by Max Overton
Chapter 54
Year 2 (5) Userkhaure-setepenre Setnakhte Meryamunre
"I want them found," Setnakhte said. He regarded the remnants of the Set and Khent-abt legion huddled on the desert sand under the guard of his son's men and reached a decision. He strode forward and mounted a boulder so that he could look out on all the captives and be seen by them.
"Men of Set and Khent-abt, you fought well but the fight is now over and the Kingdoms can be restored to peace and security. No blame attaches to you, for you were misled by a woman who falsely claimed the throne, and a man who loved power more than what is right. That man and woman should be made to pay for their crimes, for all your dead comrades who paid the price of their treachery, for disturbing the very Ma'at of Kemet.
"But those traitors have fled from justice and cannot be brought to account--unless you give them up. Tell me where they went and I shall restore your legions to their former glory. Hide them, and remain outcasts from decent Kemetu society. Your choice, soldiers of Set and Khent-abt."
There was silence for a time, and then Mose stepped forward. "You are too late, General Setnakhte," he said. "King Sitre Tausret and General Ament walked into the western desert alone two days ago, without food or water. They are either dead already or will die before you can find them. Give up your search for them. You have won and the throne is yours. Let the dead lie in peace."
Setnakhte turned away without replying, and called his son Ramesses to him. "Send out chariots and men in all directions. I want them found, dead or alive. I must be able to show their bodies in every city and town."
"They are dead, father, or soon will be. Why bother? There are more important things to be done."
"If they are alive...or if people even think they are alive...they will become a focal point for discontent. All opposition to me--to us--must be shown to be gone. Find them."
"And the captives?"
"They are no longer any danger. Disband their legions and send them home."
Ramesses sent out a hundred chariots and half a legion of men, scouring the sand and rock to the west, north, and south, but found nothing. Setnakhte insisted they keep looking and though the desert was searched for several days travel in every direction, they had disappeared as if vanished into the air or underworld. He only called off the search when he found out some of his men were starting to believe the gods had saved them from death.
Months passed. Setnakhte and Ramesses smashed any further opposition to their rule, and eliminated the numerous robber bands that had sprung up in those disturbed times. Once the Kingdoms had been settled, Setnakhte appeared with his legions at every city in Ta Mehu and Ta Shemau, before presenting himself at the Great Temple of Amun in Waset.
He was crowned Userkhaure-setepenre Setnakhte Meryamunre, Powerful are the forms of Re, Chosen of Re, Set is Victorious, Beloved of Amun-Re; and his son Ramesses was made Crown Prince the next day amid great jubilation. Work started immediately on their tombs in Ta-sekhet-ma'at.
Setnakhte was in ill health. Racked by coughing fits that sometimes brought up flecks of blood, he retreated to his palace in Waset and left the running of the Kingdoms to his Tjaties and his son. Hori remained Tjaty of the South as he had not been overtly critical of the new regime and Setnakhte saw the value in continuity. The whole country had been ripped apart by civil war and uncertainty in recent years and a few familiar things would help settle the populace. The king made very few changes to the officials in either Ta Shemau or Ta Mehu, removing only a few individuals to make way for men who had done him a service in the past. Similarly, Mentu had been raised to become Tjaty once more in the north, though Setnakhte had his reservations about the man. In his view, a man who would betray one master would betray another, but until he found a better candidate for the post, Mentu would do.
Ramesses was made Crown Prince in a great ceremony following Setnakhte's own coronation. The king had swiftly realised his own days on the throne were numbered, and recognised the signs of his own death in his weakening body. The country was still unsettled, so in the knowledge that he needed to ensure a smooth transition to the next king, he raised his son to the throne as co-ruler soon after. Ramesses was crowned as Usermaatre Meryamun Ramesse-Hekaiunu, Strong is the Ma'at of Re, Beloved of Amun, Re has fashioned him, Ruler of Iunu. During his coronation, four doves were released to the four cardinal directions--north, east, south and west--to confirm to all that the living Heru, Usermaatre Meryamun Ramesses was in possession of his throne and that Ma'at prevailed in the heavens and upon earth.
The new king went north, seeking out the last of men who opposed the new family who now reigned in Kemet, and stamping his own and his father's authority on every aspect of daily life. His father had now reigned as king for just over a year, but as he dated his accession to the death of Seti-Merenptah, it could be said that he was nearing the end of his second or fifth year, and it was imperative that the nation settled down to a period of prosperity as quickly as possible. Ramesses was in the old Usermaatre's capital city of Per-Ramesses, hearing cases in the Law Courts, when news reached him that his father was ill, so he handed over his work to Tjaty Hori and set off upriver for Waset. The gods favoured him with a strong northerly wind and he was in the southern capital only thirteen days later.
"Welcome, my son," Setnakhte said, opening his arms to embrace Ramesses.
Ramesses was appalled to see how decrepit his father had become in a few short months, but hid his feelings, warmly greeting his father.
"Come walk with me in the gardens," Setnakhte said. "The air seems fresher and makes breathing easier." As if to underline his point, he coughed, doubling over and holding a stained linen cloth to his lips. A servant rushed to hand the king a clean cloth, and removed the soiled one.
Ramesses went to take his father by the arm to lend him support, but the old man shook him off. "I am not dead yet, so do not make me look weaker than I am."
"Of course not, father. May you live a thousand years and rival your own father Usermaatre."
"A thousand years?" Setnakhte wiped a fleck of blood from his lips. "I won't last another year. And speaking of names, I see you have taken your grandfather's throne name for your own. You would emulate him, would you?"
"He was Kemet's greatest king, so yes; I would be like him in every way. You named me Ramesses after him, so naturally I would take his other name. I will raise the fame and glory of Kemet to new heights."
They walked slowly out to the gardens, and Setnakhte was gasping for air by the time they got there. Servants ran ahead of them and dusted off a stone bench in the shade of a flowering tree, and the two kings sat down together, one old and dying, the other still young and virile.
"I had a bit of news from Hori, son of Kama, in Kush the other day," Setnakhte said. "It seems our old foe Sethi turned up. You remember him?"
"Refresh my memory. One hears so many names."
"The General in charge of Amenmesse's army. I fought him and beat him, destroying his army, but he escaped. After all these years, he has turned up in Kush. He was drunk in a tavern in Napata, trying to get support for a new army."
"By the Hidden God, what will you do? Haul him up to Waset and put him on trial or just quietly execute him?"
"Turns out Hori was a bit overzealous. As soon as he heard the report, he arrested him and killed him."
Ramesses considered the news. "Saves you the trouble, I suppose, but was it really him or just some drunk bragging to get another pot of beer?"
Setnakhte shrugged tiredly. "Hardly matters either way. People have forgotten Amenmesse and who his general was." He looked at his hands, now prominently veined and covered in finely wrinkled skin. They trembled slightly, and a wry smile crossed the old man's face. "The years pass more rapidly now, but I am glad I lived long enough to set my family on the throne. I never thought the day would come, yet here we are."
"Indeed, father. Long may the House of Setnakhte rule over Kemet. A thousand years at least.
"
"That's what they said of the House of Ramesses, yet it has crumbled and fallen, the stone of its edifice turned to dust and blown away."
"Weak men and boys took over when Usermaatre died. I will not make that same mistake, but instead leave the throne to a strong king who will follow me."
Setnakhte nodded slowly, and patted his son's knee. "There are no more rebels?"
"A few," Ramesses admitted, "but none of them serious. Their armies are of peasants and scatter when confronted by soldiers."
"And the Ribu? The Sea Peoples?"
"They have been quiet since Baenre's day, but my spies tell me they are restless. I will have to smash them soon, before they grow much stronger."
"Of more immediate concern is our predecessor. How is your search for Tausret going?"
"I called off the formal search months ago, father. You know that. I still hear rumours from time to time and follow them up..."
"Such as?"
"Oh, let me see...there was a rumour that she had become the chief of a tribe of Ribu and was leading an army toward Ta Mehu. Totally unfounded. Then a woman appeared in Men-nefer, declaring herself King. An imposter whom I put to death for impiety. A man led a revolt in the north, calling himself Ament. He was a peasant leading a hundred other peasants. I executed the lot. A handful of other sightings, but nothing definite. No, those two are dead, I'm sure of it."
"Ament had family in...where was it? Per-Bast? Have you tried there?"
Ramesses bit back an impatient retort. "Ament's sister and her husband own a small vineyard there. I sent soldiers there as soon as they disappeared and regularly since, but there's been no sign. As I said, they're dead and gone."
"Yet the rumours of their existence still abound."
"Fewer with every passing month," Ramesses said. "Oh, I just remembered, here's a story you'll enjoy. One of the border forts reported a man and woman with two grown sons riding north into the land of the Retenu. They were on donkeys, and the fool of an officer wondered if they were Tausret and Ament. Can you imagine a woman who claimed to be a king wearing peasant's clothing and riding a mangy donkey? And away from Kemet?"
Setnakhte laughed so hard he choked and almost stopped breathing. He struggled for breath and coughed up phlegm streaked with blood, eventually calming enough to wave his solicitous servants away.
"That, my son, is ridiculous. It is as you say, Tausret is dead and our family is secure on the throne."
Chapter 55
Ament speaks:
My old life is over, and a new life begins. I am old to be starting something new, but not too old, I think. I have left behind a life of honours, of glory, and of privilege, and taken up one of hardship and want. It is not all bad, however, as I have a wife whom I love more than life itself, two grown sons who honour me, and a delightful new daughter to bring joy to my dotage.
Yes, Tausret married me and gave birth to a daughter whom we named Adara, which in the local tongue means 'noble'. It is a fitting name, for she comes from the most noble in the land, and indeed from royalty--but all that must be forgotten if we are to remain forgotten and safe.
Jerem and Ephrim brought us safely to their tribal lands. For many days, months even, we travelled slowly north through the cultivated lands of Ta Mehu to the Great Sea, where we followed the military road along the coast, passing forts and marching legions on the way. I hid my face at such times in case I was recognised, for I knew some of the men and officers up there. Tausret did the same, though who would have recognised her? She was big with child by then, dressed in coarse peasant clothing and dusty from the road. Beautiful though she is to me, nobody would look at her twice, and we passed through this most dangerous of places unrecognised. We turned to the east, away from the coast and journeyed into the low hills of the land of Retenu.
Jethanah, leader of the Hashimite tribe, and cousin to my boys, welcomed us warily, though he recognised me immediately. Since the days of the rebellion, when we negotiated a peace, Jethanah has been careful to give no offence to the local Governor, and now I could see that our presence worried him. This concern for the safety of his tribe did not get in the way of hospitality, though, and we were hidden away from prying eyes, fed and rested well before he called us into his presence.
"You cannot stay here," Jethanah said bluntly. "I am sorry, but I cannot risk my people. We are too close to the seat of the Kemetu Governor and if he was to learn that I harbour two fugitives, he would show us no mercy."
I spoke for us all, for though Tausret outranked me (in our old life anyway), among these people a woman did not speak for men. I thanked him for his hospitality and told him we would move on the next day, seeking a place where we might find permanent refuge. His cousins Jerem and Ephrim muttered reproachfully, but I quieted them.
"I might be able to aid you further," Jethanah said. "We trade with the Khabiru, who live to the north of us, and are fiercely independent of their Kemetu overseers. They might give you refuge. If you agree to try there, I will send a man with you who knows their tongue, though a number of them speak Kemetu. Many of them resided in your land not so long ago."
I thanked him again and took him up on his offer. Two days later we left for the north, freshly provisioned, and with a guide from the Hashimite tribe called Nathanah. He spoke little, plodding along in front of us and eating alone on his side of the campfire at night before rolling up in a blanket. Ephrim told me he was one of their cousins too, but a more distant one than Jethanah. We travelled slowly as Tausret was now big with child and the bony back of the donkey she rode caused her some distress. She would get off and walk, but could not manage much of that either. To her credit, she seldom complained, though this pregnancy must have been very different from her previous ones as a pampered queen.
And so we came to the land of the Khabiru, not far from the city of Kadesh which most definitely was not a Khabiru city. As we came closer, the number of people on the road increased, and chariots and soldiers, both of Kemetu and Amurru were seen. On those occasions, Nathanah quickly took us off the road to avoid the scrutiny of curious eyes.
The particular family of Khabiru we were taken to had, we learned, affinities with Kemet, having come out of the south only a few generations before. They made us welcome once Nathanah explained our circumstances, and spoke to us in a mixture of Khabiru and Kemetu, though their accents made their speech almost unintelligible. I could not fault their hospitality, though. Tausret was whisked off by the women, and my sons and I were immediately helped to select a building site for our new home, and shown where we could obtain good wood and stone for the construction.
There are rivers in this new land, though none compare with the Great River of Kemet. I became a fisherman once more, and could provide for my family. Jerem and Ephrim took up goat herding and Tausret found hidden skills in preparing wool for garments and cheese making, aided by our daughter Adara. Far cries indeed from our days in the palaces of Kemet, but satisfying nonetheless.
Ah, where do I cease from writing, from recounting the days of my life? Do you want to hear about how many fish I catch or how many goats we own? Are you interested in how Tausret turns wool into fine garments? I think not. Perhaps you might be interested in hearing how Jerem and Ephrim found women of their own, or Adara a husband, but those tales are not for me to tell. Perhaps one day my children or my children's children will talk to you, but that must be their decision.
Tausret is calling to me, telling me that supper is ready, so I must go...
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Places, People, Gods & Things in
Fall of the House of Ramesses
Abdju
city of Abydos, near modern day el-'Araba el Madfuna
Abu
(1) city of Elephantine, near modern day Aswan
(2) elephant
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Ahhotep
(1) Captain of the Guard in Waset
(2) Commander of Ptah legion, later of Re legion
Ahtep
Guard Captain
Akh
magical non-physical counterpart of the physical body or Khat
Akhet
the first of three seasons of the ancient calendar, the Season of the Inundation or Flood
Akhet-aten
the city built by the Heretic, Akhenaten
Amenmesse
born Messuwy, eldest son of Merenptah, later king Menmire Amenmesse
Amenmose
son of Siamun, grandson of Ramesses II, a rebel
Ament
Commander of Set Legion, Overseer of Vineyards in Per-Bast, General of the Armies of Kemet; Adviser and friend to the Queen
Amorite
a person from the land of Amurru, a Syrian
Amun
creator deity, local god of Thebes (Waset), often worshipped as Amun-Re (Amun-Ra)
Amurri
an Amorite, an inhabitant of Amurru
Amurru
roughly equivalent to modern day Syria
Anapa
the god Anubis
Anapepy
Chief Scribe of Merenptah and Seti II; father of Pepy
Aniba
administrative capital of Wawat (Northern Kush)
Ankhu
Commander of Sobek legion
Asar
Osiris, god of the underworld and resurrection
Ashkelon
a Philistine city
Atum