Fall of the House of Ramesses, Book 1: Merenptah

by Max Overton

  * * *

  They had been brought before the king, but the examination by Merenptah had not gone well for her, though Ti-ament had what she desired.

  "What were you thinking?" Tausret's smile had slipped from her face when she heard the king's cool, calm voice. "You wander off and get yourself captured by the enemy, put my dynastic plans in jeopardy, and very nearly hand Kemet's enemies a victory. What went through your mind when you contemplated this course of action?"

  "I am sorry, father. I made a mistake, but everything is..."

  "Do not 'father' me, Tausret Setepenmut," Merenptah snapped. "Today I am your king. You will show me the proper respect."

  Tausret paled and tears blurred her vision. She dropped to her knees and stretched her arms out in supplication. "Forgive me, Baenre. I meant no disrespect."

  Merenptah stared at his daughter/niece's tear-streaked face, leaving her kneeling on the dirt floor of his tent. The officials with him, General Hotepnebi, the legion commanders, Prince Seti, and the Chief Scribe, looked away, not wanting to shame the princess further by staring at her disgrace. Ament and his sister Ti-ament, stood near the tent flap, an officer of the guard keeping a close eye on them.

  "So tell me, Tausret Setepenmut, whose idea was it to follow the army out? Yours or this...this girl's?"

  "It was mine, fath...Baenre. She tried to dissuade me, but I overruled her."

  Merenptah looked toward Ti-ament. "Who are you girl?"

  The guard pushed Ti-ament forward and Ament strode forward alongside his sister and knelt before the king, dragging her to her knees beside him.

  "Son of Re, this woman is my sister."

  Merenptah stared, pretending not to know him. "And who are you?"

  "Leader of Fifty Ament, Son of Re. From the Ptah legion. You placed me as guard companion for the Lady Tausret and Prince Seti."

  "You accompanied the legion?"

  "Yes, Son of Re."

  Merenptah looked toward Commander Besenmut, who bowed. "He performed creditably, Son of Re."

  "Who did you leave in charge of Lady Tausret when the legion marched?"

  "My Lord King...I..."

  "He is not to blame, Baenre," Tausret said. "I told him I was going to follow the army even without his help, and he provided a guard for me, his sister Ti-ament."

  "A young girl? This is the person he selected to guard you?"

  "You have to admit she did rather a good job, despite the difficulties, father..." Tausret quailed at the look of anger on the king's face. "Forgive me, Baenre, I mean no disrespect, but she kept me from harm within the camp, provided food and drink, offered good advice, which I ignored, and it was her plan that rescued me from the hands of your enemies."

  Merenptah was silent for a time, studying the faces of the kneeling young people. At length he nodded. "Tausret Setepenmut, you have shown yourself deficient in judgment and lacking all recognition of your proper station in life. I will think on your punishment. Ament, you performed a service for my children before and were well rewarded. You have since shown yourself lacking in judgment, and you are henceforth demoted to Leader of Ten. You will no longer be a guard for my children."

  "Thank you, Son of Re," Ament murmured.

  "As for you, Ti-ament, my daughter sings your praises. What would you have from me? Speak, child."

  "My Lord King. I beg you, be less harsh on my brother Ament. His only real fault is in following the orders of the one he was sworn to guard."

  "That is so, Baenre," Tausret added. "The fault is mine, please do not punish him for obeying me."

  "Silence, both of you. I have already spoken on this. Ament had a duty to his king to keep his children safe, but he put his king's daughter into the path of danger. None of this would have arisen if she had remained in safety in Men-nefer." Merenptah nodded toward the young girl. "Speak child, but ask for yourself or not at all."

  "Then, my Lord King, grant me the life of the young Kaftor man called Zeben, for it was his plan, and that of his friend Rath, that freed us from Ashkelon."

  Merenptah leaned toward his Chief Scribe. "These men are here?"

  "The one called Zeben is under guard, Son of Re, but the one called Rath is dead."

  "How so?"

  "The chariots sent to search for your daughter happened upon a squadron of Kaftor chariots, Son of Re. They engaged them in battle and routed them, killing all concerned save one young man. It was then that we discovered the leading Kaftor chariot contained the two missing women and was fleeing from the others. The man Rath was killed by one of our arrows."

  "Fetch the man called Zeben. I would look upon his face."

  The captive was sent for, hustled into the king's presence, and forced to his knees.

  "You know who I am?"

  Zeben stuttered and stammered, has face pale with fear. "Y...yes, m...my Lord King. You are Baenre Merenptah, King of Kemet."

  "You have delivered my daughter to me, and for that I thank you. This one..." Merenptah indicated Ti-ament, "...pleads for your life. I am minded to grant her plea. I will reward you with gold and send you back to your people."

  "P...please my Lord. That would be a death sentence. Let me live in Kemet..." Zeben glanced at Ti-ament, "...with this young woman if she will have me."

  "Please, Lord King, I ask nothing else," Ti-ament begged.

  "Then I reward you with your life."

  "Do you value your daughter so lightly, Baenre?" Tausret asked.

  "What? You dare to speak to me so?"

  "I dare, father. This man and his friend risked everything, and I promised them land and gold in Kemet."

  "You are very free with riches that do not belong to you."

  "I understood that you were going to pay a ransom of a thousand deben of fine gold for me, father. Is that not so? Then pay a fraction of that by granting this brave man a vineyard and small farm so that my friend Ti-ament may marry and live in happiness."

  Merenptah grumbled and argued, but he could see the justice in Tausret's proposal, so he gave in to her wishes. He then dismissed everyone save his daughter and the Chief Scribe.

  "Get up, Tausret, and pour your old father a cup of wine."

  Tausret rose slowly and dusted off her dress. She moved to a side table and poured wine for her father, offering it with a smile. "I am forgiven then, father?"

  "Forgiven, yes, forgotten, no."

  Tausret's smile faded and was replaced by a frown. "What do you mean, father?"

  "You are nearly twenty years old. By now, you should have married and borne sons to your husband."

  "I have little interest in conventional marriage, father, as I have told you before."

  "Yes, I remember. You told me you had a desire to go to war, to make a name for yourself. Why, you even brought up the name of that Queen Scarab as one you wished to emulate. Well, I allowed you your childish fantasies in the hope that you would outgrow them and see them for the foolishness they are. But no..."

  "Father, they are not foolish. Why can't..."

  "Silence, daughter! I can see now I have allowed you too much freedom. When your father, my elder brother Sethi, died, I took you into my household and raised you as my own daughter, indulging you, wanting to make your life pleasant after your loss..."

  "I am grateful," Tausret murmured.

  Merenptah held up his hand to cut her off. "You have a strange way of showing your gratitude. Well, no more. You are still my beloved daughter, but you will now fulfil the destiny you were born to. I am sending you back to Men-nefer, under guard, and there you will take instruction in womanly skills. You will be trained as a wife and a mother and in due course you will marry my son Seti and provide him with heirs."

  "You promised me a choice of husband."

  "And who would you choose? A Kaftor charioteer? Perhaps Ament, a commoner from the Ptah legion? One of the sons of a court official? I am offering you the highest in the land, girl. Will you throw that back in my face?"

  "No, father,
but..."

  "I promised you a choice, and a choice is what I am giving you. Marry Seti or marry whom you choose, but know this, if you reject my offer, I will cut you off from my household and you may make your way in the world as a servant or as a wife of whatever commoner or noble will take you." Tausret paled, but Merenptah showed no mercy. "Decide, Tausret. Now."

  Tausret closed her eyes and took a deep breath, forcing back the words that threatened to spill from her mouth. "I will marry Seti, father."

  "Good. And you will give up this nonsense of becoming a warrior queen and learn to be a proper wife and mother?"

  Tausret lowered her eyes so the king would not see her hurt and anger. "Let the king's will be done."

  The king's will took effect immediately. The army returned to their duties, and the king and Prince Seti made a progress through the cities of Ta Mehu, reassuring the populace that the threat from foreign invaders was over, while Tausret and Ti-ament were returned to Men-nefer under a strong guard. There, Ti-ament was reunited with her Kaftor lover and installed on a small but rich farm which included a productive vineyard near the city of Per-Bast. Tausret found herself immured in the Women's Quarters and under instruction from Nebettawy, daughter and ex-wife of Usermaatre.

  * * *

  Nebettawy was a stickler for convention and insisted on being addressed in a manner befitting her status, of having servants constantly hovering around her ready to obey her every whim, and allowing no discussion of her pronouncements. Tausret loathed her, but for as long as she found herself under her tutelage, resolved to be a little trouble as possible. Her father the king had made it plain that Tausret would learn her duties one way or another and that her release from the Women's Quarter would depend on her progress.

  "Your first duty as a wife," Nebettawy said, "is to cater to your husband's comfort. I am told that you are to be given to Prince Seti, well, that is a high status position whether or not he inherits the throne. Your responsibilities will be great, but so will be the rewards."

  Nebettawy was old and thin, with pinched features and a sour look upon her face. A daughter of Usermaatre, she had married her father in his thirty-third regnal year, serving as Great Royal Wife. Since then she had lost most of her titles, but still liked to be called Mistress of Ta Mehu and Ta Shemau, King's Daughter of his body, and Lady of the Two Lands. She could be quite spiteful if anyone failed to pay her the respect she felt she was entitled to.

  "So, Tausret, you have been instructed in the making of children? You will not have performed the act, of course?"

  "No, Lady Nebettawy."

  "Then you have seen it being performed? Of course, you are old to be unmarried, but you must have seen how a man ploughs his wife's field, sowing his seed for the gods to quicken and bring forth fruit."

  Tausret nodded silently, treading warily around this subject. It was common knowledge that Nebettawy had had no children, even to such a fertile bull as Usermaatre. Apparently, her field was barren, and the Lady felt the slight keenly, yet she behaved as though she had been as fertile as the late king's other wives.

  "This will perhaps be your prime duty as a wife, particularly if Prince Seti becomes the heir. Sons are important for the Ma'at of the Kingdoms. You may or may not enjoy the act itself, but it is your duty to give yourself to your husband whenever he demands it. Welcome him with a smile and he will be gracious with you. Shall I send for servants to show you how it should be done?"

  "It is not necessary, Lady Nebettawy."

  "No? Then let us examine the bearing of the child and its delivery."

  Nebettawy called in a succession of women in varying stages of pregnancy and, together with a midwife, had the women describe their symptoms and the various potions, lotions and prayers that were most efficacious in alleviating pain and discomfort. The descriptions of birth were harrowing, and the Lady insisted on a woman being brought in to give birth in front of Tausret. Fortunately, the birth was straightforward and both mother and child survived.

  "Painful and messy," was how Nebettawy described the process, "but necessary. Now, the next step is suckling the infant, but you will not have to do that. A royal child will always have a wet-nurse for those onerous duties. Similarly, other nurses will take care of the feeding, cleansing and education of the child."

  "One might wonder why a royal woman would bother if she takes no part in the raising of the child," Tausret murmured.

  Nebettawy gave Tausret a disapproving stare. "Have I not made this plain? Your duty is fulfilled by bearing the child sown in you by your husband. Yours is the fertile field."

  "But wouldn't any field do, Lady Nebettawy? Pregnancy looks uncomfortable, and birth is obviously painful. If a woman is merely the field, then let the man sow his seed in some common woman, reared for hardship."

  The old woman sighed and passed her hand over her lined face. "Baenre said you were a difficult child. Let us continue the example of a farmer with his field. One year he sows wheat, another barley, and a third year, lettuces. However, when he comes to harvest his lettuces, he finds barley and wheat plants growing amongst them, polluting his crop. So too, a man ploughs the field of a common woman, but the woman being common has allowed her field to be ploughed by another man, or even by many men. When the man comes to harvest the field of a common woman, how can he tell whose crop it is? A wife of a Prince must be pure and allow her field to be ploughed only by her husband. In that way, he can be certain that the child who is born came from his seed alone and bears no trace of lesser men who have sown his wife's field before him."

  Tausret considered Nebettawy's words. "A man, particularly a king, can sow many fields, yet his wife can only be ploughed by one. It does not seem fair."

  "Such behaviour is for peasants, Tausret. How can a man, and especially a king, leave an inheritance for his sons if he cannot be certain the sons are his?" Nebettawy's eyes hardened, and a sneer twisted her face. "Imagine you had been ploughed by a Kaftor man during your captivity. The king could then never allow you to marry his son, for any son you might bear would surely be tainted with Kaftor blood. You cannot pour clean water from a dirty bowl."

  "That did not happen."

  "No, but it could have. You must guard yourself at all times. Common women may spread their legs as often as they wish, and no common man will think less of them for it, but noble women, particularly daughters of kings, must remain pure for their husbands." Nebettawy shrugged. "It is the way of the world." She pondered her words for several moments before resuming her lecture.

  "So, a noble woman bears the children but does not rear them. That is left to servants. However, you must not think that a noble woman has nothing to do."

  "No indeed," Tausret murmured. "I have seen the women of the palace spend long hours each day gossiping and eating. They are very busy."

  "Do not be impertinent, Tausret. The palace women have done their duty by their husbands and families. They cannot be blamed if they are now left with nothing to do. A wife such as you will become will be kept busy, managing the household. Even a queen must manage the palace household."

  "I thought that was what chamberlains and overseers were for."

  "You have a lot to learn," Nebettawy said. "For instance, your servants who prepare your unguents and make up are controlled by the Overseer of Cosmetics. He, in turn, along with such people as the Overseer of the Wardrobe, the Overseer of Jewellery, the Overseer of the Bath and others, are managed by the Chamberlain of the Bed Chamber. He, by the Chamberlain of the King's Daughter..."

  "I didn't know I had one."

  "There is a lot you don't know. All of these overseers, and many others who manage your clothes, your food, your furniture, who are responsible for carting away night soil, even those who feed the royal pets, are all in turn overseen by Butlers, who will report daily to the Queen's Butler, and he has the ear of the Queen. A well managed household is one where the Queen, or Lady in a lesser house, has her finger on every task that is performed by ever
y servant.

  "Then there are the accounts. Let us simplify matters by assuming you are the Lady of a minor noble, say the Controller of Ship's Ropes. You have a farm that brings in an income, but your husband is kept busy with his official duties, so you must manage this income. You will need to know figures, adding and subtracting, how to measure land, how many men to put to what task, how much food to allow to feed them, how much your household will need, how much you can sell, how much to pay in taxes. A neighbour disputes with you over a boundary stone or a sluicegate in a shared canal. Your husband may be the one to go to court, but if he is busy, you must know how to prepare the case, what sort of person to hire to argue the case for you, or even how to argue it yourself.

  "As a queen, or even as the wife of a Prince, you will have people to do most of this for you, but you should always know what is involved. How else are you going to know if the men and women who work for you are being honest or working as hard as they should?"

  "And you're going to teach me all this?" Tausret asked glumly.

  "Don't be foolish, child. You will have tutors, and I will expect you to learn quickly. King Baenre means to marry you off next year, so you must be proficient in all things pertaining to a wife and mother by then." Nebettawy smiled humourlessly. "You have six months."

  "And if I don't? How can you force me to learn?"

  "If you don't, I will recommend to the king that you be married to a man who will put up with a less than proficient wife. A merchant perhaps, or minor noble. There are always other granddaughters of Usermaatre that Prince Seti can marry, even if they don't have quite the blood you possess."

  Tausret was fairly certain Nebettawy did not mean that, but she really did not want to find out. She shrugged, trying to look nonchalant. "If the king desires it, I'll learn."

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Year 4 of Baenre Merenptah

  King's Son of Kush, Messuwy, eldest son of Baenre Merenptah was discontented with his lot, and did not mind if anyone knew it. Despite being given an exalted position in far-off Napata, he had not been raised still further to the coveted position of Crown Prince and Heir to the Two Lands. The only ameliorating factor was that his younger half-brother Seti had not been raised up either. Still, the king was old, and who knew how much longer he might last.