Time would soften the appearance of the restored surfaces and the king’s spirit could visit the now resplendent majesty of his restored House of Eternity.
Chapter 15 - THE PHARAOH IN HIS PRIME
Egypt – 1254 BC
Ramesses had ruled for twenty five years and long held an invincible grip on all matters of state, proving to be an exceptional administrator. Nubian gold and the fabled electrum mine established by Seti in the mountains far out in the eastern desert, made substantial contributions to the royal purse. In the third year of his reign, the king, with his usual modesty and bland disregard of his father’s achievement, erected a stele at this mine proclaiming precious metals appeared in the mountains at his command. When learning a scarcity of water severely limited extraction of the valuable metals, he ordered a well be dug forthwith thereby creating an outflow so great that people in the area could sail boats on the resulting lake.
He commanded I continue the excavation of the channel Seti had started between the Bitter Lakes and Bubastis but the additional work only resulted in a widening and deepening of the canal without attaining the objective of a connection to the Sea of Reeds. I loathed the need to undertake my annual inspection of this undertaking – one incapable of achievement in an area the gods seemed to have considered unworthy of their attention. It took many years of arguments before he relented and let the matter lapse. In desperation, I declared it would be more rewarding to dig holes in the palace garden, throw gold bullion into the holes topped with electrum dust and then apply molten silver in the hope gilded trees would sprout. He had the grace to laugh before giving the order to cancel further work.
Our treaty with the Hittites allowed a flourishing trade between Egypt and the cities at Ugarit, Byblos, Sidon, Tyre, Acco, Joppa and Mahaz as little risk of piracy or hostile threats arose. Merchants developed lucrative markets for the kingdom’s treasure house of decorative stone as royal quarries yielded up basalt, bright red quartzite east of Memphis, alabaster from Hatnub, coloured granites and granodiorites from Aswan, fine grained greywacke and red porphyry from deposits east of Karnak, beautiful green veined white marble and grey-green gneiss quarried in remote corners of the desert. We had little need of imports, save timber, wine, some textiles and ceramics from the north and ebony, exotic animals for the royal pleasure,ivory and semi-precious stones transported across the desert from Nubia and Punt.
The king’s patronage of the temples, by way of lavish contributions of more fertile land, surpassed anything his immediate forebears had gifted. The temples managed enormous cereal producing estates under the supervision of his agricultural administrator who also controlled the royal granaries. He ensured grain was generously distributed to meet the people’s needs whilst stockpiling sufficient reserves should the realm be blighted by a failure of the inundation. The harvests were so bountiful, our surplus wheat was shipped northwards in a golden river that flowed back with even more bullion.
Ramesses wisely chose not to aggressively pursue his dreams of empire building after the near debacle of Qadesh. North of our border fortresses, lay small states perpetually trapped between the Egyptian spear and the Hittite sword, though none are powerful enough to threaten either kingdom. All needed careful monitoring as most were fractious and quick to switch allegiance to the ruler whom they perceived as being the stronger of the two.
Following the battle at Qadesh, and after the Egyptian forces had retired to the safety of the Delta fortresses, the Hittite king, Mutatallis, carefully moved his army south, recaptured Amurra and threatened to extend his influence until a renewed threat from the Assyrians on his north-eastern flank diverted his attention and averted the possibility of another major clash with Ramesses, who was still nursing his wounded pride whilst busy weaving the fable of his great victory.
Knowing intimately the campaigns of the warrior king, Tuthmosis III, Ramesses still dreamt of imperial conquest and the re-establishment of our dominion in regions that had once unquestionably accepted Egyptian power. In the eighth year of his reign, he ventured forth into Canaan, drove northwards and captured Damascus which had defected to the Hittites. He then wheeled westward and re-asserted control over the coastal cities up to Byblos. Pausing only to re-provision his army, he swept eastward into the Orontes Rivers valley, crushing the princedoms of Tunip and Dapur under the wheels of his chariot, whilst adroitly avoiding another bloody encounter with the Hittites
The saga of this campaign is emblazoned on the walls of the great hall at Abu Simbel in scenes depicting the warrior pharaoh with his three eldest sons arrayed in their battle chariots behind him. These images of youthful bellicosity blithely ignore reality as none of the princes was old enough to join in the actual combat but my Lord and Master is not a man overly troubled by a need to bring verisimilitude to epic portrayals of his deeds. To remind his people of his military prowess, I was ordered to plaster over the Qadesh scenes on the southern wall of the hall at the Amun Temple at Karnak and inscribe depictions of his more recent campaigns.
Many years later, when we were both old men and held no secrets between us, he reminisced about the northern campaigns of his younger years.
“It was a time of opportunity. I knew, when foraying against the southern borders of Hatti, their king was beset with palace intrigues and faced fresh challenges from the Assyrians. I could afford to tweak his tail. Amum must have smiled upon my endeavours because King Muwatallis fortuitously died as my army moved up the Orontes. He was succeeded by a son, Mursilis, whom he had fathered with a palace concubine. His uncle, Hattusilis, felt the country dishonoured by the ascension of this bastard son and bade his time until successfully ousting Mursilis in the sixteenth year of my reign. They were not years without difficulties. Tunip and Dapur slipped back into Hittite control and I had to once again assert my domination with some vigour.”
“I never understood the minor princelings and petty potentates in the region. I stormed into their lands, which they could never hope to defend, took hostages, looted their towns and laid waste with a firm hand. A few years later, I would look over my shoulder to find they had again declared their allegiance to the Hittites. I ventured forth in the war chariot, re-conquered the rebellious areas, crushed heads under my foot and left confident of their loyalty. Still, I knew once my army had departed, Hattusilis would gather his courage and re-assert his domination by force of arms. Unhappily, I also accepted that my army could not defeat the Hittites in decisive battle. They were valiant warriors and their kings were weaned on the trumpets of war and trained from birth to wage battle out of sheer necessity and, I suspect, the pleasure of the campaign trail. If they had not been so powerful, I could easily have extended our borders right to the gates of their capital.”
“After the treaty was signed, Hattusilis admitted his kingdom was constantly at war. If it was not us harrying his southern borders, it was the Assyrians to the east and the Mycenaeans to the north-west. No sooner had he dealt with one threat than another arose elsewhere. This was the great secret behind the treaty negotiations. My agents in the field kept me informed of the king’s travails so I knew that, by concluding a treaty with Egypt, he had one less enemy to worry about. I also accepted we could not defeat the Hittites. Both kingdoms benefit to this day. This, Sennefer, is what successful politics is all about – knowing your weaknesses and those of your enemies.”
“Surely, it was a risk.” I countered. “From what Hattusilis told me at a palace dinner, he knew he was the strongest man in the region. He obviously lusted for our wealth and was aware of our inability to crush him in combat. This knowledge presented a justification for one determined campaign against you, inflict a defeat, loot our country and return to smash his other enemies.”
“There is always a risk. I was assiduous in spreading stories about the invincibility of our army and naval forces throughout the north and the cities bordering the Great Sea. My agents told of the massive Delta fortifications and the thousands of soldiers I kept in reserve
in Upper Egypt. His spies could easily determine the true strength of our forces but peace with Egypt suited him well. You built strong defences, Sennefer, and by my annoying him with repeated minor forays against his southern flanks, he was forced to let me have my small victories. You remember when the deposed Mursilis fled to Egypt? He crawled to my side, tail between his legs, and begged on bended knee I attack his uncle, regain his throne and hand it to him on a platter.”
Ramesses smiled “An emissary came to Pi-Ramess from Hattusilis, beat his breast and demanded I hand over the deposed king at a time when I was not disposed to test our might against the Hittite kingdom. However, power is what you make of it. I moved my army into Canaan in full force, waved my spear in the air and caused stellae to be erected everywhere on which I engraved the most bellicose statements I could think of praising my valour, the battalions at my disposal and how ruthlessly I would deal with the Asian hordes after inflicting an overwhelming and devastating blow.”
Then he laughed “My agents travelled widely, disseminating blood-curdling stories of the vengeful wrath of a victorious pharaoh. They recounted tales of our previous destructive visitations to their lands and how we had dealt with the once proud Nubians, who lay as dung beneath my feet. Power politics is a game and it is how well you play it that makes one monarch a success and another a failure. I also knew the Assyrians were then a deadly thorn in the vulnerable eastern side of the Hittite kingdom. My threats worked, and after three years of negotiations well handled by the Royal Messenger to Foreign Lands, the treaty which has bonded the two kingdoms together for so long was concluded.”
“A stronger minded ruler would have taken the decisive step you mooted. One lightning campaign against Egypt may have been successful as the Hittites are admirable warriors, finely honed by years of warfare.” He chuckled. “We will never know the outcome of such a clash but I give thanks to Amun for not presenting an opportunity to have found out.”
He recounted the details surrounding the treaty. He was offering prayers in the temple of Amun at Pi-Ramess when Amenemipet arrived with the Hittite Ambassador, Tarthisebu, who came bearing the silver tablet on which King Hattusilis had set out the terms of the accord. What vindicated the king’s remarks about the god Seth was Hattusilis’ declaration that the treaty would be sanctified by Amun of Egypt and Seth of the Hittites. The original treaty, inscribed on a polished silver tablet, is kept in a place of great honour at Pi-Ramess. It is stamped with the images of Seth, Re and the seals of the Hittite king and queen. A copy is held in the Hittite capital, Hatti, engraved with the cartouche of Ramesses and Queen Isetnofret.
The treaty offered perpetual friendship between the kingdoms and the right to ask for assistance should either country be attacked by another invader. Hattusilis abjured the war his brother had waged against Ramesses and pledged his word and that of his son and their progeny to maintain an enduring peace. Ramesses affixed his seal to the accord and delivered word to the Hittite capital he accepted the terms of the treaty and beseeched our gods to bless the harmony he believed would develop between the two great countries.
Ramesses said he considered the signing of this treaty as his greatest feat because it freed the kingdom from the threat of attack from a very powerful neighbour. With peace assured, he could concentrate on better employing treasury funds by keeping his indolent royal architect active. The costly campaigns against the Hittite allies were a constant drain on the royal purse and there was little in the way of booty or tribute to be won from the negligible and mostly barren states trapped between the two kingdoms. He told me frankly that he did not believe at the time he would enjoy a long reign and he wished to see his extensive building commissions finished before he died.
Since the time the treaty came into effect, Egypt had enjoyed a time untroubled by the trumpets of war. The king’s works kept me at my labours with little pause and I endlessly journeyed throughout the kingdom. At the time the accord was concluded, the great temples at Abu Simbel were finished, although Ramesses always found some additional device to embellish his grandeur there.
From the courtyard extending across the width of the temple, a visitor would stand in awe of the four mammoth stone images of the king behind which a carved relief portrayed him making offerings to Re, Lord of the Temple. The entrance hall is dominated by eight colossal statues of Ramesses wearing full imperial regalia. Within the sanctuary, quarried deep into the sacred hill, offertory tables stand in near total darkness. Hewn into the rear wall, is the sacred sanctum, where statues of Amun-Re, Re-Harakhty, Ptah and the deified Ramesses sit together on a stone bench from where they stolidly peer down the internal corridor towards the east.
The smaller, less grandiose temple is dedicated to Queen Nefertari in her three roles-royal mother of the king’s children, the adored wife of the king and as the goddess Hathor. The high priest told me he had heard the king had caused possible religious offence by asserting the divinity of his wife and sought confirmation, as I regularly visited the temples and understood the import of the inscriptions. Sensing disapproval, I suggested he ask the king directly, knowing full well he would shrink from such an encounter. Whilst not as assertive as her husband’s edifice, Nefertari’s temple is no less powerful in its dedication to the royal family.
The overwhelming impression is one of majestic weight; of gravitas. The location, so skilfully chosen by the young Prince Ramesses, the towering imagery of the temple facade and the formidable power of the king’s seated statues convey absolute pharaonic authority. More than anything else Ramesses had built, this monument would last for millennia and still stand well after his mortuary temple melted into the sands. When the king’s ba bird flew down the Nile, it could alight and rest within this extraordinary edifice, confident all would acknowledge his life.
Ashahebsed told me, that on two days of the year, the sun shone straight down the corridor and flooded the sanctuary with brilliant light. We knew this was a normal consequence of building a temple facing the rise of Re’s barque but he smiled when he said Ramesses put about a fanciful story. He let it be known that the day of the first appearance of the sun’s rays in the sanctuary was the same date as his conception and the second occasion celebrated the day of his birth nine months later. The king knew this to be untrue but the story has spread throughout the land and, on the days of royal illumination, hundreds of faithful worshippers come to Abu Simbel to be wonder-struck by this supernatural demonstration of the king’s divinity. He always discovered ways to enhance his subject’s perception of him whenever and wherever possible. We thought this a particularly clever and innocent piece of royal theatre.
After the main work was completed, the builder was commissioned to carve reliefs of the Battle of Qadesh into the temple walls. He looked forward to several more years at Abu Simbel so my wife and I were assured of further holidays in that calm oasis. An earth tremor caused the torso of one of the colossi to crack and fall in the thirty-first year of his reign. When news reached the king, he immediately took passage up the Nile, stopping only at Thebes to collect me. He was deeply distressed by the event, and despite my telling him any damage, no matter how great, could be repaired, he continued to be strangely disconcerted on the voyage to Abu Simbel. When we sighted the great temple, I saw the slight damage, which confirmed my belief that the upper torso could be rebuilt and the statue restored with minimal effort.
As soon as we docked, Ramesses fairly bounded off the vessel and leapt into the chariot awaiting him at the quay. In some haste, I followed him but he was nowhere to be seen. Ashahebsed, who was at the temple when the king arrived, greeted me and said Ramesses had looked intently at the broken image and fled into the sanctuary. I moved to join him but Ashahebsed stayed my arm.
“I think it would be better to wait as the king had a strange look upon his face, as though transfixed with fear. It was a look that countenanced no conversation.” As we waited, we discussed how the damaged statue could be restored. Presently, Ramesses wa
lked out of the temple, ashen faced. Turning towards us he said, thunder in his voice “Let no man touch this or seek to effect repairs.”
I remonstrated “Master, it is a small matter and easily fixed. The tremor allowed a fault in the rock to open and cause the upper torso of the statue to crack and fall. We can…” I did not finish.
He looked me squarely in the eye. “Are you deaf? I said no man must touch this,” pointing to the fallen head and torso, “as no man must touch the work of the gods. Now we leave.”
The trip back to Thebes was made in chilly silence. Ramesses remained within his deck cabin during the voyage. It was the only time he had shunned my company and raised his voice against me. We never spoke of the incident until our days of remembrance as old men sitting in the sun at Pi-Ramess. When I taxed him about the incident one mellow afternoon, he looked pained.
“As soon as I arrived at the temple, a voice called me to the innermost sanctuary where I knelt in supplication before the images of the gods. Amun spoke to me, saying I had given grave offence to the gods with the magnitude of my images and he had caused the earth to roil under his hand. The god spoke thus,
‘You are truly our son and brother, Ramesses, but your pride has been haughty. We have watched your years of rule and are pleased you are our true representative on the earth but this trembling of the earth and the destruction of one of your images is to remind you that you are but our equal and not our superior. Let this fallen masonry be a constant reminder of your position within the family of the gods.’
The Golden Falcon Page 20