Fall of the House of Ramesses, Book 1: Merenptah

by Max Overton

  "Well, get on with it then," Merenptah said. "I have business to attend to."

  "One cannot hurry these things," replied the neru pehut. "Success is in the hands of the gods."

  The physician supervised the placement of the king on the table, face down and naked, and had a small copper cauldron of water heated over hot coals in an earthenware jar. When the temperature was right, he mixed in a variety of herbs in the prescribed quantities and called in a priest to intone prayers to the goddess Sekhmet. Then, after testing the heat of the liquid, he took a cow's horn with a cut tip, greased it liberally with goose fat and, while his assistants held the king's buttock cheeks apart, slipped the tip of the horn into the anus, slowly and carefully working it further in. The king grunted and his buttocks clenched and relaxed, and an expulsion of wind made the horn sound faintly.

  The neru pehut left the horn in place and dipped a cup into the warm liquid, carried it over to the table, and poured it into the open horn. Merenptah gasped and his hands gripped the table edges.

  "Too hot?" asked the neru pehut solicitously.

  Sweat stood out on the king's forehead as he nodded and whispered, "Yes."

  The next few cups had cold water added to bring the temperature down a bit, though as the physician said, "Heat will dissolve the blockage more quickly."

  At last, no more fluid could be poured into the king, some liquid now remaining in the bottom of the horn. The neru pehut deftly withdrew the horn, spilling the contents onto the table, where it was joined by leakage from the royal anus. He wedged folded linen between the buttocks and bound it in place around the king's hips.

  Merenptah rolled onto his back and swung his legs over the edge of the table, sitting up and grimacing. "How long before it works?" he asked.

  "Not long, Son of Re."

  "I have business to attend to."

  "I advise you not to stray far from your private chambers or a privy."

  Merenptah stood and allowed a servant to place a clean kilt around him, add the gold bangles and necklace he had taken off, and slip into a fresh pair of sandals. He nodded to the neru pehut and gingerly hobbled out of the chamber.

  The king called his Tjaty to him the recently appointed Merysekhmet, as Prehotep had travelled westward in death. Together, they went through several cases that were before the law courts, sorting out the evidence and coming to some tentative conclusions. Merenptah would arbitrate the following morning, but appreciated the chance to discuss the subtler points beforehand. Every now and then, the king would hold up a hand and the Tjaty would wait with a look of concern on his face as Merenptah grimaced or held a hand to his belly. Flatus erupted once or twice, and Tjaty Merysekhmet carefully kept his expression neutral, making no comment concerning the strong odour that emanated from the king.

  "There is the matter of Lady Tausret," Merysekhmet said as he put away the last scroll of law. Your Majesty told me to remind you, but if you are indisposed we could deal with it another time."

  Merenptah grunted. "Better now. Have you the report from Lady Nebettawy?"

  "Yes, Majesty." The Tjaty opened the scroll and perused its contents briefly. "She says Lady Tausret has responded well to lessons and appears to have a good grasp of the duties and behaviour of a royal wife and mother."

  Merenptah chuckled and then winced as an intestinal spasm gripped him. "Appears to, eh? I wonder what that means. Is she ready to be married to my son?"

  Merysekhmet declined to answer.

  "Send for her."

  "Both ladies, your Majesty?"

  "Just my daughter."

  The Tjaty send a servant hurrying toward the Women's Quarter and the king took himself off to a private chamber. He emerged a while later and ordered a bowl of water sent for and a fresh kilt. Servants bathed and dried the king's nether regions and girded him in fresh white linen, amply daubing him with perfume.

  Tausret was waiting with Merysekhmet when Merenptah re-entered the audience chamber. She immediately fell to her knees and greeted her father.

  "Son of Re, I am indeed gladdened that you have summoned me to your divine presence."

  Merenptah raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Has Lady Nebettawy taken your education too far, I wonder? You are my daughter, not a mindless peasant."

  "I am your devoted slave, O Lord of the Two Lands. Command me and I shall obey." Then she spoiled it by giggling. She rose gracefully from the floor and stepped forward, wrapping her arms around the bemused king. "Have you come to rescue me from the awful Lady Nebettawy?"

  "You really shouldn't speak of her like that, Tausret. She is your aunt and your late grandfather's wife. She loves you and has only been acting on my orders."

  "But you are rescuing me, aren't you?"

  "Yes, I suppose I am." Merenptah held up his hand as Tausret grinned and clapped her hands. "But..." He waited until she was quiet again. "But only if I am satisfied you are now a proper lady."

  "And how may I do that, dear father?"

  "Tell me of your accomplishments."

  "A lady should not boast, father, except to declare that she is a chaste and obedient daughter submitting herself to the will of the king."

  "I hope so, Tausret. Specifically, though, what have you learnt?"

  "Lady Nebettawy would be able to tell you better than I can...but I have learnt to behave like a lady." Tausret grinned. "You don't believe me. Well, it was hard, but I have, truly. I can also keep household accounts, oversee every aspect of court life, and I am now well versed in pleasing my husband both inside and outside the bedchamber. I hold myself ready to do your bidding."

  "What part of your household management do you like best?"

  "Well...I didn't think I was going to, but it would have to be the accounts. It is fascinating how the produce of a hundred different farms and vineyards and fisheries comes together, and how taxes must be calculated and wages paid. Incomings and outgoings and how everything must be in balance."

  Merenptah nodded. "Go on."

  "The court, or indeed any house or palace, must be in balance. Like Kemet itself. The greater Ma'at is vital for the health of the Two Lands, and the lesser ma'at is vital for the health of the home."

  "That is a good point, Tausret. So ma'at is found in accounting?"

  "In good accounting. But not just accounting, father. Ma'at is essential between a husband and wife, balancing the male driving ambition for power and wealth with the passive female need for stability and children. If there is imbalance, the marriage falls apart, but if both man and woman play their part, then...then the wind storms of life will be powerless to knock down their walls."

  "For a moment there, I thought you were about to use a military analogy," Merenptah said with a smile. "Something like the enemy soldiers being beaten back."

  "Those days are past, father. I have seen the errors of my ways."

  "Lady Nebettawy was right. You have applied yourself and made some real improvements. I am minded to reward you."

  Tausret looked down. "As my Lord pleases."

  "Prince Seti and I are going back to Per-Ramesses to inspect the fortifications there. We will probably be taking the chariot squadrons out on manoeuvres also. Would you like to come? It could be quite exciting."

  Tausret was silent for a few moments. "As my Lord wishes but...father, I would rather stay here in Men-nefer. Let me work with the Scribe of the Treasury and see how the accounts of the Two Lands differ from the accounts of a palace or simple home."

  Merenptah looked across at Tjaty Merysekhmet, who gave a small smile and a nod. "Are you sure?" asked the king. "It might be rather dull here."

  "I am sure, father. Besides, excitement is for men. I will hone my wifely skills so I shall be ready for marriage."

  "So be it, though extra work does not seem much of a reward for your efforts. I said I would reward you and I mean to do so properly. The king does not go back on his word. I had meant to wait until we returned from Men-nefer, but you might as well know now, your brothe
r Seti will take you in marriage. You will be Principal Wife and, when I am gone, Great Royal Wife."

  Tausret stared. "You mean to make Seti your heir? Formally?"

  "Strange that you should pick on that aspect and not your impending nuptials."

  "Not really, father. I have wondered for a long time why you haven't made him your heir. That is the best present you could give me. The marriage is wonderful news too, of course, but Kemet will rejoice when you make him Crown Prince. When will you do it?"

  "Three months. Seti and I go to inspect the troops and when we return I will announce his elevation and your marriage. The fact will follow within days."

  "That makes me very happy." Tausret embraced her father.

  "As am I, dearest daughter. You will be queen one day, so I will give you a taste of it while we are away. I'm going to leave you in charge."

  "Me?"

  "In days to come, when your husband the king is off at war or conducting business elsewhere in the country, you will need to do it. Better to have a taste of it while Kemet is at peace and there are no problems to be met."

  "But to be in charge? It...it is too much."

  Merenptah smiled. "Just think of it as managing a very large household. Besides, you will have Tjaty Merysekhmet to help you. I advise you to follow his advice, but the final decision will be yours."

  "You honour me, father. I will not let you down." Tausret embraced Merenptah again and then formally bowed to him as king before withdrawing from the chamber.

  The king looked at his Tjaty after she had left. "She has to come to it sometime. Better now when we are at peace."

  "Of course, Son of Re."

  "You will send me word secretly if there is anything I should know."

  "Of course, Son of Re."

  Chapter Thirty

  Year 5 of Baenre Merenptah

  Five days later, Tausret performed her first official function though the king and Prince Seti were both present. The men boarded the royal barge 'Wisdom of Ptah' at the Men-nefer docks for the trip downriver to Per-Ramesses, along with an honour guard of picked soldiers. Tausret spoke the formal words of farewell, but as she was not a priest, had to call on the High Priests of the major deities to invoke the gods' protection. Rams' horns blew, drums beat and sistrums clashed; the gathered population cheered, and the galley master called out the beat as the great vessel eased out of the docks and into the flow of the current.

  Small boys on the docks leapt and screamed with excitement and several jumped into the water, splashing about in the shallows. Prince Seti so forgot the intended solemnity of the occasion as to run to the ship's side and wave and shout farewell to Tausret, who replied with a more dignified raising of a hand. She turned away with a smile and beckoned to Tjaty Merysekhmet who was standing a few paces off.

  "The audience chamber, Merysekhmet. I will hear legal cases until noon."

  The Tjaty looked startled. "Really, er...Lady? There is no need. I can handle the few cases..."

  "I have said it. Let it be so." She strode off toward the palace, her guards trotting alongside. Merysekhmet shrugged and followed at a more leisurely pace.

  Tausret was waiting when the Tjaty arrived, and the look of controlled anger on her face gave him pause. "Er, my apologies, Lady Tausret. I did not think you would start without first taking er...refreshment."

  "This once I will forgive you, Merysekhmet, for you do not know me well. In future though, you will take me at my word and obey me immediately."

  "Er...Lady Tausret, I am Tjaty of the North, and I am second only to the king in Ta Mehu..."

  "Merysekhmet, you were with me when King Baenre, my father, left me in charge. What did you take that to mean?"

  "My Lady, I..."

  "He recommended I take your advice, but left that decision up to me, did he not?" Merysekhmet frowned but remained silent. "Answer me, Merysekhmet."

  The Tjaty bowed, admitting defeat. "Yes, Lady Tausret. That is what the king said."

  "Very well then." Tausret mounted the steps to the dais and seated herself on her father's throne. "Call the first case, and then tell me all about it."

  Merysekhmet called in the plaintiff and defendant and quickly outlined the facts of the case, a relatively straightforward case of tampering with the sluice gates feeding water to the respective farms. Tausret asked both men some questions, and despite his initial misgivings, Merysekhmet had to admit that the young woman had grasped the essentials.

  Tausret leaned over and whispered to him, "I am inclined to rule in favour of Sanehet. What do you think?"

  "I agree, my lady."

  Tausret turned back to the waiting courtiers and gave her judgment, the scribes quickly making notes.

  The next case involved a division of property. The daughter of a wealthy man had married a widowed man with children, and the man had recently died. After burying her husband in a simple cave tomb, she had sold the farm and moved back to her father's estates. The grown children demanded their inheritance, and in a related grievance, brought charges against the woman for burying her husband in a poor man's tomb.

  The facts were complex and as Tausret listened to both sides arguing their cases, she found her sympathies swaying first one way and then the other. The woman had brought a rich cattle farm to the marriage, and under law, that property had remained in her name. The children had no right to claim part of the sale of that property. However, the father's farm, while small, consisted of rich, dark soil that yielded plentiful crops each year. And then there was the skimped burial. Tausret listened to the arguments and thought for a while in silence.

  "What do you think?" she asked Merysekhmet.

  "Under law, the children must inherit. The woman brought property to the marriage, but it was managed for several years jointly. It is common property and therefore must be divided amongst all living relatives."

  "I have not seen a document saying she signed her farm over to her husband. Was there one?"

  Merysekhmet asked the Chief Scribe, who in turn consulted both parties and their scribes. The Tjaty leaned over and said, "It appears not, Lady."

  "Then the farm she brought to the marriage remains her property, and as the children are not of her body, they have no claim on it."

  "There is the other farm," Merysekhmet said.

  Tausret nodded. "Under law, the widow has claim on it, as do his children. Equal shares."

  The Tjaty pursed his lips and after a few moments, nodded. "That is your judgment, Lady Tausret?"

  "There is still the matter of the burial. I agree with his children that he was not provided with grave goods befitting his station in life. How can he enjoy the afterlife in a suitable fashion?"

  Tausret considered all she had heard and then ruled. "The farm she brought to the marriage remains the property of the wife, but the profits from the sale of the father's farm is to be handed over to his children. They will divide this equally among themselves, but only after they have raised the father's tomb possessions to a suitable level."

  None of the parties were particularly happy with the ruling, but had to accept it, coming as it did from the Throne. Merysekhmet shook his head as he watched them troop out of the audience room.

  "Why were the children unhappy? They got all they could reasonably hope to get."

  Tausret smiled. "Think about it, Merysekhmet. The children have their inheritance but only after they have provided for their father. They face either being thought ungrateful for not upgrading his tomb, or upgrading it and becoming poor."

  The Tjaty chuckled. "I wonder what they'll do."

  "They publicly complained about their father's tomb, so I think they will have to improve it. It was always going to happen, you know. A small farm and several children; the late marriage to a wealthy woman did not change anything. The father should have had the property signed over to him, then everybody would have been happy, except possibly the wife."

  Days passed, and Tausret continued administering the law
and when she was not thus occupied, became involved in the day-to-day administration of the palace. She spent time with the scribes, with treasury officials and overseers of every facet of palace life, probing into what was done by each man and woman, how they performed their duties, and why. Many times she remarked to Merysekhmet how fascinated she was with every aspect of life.

  "If you will forgive me, my Lady," the Tjaty said, "One might perhaps wish you had been born a male. A good king like your father Baenre knows his people intimately, and that is just what you are doing. You would make a good king."

  Tausret smiled. "My gender prevents that, but I can do the next best thing. I can marry a king and help him be a good one."

  Twelve days after the king and Prince Seti had left for Per-Ramesses, a messenger arrived at the time of the midday meal and was shown into the Tjaty's presence. Merysekhmet listened to the verbal report and scanned the brief message scrawled by the Governor of Perire, Amenakht. He sent the man off to get fed and rested and sat wondering what to do. After a bit of thought, he dictated a brief message to a scribe and then summoned a palace messenger, handed him the message and bid him carry it in haste to the king. Only then did he send for Lady Tausret.

  Tausret arrived with a sour expression on her face, annoyed that Merysekhmet had sent for her instead of coming to see her as protocol demanded. Her annoyance swiftly vanished when the Tjaty told her the reason.

  "Merey, son of Dedy, of the Ribu, has invaded, together with an army of the Sea Peoples."

  "Where?"

  "The warning came from Governor Amenakht in Perire."

  "Where is Perire?"

  "To the north, at the westernmost edge of Ta Mehu, where the farmlands turn to arid scrub. His scouts saw the Ribu army approaching on a course to take them past the city. He says they were accompanied by their flocks, their households and their women."

  "Past it? Where are they heading?"

  "I would guess they mean to carve out rich farmlands for themselves where the branches of the Great River run, in the heart of Ta Mehu."

  "We must send word to the king immediately. Call for a scribe and a rider."