The Forgotten Pharaoh

by David Adkins

  He laughed. “You are eager little brother. It has only been a few days. Make sure that she is not able to avoid you. She will come round. She has to.”

  “It is her duty,” I reiterated.

  “It is probably best not to call it her duty unless you are determined to force the issue now.”

  “What should I do then?” I asked.

  He considered. “You probably have a few options. You could force the issue now and demand your dues as her husband. You could try and coax her with gifts and compliments and give her time to get to know you and come round. You could wait until she considers you an adult.”

  “She said that would not be until I am 17.”

  “That is a long time to wait, particularly as you are so smitten,” he said smiling.

  I reddened but did not deny it. “That is too long, Thutmose.”

  “Then I advise the second option. Be kind and generous to your wife and give it a little time. That can be fun and I am always here for advice on how to go about it.”

  “Thank you, Thutmose I will take your advice.”

  I had hardly noticed that another chariot had drawn up alongside ours. “I have sent some scouts on ahead,” Coreb called out. “If we can take them by surprise so much the better and I do not want them getting the opportunity to ride off into the desert where it would be difficult to follow them.”

  “I am sure they will stick to the river but when they are spotted it might be better to divide our forces,” Thutmose yelled back. “If we are able to cut off any possible escape into the desert then it will make our task easier. Of course the desert is a dangerous place and they may not wish to take that risk. They may prefer to stand and fight.”

  “I hope so,” shouted Coreb as he turned his chariot and rode off.

  Thutmose turned back to me. “Now, Smenkhkare, we will turn our attention to the matter in hand – the destruction of the bandit horde.”

  Chapter 3

  It was only a few hours later that Coreb once again brought his chariot alongside ours. “Our scouts have spotted the bandits and they do not believe they were seen. They have set up camp a little more than 10,000 cubits ahead of us.”

  “Excellent, take 100 chariots and outflank them so they cannot escape into the desert. I will take charge of the rest and advance down the river bank towards them. Once they are trapped we will wipe them out.” Thutmose gave his orders.

  “Agreed,” replied Coreb and pulled away again.

  “We are very close to having action, Smenkhkare. You will stay at the rear at all times. I want you to be able to watch from a safe position.” He called over another chariot which stopped alongside us. He jumped down, as did a soldier from the other chariot. They had a conversation which I could not hear and then Thutmose turned to me. “Menes will ride in your chariot and take the reins. He has his instructions and I will now ride in the other chariot.” I watched while my brother took his chariot to the head of our column while Menes steered my chariot to the rear.

  “What did my brother say to you?” I asked Menes.

  “He said that we were to stay at the rear and not engage the enemy.”

  “Is that all? You spoke for longer,” I observed.

  “I am not sure that I should …”

  “Tell me,” I demanded.

  “He said that in the unlikely event of things going wrong I was to take you back to Thebes at high speed and that you should not be allowed to fall into enemy hands. However, do not worry young master for that will not happen. Victory will be swift and easy.”

  I smiled, for Thutmose was watching out for me.

  The enemy soon came into sight as we quickly bore down on them. They were thrown into a state of panic and retreated hastily towards the desert. The bandits were composed of about 100 riders, half on horseback and the rest on camels. They thought it was a race to reach the desert which came up close to the river bank in parts and where they believed our chariots would be less speedy and less manoeuvrable. Their hopes were dashed when Coreb’s chariots appeared blocking their way. They then turned north towards a hillock which was partially covered in drifting sand. It was obvious that they hoped to defend the hillock knowing that it would eliminate the use of chariots. It was a desperate measure for they were totally outnumbered.

  They abandoned their horses and camels, gathered up their weapons and scampered up the hillock. They had little cover and so they had gambled that we had few archers. They had made a miscalculation in their desperation. We surrounded them and then Thutmose ordered his archers forward. We had almost 100 archers and Thutmose ordered them to make ready to release their arrows. At his signal the bolts flew skyward like a flock of birds towards their targets on the hillock. I watched as many of the enemy were killed by the flurry of shafts, and their lifeless or wounded bodies rolled down the hillside. We waited but there was no reply. Either they had few arrows or few archers or both.

  “Shall we attack now?” asked Coreb.

  “Let us give them one more volley and make our task even easier,” replied Thutmose. Another volley of arrows was fired at the hillside but it was difficult, amidst the dust, to see how many more bandits had been eliminated. There was still no return fire.

  “We shall now attack, for I think there are very few left who can put up a fight,” ordered Thutmose.

  “Archers shoot over our heads and give us cover for they may have a few archers still alive,” added Coreb.

  So the assault on the hillock began. Thutmose and Coreb led the attack and our archers provided cover. A few arrows from the defenders killed some of our soldiers as they came close to reaching the hillock top, but it was obvious they had few archers to rely on. It was now only a matter of time before the enemy were overwhelmed and annihilated.

  It was exciting to watch and I was happy that we were suffering few casualties. My pride in my brother as I watched him climbing the hillock at the head of his forces was suddenly turned into bone-shaking horror. I saw Thutmose go down and Coreb rush to his side. I tried to jump out of the chariot and rush to his aid, but Menes grabbed my arm and pulled me back.

  “He has probably slipped,” he said but there was no conviction in his words.

  “I must go to him,” I said.

  He hesitated. “No, stay here until our forces have mopped up the few bandits left.” I waited for what seemed an eternity as Menes held firmly on to my arm.

  “They are all dead,” I cried. At last he released my arm and I jumped down from the chariot and went racing up the sandy hillside. I was horrified as I hurried and stumbled past numerous blood-stained corpses, making my way up the hillock towards my brother. Some were still alive but had been injured by rocks thrown down by the bandits. The excitement, which I had first been feeling at the start of the battle, had now been replaced by panic at the sad fate of some of our soldiers and my concern as to my brother’s fate.

  I reached him at last and then stopped in my tracks in fear of what I had found. Coreb was kneeling over him and he turned to look up at me. “He was not just my lord, but he was also my friend.” A lone tear rolled down his cheek and he wiped it away.

  I too fought back the tears as I also knelt before the corpse that just a short time ago had been my full of life and caring brother. “He was not only my brother, but he was also my friend too.” I looked at his stricken body with an arrow protruding from his neck and I could not hold back the tears.

  Coreb put his hand on my shoulder. “I was with him immediately after he fell. He was probably dead before he hit the ground and could have felt no pain for it was all so quick.” Coreb broke the arrow that had brought about my brother’s death and I leaned forward and kissed Thutmose on the forehead. “We will put his body on a litter and take him back to Thebes where his body can be prepared for a funeral that befits his rank as the pharaoh’s eldest son.”

  I nodded agreement and stood up. I felt numb and grief-stricken. My family would be devastated, for Thutmose was a favourite with a
ll because of his generous personality and his love for life. I put my head in my hands and wept. Menes, who had appeared behind me, led me back down the hillside to the waiting chariot. Coreb was shouting orders to his men who lifted the body of Thutmose and followed us down the hillock. The wounded were helped back to the chariots and the litter which was to carry my brother back to Thebes was prepared.

  ****

  We left the battle site in almost silence for the whole army felt the immense loss of a popular leader. It would be a terrible blow for my ageing father and for my dear sister Nebetah who loved her big brother. We travelled in sombre fashion and at a slow and dignified pace. It was already like a funeral procession. Coreb drew up alongside me. “Shall I send some messengers on ahead to the palace to let them know what has happened? It would be such a shock if we arrived without giving them some advance warning of the terrible tragedy.”

  I nodded. “Yes, that would be appropriate,” I agreed, surprised by the fact that he asked my consent.

  “I will send them off immediately then.” Coreb barked out some orders but I barely heard them such was my despair. I watched as the messengers rode off at a good pace in the direction of Thebes. I shook my head for everything was going to be so difficult. Death came easily in this uncertain world, but the loss of my brother was so hard to take and so unjust. I glanced back at his litter and the tears welled up again. I wiped them away for I knew I had to be strong.

  When we entered Thebes it was obvious that news of Thutmose’s death was not yet known in the city, but when we entered the grand palace of Malkata it was a very different matter. The bulk of the army had been left on the outskirts of Thebes and just four chariots had entered the Royal Palace, one of which pulled the litter of the dead prince. We entered the gardens in great solemnity and all my family and almost all the palace servants were also waiting for our arrival. Coreb jumped down from his chariot to give a quick report to Amenhotep and then led the king to his son.

  I watched as my father broke down and wept and then was joined by my mother and my brother and sisters. I jumped down from my chariot to join them as they surrounded the body of Thutmose. My family was devastated, with perhaps some more devastated than others, but my father was particularly distraught and collapsed. His health had not been quite so good in recent times and the death of his eldest and favourite son and heir was a severe blow to him. He had to be carried into the palace where he went into a deep morose, not wishing to see anyone and for the most part simply staring into space. The rest of us paid our respects and homage to the body of Thutmose before it was taken down the great river where the lengthy process of preparing it for his journey to the afterlife would begin.

  A great cloud had descended over Malkata and I felt the loss of my brother deeply for he was also a dear friend and I had been with him when he died. The main source of comfort to me was my sister Nebetah who came to me regularly and we shared our grief together. Even my wife visited me on occasions and attempted to comfort me, but it seemed more out of duty and pity than genuine affection.

  It was the day after the body of Thutmose had been taken to the burial grounds that I had another unexpected visitor, the general Coreb. The servants showed him into my apartment and I offered him a seat and a cup of beer. I had not seen him since the fatal day when my brother fell to a bandit arrow.

  “It is good to see you, Coreb,” I welcomed him. Surprisingly he looked uncomfortable and was searching for words. “What is it?” I asked, believing that his grief was hampering his words.

  He clasped his hands and took a deep breath. “I do not know if I should burden you with my thoughts but I had to talk with someone in the royal family. Your father is in poor health and understandably not his usual self. You are the only person I feel that I can trust, even though you are young in years.”

  “What do you wish to say?” I was now starting to feel concerned.

  “We are alone?” he asked.

  “Yes we are,” I confirmed.

  He leaned forward. “I believe that the arrow that killed Thutmose was not fired by the bandits on the hillock.”

  I could not contain my shock. “What are you saying, Coreb?”

  “I was close to him when he died. I saw the trajectory of the arrow and tried to warn him but it was too late. I am sure the arrow came from behind and not from the bandits on the top of the hillock. I would have told you sooner, but the palace was in a state of sorrow and pain and so I waited for as long as I could.”

  “You mean the arrow was fired from our own ranks?” I asked incredulously.

  “I believe it was,” he confirmed.

  “Was it an accident?” I asked, wishing to disbelieve that my brother was murdered though I realised an accident was unlikely.

  “If it was an accident then he would have been hit by one of our arrows. He was killed by an unidentified arrow.”

  “Then it was probably a bandit arrow,” I offered.

  He shook his head. “I know what I saw. Somebody within our own ranks wanted us to think that it was a bandit arrow.”

  “Thutmose was murdered by an Egyptian!” I gasped.

  “Yes, one of our own men,” he said with conviction.

  “Do you know who?” I asked.

  “No. I have discreetly asked around but without any luck ,and unfortunately nobody has come forward to volunteer any information.”

  “We must find out who and why,” I said firmly.

  “I intend to. I will not let this go until I find out who did it. I am convinced this was no accident. We have a conspiracy here and I mean to get to the bottom of it.”

  “A conspiracy,” I gasped.

  He nodded. “If one of my men did fire the arrow then he must have been working for somebody and that is where you come in, I hope.”

  “Where I come in?” I muttered. “What do you mean, Coreb?”

  “I mean I want revenge. Do you want revenge, your majesty?”

  I thought about his words and their implications. “I do.”

  Coreb continued. “If I can find out who fired the arrow I will get the truth from him, of that you can be sure. However, the truth will probably lead to the palace, though the murderer will not have left an easy trail to follow, of that I am certain.”

  I mulled over his words. “So you believe the killer was working under orders and those orders probably came from the palace.”

  “It is within the palace that we will find those who have most to gain from the death of Thutmose.”

  “Are you accusing my family?” I asked with some agitation.

  “It would not be the first time that members of the royal family were murdered by their own kin. There are also many who live in Malkata who are not close members of the family. I am asking you to work from this end while I work from my end. I will visit you regularly for updates and nobody will suspect, for we have become friends since the start of your military training.”

  “I usually stand aloof from palace affairs.”

  “Then take more of an interest,” he suggested. “Who would most gain from the death of Thutmose?”

  I shook my head for it was not something that I wished to think about.

  “Be impartial and just say who has the most to gain.”

  I gathered my thoughts. “Well the new heir will now be Akhenamun, Sitamun or me. Akhenamun is going into the priesthood and my father wants him to become chief priest to gain greater control of the priesthood because they have become a law unto themselves. I suppose that could now change, but if Akhenamun did become chief priest then either I or Sitamun would become pharaoh. Of course Sitamun is a woman and I am a fool.”

  “If your father considers you a fool then he is mistaken. Thutmose knew that and said it often enough.”

  “Then why do you trust me?” I asked.

  “Because you loved Thutmose as I did. I know that. How about Tiye or Ay? Could they take power?”

  “My mother would certainly have no such ambition.” I sou
nded a little indignant. “Ay is ambitious but surely he could not hope to seize power for himself.”

  “Keep your eyes and ears open, Smenkhkare. Discreetly talk to people and find out what they hope for or expect with regard to the next pharaoh. Your father is ill and so it is a subject that will be discussed, particularly by those with ambition. Be careful though, for we are obviously dealing with a ruthless person who may have spies. Do not put yourself in danger. Are you with me in this undertaking?”

  His words made me shudder and think of Akhenamun and his henchman, Metos. “I am with you. Whoever ordered my brother’s death will pay,” I assured him.

  “Good, I will ask more questions of my men. If I have to interrogate every man in our army who was there on that fateful day I will. I will find out who drew his bow and fired at Thutmose. Farewell, Smenkhkare, I will see you in a few days.”

  “Farewell, Coreb.”

  ****

  The conversation had stunned me. I remembered that the arrow had protruded from the back of Thutmose’s neck but I had simply assumed that he must have turned around to issue orders to those behind him. I felt both great sorrow and great anger but like Coreb I was determined to find the truth behind my brother’s death. I did not have much time to dwell on this when there was another knock on the door.

  “Come in,” I called.

  Nebetah entered looking sad. “How are you today, Smenkhkare?” she asked smiling sweetly.

  Perhaps it would be wise to start my investigation with her. She knew more than me about the goings on in the corridors of power. “I am well though still distressed,” I replied.

  “Much the same with me,” she volunteered. “We must soon go south to the valley of the dead and visit our poor brother. We must go regularly until the burial. It makes me shudder to think what they are doing to him.”

  “His body must be preserved so that his soul can go to the afterlife,” I said.

  “I know that, but removal of his organs is difficult to think about. He was such a handsome man.”