVES FROM MESOPOTAMIA

B.C. 1430]

II5

" loveth thee, thy father-in-law.

With me

"May

it

and thy house, and

"with

my

also be well with thee,

daughter Tatum-khipa, thy wife

and may

" lovest,

" thy sons,

"

it

it is

well.

whom thou

be well Avith thy wives, and with

and with thy nobles, and with thy chariots,

and with thy horses, and thy warriors, and with thy

" land, and with everything

which

is

thine

may

it

be

" well indeed."

When

Amen-hetep

he sent with her a dowry suitable for

III.

a lady

who was going

but

is

it

Tushratta sent his daughter to

to

marry the great king of Egypt,

most unlikely that such a dowry would have

been given to her had she been going to marry a mere

whose succession

prince,

to

the throne was not well

assured.

In any case, in view of such a definite state-

ment

that

as

contained in Tushratta's

letter

it

is

impossible to speak of the Mitannian princess as the

wife of

Amen-hetep IV.

only, as

some have done,

we know that she became the wife

An

son.
tith,

and

attempt has been made to prove that Nefer-

the wife of Amen-hetep IV., and Tatum-khipa are

one and the same person, but

far

of both father

for

more

it is,

likely that Nefer-tith

as

M. Maspero

says,i

was an Egyptian lady

and the daughter of some princess of royal blood,

whom

the son of Amen-hetep III. and Thi married in order to

make good through her

his right to the throne,

which

was, of course, seriously compromised by his descent

from Thi, a foreign mother.

During the

first
^

few years of his reign Amen-hetep

Oj). cit., torn. ii. p.

317.

AMEX-HETEP

Il6

appears

IV.

to

counsels, and
titles

it

AND ATEN WORSHIP

IV.

[B.C. 1430

have been guided by his

mother's

quite easy to see from one of the

is

which he assumed on ascending the throne, that

he had by nature, or had been taught to have, views on

religion

which were

some respects akin

in

Thothmes

his grandfather,

remembered that

It will be

the priests of Heliopolis.

lY.,

to those of

had dug out from the

sand the Sphinx, the symbol of Ka-Harmachis, who

was a god of Heliopolis, and that

lietep III.,

had celebrated the

of the lake,

festival of the

had made

which he

his father^

opening

please Thi, by

to

sailing over it in a boat called the " Beauties of

i.e.,

the city where

Aten,

etc.,

Heru,

were adored.

Aten,"

at Heliopolis,

the forms of the sun-god,

all

Temu, Khepera,
to

who was worshipped

of another god

Amen-

e.g.,

Ea,

Ka-Heru-khuti,

Heru-khuti,

"When Amen-hetep IV. came

the throne, he called himself the " high priest of

"

Ka-Harmachis, the exalted one in the horizon in his

"

name

of Shu,

who

is in

his disk;" thus

it is

clear that

he was an adherent of the religion of Aten, and there

is

no reason

for

doubting that his mind had been led to

take such theological views through the teachings of

his mother, Thi.

It

may have been

that these views

were strengthened by the opposition which was offered

by the priests of
for it is clear

Amen

that

to his succession to the throne,

the

deep hatred with which he

regarded them and their god was not of sudden growth,

but on this point the inscriptions are

early part of his reign,

silent.

In the

Amen-hetep lY. followed the

THE BENBEN AT THEBES

B.C. 1430]

example of

tlie earlier

at Tliebes,

though

kings of his dynasty, and lived

same time he was carrying

at the

on building operations at

Memphis and

was working the quarries

for stone to be

He was

places.

politic

massive Benben

Jj

n,

Jj

used at these

to pretend to please the

Thebes

at

Heliopolis, and

i.e.,

by

building

a shrine which

was

and part temple, in honour of the god

part pylon

Heru-khuti, and

Egypt seems

all

under contribution
priests of

enough

authorities

ecclesiastical

II7

provide

to

Amen must

to

for

have been laid

The

the work.

have regarded with strong

dis-

approval the intrusion of another shrine among the

temple

buildings

at

what views of the king

death

it

when they understood

Thebes,

represented, for after his

it

was taken down, and the stones were employed

by Heru-em-heb in building operations at another place

on the sacred

Whilst
built

at

site.

the

Benben

Harmachis

of

Thebes, Amen-hetep IV.

foundation of

new

capital

was

being

was planning the

for

himself

at

some

distance from Thebes, and definite form was given to

his

views on this subject by the

of the priests
for the

new

of

Amen.

city lay

The

which he chose

on the east bank of the Nile^

about two hundred miles

south of Cairo, and

marked to-day by the Arab

and Tell el-'Amarna.

site

growing hostility

villages of

The building
and

in the fifth year of his reign,

temple for the god Aten,

/wwna

is

Haggi Kandil

of the city
it

it

began

consisted of a

a palace for the king,

AMEN-HETEP

ii8

and houses

enough
Thebes

to cut themselves off

from the old

mountains

neighbouring

the

[B.C.

U30

who were bold

court officials

those

for

AND HIS

IV.

traditio]is of

would

afford

resting-places for the dead, and the king felt that

when

he had once taken up his abode in his new city he

would be able

to defy the rest of

Egypt.

Meanwhile,

however, the relations between the king and the priests

of

Amen became

at

when we remember

strained,

and this

is

not to be wondered

that soon after his accession to

name

the throne the king began to cut out the

of

Amen
At

as well as his figure from every building in Egypt.

length an open rupture took place, and the king found

it

desirable from every point of view to

and his family

Aten,"

About

to his

new

^^,

i.e.,

city,

remove himself

which he called

"

Khut

the " Horizon of the Disk."

he discarded his name, Amen-hetep,

this time

because

it

name

contained the

of

the

hated god Amen, and gave himself the new

name^ "Khut- en- Aten,"

"^^^^^^^

i.e.,

the "'Spirit, or Glory

the

Sun's Disk.

(j

of Aten," or

At the same time he

changed his Horus name from "Exalted

One
Bull,

nn

"
MEKi, the Horns
of

beloved

himself "

Ka-nekht-aten-

name

of the double

Khut-

en-Aten.

Lord

plumes"

of Aten,"

to

"Mighty

and he styled

of the shrines of

Nekhebet

and Uatchet, mighty one of sovereignty

" in the city of the

"the Horus of

Horizon of the Sun,

gold,

who

exalteth

the

NEW

B.C. 1530]

"

name

of

tlie

CAPITAL KHUT-ATEN

Disk, the king of the South

IIQ
aiicl

North,

" living in Maat, the lord of the two lands, the lord of

The break was now complete, and Amenhetep IV. settled down to worship his god Aten in his
own way in the city " Horizon of Aten."
*'

crowns."

Much

has been written about the worship and creed of

Aten, but as the inscriptions do not give us any definite

information on the subject, a great deal of theorizing

made

is

The worship of Aten

Egypt, and its original home was

to take the place of fact.

was a very old one in

Heliopolis, but

Egyptians,

had never provoked the enmity of the

it

who

tolerated

The worship

priests.

of

it

and were tolerated by

its

Aten as understood by Amen-

hetep IV. was, however, a very

different

thing, for

whereas the old Aten worship was tolerant, the new

Aten worship was

not, for

had

would have betaken himself

been tolerant the

it

Heliopolis, where the

to

would have received him gladly.

priests

from the

reliefs

king-

which have been found

It is

clear

at the city

Khut-Aten, that the god Aten was regarded as the

giver of

life,

and the source of

all life

that his symbol was the light, or

Sun

creed

on this earth, and

fire,

or both, of the

Aten was the physical body of the Sun, and the

of

Aten

ascribed

the

to

character or oneness of which

any other god.

This being

it

so,

god a monotheistic

denied the existence in

the

new

religion could

not absorb or be absorbed by any other, and similarly,

Aten could not absorb or be absorbed by the other gods

of Egypt, because

he had nothing in common with

THE WORSHIP OF ATEN

120
them.

Attempts have been made

[B.C. 1530

to prove that the

Aten

worship resembled that of the monotheistic worship of

the Hebrews^ and to show that Aten

form of the name

only another

is

Adon, a Semitic word which

usually rendered "lord," but as far as can be seen

is

now

of Aten, which terminate in human hands, shining upon the

cartouches of Amen-hetep IV. and his wife Nefertith.

The rays

the worship of Aten was something like

materialism, which

who performed

had

to

ceremonies

glorified

be expounded by priests,
similar

to

those

which

belonged to the old Heliopolitan sun-worship, without

any connexion whatsoever with the worship of Yahweh,

THE WORSHIP OF ATEN

B.C. 1430]

and a being of

tlie cliaracter

liad

no place in

all

other gods, the

it

anywhere.

121

of the Semitic god

In so far as

it

Adon

rejected

Aten religion was monotheistic,

but to judge by the texts which describe the power

The rays

of

Aten

ring
l:)estowiiig

"life" "
~f~ and "sovereignty"

upon

Amen-hetep IV.

and works of Aten,

it

contained no doctrines on the

unity or oneness of Aten similar to those which are

found in the hymns to Ka, and none of the beautiful

ideas

on the future

life,

with which we are familiar

WORSHIP OF ATEN AT KHUT-ATEN

122

[B.C. 1530

from the liymns and other compositions in the Booh

of the Dead.

The temple
A/^A/v^

Aten

of
1

was

Het

called

Benben,

and was a very large building, but

it

was never

walls

is

finished, as far as the

concerned

ornamentation of the

which

in its conrts were altars on

incense was burnt and offerings were laid, and

possible that the idea of the altar
architect Bek, the son of

great queen Hfitshepset

al-Bahari.i

it is

was suggested

Men, by the

altar

it

is

to the

which the

had erected in her temple

an interesting fact that no

at

Der

sacrifices

any kind were offered up, either on the queen's altar

or on the altars of her successors, and it must be

of

noted that the queen says in her inscription on her

altar that she

built

it

for

her father Ra-Harmachis,

AWWv

and that Ra-Harmachis was the one ancient god of the

whom Amen-hetep

Egyptians

lY. delighted to honour.

The high

priest of the temple at

to adopt

the

Heliopolis,

in the

title

of the

Ur-maau,

^^

high priest of

^ ^^ ^
[

Ra

iyi

at

and

new worship was carried on

temple by means of many of the old forms and

many

in

i.e.,

old

Khut-Aten was made

respects

the

ceremonies of the Heliopolitan priesthood

on stated

occasions, however, the king himself officiated.

1

and
ten steps at the western end

This altar measures 16 feet by 13 feet by 5

reached by a

flight

excavated by Naville.

of

feet,

Temple of Beir el-Bahari,

pt.

i.

its
;

p. 8.

top

it

is

was

B.C. 1430]

AMEN-HETEP

IV.

BESTOWING GIFTS

I23

be
o5

DESCRIPTION OF THE

124
Meaiiwliile

grew, and

come
of

tlie

new

Amen

number

left

people and nobles wlio had be-

growth of the power of the priests

Thebes and took up their abode there

of court officials naturally followed their king,

and as the new canon of

patronized, gave

and

[B.C. 1430

prospered and

city Kliiit-Aten

many wealthy

terrified at the

NEW

artists of

abundant employment

to

sculptors

every kind, to say nothing of the skilled

workmen who were needed

projects, the

which he proclaimed and

art,

city

for the carrying out of his

The

soon became well populated.

houses were beautifully decorated, and

many

them

of

had plaster pavements, which were ornamented with

unusually artistic designs and patterns ;i large gardens
full of choice plants

and rare trees were laid out, not

only in the grounds of the

houses of high

officials,

threw

off

every

many

sense

designs,

new

making the new

in

of the v/ord.

of the old trammels

ties of their profession,

forms,

but also in the

and the architect Bek and his

workmen spared no pains

beautiful in

palace,

The

is

to

artists

and conventionali-

and indulged themselves in new

new

colours,

and new treatment of

the subjects which they wished to represent.

it

city

Indeed

the buildings of the city of Khut-Aten and

their decorations that

possibilities of

we owe many

Egyptian

art

of the ideas of the

the art of the period is^

characterized by a freedom and a naturalism which

is

never before or after met with in Egyptian history.

^

A number

of these

were uncovered by Prof. Petrie in the

course of his excavations at Tell el-'Amarna.

CAPITAL OF AMEN-HETEP

'B.C. 1430]

And

as the king

different

from any

IV.

125

Khu-en-Aten adopted a

style of art

wliicli

predecessors, so the texts

had been employed by his

which he inscribed upon the

walls of his buildings were of

character different

from those with whicli we are familiar from the monu-

ments of an

earlier period.

inscriptions is Aten,

The

subject of most of his

whose glory and power be was

never tired of proclaiming, and a good illustration of

the terms which he employed in his praises of the god
will be found in a

hymn which

in recent years. ^

In this we fiad that Aten

exist in

tbat he
life,"

the

form of Ea,

has been twice published

^^tt^

said to

is

a,

and

called the " living Aten, the beginning of

is

^Q-v^-^-Mjll^t- ^-

When

men

sleep in

Aten resteth in the west the land

their houses, no eye can see,

is

dark,

and the

lions

from their dens, and the creeping things

last statements find parallels in

Psalm

come forth
bite

civ. 20.

these

When

men wake up, and wash, and dress, and

praise him, and then "go forth to their labours; " all
It is Aten who
creatures rouse themselves joyfully.
turneth the seed of man into men and women, and it is
he who givetli life to the son in the body of his
Aten

riseth

mother,

-t-

^^x,

^vwva

aN

and

by Bouriaiit in Memoires de la Mission, torn. i. p. 2ff., and

by Mr. Breasted, De Hymnis in Solem stih rege Amenojphide IV

First

later

conceptis, Berlin (no date).

AMEN-HETEP

126

who

OR KHU-EN-ATEN

[B.C. 1430-

bringetli liim forth a perfect being at the appointed

Aten

time.

men

all

IV.

Nile

is

the creator of

all

of whatever language

in short, Aten,

living things,

and

and of the

colour,

and Aten only,

is

creator of material things, and the sun

and of

praised as the
is

Aten, and

all

people w^ere called upon to adore him.

We

have seen that when Amen-hetep IV,

finally

AmenEa, he changed his name from Amen-hetep to Khuen-Aten, and it must now be noted that the form and
declared himself in favour of Aten as opposed to

figure of the king as depicted in bas-reliefs also changed.

In the earlier monuments of his reign he

as possessing the typical features

others

of bis

ancestors, but

at

is

represented

of his father

Tell

el-'Amarna his

physical characteristics are entirely different.

is

and

Here he

portrayed with a very high, narrow, and receding

forehead, a large, sharp, aquiline nose, a thin,

weak

mouth, and a large projecting chin, and his head

is set

upon a long and extremely slender neck

his chest

is

rounded, his stomach inflated, and his thighs are large

and broad, and

many

in

that of a woman.

It

respects his figure resembles

is

impossible that such repre-

sentations of the king would be permitted to appear in

bas-reliefs

in

them, and

it is

officials

city unless

his

king approved of

clear that he did approve,

and that his

understood that he approved of this treatment

of his person at the

some of the high

in the

the

hands of sculptors and

officials

same manner.

artists, for

were themselves represented

Still,

some of the drawings of

}yi(anij?rii

128 PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF

AMEN-HETEP

IV.

the king must be regarded as caricatures, but whether

intentional or otherwise cannot be said.

Some have

thought that the features given to the king by the

were in some way supposed to be connected

artists

with the views hekl by the worshippers of Aten, and

has also been suggested that he was a eunuch,

it

but for neither suggestion

there any satisfactory

is

ground.

During Khu-en-Aten's comparatively short reign of

less

than twenty years the whole of the king's energies

seems to have been expended in superintending the

building of his

city,

and in developing the worship of

With the view

Aten.

of furthering the latter he built

small temples at Heliopolis, and Memphis, and other

ancient

cities,

but of these very few remains have been

War

seems to have been abhorred by him, for

found.

we do not hear even

of the

old

familiar raids

into

Nubia, which nearly every Egyptian king was obliged

make

to

soon

as

the other hand, we

N^

[ I

"

"Est

is

M)

came

he

as

learn from

the

king's

to

the

throne

on

tomb of Huia,-

treasurer,

verniutet worden, der Konig

entmannt worden, und habe so

the

sei bei

that

in

the

eiuem Feldzuge

die charakteristischen Ziige der

" Eunuchen angenomineii

dem widerspricht es jedoch dass
" derselbe sieben Toclitev besass und demzufolge die Entniannung
;

"erst ein vorgeschrittetenen alterhafcte erfolgt sein konnen, wo

" dieselbe auf die Aenderung der Physiognomie kaum mehr einen
" Einfluss ausUben konnte." Wiedemann, Aeg. Gesch., p. 397.
-

This

name

under the form

is

found

in the Tell

-T^T -^^"^T

el-'Amarna

Tt

letter, Berlin,

No.

6,

ATEN WORSHIP

B.C. 1530]

I29

twelfth year of his master's reign he brought tribute

from Syria, and the Islands of the Great Green,

Mediterranean Sea, and Nubia.

the

the amount of exact information

If

i.e.,

we consider

concerning the con-

dition of the rising in Syria at this time

once that Huia was an ambassador

we

shall see at

who spoke smooth

words, for that Syria, or any other of the possessions of

Egypt, paid during the reign of Khu-en-Aten tribute

in the

way

expression,

it is

mummy

The
tomb

in

of

which the older kings understood the

impossible to believe.
of

Amen-hetep IV. was found

Amen-hetep

II. at

Der

al-Bahari, whither

in the
it

was

removed in troublous times, although he had caused a

tomb

be hewed out of the living rock in a moun-

to

tainous valley which stretches towards the east, and

between the two groups of tombs, one on the north

lies

and the other on the south

it is

about eight or ten

miles, according to the route followed,

The tomb
corridor,

is

approached by two flights of steps and a

and a

little

end of the second

beyond the small chamber

destroyed, and

of the

it is

The paintings

at the

wherein

flight is the hall or chapel

the sarcophagus once stood.

all

from the Nile.

are nearly

certain that the ornamentation

tomb was never completed.

Such scenes

remain represent people of every tribe and

as

nation

worshipping the Disk, or Aten, but many of them were

painted, not for the king, but for one of his daughters

who

died before her father, and

who was buried

tomb.
VOL. IV.

in his

TATUM-KHIPA, WIFE OF

130
In

all

Aten
to

is

whom

el-'Amarna Khu-en-

at Tell

the bas-reliefs

[B.C. 1430

always accompanied by bis wife Nefertitb,

be gave tbe title Nefer-nefern-Aten, i.e., " tbe

beauty of tbe beauties of Aten"

U^U t

f H^g-

and witb wbom several writers bave

.5

^1

'

identified tbe wife of

^Jg ^ ^,

Amen-betepIII.,Tatuni-kbipa,>;^y|^y ]}
tbe daugbter of Tusbratta, king of Mitanni.
Petrie says,i
" son's

"Amenbotep

III.

was negotiating

marriage before bis deatb

Prof.
for bis

and from anotber

"letter (9) we learn tbat Tadukbipa was tbe daugbter

" tbus married to Akbenaten, and wbo [sic] was known

"in Egypt as
tbat

M. Maspero takes tbe view

Nefertiti."

when Tatum-kbipa, wbo bad

Mitanni on tbe

left

understanding tbat sbe was going to marry Nimmuriya

Amen-betep

(i.e.,

king

III.),

Egypt sbe found tbat tbe

bis son

Egypt,

of

old king

arrived in

was dead, and tbat

Amen-betep IV. took bis place and married

ber.

In support of bis statement Prof. Petrie merely refers

to tablets Nos. 6

prove

to

letter

No.

bis
11,

drawn up by
Tbis letter

is

and

9,

point

and
Prof.

and passes on

but M. Maspero

Britisb

tbe

quotes
tbe

description

of

addressed to tbe " Queen of Egypt," and

generally tbougbt

tbe

tbat

is

is

Tbi, especially as mention

is

queen referred to

made

in

son Napkburiya," or Amen-betep IV.

words contain greetings "to

Eistory, vol.

contents

Bezold and tbe present writer.

it

its

Museum

ii.

p. 207-

it

of "

Tbe opening

tbyself, greetings to
^

Hist.

Anc,

Tby

torn.

ii.

tby

p. 329.

B.C. 1430]

" SOD,

AMEN-HETEP

greetings

" Kdllatu,'^

to

IV.

I3I

Tatum-khipa [my daughter],

tliy

Tatum-khipa

And

thy bride or daughter-in-law.

i.e.,

another letter

AND AmEN-HETEP

III.

directly referred to as

is

But she

the wife of Napkhuriya (Amen-hetep lY.).

was not originally intended

Amen-hetep

for

III.

marriage,

but

describes

him

had negotiated with Tushratta

his

for

oivn,

and

Tushratta

Amen-hetep

Prof. Maspero's description

later on.

epoux

as

III.

pretendu,

whom Tatum-khipa was

to

because he was either dead or dying

Egypt,

is

disproved

Amen-hetep
khipa,

my

III.,

death

hetep TV.

letters

this

when she reached

from

Tushratta

It is

co-wife with Thi,

she was taken

That

as

to "

to

Tatum-

evident that

some time before the death of

for

III. his

i.e.,

never married,

which contain greetings

Tatum-khipa was

his

by

daughter, thy wife."

Amen-hetep

clearly

as his son-in-law, as he also describes

Amen-hetep IV.

husband

to be the wife of this king,

Petrie says {Hist. p. 207), for his son's

not, as Prof.

of

in

view

is

over

by

and that

his

son

after

Amen-

shared by Dr. Winckler,

the editor and translator of a large number of the

Tell el-'Amarna tablets,

is

shown by

his translation of

the words kallati-k by which Tatum-khipa

is

described

in Tushratta's letter to queen Thi, already mentioned

above, not as " to

" to

thy daughter-in-law," or even as

thy bride," as was done by Dr. Bezold and myself

Memoires de la Mission, torn. vi. p. 302, line 8.

Winckler, Die Thontafeln, pp. xii. 41 (No. 18), 49 (No. 20),

FAMILY OF AMEN-HETEP

132

[B.C. 1430

IV.

1892,1 but as " cleiner Mitfraii," 'Ho thy co-wife/'

in

tlie

i.e.,

Prof.

Petrie's

III.

For

Tatiim-kliipa

with

of Amen-lietep

co-wife witli Thi,

of

identification

Nefertith no good gronnds can be discovered.

The family

who were

of

Amen-hetep IV. consisted

called:

Maket-Aten

2.

fl

o
3.

A^A/v^^

Aten,

Aten-merit,

1.

A/-A^AA

4.

/WWV\
/vwvvv

Aten-ta-shera,

Nefer-

5.

Setep-en-Ra,

6.

J JJJ

Aten-Baket,

Nefer-neferu-

7?.

I!l

7.

Ankh-s-en-pa-

h-

neferu-Ra,

of daughters,

These

/wv^^

names mean,

" Beloved of Aten," " Virtue (or, protection)

of Aten," "

Aten

Aten the Less,"

of

The word

her

is

hallatura

''

life," "

Beauty

means

Beauty

of the beauties

of the beauties of Ra,"

in tlie Semitic dialects "bride,"

also "daughter-in-law," a fact proved

by several passages

and

in the

Cuneiform inscriptions, e.g., the goddess Tashmetum is called

Night is called 'kallatum
rahitiim, "great bride";
and elsewhere we have, Itti emeti
Jcuttumtum, "the veiled Bride"
kallati iiDrusu, itti Icallati emeti iprusu, "he hath set the mother" in-law at variance with the daughter-in-law, he hath set the
See
"daughter-in-law at variance with the mother-in-law."
hallatum

Cuneiform Inscriptions,

iv.

pU. 49, obv. 2

51,

1,

26,

27

Dr. Winckler obtains his translation Mitfrau from the

52, 41.

meaning

"bride."
2

The words "the Less" are added

mother.

to distinguish her

from her

THE TELL EL-'AMARNA TABLETS

B.C. 1430]

"

Chosen one of Ka,"

"

Servant of Aten."

daughter died before her father,

133

The

and some

eldest

of

her

married husbands who, in turn, succeeded to

sisters

the throne.

One

of the most interesting subjects for study in

Amcn-hetep IV. seated upon

his portable throne beneath the rays of Aten

whilst attendants fan him.

connexion with the reign of Amen-hetep IV., or Khu-enAten,

is

the correspondence which was carried on between

him and the kings and governors

which
it is,

is

of

Western Asia, and

revealed to us by the Tell el-'Amarna letters

however, most unfortunate that we have not copies

RELATIONS OF EGYPT WITH

134

by the king of Egypt

of the despatclies whicli were sent

to his vassal princes

Syria,

and

[B.C. 1430

and governors in Palestine and

to the kings of the independent

Assyria, Babylonia, and Mitanni.

kingdoms of

In a separate chapter

a brief sketch of the contents of the letters from Western

Asia

is

given, but a few paragraphs

must be devoted

to

a consideration of the state to which the possessions

of

Egypt

the

in Palestine

and Syria had been brought by

incapacity of Amen-hetep

His grandfather

lY.

Thothmes IV. had married a wife from Western Babylonia, and his father Amen-hetep III. had married a
sister

and a daughter of Kallimma-Sin (Kadashman-

Bel), king of Karaduniyash, a daughter of Shutarna,

king of Mitanni, and a daughter of Tushratta, king of

Mitanni

thus Amen-hetep lY. was connected with the

greatest of the royal houses of

Western Babylonia, and

the heads of those houses were anxious to continue with

him the

friendly relations which they

his fathers.

Besides this, Ashur-uballit, king of Assyria,

was quite prepared

had no wish

had enjoyed with

to

to do business with him,

and clearly

become involved in war with Egypt

as far as regards Syria

and Palestine,

its

and

vassal kings and

princes would have paid to the son the tribute which

they had paid to the father, had the son taken the pains
to journey into

their lands

and

to

show them that he

was a capable successor

to his father.

Amen-hetep lY. did not

do, for there is

This, however,

no mention in

the inscriptions of a war or expedition of any kind having

been undertaken during his reign

had he occupied his

KINGS OF WESTERN ASIA

B.C. 1430]

mind

after the

have heard

manner of his

little

fathers

I35

we should probably

about the heresy of Aten, or of the

worshipping of the Disk.

seems that Amen-hetep

It

IV. began to build his city Khut-Aten in the fourth

year of his reign, and therefore the strife between the
priests of

Amen and

proportions earlier
of

his

reign

to

himself must have assumed large

any

in

case,

from the fourth year

end he had neither

its

the

time

nor the opportunity of attending to the affairs of his

empire.

As soon as the peoples of Palestine and Syria learned

how he was spending his time they became restless,
especially as they found themselves in a difficult position.

That they had no great love

shown by the

fact that

for the rule of

Egypt

is

they never lost an opportunity

now they began to

enough either to make

of rebelling against her king, but

realize that she

them pay
the

was not strong

tribute as of old or to protect

growing power of the peoples

5 3 rXy^,

who had

forced their

of

them against
the

Kheta,

way towards the south

and were threatening the independence of the tribes

of

Nortliern

The Egyptian

Syria.

officials,

who

journeyed from place to place throughout the country

and administered many parts of

found themselves in a
perceived

how weak

it

for their master, also

difficult position, for

his rule

they soon

was becoming, and that

they were powerless to enforce their commands.

fore

many

years had passed nearly

all

Be-

the country of

Palestine and Syria was in a state of revolt, for the

GROWTH OF THE KHETA POWER

136

[B.C. 1430

great princes attacked each other, and city after city

fell

hands of

into the

enemies, the king's caravans

its

were openly plundered on their way to Egypt, the

mercenary soldiers of the Shirdana and the Kashi, who

were in the service of the Egyptians, were

slain,

and

made league with the

The Kheta, who are no

the vassal princes of Egypt boldly

Kheta and with the Khabiri.

doubt the people referred to by the Assyrians under the

name
of

have been identified with the Hittites

of Khatti,

Holy

similarly the Khabiri have been

The

Hebrews.

I I

^^\^

^,

identified

V\

with the

which were

possessions

first

Egypt were Simyra,

Ni,

and

but on insufiicient grounds,

kScripture,

Tchamdre,

and Tunip,

^^^^

lost

to

XJllaza,

and Aziru,

the son of Abd-Ashratum, the governor of Amurri, in

league with the Kheta, laid waste the whole of the

district

which was under the rule of the prince of

Katna

about the same time the country of Nukhashshi,

the

Y^

Kheta on

^v

Andukasa,

r^^"^

their

own

initiative.

w^as

captured by

The governors

the cities on the coast were next attacked, and

that the Khabiri and the

captured Berut,

1^^

Kheta and
I

we

of

find

their rebel allies

Baretha, and be-

sieged Tyre, and compelled the inhabitants of Ascalon,

and Gezer, and Lachish,

with

provisions,

governors.

or

to

etc.,

either to supply

attempt

to

murder

them
their

REVOLTS

B.C. 1430]

PALESTINE

IN

137

Tlie Tell el-'Amarna letters, written from Palestine

and Syria,

all

same

the

they

the same

tell

appeals

piteous

show

also

that

majority

the

their writers received no answers

Prominent

for

of Jerusalem,

who himself

Egypt

that since he depended upon

In the seven

of

Egypt he

for

him

cases

of

their petitions.

how

to

"

of the king, and

as his supporter

it

act disloyally to her

to the

king

spreading,

how

which he sent

letters

describes

Egypt;

us that he received his

tells

appointment from the " strong arm

king.

to

contain

was Abdi-khiba, the governor

loyalty

would be impossible

all

from

help

for

in

and

story,

the revolt

is

city after city is throwing off its allegiance to the king,

how

the presence of a very few Egyptian troops would

save not only his

about,

how

own

how Egyptian

city

but the country round

viceroys were being slain^ and

within a year the whole land would be in the

possession

of

the

Khabiri unless help from Egypt

In like manner Rib -Adda sent letter after

were sent.

Amen-hetep IV. containing information of the

progress of the disaffection and the rebellion, and
letter to

though he promises
Gebal,
that he

i.e.,

keep his hold upon his city

Byblos, as long as he has

knows how

will be.

to

life,

fruitless all his petitions

At one time he pleads humbly

he shows

and

letters

for help, at

another he taunts the king by mentioning the former

greatness

of the

Egy]3tian

power in Syria, and

at

another he writes in despair because every governor

of every city round about

him

is

hostile to him,

and

ABI-MILKI OF TYRE

138

[B.C. 1430

because each month he sees more clearly what the end

must

be.

The
a

one

serious

been

time,

this

at

he seems to have

for

from his abode

driven

was

of Abi-Milki, governor of Tyre,

position

on land and to have

established himself on the two rocks of Tyre, which

were some distance from the city on the mainland.

The enemy had occupied the mainland, and had

cut off

and water, and wood, with the

his supplies of food,

view of starving him out, and their ships also prevented

him from obtaining provisions by

sea

was only with

it

the greatest difficulty that he was able to despatch a

The following rendering

letter to the king.

his

letters

will

suffering servant
'

Thus

"

To the

[saith] Abi-Milki

king, and I

am

king,

my

at the feet

sun,
fall

am

lord the

fortress of the

'

My

'

lord the king, but I

'

the

my

hands.

face is set to^vards going to see the face of

hand

(i.e.,

am

action)

of

Zimrida of the

my

city of

Sidon

'

palace he will perform acts of enmity unto me.

'

the king

for should

my

he hear of

lord give

me twenty

'the fortress of the king

come before the king

'happy

face.

have

my

unable to do so because of

'

my

keeping guard over the

king which he placed in

'

'

gods.

down seven

my

of

my

the dust beneath the sandals of

Indeed I

'lord the king.

troubles of this long-

thy servant, I

'times and seven times

'

the

illustrate

of one of

my
set

my

lord,

departure to the

(?)

men

and then

lord, so that I

my

face

to

to

may

Let
guard

let

me

see his

perform the

ABI-MILKI OF TYRE

B.C. 1430]

" service of the king

my

" ask his inspector if I

lord,

and

my

envoy

" therefore let the king

my

"the king

" his face [to

"and wood
" king

my

lord,

and I

that

me water
[to

we

and I gave him

" me, saying

(?),
'

lord.

etc.

Acquaint

face [to

I have

me

will depart straightway to

my

lord turn

to drink

Let the

burn]

are cnt off from the land,

I have already sent

my

lord

lord with his despatch,

we have neither water

"wooden throne

my

king

Let the king

me] and give

know

set

my

lord send his envoy to

for his servant

" [to burn].

"my

my

lord

lord

" and that

my

king

to the

" with his despatch,

the king

let

had not before

" go] into the presence of the

" sent

139

[to drink]

my

envoy to the king

of copper,

talents

five

nor wood

The king my

lord wrote to

me by

with whatso-

letter

" 'ever

news thou hearest in Canaan,' [and I therefore

"say].

The king

of

"hath become king

"quiet.

Danuna

is

dead, and his brother

in his room,

Let the king know that

" city of Ugarit^

and his country

fire

is

broke out in the

city

hath

"been burnt, but the other half hath escaped.

The

and that one-half of the

"Khatti have disappeared.

" the city of

Itakama hath conquered

Kadesh, and Aziru

hath made enmity

know the evil act which

" Zimrida ^ hath committed and how he has gathered
"together ships and men from the cities which are
"with

Namyawiza.

"friendly to Aziru, [and that they will come] against

^

The son of Abd-Asliratmn.

Governor of Sidon and Lacliish.

140 BURRABURIYASH AND

"

me

"

and

come

set out to

independent

prove

that

them

the

[B.C. 1430

yash,

ancient

says

"come
"gift;

another he says,
to

the

in

king of

also

with

maintaining

not

II.,

Asia

traditional

Karaduni-

"Your envoys have

despatch,

three times, but you have sent no rich

therefore

sent

Western

friend slii.p

one

in

Amen-hetep IV.

to

of

was

Burraburiyash

me

to

kings

king

the

manner, for

[to us]."

which were sent

letters

the

"I

IV.

Let the king turn his face to his servant,

The
by

AMEN-HETEP

have

you

sent

"The caravan

of

my

messenger

you has been twice plundered

"territory,"'^ a statement

In

nothing."-

whom

in

your

which proves how unsafe the

country, presumably Syria, was in Amen-hetep^s time.

Elsewhere the Babylonian king complains that his

merchants have been killed and robbed, and demands
satisfaction from the king of

Egypt

Tushratta, king

of Mitanni, also complains of double-dealing

part of Amen-hetep
presents

it

to

us

IV.,*^
it

on the

and judging of the case as he

would seem that trickery was

devised in the city of Khut-Aten as well as in other

cities of

Egypt.

Opinions
but when
'

p.

differ as to

all is said

the character of Amen-hetep IV.,

that can be said on his behalf the

The text is published in Bezold-Biidge, Tell el-Amarna Tablets,

and a summary will be found on page Ixi. of the same work

64),

another rendering will be found in Winckler's

Die

TliontafeJn,

p. 277.
t

Bezold-Budge,
Ihicl,

p. 27.

op. oil.,

No.

3.

Winckler, op.

Ibid, p. 57

cit., p.

25,

CHARACTER OF AmEN-HETEP

B.C. 1430]

fact
liis

still

new

remains that

feastings,

led a life

of pleasure

in

surrounded by his wife and daughters,

city,

and enjoying to the

and

lie

14I

IV.

full

the dances, and processions,

and merry-makings of every kind, whilst

the empire wliicli his great ancestors had built up with

such labour was crumbling away piecemeal.

That

had insulted the priesthood of Amen, and put

lie

shame

to

an ancient god of Upper Egypt, who was identified

with the liberation of bis country from the Hyksos, and

who was

the great god of

liis

ancestors and of most of

the inhabitants of his country, concerned

him

little as

long as be could act the high-priest to his own god,

and declare that Aten was in his beart.

a fond

busband and father

spectacle

of tbe

is likely

king spending

disputes witb tbe priests of

Amen

and living in luxury among

his

That he was

enough, but the

time in

heated

on a point of doctrine,

artistic

surroundings of

every kind, wbilst his empire was falling to pieces, and

bis too loyal servant Abi-Milki

was

sitting shivering

with cold and bunger upon tbe rocks of Tyre, or writing

piteous appeals for help to protect bis master's interests,
is

not edifying.

That such a man ever

sat

tbrone of the Amenemhats and Usertsens

example of tbe irony of

upon the
is

fine

fate.

ANKH-KHEPERU, SOU of tbe Sun, Ka-se-aa-ka-tcheserKHEPERU.

REIGN OF SEAAKA-RA

142

[B.C. 1400

Amen-lietep IV. was succeeded by a king whose

name

been read in various ways^

lias

Ea-se-aa-ka-kheperu,

i.e.,

Ka-se-aa-ka,

Ea-se-aa-ka-nekbt-klieperu, and

Ka-smenkh-ka-ser-kbeperu

the

of these forms,

first

Ea-se-aa-ka, seems to be the correct form of the

first

nomen or Ea name, especially as the

full form of the nomen as given at the head of this
paragraph is found upon porcelain rings at Tell
el-'Amarna.
King Se-aa-ka1-Ea-tcheser-kheperu
ascended the throne of Egypt because he married
part of the king's

Aten- merit, a daughter of Amen-hetep IV.

of his reign,

details

which does not appear

of the
to

have

been a long one, probably only two or three years,

nothing

is

known.

On

the wall of a tomb which dates

from the time of his father-in-law he

king and

from the
scene

is

is

represented as

accompanied by his wife Aten-merit, and

fact that

Amen-hetep IV.

also appears in this

we may assume that Se-aa-ka-Ea-tcheser-kheperu

was made co-regent some time before the king's death.

This successor of Amen-hetep IV. appears to have
carried on the worship of
father-in-law, and to have

Aten

after the death of his

made the

city of

Khut-Aten

his capital.

12
.

m Coji- ^ Cg^^^iiiiii]

Ea-kheperu-neb, son

of the

Sun, Amen-tut-ankh

HEQ AN-RESU.
1

In some copies of this king's cartouches we

Tca-Rd, etc.

may

read Se-lcherp-

REIGN OF TUT-ANKH-AMEN

B.C. 1^00]

Tut-Ankh-Amen was

I43

the son of Amen-lietep III.

by a wife who was not of royal rank

he married a

daughter of Amen-hetep lY. called Ankh-s-en-pa-Aten,

and thus

obtained

name

his wife

right

He was

throne of Egypt.
his

the

proclaims, and

of

succession

the

to

not a follower of Aten, as

a remarkable fact that

is

it

changed her name from Ankh-s-en-pa-Aten,

which she had used during her

father's lifetime, into

Ankh-s-en-Amen, thus proclaiming her devotion

He

Amen-Ea.

kings of Egypt,

adopted
i.e.,

"

many

of the titles of the old

Mighty Bull, the Horus

beautiful god, lord of the two lands,"

called himself " Prince

explained to

mean "the

chief event

in

the

life

etc.,

Annu

of the

or

Ea name

nomen

His

Hermonthis.

of

to

of gold,

and also

South

"

i.e.,

has been

living image of
of

Amen." The
Tut-ankh-Amen was his

removal of the court from the city of Khut-Aten back

to Thebes,

where he showed himself to be a loyal

servant of the god

Amen, and

set to

work

to repair or

rebuild parts of the great temples of the god in the

Northern and Southern Apts.

He

caused a series of

reliefs illustrating the chief scenes in the procession of

the festival of

''

Opening of the year,"

i.e.,

New

Year's

Day, to be sculptured on the walls of the colonnade of

the temple of Luxor, which had been built by his

and he carried on certain works in the temple

of Karnak; and everywhere possible he restored the

father,

name and

figure of

Amen which

his father-in-law

ordered to be cut out or mutilated.

had

During his reign

DECLINE OF EGYPT'S POWER

144

the "royal son of Kiisli" was one

it

[B.C. 1400

Hui

00^,

bim

Tut-ankb-Amen

tLrongli

that

probable

is

IN SYRIA

aii^

out tbe repairs to tbe temple of Amen-Ra,

carried

From

the tomb

learn

that

wbicb bave been mentioned above. ^

we

of this official at Kiirnet-Murrai

tribes of

Knsh brought

not to be wondered
a " royal son of

tribute to the king, but this

Kush " who had

not been affected by

The

the heresy of the Disk worshippers.

tomb represent the Nubian

is

Nubia was ruled by

seeing that

at,

the

scenes on the

chiefs bringing gold rings,

gold dust, skins of animals, ebony head-rests, precious

pictures
tribute

oxen,

couches,

thrones,

stones,

which

etc.

explained

are

elsewhere

the

as

are

bringing

of

by the chiefs of the people of the Ruthennu, or

With

Syrians.

the evidence of the Tell el-'Amarna

tablets before us

difficult

is

it

believe

to

that the

northern Syrians paid tribute to Tut-ankh-Amen so

soon

after

the

of

collapse

Western Asia, therefore

it

the

is far

Syrians depicted on the walls

company

of merchants,

Egyptian power in

more

of

Hui's

who have come

the Egyptians and not to

likely that the

tomb are a

to barter

bring them tribute.

with

We

must probably interpret many scenes of " the bringing

of tribute" in the tombs of Egypt in this manner.
Meanwhile, after the

Khut-Aten

departure of

to Thebes, the

the

court

from

capital of the worshippers

Disk declined rapidly, for the temple services

languished, and as there was no one in the palace to
of the

See page 143.

THE REIGN OF

B.C. 1400]

employ the

Al

145

and sculptors who had flocked to

artists

the city in the reign of Amen-hetep IV.,

ceased

those

who

business

all

settled there in order to be

the court was quickly

left

where

the place, and in less than

twenty-five years after the death of the founder of the

city

Khut-Aten was quite

began

deserted.

Soon the buildings

and long before the end of the

to fall into ruin,

XYIIIth Dynasty there was little left

foundations to mark where the city had
god

Amen and

Egyptian

art

his

priests

the

besides

The

stood.

had conquered Aten, and

once again put on

shackles of con-

its

ventionality in obedience to their behests.

13.

m (off_^^] ^ (oiMJlILf]

Ea-kheperu-Maat-ari, son of the Sun, Neter-tef

Ai neter-heq-Uast.

Tut-ankh-Amen was succeeded by

who seems to have held some

temple of Amen-Ka at Thebes,

office in

for

Ai,

the

he added

to his second cartouche the title " divine

father

Ai was not a

"

man

of royal

descent, but he obtained a claim to the

I

throne by marrying the lady

CS

]l

Ka-nekht-

who was

related to the house of

theHorusnameof lictcp IV".,

and who

IS

Amen-

dcscribcd as "Eoyal

wife, great lady, princess, great of favours,

lady of the two lands."

VOL. IV.

Ai, in addition to his

Horus

THE REIGN OF

146
"Miglity

name,

adopted as

of

Bull,

[B.C. 1500

AI

saffron-coloured

risings,"

*'Lord of the shrines of Nekhebet

liis titles,

and Uatchet," " Power doubly strong, smiter of Asia,

"the Horus of gold, the prince who keepeth Maat (i.e.,
" the law), the creator of the two lands," and " Divine
p-overnor

The

of Thebes."

had placed

in

last

mentioned

second cartouche.

his

Brugsch, Ai was the

" superintendent

" stud of Pharaoh," and his wife Thi

Amen-hetep

certain that both Ai

he

According to
of the

whole

had been nurse of

whether this be so or not it

IV., but

title

is

quite

and Thi were great favourites at

the court of this king, for they appear in a scene in

prayer with Amen-hetep and his wife,

who

are elsewhere

From

represented as bestowing gifts upon them.i

this

was a devotee of the god Aten, but

whether a sincere one or not depends upon the identification with him of the king who built a tomb for him-

it is

clear that Ai

self in

The

the Western Valley of the

" divine father " Ai,

Tombs

who was beloved by Amen-

hetep IV., certainly built a tomb,

finished, at Tell el-'Amarna,

also a

Thi,

of the Kings.

which was never

and a king Ai, who was

"divine father" and had married a wife called

hewed out a tomb

for himself

and his wife in the

Western Valley of the Tombs of the Kings, and there

is every reason for thinking that both tombs were built
by one and the same person, though at different periods
The first may, as M. Maspero suggests,
of his life.
1

These

DenfcwaJer,

scen'^s are in
iii. pll.

103

Ai'stombat

ff.,

111.

Tell

el-'Amarna

see Lepsius,

THE

148

have been made

tomb

at the time

itself

and the second when

This being

not

for

Egypt

of

proves that the

king of Egypt.

grounds

king

the

actually

[B.C. 1500

when Ai had no expectation

king of Egypt,

of becoming

he was

TOiMB OF Al

man who made

there

so,

thinking that Ai

the

was

it

no good

are

But whatever may have been

both tombs.

second

the

king

built

Ai's views

about the supremacy of Aten in the days when he

worshipped this god at Khut-Aten in company with

Amen-hetep

IV.,

it is

quite clear that they underwent

when he was about

a very considerable modification

to

become king of Egypt,

titles

in

for

which the god Aten

and he made a tomb

Valley of the
hetep III.,

Tombs

he adopted names and

is

not

for himself

of the

even mentioned,

and his wife in the

Kings near that of Amen-

thereby showing that he wished to be

XVIIIth Dynasty
who had worshipped Amen and made Thebes their
In the new tomb he placed a beautiful, richly
capital.

buried near the great kings of the

sculptured and inscribed red granite sarcophagus

the four corners are figures of four goddesses,

at

i.e., Isis,

Nephthys, Nit and Serqet, or Selqet, with outspread

wings, and on the front

and outspread wings.

is

the winged disk with uraei

The tomb

is

not very large

when

compared with the other royal tombs of the period.

is

usually called the "

Monkey Tomb

"

It

by the modern

Arabs, because on the walls are pictures of several dog-

headed apes.

During the reign

expeditions were undertaken,

and

of
it

Ai no military
is

pretty certain

that nothing whatever was done to try to regain Egypt's

B.C. liOO]

THE REIGN OF HERU-EM-HEB

lost possessions in Palestine

we

are there-

assuming that no tribute was paid

fore justified in

Egypt by the

and Syria

149

to

With Nubia

tribes of these countries.

the case was different, for the viceroy Pa-ur, or Pa-ser,

//^

m ^' ^^^ ''royal son of Kush,the governor of the

south,"

was

living there,

and could make the tributary

tribes bring in their usual gifts to Egypt.

The country

there was sufficiently quiet to enable

to build the

him

rock shrine at Addah, or Mashakit, or Shataui, near

Abu

we see Ai and a high official

making offerings to Amen, Ptah, Ka, Horus, Sebek, and
the local goddesses Anuqet and Satet with these are
Simbel, wherein

also

worshipped Usertsen

Dynasty who

effectually

III,,

a king of the

conquered Nubia.

Mfoi^ei^i^r

14.

Xllth

AAAAAAA

^S^

Ka-

tcheser-kheperu-setep-en-Ea, son of the Sun, AmenMERI HeRU-EM-HEB.

Heru-em-heb, the

Manetho,

'Apfiai^ of

succeeded to the throne of Egypt by right

of

his

descent from

netchemet,

the

queen

Mut-

who appears

(^^J_^JJ3|'

have been his mother, though some

think she was his wife
Mut-netchemet
to

was

closely related to

or to his son
""'H^KnERv,""^'

the Horus name

of Heru-em-heb.

to

one

Amen-hetep

Amen-hetep IV.

account
,

was graudsou

01

According

Heru-em-heb
rm'

Thothmes

III.,

-ttt

III.,

himself
t

but the

GENEALOGY OF HERU-EM-HEB

150

ing

"Mighty

adopted

he

throne

the

as

endowed with

Bull,

On

known.

details of his genealogy are not

[B.C. 1400

ascend-

Horns

his

plans,

name,

counsels,"

or,

and the most frequent of his other titles are, ^'Lord

"of the shrines ol Nekhebet and Uatchet, mighty
"resting upon
"

Mighty one

"The Horns

in the Apt,"

"one of marvels

of gold,

Maat, making to be the two lands,"

Of the

of valour," etc.

of

life

Heru-em-

heb we gain some interesting information from an

inscription

found on the back of a double statue which

Museum

preserved in the

is

holding the symbol of

latter

here

we have

queen Mut-netchemet, the former

the king and the

and the

Turin

at

life

and a sceptre

to his breast,

wearing the headdress of a royal lady,

which was originally surmounted by plumes. The text

of high-sounding phrases, and the breaks
full
is
at the beginning of the
difficult

at times to

first

twenty

make

lines

it

form a connected sense, but the

principal facts recorded are as follows:

He

was be-

Amen-Ea, who took upon himself the form of

Heru-em-heb's earthly father, just as the god took upon

gotten by

himself the forms of

Amen-hetep

III.

the fathers

when they were begotten

born in the city of Het-suten, _

polis of the

of Hatshepset

he was

the Alabastron-

Greeks, and Horns, the god of the

took him straightway under his protection,

stowed upon him

1

all

manner

of physical

First published with an English translation

in Trans. Soc. Bibl. Arch., vol.

iii.

p.

486

ff.

and

by the

city,

and begifts

and

late Dr. Birch

HERU-EM-HEB ASCENDS THE THRONE 151

B.C. 1500]

clotlied liim in the " skin of the god."

mental powers, and

He was

great honour by gentle and simple,

held in

even as a child, and every one recognized that he was

the offspring of the god and was destined to occupy a

In due time the god

most exalted position in Egypt.

Horus brought him before the king

L
I

v^v

r=^

Ee-her,

in the

palace,

he was at once made

atid

or governor of the country.

^

he became the Aten,

'^

^AAAAA ^

or

Later

"deputy"

of the

king in the two lands, a position which he occupied

with great success for

many years

the nobles of Egypt

rendered homage to him, and " the chiefs

"bf

the foreign

"nations of the south and of the north stretched out

''their

hands towards him, and made supplication

" face as unto a god."

wished

to his

At length Horus of Het-Suten

to establish his son

upon his everlasting throne,

and arranged.that Heru-em-heb should goto Thebes and

appear before Amen, in order that this great god might

him upon the throne of Egypt. Horus himself

took him to Thebes, and their journey through the
seat

country was hailed with delight by

Heru-em-heb arrived
of

in

Thebes he went

Amen, and was received

the young

man

to his

all

men.

When

to the temple

joyfully by the god,

who

led

mother Mut-netchemet, and she

embraced him, and apparently resigned then and there

on his behalf

all

this Nekhebet,

her claims to the throne of Egypt

Uatchet, Nit,

Isis,

on

Nephthys, Horus,

152

HERU-EM-HEB RESTORES THE TEMPLES

Set,

and

all

the

company

After an interval

joy.

[B.C. 1400

of tlie gods raised a sliout of

Amen

led his son into the large

hall of the temple, in order to "stablish his crown

his head,"

upon

and the gods saluted him and besought the

king of the gods to bestow upon the new king the years
of a long

life

and thirty-year

festivals,

and to give him

the power to augment the worship which was paid to

the gods in Thebes, Heliopolis, and Memphis,

Het-Ptah-ka.

Thereupon the names and

titles of

the

new king were decided upon, and the remainder of the

coronation ceremony was duly performed.
The coronation over, Heru-em-heb appears to have

and

to

have sailed down

left

Thebes

the river " in the form of the

" god Harmachis, having taken possession of the country

" according to the decree which had been passed con-

" cerning him from the time of Ka."

" (or rebuilt) the temples of the

" the papyrus

swamps

Next he

" restored

gods from the region

in the Delta,

"^^

eis:^ X

of

" to the land of Ta-ke.usetin Nubia, and he caused to be

" sculptured imao-es of the gods,
" larger

" been

made

vl^

which were

and more beautiful than any that had ever

made

" his shrines

"

before.

The Sun-god Ea

which had been desolate

to flourish again,

for a long time

and where formerly there had

" been one statue there were

restored the buildings and set
in them, he bestowed

rejoiced to see

now a hundred."
up the

Having

figures of the gods

upon the temples lands and goods,

AND MAKES FRIENDS OF THE PRIESTS

B.C. 1400]

and appointed priests

and servants

to minister in tliem,

keep tliem clean, and

to

provided for

lie

153

main-

tlieir

tenance in perpetuity.

The above summary

will sliow wliat are the general

contents of the inscription on the statue at Turin^ and

will be seen that it teaches

it

events of the king's reign

tells

us

in fact, all that

that Heru-em-heb

is

us nothing about the

really

it

was descended from a

family of worshippers of Amen, that he obtained the

throne through the influence of the priests of

who worked upon

Amen,

made

the queen Mut-netchemet, and

her to resign her rights to the throne on behalf of their

nominee, and that the king performed during his reign

the

which

promises

authority of

had

he

Amen, and

made

support

to

commands

to carry out the

The

the god as interpreted by his priests.

titles

man

the king assumed indicate that he was a

of

ol

which

some

wisdom, and unless the words of the

learning and

of the inscription are not true, he

earlier part

the

have been a tactful as well as a just man

must

to please

the nobles of Egypt as well as the priests of

Amen

must have been by no means an easy

Some

interesting light

em-heb by a
discovered by

stele,

See Aeg.

thrown upon the reign of Heruabout sixteen feet high, which was

M. Maspero

ing excavations
^

is

task.

on the

in

site

Zeitschrift, 1882, p.

1882,

of the

when conductpylon built by

134; Bouriant, Eecueil, torn.

pp. 4L-56, where a copy of the text will be found

schrift, 1888, pp. 70-94,

where a number

have been explained by

Miiller.

and Aeg.

vi.

Zeit-

of difficult passages in it

REFORMS OF HERU-EM-HEB

154

Heru-em-heb

at

The

Karnak.

[B.C. 1400

inscription

upon

it is

unfortunately mucli mutilated, and large gaps occur in

it,

but enough of

it

show that

legible to

is

copies of the decrees passed

by the king

The

by day and by night

king,

is

it

contains

in council with

his ministers for the suppression of frauds

of various kinds.

it

and crimes

watched both

said,

do good to Egypt_, and he

to

intended to put down with a strong hand the shameful

irregularities

which had grown up in connexion with

the collection of taxes,

Then

etc.

follows a list of the

which had been brought before the notice of

offences

the king personally, and

delinquents in the same

it

seems that he punished the

manner

in

which Thothmes

had punished men who were proved

similar offences.
in the

name

We

of the

to

III.

have committed

see that the tax-collectors seized,

king, whatsoever

declaring that they needed

it

they pleased,

for the execution of their

duty, and having once taken the property of the poor

in this

way they

collectors

government

registers_,

the

up again.

day

moved from one

servants seized, in the

false

and both classes of

name

When

place

to

a local

such things,

payment.

What

and

made

Wali

another, his

of the government, the

boats and beasts of burden belonging to any one

had

The

expected to gain on every transaction which

they carried out for their master.

of

it

were accompanied by scribes, who made

entries in the
officials

refused to give

use

of

who

them without

goes on to this day in Turkey went

on then in Egypt, and the poor were plundered on

all

HIS COURTS OF JUSTICE

B.C. 1400]

hands

155

on the slightest provocation the tax-collectors

would swear that those who had paid taxes had not
paid them, and the amount of the rate levied on the
people often depended on the good will or good nature
of the

Heru-em-heb

collector.

found

that

it

was

useless to appoint inspectors, because they frequently

became corrupted, and in turn they corrupted other

officials

who had

many

a result the king was robbed, and

were humane and just

banishment

near the Sirbonian

sat

in

his

act of glaring injustice

^^

Lake

palace

On

to

guilty

Many

i.e.,

exercise

a district

and a

to pass sentence

in his court
of

and by

hear complaints

and

and

stated days Heru-

his

well believe that he did a vast

and
on

and found

powers in these

respects was guided by a knowledge of

we may

split

of classical writers,

who had been charged

the

his nose

JE^

those

if

earned his living

punished by beating, but an

petitions, to adjust differences,

and

of the people

he could not pay his taxes;

if

notorious criminal settlement.

em-heb

man

by having

to Tchar,

as

others he ordered that

who committed an

cruelty was punished

among

were not to be confiscated

offender

book

decrees of Heru-em-heb

the tools or means by which a

slight offences he

to

The

were brought to beggary.

some

them

the power to bring

human

nature

amount of good.

Eastern rulers have established courts of justice

on this pattern, but they have usually degenerated into

courts of injustice on the deaths of their founders, and

done more harm than good.

RESTORATION OF THE TEMPLES

156

We

[B.C. 1500

have already seen that Heru-em-heb ascended

the throne through the influence of the priests of Amen,

and

it

did

in

have

time to refer to the great works which he

is

honour of that god.

been

pull

to

Amen-hetep

down

His

act

first

seems to

Het-Benben

the

had

IV., the misguided heretic,

which

set

up in

the very midst of the buildings of the temple of Amen,

honour of the god Harmachis, in order to proclaim

in

that he was a high priest of this rival of

insult the priests

destroyed this

and people of Thebes.

with

edifice

used up the stones of which

end of the great temple of

to

Heru-em-heb

great thoroughness, and

it

was built

for the founda-

two pylons, which he erected

tions of the

Amen, and

Amen-Ka

at

at the south

Karnak.

To

carry on his bailding operations here and elsewhere 1 he

worked the quarries of

Silsila,

and on the walls of the

small temple which he hewed in the mountain there he

caused to be painted scenes illustrating the principal

events which took place during the expedition which

he led into Nubia.

doorways,

This temple

is

and consists of a long,

entered by five

narrow,

vaulted

chamber, with an opening immediately opposite the

middle doorway leading into a smaller room, which
probably formed the sanctuary.
southern end of the larger chamber
the king
soldiers
1

For a

is

On

the wall at the

is

a relief in which

depicted seated on a throne borne by twelve

wearing feathers, and he

list

of his buildings

Aeg. GescMclite, p. 410.

is

followed by rows of

and restorations see Wiedemann,

EXPEDITION INTO SYRIA

B.C. 1400]

Nubian princes bearing tribute,

temple was hewn by the king

157

This

or gifts.

little

commemorate

to

his

victory over the Nubians, and its walls formed excellent

surfaces

whereon kings and

Dynasty loved

officials

scenes

sculpture

to

under the

XlXth

illustrating their

devotion to the gods, and to inscribe records of their

prowess.

Judging from the fragmentary

lists of

names

and inscriptions on one of the walls of the temple of

Amen

at

Karnak,

seems that Heru-em-heb undertook

it

in person, or sent, an expedition into

Palestine and

Syria with the view of compelling the former vassal

nations and tribes to pay tribute to

him

had

as they

done to his predecessors, and he claims to have made

them do

so.

declares

he

In the

has

Alashiya (Cyprus

lists

of the countries

conquered
?)

which he

we meet the names

and Kheta, and those of

Northern Syria, but

it

is

difficult to believe

of

cities in

that the

peoples there either acknowledged his sovereignty or

paid him

much

entirely to

army

The want of ships belonging

Egypt would prevent him from landing an
tribute.

and any expedition which he made

in Cyprus,

to

that island must have concerned merchandise rather

The power

than conquest.
the Kheta

of the peoples

who formed

confederacy precludes any idea that they

submitted to him, for during the years which had

elapsed since they broke Egypt's power in Northern

Syria

they had

country.

Still,

made themselves

masters

of

that

the Egyptians had become accustomed

to objects of Syrian merchandise,

and any

gift

made

to

EXPEDITION TO PUNT

158

[B.C. 1400

the Egyptian king, or even any bartering wliich was

distinctly advantageous

by the court

scribes,

who had

draw up the descrip-

to

and the

tions of his expedition

cities,

was termed "tribute'^

to him,

list

of

"conquered"

which were to be inscribed on the walls of the

Amen

temple of

at

Karnak.

Heru-em-heb sent ships

to

Punt

back loads

to bring

of gum, and of other products of that country, and the

people would also regard as "tribute

"

the results of these

Kecords of this kind, however,

mercantile expeditions.

prove that Egypt was beginning to

feel

the desire to

regain her former possessions, and that she possessed a

ruler

who wished

to give effect to this desire.

Heru-em-heb ascended the throne he seems

begun

build

to

upon

inscriptions
lid

tomb

its

at

walls

to

have

Sakkara, and from the

we

learn that he

and a smer^ and that the

prince,

Before

was a

which he

offices

held at court were those of fan-bearer and royal scribe,

and commander-in-chief of the

soldiers.

It has been

thought that this tomb was built for one Heru-em-heb

who

is

king of Egypt, but there are

ing this

view

statues at

though

man who became

not to be identified with the

untenable.

many
The

reasons for considerinscriptions

Turin prove that the king was of noble

not

necessarily

indicate that he

royal,

rank

and

promoted him

birth,

and

was held in high honour because of

Unfortunately, they do not say what king

may

on the

to the

it

was who

government of the country, but

well have been Tut-ankh-ximen,

it.

who was

it

glad to

TOMB OF HERU-EM-HEB

B.C. 1400]

find a capable

man and

of the North.

The

Sakkara
head

I59

soldier to set over the country

official

who

built

the

tomb

at

represented with the uraeus on the fore-

is

this proves that

he was connected with the royal

XVIIIth Dynasty, and agrees very

with the inscription at Der al-Bahari, which says

that

was Thothmes

III.

family of the

king Heru-em-heb's grandfather

Viewed

in this light, the inscriptions

well

on the walls of

the temple of Amen, describing conquests in Syria,

may

be interpreted in another way, for they

may

refer to

events which took place during expeditions conducted

when the king was a young man, i.e., about the time
when Tut-ankh-Amen was reigning. At any rate, it is
much more likely for the high official of Memphis to
have been the nominee of the
comparatively

unknown

Mut-netchemet

to

priests of

man,

and

Amen

than a

the

queen

for

have resigned her claims to the

throne in favour of a relative of the old royal house,

than of a stranger.

em-heb

is

The length

of the reign of

unknown, but according

Heru-

to an inscription

published by the late Dr. Birch he reigned twenty-one

years.

Inscriptions in the Hieratic

and Demotic Character,

pi. 14.

i6o

CHAPTER

II.

THE EIGHTEENTH DYNASTY. SUMMAEY.

The

kings of

the greatest

tlie

who

XVIIItli Dynasty were undoubtedly

ever occupied the throne of Egypt,

and their rule marks a new era in the history of Egypt.

With
this

the advent to the throne of the early kings of

dynasty Egypt began her career of foreign con-

quest, culminating in the formation of an empire

which

covered the greater part of Western Asia, and which

lasted in a

period

more or

of nearly

completed

the

less

condition for a

Aahmes

hundred years.

three

expulsion

begun by Seqenen-Ra

flourishing

of the Hyksos,

III.,

I.

which was

and pursued them into

and captured their stronghold Sharuhen

his son Amen-hetep I. was occupied in extending the
Palestine

southern rather than the northern frontier

kingdom, but his successor Thothmes

began

to

carry

into

I.

of

the

conceived and

execution the conquest of the

whole of Palestine and Syria, and actually succeeded

in reaching the city of Ni,

near the Euphrates,

and

which was probably situated

set

up a memorial

tablet

DECLINE OF THE POWER OF EGYPT

His conquests were, however, not permanent,

tliere.

and

l6l

tlie

consolidation

power in

Egyptian

the

of

Western Asia did not take place until the reign

Under Amen-hetep II. and

Amen-hetep III. Egypt attained the zenith
Thothmes

III.

of

his

son

of

her

power, and the greatest height of her prosperity, for

during the greater part of the reign of the later monarch

the authority of the king of Egypt was undisputed

from the Fourth Cataract on the Nile in the south to

the mountains of Armenia in the north.

But

this vast

empire was not held together by any internal power of

its

own, and

upon

the

continued existence depended entirely

its

energy and

personality

of

the

reigning

Pharaoh.

As

soon

feeble the

as

Amen-hetep

better

became

old

and

signs of decay of empire began to appear,

and the whole imperial

the reign

III.

of his

successor

known perhaps

worshipper."

was engaged

edifice

Whilst

temporarily collapsed in

Amen-hetep

who

lY.,

as " Khu-en-Aten," the

is

"Disk-

weak and incapable monarch

this

in the congenial occupations of disputing

with the theologians at Thebes, and in subverting the

historic canons of

Asia, which

Egyptian

had been

built

art,

up by

slipped from his grasp, and

until the reign of Seti

I.,

the empire of Western

his

mighty ancestors,

was not restored

about

fifty

to

years later.

Egypt

The

Egypt on the south were also extended by

the early kings of the XVIIIth Dynasty, especially by
Amen-hetep I. in the reign of Amen-hetep II. the
frontiers of

VOL.

IV.

THE

l62

"

ROYAL PRINCE OF CUSH

further submission of

tlie

Nubian

"

was brouglit

tribes

about, and under Amen-lietep III. the whole of

was

Nubia

Egyptian frontier having

effectively occupied, the

been pushed as far south as the city of Napata, or

Gebel Barkal,

Here the

at

frontier

of the

the foot

Fourth Cataract.

remained until the secession of the

Nubian kingdom from Egypt under the

princes of the house of Piankhi, some
hundred years

was organized
"

Kesh

history

or

six

The administration of Nubia

the reign of Thothmes I., when a

in

(Cush), appears for the

title,

first

"Koyal prince

time in Egyptian

at first the person selected to

five

of the

later.

viceroy was appointed, whose official

of

rule

fill

this post

was a great noble or trusted military officer, but

later the office became an appanage of one of the royal
princes,

who

was, no doubt, usually an absentee.

The administration

of

Western Asia was a more

serious matter, and could not be so easily provided for.

inhabited by a number of

Palestine and Syria were

tribes

which were usually

at

war with each

other,

but

the people were not barbarians like the Nubians, for

they were nearly as civilized as the Egyptians themselves,

having for centuries been included in the sphere

of influence of the ancient culture of Babylonia,

may

well

be older than that of Egypt

itself.

which

The

language and writing of Babylonia had been long used

throughout the country, and remained the medium of

communication between

all

shores of the Mediterranean.

the nations on the eastern

When

Syria and Pales-

CUNEIFORM WRITING

tbe

tlie

official

Egyptian

tlie

rule of Egypt, and paid

Egyptians,

tlie

Babylonian language was

speech of the country, and was used by

conquerors

Cilicia,

the language

was already

in

famous race of

with

corresponding

in

subjects as well as with the

Cyprus,

163

under

tine were actually

tribute to

IN SYRIA

tlie

their

non-Semitic princes of

and Armenia, who made Babylonian

The coast of Palestine

the XYIIIth Dynasty inhabited by the
the Phoenicians, who had at that time
of diplomacy.

attained the position of merchants, and carriers by sea,

which they always afterwards retained.

in

the Tell el-'Amarna tablets show

XVth
1

passages

that in the

11s

century B.C. they already possessed fleets of

merchant

tomb

Many

and we know from a fresco in a Theban

ships,

that the importers of objects of curiosity and

value from the

Phoenicians.

northern

countries

into

Egypt were

This nation also used the cuneiform

writing at this period, for the Phoenician script as

find it

on the cup of Hiram

by them.

1.'-

had not yet been developed

They were brought under the control

Egyptians by Thothmes

III.,

we

of the

and during the revolt of

the Canaanitish tribes in the reign of Amen-hetep IV.

they proved themselves to be the most faithful of

the Asiatic

all

subjects

of Egypt.

The Egyptians

administered their Asiatic possessions chiefly by making-

use of the local chiefs,

and who ruled their

J

who were no doubt

tribes as the

Daressy, Revue Arch., 3^^^

Corpus Inscrip. Semit., torn.

subsidized,

representatives of

ser., 1895, vol. xxvii. p. 286.

i.

pi. iv.

THE BABYLONIANS AND KASSITES

164

Egyptian Government

tlie

chiefs

had

to send

courts of the more important

To the

back tribnte.

to whicli they

Egyptian residents were appointed, much in the

same way as British

appointed to reside at

officials are

Besides these, travelling-

the courts of Indian Eajahs.

commissioners^ were despatched from time

from Egypt

between

differences

Egyptian

matters

investigate

to

officials

the

were

various

and

tribes,

temporarily

often

time

to

adjust

to

and

high

appointed

governors of some disaffected region.

of the

Egyptian Empire

affected

by the presence on

The well-being and fortunes

Western Asia were greatly

in

its frontiers

kingdoms,

of a series of powerful and highly civilized

Karaduniyash, or Babylonia, Mitanni,

e.g.,

the classical Matiene, or Southern Armenia, Kheta,

i.e.,

the

or

Assyrians, Arsapi,

of the

Khatti

and Alashiya, or Cyprus.

At

this time

or

Cilicia,

Babylonia was

under the rule of a dynasty^ of foreign kings who

belonged to an eastern race of uncertain origin, known
to us as " Kassites."
B.C.

This dynasty was founded about

1725 by a king called Gandish, and

its

kings,

were contemporaneous with the XVIIIth and

Dynasties, will be found in the note below.

who

XlXth

Of these

monarchs Kara-indash was a contemporary of Thothmes

1

is

Compare the

positions of

made known to us by the

^

I.e.,

Agum

(B.C.

1600), Kara-indash,

man-Harbe, Kurigalzu
gash,

Kurigalzu

Yankhamu and

II.,

I.,

others whose existence

Tell el-'Amarna tablets.

Kadashman-Bel, Kadash-

Burraburiyash, Kara-IIardash, Nazibu-

Nazimaruttash,

Shagashalti-buriyash (about B.C. 1300).

Kadashman-Turgu,

and

RELATIONS OF EGYPT WITH BABYLONIA

III.,

and was no doubt the

first

Babylonian king

the

name

Babylonia by the Kassites, was

giA^en to

at once recognized as a

zation as

advanced as

monarchy possessing a
its

daughter of Kadashman-Bel,

commonly
to

to

Karaduniyash,

enter into direct relations with Eg-ypt.

i.e.,

165

own,

and the

or*"as the

civili-

and

sister

name has been

read, Kallimma-Sin, were given in marriage

Amen-hetep

The intimate

III.

existed between the royal houses of

relations

Egypt and Baby-

lonia will be found described in the

Amen-hetep

Tell el-'Amarna tablets.

which

chapter on the
III.

and Amen-

hetep IV. married respectively Gilukhipa and Tatumkhipa, the sister and daughter of Tushratta, the king
of Mitanni, the

rival

power of Karaduniyash.

The

immediate predecessors of Tushratta on the throne of

Mitanni were Artashumara and Artatama, who had
Egypt.

entered into very friendly relations with

It

must not be forgotten that Thi, the chief wife

Amen-hetep

III.,

of

and mother of Amen-hetep IV., was

of Mitannian origin,

and thus

it

is

possible that the

Aten worship was modified by the influence of the

Mitannian

religion.

The people

of Mitanni

spoke a

non-Semitic language, but they adopted the Babylonian

system of writing to express

it

it

has not as yet been

satisfactorily deciphered.

Situated between the rival kingdoms of

and Mitanni was

B.C.

the

territory

which

as

Babylonia
early

2100 was known by the name of Ashur,

Assyria.

as

i.e.,

This district had always been under the

END OF THE KINGDOM OF MITANNI

l66

direct influence of Babylonia,

by the

ruled

the

period

of

monarchs
the

rule

a Semitic prince called

and had been generally

of

that

of

the

During

country.

Hyksos

in

Ishmi-Dagan ruled

Egypt

in a semi-

independent fashion over Assyria, and in the time of

Kara-indash, king of Babylonia, Ashur-bel-nishi-shu,
the king of Assyria, was recognized as an independent

monarch by the Kassites, who were compelled

to a treaty in

were defined.

kingdom

which the boundaries of the two kingdoms

At

of Assyria

same

the

period,

however,

the

was regarded by the Egyptians

a tributary nation, a position

to the

to agree

as

which was never assigned

kingdoms of Karaduniyash and Mitanni, and

it

remained tributary until the end of the reign of Amenhetep

III.,

when, simultaneously with the revolt of the

Syrian tribes against Egypt, Ashur-uballit, king of

Assyria, not only threw off the Egyptian yoke, but at

the same time attacked Babylonia, with the result that

he ultimately obtained

Kuri-galzu

II.

sufficient

upon

the

power

throne

to set a king

of

Babylonia.

Henceforth for some hundreds of years the Assyrian

power eclipsed that of Babylonia.

The kingdom

of

Mitanni seems to have collapsed soon after the reign of

Tushratta, and the country was divided between the

Assyrians and the powerful race

of the

Kheta,

who

The Egyptians first came in

with the Kheta in the reign of Thothmes III.

must now be mentioned.

conflict

they seem to have been originally a mountain race

of

Armenian

origin,

and

their

home was probably

THE KHETA POWER

RISE OF
the

Dynasty

During the XVIIIth

lands of Cappadocia.

liigli

their

in the time of

167

power increased towards the south, until

Amen-hetep IV. we

find

them occupying

whole of the country round about Aleppo and

the

They were extremely warlike and no longer

Emesa.

paid tribute to Egypt, indeed they were greatly feared

by Babylonians, Mitannians, and Egyptians alike

disturbances

in

Syria

The kingdom

affairs of

of Khanigalbat,

mentioned in the Tell el-'Amarna

is

the

and Palestine at this period

were chiefly due to their interference in the

these countries.

letters,

which

must be

placed in or near the territory of the Kheta.

The

position

land of Arsapi can be fixed

of the

with certainty, and

the

represents

it

later

language, at present undecipherable,

its

is

Cilicia

written in

cuneiform characters, and judging from the name of

the king Tarhundaraush

non-Semitic and

The country

it

must have belonged

to the

non-Aryan speech of Asia Minor.

of Alasa,

QA

r^^^

or Alashiya,

with which the Egyptians at the end of the XVIIIth

Dynasty were in constant communication, must,

seems, be placed in Cyprus^ of which
a part, and in this island
of Asi,

tributary.

p.

"TT"

[ [

r^-^^

must

ff.

was probably

also be placed the land

which Thothmes

The Egyptian name

See Kretschnier, Ei7ileitung,Y). 370

90

it

it

ff.

for the

III.

rendered

whole island

Hall. Oldest Civilization,

CYPRUS AND THE KEFTIU

l68
is

-'^

Inthanai,

"^

r^^^

t C

whicli

is

probably

the hieroglyphic equivalent of Yatnana, the Assyrian

name

The Egyptians

Cyprus.

for

from

imported

Alashiya large quantities of copper and precious woods,

which seem

have come from the forests of Troodos.

to

The extension
of Asia Minor,

of the

Egyptian Empire

to the borders

and the partial subjugation of the Island

brought the Egyptians more or

of Cyprus,

less into

contact with the nations of Western Asia, Asia Minor,

Crete,

etc.

the

generic

these nations dwelt

or
to

Keftint,

of the lands wherein

The

old

'^

in Egyptian, Kefti,

r^^^

r^^^

term which, according

Brugsch, means nothing more nor

land."
as

is,

name

than " Hinter-

less

theory which regarded

Phoenicians must, therefore, be

the

Keftiu

The
XYIIIth

abandoned.

nations of the Keftiu were at the time of the

Dynasty included within the sphere of influence of the

early

European

civilization

cenaean,^' the chief seat of

in the Island of Crete. ^

which

is

which appears

to

Thothmes

and representations of them and of the

they brought with them are

'

"

have been

Ambassadors from a nation

of Kefti were received at the court of

of

"My-

called

depicted in

gifts

III.,

which

the tombs

Rekh-ma-Ea,2 and Men-kheper-Ea-senb, two great

This identification is due to Mr, Hall ; see op. cif., p. 163.
Evans, Cretan Pictograjphs (iKissim) and Anmuil, British School
;

at Athe7is, vol. vi. (jyassim).

2

Prisse d'Avennes, Hist,

Euroj)a, pp. 348, 349.

cle

VArt, torn.

ii.

Miiller,

Asien und

THE NATIONS OF THE KEFTIU

officials

The

who

flourished

dresses worn

at

169

Thebes during his

reign.

by the ambassadors are similar

to

those of the Mycenaeans depicted on the walls of the

palace at Knossos, discovered by Mr. A.

Evans

J.

in

1900.

Of the various nations whom the Egyptians included

under the name of Keftiu in the XVIIIth Dynasty we

know the names

of two only,

i.e.,

Sirdana and Dan-

una, which names occur in the Tell el-'Amarna tablets;

the former are mentioned
latter as

mercenary

soldiers, the

having established a settlement on the coast

Palestine.!

of

as

These two nations are identical with

the Shartina^and the Taanau, or Tanauna,

mentioned in texts of the

XlXth and XXth

but of the other nations,

e.g.,

who

are

Dynasties

Aquinasha, Tartenui,

Masa, Maunna, Pitasa, Qaleqisha, Thuirsha, Shakelesha,

who were associated with

days, we have in the XYIIIth Dynasty
The Lycians, who were known to the

Tchakarui, and Uashasha,

them

in later

no mention.

Egyptians as " Euka,"

Babylonians as "Lu-uk-ki,"

who

"^^

^,

and

^^^

to

the

<]fey,

and

Jg[J
were no doubt also included under the generic name

of "Kefti," were
as

^^z:::^

pirates,

and

'i;<

renowned in the XVIIIth Dynasty

a

correspondence

was

carried

on

between the governments of Alashiya and Egypt in the

reign of Amen-hetep IV. in respect of their predatory
1

See Winckler, Die Thontafeln, Berlin, 1896, p. 143

in the British Museum, London, 1892,

Amarna ToMets

and

p. Ixi.

Tell el-

THE

170
raids. 1

The nation

identified

the

power ABSOLUTE

king's

must be

of tlie Pursatha, whicli

with the Philistines,

XVIIIth Dynasty, and

is

not mentioned in
period

at this

does not

it

appear as yet to have settled on the coast of Palestine.

The

relations between

Egypt and the above mentioned

peoples of the Mediterranean at this time appear to

have been, on the whole, friendly, and the discovery of

Mycenaean

objects with Egyptian remains of this date

and the evidence of the great influence which Egyptian

art exercised over that of the

Mycenaeans, prove that

these relations were of a continuous and not intermittent

character.

The

XVIIIth Dynasty shows

history of the

power of the king was absolute as

of the foreign policy of the

that the

far as the dictation

government was concerned

but though in theory he controlled the internal

of the country in the same way,

we

affairs

see that in practice

he was checked by the necessity of consulting the

wishes of the priests of

now becoming very

Amen-Ea

Thebes,

at

powerful, and by the impossibility

of dominating the actions of the large

both

civil

who were

army

of officials,

and military, who had by this time taken

the place of the old aristocratic and semi-independent

governors

the

of

nomes.

The

troubles

which

ac-

companied the Hyksos invasion, and the long wars of

liberation carried on

Dynasty resulted
lid

by the princes of the XVIIth

in the disappearance of the old erpd

princes, or chiefs of nomes,

i

who

Winckler, Tell el-Amarna,

in the

p. 87.

XVIIIth

KHUT-ATEN MADE THE CAPITAL

Dynasty were replaced by royal
of the

17I

officials, all

goverument being centralized

the power

The

at Thebes.

Memphis and Herakleopolis,

the XVIIIth Dynasty, and the

ancient political capitals,

declined

greatly

in

ancient religious capital, Heliopolis, sank into obscurity

on the other hand Abydos revived, chiefly because

was the most ancient centre

The temporary

kings of the Middle Empire.

the

Thebes

which

of Osiris worship,

time was far more prominent than under the

at this

of

it

and government administration

court
to

transfer

Khut-Aten

Amen-hetep did

from

(Tell el-'Amarna) in the reign of

any permanent

not result in

dis-

organization of the administrative machinery, but the

religious

upheaval which accompanied

considerable.

seems as

It

if

quit Thebes, for the capital

to the worship of

Amen

it

was

very

the king was obliged to

was

as he

as sincerely devoted

was

to that of

Aten

his departure probably saved the country from rebellion

and

civil

The episode

war.

of the retirement of the

heretical king with his whole court to the

and city of the

built far

" Spirit of the

away from the shrines

and

artistic

palace

Sun -Disk," which he

of the ancient religion

which he had repudiated, and the

religious

new

strange

life

of

propaganda which he led there,

utterly oblivious of the fate of the foreign possessions

of his empire,

is

one of the most curious and interesting

in the history of the world.

The history

of the

development of the Egyptian

religion at this period is

dominated by the transitory

THE ATEN WORSHIP

172

The word Aten,

episode of the Aten heresy.

means

" Sim-Disk,"

and the veneration of

/w^a/s^
,

was

it

ex-

tremely ancient in Egypt, or rather in those parts of

the

country where

the

influence

The

was paramount.

Heliopolis

of

old

the

priests

veneration

of
in-

cluded no monotheistic conceptions, and the Aten was

Ka

venerated solely as the disk of the Sun-god

base, then, the worship of the
origin,

ideas

but

it

at

Aten was of Heliopolitan

when monotheistic

only became a heresy

were imported into

and the sun-disk was

it,

regarded as the sole deity of heaven and of earth, the

source of all light and

life.

It seems that these

new

views were introduced into the worship of the Aten

by the importation into Egypt of foreign

religious

which were brought

ideas of a monotheistic character,

from Mitanni by Thi, the Mitannian wife of Amenhetep III., and mother of his

(Khu-en-Aten).

The

cause

son Amen-hetep
the

of

lY.

dispute

bitter

between Amen-hetep IV. and the priests was the fact

that the worship of the Aten

developed by him

as

admitted of the existence of no other gods

anthropomorphic and theriomorphic

gods of

all

the

Egypt

were to be abolished, and the sole deity to be wor-

shipped was the actual, burning, and radiant disk of

the Sun,

who was no

longer to

be regarded

as

the

god of the sky, but as God Himself, One and Alone.

Such revolutionary ideas

exclusively

confined

el-'Amarna, for

all

to

as

these

the king

were,

and

the priests and

no doubt,

court

at

Tell

the bulk of the

THE ATEN WORSHIP

I73

people remained faitliful to

the

who were

old positions within ten

restored to

their

gods of Egypt,

old

years after the death of Amen-hetep

name

when the
Amen, which he had erased from the monu-

of

ments wherever possible in order

IV.,

to insert in its place

that of Aten, was restored by the orthodox king Heru-

The vigour

em-heb.

of the opposition offered to the

views of the heretics by the priests of

Amen

evident

is

from the violence of the hatred displayed towards their

god and his name, and

it is

interesting to note that the

names of Ea and Heru-khuti, gods of Heliopolis, were

left

undisturbed by Khu-en-Aten.

Among the religious literature

the

hymns

to the

XYIIIth Dynasty

of the

Aten are characterized by

The Booh of

sentiment and beauty of expression.

Dead
when

Many

loftiness of

the

attained its fullest develoj^ment at this period,

the

Theban Recension was

of the

most ancient

unintelligible throughout,

finally

chapters

elaborated.

had long been

and many passages

in

it

had

been interpreted by means of glosses and commentaries

from very ancient times.

book as

it

greater portion of the

was constituted in the XVIIIth Dynasty

consists of the

by a number
is

The

original texts

mixed with and overlaid

of explanatory notes

and

glosses,

which

it

often difficult to separate from the original texts.

In connexion with this subject

sepulchral

stelae

in

the

it

must be noted that

XVIIIth Dynasty

differ

Xllth and

earlier

greatly from those in use under the

Dynasties.

On the

earlier stelae

we

see representations

FUNERAL CUSTOMS

174
of tlie

making

THE

IN

of offerings to

XVIIlTH

DYNASTY

deceased by his wife

tlie

and the varions members of his family, from which

clear that the veneration

duty

in the

XVIIIth Dynasty, however, we

the deceased himself

making

was a sacred

ancestors

of

is

see that

usually depicted in the act of

god,

offerings to

it is

who

generally Horus,

is

and this remained the most striking characteristic of

In the descrip-

sepulchral stelae until the latest times.

tion of the remains of the dynasty of

Antef kings given

above reference has been made to the fashion which

grew up in their time of making

mummified

the

Dynasty

human body

coffins in the

under

shape of

XYIIIth

the

custom became universal, and the old

this

rectangular coffins did not come into use again until

the

Eoman

In the XVIIIth Dynasty exalted

Period.

personages were buried in two or three

coffins,

board, elaborately painted and decorated with a

face,

was often

laid

upon the

in later days, replaced

of linen

layers
closely.

made

In

and

still

of old papyri,

mummy

and a

human

this board was,

by a cartonnage casing made of

which

plaster,

later

times

the body

fitted

cartonnage cases were

which were broken up and mixed

with gum, and so formed a kind of cardboard.

The kings

of the

XVIIIth Dynasty were not buried

in pyramids like their predecessors, but in large rock-

hewn tombs, which contained

corridors

and

galleries of

great length, and several chambers which were used for

commemorative
offerings.

festival services

Each king began

and

for the

to build his

making

tomb

of

as soon

THE TOMBS OF THE KINGS

as

lie

ascended

tlie

throne, and

175

extension and

its

continued until

tlie

time of

decoration of the walls,

etc.,

his death

the longer a king reigned the

larger

practically,

The

tomb became.

his

tlie

kings of the

earlier

XVIIIth Dynasty were buried in the mountain near

the temple of Der al-Bahari, and their tombs could
probably be approached from that building

the later

kings built tombs for themselves in the rocky ravine,

commonly

the

called

" Valley of

the

Biban-al-Muluk.

Kings," in Arabic,

Tombs of the
Of the latter

group one of the oldest and most interesting

tomb

of

M. Loret

Amen-hetep IL, which

the

was discovered

by

In addition to the

in 1898.

king there were found in

IV.,

is

Amen-hetep

III.,

it

the

mummy

mummies

Amen-hetep

of

IV.,

of this

Thothmes
Seti

II.,

Sa-Ptah, Kameses IV., Eameses V., Kameses VI., and

Set-nekht.

These mummies were probably removed

from their tombs and placed for safety in the tomb of

Amen-hetep

when

the time of the

II. in

number

those of Seti

of

I.

mummies

XXIst Dynasty,

of other kings, including

and Eameses

II.,

were removed for

similar reasons to the famous hiding-place near

Der

al-Bahari, to which reference has already been made.

In the tomb of Amen-hetep

mummies, each with a

gash in his breast.

II.

large hole in his skull and a

At the time of

theory was promulgated to the

slaves

who had been

were also found three

sacrificed

their discovery a

effect that these

during the

were

final funeral

ceremonies which took place in the tomb, but further

TOMBS OF PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS

176

examinations of these

owe

their

tomb

wounds

mummies seem

to the violence

in ancient times,

show that they

to

of the robbers of the

who dragged them

out of their

and mishandled them in search of treasure.

coffins

The tombs

of private individuals retained a modifica-

tion of the pyramidal form as far as their entrances

were

concerned,

and

the

were

w^alls

ornamented,

especially in the case of great officials, with scenes in

which the chief events of their own

times in which they

lived

w^ere

lives

and of the

represented, a very

favourite subject being the introduction and presentation at court of the ambassadors

and bearers of tribute

from foreign potentates and vassal nations.

faithful in point of

such scenes

However

costume and minute peculiarities

may have

been, their general design

and

treatment were strictly conventional, the old Egyptian

canon of art being faithfully adhered

of

the

heretical

to.

king, Khu-en-Aten,

In the reign

whose

artistic

predilections have already been referred to, art as well

as religion

became infected with the taint of heresy.

Excellent illustrations of this fact will be found in the

frescoes

and

pillar decorations

Tell el-'Amarna, where

we

of the king's palace at

find plant motifs especially

treated with a freedom from conventionality and truth

to

nature which were hitherto unknown, and which

are never found in later periods.

that

It

cannot be said

Khu-en-Aten's sculptors and painters obtained

either greater or less success in the treatment of the

human

figure

than their predecessors, but one great

REALISTIC DEVELOPMENT OF ART

step in advance,

i.e.,

177

shading in painting, was made by

tliem, tliongh it was, nnfortunately, retraced later

was only during the reign

the

Egyptian

artist

king

this

that

ever showed that he understood the

and shade in his

of light

effects

of

it

With

work.

the

cessation of religions heresy the artistic heresy ceased

Some have thought that the

also.

artistic

development

which took place under Khu-en-Aten was due to the

influence of the highly realistic and bizarre contem-

poraneous art of the Mycenaeans, but there

no satisfactory evidence for this view, indeed

more probable that Egyptian

Mycenaeans

than

the

is
it

as yet

seems

art influenced that of the

reverse.

forgotten that the Egyptian

must

It

artist

never be

possessed a good

deal of freedom in the treatment of designs intended for

small objects, especially mirrors and other articles of

the

spoons, and the like

toilet,

of animals he

human

The extraordinary
Egyptian
little

the

in

and in the treatment

had more freedom allowed him than in

the case of the

place

figure, or of trees, plants, etc.

naturalistic development

reign

of

origin, and, as

Khu-en-Aten was entirely of

far as

or nothing to foreign

can be seen now, owed

influence

hand, one of the bases of Mycenaean art

origin,

i.e.,

frescoes to

the conventional

denote the

flesh

denote the flesh of women.

tian art,

i.e.,

the

which took

on the other
is

of Egyptian

of

red colour in

of men,

and yellow to

use

In one branch of Egyp-

making and inscribing

of scarabs,

a revolution seems to have taken place earlier in the

VOL. IV.

ARCHITECTURE

178

THE

IN

XVIIIth

DYNASTY

XVIlIth Dynasty, when under Amen-hetep

which are

styles of scarab-engraving,

of the Middle

Empire, and are

I.

the old

so characteristic

by a

distinguished

profuse use of the spiral ornament and by deeply-cut

gave way to

inscriptions,

fashions.

At
ceased

cylinder

same

the

be

to

lighter

the

period

and

used,

and more elegant

inscribed

the

style

seal

of the

Egyptian hieratic writing underwent a very considerable change.

Of the houses
period we

know

in

which the Egyptians lived

little,

but

it is

at this

certain that those of the

wealthy had large gardens attached to them, and that

the main building stood in the midst of a courtyard

whiclfwas bounded by a high wall.

which was used

in such houses

Of the furniture

we know

a great deal,

thanks to the tombs at Thebes, from which have been

recovered so
chairs,

many

couches,

and cedar wood

truly beautiful examples of tables,

etc.,
;

often inlaid

and the

fact

with ebony, ivory,

should always be remem-

bered that by far the greater number of the objects of

this class

which are found

are the product of the

in the

Museums

of

Europe

XVIIIth Dynasty, and belong

no later period.

to

The

hieroglyphic

inscriptions

which

are

found

throughout Egypt and Nubia show that under the rule

XVIIIth Dynasty the shrines of

Egypt were restored, and most of their

of the kings of the

all

the gods of

temples rebuilt, and a comparatively permanent provision

seems to have been made for the maintenance of the

TEMPLES OF KARNAK AND LUXOR

services

those

and

sacrifices of the gods,

who ministered

and

them out

to

179

for the support of

of the gifts brought

from foreign nations and the tribute paid by vassal

Hatshepset

tribes.

in her

tells

temple at Der

al-

Bahari and in the Speos Artemidos that she restored the

shrines which the
rebuilt the altars

but
she

it

Aamu,

Hyksos, had wrecked, and

i.e.,

and the temples which were in

ruins,

must be noted that most of the temples which

were those of

built

Early in

goddesses.

the

XYIIIth Dynasty the ancient shrine of Amen in the

Northern Apt (Karnak) was restored, and beautified,
and greatly enlarged, king vying with king in adding
court to court, and building to building, in. honour of

the god of the city

who had worked

from the Hyksos plague.

their deliverance

Later, in the reign of

Amen-

new temple to Amen-Ra was begun in

the Southern Apt (Luxor), and succeeding kings added
largely to it.
Both temples were under the high-priest
hetep

of

III.,

Amen,
|
I

u ^^^^^^ [

A O

J]
I

A/VWV\

and were served by the

whole body of the priests of

Ameo

in Thebes, who,

although they did not yet control the political and

military policy of the country, as in later days, were

nevertheless fast becoming a very powerful

tion, the influence of

of

the more

Memphis.

which was already eclipsing that

ancient

hierarchies

Many women

appointed to

offices

corpora-

of Heliopolis

and

of high rank in Thebes were

connected with the worship in the

temple, and received titles accordingly,

e.g.,

"

qemat en

POSITION OF

l8o

Amen,"

-^ ^ ^/^v^

THE PRIESTHOOD

3,

and the influence of the

gifts

of such

of

brotlierliood

thereby greatly increased, and

from the

"singer of Amen,"

i.e.,

it

Amen was

acquired great wealth

Another source of

devotees.

great wealth to the brotherhood was the share which

was always

set apart exclusively for the

of the booty captured from

must not forget the

of

Amen

order

profits

foreign

Amen

out

and we

nations,

which accrued

to the priests

from the labours of the lower classes of the

who mummified the dead and

funeral

god

carried out all the

We may

arrangements in Thebes.

note

in

passing that the position of the priest had undergone

great modifications since ancient times, for under the

XVIIIth Dynasty

it

could not any longer be said that

the head of the family was ipso facto a priest, nor do

we

find that all great officials

offices as

to

a matter of course.

any longer held priestly

The

priests

now began

form an entirely distinct class of the population, and

their position

was of a most exalted character

but to

enter the priesthood was open to every man, and the

son of the peasant

who owned an

acre or two of land,

having once entered the priesthood, might, as well as a

son of a high

official,

order, provided

aspire to the highest offices of the

he possessed

the

necessary

ability.

Eeference has already been made to the large class of

officials,

forming a sort of bureaucracy, who performed

the functions of local government, which in the time of

the earlier dynasties had been carried out by the local

hd princes, and among such must be mentioned the

EGYPTIAN OFFICIALS OF HIGH RANK

royal

of various

^,

scribes,

scattered througliout the country

femctit

headman

the

00

commander-in-chief

the

the local governor,

'^^^

the village,

M^

were

kinds, wlio

nut;

tchat-mer

l8l

of

hd-na\>

the

of

police,

hd-heru mdtchaiu

the

magistrates

chief

m ^^

^^ 11 ^

n n

scribe,

^''^

town-council

or

^^^''^

^'^^''^^

'}

Thebes,

of

the treasury

]oerui ketch ; the tax-collectors,

and the

officials

justice,

the head of

connected with the administration of

whom was

" chief

the

judge,"

As the functions of the nobles in the early dynasties

were now performed by paid officials, so the command
of the soldiery of Egypt passed into the hands of
professional

army,

with a nucleus

^v=^M^i,
r^\

/\N\N\I\

formed,

and a more or

officers,

to

of

guards,

valour,"

was

-^^

e.g.,

This

direction of a commander-in-chief,

have been divided

regiments,

men

royal

headquarters at Thebes.

its

army was under the

dAf

of

centralized

and had

V\ <zi>

consisting

"mighty

or

less

mer mashaii ur
into

more or

tep,

and seems

less

organized

the " regiment of Amen," the " regiment

l82

HORSES EMPLOYED

A new

of Ptah," etc.
tlie

army

the

war

hehdu,

^^

chariot,

was

i.e.,

although

feature

called

" those

ft

equipment of

the introduction of

^"^5

who belong

Egyptians

the

of tlie

New Empire was

of the

charioteers

THE EGYPTIAN ARMY

IN

corps

^^^

| "^

theoit

But

to the horses."

readily

of

adopted from

the

Asiatics the use of the horse in a chariot, they never

formed bodies of cavalry in our sense of the word, and

though they were ready enough to drive horses, they

seem never to have had any great desire to ride them.

Under the XVIIIth Dynasty

common

the lot of the

it

cannot be said that

v\

folk,

V^

S)

tchamu,

was as happy and prosperous

Xllth Dynasty,

for not only

as it

had been

had they become

in the

liable to

forced military service in foreign lands, but the greatly

increased expenditure of the court and administration

necessarily

resulted

Moreover,
official

of

it is

in

greatly

increased

open to considerable doubt

Pharaoh was

if

taxation.

the paid

as forbearing or as just towards

the people under his charge as the bailiff of the old

hd prince

had been.

It has often

been said that the period of the Xllth

Dynasty was the

nation's

greatness

"

Golden Age" of Egypt, but

is

to

be gauged by

its

if

material

Although tVe old powers of the erpd hd princes had lapsed, we

XVIIIth Dynasty this title was bestowed upon
favourites as a court distinction, e.g., upon Senmut,
^

see that in the

THE GOLDEN AGE OF EGYPT

wealtli

and power

tliis title

to the period of tlie

will

183

more justly be applied

XVIIItli Dynasty,

wliicli

undonbt-

edly marks the liigbest point which Egyptian civilization

and power ever reached.

hetep III. was the

The

culminating

history, for never again, in

reign of

point in

Amen-

Egyptian

spite of the efforts

of the

Eamessids, did Egypt occupy so exalted a place among

the nations of the world as she had in his time.
his death a decline set in, the progress of

At

which was

not arrested, either by the energy and ability of Seti

or

by the

Kameses

II.,

fictitious

who

in

glory

of

his

pretentious

I.

son

modern times has been commonly

but erroneously called the " Great."

i84

CHAPTER

III.

THE TELL EL-'AMARNA TABLETS.

The

Tell el-'Amarna Tablets consist of a

letters,

despatches,

etc.,

number

which were written

to

of

Amen-

hetep III. and to his son Amen-hetep IV., kings of

Egypt

in the

XVIIIth Dynasty, by kings and governors

of certain countries,

They

Western Asia.

in

and

districts,

and

cities,

are written in a cursive cunei-

form character, chiefly in a Semitic dialect

and a few

of

and towns

them contain dockets

hieratic character recording the

names

Babylonian^

in the

Egyptian

of the countries

from which they came, and probably the dates when

they were received.

It Avould be

hard

to over-estimate

the importance of the Tell el-'Amarna Tablets from a

historical point of view, for they supply information of

a character

known

which

to us.

We

exists in

no other body of documents

learn, moreover,

from them not only

concerning the relations which existed between the

'

A peculiar feature

in these tablets is the frequent use of glosses,

which explain certain Sumerian ideographs both by Babylonian and

by Palestinian words. In some cases Babylonian words are explained by their Palestinian equivalents.

THE DISCOVERY OF THE TABLETS

kings of the independent

and

countries

185
rulers

tlie

Western Asia and the kings of

of the vassal states of

Egypt mentioned above, but

also

concerning certain

of the alliances and friendships which

had grown up

between the early kings of the XVIIIth Dynasty, who

had successfully invaded Syria and

native viceroys

whom

Palestine,

they appointed to rule over their

They

newly gotten lands on their behalf.

much

and the

also supply

information concerning offensive and defensive

alliances

between the kings of Egypt and of other

countries,

and concerning marriage customs, religious

ceremonies, intrigues,
first

etc.,

and they give us

for the

time the names of Artatama, Artashumara, and

Tushratta,

kings

of Mitanni.

geographical information which

documents

these

is,

in

its

The

philological

may

be derived from

peculiar Avay,

and

almost as

valuable as the historical facts which they supply, and

for this reason

cipal

summaries of the contents of the prin-

documents of the

The

" find " are here given.

Tell el-'Amarna Tablets were found about the

end of the year 1887 in a chamber which was situated

in the small building that lies to the east of the palace
built

by Amen-hetep lY. in the city of Khut-Aten,

the ruins of which have been called by the Arabs "Tell

el-'Amarna."

The

finder

digging out dust from

was a

woman, who

was

among the ruins to lay upon

and who handed over her

her land for " top-dressing,"

interest in the find to one of her friends for the

two shillings (10

piastres).

The exact number

sum

of

of the

THE DISCOVERY OF THE TABLETS

l86

chamber

tablets wliicli were originally deposited in the

will never be

known,

for several

were broken accidentally

and the pieces destroyed by the Arabs who dug them

out of the chamber^ and others were broken wilfully by

them, either for the purpose of easy carriage on the

who

persons of those

helj)ed

to'

them up and were

dig

concerned in the secret removal of antiquities from one

place to another, or that the
to

have a share

the tablets

of

in the profit derived

might

fragments were

number

be

increased.

lost or destroyed

men who were

from the sale of

Moreover,

several

by certain natives who

were sent to take them to the antiquity dealers in

The

Cairo,^
tablets,

of

the Berlin

them being

of

about 60 tablets, and about a score of small

Cairo
tablets

and several fragments

private collectors

that

Museum acquired about 81

Museum about 160 pieces, some
considerable size, the Museum in

British

the

number

fell

the hands of

into

judging by these figures

of

tablets

which were preserved

of the "find" was about three hundred.

tablets were found a clay seal
of the

prenomen

of

Amen-hetep

With

the

having two impressions

Amen-hetep IV.

alabaster plaques, inlaid with the

of

appears

it

five

square

prenomen and name

III. in dark blue glazed faience

a light

blue glazed faience plaque, rounded at the top, and

December, 1887, from a gentleman
European who saw the Tell
el-'Amarna Tablets, and who had personal knowledge of the men
who bought them from their finder.
1

in

I obtained these facts in

Egypt who was,

I belieye, tlie first

AMEN-HETEP

AND KALLIMMA-SIN

III.

187

inlaid in dark blue faience characters with tlie

and

titles

hieroglyphics;
represent

and his wife Thi

in

and a red stone jar cover carved

to

Amen-hetep

of

lion

III.

and a bull fighting.

" find "

principal tablets of the

of the

summarized

names

The

contents

may

be

thus

Letter feomAmenophis^ III. to Kallimma-Sin,

or as the name may also be read, Kadashman-Bel, King
OF Karaduniyash. The letter opens with the words,
" To Kallimma-Sin, King of Karaduniyash^ my brother,
"thus saith Amenophis, the Great King, the King of
" Egypt, thy brother
I am well, may it be well with
1.

'

" thee, with thy government, with thy wives, with thy

" children, with thy nobles, with thy horses, and with

"thy

chariots,

" land

with

and may there be great peace in thy

me may

it

be well, with

my

government,

my wives, with my children, with my nobles,

my horses, with my chariots, and with my troops,
"and may there be great peace in my land.'" Amen-

" with

" with

ophis refers to the refusal of Kallimma-Sin to give

his daughter to wife on the

know whether

his

own

ground that he did not

sister,

whom Amenophis had

married, was alive or dead, and tells

the

Egyptian court a messenger

happy conditions under which she

1

him

to

to see her
lives.

send to

and the

Kallimma-Sin

is called Niminuriya, or Ininiuriya, or Mimmuriya,

forms represent the Egyptian prenomen Neb-Mafit-Ra,

Amenopliis

all of wliich

him

(HB-

AmEN-HETEP

l88

appears to have done

AND KALLIMMA-SIN

III.

but neitlier the messenger nor

so,

any of his colleagues had known the lady personally,

and they were therefore unable

In

identify her.

to

answer to the remark of Kallimma-Sin that he was

to "

accustomed to give his daughters in marriage

handsome

of Karaduniyash," and to receive

return,
for

Amenophis says that he

daughter richer

his

gifts

will give

gifts in

in

on behalf of the

concerning

sister

Sin was making inquiries

refer to the old treaty

and Thothmes lY.,

and

it,

for

whom Kallimma-

Amenophis has duly observed

In answer to the com-

Kallimma-Sin and

to

between the king of Karaduniyash

fulfilled its conditions.

Egypt both

him

also that it is useless to

made by Babylonian envoys

plaint

return

than any Babylonian

could give him, and that he will besides give

gift

kings

the

to

court

of

his father, to

to

the effect that they had been ill-treated, Amenophis

declares that all

such statements are

had been treated with great

Egypt

also

denies

respect

lies^

for

the king

emphatically that he

calls the

envoys

liars.

sent

The

him

of the

which remain
chariots and

and the Babylonian king seems

to accuse the

refer

to

some

king of Egypt of bad

The numbers
Museiim Guide to
1

and

about

to

horses,

woman

wife,

text at the end

tablet is incomplete, but the fragments

seem

to

of

made any

complaint whatsoever about the beauty of the

whom Kallimma-Sin had

they

hei-e

dispute

faith.

(Brit. Mus.,i

No. 29,784.)

given are those which appear in the British

and Assyrian Antiquities, London,

the Babylonian

AMEN-HETEP
2.

AND KALLIMMA-SIN

III.

l8g

Letter from Kallimma-Sin to Amenophis

After salutations the Babylonian king reports

maiden daughter,

whom Amenophis

III.

tliat

Ms

wished to marry,

now grown up, and he asks the king of Egypt to

send him word about her, so that she may be brought
He begs that his messenger may not be
to him.

is

detained long in Egypt, and complains that his last

envoy was kept there

for

six years,

and that when he

did return he only brought back 30

manehs

of gold

(B. l).i

Letter from Kallimma-Sin to Amenophis IIL

In one letter Kallimma-Sin asked the king of Egypt to
send him an Egyptian princess to wife, and Amenophis
3.

"

replied,

The daughter

Egypt hath
"

Thou

art

never been

To

a nobody).

of the king of the land

this

given

Kallimma-Sin

king and canst act as thou pleasest

word against

Sin.

it ? "

In the present

says that there must be

many

Egypt, and asks that one of these

1900, p. 154

drawn up
tlie
1

and

tlie

(i.e.,

not?

and

if

who

shall say a

letter

Kallimma-

beautiful

may

women

in

be sent to him,

summaries are based upon those which were

for the official publication, The Tell el-Amarna Tablets in

British

B =

ff.,

"

"Why

replies,

" thou art willing to give her to me,

"

anybody

to

of

Museum,

1892,

by Dr. Bezold and myself

in 1891.

Berlin or Bulak, and the numbers which follow are those

given to the texts in the publication of Messrs. Abel andWinckler,

Ber Thontafelfund von El-Amaoiia, Berlin, 1889, 1890, who included
in the official publication of the Berlin Museum copies of the Tell
el-'Amarna tablets at Buljik. Renderings of most of the tablets of
the find, with transliterations of the cuneiform texts will be found
in Winckler, Die Thontafeln von Tell el-Amarna, Berlin, 1896.

KALLIMMA-SIN AND AMEN-HETEP

igO
for "

He

who here could say

adds,

''to

that she

I,

between

"a

same.

us, did the

'

of marriage, and
related,

me

.... "And

as

about which I wrote to thee,

Send me much gold with thy envoy,' thou

must send

" the

"

If thou wilt not send

wife I .will not send thee one."

" saying,

might be brotherhood and friendship

"concerning the gold

"

me

we might become more nearly

in order that

" and that there

"

not a princess

increase the closeness of the relations

" between us, thou didst write to

*'

is

III.

month

it

during the season of harvest, either in

of

Tammuz

or that of Ab,

" do this I shall be able to iinish

and

if

thou wilt

the work which I

" have begun, and I will give thee

my

daughter.

If

" the gold be not sent in one of the months mentioned

" I cannot complete the

" and if thou sendest

work which I have undertaken;

it

later,

"

have undertaken

"

me

"

then I shall not accept

"my
4.

is

ended, of what use will

If thou sendest to

daughter

when the work which

it,

me 3000
and I

it

be to

talents of gold

will not give thee

to wife " (B. 3).

Letter feom Kallimma-Sin to Amenophis

III.

Kallimma-Sin acknowledges with thanks and hearty

greetings the arrival of the lady

Egypt has sent him

to wife,

whom

the king of

and he announced in

return by the hands of Shuth, his envoy, the despatch

of couches and thrones
gold,

made

of precious woods and

and other valuable objects as

Egypt.

On

this tablet is

on the base of which

is

gifts for the

king of

an impression of a scarab,

inscribed the

hawk

of

Horus

AMEN-HETEP

III.

AND TUSHRATTA

IQI

wearing the crowns of the South and North,

disk of the sun,

made

in

O,

^,

The scarab must have been

etc.

Egypt, judging by the impression, which shows

that the characters were cut accurately upon

Kallimma-Sin seems
tablet

the

to

have had

it

Mus. No. 29,787, and B.

and

impressed on this

a compliment to the king of

as

it,

Egypt

(Brit.

2).

Lettee feom Tushratta, King of Mitanni, to

Amenophis III. He mentions the letter which he
had sent to Amenophis to inform him that he had
5.

killed the murderers of his

Artashumara,

and

(i.e.,

Tushratta's) brother^

he had slain

that

Pirkhi,

who

usurped the throne of Mitanni after the death of

Shutarna,
relations

his

father,

which

and

to

refers

friendly

the

between the kings

existed

He

countries of Mitanni and Egypt.

of

the

next reports that

the king of Khatti invaded his land, and that the lord

Tishub had given him into his hand, and that he had
killed

him and

his forces to a

had married Gilukhipa,^ a

Tushratta states that he

is

man.

Amenophis

III.

and now

sister of Tushratta,

sending gifts of chariots and

horses to the king of Egypt, and articles of jewellery

for

his

sister

in

conclusion

he

messengers, Giliya and Tunip-ipri,

begs

may

that

his

be sent back

speedily with a gift (Brit. Mus. No. 29,792).

6.

Letter from Tushratta to Amenophis

III.

Tushratta refers to the great friendship which existed

^

The Egyptian form

of the

name

is

^^

Jj

AMEN-HETEP

ig2

III.

AND TUSHRATTA

between his father Shutarna and Thothmes IV., the

father

of

Amenophis, but says that the friendship

which now

between Amenophis and himself

exists

ten times stronger than that

their

fathers,

(= Eammanu
Egypt

will

and he

make

which existed between

hopes

Rimmon)

of

is

god Tishnb

the

that

Mitanni and

Amen

of

Tushratta

their friendship to prosper.

then mentions that he has allowed the Egyptian envoy

Mani

to see his daughter,

whom Amenophis
may

marry, and he hopes that she

Amenophis himself

be as pleasing to

as she was to the envoy, and that

Amen

the goddess Ishtar of Mitanni and

mould her

wishes to

of the

to please the will

of

Egypt may

king of Egypt.

may

Tushratta then asks that a large quantity of gold

be sent to him, and says
certain implements

which

is

making ready

and weapons of war and the chase,

had

grandfather

his

that he

Amenophis, but omitted

promised

to do

so

he

to

send

to

suggests that

the gold which he expects to receive from the king of

Egypt be regarded

as

payment

his daughter's dowry.

may
that

He

for these objects,

and as

asks that the envoy G-iliya

be sent back as quickly as possible, and states

he

is

sending

chariots, precious stones,

gifts

of

lapis-lazuli,

and thirty women

horses,

(Brit.

Mus.

No. 29,791).
7.

Letter from Tushratta to Amenophis

III.

Referring to the arrival of the Egyptian envoy, Mani,

whom Amenophis

has sent to bring to Egypt another

daughter of Tushratta, called Tatum-khipa, to be his

Letter from Tushratta, king of Mitanni, to Amen-lietep III., king of Egji^t,

about B.C. 1430.

VOL. IV.

AMEN-HETEP
wife,

to

III.

Tushratta says that

AND TUSHRATTA

lie is

quite willing to send

Egypt, only that her wedding apparel

and that she cannot

Haramashshi back

is

to

of

Iter

not ready yet,

Meanwhile

start for six months.

he sends a messenger

ig5

the king of Egypt

him with the present

called

letter.

It

seems that Amenophis had despatched a quantity of

gold to Tushratta,
that

who had

it

examined, and found

was either not pure gold or not gold

it

at

all.

This being so he refuses to send his daughter Tatumletter

which

objects

which

khipa to Amenophis, and he asks in the

Haramashshi took back

to

him that the

he had already sent him, and which belonged to his

may be returned to Mitanni (B. 22).

Letter from Tushratta to Amenophis III.

father Shutarna,
8.

Tushratta

announces the despatch of his daughter

Tatum-khipa, in company with the Egyptian envoy

Mani and the Egyptian

that

Shamash and

interpreter Hani,

Ishtar

may go

and he prays

before her, and

make

her a delightful thing in the sight of the king of Egypt,

and that

He

vshe

may

bring to him both blessing and joy.

sends gifts to Amenophis, which he prays

safely

may

be

guarded for one hundred thousand years among

the treasures of Amenophis (B. 21).

Letter from Burraburiyash, King of KaraDUNiYASH, TO Amenophis 1 IV.

Burraburiyash writes
9.

In

the Tell

el-'Amarna Tablets Amenophis IV, is called

intended to be the equivalent of

Napkhurriya, which is
Nefer-kheperu-Ra, i.e.,
I

\^

M
V/

1)
A/yv\AA J\

the

first

portion

of

RA-NEFER-fiHEPERU-UA-EN-RA.

the

prenomen

BURRABURIYASH AND AMEN-HETEP

ig6

say that

to

lie

IV.

hopes the friendship which existed

between Amenophis III. and himself will be continued

between himself and Amenophis IV.

whatsoever the

king of Egypt wishes for from Karaduniyash shall be

sent to him, and he hopes that the king of

may wish

send him anything he

to

Egypt

will

have from Egypt

(B. 4).

Letter from Burraburiyash to Amenophis

10.

Burraburiyash says that because our fathers were

lY.

friends

they sent

gifts

to

each

other,

and

refused the request of the other, no matter

was the thing which was

desired.

He

neither

how

costly

complains that

him only two manehs of gold,

and begs that he will send to him as much gold as
Amenophis III. sent but if he cannot do that let him
Amenophis IV. has

sent

send at least half as much.

need of money because he

is

Burraburiyash
is

is

in great

building a temple, and he

very anxious to finish the work as soon as possible.

In the time of Kurigalzu, the father of Burraburiyash,

the

Canaanites wrote to him and asked him to join

making an attack upon the frontiers of Egypt,

but Kurigalzu wrote and told them that he would not
associate himself with them, and warned them that if

them

in

they attempted to do an unfriendly act towards the king

of Egypt,

his

" brother,"

he

against

them and plunder them,

was an

ally of his.

Now

himself would
for the

march

king of Egypt

the Assyrians under their

king Ashur-uballit, who was a vassal of Burraburiyash,

had made

their

way

into Egypt,

presumably with the

BURRABURIYASH AND AmEN-HETEP

idea of

making an

IV.

197

alliance with Amenopliis IV.,

Burr aburiy ash having

and

heard these things begs the

king of Egypt to have nothing to do with them, just

as his father Kurigalzu

He

Canaanites.

manehs

had nothing

to do

with the

sends as a gift to Amenophis three

of lapis-lazuli,

and ^we chariots with the horses

necessary for drawing them (Brit. Mus. No. 29,785).

11.

Letter from Burraburiyash to Amenophis

Burraburiyash refers to the friendly relations

lY.

which have existed since the time of his grandfather

Kara-indash between the royal houses of Egypt and
Karaduniyash, and remarks that, although the friendly

down

own

times,

and the king of Egypt has sent three missions

to his

relations have been continued

to their

country, yet on no occasion have the Egyptian envoys

brought him a

gift.

Moreover, he complains that the

twenty manehs of gold ore which Amenophis IV. sent

to

him only yielded when melted

The

five

manehs

text contains an allusion to wild oxen

skins,

which

Amenophis

Burraburiyash

IV.,

who seems

some chariots in return

for

to

had

already

of gold.

and their
sent

to

have promised to send

them

if

the skins already

new ones would be

sent under the charge of the Egyptian envoy who was
to travel back in company with Shindishugab, the
sent were spoiled on the journey,

envoy of Burraburiyash.
is

sent

for

consisting
of

gift of a lapis-lazuli object

the king of Egypt, and also a necklace

of 1048

Amenophis

IV.,

precious stones for the daughter

who

had

married

son

of

BURRABURIYASH AND AMEN-HETEP

ig8

Burraburiyasli, but
in Egypt.

who was

IV.

living at lier father's court

It is interesting to note that an

Egyptian

princess was allowed to marry a son of a Mesopotamian

allow his

name

Amenophis

especially as

prince,

daughter

of the

III.

had refused

The

marry Kallimma-Sin.

to

to

Mesopotamian prince has not yet been

found (Brit. Mus. No. 29,786).

Letter from Burraburiyash to Amenophis

12.

IV.

Burraburiyash refers to the envoys

sent

to

Amenophis

III.,

whom

he had

saying that though he was

whom

unable to give him the daughter

the Egyptian

king wished to marry, he was prepared to send another;

Amenophis sent back an answer, but before the Egyptian

envoy could convey

it

to Burraburiyash,

Amen-

who had been promised

the plague.
The text is mutilated,

ophis died, and the daughter

him

to wife died of

but

it

Egypt

seems that a Mesopotamian

as a wife for

Amenophis

woman was

sent to

IV., only a difficulty

arose because a sufficiently imposing escort could not

The

be provided for her.

sent to Egy|)t to

sister of

Burraburiyash was

become the wife of Amenophis

III.,

and her escort consisted of 3000 men, but Burraburiyash

can only manage to find

five chariots for the escort.

Burraburiyash asks Amenophis IV. to send him certain

and sends as
the "mistress of his house "i

objects inlaid with floral designs in ivory,

a gift to
^

him and

to

The Babylonian words

the Egyptian words

which the wife

is

Bilti hUi are the exact equivalents of

^j

neht per,

"lady

of the house,"

always described in the funeral

texts.

by

BURRABURIYASH AND AMEN-HETEP

The

pieces of lapis-lazuli.

little is

lady's share is only twenty

and his reason

pieces of the stone,

IQQ

IV.

for sending her so

because she showed Bnrraburiyash no sympathy

when he was

some serions trouble, or

in

affliction,

or illness (B. 6).

Lettek feom Burrabueiyash to Amenophis

13.

Bnrraburiyash reports that he has been

ly.

ill,

and

that his sickness was so sore that he could not enter-

the Egyptian envoy, who,

tain

neither eaten nor drunk with him

expected to

die,

in
;

consequence,

he was very

ill

has

and

and was very angry because Amenophis

had not sent him

Eventually he

letters of condolence.

spoke to the Egyptian envoy about

it,

and he pointed

out that the distance between Karaduniyash and Egypt

was

so great that

Egypt

when

to

for the

king of

have heard anything about his sickness

this view

was

buriyash he was
that

was impossible

it

Amenophis.

satisfied,

maintain

he will

He

by the envoy of Burra-

also taken

and he now writes to say

his

friendly

relations

reports the despatch to

with

Egypt of the

Egyptian envoy, and asks Amenophis to send back the

Mesopotamian envoy
water

is scarce,

road

as the

and the heat

is

is

dangerous, and

great,

he only sends

a small gift now, but he hopes to send a second mes-

who will bring many pretty things

The gold which had been sent from

senger to Egypt
to

Amenophis.

Egypt had turned out

quality,

to

be

full of alloy,

and of

inferior

and Bnrraburiyash begs that more may be

sent to him, only he hopes that

Amenophis

will himself

BURRABURIYASH AND AMEN-HETEP

200
inspect

and make certain that

it,

it

IV.

really is of the

Burraburiyash next complains that his

finest quality.

envoy Salmu has been twice robbed on his road to

Egypt, the

first

by Pamahn

time by Biriamaza^ and the second time

and inasmuch as the territory in which

the robberies tooks place was under the rule of Egypt,

he demands that his envoy shall be admitted into the

king's presence, and that his loss shall be
to

made good

him by the king of Egypt (B. 7).

14. Letter from Bueeaburiyash to Amenophis

IV.

Burraburiyash refers

to the treaty of peace

which

has been concluded between them, and then goes on to

that

report

number

journeying wdth

[his

envoy]

Ahi-Tabu,

purposes of trade in the city of Kinahhi

Taba had gone on

way,

his

who were

merchants,

of his

tarried
;

after

for

Ahi-

Shumadda, the son of

Balummi, and Shutatna, the son of Shuratu, a native

of Acco, sent their followers after the merchants,

and

having overtaken them in the city of Hinaton they

them and took possession

killed

of their goods.

Burra-

buriyash at once sent his envoy to report the matter

to the

king of Egypt, and he advises Amenophis to

question the

ophis to

man

about

it.

He

make good the value

then

calls

upon Amen-

of the property

which

has been stolen in his country, and to slay the men

who

slew the merchants, for unless he does so more

merchants, and perhaps even government envoys, will

be killed, and the

will be

trade

destroyed, and

between the two countries

the influence

of

Amenophis

ASHUR-UBALLIT AND AMEN-HETEP

liimself in

tlie

201

IV.

Sliumadda

land will be diminished.

cut off the feet of one of the subjects of Burraburiyash

and kept him with him, and Shutatna having healed

another of his wounds kept him as a slave.

buriyash sends a

gift

and begs Amenophis

messenger return at once (B.

Burra-

to let his

8).

Letter from Ashur-uballit, King of Assyria,

TO Amenophis IV. Ashur-uballit enumerates the gifts
15.

which he

him

is

sending to the king of Egypt, and asks

send back in return a quantity of gold, of

to

which he has great need because he

building

is

new palace. When his father Ashur-nadin-ahi sent

to Egypt for gold 20 talents of the precious metal
were sent to him, and when the king i of Hanirabbat
(or

Hanigalbat) sent for gold the same amount was

sent to

him

therefore Ashur-uballit expects 20 talents

In return he

of gold.

whatsoever he wants.

is

He

explains that he did

send back the Egyptian envoys sooner,

done

so,

Amenophis

willing to give

the Suti would have sent

and they would have been killed

men

for

not

had he

after

them,

to a certainty (B. 9).

Letter from Tushratta, King of Mitanni,

TO Amenophis IV. The writer addresses the king of
16.

Egypt

as

my

son-in-law,

"whom

love,

and who

loves me," and sends salutations to Thi, the mother of

Amenophis IV., and

He
^

refers to

the

to his

own daughter Tatum-khipa.

extremely friendly relations which

Probably Tushratta, for Hanirabbat was a nome, or part, of

Mitanni.

TUSHRATTA AND AMEN-HETEP

202

IV.

had always existed between himself and Amenophis

III.,

and bids Amenophis lY. ask his mother Thi

He

about them.
father,

then goes on

to

say that his grand-

Artatama, was asked for his daughter

in vain by

Thothmes

lY.,

times

six

and that he only consented

to give her to

him on the seventh application

ratta's father,

Shntarna, Avas asked for his daughter

five

times in vain

by Amenophis

only on the sixth application that

give

Gilukhipa, Tushratta's

and

III.,

Tush-

it

was

he consented to

Amen-

him.

to

sister,

ophis III. next sent to Tushratta and asked for his

daughter Tatum-khipa, and at

Egypt

to

become a wife of the king

paid to the Egyptian envoy

she went to

length

her dowry was

Hamashshi within three

months, and Amenophis was well pleased.

gifts

to

the

envoys, but the gift which

Tushratta was a poor one.

He

gave

he sent to

He, however, promised to

send to Tushratta certain gold statues, but they were

never sent, for Amenophis died, and Tushratta assures

Amenophis lY. that

the news that he lifted up his voice

he heard later

that

comforted, for

friendly

which

and Egypt would

Amenophis lY. had succeeded

him he was much

relations

when he heard
and wept when

his grief was so sore

existed

be maintained.

recalls the circumstances

he knew that the

between

Mitanni

Tushratta

under which the promise

give the gold statues was made, and says that

ophis lY. did on one occasion

send statues

by the hands

Mani,

of

Giliya

next

and

to

Amento him

but that the

TUSHRATTA AND
statues were
tlie

made

of tvood.

old friendship,

which

and

letter concludes

him the gold

for

fulfil

statues,

second request.

The

with some remarks about some weapons

war which Tushratta had been meaning

of

2O3

Belying, however, upon

to send

now makes

he

QUEEN OF EGYPT

asks Amenopliis IV. to

lie

his father's promise,

for

THI,

some time

past,

but had not

to despatch

done so because

Amenophis lY. had not sent the gold which he required, and some allusions to the delay which had
occurred in

sending

back

envoys

the

from Egypt

(B. 24).
17.

Letter

OF Egypt.

from

Tushratta

Thi,

Queen

queen,

and to

to

After salutations to

the

her son, and to "thy daughter-in-law,"

Tatum-khipa,

he refers to the ancient friendship between the royal

houses of Mitanni and Egypt, and reminds her that
she knows better than any one

He

friendship was.
sent to

recalls the

him by the hands

else

how

firm this

message which she had

of Giliya, the Egyptian envoy,

begging him to be a friend to her son Amenophis lY.,

and asking him

to send

He

as before.

envoys with peaceful salutations

then mentions her husband's promise

send him statues of gold, and complains that the

to

two statues which her son had actually sent were

made
^

of

icood,

The words

Amenophis

III.,

to

bring the matter

can have no other meaning, and it would

Tatum-khipa married Amenophis lY, and also
who seems to have died shortly after her arrival

Jcallati-ka

therefore seem as
in Egypt.

and asks Thi

if

TUSHRATTA AND AMEN-HETEP

204
under

liis

He

notice.

IV.

hopes that Thi will send an

envoy to his wife Inni in company with the envoy

of

Amenophis IV.

and promises that luni

to himself,

shall'send an envoy in return to her

Thi a
18.

gift of

"good

Tushratta sends

Mns. No. 29,794).

oil/' etc. (Brit.

Letter from Tushratta to Amenophis IV.

Tushratta acknowledges gratefully the receipt of the

which had been sent

gifts

to

him from Egypt, but

he complains that the two gold statues which had

been made

and exhibited

envoy Giliya had

his

to

never been sent to him, and that two made of wood

were

quite willing to maintain

with Egypt, but

must be sent
he needs.

He

if

and

to

the

friendly

old

is

relations

he does the two statues of gold

to him,

in addition to the gold

mentions the

Amenophis IV. and

to

He

the statues which he had received.

all

Tatum-khipa his

gifts

to

the

sister,

which he

is

which

sending

queen-mother Thi,

and

states that

he

is

sending his letter by the hand of the envoy Perizzi

on the tablet
that

the

it

is

inscribed a hieratic note, which states

was received

twelfth

year

[of

month of winter in
the reign of Amenophis IV.]

in the first

(B. 23.)
19.

Letter from Tushratta to Amenophis IV.

Tushratta says that he has once before sent his envoys

Perizzi and Bubri to Egypt, and begs that

sending them again Amenophis will

quickly with gifts from him;

if

let

now he

is

them return

he does, Mani, the

Egyptian envoy, shall be sent back to Egypt quickly,

ALASHIYA AND EGYPT

and

meanwliile, no need to be anxious about

tliere is,

him.
20.

205

(In a private collection.)

group of Letters written chiefly by the King

OF Alashiya

TO THE " KiNG OF Egypt.^^

announcing the despatch of 500 [talents

Letter

(1)

copper,

of]

and saying that more would have been sent but

fact that the

of Nergal

the plague) had slain

(i.e.,

silver, oil, etc., are

the people;

all

hand

asked for in return.

Egypt, and the writer

citizen of Alashiya has died in

asks the king to send back his effects

begged

for the

the king

is

also

have nothing to do with the kings of Hatti

to

and Shanhar

(Brit.

Mus. No. 29,788).

aDnouncing the despatch of

five pairs of horses,

Letter

(2)

iive talents of copper,

and asking

and

for silver in return, as

well as the return of the envoys Pashtummi, Kunia,

Itilluna,

gurumma, Ushbarra, and Bil-ram

Mus. No. 29,790).

(3)

Letter announcing the despatch

and asking

of 100 talents of copper,

return,
(Brit.

and

(Brit.

suggesting

the

Mus. No. 29,789).

(4)

for certain gifts in

making

of

an

alliance

Letter disclaiming any

connexion with the Lukki who have raided Egyptian

territory,

and saying that they have also plundered the

city of Sihru in

Alashiya (B. 11).

(5)

Letter asking

that the Alashiyan envoy be sent back quickly, and

This country has been identified with Cyprus because copper

it to Egypt ; the Egyptian form of the name is

was exported from

Alesa or Alusa, N

country

will

^\f)

"O^

IV^^

A group

of notes on the

be found in Hall, Oldest Civilization of Greece,

p. 163.

ADAD-NIRARI AND ABD-ASHRATUM

206

warning the king of Egypt not

despatch

asking for

the envoy's

officials

merchants and

Letter to Amenophis lY.

(6)

announcing

his

let

the Alashiyan

interfere unclnly with

their ship (B. 12).

to

200

of

(?),

and

talents of copper,

return

(B.

15).

(7)

Letter

referring to a despatch of copper, and asking for some-

thing in exchange (B. 19).

(8

and 9) Letters from the

chief official of Alashiya to the chief official of

announcing despatch of
the ship and

its

Egypt

and pointing out that as

gifts,

goods are royal property they must not

be interfered with by the Egyptian

officials (B. 13).

Letter from Adad-nirari, King

of

Nu-

grandfather

was

appointed governor of the district by Thothmes

III.,^

21.

HASHSHi,^

mentioning

that

his

and reporting that the Hatti king

is

him

troubling

greatly (B. 30).

22. Three

Letters from Abd-Ashratum, Governor

OF Amurri, reporting his

and saying that he

fidelity,

and asking

trying to keep his hold upon

is

Sumur and Ullaza on behalf

of the king of

Abd-Ashratum's chief was called Pahanati

Nos. 29,816 and 29,817
23.

for help,

Egypt

(Brit.

Mus.

B. 97).

Letter from the People

of

Tunip, near

Aleppo, referring to the help which Thothmes IIL gave

their city during his reign,

and saying that they

they are being given over to the enemy

1

Manakhbirya

district in

they have

Aleppo,

O t^ ^

],

feel

Men-kheper-Ea.

AZIRU AND THE KING OF EGYPT

207

asked each year for twenty years, but in vain, that

ladi-Addu

might be restored

to

rebel Aziru has already robbed a caravan

The

them.

old governor]

[their

of the king of Egypt, an,d if help be not sent soon

Tunip

the hands of Aziru, and

Sumur

all will

Ni has already

the city

will fall, as

if

done, into

he succeeds in capturing

indeed be lost (Brit. Mus. No. 29,824).

24. G-roup of eight

Letters from Aziru to the

King, assuring him of his

fidelity

and submission, and

promising to send tribute, and saying that he would

have obeyed the orders of Hai, the Egyptian general,

and come

to court

with Hatib

vented from doing

ISTuhashshi

same reason.

so

if

he had not been pre-

by the raid of the Hatti on

he would have rebuilt Sumur but for the

He

denies the accusations

made

against

him, and asks for troops to help him to protect the

land on behalf of the king.

in these words

''sun; Aziru

"To my

thy

"lord,

my

god,

lord,

servant.

"times I prostrate myself

my

sun"

He

describes his fidelity

the king,

Seven times

my

god,

and seven

at the feet of the king,

(B. 31,

my
my

33, 34, 34a, 36, 37,

38, 40).
25.

Letter from the King to Aziru, complaining

of his conduct in respect of Eib-Addu, his brother, the

Aziru seems to have declined

king of Gebal (Byblos).

him into his city, and

asks him how he can write

a bribe from his brother to bring

the king hearing of this

to

he

him declaring that he

is

is

committing such an

a loyal servant of his whilst

act.

Moreover, when Eib-

AZIRU AND THE KING OF EGYPT

208

Addu was

in Sidon, Azirii

Hin

did not lielp

to go to

the king in Egypt, but placed liim in the hands of the

kings,

local

knowing how

well

hostile

they were

therefore the king thinks that Aziru's words are not

trne,

and in future he will

compelled to put no

any statement he may make.

faith in
it

feel

But

besides this,

has come to the ears of the king that Aziru has been

on terms of friendship with the prince of Kadesh, the

enemy

and that he has been supplying him

of the king,

with meat and drink, and the king knows that the
report which he has heard

It is clear that

true.

is

Aziru cannot in such a case be loyal both to the prince

of

Kadesh and

to the

king his

and cannot even be

lord,

studying his own interests by behaving in such a way.

At the present time

whom

" those

thou didst try to

" burn are consuming thee, and they will destroy both
" thee

and those

whom

" if thou wast loyal

to

thou lovest," says the king

thy

lord

the king there

''nothing which he could not do for thee."

is

Next the

king warns him that unless he becomes loyal to him,

and abstains from

all

foolish hostility he

shall surely die, but if

for the

shall live,

country of Kinahhi.
this

into

effect

my

and his family

he does as the king wishes he

desire to waste the

king has no

Finally the king says words to

You have excused

yourself from coming

presence in Egypt, and have promised to come

next year, and you say you have no son with you
well,

very

I excuse you this year, but if your son comes

back send him to see me, by

whom

all

the world liveth.

AZIRU AND THE KING OF EGYPT

Yon

my

wrote to

me

saying that you wanted

me

did so you would send

hands.

Behold,

my

me

ambassador

by his

rebels

tlie

coming according

is

me and let
you may the more

your wish, therefore send the rebels to

not one of them escape, and that

you a

easily do this, I send

list

sons,

which

of their names,

are as follows: Sharru and his sons, Tuia, Liia

and his

Yishiari and his sons, the son-in-law of Malia

and his sons and his wives.

in

to send

ambassador Hanni a second time to you, promising

tliat if I

to

20g

heavens,

the

my

and

am

very well, I the sun

and

chariots

exceedingly numerous, and

soldiers

are

Upper Egypt even

from

unto Lower Egypt, and from the place where the sun
riseth even unto the place

country
26,
to

in

is

where he

setteth, the

good case and content (B.

92).

Letter from Aziru to the King

the above.

slandered

him

He

declares

to the

that

whole

his

king, and that he

in answer

enemies
is,

and always

With

has been, the king's most loyal servant.

have

refer-

ence to the matter of the envoy Hani, Aziru was in

Tunip when he

arrived,

and as soon as he heard of his

arrival he set out to go to him, but could not overtake

him

him.

Aziru's brother, however, gave

goats,

and meat and drink^ and also provided him with

horses and asses for his journey.

cattle, sheep,

In answer to the

king's accusation that he tried to get out of Hani's

way, Aziru appeals to the sun and to the other gods of

Egypt

to confirm his statement that he

Aziru says
VOL.

IV.

The king ordered me

was in Tunip.

to build Simyra, but

RIB-ADDA AND THE KING OF EGYPT

210

as the kings of Nnhaslislii are hostile to me, and led

by Hatib the

make

I will, however,

it ?

my

foe are taking

cities,

how can

haste to build

I build

only the

it,

king must know that half of the materials which the

all

the gold and silver, Hatib hath

Of course

I did receive the envoy of Hatti

king gave me, and

carried

off.

with due honour, and

envoy I will give

Meanwhile

let

to

the king will only send his

if

him everything

I promised to give.

the king send ships, and chariots, and

arms, etc. (Brit. Mus. No. 29,818).

27.

Letters feom Kib-Adda, king of Gebal, to

THE King,

in

which he reports the following

concerning the revolt

says:

1.

Abd-Ashratum the "dog" has taken

sion of Simyra,
oflBcer to

and Syria, and

Palestine

in

facts

posses-

and the king must send an Egyptian

turn him out, and also a number of

officials

to carry on the business of the king in the city, other-

wise he will seize the property of the gods of Egypt.

Gebal and Hikubta belong

my

servant

whom

Abd-Ninib,

Send back

to the king.

sent

with

Buhiya

The city of Gebal is, and always has been

We
loyal, but now the Habiri are very powerful.
have had to give up everything to Yarimuta that we
(B, 73).

might have food

to

eat

my

because we cannot sow corn

fields

and

yield

all

my

no harvest
cities,

both

those in the mountains and those on the shores, have

fallen into the

has

seized

Ammiya

hands of the Habiri.

Shigata,

to kill their

and
lord

persuaded
;

Abd-Ashratum
the

people

and they have done

of
so.

Letter from Rib-Adda to the king of Egypt, reporting- the progress of the
rebelUon under Aziru. British Museum, No. 29,801.

RIB-ADDA AND THE KING OF EGYPT

He

has

now

written to Bit-Ninib and told

As

thereof to do the same.

me, I

for

a bird in a cage, and I fear that there

my

was paid

to

affairs of

your land

shut up like

none

is

people

to deliver

great

the trouble

is

my

two of

last

number

collected a

Abd-Ashratum

Mus. No. 29,795).

the

why will you not attend to the

Amanappa the Egyptian official
him therefore, for he knows how
which has come upon me (Brit.

letter

with you, question

of the Habiri, has taken Shigata

Send

their hands.

trying to take

is

and that " dog," having

cities,

and Ambi, and I have nowhere

in

tlie

I wrote to the palace of the king, but no attention

me.

is

am

2I3

to flee;

soldiers

Simyra

under an able

officer,

I beg the

and regain your former hold upon the land.

king not to neglect this matter (B. 74).

also is

Abd-Ashratum

has heard that I have reported his dealings to the

king, but

it

has had no

Amanappa's

me

the

capture

arrival all the Habiri

" dog

my

upon him (B.

effect

"

two

Abd-Ashratum

cities,

here to me, for I

am

Since

50).

have been against

is

still

trying

to

and the king must send troops

shut up in G-ebal like a bird in a

cage with nothing to eat.

If

you cannot send

soldiers,

then the "dog" will gain possession of your lands

(B. 75).

Why

application for
friends with
did, I

me

has not an answer been sent to

men and

horses

If I were to

make

Abd-Ashratum, as Yapa-Adda and Zimrida

should be delivered.

food,

my

and you should

him responsible

for

my

Yankhamu ought
tell

safety.

him that you

to send

will hold

If you will not do this

RIB-ADDA AND THE KING OF EGYPT

214

I must try to escape from

whom

tlie

city

with the friends

Mus. No. 29,797). I am

in Berut; send me help as fast as you can (B. 84).
have

left to

me

(Brit.

All the cities except Berut have fallen into the hands
of the Hahiri, but even now, if you send troops, all
will be well (B. 86).

people,
is

and the Shirdana and the

their lord.

come

Abd-Ashratum

to

my

Ashratum

am

still

letters,

and the

"

dog

of Berut, and

whole country (B. 89).

and told him several times

Abd-Ashratum has captured the

coming against me.

is

of Shuarbi is the gate of Gebal^

will

cannot move outside

to

me and

will

you

no answers

are closing in round the city of Gebal,

"

march out he

city,

he

and in two months' time Abd-

will be master of the

enemy

deceiving the

Suti, saying that

shut up in the

I have written to the king

that the

is

Behold, the city

and as soon as you

depart therefrom

my

city.

city

at

present

I beg you to hearken

send chariots as quickly as possible, and I

endeavour to hold this city until they come.

hearken Gebal must

will not

fall,

If

and the whole

country as far as Egypt will be in the possession of

the Habiri

without help.

am

not strong enough to hold this city

Although Gebal has always been loyal

the envoy of the king of Accho was more honourably

received than was mine, and horses were given to

him

Mus. 29,800). I have already told the king

that for two years we have had no harvest, and now
we have no grain to eat. I beg you to send me grain
(Brit.

in ships to keep

me and my

city alive,

and send me

RIB-ADDA AND THE KING OF EGYPT

400 men and 30 pairs of horses

let

215

the grain which

The king of
intended to come

used to be sent to Simyra be sent to me.

Tana went against

had no water

against Gebal, but he

had

therefore

join

me

left

father

[i.e.,

of Amurri.

Amen-hetep

III.]

Sidon, the lands have fallen into the hands of the

Behold, Tyre

Habiri (B. 48).

and

Abd-Ashratum out

when your

and

for his troops

If only one king would

to turn back.

I could drive

Since the time

and

Simyra

I sent

my

you doubt

if

my

is in a state

my

words ask

of rebellion,

brother Yamilki.

possessions to Tyre for safety, but

Tyrians have slain their general and also

her sons.

I sent

my

sister's

and

sister

daughters to Tyre fearing

My

Abd-Ashirta (B. 49).

my

now the

messenger has

returned

from Egypt and brought no soldiers with him, and

now my

brother, seeing this, will turn against me.

cannot come to Egypt, for I

The gods

very sick.

my

soldiers

son, do

for

old,

hearken unto him and send

city,

the people to deliver

Do

Abd-Ashratum.

full

to

me

on the very day on which soldiers came to

utmost to hold the

there are

sick,

have sent a message

Gebal the city would return to him.

it

and I am

of Gebal are wroth with me, for

I have sinned against them.

you by

am

much

it

but

my

brother

into the

am
is

doing

stirring

my
up

hands of the sons of

not, do not forsake the city, for in

gold and silver, and the temples are

of possessions, all of w^hich will be theirs if they

take the

city.

only give

But do

as

me Buruzilim

you please in respect of me,

to live in

if

Gebal

falls

then

RIB-ADDA AND THE KING OF EGYPT

2l6
I

go to AmmTinira.

shall

Since

sous of Abd-

tlie

Asliratum are gainicg the mastery over me, and no

word

breath) comes to

(literally,

my

the king, I declare nnto

be their

will

me from

lord that,

the month of

Gebal

indeed,

In ancient days when the king

city.

neglected this city our fathers did not pay tribute to

him

do not you neglect

how can

yourself," but

it

I do

it ?

neither foot nor horse-soldiers

me ?

what

I will defend your city with

all

my

to testify to

loyalty you

the same (B. 44).

The

forces

will

become of

life,

and do not

my

me

hearken unto those who slander

none

You say, "defend

You have sent me

(B. 71).

even

if

know that it exists

of Abd-Ashratum are

joining the Habiri and are going to attack

If you send

troops (B. 59).

and Miluha

at once

the king again

and with

I have no

your heart has any care

You wish

send soldiers.

men and
all

me

horses from

send

Egypt

speed I may live to serve

money

to

for the city

that

there be

buy horses.

If

my

life,

and

for

Haia should be taken

to

Simyra, and I say that he arrived there with his letter

and I gave 13 manehs of

in the night time,

to the

Habiri as a

gift

have nothing more to give

I sent two messengers to Egypt, but they did

(B. 57).

not return

they carried a letter from

complain that I write evil tidings, but

heed to

silver, etc.,

my

me
if

to you.

You

you had paid

words Aziru would have been captured.

If I receive no help the Habiri will take the country,

and

if

you

will

Yankhamu and

not send

me

soldiers

then instruct

Biliura to go forth and they can occupy

RIB-ADDA AND THE KING OF EGYPT

Amurru in one day. I liave

with Yapa-Adda and Hatib
send someone
country

tlie

ot

217
a dispute

between

and whatsoever shall be taken from them

us,

Send

be the property of the king.

shall

and men from Mikiha^

How

for I

and with what am I

Once there were

city ?

judge

to

sent grain to feed

them

have no means (B. 45).

to defend

now

myself and the

and Yarimuta

here,

soldiers
;

soldiers

have neither

cattle

nor provisions, because Aziru by his raids has carried

Meanwhile the sons of Abd-Ashratum

off everything.

"dogs," and they do whatsoever they

are

burn the king's

cities

with

fire (Brit.

Mus. No. 29,802).

Bihura has committed a shameful deed, the

which has never been heard

who have

Suti

Nathan-Adda,

irama,

sent to Egypt,
of

and

that they

Send me Abd-

whom Bihura

Abd-milki,

may

me

protect

Abd-Ashratum have seized the land

No. 29,803).

am

Simyra,

in

send

soon as possible, for the people are

will

run away

if

like of

he hath sent the

of:

Shirdanu.

killed the

and

like,

you do not send me

and Simyra are the only two places

the sons

Mus.

(Brit.

me

help

disaffected
soldiers
left

to

as

and

Irkata

you in

the land, for the sons of Abd-Ashratum have invaded

Amurri

(B.

daughters,

77).

have

sold

and the wood from

to Yarimuta,

my sons, and my
my houses for food

and I have nothing

have killed Aduna, king of Irkata

taken

all

the IvuU lands

left.

The Habiri

the Hatti have

and the kings of Mitanni

and Nahrina are hostile (B.

79).

repeat what

RIB-ADDA AND THE KING OF EGYPT

2l8

have already
remain

said, listen to

make him your

to

I say

him,

capture

out (B. 41).

Gebal,

before

is

for

send

therefore

my

Aziru has captured twelve of

and demands as ransom 50 manehs of

am

soldiers

otherwise Simyra cannot

captured in the city of Yibuliya the

besieged by a

and

you,

son of Abd-

the

Aziru,

inspector.

Buribita

let

Simyra and keep Haib with

in

Ashratum,

what

silver

men

hold

men,

he has

I sent to

ships from Simyra,

Simyra

Berut,

and Sidon, and Yapa-Adda and Aziru have

my

some of

captured

sea to take others.

word

so that I

If

fleet of

ships,

and they have put

you cannot help me send me

may know what

I beg

are very strong.

to

you to

to do

tell

your enemies

Yarimuta

to send

am your loyal servant, take heed

to me, for I love my lord the king (Brit. Mus. No.
You tell me to occupy Simyra, but I am
29,796).
not strong enough and Ambi has now rebelled against
me

food

indeed I

me, and the governors of that city and

are

its elders

Mus. 29,806).

in league with

Abd-Ashratum^s sons

(Brit.

The sons

Abd-Ashratum have

seized your horses

of

and

chariots.

me

write

Although people write

am your
to

you.

loyal servant,

lies to

you about

and what I hear I

These men are " dogs

"

will

and do not

The messages of other kings are

attended to_, but mine are not send me 20 men from
Simyra is
Egypt and 20 from Miluha (B. 42).
Abd-Ashratum has
caught like a bird in a trap.
fear your soldiers.

seized

Ullaza (B.

51).

Simyra has

fallen,

and

RIB-ADDA AND THE KING OF EGYPT

could not prevent

it,

219

because for five years past the

me

people hate been hostile to

Bumabula,

(B. 43).

way

the son of Abd-Ashratum, hath forced his

iuto

Ullaza, and the cities of Ardata, Yihliya, Ambi, and

Shigata are his

he and his brothers are in league

Mitanni and the king of Kash.

with the king of

In old times you did not hesitate

threatened to attack your

to act

if

and now that they

cities,

have expelled your viceroy and taken his

do you remain inactive?

(B.

enemies

why

cities

Abd-Ashratum's

60).

sons are the servants of the kings of Mitanni, and

Kash, and Hatti

We

(B. 61).

have received some

from Yarimuta through the intervention

provisions

of Pahamnata, the king's officer; the foe

do

not neglect

Berut, and
fall into

for three

presence.

if

are

Aziru's hands.

When

not loyal

occupy them

am dead my

I
to

to

am

not

if

me?

son to you^ but

to

enter your
to

Sidon and Berut

(B. 58).

send an

the present inhabitants

walk into
;

if

it

(B. 54).

officer

all

You

Ashratum has been troubling me

do

cities

the governors

favourable to Abd-Ashratum (B. 53).

to

the

leave

you neglect your

the Habiri will take them, for

to

will

it

sons will write

therefore

not attend to what I write

I wrote

in

bring them back into their city;

you,

city the Habiri will

and

my

I sent

months he was not allowed

do you neglect

cities are

80).

mighty,

you order me to leave Gebal

you and ask you

why

(B.

city

this

is

of

Abd-

for a long time past,

your father [Amen-hetep III.] asking

RIB-ADDA AND THE KING OF EGYPT

220

Haib

for troops.

lias

handed over Simyra, and you

must not be unmindful

of tlie killing of yolir viceroy.

If

you delay in taking action Bihura cannot remain

in

Kumidi, and

all

your chiefs will be killed (Brit.

My

Mus. No. 29,801).

me

family urge

to join the

son of Abd-Ashratum, but I heed them not; I have

written to

often

went

letters.

you,

but you

to consult with

house was closed to me.

and

soldiers,

been given

to

Simyra has

fallen,

have

it

Ammunira, but the

your mind I shall

alter

Two men and two women have

be a dead man.

in

my

answer

not

I await the arrival of your

you do not

if

do

the

rebel

Mus. No. 29,799).

(Brit.

and the people of G-ebal who were

been killed;

now

send

and

soldiers

chariots to protect the city, but if these do not arrive

during the summer the enemy will take the city and
slay me.

Biuri, the king's officer,

and the Egyptian

to me.

If

know

that

want

to

Pahamnata

be said there

it

this

is

Mus. No. 29,807).

arrival

official

is

Though

the

city

send troops, for

here as your fathers did.

shameful act

who
;

have

every city

has not come.

defend the city because you

Shuti

for troops,

(Brit.

the king announced the

dead who will defend the city

the

will not listen

no food here

the case with

of Iribayashshi, he

save

has been killed,

you

If

when

am

I cannot

(B. 46).

do not keep a garrison

Pahura has sent men

slain

the

Shirdani

of

most

he also sent three men to Egypt, and

since that time

the city has been in

revolt

against

RIB-ADDA AND THE KING OF EGYPT

me

(B.

Formerly

47).

kings of Canaan fled at

tlie

the sight of the king of Egypt, but

do

so,

now they do not

and the sons of Abd-Ashratum are in possession

of the country.

Simyra, for

all

my

am

unable to take your envoy into

cities are in

and their princes are

my

the hands of the enemy,

of Zaluhhi

the city of Ugariti, for I cannot send

formerly troops and

now nothing

money were

comes.

the other princes help

You must

foes (B. 52).

what you want from the country

but

221

my

get

and from

ships there

sent here from Egypt,

Aziru makes war on me, and

him

their ships sail wherever

they please and they obtain everything they want.

The men

of the Hatti are plundering the people of

Gebal (B. 76).

to bring

I have no one to defend me, send ships

me and my gods

to

you (B.

87).

I send letters to you as other kings do

possession of their

cities,

and enjoy

rest.

Why

cannot

They

are in

What have

done to deserve the treatment which Yapa-Adda has

meted out
and
an

my

to

me

two of

my

possessions carried

officer to

get

them back

ships have been seized,

off,

for

and I ask you

me

(B. 63).

to send

The

city

Gebal, your handmaiden, and I your servant, are loyal

to you.

All the cities

are going over to the sons of

Abd-Ashratum, and they have revolted against me.

Haib is with you, question him, and if it is your good
pleasure send soldiers to protect your cities as speedily
as

you can.

I have already written to you in these

terms, but have received no answer from you (B. 66):

" I

have sent

my

son to

my

lord the king,

my

god,

my

222

RABIMUR, THE IRKATIANS, ETC.

''

my

Sim, let

" chariots with

my

" the king,

my

lord the king,

my
god,

son to defend the

my

Let

sun.

my

god,

my

send

sim,

cities of

my

lord

my

lord the king,

my sun, send chariots to bring me to my lord the

" king, my god, my sun, that I may go into the presence
''of my lord the king, my god, my sun, and tell him
"god,

"

what

"of
"

my

Behold, I

have done.
lord the king,

my

god,

am

the faithful servant

[my

sun], and behold, I

have sent a messenger into the presence of

"the king,
28.

ing

my

god,

my sun"

to use his influence at the

which had

fallen into

ask-

Egyptian court

secure the despatch of soldiers, and to send

which would enable him

lord

(B. 198).

Letters from Eib-Adda to Amanappa,

him

since

my

to

him help

to regain possession of Berut,

the

Eib-Adda had sent

hands of Abd-Ashratum

his

envoy to Egypt

Mus. Nos. 29,798, 29,804, 29,806,

(Brit.

etc.).

Letters from Eabimur to the King.

Eabimur was the brother of Eib-Adda, and seized the
29.

city

during his brother's absence in Berut.

He

reports

that Aziru has killed Aduna, king of Irkata, and the

king of Ammiya, and has occupied Amki, and

doubt, a

member

of

the

is,

no

confederacy which

hostile

includes the king of Hatti and the king of Narima,

i.e.,

The king must not believe the accusawhich have been made against him, for they are

Mesopotamia.
tions

absolutely false, as the Egyptian officials themselves

<ian testify (Brit.
30.

Mus. No. 29,828

B. 91).

Letter from the people of Irkata to the

AMMUNIRA AND AKIZZI

223

King, stating that the report made by the Egyptian

who had been

official

that they are loyal

They had,

it is

sent to their city

subjects

is false,

and

of the king of Egypt,

true, fortified their city,

but that was

against Shankn, and they were waiting for help from

Egypt

(Brit. Miis.

No. 29,825).

Letters from Ammunira, Governor of

Berut, to the King. He promises to do all that
31.

the king wishes, expresses his loyalty, and says that

he will guard his city on the king's behalf, and will

receive

Eib-Adda when

he

forward the king's ships as

Berut

(Brit.

comes,

soon

as

and

send

will

they

arrive at

Mus. 29,809, 29,810; B. 211).

Letters from Akizzi, Governor of Katna,

to Amenophis III. (1) Akizzi says that ever since his
32.

fathers became the vassals of the king of

Egypt

his

land has been that of the king of Egypt, and that

whea the Egyptian

came thereto they were

supplied with meat, and drink, and cattle, and sheep,
and
it

oil,

and honey

troops

but since Katna belongs to Egypt

must be protected by Egyptian troops and

chariots,

and unless they be sent soon Aziru and the Hatti

take the whole district of Nuhashshi.

has carried

off

As

it is,

Aziru

some of his people, and, worse than

the king of Hatti has

will

that,

carried off the statue of the

Sun-god, whose worship the Egyptians bad imposed

upon the country, on which the Egyptian king had

inscribed his name.

king of Egypt to

The people of Akizzi now ask the

send money enough to ransom the

NAMYAWIZA OF KUMIDI

224
people

who have been

carried

statue of the Sun-god, in

to inscribe
(Brit.

Mus. No. 29,819).

is still alive,

and

back the

to get

which case they ask the king

name upon

his

off,

it,

Akizzi reports that he

(2)

and declares that

even as did his father

if

he receives any letters

from the king of Hatti he will send them on to Egypt

he goes on to say that Aidagamma

is

hostile to him,

and that Tiuwatti of Lapana and Arzauni of Kuhizi

and that they are wasting the

are in league with him,

land with

On

fire.

other hand,

the

the kings

Nuhashshi, and Zinsar^ and Ni, and Kinanat

The king

himself, loyal to the king.

do

course,

as

he pleases, but

if

of

of

are, like

Egypt

can, of

he will not come

himself then let him send troops, and whatsoever gifts

he needs from the people they will give him.

is

thought anything at

him send troops and

let

all

of in the king's

them march

Katna
mind let

If

When

[at once].

once Arzanni and Tinwatti are in the land of Ubi, and

Dasha

in the land

is

of

Amma, then

let

the

understand that Ubi no longer belongs to him

men send
conqner

king
these

Aidagamma and say to him, " Go,

As Damascus in the
land of Ubi."

daily to

all

the

land of Ubi stretcheth out her hand to the feet of the

king, even so doth

Katna

stretch out her

hand

(Brit.

Mus. Nos. 29,812, 29,820).

33. Lettee
from Namyawiza,
KuMiDi, TO THE KiNG OF Egypt.
that he
that

is

it is

Goveenor of
Namyawiza reports

holding Kumidi for the king, and declares

not himself but *Biridashwi

who has

seized

ITAKAMA OF KADESH
the cities of

Innuamma and

them over

to

the

Ashtarti and has delivered

Habiri

Busruna and the king

225

moreover,

Halunni are

of

king

the

of

in league with

Arsawaya has occupied Gizza and Shaddu, and

him.

he has, moreover, joined in a conspiracy against the

king with Aziru and Itakama, and he

is also in

league

In

with Biridashwi to attack the country of Abitu.

another letter

Namyawiza

reports to the king concern-

Bawanamash have

ing the raids which Biridashwi and

made

Mus. No. 92,826,

into the royal territory (Brit,

B. 96,159).

Letter from Itakama, G-oveenor of Kadesh,

TO THE King. Itakama reports that Namyawiza has
34.

seized certain lands

and wasted them with

declares that he

a loyal subject, a fact to which

is

Puhari will bear testimony

the

all

Itakama

is

chariots,

and he

utterly,

servant of
35.

He

Namyawiza has

belonging to

cities

Kadesh and Ubi

him

into the

Egypt

delivered

lands

of

all

his

troops

and

march against him and destroy

and he concludes with the words, " I am a

my

lord the king for ever" (B. 142).

Letter from Zimrida of Sidon to the King.

reports that Sidon

is

prosperous and that he

ready to perform his lord's wishes

know

the

and

hands of the Habiri, but

determined to collect
will

in

fire,

that

all

the

cities

is

ever

but the king must

over which

he had been

appointed have fallen into the hands of the Habiri, and

he must have help from the Egyptian general before he

can regain possession of them.
VOL. IV.

He

wishes the general

226

ABI-MILKI, KING OF

TYRE

to give back tlie cities to liim so that

serve

tbe

lord

liis

may

lie

be able to

king even as his fathers did in

former times (B. 90,182).

36.

Group of Letters from Abi-milki of Tyre to

THE King.

He

(1)

says that he

" the sandals of his lord the king,

is

who

" riseth over the lands each day."

as to the joy

which he

felt

''the dust beneath

is

the sun which

After some remarks

on the receipt of the king's

words he expresses his devoted loyalty, and says that he

is

guarding Tyre

until the

and will continue

for the king,

to do so

Egyptian troops come and give him water

drink and wood to burn to keep him warm.

to

But the

king must know that Aziru, the son of Abd-Ashratum^

is

in league with Zimrida of Sidon.

for troops to defend Tyre,

and then he

certain rebels have betrayed

Ulzu.

is

It

Abi-milki asks
will go

Aziru has been doing

the face of the king.

and what

(2)

Simyra into

and see

evil,

and

his hands,

very serious, Zimrida of Sidon hath seized

is

known from one

of the Sallier Papyri

that Tyre was supplied with water by means of boats,

and Ulzu was the name in the XVIIIth Dynasty of the

place from which

doubt,

on

desperate,

the
for,

it

was brought

mainland.
as

this

Abi-milki's

place v/as, no
position

was

he says, he has neither wood, nor

water, nor the materials for performing the last offices

for the dead.

Zimrida

is

in league with Aziru,

and the

people of Arvad have collected their ships and have

gathered together their soldiers and chariots, meaning

1

See

Tell

el-Amarna Tablets in the British Museum,

p. Ivii.

TYRE

ABI-MILKI, KING OF
to

make an

227

attack upon Tyre by sea and by land.

milki entreats

may go and

Abi-

king to send liim a letter so that

tlie

and be

see tlie king,

states tliat

be

obliged to send this tablet to tbe king by the

of a

common

to send

soldier.

twenty

and water,

men

is

hand

Abi-milki entreats the king

(3)

and begs

to protect Tyre,

for

wood

communications with the main-

for all bis

land have been

lie

cut

off,

and since the enemy has

blockaded him he has not been able to obtain either

wood

In answer to the king's demand

or water.

information,

for

he reports that the king of Danuna

is

dead, that his brother has succeeded him, and that the

country

is

Half of the

peaceful.

been burnt with

fire,

city of Ugarit

has

Itakama has captured the

city

of Kadesh, Aziru has joined

has collected a number

royal

ships

Abi-milki

begs

" ever(4) After salutations to the

earnestly for help.

lasting Sun-god,"

of

Namyawiza, and Zimrida

i.e.,

command which

the king, Abi-milki refers to the

ordered

him

to provide

Shalmayati

with corn and water, and reports that this has not been
done, and suggests that the king

arrangements for doing

in

Tyre there

is

this.

must make his own

The king must know that

neither wood, nor water, nor anything

which can be eaten.

Abi-milki begs the king to defend

" Shalmayati's city,"

and he reports the

arrival of the

king of Sidon in a ship, and declares that he (Abi-milki)

will

depart with his ships from Tyre.

(5)

Abi-milki

reports that he has sent a gift to the king, and asks

him

to cause the city of

Usu, whence he obtained his

SURATA AND ZATANA

228

water supply, to be restored to him, and to send him

food for himself, and ten companies

defend the

The Egyptian general does not seem

city.

behaving loyally

to be

of soldiers to

(?)

he does not

to Abi-milki, for

allow him to obtain supplies from the city of

The kings

the mainland.

Usu on

and Hasor have

of Sidon

joined themselves to the Habiri, and the king should

now hold he
officer who is in
now the Egyptian

take back from them the land which they

can inquire on this matter of his

Kinahhi.

(6)

Abi-milki reports that

him

troops have left Tyre Zimrida will not allow

mainland

to the

for

wood and water

some of Abi-milki's

slain

forces,

to go

he has already

and

the

king

is

entreated earnestly to protect his servant (Brit. Mus.

Nos. 28-31, B. 98, 99, 162, 231).

Letters from Surata of Accho to the King,

37.

reporting his fidelity, and describing himself as " the

" servant of the king, the dust of his
" on

which he walketh

" lord the king,

"

who

is

"
;

he

feet,

says, "

and the earth

At the

feet of

my

the sun in heaven, seven times

and seven times with belly and back I prostrate

" myself."
" the

And

in a verbose fashion he asks, "

sun in the heavens speaketh, what king would not

"hearken and obey?" (B.

38.

When

93).

Letters from Zatana, king of Accho, to the

King, saying that Shuta, an Egyptian

ordered

him

refuge with

him from
is

has

up Zirdaiashda, who has taken

to give

but since Accho

official,

before the anger of

like

Namyawiza,

Migdol in Egypt,

i.e.,

since

ARTAMANYA, LAPAYA, SHUARDATA

Accho being an Egyptian
fortresses

city

is

like

22g

one

the

of

on the frontier of Egypt, he thinks that

Zirdaiashda must not be given up to his foes (B. 32,

94, 95).

Letter from Artamanya, king of ZirBashan, to the King, reporting loyalty (B. 132).
40. Letters from Lapaya to the King, explaining
how the city was captured by the enemy, and denying
the charge of rebellion which has been made against
him he says, " Indeed I am a loyal servant of the
"king, I have neither sinned against him nor made
39.

"rebellion against him, and

am

ready to pay the

am bound to pay, and to perform the

my chief. Indeed they have told false-

" taxes which I

"commands

of

" hoods about

"

me, but

have been rebellious."

not the king think that I

let

It is true that I did go into

the city of Gezer, but that was

if

only he will examine into the reports against

me made by
not

obtain

and the king may take everything which I

soldiers;

have

in order to

Milkili and decide concerning them.

know what has happened

to

he has joined the Habiri or not.

were to write to
send her, and
a bronze

if

me

for

my

I do

Dummuya,

or

whether

Moreover,

if

the king

wife I would not refuse to

he were to order

me

to stab myself with

dagger and die I would certainly do

so

(B. 112).

41.

Letters from Shuardata to the King.

Shuardata has taken the city of

against the wish of the king

Kilti,

(1)

apparently

Abdi-khiba tried

to bribe

LETTERS FROM MILKILI

230
tlie

Abdi-kliiba has taken

i.e.,

On

of Kilti, but failed.

people

tlie city

of Sliuardata^ whilst he,

Shuardata, has not taken an ox, or an

man from him

Lapaya who was

or his city.

with Abdi-khiba, and plundered onr

dead.

(2)

Shuardata

because

parently

he

cities

ass, or

in league

with him,

is

unable to go to Egypt, ap-

is

money,

no

has

Yankhamu, the Egyptian

hand

other

tlie

ofiBcial, is

in

moreover,

as

Egypt he can

tell

the king whether Shuardata has any troops in his city

Thirty towns are in league against Shuardata,

or not.

and his enemies are mighty, and he himself

the king must help him.
fallen

let

The

(3)

is

only one

has

city of Kilti

the king send troops and then he will be

able to besiege the victors and to drive

them out from

the city (B. 100, 101, 107).

42.

from Milkili to the King.

Letters

(1)

Milkili reports the safety of his city, and the despatch

of slaves,
hostile,

men and women.

The enemy

and he begs the king

from the Habiri

appealing to

to

are exceedingly

rescue the country

the king can verify his statements by

Yankhamu.

Milkili

went

to

Egypt

to see

the king, and probably as a result of the remarks which

he made to him concerning

to Milkili's

money from

city,

Yankhamu

and carried

his brother,

off

this official

large

went

amount of

and demanded that his wife

and children should be produced that he might slay

them.
to take

Milkili prays that the king will send chariots

him and the oppressor

king without delay.

to the presence of the

In another letter Milkili begs

ABDI-KHIBA,

may

that troops

him some

GOVERNOR OF JERUSALEM

23I

be sent, and wishes the king to send

Mus. Nos. 29,845,

object as a gift (Brit.

29,846, B. 107-110).

Letter from a Eoyal Lady to the King,

43.

reporting that strife has broken out in the land, and

that the king's territory has passed into the hands of

who have plundered Ayaluna

the Habiri

(Ajalon) and

The

Sarha; the two sons of Milkili are mentioned.

lady in her second letter reports that the city of Sapuna

has been taken by the Habiri

(?)

(B. 138).

from Abdi-khiba, governor of

Jerusalem, to the King. The first of these letters
Letters

44.

"What

opens with a question in which the writer says,

" [offence] have I committed against

He

continues,

"

'

king.'

Behold,

it

was not

was the mighty arm

me master
?

concerning

father and

of the lands

"

in

and

liveth,

this position, but it

who made

my father.
against my lord

they are

Yankhamu),

(i.e.,

to the

lying-

all

Habiri

(i.e.,

'

Why
the

my
dost

king's

with roughness the heads of

treat

tribes of the country

was not

king because I said unto

to the

show favour

enemies),

me

and possessions of

As the king

me

it

of the king himself

lord the king's general

[if

my

then should I make rebellion

the king

thou

concerning

lied

mother who stablished me in

Why

king

Abdi-khiba has rebelled against his lord the

saying,

my

Someone has

my lord the

?
'

And

because I say also that

this policy be followed] the territories of

my

the king will be laid waste, they speak against

lord

me

to

ABDI-KHIBA, GOVERNOR OF JERUSALEM

232

"

my

lord

my

Let

^'the king.

know

lord the king

had established an outpost

"Yankhamu

has removed

take heed to his land

if

that the king

[in this city],

.... The

it."

but

king must

he wishes to keep

The

it.

king of Egypt which were under the rule

cities of the

of Ilu-milki have rebelled,

and

if this

sort of thing

continues the whole of the king's possessions in the

country will be

Abdi-khiba

lost.

is

very anxious to go

Egypt that he may look upon the

to

face of the king,

but he cannot leave Jerusalem because his enemies are

too

mighty

men

for

him

if

the king will send a company of

guard the city then he will go

to

He

look upon the face of the king.

to

Egypt and

swears by the

life

of the king that he never ceases to

warn every

that the territory of the king

slipping out of his

hands, and

is

official

the king will not take heed to the warn-

if

ing which he

is

him he will soon have

The king should
the land.

now sending

no vassal princes

left

in

to

take heed to his vassal princes, and he should send

troops
all

Habiri have laid waste

indeed, already the

the king's lands, and he has nothing

left.

If the

king will only send soldiers in the course of the present

year his hold on the land
will not do

The

last

scribe

"

two

who

Speak

so,

then

lines

all

may

be maintained, but

he

his possessions will be lost.

contain

this

exhortation

shall read this letter to the king of

clearly,

if

and make the king

" stand the following words,

"the king are being destroyed

^AU

my

utterly.'

the

Egypt

lord to under-

the lands of
"

to

my

lord

ABDI-KHIBA,

GOVERNOR OF JERUSALEM

233

In his second letter Abdi-kliiba begins by reporting

some occurrence, but what, the mutilated

text prevents us from

say that

knowing

exactly,

the kings round

all

state of the

and goes on

about are conspiring

own

against him, and that the king must look after his
land,

and the people of Gezer, Ascalon, and Lachish

have undertaken
oil,

to

to provide their troops

with meat and

and everything which they may require.

All these

things are happening through Milkili and the sons of

Lapaya, who are bent on handing over the country of

the king into the hands of the Habiri.

If the king-

remain

will only send troops this year the princes will

loyal to Egypt, and the king will keep

own

but

repeats, "

my

" the

nor

Behold

father nor

lands to the

this country of

my

mighty arm

"me."

is

his

they come not there will remain neither

princes

loyal

"

if

what

mother gave

Abdi-khiba

king.

Jerusalem
it

Neither

unto me, but

of the king himself

who gave

it

it

was

unto

Abdi-khiba explains his reasons for treating

the Kashi as he did, but

if

the king has any doubt

about the propriety of his acts

Egyptian

officials

concerning

let

him

the

matter.

revolted,

but as soon as the Egyptian

went up

to

Abdi-khiba

inquire of the

officer

Jerusalem Adaya made peace

is

Adaya

with him.

unable to ensure a safe conduct for the

transport, because the last convoy

was robbed on the

plain of Ajalon; nevertheless the king has set his

upon the

city

Paura

name

of Jerusalem for ever, and he cannot

therefore leave the

country round about

it

to its fate.

ABDI-KHIBA, GOVERNOR OF JERUSALEM

234

The

last

scribe in
*'

two paragraphs are addressed

Egypt

my

speak clearly and make the king

king,' "

the

him

in the first Abdi-khiba begs

" stand these words,

""

to the royal-

'

am

man

lord to under-

in authority under

and in the second he appears

beg

to

for

In his

the scribe's support in the affair of the Kashi,

third letter Abdi-khiba says

to

Behold, the king hath

name from the rising up of the sun even

unto the going down of the same. They have told lie
upon lie about me. Indeed (or lo !), I am no personage
of rank, nay, I am but a humble servant of my lord the
stablished his

king

am

man

in authority under the king,

bring tribute unto him.

my

mother who stablished

father,

but

came

me

to

me

father nor

over the lands of

the mighty arm of the king

it w^as

When

himself.

my

was neither

It

and I

my

my
lord

Shiita and the other Egyptian officer

I gave each

things as gifts for the king.

them

of

slaves

The kings

and other

of all the land

between Shiri and Ginti-kirmil have rebelled, and they

treat

me

Whilst the king had ships upon the

as a foe.

sea the mighty

hand

of the king

was in possession of

Nahrima and Kash, but now the Habiri hold these

places,

and the king has not one loyal prince

left.

and yet the

king-

Turbasa was

slain at the gate of Zilu,

does nothing

The servants

their utmost to capture

does nothing

and

kill

Yapti-Addu has

gate of Zilu, and

still

of Zimrida

him, and
also

are

still

doing

the king

been slain at the

the king does nothing.

The

king must take heed to his land, and send troops, but

GOVERNOR OF JERUSALEM

ABDI-KHIBA,
if lie will

not do

tliis

and

to rescue Abdi-kliiba

may
of

must send one

lie

is

begged

Ms

officials

that tliey

brethren, so

Finally, the scribe of the king

die with the king.

Egypt

liis

of

235

to speak clearly these

words to the

In his fourth letter Abdi-khiba reports that

king.

Milkili has revolted, and has joined himself to the sons

of

Lapaya and the sons

of Arzawaya, and asks

why

the

king of Egypt has not punished him for so doing.

Milkili and his father-in-law Tagi have taken the city

of Eubutu, and none of the king's troops are left there.

The official Puru

him a company

Yankhamu
In his

of

soldiers

Shuardata have

Abdi-khiba reports that Milkili and

gathered

and Gimti, and

of

district

Abdi-khiba asks that

be sent to look after the king's possessions.

fifth letter

Gazri,

Gaza, and the king should give

is in

together

Kilti,

the

soldiers

and have seized

of

the

Eubutu, which has thereby fallen into the

hands of the Habiri, and

is

thus lost to the king of

Moreover, a city called Bit-Ninib, which

Egypt.

is

actually in the country beloDging to Jerusalem, has

been taken by the Kilti.

his servant Abdi-khiba

may

Let the king hearken

to

and send him troops that he

regain possession of the lands of the king, for

he does so the whole country will

unless

the hands of the Habiri.

The other

letters

fall

into

of Abdi-

khiba contain frequent and earnest requests for help,

and report the rebellious

sons
199).

of

Lapaya,

etc.

(B.

acts

Nos.

of Milkili,

102-106,

Tabi,

149,

the
174,

ADDU-MIHIR, TAGI, BIRIDIYA

236

Letters from Addu-Mihir, assuring the king

45.

of his loyalty

and

from Tagi,

Letters

46.

He

Milkili.
letters

and

fidelity (B. 167, 168).

reports that he

gifts to the

tunately, sick

this

father-in-law

the
is

unable to send his

king because he

fact

says, " Behold, our eyes are

upon

now, unfor-

district.

thee, for

He

whether we

go up into the heights of heaven, or descend into the

" depths of earth our head is

is

is

the king can verify by con-

sulting the Egyptian inspector of the

"

of

still

in thy hand."

He

very anxious to send the gifts which are due to the

king, and he will do his best to do so

friend,

who

is

by the hands of a
Li his second

also in the king's service.

Tagi says, " I look hither and I look thither,

letter

"

and there

"

upon the

is

no light whatsoever, but when I look

face of

my lord

the king there

is light."

sends with his protestations of fidelity a

gift.

He

In his

third letter he reports that someone has plundered his

land and carried off men,

now he no

and sheep, and that

longer has any authority over the cities

which the king entrusted

to

him.

Tagi sends this

through Pahura, and begs that a company of

letter

soldiers with horses

Brit.

silver,

may

be sent (B. Nos. 156, 169

Mus. No. 29,853).

Letters from Biridiya of Megiddo. (1) Eeporting that the two sons of Lapaya are giving help to
47.

the Habiri, and asking the king to take heed to his

possessions.
city of

(2)

Eeporting that he

is

guarding the

Makida both by day and by night on behalf

of

WYASHDATA, SHUARDATA
the king, and that

made

and complaining of harsh treatment

at the

(3)

Keporting some

hands of the king's enemies.

soon as the Egyptian soldiers

the city

left

Lapaya

Biridiya) to go outside the gate.

utmost to take the

city,

Lapaya cut

him

falls

(i.e.,

doing his

is

and Biridiya entreats the king

two companies of soldiers

Makida

for if

Keporting that as

(4)

supplies and would not allow

off the food

to send

obtaining great

are

gift

power in the country.

to the king,

Habiri

tlie

237

Lapaya

to

occupy and save

it,

him

to

will certainly cause

die a horrible death (B. Nos. Ill, 113-115).

48.

Letter from Wyashdata,

reporting that

the possessions which had been entrusted to

all

him by the

king have been seized by the people of Tada, and that

a raid has been

were driven

off;

made upon

his cattle

and many of them

he also announces that he has made a

who appears

league with Biridiya,

to

have been the

governor of Megiddo (Brit. Mus. No. 29,842).

49.
city.

Letters from Shuardata, the governor

Keporting that

(1)

that he
help,

is

left

alone

and accompanies

that he has been

all

his troops

have

of the

fled,

and

he makes the usual appeal

with a

it

left

alone,

gift.

(2)

for

Keporting

and begging

for

the

despatch of a large body of troops to help him out of

his

the

difficulties.

(3)

Keporting that he will perform

command which ''my

heaven, '^

lord the king, the sun-god in

hath sent him.

He

abases

himself seven

times in homage to the king, and declares that he

the

dust

of his

feet.

(4)

is

Keporting the continued

ABDI-TIRSHI, YAPAKHI

238

round

governors

the

of

hostility

about

him,

and

begging the king to send a body of troops to protect

him and
29,852
50.

his city

B. No. 190).

Hazor

Abdi - Tirshi

from

Letters

(Hazor).
of

Mus. Nos. 29,850, 29,851,

(Brit.

Khasur

of

Keporting that he will guard the city

(1)

until the

arrival of the king^s soldiers,

assuring the king that

when

his despatch reached

and

him

was just as

if

the sun had risen upon him; the news

that the king

is

about to come has

it

(2)

Eeporting that he

still

is

him with

filled

guarding the city on

behalf of the king, whose faithful servant he

which are round about

as all the towns

joy.

is,

as well

he trusts that

the king will keep in remembrance what hath befallen

the faithful and loyal

city,

he has endured in keeping

and also himself, and what

it

(Brit.

Mus. Nos. 29,830,

29,831).
51.
(1)

Letters from Yapakhi, Governor of Gezer.

Acknowledging the receipt of the king^s instruc-

tions,

which he well understands, and reporting his

loyalty and fidelity to the interests of the king.

brother has

made

a league with the Habiri,

him,

His

and has

and he and they are taking

rebelled

against

offensive

measures against him.

(2)

Acknowledging

the receipt of a further despatch, and saying that his

condition has become extremely serious because of the
attacks of the Suti people
bit

of good

but

if

only he could hear a

news from the king his heart would be

satisfied (Brit.

Mus. Nos. 29,832, 29,833).

widiya, yabitiri

Letters from Widya, Governor of Askelon.

52.

He

(1)

239

reports to the king that he

is

defending the

on his behalf, and that he has provided

city

honey,

sheep^

oil,

and

drink

the

for

cattle,

troops

he

expresses his readiness to pay the accustomed tribute.

(2)

He

again reports that he

which he has received

according to the instructions

from the " sun in the heavens."

to

defending the city

is

The king ordered him

pay as tribute a number of precious

sends part of them, for he cannot send

stones,

and he

all as his " lord

" the king, the sun in the heavens, the son of the sun,
"

whom

the sun loveth, commanded."

reports, saying that

(3-6)

Further

he has furnished supplies to the

king's troops, and that he is guarding his city on the

king^s behalf.

(7)

Keport expressing his loyalty, but

saying that he cannot protect the city any longer

without

help,

and

Egyptian

officer

Kianapa

29,836, 29,837
53.

begging

is

his loyalty,

no light anywhere
tile in

and move away from

for

is

Mus. No. 29,835,

Widya

its

liere cleverly applies to

accustomed in Egypt,

Ra-meri,

'^^^
j

i.e.,

and saying that

him but with the

the pavement

from his position under the

(Brit.

Letter from Yabitiri, Governor of Gaza

and that though the

loose

him

the

B. Nos. 118, 119, 121, 122).

AND JoppA, expressing

there

to

king to send

the

may become

place he will never

feet

king,

of the king.

move
If the

the king the titles to which he

Sa-Ra, ^v[^

" son of the Sun," and

" lover of the Sun," or "loved of the Sun."

DAGAN-TAKALA, ZIMRIDA, YABNI-ILU

240

king has any doubt

about

Yankbamii, wbo took bim

wbo knows bow

Egypt

to

faithfully

fact

this

as a

He

is

with the royal troops wherever they

and I
54.

The yoke

of the king

will bear it " (Brit.

ask

yonng man, and

be discharged his duties as

governor of G-aza and Joppa.

says, "

bim

let

my

lord is

ready

may

march

to

go,

and be

my

upon

neck,

Mus. No. 29,840).

Letters from Dagan-Takala to the Kma,

reporting his

loyalty,

and saying that even

as

Egypt

father and grandfather were loyal to the king of

so will be be

his

be begs that be may be rescued from the

Habiri and the Suti,

who have gained

great power in

the land (Brit. Mus. No. 29,857; B. No. 129).

55.
bis

Letter from Zimrida of Lachish,

loyalty,

and

saying

that he

will

reporting

perform the

commands of the king which have been duly brought

to bim by the Egyptian messenger (B. No. 123).
56. Letter from Yabni-ilu of Lachish, reporting
his

loyalty,

and

saying

that

he

will

perform the

commands of the king which have been duly brought

to bim by the envoy Maia (B. No. 124).
57. Letter said to

have been found

at Tell al-Hesi,

the supposed site of Lachish, reporting an

between Shipti-Addu

alliance

and Zimrida of Lachish

it is

thought to have been captured by the servants of

Zimrida of Lachish (Constantinople).
See Scheil, Recueil cle TravoMx, torn, xiii., 1891, pp. 73, 74;
Journal Asiatique, 8^^ serie,
Revve des Religions, March, 1891
i

torn. xvii. pp. 347-349.

24I

MISCELLANEOUS LETTERS
58.

Among

other writers of letters to

tlie

hetep lY. and his

officials

Shamhuna

may

be mentioned

AmenShamn-

(B. 131), Shubandi (Brit.

Adda

of

Nos.

29,821-29,823,

B.

116,

117,

120),

Mus.

Bayaya,

Shutarna of Mushihima, Pu-adda of Urza, Mut-Adda,

Yama, Addu-dayan, Shipti-Addu, Dashru,

Zitriyara^

Shatiya, the governor of Gubbu, the governor of Kanii,

Abi-milki of Shashimi, Amayashi, Yik-tasii, Badiiza,

Mutzu,

Eusmana, the

Hiziri,

Siirashar,

prince

of

Taruna, Zishamini, the prince of Nazuna, Diyati, Tagi,

Yahzibaya,

Yamyuta,

Subayadi, Inbaruta,

the

of

Gadashuna,

etc.

END OF

VOL. IV.

prince

VOL. IV.

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