Before the Throne

by Naguib Mahfouz

  Abnum acquiesced, “I beg your pardon, Great Lord!”

  Isis summarized, “This son returned Egypt to her former glory, while material comfort during his time spread from palace to house to reed hut alike. If we counted all his faults through all of his life, they would seem insignificant.”

  And so Osiris turned to Ramesses II, “Go take your seat among the Immortals.”

  27

  HORUS CALLED OUT, “King Merneptah!”

  A tall man of middling years came in, marching with his familiar bearing until he took his place before the throne.

  Thoth, Recorder of the Divine Court, then read aloud, “He expended his entire ten years of rule in defense of the empire, and did no wrong to anyone.”

  Osiris invited him to speak.

  “My father lived so long that he did not leave any of his sons even the least hope of assuming the throne,” recounted Merneptah. “Dozens of my siblings died between youth and middle age, until I became the designated heir—then the ruler at age sixty. When the great king vanished, the chieftains of sedition began to stir—so I got up to sling my sword, despite my advanced age. I overcame the upstarts in Asia and totally destroyed an invasion from the West. I took hold of the country’s reins with a firm hand in domestic affairs, and as peace spread at home, security prevailed.”

  “You attacked older monuments to erect palaces and temples,” remarked Akhenaten, “engraving upon them the story of your father’s deeds!”

  “All my time was absorbed in warfare—I never had time to do any building,” Merneptah replied.

  “I can say you are a brilliant commander,” said Thutmose III.

  “Thank you, my son,” Isis addressed Merenptah, “for your heroism and sincerity.”

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

  28

  HORUS HERALDED, “King Amenmessu, King Siptah, and King Seti the Second!”

  The three walked in, wrapped in their winding sheets, until they stood before the throne.

  Thoth, the sacred scribe, recited from their record, “They were all preoccupied with contending for the throne. Corruption reigned supreme, as greed rent the unity of the country asunder, and killing, looting, and plunder ran rampant in the land.”

  Osiris called upon them to speak, and Amenmessu was the first to respond. “I took the throne by right. Yet I was surrounded by conspiracies, and fell after only one year.”

  “I was entitled to rule,” asserted Siptah, “but it was usurped from me in a dispute that arose between myself and Merneptah near the end of his reign. I was distracted from my duties in chasing down malicious plots, until I was forced to give up the throne.”

  “I strove to the limits of my strength to be a good ruler,” insisted Seti II. “But the corruption worsened, and the general putrefaction swept us away.”

  “How quickly corruption replaces virtue,” lamented the Sage Imhotep, vizier to King Djoser. “See how the weakness of a single ruler is reflected back onto an entire civilization!”

  “Perhaps the problem in the end is,” Thutmose III suggested, “how to find the right, powerful man at the right time?”

  “There wasn’t any man in the royal family who was powerful enough,” countered Horemheb. “Yet could it be that there was no such man to be found in the land?”

  “The law demands that the heir who is present be granted the throne,” said Isis, “not to suffer the difficulties of finding someone else who has the right qualities. These three could only do what they were able to do.”

  “Get all ye to Purgatory,” said Osiris imperiously.

  29

  HORUS CALLED OUT, “Pharaoh Sethnakht!”

  A short, strongly built man entered, covered in his shroud, then strode with dignity to his place before the throne.

  Then Thoth read from his holy tome, “He restored the law to its sovereignty!”

  Osiris invited him to speak, so he began, “I lived in an age of chaos. I was nearly murdered one day as I sailed on the Nile—and survived by a miracle. I was then but a distant relative of the King Merneptah, but rose to the throne with the aid of the priests. The corrupt provincial governors refused to acknowledge me. While not powerful enough to subjugate them all, I was not lacking in courage. So I crushed the nome of Khnum, where I annihilated the rebels, cutting off the ears and noses of those I captured. From there I marched on Thebes, where the cowards quickly rushed to greet me in submission.

  “I put right the army and the forces of order, and labored tirelessly until I returned the law to its place of supremacy. I made the farmer safe on his land, and once again he tilled the soil. But I departed the world before I could make the peoples of our empire feel the might of Egypt once more.”

  “Your work, that but a few words could describe, was greater than the building of the Great Pyramid,” marveled Khufu.

  “My heart has begun to beat again,” chimed Menes.

  “A magnificent son, who has hewn his indomitable will in souls, not in stone,” lauded Isis.

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

  30

  HORUS HERALDED, “King Ramesses the Third!”

  A lumbering giant of a man came in, and moved in his winding sheet till he loomed before the throne.

  Thoth, Recorder of the Sacred Court, then read aloud, “He was victorious over invaders from Asia and the West, and over the Sea Peoples too. The nation dwelt in peace and protection.”

  Osiris asked him to address the proceedings.

  “Due to the unrest inside Egypt, the Levantine rulers threw off their traces. Meanwhile, the Libyans lusted to conquer our land. Then suddenly we were flooded on our northern coast by peoples coming with their whole families, who set up colonies inside the country. In the event, I launched into ruthless combat, driving the Libyans from our soil. I exterminated the Sea Peoples, making captives of their women and young. Next I commanded a campaign in Asia, decimating them without mercy. During my time, Egypt was graced with security and stability, as I erected multitudes of palaces and temples.

  “But from sheer bad fortune, in my old age, a conspiracy hatched in my harem aimed to seize the throne by force. I created a tribunal to try those responsible, and ordered that justice be served, with no criminal acquitted and no innocent condemned. Yet tragically, two of the judges succumbed to the allure of the women accused, and took their own lives when their lapse was exposed.”

  “Your record reveals you are a most extraordinary leader,” said Thutmose III.

  “I followed your footsteps in my conquest of Asia,” replied Ramesses III.

  “Your treatment of the conspirators is to your credit,” added Akhenaten. “Your putting them forward for trial rather than striking them down on the spot, your prompt setting up of the court in order to carry out an investigation to arrive at justice—all this bears witness to your reverence for the law, and your passion for the noble deeds of morality. It’s as though you were among the worshipers of the One and Only God.”

  “I too adored the noble deeds of morality, which is how all the believers of the gods were raised.”

  “The wiles of women nearly killed a great king,” tut-tutted the Sage Ptahhotep, “while causing the deaths of two judges, as well.”

  “The One God fashioned women to expose the elements that men are made of,” said Queen Nefertiti. “The precious and the worthless, too!”

  “Welcome to this son, who is both great and noble in one!” exclaimed the goddess Isis.

  “Go to your place among the Immortals,” pronounced Osiris.

  31

  HORUS HERALDED, “The kings Ramesses IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, and XII.”

  Nine men of varying shapes and sizes came in, wrapped in their winding sheets, and walked in a row until they stood before the throne.

  Thoth, Scribe of the Gods, recited from the book before him, “They each ruled for a short time only, one after the other, and none cared for anythi
ng but to hang onto power. They let their lusts run away with them—and things fell apart. Wickedness was rampant, the area of the north coast seceding under the last of their line.”

  Osiris bid them to speak—but they all remained silent.

  Ramesses II then asked them, “Why did you take my name as your own? Are we related in any way?”

  “We took it in order to be blessed and ennobled!” said Ramesses IV.

  “But you had none of my fortitude, and, in truth, you did not live up to it,” retorted Ramesses II.

  “I cannot request their forgiveness,” said Isis, “but I do ask for mercy.”

  “To Purgatory with the lot of you,” commanded Osiris.

  32

  HORUS BELLOWED, “The governor Nesubenedbed!”

  A stout man of medium height stepped in, striding forward until he stood before the throne.

  Thoth, the Divine Record Keeper, then read aloud, “As viceroy of the northern region, he broke away from Egypt during the reign of Ramesses XII. The malaise within the country was matched by the fading of her influence abroad.”

  Osiris asked him to speak, so Nesubenedbed began, “I sprang from the elite of Tanis, and it distressed me to see Egypt fall into chaos and disunity. I was not able to seize the throne, so I declared the independence of the northern area, hoping to establish order and security there. To this end, I devoted the utmost energy.”

  “I am the one most qualified here to interpret the speech of those born to privilege,” boasted Abnum. “Though they always call for security and welfare, they only want those things for themselves, at the expense of the peasants and the dispossessed.”

  “The oneness of our homeland, to which I dedicated my whole life, was ended by your actions,” moaned Menes.

  “I deplore the blindness of those who surrounded you,” added Ptahhotep.

  “I do not know how to defend this son,” admitted Isis.

  “To the gates of Hell,” fumed Osiris.

  33

  OSIRIS MOTIONED TO THOTH, who duly recited, “The will of the gods decreed that Libya should attack Egypt, becoming its ruling dynasty. Near the end of their rule, Egypt was rent into many parts, the provinces divided one from another, and things returned to how they had been before the age of Menes.

  “Then the Assyrians invaded in turn, as the sorrows continued to mount.”

  34

  HORUS HERALDED, “King Psamtek the First!”

  A boney, bent-over man came in, walking in his shroud until he stood before the throne.

  Thoth, Recorder of the Divine Court, then read aloud, “He proclaimed himself monarch over Egypt. He brought back the nation’s unity and fixed the foundations of order. He marshaled a mighty army made up of foreign mercenaries, using it to reimpose Egypt’s dominion over Palestine.”

  Osiris summoned him to speak.

  “I was a descendant of Sethnakht,” said Psamtek I, “one of twelve princes who governed in the northern province in the shadow of the Assyrians. Due to foreign factors, the power of the Assyrians began to wane, so I resolved to declare Egypt’s independence and territorial integrity. I ended the authority of the princes through a series of assaults, announcing myself as Egypt’s pharaoh. I appointed my sister Nitocris as high priestess of Thebes in order to assert my hold on the clergy, and the nation’s union and internal disciple were restored.

  “I concentrated on the economy, while recruiting an army of Greeks and Carians, as well as Syrians and Libyans. The people were blessed with security and prosperity, and harked back on their own to the Old Kingdom in taste, tradition, and the rituals of worship—I saw no harm in that. Egypt’s sovereignty over Palestine returned, and the country became again nearly what it was five hundred years before, under Ramesses III.

  “A majestic achievement, for which we are grateful,” said the wise Imhotep, vizier to King Djoser.

  “What could be more beautiful than for a people to revive their ancient heritage,” Khufu agreed.

  “I consider it a reactionary movement—how do you interpret it, King Psamtek?” asked Akhenaten.

  “The people suffered such humiliation under the foreigners that they launched a peaceful revolution against their imported customs—seeking refuge in their original roots and their ancestral traditions.”

  “But you yourself marched in an opposite direction,” noted Thutmose III, “and put up an army of alien troops!”

  “Egypt was threatened from the east, west, and south,” explained Psamtek I, “but the Egyptians had lost their military drive, and were resigned to defeat. I saved the situation with the means available.”

  “See what he has done for his homeland,” rhapsodized Isis, “under the most arduous conditions possible!”

  “Take your seat among the Immortals,” decreed Osiris.

  35

  HORUS CALLED OUT, “Pharaoh Nekau the Second!”

  A tall, amply fleshed man walked in, wrapped in his shroud, and stood before the throne.

  Thoth, Scribe of the Gods, then read aloud, “He extended his rule unto Syria, and was victorious over Assyria and Judah. But Babylon was rising at the same time, and conquered Syria and Palestine as well. He strengthened the forts along the border and sought to improve trade, even sending an expedition of Phoenicians to explore the far shores of Africa.”

  Osiris bid him speak.

  “I never, ever neglected my duty,” said Nekau II simply. “I met with luck at my life’s beginning, and with defeats at its ending. But the homeland enjoyed soundness, security, well-being during my rule.”

  “You must have realized,” Thutmose III reminded him, “that young nations have no limits to their ambitions. You had to ready the people to fight!”

  “Tragically, the people had lost their spirit,” Nekau II admitted mournfully.

  “You too had lost your spirit,” the Sage Ptahhotep berated him, “for you put your faith in foreign hirelings!”

  “He never flagged in the struggle,” said Isis, “either on the field of battle, or on our fertile soil.”

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

  36

  HORUS HERALDED, “King Psamtek the Second!”

  A short, plump man entered the chamber, waddling in his winding sheet until he stood before the throne.

  Thoth, Recorder of the Divine Court, then recited, “He strengthened order at home, and to that end, made his daughter, Enekhnes-Neferibre, High Priestess of Amun, in place of her paternal aunt, Nitocris. And he deepened his relations with Greece.”

  Osiris asked him to speak.

  “I have nothing to add,” said Psamtek II, “save that my reign was one of peace and clemency.”

  “You forgot,” Thutmose III reproached him, “that Egypt was once an empire!”

  “What’s the use of dwelling upon youth that has passed?” answered Psamtek II.

  “And you forgot that Babylon lay in wait at the frontier?” King Ahmose I demanded.

  “And what did you do to instill the love of combat among the populace?” asked King Ahmose I.

  When he did not reply, Isis inserted, “His era was a time of wealth and tranquility!”

  “Get thee to Purgatory,” bade him Osiris.

  37

  HORUS CALLED OUT, “King Apries!”

  A stocky man stalked in, wrapped in his shroud, and stopped before the throne.

  Thoth the Divine Recorder read aloud, “He incited Israel against Babylon, taking part in the fighting by invading Phoenicia with his navy—but was met with a total rout. Prince Ahmose II broke his pledge of obedience to him, and in the struggle that followed King Apries was killed.”

  Asked by Osiris to speak, Apries explained, “Babylonia was my greatest worry. The centerpiece of my plan was to goad Israel to attack Babylon. My part was to penetrate Phoenicia with my fleet in order to outflank the enemy—but the gambit failed, and I was utterly defeated instead.”

  “The plan could not be faulted,” Thutmose III said
, “but to succeed it needed able hands.”

  “I beg you to show him mercy,” pleaded Isis.

  “Off with thee to Purgatory,” Osiris told Apries.

  38

  HORUS HERALDED, “King Ahmose the Second!”

  A tall, gaunt man stepped into the room. He paced to his place facing Osiris on his throne.

  Thoth, Scribe of the Gods, then recited, “He bolstered the domestic order of the country. He relied excessively on an alliance with the Greeks, and overly indulged in dinners with wild drinking. During his reign, Persia emerged as a great power. To restrain her, Ahmose II sought to align Egypt with Babylonia and Greece, but Babylonia was destroyed.”

  When Osiris invited him to speak, Ahmose II explained, “I considered King Apries responsible for his defeat before Babylon and that he was too weak to face the complex situation that confronted him. Thus I broke my pact with him and assumed the throne in his place. Then I fashioned an alliance to block the Persians, but the Persians won. Thereafter I turned to internal reform.”

  “What did you do in domestic affairs?” Queen Hatshepsut queried.

  “The country was notably affluent under me. And I enhanced civil law—it is enough to cite the rule requiring the rich to declare the sources of their wealth to the mayor of their city.”

  “How did you prepare the common folk to deal with the nouveaux riches?” asked Thutmose III.