05 - History of Egypt by Frederick C. H. Wendel

of frequent revolutions. King after king ascended the throne, but it was a long time before a king arose who succeeded in securing a firm hold on the reigns of state. It is next to impossible to give even a chronological list of the kings who ruled in this period, which must have covered some two hundred years and perhaps more. It is owing to this gap, and one that we shall meet with later, that the chronology of the earlier

periods of Egypt is so very uncertain. From conditions existing in the times of the Twelfth Dynasty, it would seem that the great hereditary princes of the realm, the nomarchoi succeeded in winning some considerable independence during this period. It is but natural that in a time when the kings felt anything but secure on the throne, they should seek to enlist the support of the nobility, and be ready to purchase that support by according them greater privileges than

they had hitherto enjoyed. These nobles were a very shrewd lot, and no doubt made the best of the bargain by selling their support to the highest bidder. It was in all probability this inordinate strengthening of the nobility that finally led to the rise of the Theban princes and to their accession to the throne under the founder of the Eleventh dynasty. This was significant for the entire future of Egypt, as Thebes controlled the destinies of the kingdom for over

a thousand years. Manetho gives only a list of dynasties for this period as follows. Seventh Dynasty Memphidic seventy kings in seventy days. According to Eusebius, five kings in seventy five years. Eighth Dynasty Memphidic twenty seven kings in one hundred forty six years, Ninth dynasty from Herakleopolis twenty seven kings in four hundred nine years, Sinchellis four kings in one hundred years. Tenth Dynasty from Heracleopolis seventeen kings in

one hundred eighty five years. Of the names, Manetho gives only the that of King Akthos, the founder of the Ninth dynasty, of whom he relates that he was the most barbarous and inhuman king that had hitherto ruled in Egypt. He committed many crimes and was finally stricken with insanity and killed by a crocodile. It is a probable conjecture that Manetho wishes to convey the impression that this king was

a foreign invader. In all probability, the am Muhriyusha, whom Una had so effectually crushed, had been left alone by mary Ra's immediate successors, and had again gathered sufficient strength to renew their attacks on Egypt. If this is so, the attack must not have come until after nephrikha Ra's long reign. It seems that this time the barbarians had it all their own way and had finally succeeded in

conquering the country. This hypothesis receives some confirmation, however, slight from the fact that a semi legendary papyrus mentions combats with the Hariyusha under kings Cheruti and Ameno. Judging from the names, Ameno was probably one of the kings of the Eleventh dynasty, and these battles were then fought in delivering Egypt from the foreign invader. Section two. The Middle

Empire dynasties eleven and twelve. The eleventh dynasty, with the founder of this dynasty, the Theban Princes, ascended the throne of Egypt. These kings seem to have delivered Egypt from the yoke of the foreign invader, the war possibly being begun by Cheruti and Amenno, though we nowhere find any mention of this fact. The first of these princes mentioned in the lists of kings is the Erpiti, that is,

hereditary Prince Antefh. The three succeeding kings are designated as whore and the fourth successor of Antefh is the first

one to bear the full titulature of Egyptian kings. From this fact, the conclusion has been drawn that the first anteph was merely Prince of Thebes, that his next successors had gradually enlarged their sway until they ruled over all of Upper Eas Egypt, and had assumed the title Whore, signifying ruler of Upper Egypt, And that finally, the fourth successor of Antef had succeeded in conquering all of Egypt and had consequently assumed the full titulature of the Egyptian kings.

This conjecture is entirely unwarranted. It is probable that these rulers delivered Egypt from the yoke of the foreign invader, but any attempt to read the history of the war

from the titles of these kings is futile. The founder of the dynasty, Prince Antef, in all probability, was the man with whom the national movement began, though he possibly died before other princes had recognized his authority, and owes his place in the list of kings to the fact that his dynasty based their claim to the throne on him. To translate the title of Horror as ruler of Upper Egypt or as duke is not admissible. Horr was one

of the titles of the Egyptian kings. The word signifies Horus, and this title was given the king because he was looked upon as the Horus on earth. The order of succession of these kings is not certain, and we therefore deem it advisable to group them according to their names. This will give us two groups, one of kings whose names were all the same anteph and another of kings whose names were all the same meant to Hotep. Any

other arrangement would be equally arbitrary. While lacking the clearness of this the antef kings anteph Aea, that is, the great with the throne name Ra Sechem up Mat, is the only king of this line of whose family relations we have any knowledge. A note on his sarcophagus informs us that his younger brother and successor, Anon teph Ra Sechem her her Mat, had the sarcophagus made. This sarcophagus

is in the museum of the Louver. It is of gilt wood and is ornamented with wings folded protectingly about the deceased. An inscription found in Abudos mentions buildings erected by him in this city. A Pyramideon mentioning the name of his wife Mentu Hotep was discovered at Kurna. The record of a criminal procedure against theban tomb robbers informs us that he was buried in the necropolis of Thebes. The guilt wood sarcophagus of Onnontef is in the British Museum.

His silver gilt diadem is in the Museum of Leiden. Nube cheper Ra. Onnontef is mentioned on a statue as the conqueror of Asiatics and Nubians, but the texts do not give any detailed accounts of his campaigns. His tomb at dra Abulnega, opposite Thebes, was discovered by Mariette in eighteen sixty to eighteen sixty one. The stelle found in the funereal chapel dates from his fiftieth year, so that we know he reigned fifty years and consequently must have

lived at a time when the country was tranquil. At the same place, fragments of two obelisks erected by this pharaoh were found on Aia the Great is one of the kings whose tombs are mentioned in the criminal procedure above. Alluded to one of the hieratic copies of the Book of the Dead, alleges that the one hundred and thirtieth chapter was discovered. In his reign, the Mentu Hotep kings belonged to the same family with the Antef kings. Nebhotep.

Mentu Hotep is known only from a stelle found at Kanasso, on which he is depicted as adoring the local divinities of that region, who throw all peoples under his feet, that is, give him power over them. From this we must infer that Neb Hotep carried on wars in Nubia of Ra Neb Tawi Mentu ho Tep. We know only that he sent an expedition to the quarries of the

Wadi Hamamat to quarry a sarcophagus for him. On this occasion he caused a great reservoir to be cut in the rock so that the men might not die of thirst. Ran eb Chepru Mentu ho Tep reigned over forty six years, as is proved by the tombstone of a certain Meru, who died in the forty sixth year of this reign. We know of him only that he quarried stone in Assuwan.

This pharaoh must have been a ruler of some consequence, for his name is mentioned in all of the lists of kings, and in several lists, his is the only name of a king ruling before the Hixos invasion that is mentioned. Seyanch Kharrah was the last king of this dynasty. A very interesting inscription graven on the rock in the Wadi Hamamat relates the story of one of his expeditions. In the eighth year of his reign, three thousand men under command of Henu started from Kebti at the mouth

of the Vattle. The expedition had a twofold object, first to quarry stone for the monarch's tomb and sarcophagus, and second to visit the shores of Powind that is, the southwest coast of Arabia and the Somali coast on the African side of the Red Sea on a trading expedition. Henu accomplished both objects successfully. To facilitate the provisioning of so large a detachment, a number of stations was established

and wells sunk along the line of march. Arrived at the quarries, one detachment of the expedition settled down to work, while the other continued its march to the sea, which it reached at about the place where Cosser now stands. From here, Henu sent out a fleet. No mention is made of the building of ships to the shores of Powin, awaiting their return at Kosser. The fleet brought back all the products of this country, consisting of incense, precious stones,

and other valuables. Meanwhile, the stone cutters had done their work, and the expedition returned to Egypt. This expedition is memorable, and that it proves that this pharaoh was firmly determined to establish a regular trade with Powin. The undertaking was, in a certain sense a pioneer expedition, the duty of which was to survey the road from Kebti to the Red Sea, and, by the establishment of watering stations, to

make it practicable. The first king of whom we know that he followed in seyanch Karra's footsteps was Amenemhat the second the twelfth dynasty twenty one thirty through nineteen thirty BC. The eleventh dynasty had been a period of strife in it. Egypt had been delivered from the domination of the foreign invader. The kingdom had been reunified, and the work of reorganizing

the government had been begun. So well had the last rulers of this dynasty done their work, that seanch Karrah could undertake the work of opening a road through the Wadi Hammamat from Kebti to the Red Sea, and of laying the first foundations of a direct commercial intercourse with

the coast of southwestern Arabia and the Somali coast. To what extent the work of reorganization was completed when amenem Hat the First ascended the throne, we do not know, as but few monuments of the kings immediately preceding him have come down to us of the times embraced by the Twelfth dynasty. We have, however, a fair knowledge. Though the buildings erected by the kings of this dynasty have disappeared, yet the numerous inscriptions that have been preserved in all

parts of Egypt contain records of their doings. Much of our knowledge of this period we owe to the tombs discovered at many Hasan and Bersha. But even here it is not yet possible to give details or to fully understand all the conditions that led to the rise and the fall of this house. Sehotep a brah A, menem Hat twenty one thirty through twenty one hundred BC. Reader's note. A map of Ethiopia is shown. End note. About the year twenty one thirty, King Amenemhat the First ascended the

throne of Egypt. What claim he had to the crown we are not told, but in all probability he was related to the last king of the preceding dynasty. The change of dynasty was not accomplished without severe internal dissensions. Several inscriptions allude to these disturbances, but give no details. The new pharaoh was equal to the occasion. He defeated the rebels and then set to work to reorganize his kingdom. One of his first measures was to curb the power

of the nobles, who had become semi independent. The principle of heredity he dared not abolish, but he regulated the succession. When an old nomarchoss died, the king chose his successor from his heirs at law, and thus bound the new prince to his person. He also personally superintended a new survey of the whole country. It would seem that during the periods of anarchy, foreign domination and restoration following on the decline of the old Empire. The Egyptian kings had

not possessed the leisure or the power to adjust. Disputes concerning boundaries which had arisen among the nobles. The stronger had preyed upon the weaker, and many a prince had seized the occasion of enlarging his domain. A Menemhat made a tour of inspection through the country, personally hearing complaints and readjusting the boundaries. He thus succeeded in reorganizing his kingdom in a very short time, and when order was once restored, he was the man to keep it with

an iron hand. This policy enabled him, early in his reign to turn his attention to foreign affairs. He marched against the Libyan tribe of the Matieu and conquered them. He also ward on the Asiatic frontier against the Bedouins of the Syrian Desert. In the twenty ninth year of his reign, he led his forces into Nubia and entirely subdued the o Aua, a tribe that had begun to give trouble. Like all of the Pharaohs, he was a great builder. Traces of his work have been found at

Tannis Abydos, Memphis, and Karnak. The relics of his work found at Karnak are of great importance, as they prove that the great Temple of Ammon was founded by this ruler. The stone needed for these buildings was quarried in the limestone quarries of Tura roau Au opposite Memphis, in the Dire the right quarries of the Wadi Hammamat, and in the granite quarries of Assuan. In the sixteenth Upper Egyptian Gnome, he built a city called hot Sehotep ab rah As

also a fort called amenem Hat Dead Taui. This pharaoh had in later times the reputation of being a great sage. A papyrus written about one thousand years after his time said to be a series of precepts addressed to his son user Tessen. The first tells the story of his accession to the throne and relates some other events of his reign. This interesting papyrus, which is said to have been composed by the king himself, is preserved in the

British Museum. In the twenty first year of his reign, a Menemhat in all probability, with the purpose of avoiding a civil war over the succession appointed his son User Tessen co regent. This practice was imitated by most of

his successors. The pharaoh died in the thirtieth year of his reign, and the events related in illusions made in the memoirs of a prince of this time force on us the suspicion that he was murdered cheper Ka rah Usir Tessen twenty ninety nine through twenty sixty five b C. When Usir Tessen the First ascended the throne about twenty ninety nine b C, he succeeded to a mighty empire, firmly united in its various parts and presenting a bold

front to its hostile neighbors. Already as co regent, User Tessen had distinguished himself in the field, and his warlike ardor did not abate. When he sat on the throne as sole ruler, he was compelled to take the field against the Libyan Bedouines, whom he subdued. In the forty third year of his reign. He invaded Nubia and penetrated as far as the Second Cataract. Here he set up a stell on which he enumerates the names of eleven

conquered Nubian tribes. Of these names, nine are preserved one who, two Ks three destroyed, four Shamik, five Chassah, six Shayat, seven Asheri Kin eight o wah Owah, nine Chammer, ten destroyed, eleven Amau. It is very unfortunate that we have no detailed accounts of these wars. We know only where the king ward and read the names of the conquered nations, But here our knowledge ends. This pharaoh opened the copper and malakite mines of the set Mefkat Malakite land, as

the Egyptians called the Sinai Peninsula. He also quarried stone in the Wadi Hammamat. The most important of the buildings erected by this pharaoh were, of course, at Thebes. He built the priest's quarters at Karnak, which were restored in the reign of Rameses the ninth, and had his statue placed in the temple yard. A very fine colossal statue of this king, which was found at Tennis, is now in the Museum of Berlin. In the third year of

his reign. According to the text written on a roll of leather preserved in the same museum, the pharaoh began work on the temple of raw At Heliopolis, as his father was then still living and he was merely co regent. A menem Hat the First appears as the directing spirit, while User Tessen seems to have exercised executive functions. The temple was called het chah Seho tepab Ra, that is, the Shining Temple of Amenemhat the First, while a portion

of it was named after User Tessen. The only trace left of this temple are two obelisks erected by User Tessen, one of which is still standing while the other is fallen and in fragments. A peculiarly shaped obelisk, rounded at the apex and showing undoubted traces of the fact that it was once capped with metal, was found broken in two at Bagig in the Fayoun. Owing to the fact that the Felaheen of the region look upon it as sacred, it could not be removed. The king also built in Abydos.

In his forty second year, User Tessen appointed his son a Menemhat co regent two years after he died, having ruled in all forty four years, of which he shared ten with his father, and two with his son and ruled thirty two alone. Nub Ka Rah A Menemhat twenty sixty four through twenty thirty one b C. Ascended the throne as sole king about twenty sixty four b C. He was a ruler of no special prominence, but he was well able to keep together the great kingdom left

him by his father. In the twenty eighth year of his reign, this king sent an expedition under command of Chent schah Oer to Arabia and the Somali coast Pewent. The expedition was a success. This is the first time since the reign of Seyanch Karrah that we hear of a government expedition sent to this country. Like his father, he worked at the Sinai copper mines and built at sarbut El Chadem a temple to Hathor, who was the Tutelar deity of this region. He also operated the quarries

of the Wadi Hammamat. In the thirty second year of his reign, he appointed his son User Tessen co regent and died three years later, having ruled in all thirty five years, two years as co regent of his father thirty years alone and three years together with his son chah chepper ra User Tessen twenty thirty through twenty fourteen b C. Of Usir Tessen the second, who came to the throne about twenty thirty b c. We know but little.

Almost all our knowledge of his reign is confined to the great inscriptions in the tombs at Beni Hassan and Bersha tell us of the social conditions of the time. In the first year of his reign, he sent an expedition to the wah D Gasus, a branch of the wah D Hamamat, which runs in a slanting northeast direction to the Red Sea. This expedition most probably went to Powitt.

In the fifth year of his reign, he sent an expedition under Mentuhotep to Assouan, and it would seem from his inscription that the tribes dwelling about the quarries had given trouble and had been subdued. This pharaoh built at Memphis and Tannis, at which latter place a statue of his wife ne Effort was found. In the times of the twelfth dynasty, it was a customary thing for Syrian Bedouins to cross the Egyptian border and seek permission to

pasture their herds on Egyptian soil. A migration of this character, which took place in the sixth year of this reign, is represented on a celebrated painting found in the tomb of Kenem Hautep, the nomarchous of the sixteenth Upper Egyptian Gnome. This painting represents the arrival of thirty seven Asiatics who came before that noble bearing costly presents, among which was especially valuable I Salve, seeking his protection and asking permission

to settle on his territory. The painting has become widely known through the attempted identification of the people here depicted with Abraham and his party. This attempt, however, is futile. The Bible relates that Abraham came to Egypt on a similar errand, and that his stay in this country was

advantageous to him. The account of the Bible shows a good knowledge of the conditions under which such migrations were made, and is certainly based on old recollections of the race, some parts of which no doubt, did dwell in Egypt under these conditions while they were yet in the nomadic state. Manetho calls this king Sesostris and attributes to him the conquest of the world, but as yet no monuments have

been discovered that bear out this statement. As Sesostris is the usual designation of Rameses second with the classical writers. It is, however, just possible that the copyists of Manetho got things slightly mixed. The king died after a reign of nineteen years, three of which he shared with his father. Shah kah Rah User Tessen twenty thirteen through nineteen eighty seven b C, who succeeded his about twenty thirteen b C. Is one of the greatest figures of Egyptian history. He

it was that finally subdued Ethiopia. The victories of Usir Tessen the first had placed the southern boundary of the realm at the Second Cataract. Usir Tessen the third immediately proceeded to strengthen this frontier and make it the basis

of his operations. Having defeated the hostile tribes of the region, he built two forts on opposite sides of the Nile, one at Semna and one at Cumna on this cataract, and in the eighth year of his reign, erected a boundary stone warning all negroes from coming down the river on their boats unless they were bringing cattle or merchant dies to mark it at he Semna or akhen Kumna. In the sixteenth year of his reign, the Pharaoh set

out on his second campaign against the Nubians. He completely devastated the country, destroyed the crops, drove off the cattle, and took numerous prisoners. Despite this great victory, the Nubians were not yet completely subdued. In the nineteenth year of his reign, the king was again compelled to take the field against them, and again he completely defeated them, taking

large numbers of prisoners and devastating the country. After this, the tribes seemed to have submitted and remained tranquil for during the rest of this epoch we hear of no new outbreaks. The king was an active builder. We have already mentioned two of his great works. He also built in Thebes, in Heracleopolis, Magna, in Abydos, in Tannis, and

in Amada. He was moreover the first founder of the temples on the island of Elephantine, where he erected a temple to satt and Anuquet, two of the local deities of the region. Near the island, he founded a new city, which he called Haru Chah Karah. It is interesting to note how posterity honored this great monarch. Almost six hundred years after the king's death, Tutmosis the Third erected a temple to him at Semna and seems to have attempted

to make him a local divinity of this region. He also appears as a god in the temple of Cumna and that of Dosha, and at other places in Nubia. User Tessen died after a reign of twenty six years. Mat en Ra Amenemht nineteen eighty six through nineteen forty two b C. About nineteen eighty six b C, Amenemht the Third, one of Egypt's greatest pharaohs, ascended the throne.

This king was not a great warrior and conqueror, but he was the projector and builder of an important work that was of far greater value to Egypt than would have been the conquest of a dozen or more of the border tribes. His fame rests on the immense reservoir he built in the western part of the twenty first Upper Egyptian gnome. This reservoir, according to all appearances, was built and not dug. A vast dam was erected, enclosing

a large area in this part of the country. The exact extent of the reservoir we have no means of ascertaining, nor do we know exactly what part of the district known today as the Faiume was enclosed in its dams, some remains of which have been discovered. The object of this vast reservoir was to regulate the inundation of the nile it received and stored up for future use vast quantities of water. Just how this was accomplished, or where the floodgates were, or what canals led to and from

the reservoir, we do not know. The great work is now in ruins, and we have no description of it as it was in the days of its builder. As stated on a previous page, this work gave to the district in which it was erected the name of Tashe lake Land, the modern name of the region Fayum, being derived through the Coptic pai Yum from the ancient word pa yum. The sea in this reservoir, a Menemhat erected two pyramids at Illehun, on the northern outlet of the reservoir,

a city, in all probability founded by the Pharaoh. He built a pyramid in which he was buried on the northeastern bank, to the great building known as the Labyrinth, about which the Greeks tell so many stories, and which was originally a temple dedicated either entire or in part to the crocodile headed god Sebach, the head of the

local pantheon of this region. The city of Crocodilopolis, the Egyptian name of which seems to have been shedet lying on the west bank of the reservoir, was the capital of Tasche, and was no doubt also founded by this ruler. The Greek name of the work lake Maurus, was most probably derived from the Egyptian word marie lake. Despite the fact that the building of the reservoir and the cities lying about it must have taken up a great part of his time, a Menemhat still was able to erect

buildings elsewhere. He certainly did not forget Thebes, and we hear that he built in Abydos and Memphis several expeditions, one of which the king led in person were sent to the diorite quarries of the Wadi Hammamat. He also continued the working of the copper and malachite mines of the Sinai, and had a grotto cut into the rock

at sarbut El Chadem. Of interest are the notes regarding the rise of the Nile found on the rocks at Semna in Cumna, which prove that the Nile rose twenty seven feet three inches higher at these places during this

time than and it rises to day. Toward the close of his reign of forty four years, he appointed his son a Menemhat co regent ra ma Cheru a Menemhat nineteen forty one through nineteen thirty two b C. This pharaoh, the fourth of his name, who ascended the throne about nineteen forty one b C, was apparently a weak king. All we know of him is that he worked the copper mines of the Sinai, and had, like all kings of his line, the rise of the Nile carefully recorded

at Semna and Cumna. He married his sister Sebach nephru Ra, whom he appointed co regent. Together they ruled about nine years. The close of the dynasty is shrouded in darkness. End of chapter three,