Before the Throne

by Naguib Mahfouz

  For who ate at my table rose up against me,

  And all whom I trusted came to betray me.

  “So what did you reap from this?” he asked.

  “I do not deny that it affected me greatly during the first part of my reign,” answered Amenemhat III. “Every individual in my family was shaken by the conspiracy that nearly ended the life of my good and mighty grandfather—even those who were not yet born in his time. Some of my counselors urged me not to be clement with my subjects when they were rebellious or exceeded their proper bounds. Yet the heart does not hearken to a way of treating others except when it comes from an impulse within. I found that mine impelled me to love the people—I never hesitated to obey it, nor did I ever regret doing so.”

  “You were wrong, my son,” said Amenemhat I. “Only your luck saved you from destruction.”

  “Yet you held true to the right and to good guidance,” Ptahhotep commended him, “for when the heart speaks of goodness it is the God who has inspired it.”

  “How awful,” exclaimed Abnum bitterly. “To speak well now of when the people were in power has become a subject of dispute!”

  Isis then said, “This great and good son needs no defense for the portals of Paradise to open before him.”

  Osiris told him, “Go to your seat among the Immortals.”

  9

  HORUS CALLED OUT, “Kings Sebekemsaf, Neferhotep, Si-Hathor, Neferkhera, Intef, and Timaios!”

  The six entered in their shrouds and processed, bare of head and feet, until they stood before the throne.

  Thoth then recited, “They each ruled for a short time. Each reign was known for its weakness, corruption, and internecine fighting over the throne, as well as the encroachments of the provincial governors and priests, the despotism of officials, and the hunger of the people. The thieves among nations fixed their eyes upon Egypt, until the Hyksos came to occupy her, and she suffered disgrace.”

  Osiris bid them to speak, and Sebekemsaf replied, “I lived under threat from my family and my courtiers, and was unable to confront the challenges that faced me.”

  The others spoke after him, saying much the same thing—then there was silence.

  “Clearly,” lamented Abnum, “there was not in all Egypt a man whose heart beat with sincerity. The state of the nation at this time was much like that which rallied the peasants to revolt in ours.”

  “All you think about is revolution,” Amenemhat I upbraided him. “When I was governor of a nome, I found the country drowning in chaos. I did not therefore call for greater disorder, but trained my men and took over the throne, saving the land and the people, without violating our sacred customs, and without giving up either lives or honor.”

  “These men were feeble,” Isis added, “and nothing can be done for the weak.”

  “You committed unforgivable crimes against the rights of your country,” Osiris reproved the wretched sextet. “Weakness was not your only offense, for your hearts lacked nobility, and good intentions as well. Therefore, go to the Western Gate that leads unto Hell.”

  10

  HORUS HERALDED, “King Seqenenra!”

  A thin, tallish man came in, marching in his shroud until he stood before the throne.

  Thoth, Scribe of the Gods, then recited, “He was Prince of Thebes, ruler of the Far South, the province that did not bow to the rule of the Hyksos—the so-called ‘Shepherd Kings’—though he was compelled to pay them tribute. The Shepherds provoked him as they prepared to annex his domain to their immediate control, complaining that the lowing of the hippos in his palace’s lake deprived their king’s eyes of sleep. Yet he spurned the demand to surrender, leading his army to confront the foe. He had the good fortune to fall in battle, slain by numerous wounds to his head and face.”

  Osiris invited him to speak.

  “I belong to the family that resisted the invasion,” said Seqenenra, “fortifying ourselves in the South until the enemy tired of attacking us. A truce was proclaimed, leaving the South under my family’s authority in return for an annual tax. This situation prevailed for over a hundred years, until I rose to the throne. I had spent no time thinking of the aggressor who had usurped our lands, nor had I prepared to combat him, when he seduced himself into creeping southward. My capacity in both men and matériel was limited, hence—while treating her as an equal—I annexed Nubia to my province, recruiting some of her men to strengthen my army. When the foe confronted me, opinions around me clashed: a minority called for defense of our realm, while the majority warned of a terrible outcome. But I gave courage to the fearful while inciting their anxiety over religion, rule, and ideals until I aroused the defeatists to fight. My army fought doggedly, regaining some of its self-confidence by doing so. In one of the battles, the enemy encircled me, so I slew three of them, then spears and axes rained down upon me.”

  “Did you exhaust all political means before embarking on a futile war?” Ptahhotep asked.

  “I did indeed,” Seqenenra replied, “yet I would have needed three years more to prepare properly for the day of battle. But I later learned they had amassed their army even before they had sent me their warning.”

  “You lived as a hero,” Abnum praised him, “and you died as a hero.”

  Isis said, “I repeat what my son Abnum said, that you lived as a hero, and died one too.”

  Osiris bid him, “Take your seat among the Immortals.”

  11

  HORUS CALLED OUT, “King Kamose!”

  A man of medium height and muscular build walked to his position before the throne.

  Thoth, Recorder of the Divine Court, read aloud, “He took control on the same day in which his father was killed so that the will to fight was not lost, throwing himself without wavering into the fray. The war raged, sometimes in victory, sometimes in defeat, while he remained steadfast in command until he himself died.”

  Asked by Osiris to speak, Kamose recounted, “From the first moment, I found myself obliged to keep up the spirit of combat among my troops, shaken by the fall of their leader. I swooped down on the vanguard of the enemy, leaving not one of my soldiers a chance to balk. I never failed to appreciate my adversary’s strength or superiority. For this reason, I chose as my redoubt a narrow place between the Nile and the mountain, taking up a defensive position until we could catch our breath and reassemble our forces. At the same time, I kept enlisting and training more and more men as well. Then I departed the world, having expended immense effort and vigilance.”

  “Both of us lived out our reigns in the field of battle,” Menes said sympathetically.

  “All kings are indebted to Egypt for their glory,” mused Abnum, “except for this dynasty—to which Egypt is herself in debt.”

  “This monarch needs no defense from me,” confessed Isis.

  Osiris commanded Kamose, “Take your seat among the Immortals.”

  12

  HORUS HAILED, “King Ahmose the First!”

  A svelte man entered, walking in his winding sheet until he stood before the throne.

  Thoth, Recorder of the Sacred Court, read aloud, “He took his father’s place when the latter succumbed. He never flinched in fighting the foe, completing his preparations to shift from defense to attack. He affirmed a gift for leadership equal to his personal valor as he swept from victory to victory, besieging the Hyksos’ capital at Avaris until he overcame it. Afterward, he hounded the enemy into Asia, where he chopped him up and scattered the pieces.”

  Osiris asked him to speak.

  “In truth, I reaped the fruits of my family’s long preparations,” Ahmose I admitted, “and I was aided in my struggle by a son of the common people, the Commander Ahmose, son of Ebana. Each time that we won a battle, the warlike spirit rose in my men—as it fell among the forces of the enemy. From that point forward, we could not imagine that we would lose, while he could not imagine that he would win. With the fall of their city, the rule of the Hyksos came to an end, and Egypt again was free. My mind wo
uld not rest until we had driven them beyond our eastern borders, so that they could not reestablish themselves anywhere or contemplate revenge. I devoted the rest of my life to purging the land of their monuments and their appointees, in reorganizing the administration, and in reforming irrigation and the management of lands. When my era came to a close, Egypt was welcoming a new generation of her sons—resplendent with the courage of warriors, dreaming of foreign forays, and blazing with the spirit of martial expansion.”

  “Such a nature is new,” remarked Khufu.

  “And splendid, too,” added Djoser.

  “But perhaps not lacking in evil,” cautioned Ptahhotep.

  “Among such savages, there is no other path to an honorable life,” said Seqenenra.

  Isis interjected, “Then let us bless this son who has liberated our land.”

  Osiris told him, “Go to your seat among the Immortals.”

  13

  HORUS HERALDED, “King Amenhotep the First!”

  A stout, broad-shouldered man came in and stood humbly in his shroud before the throne.

  Thoth then read from the book of the gods, “At the start of his reign, the Libyans crept into the west of the country. He threw them out after dealing them grievous losses, just as he expanded Egypt’s southern borders, and invaded a wide swath of Syria.”

  Osiris invited him to speak, so he replied, “I took the throne with Egypt’s past, both recent and distant, very much in mind. The elders had not forgotten the ghosts of the Hyksos and their humiliation of them, while the young reveled in the victories of Ahmose I and demanded to see more of such things. First, I strove to organize the administration by spreading the protection of the law and security and the proper supervision of those in the civil service. At that moment, the western borders were broached by the Libyans, to which I reacted swiftly. I exceeded the enemy’s expectation and brought down upon him a shocking defeat. The fire of passion in the hearts of the commanders and officers set me aflame, so I undertook a successful attack in the unexplored regions of Nubia.

  “Then my spies among the Hyksos informed me they were gathering with the ambition of gaining back what they had lost in our nation. So I set out at the head of a campaign and declared my rule over Palestine without having to engage in combat. I assailed the assembled Shepherds in the west of Syria, broke up their ranks, and destroyed the rest of what remained of them. I ordered the reconstruction of the temple of Amun, then returned the prisoners of war and captured livestock. I compelled the entire country to pay a head tax, and the nation’s resources increased and the markets boomed.”

  “Everything you did was right,” Ahmose I enthused, “for Egypt’s southern borders are not secure without possessing Nubia, while the pivot of defense on our eastern borders lies in Syria.”

  “This means that Egypt’s security was not truly established except by launching two different random aggressions outside our borders!” exclaimed the Sage Ptahhotep.

  “I have learned that life is but a continuous conflict, in which the human being finds no rest,” Ahmose I replied. “Whoever neglects to prepare his forces makes himself an easy prey to beasts who know nothing of mercy.”

  “I did not stint,” said Amenhotep I, “on the most lavish of offerings in the temples to procure the blessings of the gods, for within their holy confines lies the first and last guarantee of Egypt’s survival.”

  “This son’s works are his testament,” Isis opined.

  “Go to your seat among the Immortals,” ordered Osiris.

  14

  HORUS CALLED OUT, “King Thutmose the First!”

  A lissome man of medium height advanced in his shroud until he stood before the throne.

  Thoth read from the sacred scroll, “Domestic matters calmed during his reign. He undertook a military expedition to Nubia. He put down a revolt in Syria and extended his reach nearly to the borders of Naharin. He had wood imported from Lebanon, using it to build temples to the gods.”

  Osiris invited Thutmose I to address the court.

  “My mother was a commoner,” confessed Thutmose I, “thus my blood was not wholly royal. To make up for this, I married the Princess Ahmose, legitimizing my rule. My urge to see into the Unknown led me to invade Nubia in order to arrive at the sacred spring that lay at the source of the Nile. When I aimed my arrow at the enemy commander, he fell down dead—and I ripped his army to shreds. I was the first to reach the Third Cataract, where I erected five stelae to record our victories just as I built a fortress there as a garrison. I reorganized the administration, improving conditions for the tribes, and had almost returned to Thebes when news came to me of an uprising in Syria—which I put down by leading a campaign against it.

  “Once back in Egypt, I decided to use the head tax exclusively for reform and construction, putting my trust in the genius of Ineni, who built two giant pylons at the entrance of the temple of Amun, as well as a great covered enclosure supported by columns made from the cedars of Lebanon. It was my good fortune to have restored the temple of Osiris—your own temple, My Lord—in the town of Abydos long since buried in sand, embellishing it with splendid furnishings and vessels of silver and gold, while creating religious endowments to maintain it as well.”

  “Why was there unrest in Syria?” asked Pharaoh Ahmose I.

  “To put an end to the head tax,” answered Thutmose I.

  “Didn’t you leave a garrison behind you, as you had done in Nubia?” queried Amenhotep I.

  “No,” came the reply, “I was wary of splitting my forces, but left behind a contingent to deal with emergencies.”

  “And thus we reap what we sow!” lamented the Sage Ptahhotep.

  “You were humiliated to the point where you had to marry a princess in order to bestow legitimacy on your rule,” bemoaned Abnum. “There’s no shame in the fact that your mother was from the people. If only you had not disavowed the glorious popular revolution and its great rule, and drawn the veil of injustice over it, then you would not have subjected your dignity to this degradation.”

  “We blame you, O Divinity,” Khufu inveighed against Osiris, referring to Abnum, “for bringing this strange agitator among us.”

  “He earned his place by meeting the obligation for divine and just rule,” rebutted Osiris.

  “This son is in need of no defense,” declared Isis.

  “To your place among the Immortals,” Osiris ordered Thutmose I.

  15

  HORUS SHOUTED with his resounding voice, “King Thutmose the Second!”

  A frail, emaciated man walked in and stood before the throne.

  Thoth, Scribe of the Gods, read aloud, “He suppressed a rebellion that arose in the south, and another in Asia. Feeble and ailing, he was in power but a short time before departing to the other world.”

  Osiris asked Thutmose II to speak.

  “When my father died,” testified Thutmose II, “his sons all vied for the throne. Each one relied upon his own faction of followers. My father had put me forward for the succession, but my sister Hatshepsut seized it instead, marrying my brother to distract attention from her femininity. Although my faction could have restored my right by force, I took control without violence or bloodshed. Nor did I resort to revenge.

  “Despite my poor health, I did not hesitate to suppress the revolt that sprang up in the south, and another in Asia, as well. Incapable of savoring life, I was unable to endure longer than a few years.”

  “You should have given up the throne in view of your weakness,” Menes admonished him. “The weak should not aspire to rule.”

  “I triumphed anyway,” retorted Thutmose II.

  “Thanks to luck, and in spite of your frailty,” Menes answered in scorn.

  “He acted to the best of his ability,” Isis declared. “I would compare his labor to that of the peasant who tills the land.”

  “Take your place among the Immortals,” Osiris commanded Thutmose II.

  16

  HORUS HERALDED, �
�Queen Hatshepsut!”

  A full-figured woman of medium height came in. She walked in her winding sheet until she stood before the throne.

  Thoth, Recorder of the Divine Court, read aloud, “Her reign passed in peace and prosperity. She erected the temple of Deir al-Bahari, and restored intercourse with the Land of Punt, whence she procured myrrh trees and their seedlings for the temple’s grounds. Tribute rained down on her as she spread wealth everywhere, contenting the people.”

  Osiris asked her to speak.

  “I was the only one worthy of the throne,” Queen Hatsheput replied. “I was the last who remained in the line of Queen Ahmose and the divine royal blood, in contrast to my brother, Thutmose II, son of a morganatic wife named Mutnofret, and to my brother Thutmose III, whose mother was the concubine called Isis. Out of respect for an antiquated custom that rejects women’s rule, I was forced to marry Thutmose III, who served as a priest in the Temple of Amun, and who—with the aid of the priests of that cult—never ceased scheming to put himself on the throne. Then the kingdom was wrenched from us as my brother Thutmose II took power with the support of his own party. When he died, rule returned to me, along with my brother Thutmose III. I imposed a wall of surveillance around him, to put an end to his machinations—and he crawled away into the shadows like a thing of no value. Meanwhile, I was helped by men such as Senenmut, Senmen, and Hapuseneb, who are considered among the greatest Egypt has known. I bestowed upon the masses a golden age of affluence and tranquility, until they came to believe that women are indeed capable of rule.”

  “In our time, which you have dismissed as an age of darkness, reigned two awesome queens,” boasted Abnum.