Three Novels of Ancient Egypt Khufu's Wisdom, Rhadopis of Nubia, Thebes at War

by Naguib Mahfouz

  Ahmose said, “There is nothing -wrong -with leaving it.” Then the king turned to the officers and ordered them to accompany the envoys to the princess's chamber, and the envoys left, the officers behind them.

  19

  The same evening, forces coming from the south, recently trained at Apollonopolis Magna and Hierakonpolis, caught up with the army and small ships loaded with weapons and siege towers sent from Ombos moored at the harbor of Thebes. The captain gave the king the good tidings that a force of chariots and trained horsemen would arrive soon. Men from Thebes and Habu were inducted into the army, with the result that Ahmose's army both replaced the men it had lost and increased its number beyond that it had possessed the day it first crossed the borders in its invasion. The king saw no reason to remain in Thebes any longer, so he ordered his commanders to get ready to march north at dawn. The soldiers said their farewells to Thebes and its people and turned from recreation and calm to face struggle and fighting. At daybreak, the soldiers blew the bugles and the huge army moved forward in ranks like the waves of the sea, preceded by the vanguards with the king and his guard at the head and the chariot battalion and others following. The fleet, under the command of Ahmose Ebana, set sail, its sturdy vessels cleaving the waters of the Nile. All were eager for battle; their will had been honed by victory till it was like iron, or harder still. In the villages, the army was met with boundless enthusiasm and the peasants hurried to its route, cheering and waving flags and fronds of palm. It continued on its way without mishap until it found itself at the forenoon at Shanhur, which it entered without resistance, and in the evening at Gesyi, which opened its gates to it. Everyone spent the night at Gesyi and they resumed their march at dawn. They made fast progress, so that they reached the edge of the Field of Koptos and could see the valley that ends up at that city. Here a sad silence enveloped the army at the memories that arose in people's minds, and Ahmose recalled the defeat that had overtaken the army of Thebes in that valley ten or more years ago. He remembered the fall of his brave grandfather Seqenenra, who had watered this ground with his blood, and his eyes scanned the sides of the valley as he asked himself, “Where, I wonder, did he fall?” He happened to look at Hur and saw that his face was pale and his eyes brimming with tears, which affected him yet more. “What a painful memory!” he said to him.

  Hur replied, with trembling voice and labored breath, “It is as though I hear the souls of the martyred with whom the air of this sacred place is populated.”

  Commander Mheb said, “How much blood of our fathers has watered this place!”

  Hur dried his tears and said to the king, “Let us all pray, my lord, for the soul of our martyred sovereign Seqenenra and his brave soldiers!”

  Ahmose, his commanders, and his entourage all descended from their chariots, and prayed together ardently.

  20

  The army entered the city of Koptos and the flag of Egypt fluttered above its walls, the soldiers cheering long to the memory of Seqenenra. Then the army marched to Dendara, without finding the least resistance. Diospolis Parva was reclaimed the same way. Then it proceeded along the road to Abydos, expecting to find the Herdsmen in the valley there. It failed, however, to come across a single one of the enemy. Ahmose was amazed and asked himself, “Where is Apophis and where are his mighty armies?”

  Hur said, “Perhaps he does not want to meet our chariots with his infantry.”

  “So how long will this chase go on?”

  “Who knows, my lord? It may go on until we face the walls of Avaris, the Herdsmen's impregnable fortress, whose walls took them a century to build, and which likely will cost Egypt dear in blood before our soldiers can break in.”

  Abydos opened its gates to the Army of Deliverance and it entered them in triumph and rested there that day.

  Ahmose craved war, partly because he looked forward to meeting his enemy in a decisive encounter and partly because he yearned to plunge himself into the fighting, forget the upheavals in his soul, and erase the sorrows in his heart. Apophis, however, denied him that comfort, so he found his thoughts hovering about the obstinate captive and his heart tugging him toward her, in spite of the ill will she felt for him. He remembered his dreams when he had thought that the happiest of fates was the one that had turned her over to his keeping and when he had been greedy to make the vessel of captivity a paradise of love. Then he thought of what her disdain and anger had done to him and how they had made him a sick man, deprived of the most delicious fruit, ripe and ready for the picking though it was. His desire for love was irresistible, its rushing torrent sweeping away the barriers of hesitation and pride. He went to the ship, made for the magic chamber, and entered. She was sitting in her usual position on the divan, enveloped in one of Memphis's most delicate robes. She seemed to have recognized his footfall, for she did not raise her head to him and remained looking at the floor between her feet. His infatuated vision ran over the parting of her hair, her brow, her lowered eyelashes, and he felt a thundering in his chest, desire tugging at him to throw himself upon her and press her between his arms with all the strength and resolution that he possessed. However, she raised her head unexpectedly in an insolent stare and he remained where he was, frozen. He asked her, “Did the envoys visit you?”

  She replied, in a tone that betrayed no emotion, “Yes.”

  His gaze passed over the room, until it came to rest on the ivory chest and he said, “I gave them permission to deliver this chest to you.”

  She said offhandedly and in a voice that was not without asperity, “Thank you.”

  He felt better and he said, “In the chest was the necklace with the emerald heart.”

  Her lips trembled and she wanted to speak but suddenly decided against it and shut her mouth in a way that indicated confusion. Ahmose said gently, “The envoys said that this necklace was dear to you.”

  She shook her head violently, as though rejecting an accusation made against her and said, “Indeed, I used to wear it frequently, because the palace witch had made it into a talisman to drive away harm and evil.”

  He discerned her evasiveness but, not despairing, said, “I thought it might be for other causes, to which the cabin of the royal vessel might bear witness.”

  Her face turned deep red and she said angrily, “I do not remember today the whims of yesterday; and it would be proper for you to talk to me as the enemy must talk to a captive.”

  He saw her face was cruel and hard, so he swallowed his disappointment yet again. However, in an attempt to suppress his emotions, he said, “Are you not aware that we add the women of our enemies to our palace harems?”

  She said sharply, “Not such as me.”

  “Are you going to go back to your threats of fasting?”

  “I do not need to anymore now.”

  He examined her suspiciously and asked her sarcastically, “Then how will you defend yourself?”

  She showed him that in her hand she had a small weapon, no longer than a fingernail, and said with assurance, “Look! This is a poisoned dagger. If I scratch my skin with it, the poison will pass into my bloodstream and kill me in moments. The envoy gave it to me secretly, unnoticed by your watchers. Thus, I knew that my father had placed in my hand something with which to do away with myself should any dishonor touch me or any person provoke me.”

  Ahmose grew angry and, frowning, he said, “Was that the secret of the chest? To hell with anyone who believes the word of a Herdsman pig with his filthy beard! Treachery runs in your veins like blood. However, I see that you misunderstood your father's message, for he secretly sent you this dagger so that you could kill me.”

  She shook her head as though mocking him and said, “You do not understand Apophis. He will accept nothing but that I live honorably or die honorably. As for his enemy, he will kill him himself, as he is accustomed to kill his enemies.”

  Ahmose struck the ground -with his foot and said in extreme exasperation, “Why all this trouble? How little do I need a
slave girl like you, blinded by conceit, pride, and a corrupt nature! In the past, I imagined you to be something that in reality you have nothing in common with, so to hell with all illusions!”

  The king turned away from her and left the chamber. Outside, he summoned the chief of the guards and said to him, “The princess is to be transferred to another ship, under tight guard.”

  Ahmose left the ship downcast, his face dark, and returned in his chariot to the camp.

  21

  Finding inactivity oppressive, the king ordered his commanders to prepare themselves. At dawn on the second day, the army marched off with its myriad companies and the fleet set sail. In two days it reached Ptolemais. There was no sign of the enemy to be seen nearby, so the vanguard entered the city peacefully, the army in its footsteps. The vanguard probed as far as Panopolis, the northernmost city under the aegis of Thebes, and entered it without resistance. The good tidings were brought to King Ahmose that Panopolis was in Egyptian hands and he cried out, “The Herdsmen have been cleared from the Kingdom of Thebes!”

  Said Hur, “And soon they will be cleared from Egypt.” The army continued toward Panopolis and entered it proudly and triumphantly to the patriotic music of the band and blew on the bugles to announce victory. The flags of Egypt were raised over the wall of the city and the soldiers spread out through the markets and mixed with the people, cheering and singing. A crazy joy, beating in every breast and resonating in every soul, filled the city. The king invited the army and navy commanders and his entourage to a luxurious banquet, at the end of which cups brimming with vintage wines of Maryut were offered, along -with lotus flowers and sprigs of basil. The king told his men, “Tomorrow -we cross the borders of the Northern Kingdom and the flags of Egypt will be raised above its walls for the first time in a hundred years or more.”

  The men called blessings on him and cheered his name at length.

  However, in the late afternoon of the same day, the guards saw a squadron of chariots flying a white pennant moving fast toward the city from the north. The soldiers surrounded them and asked them where they were headed and one of the squadron told them that they were envoys of King Apophis to Ahmose, so the soldiers took them to the city. On learning of their arrival, Ahmose went to the palace of the governor of the city, summoned Hur, the commander of the fleet, and Commanders Mheb and Deeb to him, and took his seat on the governor's throne, his commanders around him, and, around them, the guard in their dress uniforms. Then he gave permission to the envoys to enter. The Egyptians, not knowing what the envoys carried with them this time, waited impatiently. The envoys of the Herdsman king came. They were a mixture of commanders and chamberlains, in military and civilian dress, their flowing beards preceding them. There was no sign in their faces of the defiant demeanor or obstreperousness that Ahmose had expected. On the contrary, they approached the king's seat and bowed together with the greatest reverence and respect, so that the king almost gave voice to his astonishment. Then their leader said, “The Lord grant you life, King of Thebes! We are envoys to you from the Pharaoh of Upper, Middle, and Lower Egypt.”

  Ahmose cast a look at them that revealed nothing of the turmoil that was taking place in his breast and said to them calmly, “The Lord grant you life, envoys of Apophis! What do you want?”

  The envoys appeared displeased at the king's ignoring of their sovereign's titles. However, their leader said, “King, we are men of war. We were raised on its fields and we live according to its code, bravely and courageously, as you know from long experience. We admire the hero, though he be our enemy, and we cede to the judgment of the sword, though it be against us. You are victorious, King, and have regained the throne of your kingdom. Thus it is your right to possess it, just as it is our obligation to surrender it; it is your kingdom and you are its sovereign. Pharaoh now extends to you his greetings and proposes to you an end to the bloodshed and an honorable settlement that respects the rights of all, restoring the friendly relations between the Kingdom of the South and the Kingdom of the North that have been severed.”

  The king listened intently to the envoys with outward calm and inner astonishment. Then he looked at the spokesman and asked him wonderingly, “Are you really come to sue for peace?”

  The man said, “We are, King.”

  Ahmose said in a voice indicating decisiveness and resolution, “I refuse such a peace.”

  “Why do you insist on war, King?”

  Ahmose said, “People of Apophis, this is the first time you address an Egyptian with respect, and the first time you do not insist, because you cannot, on describing him in terms reserved for slaves. Do you know why? Because you have been beaten. For you, my good people, are wild beasts when you win but sheep when you are beaten. You ask me why I insist on war. This is my answer: I did not declare war on you in order to regain Thebes, but because I gave an undertaking to my Lord and to my people that I would liberate the whole of Egypt from the yokes of injustice and oppression, and that I would restore to it its freedom and glory. If he who sent you truly wants peace, let him leave Egypt to its people and return with his to the deserts of the north.”

  The envoy asked him in a peremptory voice, “That is your final answer?”

  Ahmose replied confidently and strongly, “It is what we opened our struggle with and what we shall end it with.”

  The envoys stood and their chief said, “Since you desire war, it will be unrelenting war between us and you until the Lord imposes the end He sees fit.”

  The men bowed to the king again and left the place with heavy steps.

  22

  Ahmose remained at Panopolis two -whole days. Then he sent the vanguard to cross the borders of Apophis's state. Strong companies advanced north of the city and made contact with small forces of the enemy, which they scattered, preparing the way for the army encamped at Panopolis. Ahmose marched at the head of an army the like of which Egypt had not seen before, either in numbers or equipment and materiel, while Ahmose Ebana's huge fleet with its triumphant vessels set sail. While on the road, spies informed Ahmose that the Herdsmen's army was encamped to the south of Aphroditopolis in innumerable companies. The Herdsmen's numbers did not worry the king. However, he asked Chamberlain Hur, “Do you think that Apophis still has a force of chariots that he can send against us?”

  Hur said, “There is no doubt, my lord, that Apophis has lost the greater number of his charioteers. If he still had a force of them sufficient to make a difference in the coming battle, he would not have asked for a settlement or pressed for peace. In any case, the Herdsmen have lost something more valuable than charioteers and chariots: they have lost confidence and hope.”

  The army's advance continued until it was close to the enemy camp, and the harbingers of the battle appeared on the horizon. Commanded by the king, the chariot battalion prepared to plunge into the heart of the battle. Ahmose cried to his commanders, “We shall fight on ground on which we have been forbidden to tread for a hundred years and more. Let us strike a terrible blow such as will put an end to the sufferings of millions of our enslaved brothers and let us advance with hearts ready for heroic deeds, for the Lord has given us the numbers and the hope and has abandoned our enemy to extinction and despair; and I am at your head, as were Seqenenra and Kamose.”

  The king ordered his vanguard to attack and they descended like predatory eagles, throwing themselves into the attack while he watched to see how the enemy met them. He observed a force of around two hundred chariots returning the attack in an attempt to encircle them. Eager to destroy the enemy's chariots, the king attacked the head of the chariot column and descended on the enemy from all sides. The Hyksos realized that their charioteers could not stand firm against forces that vastly outnumbered them, so Apophis threw in squadrons of archers and lance-bearers to support his limited number of chariots. A fierce battle ensued, but the Herdsmen's courage was of no help to them and their mounted force was destroyed.

  The army passed the night -with Ahmose
not knowing whether Apophis would throw his infantry against him in desperation or flee -with his army, as he had done at Hierakonpolis, preferring peace. Things became clear in the morning, -when the king saw companies of Herdsmen advancing to occupy their positions, bows and lances in their hands. Hur saw them too and said, “Now the tables are turned against them, my lord, and Apophis will be exposed with his infantry to the onslaught of our chariots, as was our sovereign Seqenenra south of Koptos ten years ago.”

  The king rejoiced and made ready to attack with the chariot battalion, supported by selected forces of lancers and others. The chariots descended on the Herdsmen's position, filling the air ahead of them with flying arrows, and burst through their lines at many points, the lancers behind them protecting their backs and pursuing those of the enemy who scattered, killing or capturing them. The Herdsmen fought with their usual courage but they fell like dry leaves before the furious winds of autumn. The Egyptians took possession of the field. Ahmose was afraid that he would allow Apophis to escape from his grip, so he attacked Aphroditopolis at the same time as the fleet attacked its beaches. Inside its walls, however, he found no sign of the Herdsmen and did not come across his arch-enemy. Then spies provided him with the information that Apophis had left the city with some of his forces after the nightmare of the previous night, leaving some men behind to delay the Egyptians’ advance. Hur said to the king, “From today on, resistance will be futile. Apophis may already be making haste toward Avaris, to take shelter behind its impregnable walls.”

  Ahmose did not sorrow for long. His joy at conquering a city of Egypt that had been forbidden to his people for two hundred years knew no bounds and he distracted himself with the inspection of the city and its people from all else.