by David Adkins
I was resting in one of the wagons when I heard a soldier shouting excitedly. I jumped down from the wagon believing our luck had ended and we were to face more trouble when I saw in the distance a great city.
“It is Washukanni,” he said.
“I did not realise we were so close to our destination,” I offered in surprise.
“Nor did I, your majesty,” he replied.
“Is it really Washukanni?” I said in wonder.
“It really is.” Taduheppa was at my side. She was smiling and her smile was like an oasis in the desert. Her beautiful face had been so devoid of happiness and so barren in recent times. In that one smile all her beauty was once again on display. Seeing her homeland had made her happy and I felt like rejoicing. Taduheppa was back.
“It is good to see you smile again,” I said.
“I will see my father and my little brother. Kirta is not that much older than you, Smenkhkare and he will have grown much in my absence.”
“I hope they are well,” I said. “How do you think they will receive an Egyptian who is on the run?”
“You are not on the run. If Akhenamun topples Ay from his position of power you will be able to return to Thebes.”
“I am looking forward to spending time in Washukanni with my wife,” I said. “Thebes can wait.”
She shook her head but grinned. “I have to introduce you to my father.”
“How do you think he will receive me?”
“He will receive you well,” she assured me.
The joint Egyptian and Mitanni caravan of two wagons and some horses and camels with a squad of Egyptian soldiers and a number of Mitanni servants drew ever closer to Washukanni. I could now see that it was a city of some proportions and though not quite of the size of Thebes it was considerably larger than Jerusalem.
“It looks grand,” I said to Taduheppa.
“It is grand,” she replied.
I then saw a group of riders leave the city and head in our direction to meet us. Taduheppa saw them too and I could see the excitement on her face. As they drew close a look of recognition began to form on her features. “It is my brother,” she shouted with joy. She jumped on a horse and rode out to meet them and I mounted and slowly followed her.
When I caught up with her she had dismounted and was embracing her brother who had also dismounted. I remained on my horse watching the happy reunion. I felt very pleased for here was further proof that Taduheppa was herself again.
She turned to me. “This is Kirta, my little brother.”
“I am much bigger than you now, sister,” he replied laughing. This was so, for Kirta was much taller than his sister – or me for that matter.
“Kirta, this is my husband, Smenkhkare.”
I jumped off my horse and took his hand. His grip was firm and my immediate impression was that I held the hand of an honest man.
“Let us waste no time in riding into Washukanni,” Kirta said to Taduheppa. “Our father is not a well man and that is why he did not ride out to meet you himself, but he is most eager to see you again.”
Taduheppa was concerned. “Is he seriously ill?” she asked.
“He has been, but he is now recovering and so all is well,” smiled Kirta.
“Then what are we waiting for?” enthused Taduheppa. “Let us ride into Washukanni without delay.”
I let the brother and sister ride in together and watched as they chatted excitedly, catching up on all the news they both wished to confer on the other. I rode slightly behind them, content to see Taduheppa happy again.
The streets of the capital were lined with people who wished to welcome back their princess, and I rode almost in a daze as they cheered at us. Kirta was obviously popular with the people and they were happy to have the beautiful Taduheppa return to their city. My wife was home.
Chapter 18
The palace did not compare with Malkata but it was grand enough and I felt that if this was to be my new home then I could be content. Kirta showed me to my apartment while Taduheppa, eager to see her old rooms, left me alone with her brother for the first time.
“Taduheppa has briefly told me about your troubles in Malkata and I am not surprised for we have had communications with Egypt.”
“What did these communications have to say?” I asked.
“The last one which arrived by messenger just a few days ago was the important one because it was from the pharaoh himself. It asks us to look after you in a manner befitting a member of the Egyptian royal family. It advised us to persuade you not to return to Thebes because even your brother cannot guarantee your safety. He states that you should remain in Washukanni as our guest until he directs you to return.”
“I will be happy to stay in Washukanni for the foreseeable future for I am tired of constantly being in danger,” I said.
“It seems strange the pharaoh is unable to guarantee your safety,” he offered.
“There is a power struggle going on in Thebes between my brother and the chief vizier Ay. I will remain in Washukanni until it is resolved when hopefully Akhenamun will emerge the victor.”
“Taduheppa mentioned this Ay. He sounds like a man of too much ambition and a man who must be stopped.”
“He is not just an ambitious man but also an evil one,” I said with feeling.
“You are safe from him here. We must talk further on this subject for Egypt is our ally and we need to know the state of affairs in Thebes. The Hittites press on our northern borders and we need to know that if we require it we can rely on the pharaoh for help against the common enemy.”
“The Egyptian general Horemheb has just recently inflicted an overwhelming defeat on Kush and so the Egyptian military is in a position of strength, but I must watch proceedings within the royal family closely,” I said.
“Now you must make yourself ready, Smenkhkare, for my father wishes to greet you formally. I will return in a short while to collect you and in the meantime the servants will give you all you need.”
He left me in the care of numerous servants who seemed to have been allocated to me. I bathed, ridding myself of the desert dust, and dressed myself in some of the fine clothes provided. Kirta returned soon after I had performed my ablutions and dressed.
“Taduheppa is already with my father. He is a happy man for not only is his health returning but his beloved daughter has returned,” he informed me as I followed him down the corridor.
“He is very fond of her then,” I offered.
“As am I for we were both reluctant to let her go to Thebes, but diplomacy and the good of our country had to come first.”
“I was just a boy when she arrived in Thebes,” I sighed.
“But more of a man now, I suspect,” he smiled. “I am a few years older than you, Smenkhkare, but I too had to grow up quickly. We should be friends for, who knows, one day we might both lead our countries.”
“We must be friends,” I agreed, for I knew it would be good to have a companion again for most of my past friends had been murdered back in Thebes.
“We are here,” he said. We were standing outside a large and decorated wooden door. He pushed the door open and indicated I should enter. I walked into a luxurious room befitting the chambers of a great monarch and I looked around me taking in the exotic surroundings. Kirta followed me in. “Malkata is not the only sumptuous palace,” he whispered.
Sitting on a large plush chair was Shatuarra, father of Kirta and Taduheppa and king of all the lands of the Mitanni. Taduheppa sat next to him holding his hand and being the dutiful daughter as she listened intently to all he was saying.
He stopped talking and looked up. “Smenkhkare, my new son, welcome to Washukanni.” He stood up and walked towards me. “Greetings, my boy, greetings,” he enthused.
I had not expected such a warm welcome. I bowed and replied: “Thank you, your majesty, for your great hospitality and for receiving your son-in-law in such a kindly manner. I am most grateful to you.”
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p; He grinned: “Now we have got the formalities out of the way we must have a good chat. Come and sit with me Smenkhkare and partake of some nourishment.” Kirta opened the door and several servants entered carrying trays of food and drink. I sat down with the king and his daughter and Kirta joined us. The food was placed on a table before us and I waited for Shatuarra to begin the conversation.
“It is good to have my daughter and her husband in Washukanni. Kirta has been a great help to me during my illness. I thought I was going to die but now I grow stronger day by day. Kirta will, of course, succeed me but he is not yet married, which is a situation we must soon remedy.”
“I have not thought about marriage,” said Kirta.
“Then it is time you did, my son, but in the meantime a grandchild would be most welcome.” He looked at me and Taduheppa. Such a child would help draw the Egyptians and the Mitanni even closer and would bring me much joy in my advanced years.”
“You have many years left, father,” said Taduheppa.
He turned to me. “You are welcome to stay in Washukanni as long as you wish, Smenkhkare. If I were selfish I would say the longer the better for then I would get to see more of my daughter.”
“That could be for some time because of the present situation in Egypt,” I remarked.
“I am aware of the situation in Egypt and how you have made an enemy of the chief vizier, Ay, who wields considerable power at Thebes even though he is subordinate to the pharaoh.”
“Or should be subordinate,” I added. “And he made an enemy of me when he tried to murder me.”
Shatuarra sighed. “My daughter has brought me up to date on all that has recently happened in Thebes and the evil of this man Ay. As long as he poses a threat to your life, Smenkhkare, then you must stay in Washukanni, but situations inevitably change. When that happens and it is safe for you to return to Egypt it may even be to claim the throne with my daughter as your queen.”
I nodded. “I wish fervently for the downfall of Ay but I wish my brother well. There is conflict ahead and I must bide my time and wait to see what develops.”
“In the meantime enjoy our hospitality and live like a prince in comfortable exile. You have your wife at your side and my son Kirta as a devoted friend. Welcome to the land of the Mitanni.”
Kirta smiled. “I welcome you too, Smenkhkare.”
Taduheppa also smiled. “We have faced many dangers and many hardships but we have survived and so it will be good to enjoy safety and comfort for a change.”
“I must thank you King Shatuarra and you Prince Kirta for your kindness and for making me feel so welcome. What my wife says is true.”
“Then relax and eat and drink,” said the king and I took him up on his kind offer.
****
I returned to my apartment after a veritable feast. The court at Washukanni seemed very different to the court at Malkata. The royal family here was much smaller and there were not the tensions that I had become used to in my own family. I felt able to relax completely for the first time for a very long time, but I could not help wondering about my status with the Mitanni princess. I sighed for this was my first night in the Mitanni capital and so all I could do was wait and see what developed but I knew I could not be patient for much longer. Once again I remembered the advice of my brother, Thutmose, and smiled. I had done my best to follow his advice.
The night was still young when Rana, the servant of Taduheppa, came to call. I beckoned her into my room and waited to hear her message. “Taduheppa asks that you follow me back to her apartment.”
“Of course,” I said.
I followed Rana along the corridors of the vast Mitanni palace until we reached the apartment of the princess. The servant pushed the door open. “You may go in,” she said.
I entered Taduheppa’s opulent apartment and my beautiful wife was waiting for me. She placed a drink in my hand. “We have gone through much together, husband.”
The use of the word ‘husband’ excited me and I felt a tingle of anticipation. Was the moment I had been waiting for so long about to arrive? She must have sensed my hopeful expectation and smiled as she sipped from her own cup. “Come with me,” she invited and I followed her into her bedchamber. She sat on the large inviting bed. “My father seems quite taken with you,” she said.
“He has been most kind,” I replied. Her bedchamber was an impressive room. I looked at the view of lesser buildings from her large window and then my greedy eyes returned to Taduheppa and were captured by her beauty.
“You will be like a second son and you can assist Kirta in running the state now that my father is no longer able to perform all the duties that he once managed. He is getting old and this illness has been a setback for him.”
“I will do what I can.” Did she just call me into her bedchamber because she wanted to talk about affairs of state?
“He has already told you your first duty, Smenkhkare.”
“What is that?” I was feeling impatient and showed it.
She laughed at my frustration. “We are to provide him with a grandchild.”
“Is that why we are in your bedchamber?” I asked, but now I was grinning and feeling so happy.
“Come and sit with me on the bed,” she invited. I sat next to her on the comfortable bed which was hung with green and gold silk and was decorated with a lion at the feet of a Mitanni maiden. “I thought you might be curious to see where I slept,” she added.
“You are right and I feel like that lion,” I said.
“Why is that?” she asked.
“As always I am at your mercy, Taduheppa.”
“I do believe you are, Smenkhkare,” she said teasingly. “I also believe my young husband is now a man or will be by the time we are concluded here.”
Her words excited me, and by way of answer I leaned across and kissed her lips softly and tenderly. The kiss did not remain soft for long as I hungrily gave in to the pent up passion that had built up and tortured me for so long. I hastily unfastened the clasp of her robe which glided to the floor and then she helped me out of my tunic. The perfection of her body was breathtaking and I could hear my heart beating for this was the moment that I had waited for ever since I had first cast eyes on her. I kissed her neck and inhaled the fragrance of her skin and she moaned slightly giving into the pleasure of my touch. She guided my hand to where she wanted it and I surrendered control for I had much to learn. The lovemaking was bliss and Taduheppa was at last truly my wife as she met my passion with her own.
When it was over we looked into each other’s eyes with intense wonderment for we had lost track of time, such was the continuous pleasure. I kissed her again and then we snuggled into a warm embrace. The past disagreements and difficulties at Malkata were forgotten and so were the dangers we had faced together in the desert. Even the evil machinations of Ay were forgotten in the overwhelming desire that enveloped me. Washukanni was my new home and there was every prospect that I would be most happy in the land of the Mitanni.
Epilogue
“Enter,” I called in response to the loud knock on my apartment door.
Kirta, king of the Mitanni, entered my chamber dressed in humble attire rather than his royal regalia.
“Smenkhkare, two scrolls have arrived for you from Thebes. I thought I would deliver them to you myself and remind you that later we are going hunting with some of my courtiers.”
“I have not forgotten,” I replied. “It seems strange to receive two messages at once. I have received precious few messages from Egypt over the years.”
“That is why I brought them to you promptly and because they also look important. I will leave you to read them and I will see you later.”
“Indeed,” I said thoughtfully. I had lived in Washukanni for nearly 30 years and the only person who had written to me from Egypt in all that time was my sister, Iset. Her letters had been irregular but they did at least keep me reasonably up to date with affairs in Egypt. Even my mother did not write tho
ugh I had written to her. I think she had never forgiven me for the plot against my brother.
It seemed I had been almost forgotten after Akhenamun and Ay had reached an agreement early in my exile. Akhenamun had moved his capital from Thebes to Amarna and had abandoned the old gods. Now Egyptians were required to worship Aten, the sun god, and Akhenamun had even changed his name to Akhenaten. To enable him to concentrate his time on his new religious obsession and his brand new capital he allowed Ay to govern in his name which gave Ay all the power he yearned for. It was an agreement which suited both of them and left me in the cold though life in Washukanni was a comfortable exile. Horemheb continued as the general of the Egyptian army and had amassed a huge reputation as a great commander. There was no place left for me in Egypt.
However, over the years a lot of my family had died. In Washukanni my wife Taduheppa had died in childbirth two years after we had arrived in the Mitanni capital. She had given me the two most wonderful years of my life and she would live forever in my heart as long as I walked the earth. I hoped with all my heart that Osiris would see fit to reunite us in the afterlife. I see her even now after all these years in my mind’s eye, and her beauty and my memories never fade even though I age. The child also died and so I have no offspring and I have never married again though Kirta has suggested it many times. How could I, for there would never be another Taduheppa? Shatuarra died a year after Taduheppa and Kirta become king of the Mitanni and has remained my greatest friend throughout the years.
In Thebes many of my family have also died and many have been born over the past 30 years. Sitamun and Nebetah have both died and I sometimes think with regret about my sister, Nebetah. She had been such a good friend to me in our youth and I often wish that we had been truly reconciled. Iset still lived and I often thought that it would be good to see her again. In Amarna, Nefertiti had also died and this had apparently, for a while, broken the heart of my brother. Nefertiti had been an amazing and beautiful woman and I had owed her much for the help she had given to me and Taduheppa when death threatened me and misery threatened Taduheppa.