SUPPOSKD Al'7'i'.A.FlA-NCl': OKTril-. COliRC WHV.RK APl.^' WA5 XV. I'T WHKN K XIU HI'!' I'M . IN I ,IH!.W i..,u4irri .1 MnriAV.AU.e.ni^\ pt' Cso commonly met with in the hierot;Iy|)hics), or the ' two Misr,' a name still used hy the Aral)s, who call all Kgypt, as well as (Jairo, Mnsr or Misr. Thiimmim or Thiiiim is in like manner 'the /loo truths.' 1 Ham is also put for Egypt, as in I'salm Ixxviii. 5\- and other parts of Scripture. CHAP. I. ORIGIN OF THE EGYPTIANS. 3 by introducing him as a son of Noah. But it is more reasonable to suppose tliat a colony of Asiatics settled in Egypt at a subsequent period, and that to this cause we ought to attribute the marked distinction between the head of the Egyp- tians and the Blacks. Conjecture, however, is un- able to fix the time when the event took place ; and though it may be ascribed to an era when parts of the earth were already thickly peopled, yet probability suggests that it occurred when nations were in their infancy, and at a period far beyond the reach of history. There has always been a striking resemblance between the Egyptians and Asiatics, both as to their manners, customs, language, and religion ; and some authors have considered the valley they inliabited to belong to Asia rather than to Africa* : others, again, have divided the country into two parts, the east and west banks of the Nile, assign- ing the former to Asia, the latter to Africa, and taking the river as tlie boundary line of the two continents. In manner, language, and many other respects, Egypt was certainly more Asiatic than African ; and though there is no appearance of the Hindoo and Egyptian religions having been bor- rowed from one another, which many might be induced to conchide fiom their great analogy in some points, yet it is not improbable that those two nations may have proceeded from the same original stock, and have migrated southwards from their parent country in central Asia. * Plin. V. 9. B 2 4i THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. I. It has been the opinion of many that colonisation and civilisation descended the Nile from Ethiopia, and that the parents of Egyptian science came from the land of Cush. But this notion appears from modern investigation to be totally at variance with fact; and the specimens of art tliat remain in Ethiopia are not only inferior in conception to those of the Egyptian school, but are deficient in that character which evinces originality. In- deed, I question if the name Ethiopians was exclusively applied to the inhabitants of the coun- try lying beyond Syene ; and there is abundant reason to believe, as I shall presently show, that Ethiopia, when mentioned in the sacred history and by many profane authors, in conjunction with Egypt, frequently signified the Thebaid, the school of learning and the parent of Egyptian science. Ethiopia, though a vague name, was applied to that country, lying beyond the cataracts, which in the Scriptures, and in the Egyptian language, is called Cush; and black people*, designated as natives of "the foreign land of Cush," are gene- rally represented on the Egyptian monuments, either as captives, or as the bearers of tribute to the Pharaohs. That ciinlisation advanced northwards from the Thebaid to Lower Egypt is highly probable ; and the custom of giving precedence to the title *' Upper Country," in the hieroglyphic legends, * Plutardi says K^jpt was called Clicmi (y'//*') from the blackness (x«/it) of its soil. May not Ethiopia, 'the bidck country,' have been a translation of f 'hcnii ? HAP. I. SLOW PROGRESS OF THE DELTA. 5 may be adduced as an argument in favour of this opinion. But the period at which this civilisation commenced is not within the Hmits of history ; and neither this nor its gradual descent north- wards are subjects on which we can speculate with certainty or satisfaction. And, indeed, if we listen to Herodotus, and other writers who main- tain that the Delta is of recent date, we are led to the necessity of allowing an immeasurable time for the total formation of that space, which to judge from the very little accumulation of its soil, and the small distance it has encroached on the sea, since the erection of the ancient cities within it, would require numerous ages, and throw back its origin far beyond the Deluge, or even the Mosaic era of the Creation. Tanis, now San, and in Hebrew Zan or Tzan (Zoan), at a very remote period of Egyptian his- tory was already founded upon a plain or *' field*," at some distance from the sea shore ; and the ves- tiges of its ruins are still traced within a few miles of the coast.t The lapse of 3190 years, from the days of the great Remeses, has neither made any sensible alteration in the circumjacent levels, nor protruded the land to any distance beyond it into the sea ; and if in such a length of time the allu- vial deposit of the Nile has been unable to work a * Psalm Ixxviii. 12. and 43. ' In the field of Zoan,' ]2?:2 ni©3. ■f That is, of the lake Menzaleh. Thenesus (Thennesi) stood in that lake, or marsh, and consequently much nearer the sea. Again, Canopus, and many other towns and buildings of which vestiges remain, were, as at present, immediately on the sea shore, in the time of the Ptolemies and Pharaohs, upwards of 2000 years ago. B 3 b THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. I, sensible change, how can it for a moment be sup- posed that a period of a thousand years, which elapsed between the Deluge and the early part of that king's reign, would suffice for the formation of the icJiole Delta ? Remarks which apply with still greater force to Pelusinm, Taposiris, and Canopus, which actually stood upon the sea shore : for, as the learned Bochart justly observes, since the Egyptians themselves reported the Tanitic Mouth, and the towns of Busiris, Taphosiris, Butus, and Pelusium, to have existed even in the early time of Osiris and Horus, they must have known them not to be of recent date ; and Homer allows Me- nelaus to have come to Canopus.* And that Tanis was already built in the age of Remeses the Great, we have evidence from the scul})tured monuments now existing in its ruins, in addition to the positive authority of Scripture, Moses him- self assuring us that it was founded long before the Exodus, seven years after the town of Hebron. t It is, then, evident that neither was the period claj)sed between the Deluge and the building of Tanis sufficient to form the Delta, nor the con- stant accumulation of the alluvial deposit of the Nile capable of making so })erceptible a change in the extent of that district, as to authorise us to su])])ose the up])er parts of the country })eopled and civilised, wiiile the Delta was a marsh ; how * Botliart's Sacra, lib, iv. c. 24. •j- NiimlicTs, xiii. 22. ' n(l)r<»n was l)uilt seven years hefore Zoaii.' Il ali'e;i(ly existed in the ila\s of Ahriihani. 'And Sarali died in Kirjath- arlia : the same is Hebron.' (Jen. xxiii. 2. eonf. Josli. xv. I.'J. and Judg. i. 10. CHAP. I. PHAROS OF HOMER. , much less then can we suppose Ethiopia to have been ah'eady inhabited by the ancestors of the future colonisers of Egypt, while that part of the valley lying below the cataracts of Syene was un- dergoing its formation ? Much consequence has been attached to an expression of Homer, that '* the distance from the Isle of Pharos to AiyuTrrog was as much as a vessel with a fair wind could perform in one day ; " and this is constantly adduced as a decisive proof of the great accumulation of alluvial soil in the Delta*, and of its rapid advances into the Mediterranean, since the era of the Trojan war. But a very im- perfect acquaintance with the situation of the Isle of Pharos, and the nature of the ground on which Alexandria is built, ought to have prevented so erroneous a conclusion ; and if we readily account for the misconstruction of the AiyuTrrou Tr^ovrapoiSsf of the poet, we are surprised at the notion which extends the river and its alluvial deposit over the space between the Canopic mouth and the Pharos, hitherto unwashed by the fertilising waters of the rising Nile. And if a certain deposit does take place in the harbouo' of Alexandria, it is very trifling, and by no means capable of having united Pharos to the shore, which was done artificially by means of the Heptastadium, whose increased breadth, owing to many subsequent additions, now forms the base of the chief part of the modern city. Ancient * Plutarch tie Iside. s.40. f Odyss. A. 355. By the harbour and fresh water at the I. of Pharos, Homer evidently alludes to the site of the modern Alexandria, close to the island. B 4 8 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. I. Alexandria, tlie successor of the town of Racotis stood on the rock of the Libyan desert, which is still beyond the reach and above the level of the inundation ; and the distance from the line of the coast to Pharos is the same as in the days of Homer. Tlie error respecting its having been a day's journey from Egypt originated in the misinterpretation of the word AiyuTrroSy which is used by the poet to designate both the Nile and Egypt ; and that the river was so called in ancient times is testified by the authority of Diodorus, who states that Nileus, one of the early monarchs* of the country, transferred his name to the stream, "which previously bore that of ^gyptus."t Arriant again justly observes, that "the river, now called by the Egyptians and others Nile, is shown by Homer to have been named ^gyptus, when he relates § that Menelaus anchored his fleet at the mouth of the ^gyptus ; " and the bare in- spection of the verse to which he alludes suffices to prove his remark to be correct. It is, then, to the Nile, not to the coast of Egypt, that Homer alludes : and thus the argument derived from his authority must cease to be brought forward in sup- port of the great encroachments of the Delta, and * Diodorus places Iiim as tlic predecessor of Chembrcs, who erected the great p\ raiiiiil. ■\- ISIanctlio says Kgypt took its name froiii Scthosis, who was also called yl^Liyptiis, and was brother of Annais. .losi-phus contra Ap. lil).i. c. 15. AmIiis (Jilliiis tells us I'>{:.V|)t was fornicrly named Aeria. (xiv. (i.) X Arr. I'^xped. Alex. lib. v. and lib. vi. § Odyss. A. 477. and S. 257. : — ' Ilf/iTrrrtioi o' AiyvTTTOV nififinTij)' iKnitinOa, CHAP. I. ALLUVIAL DEPOSIT OF THE NILE. 9 of the constant advance of the land into the re- ceding sea. To any person who has examined the levels of the alluvial deposit of the Nile in various parts of its course, as from the first cataract to its mouth at Rosetta*, it is well known that the perpendicular stratum of soil, if I may so call it, decreases in thickness as it approaches the sea ; and thus at Elephantine the land has been raised about nine feet in I7OO years, at Thebes about seven, and so on, gradually diminishing to the mouth. There, indeed, the deposit is lessened in a very remarkable degree, much more than in the same decreasing ratio, in consequence of the greater extent of the land, east and west, over which the inundation spreads ; so that, in a section representing the ac- cumulated soil and the level of the low Nile, the angle of inclination would be much smaller from the fork of the Delta to the sea, than from the Thebaid to the Delta. And this is satisfactorily proved by the increase of the banks and the surface of the country at Elephantine, Thebes, Heliopolis, the vicinity of old Cairo, and other places, where the positions of ancient monuments attest the former levels of the land's surface, and enable us to ascertain the in- crease within a known period. Around the base of the obelisk at Heliopolis, erected by Osirtasen I. about 1700 years before our era, the alluvial soil has accumulated to the height of five feet ten * The banks during the low Nile are upwards of 30 feet high in parts of Nubia, in middle Egypt 20, and decrease as they are nearer the mouth. 10 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. I. inches* ; and, comparing this with Elephantine, we shall find that a monument placed there at the same period would have been buried to the depth of about nineteen feet. Heliopolis stood to the south of the Delta ; and the diminution nortliwards, for every mile, in an expanse of increasing breadth, must have been proportionably greater as it ap- proached the sea, till at the shore it became almost nnperceptible, even after the lapse of many ages. Having endeavoured to show that no argument can be derived from the appearance of the Delta, to favour the supposition of this district having been formed at a period when the upper part of the country was already inhabited, it is necessary to observe that I limit my remarks exclusively to the Nile, whose nature is very different from that of most rivers, and particularly those whose deltas have been created and rapidly increased by mate- rials brought down by their waters, and deposited at their mouths. These, consisting of trees and other vegetable productions, have tended to form here and there a nucleus for the construction of islands, afterwards connected with the mainland, and consolidated by alluvial deposit and fresh materials constantly adhering to them ; but this j)eculiarity is totally unknown at the mouth of the Kgyi)tian Nile. Jt is not my jnesent intention to enter into any s])eculation uj)on the Ibnnalion of the alluvial land • In my E^ypt and Tlielics C|). .'{ 1 .{.) I lia\ c haiil ' Itctwccn seven and L'iglit feet.' Tliis was iVoni inroiiiiation I reicived at Cairo, and, sus- pecting it to l)e erroneous, I sent to have it ascertained, and found it to [)e a» stated above. CHAP. I. EGYPTIANS AND ETHIOPIANS. 11 of Egypt, and its Delta ; and much less shall I attempt to fix the time required for such an event. This would be irrelevant and presumptuous, even if we were not limited to the period elapsed between the Deluge and the age of those early Pharaohs, in whose time all the country, as it now exists, was densely peopled. Nor would any one be permitted to assert the priority of a nation from the apparent antiquity of the soil which clothes the rocks of the country. But of this we may be asssured, that the formation of Egypt and its extensive Delta are beyond the reach of our inquiry, and of a date long anterior to the epoch at which that country or Ethiopia were inhabited. With regard to the word Ethiopia, used by ancient authors, we have many reasons for sup- posing it was sometimes intended to designate, or was confounded with, the Thebaid or Upper Egypt. The expression of Pliny, " Ethiopia was evidently renowned and powerful, even to the time of the Trojan war, . . . and extended its em- pire over Syria*," though he is speaking of Ethiopia Proper, can only have been borrowed from a tradi- tion relating to the Thebaid, since the Diospolite monarchs ruled and received tribute from Ethiopia, and actually did extend their dominion over Syria ; which the Ethiopians could not have done with- out first obtaining possession of Egypt, and that, too, at a period when the Pharaohs were in the zenith of their power. Nor is the assertion of the prophet Nahum, that Ethiopia and Egypt were the * Plin. vi. 35, 12 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. I. strength of No, less remarkable ; N6, or, as the Hebrew gives it, Na-Amun, being the name of y|| Thebes.* According to Rexodotust, *'the The- Ayx^kv^i bai'd was formerly called Egypt ; " the rest of the country being deemed of minor importance, and the Thebaid bearing this name "par excellence : ^^^ and Aristotle says, that " Egypt in ancient times was called Thebes." t Whence it may be supposed that Lower Egypt was conquered by, or annexed to, the Thebaid, or, as it was then styled, Egypt j and, if this be true, we can have no hesitation in ascribing to it the precedence of the upper country. The question respecting the comparative anti- quity and civilisation of the Egyptians and Ethio- pians has now become obsolete. I do not, therefore, detain the reader by any mention of the numerous arguments to be adduced from the monuments of both countries, to decide the priority of the Egyp- tians, which even those ancient writers, wliose au- thority some have supposed to militate against that opinion, do not fail to prove : Diodorus § allowing * Nahum, iii. 8, 9. This passage is very interesting. ' Art thou better than populous No, that was situate among the waters, that had the waters round about it ; whose rampart was tlie sea, and her wall was from the sea ? Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength : Put and Lubin were thy helpers.' The word onu'' Inriiii, 'the rivers,' is tlic Hebrew plural of the Egyptian word lAPO, ' river,' applied to the Nile. The word sea is, in tiie Hebrew, water or waters, and does not ap|)ly exclu- sively to the sea. ' Populous No' should be No or Na-Anuni, taken from" the I-'gyptian III N AMOYN, or AAIOYN-III, 'the abode of Amun,' or Diospolis. V -f- Herod, ii. ^GJ^ I j Aristot. Mctcorol. lib. i. 14. — " Apxamv i) AiyvnroQ Oijfai kuXok- fiivni" § Dioil. i. .'jO. CHAP. I. EARLY STATE OF SOCIETY. 13 that *' the Thebans consider themselves the oldest of men, and affirm that philosophy and astrology were invented by them," in no way acknowledging the Ethiopians as their predecessors : and Hero- dotus* distinctly stating that the manners of the Egyptian troops who deserted from Psamaticus had a very sensible effect in civilising the Ethiopians. Of the state of Egypt at the epoch when the arrival of Joseph, or the Exodus of the Israelites, took place, some little information may be obtained from the Bible, and from the monuments that re- main, both of which bespeak a people already far advanced in the arts and customs of civilised life. And though we must remain ignorant of their origin, and of the form of government at the com- mencement of Egyptian history, we may venture to explain, from reason and probability, some of the causes of their early and rapid progress. The wants of man in the infant stage of society are simple and easily satisfied, and he desires little more than what suffices for his maintenance and self-preservation. The rudest state is that of the hunter ; and the produce of the chase affords him all that he requires for food and raiment. His arms, or some ingenious contrivance for seizing his prey, are almost the sole objects for which any effort of the mind is roused ; and, contented with that land in which he chances to have been born, he seldom quits it in search of a more eligible spot. The shepherd, on the contrary, is frequently a * Herod, ii. 30. 14 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. I. wanderer, and tlie choice of his temporary abode depends on the abundance of food or superiority of pasture it affords to his flocks. This, and the means required for his own subsistence, are his chief care ; and he seeks not to improve his con- dition, or to advance beyond the state in which his forefathers have lived. Like the liunter, he makes no progress in civihsation ; and we ob- serve, that, though surrounded by opulent and industrious nations, the Arab, to the present day, despises customs which he feels not the inclination to adopt. Accidental circumstances generally have a tendency to form the different states of society ; and that country which, from its nature, was adapted to the chase, would be inhospitable to the shepherd, and totally unsuited to the pur- suits of tlie agriculturist. This last is the state most capable of improvement. In it, civilisation is encouraged, the industry of each individual is beneficial to the whole community, and the facility of providing for their wants enables a great num- ber of persons to employ themselves in other occu- pations. And, since the mere tillage of the soil may be j)crformcd by a small portion of the popu- lation, the surplus is led to devise some method of j)rofiting by their spare time and labour ; and the energies of the mind are called forth, both to create and to sii))ply inuncrous artificial wants. Mechanism, the division of lands, the rights of ])roperty, tlie exchange of commodities, and many other stej)s towards the improvement of society. CHAP. 1. EARLY STATE OF SOCEETY. 15 are the result of this mode of living ; and various institutions, unknown to the hunter and the shep- herd, succeed each other in proportion to the advancement of the rising state. It is, then, evident, that those countries, where argiculture is the chief occupation of the people, must make rapid progress in civilisation, and, consequently, rise to opulence and power ; and we may reason- ably suppose Egypt was one of the first to benefit by the advantages of its fruitful soil. * Assyria is another notable instance of the same fact ; and its fertility was unquestionably the cause of its early improvement and prosperity. But the primeval history of stales, especially at so remote an epoch, must necessarily be a matter of pure conjecture, since they are beyond the reach of authentic records ; and if those nations them- selves had handed down to us what they deemed their real annals, we should find them so compli- cated and improbable, that it would be out of our power to separate truth from fiction. Such is the character of the uncertain fragments of Manetho, preserved by later writers ; and even the early history of the Greeks is so encumbered with alle- gory, and a mysterious system of mythology, that it is difficult to distinguish between real events and religious fable : a mode of uniting history and metaphysical theory not peculiar to the Greeks, but adopted by other, perhaps by all, nations of * The exchange of commodities with other nations not only tends to benefit each in a commercial, but in a moral, point of view ; and it is probable that Egypt trafficked with the Tyrians, as well as with the people of Arabia, at a very remote period. 16 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. I. antiquity ; and, wherever we have been able to examine the basis on which it was constructed, a striking similarity is observable in its general outline. Whether Egypt was originally governed by an hierarchy or a monarchy, is still a question ; yet, from the circumstance of the earliest names en- closed in ovals being preceded by the title priest instead of king, we might infer the possibility of a priestly form of government ; and the account of Manetho, and other writers who mention the rule of the gods, would seem to sanction, or even re- quire, such a construction. The succession of the different gods to the sovereignty of the country would then be explained by that of the respective colleges of priests ; though the duration of their reigns is totally inconsistent with trutli or proba- bility. It is true that infant states are more usually governed by some individual, pre-eminent for his abilities either as a statesman or a warrior, than by a body of persons with equal authority ; but, as the former opinion appears to be less at variance with what history has imparted to us, it is more reason- able to conclude that, like Judaaa before tlie time of Saul, Egypt was ruled by an hierarchy, until the accession of its first king, Menes. Any attempt to fix the precise era of this pohti- cal change must be fruitless and unsatisfactory : if, however, it is beyond our reach, there are positive grounds for the conviction, that no Egyptian deity was ever supposed to have lived on earth * ; and the * Vide Herod, ii. 143. The priests ;iIso assured him that no deity had ever lived on earth (ii. 11'-^.); and IMntarch (de Isid. v. 2].) olwerves that the iidial)itants of'tlie ThchaVd entertained the same opinions. CHAP. I. NO GODS LIVED ON EARTH. Ij story of Osiris's rule in this world is purely alle- gorical, and intimately connected with the most profound and curious mystery of their religion. And so great was their respect for the important secret, and for the name of Osiris, that Herodotus* scrupled to mention him ; and Plutarch t says the Egyptian priests talked with great reserve even of his well-known character as ruler of the dead. The Egyptians justly ridiculed the Greeks for pretending to derive their origin from deities. They showed Hecataeus and Herodotus a series of three hundred and forty-five high priests, each of whom, they observed, was ** a man, son of a man," but in no instance the descendant of a god : thus censuring the folly of Hecataeus, who claimed a deity as his sixteenth ancestor. Such is the mean- ing of the expression in Herodotus t, "a piromis, son of a piromis : " and it is singular that the historian should not have understood the signifi- cation of the word romi (man, or piromi, the man), as the sense alone suffices to point it out ; and his translation proves how ignorant he was of the language of the country in which he tra- velled. Indeed, the information of Herodotus was frequently of a very imperfect kind, owing some- times to an excess of credulity, of which the hu- morous Egyptians gladly took advantage in a Greek, and sometimes to a want of scrutiny, as may be seen in the account he gives of the sources of the Nile.§ * Herod, ii. 80. ct alibi. t Pint, cle Is. s. 79. % Herod, ii. 143. § Herodot. ii. 28. VOL. T. C 18 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. 1. The kings of Egypt are arranged by Manetho in twenty-six dynasties, from the time of Menes to the invasion of Cambyses, which happened B. c. 525 ; but whether any dependence can be placed on the names and number of the kings be- fore the accession of the eighteenth dynasty, is a matter of great doubt ; and some of the authors to whom we are indebted for the fragments of his work disagree in their arrangement. Nor do the monuments render us any assistance in this portion of the early history ; though the great similarity in the names and order of the monarchs, in the eighteenth and some of the succeeding dynasties, suggests the probability of the original work of Ma- netho having been derived from authentic sources. One great difficulty arises from the long duration assigned to the Egyptian monarchy : the sum of years from Menes to the Persian invasion being, according to Manetho, about 4750 years, without reckoning the fourteenth dynasty ; and Herodotus' account, who was assured by the priests that 830 kings succeeded that prince*, requires, on an ave- rage of fifteen years to a reign, about 4950 years for the same period. A similar objection applies to the statements of Diodorus and other writers ; but, as the examination of controverted questions can offer little interest to the reader, I shall only venture a few remarks on the period previous to the arrival of Joseph. * L. ii. s. 100. lit' may mean 330 kinj^s from Mcncs to Amasis, though he says to Mccris ; and in s. 1+3. he speaks of 315 kings and high priests, and in s. 14-2. of S+l generations before Sethos. He confounds reigns with generations. CHAP. I. THE PYRAMIDS. 19 The oldest monuments of Egypt, and probably of the world, are the pyramids to the north of Memphis ; but the absence of hieroglyphics and of every trace of sculpture precludes the possibility of ascertaining the exact period of their erection, or the names of their founders. From all that can be collected on this head, it appears that Suphis and his brother Sensuphis * erected them about the year 2120 b. c.f ; and the tombs in their vicinity may have been built, or cut in the rock, shortly after their completion. These present the names of very ancient kings, whom we are still unable to refer to any certain epoch, or to place in the series of dynasties ; but whether they were cotemporary with the immediate predecessors of Osirtasen t, or ruled the whole of Egypt, is a question that I do not as yet pretend to answer. Previous to the accession of the first Osirtasen, who probably lived about 1740 b. c. and was there- fore cotemporary with Joseph, we have little to guide us upon the monuments of Egypt ; but we may safely conjecture, from the state of those erected during his reign, that the Egyptians were * Sensuphis signifies the brother of Suphis, agreeing with the rela- tionship mentioned by Herodotus between Cheops and Cephren, They were succeeded by Moscheris or Mencheres, the Mycerinus of the Greek historian. Suphis, according to Manetho, was the second king in the fourth dynasty of Memphites, f This is following Eratosthenes, who places Suphis or Saophis the fourth before Apappus, whom I suppose to have been the cotemporary of Abraham, b. c. 1920. For if Jacob's arrival, b. c. 1706, is referred to the reign of Apappus, the antiquity of these monarchs is unnecessarily increased, and the additional 214 years augment our perplexities on the subject. J If we may believe Josephus, Manetho speaks of kings of the Thebaid and the rest of Egypt uniting in a common cause ; and thereby shows the existence of cotemporary dynasties. c 2 ^0 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. I. already far advanced in the arts of civilised life, and had arrived nearly at the same state in which they continued during what may be styled the Augustan era of the eighteenth dynasty. This is further con- firmed by the scriptural sketch of Egyptian manners in the time of Joseph j but we have nothing to lead to any conclusion respecting the exact duration of the previous reigns, the organisation and progress of the political state of the country, or the period from which its civilisation dates its commencement. Nor can any thing satisfactory be derived from the imperfect history* of the shepherd kings given by Manetho, or at least by his copyists : and his account of their aggressions is not sufficiently clear to enable us to determine whether he alludes to the Assyrians, Phoenicians, or Arabs.t That they were not Jews is evident ; though, as I have al- ready observed in a former work, the Exodus of the Israelites may possibly, through the inattention of some authors, have been confounded with the expulsion of the Pastor tribes : and their abomin- ation of shepherds necessarily originating in serious injuries received from them, as it already existed in the time of Joseph, proves their hostile invasions to have ha))pcned before that period. About the epoch of the Jewish captivity, Egypt must have been engaged in a war with some powerful enemies, since the reason of the oi)pres- • Many histories of Epypt were wrilteii al (liflcrunt periods, by native as well as iorei<^n authors, whieh luivc iinlortniiately been lost. Conf. Cicero, de Republ. iii. H. ' Ilia ineornipta gente r,gyj)liorum, (jua? pliirimonnn et succiiloruni et eventorinn nuiiioriuin Uteris conlinet.' f Herodotus ealis Sennaeheril) ' king of Arabia and Assyria.' (lib. ii. 141. ' CHAP. I. THE SHEPHERD KINGS. 21 sion exercised against the unresisting Hebrews is stated to have been the fear of their uniting with them * ; and, indeed, it appears from the sculptures of Beni Hassan, that the Egyptians already, as early as the reign of Osirtasen, had extended their arms into Asia, had thence brought many captives to Egypt, and had perhaps enrolled some of the con- quered people in their army, as was frequently the case at a later period. This war with foreign na- tions is another strong argument against the opi- nion of Josephus that the Jews were the Shepherds, and the pretended power of his countrymen at so early an epoch is inconsistent with reason and pro- bability. The Jews, even in the most flourishing state, when in firm possession of the promised land, and united under one king, never did arrive at the degree of power which he has ascribed to them in Egypt ; and the whole is at variance with Scrip- ture history. There is great difficulty in assigning a date to the irruption of those invaders, and their occu- pation of Lower Egypt. The forty-three Pastor or Shepherd kings, placed by Manetho as cotem- poraries of the same number of Theban princes, who composed the seventeenth dynasty, ill agree with the monuments that remain ; since Osirtasen I., who must have been one of the cotemporary Egyptian monarchs, ruled the lower as well as the * Exodus i. 10. * Lest .... when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us.' According to Ma- netho, the Egyptians had obtained possession of Libya long before this epoch, since he speaks of the Libyans revolting from the first king of tha third dynast}^ Vide infra, p, 26. c 3 22 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. I. upper country. What may have happened before his accession, 1 do not pretend to decide ; but the pyramids, and the tombs in their vicinity, v^hich I conceive to have been much anterior to his reign, are evidently Egyptian ; and as this circumstance requires a long period of tranquillity and freedom from aggression, previous to the reign of Osirtasen, the seventeenth dynasty of shepherds is rendered still more doubtful. It is, however, remarkable, that no buildings of a date prior to the reign of Osirtasen I., excepting the pyramids, some tombs and grottos, now exist in Upper or Lower Egypt: and hence these questions naturally arise : — Did Osirtasen expel the invaders from Lower Egypt, and afterwards erect the edifices to which the obelisks at Heliopolis and in the Fyoom once belonged? and if so, wliy have we not pointed allusions to those battles and welcome victories in the tombs of Beni Hassan ? Or are we to attribute the absence of monuments before the reign of Osirtasen to their great antiquity and consequent dilapidation ? The last is more probable, since those bearing the name of Osirtasen only consist of a few broken columns at Karnak and the two obelisks above mentioned ; the grottos of Beni Hassan being hewn in the imperishable rock : and, indeed, without them his name would have been almost as little known as those of other kings who preceded him. Nor could tlic loss of the early monuments have been the result of the irruption of tlie Pastors ; since we do not even find any remaining at Thebes, which is beyond the ])oint whither the invaders CHAP. I. BEFORE THE 17TH DYNASTY. 23 appear to have penetrated, and, consequently, out of the reach of destruction. I am, therefore, of opinion that the irruption of the Pastors was anterior to the erection of any building now extant in Egypt, and long before the accession of the seventeenth dynasty * ; but, until some further light is thrown on the subject, either by the monuments or some equally authentic source, it will be better to commence our history of Egypt with the reign of that monarch whose records exist, and from whom we can establish a regular succes- sion. I shall, however, first introduce the names and order of the sovereigns mentioned by Hero- dotus, Diodorus, Manetho, and Eratosthenes, with a few remarks on the probable origin of the shep- herd kings ; and then proceed, in the next chap- ter, to a comparison of the names occurring on the monuments, with the catalogues of the priest of Sebennytus, and other ancient authors. And in order to present a comparative view of the succession from Menes to the invasion of Cam- byses, according to Herodotus and Diodorus, I shall arrange the names given by those historians separately in opposite columns. * The old chronicle gives four Memphites to the seventeenth dynasty, and eight Tanites to the sixteenth, which I have followed in preference to the forty-three of Manetho. Egyptian (tagger, lengtli 11| inches. Salt's Colleclion. c 4 24 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. I Egyjttian Kings, according to Herodotus. " Menes. pi 8 Ethiopians and Queen Nitocris. (The Nitocris of ]\Ianetho is placed in the 6th Dynasty, and after Supliis the founder of the great pyramid.) °< Moeris, built the Labyrinth and excavated the lake Maeris. Sesostris, the great conqueror. g Pheron, his son A Memphite, whose name according to the Greeks is Proteus. Rhampsinitus. .S Cheops, built the great pyramid and W reigned 50 years. u O ~~^ Cephren, his brother, built the 2d pyra- g mid and reigned 56 years. •s 5j Mycerinus, son of Cheops, left a pyra- S mid. Asychis. Anysis, who was blind. The Egyp- tian crown passed to an Ethiopian line. Sabaco, the Ethiopian, retired after 50 years. Anysis restored. Sctlios (Sc-phtlia) tlie priest of Vnlcan (Phtha or Pthah) cotcmporary of Scnnachcril) and Tirliaka. According to Diodorus: * Menes, or Menas. Then 2 of his de- "j During a period of scendants. |- more than J ,400 Then 52 Kings. J years. Busiris. Then 8 of his descendants ; the last of whom bore the same name as the first •!•, and was said to have founded Thebes. His 8th descendant, who bore the name of his father, Ucho- reus, reputed to be the founder of Memphis. Then 1 2 generations of Kings. Myris, dug the lake above Memphis. Seven generations of Kings. Sesoosis I. the great conqueror. Sesoosis II. Many kings succeeded him. Amasis, who was conquered by Acti- sanes. Actisanes the Ethiopian. Mendes, or Marrhus, an Egyptian, who built the labyrinth as a tomb for himself. An interregnum for 5 generations. Cetna, or Cetes, who is Proteus. Rhemphis. Seven Kings of no note, from one of whom, Nileus, the river was called Nilus, having formerly borne the name of vEgyptus. Tiie eighth was Chcinbes, or Chemmis, the Rlemphite. He reigned 50 years, and built the great pyramid. Cephren, liis brother, reigned 56 years; others say he was his son, and call him Chabry'is. Mycerinus, or Cherinus, son of the founder of the great pyramid. He l)egan a third, and died before it was finished. Tnephaclithus, the Tcchnatis of Plu- tarch. Bocchoris the Wise, his son. After a long time, Sabacon the Ethio- pian. An interregnum of 2 years. • It is singular that Diodorus does not introduce the name of Osymandyas in this list if kings, though lie mentions him as a Thcban monarch in his description of tliat city, t Some suppose him to have been Busiris II. CHAP. I. MAMETHOS DYNASTIES. 25 Egyptian Kings, according to Herodotus. The 12 Kings reigned over Egypt, divided into 12 parts * (or nomes). Psammitichus, one of the 12, 54 years. Necos, his son, reigned 1 1 years. Psammis, his son, 6 years. Apries, his son, 25 years. Amasis, having usurped the throne, 44 years. Psammenitus, his son, reigned 6 months. According to Diodorus. Twelve chiefs (monarchs) 18 years. Psammetichus the Sa'ite, one of them, 54 years. After 4 generations, came Apries, who reigned 22 years. Amasis, 55 years. The Dynasties of Egyptian Monarchs, according to Manetho (on the authority of Africanus and Eu- sebius), are as follows : — \st Dynasty of 8 Kings, either Thinites or Tfiebans. Name. Duration of Reign, yrs. 1. Menes, the Thinite, succeeded the Demigods, killed by a hippopotamus 2. A th 6th is, his son, built the palace at Memphis, and wrote the anatomical books, being a physician 3. Cencenes (Kenkenes), his son 4. Venephes (Enephes or Venephres), his son, raised the pyramids near the town of Cochone (Cochoma or Choe). A great plague in Egypt during his reign 5. Usaphaedus (Saphaidos or Usaphaes), his son . - . - 6. Miebidus (Niebes or Niebais), his son - - - 7. Semempses (Semenpses or Mempses), his son. A terrible pestilence raged in Egypt . . - 8. Bienaches (Ubienthes or Vibethis), his son „ . - 62 57 31 23 20 - 26 26 Total - 253 Observations. Called a Theban by Eratosthenes, and apparently so ac- cording to the mo- numents. Euse- bius mentions 7 or 1 7 sons of Menes. According to Africa- nus 253, Eusebius 252 ; the sum being really 263. * The same division of Egypt into 12 provinces, or beyliks, was retained to the time of the Memlooks. 26 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. I. 2c? Dynasty of 9 Thinite Kings. Name. Duration of Reign. 1. Boethus the first (or Bochus). In his reign the earth opened at Bubastis, and many were killed 2. Caeechos (Chous or Cechous), under him the bulls Apis in Memphis, and Mnevis in Heliopolis, and the Men- desian goat were appointed to be gods _ . - - 3. Binothris (or Biophis), under whom it was enacted that women might hold the reins of government r According to Eusebius, these" 4-. lias three, and their four succes- 5. Sethenes J sors, did nothing worthy of 6. CllEereS commemoration, and he omits their names. 7. Nephercheres (the seventh successor of' Biophis, according to Eusebius). Fabulists reported the Nile to have flowed with honey during eleven days . . - - 8. Sesochris, who was 5 cubits (7 ft. 6 in.) in height, and 3 in breadth ; or, according to Eusebius, 3 palms - 9. Cheneres (or Keneres). Name omit ted by Eusebius yrs. 38 39 47 17 17 25 48 - 30 Observations, Altogether - - 302 3d Dynasty, of 9 Memphite Kings. 1. Necherophes (Echerophes or Ncche- rochis). In his reign the Libyans revolted from the Egyptians ; but alarmed by an unexpected increase of the moon submitted 2. Tosorthrus (or Sesorthus), called Asclepiusby the Egyptians, from his medical skill. He introduced the mode of building with hewn stone, and patronised literature 28 29 This introduction of the worship of sa- cred animals is re- markable. Eusebius gives 297 years. CHAP. I. MANETHO*S DYNASTIES. 27 Name. Duration of Reign. Observations. 3. Tyris r ^ yrb. 7 4. Mesochris Eusebius mentions 17 5. Soy phis (Souphis or Zouphis) six others after Se- sorthus, who were J not famed for any memorable exploit : 16 *19 6. Tosertasis This name reminds us 7. Aches and he omits their 42 of Osirtasen. 8. Sephuris - names. 30 9. Cerpheres - - 26 Altogether - - 214 Eusebius gives the to- tal 197 years. ^th Dynasty, of 8 Memphite Kings of a dif- ferent branch. 1. Soris - - - - 29 Eusebius omits the 2. Suphis. Built the largest pyramid, which Herodotus says was con- structed by Cheops. He was arro- gant towards the gods, and wrote the sacred book, which is regarded by the Egyptians as a very precious work* - - - - 63 name of Soris, and considers Suphis the 3d of this Dynasty. 3. Suphis (the 2d) ' - 66 4. Mencheres 63 5. Rhatceses The names of these are 25 6. Bicheris omitted by Eusebius. "22 7. Sebercheres - 7 8. Thampthis - . - 9 Altogether - - 284 According to Eusebius 5th Dynasty, of 9 Elephantine Kings. 448 years. 1. Usercheres 1 28 2. Sephres Eusebius reckons 13 3. Nephercheres (or 31 Elephantine 4. Nerchepheres) Sisires (Sisichis or < kings, but omits all their names, and introduces 20 > Sisiris) Othius and Phi- 7 5. Cheres (or Echeres) ops into this Dy- 20 6. Rathures (or Rathu- nasty. ris) I 44 7. Mencheres (or Mercheres) - - 9 8. Tancheres (or Tacheres) - - 44 9. Obnus (Unus or Onnus) - - 33 Altogether - - 248 The sum is 218. * This is very contradictory. 28 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. I. 6tk Dynasty, of 6 Memphite Kings. Name. Duration of Rei" 1. Othoes (Othius or Thoes) killed by his guards - - - - 2. Phius - - . . 3. Methusuphis - - - 4. Phiops (or Aphiops), who began to reign at the age of 6 years, and reigned until he completed his 100th year .... 5. Menthesuphis . _ _ 6. Nitocris.* The handsomest woman of her time, of a florid complexion and flaxen hair ; built the third pyramid yrs. 30 53 7 9i. 1 12 Total 203 1th Dynasty, of 70 Memphite Kings, ivho reigned 70 days ; or, according to Eusebius, 5 Kings, who reigned 15 days or years. 8lh Dynasty, of 27 Memphite Kings, who reigned 156 years. Eusebius gives 5 Kings and 106 years. 9th Dynasty, of 19 Heracleopolite Kings, who reigned 409 years ; or, according to Euse- bius, 4, tvho rilled J 00 years. 1. The first was Achthoes (Achthros, Ochthovis, orOchitois). More cruel than all his predecessors; and, hav- ing perpetrated many crimes in Egypt, he was seized with madness, and afterwards killed by a croco- dile. IQth Dynasty, of 19 Heracleopolite Kings, who reigned 1 85 years. Observations. Omitted by Eusebius. As Eusebius calls Phiops the 4th King, he evidently intends to place him in the Sixth Dy- nasty. Is he not the same as Apophis? Nitocris, or Minerva victrix (potens?). Should be 197. • This name is either Neit-gori, or Neit-acri. was also called Neit-ucfi. The Queen of Psamaticus 3d CHAP. I. DYNASTIES. w 11th Dynasty, of IQ Diospolite Kings, who reigned 43 years. Name. Duration of Reign. yrs. Of these, Ammenemes reigned - - 16 [The whole of the above-mentioned kings t)Q(^ is"*©^, who reigned during the space of 2300 years, and 70 days.* This termi- nates Manetho's first book.] SECOND BOOK OF MANETHO. llth Dynasty, of^ Diospolite Kings. Sesonchosis (Geson-Goses, or Seson- choris), son of Ammanemes Ammanemes (or Ammenemes), slain by his eunuchs . - - Sesostris conquered all Asia in nine years, and Europe as far as Thrace, every where erecting monuments of his conquests over those nations. Among the people who had acted bravely, he set up memorials of a phallic nature ; but among the de- generate, female emblems engraved on stelae. He is considered by the Egyptians to be the first after Osiris. His stature was 4 cubits, 3 palms, and 2 digits (about 6 feet 10 inches) Lachares (Labaris, Lamaris^, or Lam- bares), built the labyrinth in the Ar- sinoite nome as a tomb for himself - Ammeres (or Ameres) Ammenemes Scemiophris (Skemiophris), his sister 46 38 48 Eusebius omits the names of these three, and says the succes- sors of Lambaris reigned 42 years. Altogether 160 Observations. According to Euse- bius these 16 years are not included in the total of 43. If this is the Ma?ris of Herodotus, he is perhaps correct in making him theim- mediate successor of Sesostris. According to bius 245. * The total of the sums given by Africanus is only 2287 years 70 days; or, corrected, 2261 years 70 days. Eusel)ius has omitted two of these sums; but, assuming them the same as those of Africanus, his total of years would be 2059 and 75 days. 30 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. I. IStfi Dynasty, of 60 Diospolite Kings, wlio reigned 453 years. \^th Dynasty, of^Q Xoite Kings, who reigned 134 years. Eusebius says 484; anotJier reading gives 184. \Bth Dynasty, of the Shepherds. According to Eusebius of Diospolitans, who reigned 250 years. Name. Duration of Reign. These were 6 foreign Phoenician Kings, who took Memphis. 1. The first was Saites, from whom the Saite* nome borrowed its name. The Shepherds founded a city in the Sethroite nome, from whence they invaded and conquered all Egypt - 2- Beon (Bnon, Anon, or Byon) - 3- Pachnan (or Apachnas) 4« Staan . - . _ 5. Archies (or Anchles) 6. Apdphis (or Aphobis) JTS. 19 44 61 50 49 61 Altogether - 284 Aiiogeiner - - -zo'b \6th Dynasty, of^^ Hellenic Shepherd Kings, who reigned 518 years. Eusebius gives 5 Theban Kings, who reigned 1 90 years. 1 6th Dynasty, of 43 Shepherd Kings and 43 Theban Diospolites. Eusebius introduces the Kings of the \5th Dyyiasty of Africanus, whom he calls Pho&nician Shepherds. ' 1 llh Dynasty of ylfncanus. yrs. Tlic cotfinporary reigns of the Slieplierds and Tliebans lasted - 151 (He omits their names.) Mill Dynasty of Eusebius. yrs. 1. Saites - - 19 2. 13noii (Anon) - 40 3. Archies (Aiwphis) 30 4. Apojjhis (Archies) - 14 Observations. Total 103 Probably meaning Lower Egypt, which even in the time of the Romans was distinguished from the Theba'id by the name Egyptus. Aphoph signifies a giant. According to Euse- bius 250. Differing from the to- tal of the 15 Dyn. of African us. Very improbable. CHAP. I. MANETHO S DYNASTIES. 31 Accordiyig to Africanus, of 1 6 Diospolite Kings. yrs. 1. Amos, in whose time Moses went out of Egypt 2. Chebros - - 13 3. Amenophthis - 24 4. Amersis ( Amensis) 22 5. Misaphris (Mis- phris) - - 13 6. Misphragmathosis ( Misphragmutho- sis), in whose time happened the de- luge of Deucalion 26 7. Tuthmosis - -9 8. Amenophis, sup- posed to be Mem- non of the musical stone 9. 10. ISth Dynasty. According to Eusehius, of 1 4 Diospolite Kings. yrs. 1. Amoses ( Amosis) - 25 Horus Acherrhes 31 11. Rathos 12. Chebres - 13. Acherres 14. Armeses - 6 12 12 - 5 15. Ramesses (Ameses or Armesis) 16. Amenophath Amenoph (262) Total (or - 19 - 263 2. Chebron - - 13 3. Amophis (Ameno- phis) . -21 4. Miphris (Mem- phres, Mephres) - 12 5. Misphragmuthosis (Myspharmu the- sis, or Misphrag- muthos) - - 26 6. Tuthmosis - - 9 7. Amenophis (Am- nophis). It is he who is supposed to be Memnon of the musical stone - 31 8. Orus - 36, 27, or 37 9. Achencheres ( A chencherses, or Achencherres) 1 6 or 1 2 [10. Athoris, 39, (A- choris)] - - 7 [11. Chencherres.] In his time Moses led the Jews out of Egypt - - 18 10. [12.] Acherres - 8 11. [13.] Cherres - 15 12. [14.] Armais, who was also called Da- naus, reigned - 5 After which he was expelled by his brother ^gyptus, and fled to Greece. He took Argos, of which he became King. 13. Ramesses (Am- meses) called also ^gyptus. [15. Re- messes] - - 68 14. Amenophis (or Me- mophis). [16. Me- nophes] - - 40 Observations. Amensis is omitted by Eusebius, being a Queen. V. Thothmes 2d in my list of Kings, agree- ing with the date of the deluge of Deu- calion. In the Armenian text Achoris and Chen- cherres are omitted, and the Exodus fol- lows the name of Achencheres. The real name appears to be Amunophth. Total 348 Or 380, 369, 378, 384, or 337. 32 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. I. 1 9th Dynasty. According to Africanus, ofl Diospolite A'ings. yrs. 1 . Sethos - - 5 1 2. Rapsaces - - 61 3. Ammenepthes - 20 4. Rameses - •• 60 5. Animonemnes - 5 6. Thuoris, called by Homer Polybus, the liusband of Ai- candra, in whose reign Troy was taken Total - 7 - 209 According to Eusebius, of 5 Diospolite Kings. yrs. 1. Sethos - - 55 2. Rampses (or Rapses) 6G 3. Amenephthis (or Amenophthis) - 8 4. Ammenemes - 26 5. Thuoris, the Polybus of Homer - - 7 Total 194 In this 2d book of Manetho are 96 Kings, who ruled 2121 years. THIRD BOOK OF MANETHO. 2Qth Dynasty, of 12 Diospolite Kings, ivho reigned 1 35 years, or according to Eusebius 172 years. TJuiir names are omitted. 2\st Dynasty, of 7 According to Africanus. yrs. 1. Smendes (Smerdes, or Smedes) - 26 2. Psusenes (Psuneses, or Psusennes) - 46 3. Nephelcheres - 4 Amenophthis (or Amencnophthis) - Osochor (Osoclion) Psinaclies (I'inachcs) Psusennes (Susen- ncs) 9 6 9 - 14 Total 130 Tanite Kings, According to Eusebius. Smcndis (or Amen- dis) Psusennus yrs. 26 41 Nephercheres pherchenes) Amenophthis Osochor Psinnaches Psosennes Total (Ne- - 6 - 9 - 35 130 Observations, V. Remeses 5, in my list of Kings. Scaliger omits this Dy- nasty, and i n trod uces the same Kings in the 'JOlh Dynasty. Syncelliis gives in tiie 2()th Dynasty : Necliepsos, 1 9 years. Psanimuthis, 13 years. 4 years. Certus, 1 6 years. Uhanii)sis, 45 years. Amcnses, or Anunc- ncmes, 26 years. Ocliyras, 14 years. And in one version Amenophthis is l)lace(l l)erore Ne- pheirheres, in the 21st Dynasty. CHAP. I. MANETHO S DYNASTIES. 33 lid Dynasty. According to Africanus of 9 Bubastite Alngs. yrs. 1. Sesonchis (Seson- chosis) - - 21 2. Osorthon (Osoroth) 15 3. rXliree names not 4. < given, of kings }- 25 5. |_ who reigned 6. Tacelothis (Tacello- this) - - 13 g' J Nami 9. 1 •■^' ioroiiij 1, snot"! ings I 2, .d J acello- - 1; les omitted, I .,, reigned. [ Total - 1 20 According to Eusebius of 3 Bubastite Jungs. yrs. 1. Sesonchusis (Seson- chosis) - - 2) 2. Osorthos (Osorthon) 15 3. Tacellothis (Takello- this) - - li Total - 44 23c? Dynasty. According to Africanus, of 4 Tanite Kings. yrs. 1 . Petoubates ( Petii- bastes). In his time the Olympiads be- gan - - 40 2. OsorchA(Osorch6n), whom the Egypt- ians call Hercules - 8 3. Psammus - - 10 4. Zet - (34 or) 31 Total 28 According to Eusebius, of 3 Tanite Aln"s. 1. Petubastis 2. Osorthon 3. Psammus yrs 25 Observations. Pet-Pasht? - 10 Totid 44 24^A Dynasty. Bocchoris, the Saite, in wliose reign a sheep spoke I - - - %Sth Dynasty of 3 Ethiopian Kings. 1. Sabaco (Sabbacon), who took Bocchoris and burnt him alive, reigned - - 8 2. Sebichus (Sebichos, or Sevechus) his son 14 3. Tarcus - - 18 Total VOL. I. - - 40 According to Eusebius. 6 ; Called the Wise. No mention is made of his fa- ther Tnephac- tus. Taracus yrs. - 12 - 12 - 20 Total 34 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. 1. 26tk Dijnasty^ of 9 Saite Kings. 1. Stephinates - 7 • 2. Nechepsos (Nerep- s6s) - - - G 3. Nechao I. (Nachao) 8 4. Psammeticus(Psain- metichus, Psamme- tychus, or Psammi- ticus) - -54 5. Nechao II. Took Jerusalem, and car- ried Joachaz the King captive to Egypt - . 6 6. Psammuthis - - 6 7. Vaphris, to whom the remainder of the Jews fled when Je- rusalem was taken by the Assyrians - 19 8. Amosis 9. Psammecherites ( Psamm acheri tes ) reigned - 6 months Total - 150 yrs. 6 months yrs. Ammeres the Ethio- pian - - 18 Stephinathis (Ste- phanathes) - - 7 Nechepsos - - 6 Nechao I. - - 6 Psammetichus - 44 6. Nechao II. Psammuthes, called also Psammitichus - 17 Vaphres - - 25 9. Amosis 42 Total -167 21th Dynasty, of 8 Persian Kings. Name. 1. Cambyses reigned over Persia 5 (9?) years, and over Egypt 2. Darius, son of Hystaspes 3. Xerxes the Great - 4-. Artabanus - - 7 months 5. Artaxerxcs - - - - 6. Xerxes - - 2 months 7. Sogdianus - - 7 months 8. Darius the son of Xerxes Duration of Reign. yrs. 6 36 21 41 19 Total - 124' years 4 months 28^/* Dynasty. VIS. Amyrteus of .Sais (Amyrtacus, Amyrteos) " 6 ObservalionB. Euseblusgives 12() years and four inonlhs. CHAP. I. MANETHO S DYNASTIES. 35 29th Dynasty-, of 4 Mendesian Kings. yrs. 1. Nepherites (Neche rites) - - 6 2. Achoris - - 13 3. Psammutliis - 1 Nephorites (Nepho- rotis, or Nepho- rotes) - 4 months Total - 20 yrs. 4 months I. Nepherites - 6 Achoris - - 13 Psammuthes - 1 Muthes - - - 1 Nepherites (or A ne- pherites) - 4 months Total - 21 yrs. 4 months SOtk Dynasty, of 3 Sebennyte Kings. yrs. 1. Nectanebes - - 18 2. Tecs - - 2 3. Nectanebes (Necta- nebus) - - 18 Total - 38 Total yrs. . 10 20 ^\st Dynasty, of Persians. yrs. 1. Ochus (Artaxerxes III.) ruled Persia 20 years, and Egypt Arses Darius - Total 1. Ochus, who in his 20th year obtained possession of Egypt, and reigned 2. Arses, son of Ochus 3. Darius, conquered by Alexander Total - 16 Observaliuns. One version places Muthes after Nepherites II. (The whole number of years in the third book of Manetho is 1050.)* Such is the imperfect hst of Kings given by the copyists of Manetho ; but though many of the Dynasties are questionable, yet from a comparison with the old Chronicle and the Canon of Theban Kings from Eratosthenes, some general conclusions may be obtained respecting their succession and the different families who enjoyed the sovereign * Vide IVIr. Corry's very useful collection of " Ancient Fragments." D 2 36 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. I. power. From Menes to the 18th, or at least to the l6th Dynasty, there is great obscurity ; and Manetho's work is unsatisfactory, both in the num- ber of monarchs who reigned and in the names of the Dynasties. Major FeUx conjectures, with great probabiUty, tliat the l6th and 17th Dynasties, ac- cording to our lists derived from the monuments, are the 12th, or the 12th and 13th of Manetho. The names in the former are given, but those of the 13th are omitted. The 15th, which I suppose to have but one king, will then be the 11th of Manetho, in which too only one is introduced, and a Diospolitan, Ammenemes, a name not very unlike Menmoph ; though he states there were 15 others, whose names are not mentioned. If so, the intermediate Dy- nasties between the 13th and 18th have been inter- polated, or were contemporary in Lower Egypt. In the Old Egyptian Chronicle, after the demi- gods are enumerated 15 generations of the Cynic cycle, which occupied 443 years. The yrs. 16th Dynasty is of Tanitcs, eight descents, during - 190 17. Of Memphites, 11' in descent - - - - 103 18. Of Memphites, 4< in descent - - - -348 19. Of Uiospolites, 5 in descent - - - 194< 20. Of Diospolites, H in descent - - - - 228 21. Of 'J unites, 6 in descent 121 22. Of Tanites, 3 in descent - - - - 48 23. Of Diosjwlites, 2 in descent - - - - 19 24. Of Sa'itcs, 3 in descent .... 44 25. Of l'ithioj)ians, 3 in descent - - . . 44, 26. Of Memphites, 7 in descent - - -177 27. Of Persians, 5 in descent - - - 124 28. - - 29. Of Tanites, .... in descent - - - 39 30. A Tanite, 1 in descent - - - - - 18 Total, 30 Dynasties and 36,52.5 years, including 3984 of the reigns of ('ronus and the other 12 Deities. CHAP. I. TIIEBAN KINGS. 37 The Kings of Thebes, according to Eratosthenes, are — 1. Menes the Theban, which is by interpretation Dionius : he reigned - - - - 62 2. Athothes, the son of Menes, by interpretation Hermo- genes - - - - - - 59 3. Athothes 11. - - - - - 32 4. Diabies, the son of Athothes, signifying Philetaerus - 19 5. Pemphos (or Semphos), the son of Athothes, called Heraclides - - - - 18 6. Toegar-amachus Momchiri the Memphite, called a man redundant in his members (or Yoigaramos) - - 79 7. Stoechus his son, who is Ares the Senseless - - 6 8. Gosormies, called Etesipantos - - - 30 9. Mares his son, signifying Heliodorus - - - 26 1 0. Anoyphis, which is " a common son " - - 20 1 1. Sirius, or " the Son of the Cheek," or " Abascantus "' - 18 12. Chnubus Gneurus, which is Chryses the son of Chryses 22 1.3. Rauosis, which is Archicrator - - - 13 J'l'. Biyris - - - - - - 10 These three are probably the Suphis I. and II. and Mencheres of Manetho ; tlie Cheops, Cephrenes, and Myeerinus of Hero- dotus. 27 29 31 15. Saophis " Comastes," or ac cording to some "Chrema tistes." 16. Saophis the 2d. 17. Moscheres or " Heliodotus.'' 18. Musthis - - - - - - 33 19. Pammus (Pammes or Pamnus) Archondes - - 35 20. Apappus or " Maximus " (^a ii ^ o C3 >• _ tf J" ' Era of the Chinese empe- ror Yao, 2057. Built the second pyramid. Built the third pyramid. Abraham visits Egypt, 1920. {Aqueen,calledNicaule by Josephus. Antiq. viii. 6. r Kingdom of Argos found- \ ed, 1856. Deluge of Ogyges in Attica. Diospolite King ? -U (Unccrtain.) Misartcscn j- I6th Dynasty, of Tanites ? Vide the list of kingsinPlatel. of my Egypt and Thebes. Osirtasen I. Amun-iii-gori ? I. Amun-in-gori ? II. Arrival of Joseph, 1 706 "I. (Uncertain. I) ] 1th Dynasty, of Mcmphites f Osirtasen II. N()fri-Ftep,or 1 Osirtasen 1 1 1. J Amun-m- 1 pori? III. j (Name un- j known) j Joseph died 1635 B. c. 2083 2043 2022 2011 2001 1901 1900 1890 1880 1866 1848 1830 1740 1696 1686 1651 1636 1621 1580 * In the list of the ancestors of Itcmcscs IT. at the Memnoniiim, no kin^' intervenes between Menes and tlie IHth Dynasty Init Mcnniopli, wliich 1 suppose to i)e in eonscqucnce of his having been the only Theban monarch iteforc (he time of Ainosis {vide' infra, note on Aniosis). f The error in tliis name aro.se from tlie <,i liavin^ bopn mistaken for ),. X Viilr .yiiprn, p. 10. CHAP. II. REIGN OF OSIRTASEN I. 43 The accession of the first Osirtasen I conceive to date about the year I74O b. c, and the length of his reign must have exceeded 43 years. If the name of this monarch was not ennobled by mili- tary exploits equal to those of the Remeses, the encouragement given to the arts of peace, and the flourishing state of Egypt during his rule, evince his wisdom ; and his pacific character satis- factorily accords with that of the Pharaoh * who so generously rewarded the talents and fidelity of a Hebrew stranger. Some insight into Egyptian customs during his reign is derived from the story of Joseph, with whom I suppose him to have been coeval ; and the objects taken thither by the Ishmaelites, consisting in spices, balm, and myrrh, which were intended for the purposes of luxury as well as of religion ; the subsequent mention of the officers of Pharaoh's household ; the state allowed to Joseph t ; the portion of lands allotted to the priesthood, and other similar institutions and customs — tend to show the advanced state of society at this early epoch. * I have frequently liad occasion to notice the true reading and pur- port of this name : I shall, therefore, only observe, that it is written in Hebrew Phrah, n3?"iD, and is taken from the Egyptian word Pire or Phre (pronounced Phra), signifying the sun, and represented in hiero- glyphics by the hawk and globe, or sun, over the royal banners. It was through the well-known system of analogies that the king obtained this title, being the chief of earthly as the sun was of heavenly bodies. But the word is not derived from or related to ouro, "king," as Joseph us supposes ( Antiq. viii. c. 6.). Phouro is like Pharaoh ; but the name is Phrah in Hebrew, and Pharaoh is an unwarranted corruption. Vide my Egypt and Thebes, p. 5. note. f Gen. xli. 42, 43. 44 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. 11. From the sculptures of Beni Hassan *, we learn that the Egyptians were acquainted with the ma- nufacture of linen, glass, cabinet work, gold orna- ments, and numerous objects indicative of art and refinement ; and various gymnastic exercises, the games of draughts t, ball, mora^ and other well- known modern amusements, were common at the same period. bed Games of Draughts and Mora. Bcni Hassnn. The style of architecture was grand and chaste, and the fluted columns of Bcni Hassan are of a character calling to mind the purity of the Doric, which indeed seems to have derived its origin from Egypt. It was during the reign of Osirtasen that the tem- ple of Helio})olis was either founded or received additions, and one of the obelisks bearing his name attests the skill to which they had attained in the (lifTicultart of sculpturing granite. Another of the same luaterials indicates the existence of a temj)lc erected or embeHishcd by this monarch in the • Grottoes on tlic ciiht hank o(" tiie Nile, noar llie Spcos Artciiiidos. f 'J'licrc arc otlicr instances of tins f;anu' ; one of the; time of J{c- mcses III., where the king liiniself is |)la3'in>j;; the other of Psania- ticus II.; both at Thebes. CHAP. II. EARLY WARS, 45 province of Crocodilopolis, afterwards known by the names of Arsinoi'te nome and el Fyoom ; and the remains of a colonnade in the great temple of Karnak prove, as well as the title " lord of the upper and lower country," accompanying his name, that he was sole monarch of the Thebaid and Lower Egypt. Of the Pharaohs in the two last Dynasties, Amun-m-gori II, and Osirtasen II. were the most remarkable after Osirtasen I. Independent of the encouragement given by them to the agricultural interests of the country, they consulted the welfare of those who were employed in the inhospitable desert ; and the erection of a temple, and a station to command the wells and to serve for their abode in the Wadee Jasoos *, proved that they were mindful of their spiritual as well as temporal pro- tection. The breccia quarries of the Kossayr road were already opened, and probably also the emerald mines of Gebel Zabara ; and the wars with the foreigners of Fount are recorded in a tablet t at Wadee Jasoos, bearing the date of the 28th year of Amun-m-gori II. This last is a very important fact, as it shows that the arms of Egypt already extended into some of the very same coun- tries afterwards noticed among the conquests of the Pharaohs, and satisfactorily establishes two facts — that the occupation of Egypt by the Shepherds could not have happened during the 17th Dynasty, and that these prisoners are not the Jews. * Or Gasoos : the g in Arabic being properly always soft. This is the modem name of the valley. f It has now been brought to England by Mr. Burton- 46 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. It is highly probable that the port of Philoteras, or ^nnum, on the Red Sea, was already founded, shice the station at Wadee Jasoos appears to have been principally intended to protect the wells which then supplied, and still continue to supply, that port* with water: and thus we have an additional reason for concluding the commerce with Arabia to have commenced at a very early period ; and that its gums and spices found a ready market in the opulent Egypt, is sufficiently proved by the Ishmaelites or Arabs of those days bringing them for sale into the lower country. No monument now remains of Nofri-Ftept or Osirtasen III., though his name frequently occurs in tablets sculptured on the rocks of Upper Egypt and Mount Sinai ; and we learn nothing of interest concerning these monarchs, either from sacred or profane records, till the accession of the 18th Dy- nasty. * Tlie modern town of Kossayr is a short distance to the south of Philoteras Portiis, or old Kossayr, and consequently a little farther from Wadee Jasoos. ■f- Vide my Egypt and Thebes, p. 500., note on Nofri-Ftep. An Atloiul.int holding the- C;ii. CHAP. II. THE 18th dynasty. 47 Name from ancient Authors. Name from the Monuments. Events. Ascended the Throne." I8tk Dynasty of Theban or Diospolitan Kings.* Araosis (Chebron) Anienoph Amesses, or Amen ses, Iiis sister Mcphres, Mesphris, or Mesphra-Tuth mosis Misphra-Tummosis or Tothmosis Thummosis, or Tothmosis Amenophis Horus Achenchres, (a queen) Rathotis Achencheres, Chebres Achencheres, Acherres ■ ( Chebron) Amesf Amunoph I. 1 Amense, his J sister || y Thothmes I. ThothmesII Thothmes III. Amunoph II. Thothmes IV. }Maut-rh-Shoi (Regency) - Amunoph III. P" There arose a new (dy- nasty, or) king, who knew not Joseph." Exod. i. 8. Moses born, 1571. Jo- sephus says Pharaoh's daughterwas called Ther- muthis.^ Cecrops leads a colony from Sais§,and founds the kingdom of Athens, b. c. 1556. Included in the reign of Thothmes I. His 14th year found on tlie monuments. The reign of Amun-neit- gori included in this. Exodus of the Israelites, 1491, 430 years after the arrival of Abraham. Moses died 1451. f Included in the reign of \ her son, Amunoph III. {The supposed Memnon of the vocal statue. His brother "([ net admitted into the list of kings. Amun-men. . .? - KRemesso, Remeses I.! B. {;. 157.{ 1550 1532 1505 1495 1456 1446 1430 1408 95 • For a more detailed chronological table, vide my Egypt and Thebes, p. 310. t I have given my reasons for considering these two the same king in my Hieroglyphical Extracts, pp. 10. 12. X Joseph. Antiq. ii. 9. § Neith or Net, Minerva, was the deity of Sais, and her name seems to have led to that of the Greek goddess, and of the new city. In Egyptian it was written from write to left, eHN, and the Greeks, by adding an A at either end, would make it A0HNA ; reading from left to right. II Vide my Materia Hieroglyphica, PI. I. of the Kings, Syncellus gives Amenses. 1 Amun-Toonh ? probably Danaus, who lived at this time, vide p. 58. 48 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. Name from ancient Authors. Name from the Monuments. Events. Ascended the Throne. Armais Remeses Miamun Amenophis f Calculating 900years from the time of Herodotus, r^ ■ . T Moeris should have lived Osireir 1. - < ^ . . • . t,, • • at this period. The simi- larity of Moeris (Mai-re) l^ and Armais is singular. r A^„^ ~,„; fThe supposed Sesostris of I Amun-mai ^, „*^*^ , mu j . ^ Remeses, Re- '?^ ^'^:'^'- /^^ ^''^^ ^^ ' mesesII.,ori '^'^ 44th and 62d year the Great round onthemonuments. *- ■ l_ Manetho allows him 66. f Pthahmen- l Thmeiof- [^ tep ? his son - - - B. c. 1385 1355 1289 Amosis or Ames was the leader of the 18th Dy- nasty, and the period of his accession and this change in the reigning family strongly confirm the opinion of his being the ** new king who knew not Joseph." And if we consider that he was from the distant province of Thebes, it is reasonable to expect that the Hebrews * would be strangers to him, and that he was likely to look upon them with the same distrust and contempt with which the Egyptians usually treated foreigners. Tliey stig- matised them with the name of impure Gentilest ; and the ignoble occupation of shepherds was for the Jews an additional cause of reproach. t In- deed it is possible tliat tlie Jews, who had come into Egypt on the occasion of a famine, finding " Joseph was dciul, and all liis Exod. i. G. lie had been dead * Or the people of Joseph; for i)rctliren, and all that generation." abont (JO years. -f- " Nations," an expression adopted i)y tlie Jews. Tlie iiieroglyphi- cal eliaracter refers to a hilly country in contradistinction to the plains of I'gypt. t " lilvcry she|)lier(l is an abomination unto the Egyptians." fleii. xlvi. :i\. — "Thy servants arc siiepherds, l)oth we and also our lathers." xlvii. -3. CHAP. II. THE JEWISH BONDAGE. 49 the great superiority of the land of Egypt both for obtaining the necessaries of Hfe, and for feeding their flocks, may have asked and obtained a grant of land* from the Egyptian monarch, on condition of certain services being performed by them and their descendants. As long as the Memphite Dynasty continued on the throne, this grant was respected, and the only service required of them was that agreed upon in the original compact. But on the accession of the Theban family the grant being rescinded, and the service still required, they were reduced to a state of bondage ; and as despotism seldom respects the rights of those it injures, additional labour was imposed upon this unresisting people.t And Pharaoh's pretended fear, lest in the event of war they might make common cause with the enemy, was a sufficient pretext with his own people for oppressing the Jews, at the same time that it had the effect of exciting their prejudices against them. Affecting therefore some alarm at their numbers, he suggested that so numerous a body might avail themselves of the absence of the Egyptian troops, and endanger the tranquillity and safety of the country t, and * Some of them were tillers of land as well as shepherds; for be- sides their labour " in mortar and in brick," they were employed " in all manner of service in the field." (Exod. i. 14.) And in Deut. x. 1 1. we find this expression, " Egypt . . . where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it." ■f The Arabs, whenever they become settled in villages on the banks of the Nile, meet with much vexation from the Turkish authorities, and the Turks are always anxious that they should fix themselves in villages, in order to get thein within their power. J " Lest when there fulleth out any war they join also unto our enemies and figiit against us, and r.n get flicm onf of the land.'^ Exod. i. 10. VOL, T. E 50 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. that prudence dictated the necessity of obviating the possibility of such an occurrence. With this view they w^ere treated like the captives taken in war, and were forced to undergo the gratuitous labour of erecting public granaries and other build- ings for the Egyptian monarch.* These were principally constructed of crude brick, and that such materials were commonly used in Egypt, we have sufficient proof from the walls and other buildings of great size and solidity found in various parts of the country, many of which are of a very early period : and the bricks themselves, both at Thebes and in the vicinity of Memphis, frequently bear the names of the monarchs who ruled Egypt during and prior to the epoch to which I am now alluding. The crude brick remains about Memphis are principally pyramids ; those at Thebes consist of walls enclosing sacred monuments and tombs, and some are made with and others without straw. Many have chopped barley and wheat straw, others bean halm and stubblet; and in the tombs we find the })rocess of making them represented among the sculptures. But it is not to ])e supposed that any of these bricks are the work of the Israelites, who were never occupied at Thebes ; and though Jo- se})hus affirms they were engaged in building pyramids, as well as in making canals and em- TIc evidently did not fear their ol)t:vining possession of any part of Isjrypt; l)iit of tlieir eoiiiniittiiitf dcprcdiitions, and tlien cKcapini^ out of tiie coMiitry. '' Tiuy built "treasure cities, Pitlioni and Uaamscs." Exod. i. IJ. -j- Exod. V. 12, Sonic bricks were made "with stubble instead of straw." CHAP. ir. BIRTH OF MOSES. 51 bankments, it is very improbable that tlie crude brick pyramids of Memphis, or of the Arsinoite nome, were the work of the Hebrew captives. Towards the latter end of Amosis' reign hap- pened the birth of Moses. His flight must have taken place in the second year of Thothmes I., and his return to Egypt after the death * of this and the succeeding prince. Amosis, the leader of the 18th Dynasty of Dios- politans, appears to have derived his right to the throne from his ancestor Menmoph, the last The- ban prince who preceded him, and sole member of the 15th Dynasty, t Few monuments remain of his reign; but a tablet at the Trojan mountain t, behind el Maasara, shows that the stone of those quarries was used by him for the erection of some building at Memphis or in the vicinity. § Amosis was succeeded by Amunoph I., a prince whose name occurs in numerous parts of Thebes, and who seems to have been a great encourager of the arts of peace. He married an Ethiopian * Exod. iv. 19. " All the men are dead which sought thy life." f My conjecture seems strongly confirmed by the position of the names in the chamber of Amosis' and Amunoph's family, where the name of Amosis follows that of Menmoph, as of the king from whom he claimed his right to the throne, his Diospolite ancestor. Amunoph I., the monarch in whose reign the sculptures were executed, occurs in the upper line as the then existing sovereign, but succeeding to the throne in uninterrupted order, therefore not deducing his claims from any distant predecessor. Vide my Extracts, Plate V. :j: The Troici lapidis Mons of Strabo and Ptolemy. It is about nine miles to the south of Cairo. • § Some may suppose it to have been for the pyramids, but his era does not agree with the time of their erection. It is, however, from these quarries that the stone used for the outer tier, or casing, was taken, which is alluded to by Strabo and other authors. E 2 52 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. princess, called Nofri-are, a name common to many Egyptian queens.* Some buildings of the time of Thothmes I.t still exist, but the second of that name has left little to mark the history of his reign. Between these two monarchs appears to have intervened a queen, whom I have ventured to call Amun-neit-gori, and who has hitherto given rise to more doubts and questions than any other sovereign of this Dynasty. But whether she was only regent during the minority of Thothmes II. and III., or suc- ceeded to the throne in right of Thothmes I., in whose honour she erected several monuments, is still uncertain, and some have doubted her being a queen, t Her name has been generally erased, and those of the 2d and 3d Thothmes are placed over it ; but sufficient remains to prove that the small temple of Medecnet Haboo, the elegant edifice under the Qoorneh rocks, and the great obelisks of Karnak, with many other handsome monuments, were erected by her orders, and the attention paid to the military caste is testified by the subjects of the scidptures. That the invention of glass was known at this time, is satisfactorily proved by the discovery of a large bead bearing * I was led by the similarity of name into llic error of suppobin^' her the daughter of Amosis. Materia Hieroglyphic, p. 78. f Tliotlimcs I., as I am assured by Lord I'nuiiioe, penetrated into lithiopia as far as the Isle of Argo, where iii' kit an inscription. The '^d Thothmes' name is found at Napata (Herkel), and the .'kl pro- bably went still iiirtiiei' soutii. Did tliey |)o^sl•ss this country by riyht of the marriage of Anuuioph I. with an I'jhiopian |)rincess'r' ;{; The constant use oi the female sij;n, and the title Hau^htei' of" tiie Sun, seem to re(|uire it to be so, nutwithstanirmg the dress, which is that of a kin<;. I'idc my Ejrypt and Thebes, p. f>2. CHAP. II. EARLY INVENTIONS. 53 the name of this queen ; and I shall have occasion to show that we have evidence of the use of it in the early time of the first Osirtasen. The mode of irrigation was by the shadoof, or pole and bucket of the present day; and it is remarkable that the modern Egyptians have a tradition that it was de- rived from their Pharaonic* predecessors. The manufacture of linen cloth, the arch, and other notable inventions are also represented in the sculptures of the same reign ; but as I shall notice them in their proper place, it is unnecessary here to enter into any detail concerning those interest- ing subjects. The reign of Thothmes III. is one of the most remarkable that occurs in the history of Egypt. He was a prince who aspired to the merit of bene- fiting his country by an unbounded encouragement of the arts of peace and war. But whether his military expeditions were conducted by himself in person, or whether he confided the management of the war to expert generals, we have ample testi- mony of the extent of his power by the tributes laid at his feet by " the chiefs of foreign coun- tries," who present him with the riches of" Fount," of " Kufa," of *' Rot-h-no, and of " the southern districts of western Ethiopia." t * Ebn Pharaoon, " son of a Pharaoh," is, however, a great term of reproach with the modern Egyptians, and almost eqnivalent to " son of a Frank." But the climax is " a Jew's dog." -|- From the monuments of Thebes; where deputies from those nations bear the tribute to the monarch seated on his throne. Kufa and Rot-h-no are two northern people, of which the latter is the more distant from Egypt. They were long at war with the Egyptians, 54 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. It was in the 4th year * of his reign that I sup- pose the exodus of the Israelites to have taken place, and the wars he undertook and the monu- ments he erected must date subsequently to that event. Indeed there is no authority in the writings of Moses for supposing that Pharaoh was drowned in the Red Seat; and from our finding that where- ever any fact is mentioned in the Bible history we do not discover any thing on the monuments which tends to contradict it, we may conclude that these two authorities will not here be at variance with each other. And in order to show that in this instance the same agreement exists between them, and to prevent a vulgar error, perpetuated by constant repetition t, from being brought forward to impugn the accuracy of the Jewish historian, it is a pleasing duty to examine the account given in the book of Exodus. According to it, Pharaoh led his army in pursuit of the fugitives, and over- took the Israelites *' encamping by the sea, beside Pi-Hahiroth, before Baal-zephon."§ The Israelites having entered the channel of the sea, the army of Pharaoh, *' his chariots and horsemen 1|," pursued them, and all those who went in after them were overwhelmed by the returning waters. This, liow- * Wc fiiul tlic (late of his 34tli year on the luoininu'iits. •f Vide my Materia Hieroglypliiea, Keniarks, at the end of p. 4. The Arabs liavc a tradition that tiie exodny haj)|)ened under Kini^ Aniioos, a name very like vVmosis or Thothmosis (Ames or Thothnies), both vvliirh have a similar imj)ort. 1; Amon^^ many others are the two hnmps of a dromedary, and the inability of a crocodile to turn round (juiekly, both in direct opposition to truth. § Exod. xiv. U. II Kxod, xiv. 23. CHAP. II. THOTHMES III. AND THE EXODUS. 55 ever, is confined to the ** chariots and the horse- men and all the host of Pharaoh, that came into the sea after them * ," and neither here nor in the Song which Moses sang on the occasion of their deliverance, is any mention made of the king's death t, an event of sufficient consequence at least to have been noticed^ and one which would not have been omitted. The authority of a Psalm can scarcely be opposed to that of Moses, even were the death of Pharaoh positively asserted, but this cannot even be argued from the expression, he *' overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Seat," since the death of a monarch is not the ne- cessary consequence of his defeat and overthrow. The departure of the Israelites enabled Thothmes to continue the war with the northern nations be- fore mentioned with greater security and success, and it is not impossible that its less urgent pro- secution after the time of Amun-m-gori II. was owing partly to the sojourn of the Jews in Egypt. § At all events, we find evidence of its having been carried on by this monarch with more than usual vigour ; and in consequence of the encouragement * Exod. xiv. 28, •j- Exod. XV. i. " Pharaoh's chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea : his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea." t Psahn cxxxvi. 15. § The failure of historical monuments of this period prevents our deciding the question. I had formerly supposed the Jews and Pastors the same people (Materia Hieroglyphic, p. SI.), and that the expul- sion of the latter happened under Thothmes III. This last must have occurred long before, and I believe the two events and the two people to have been confounded by historians, or by the copyists of Manetho. The captives represented in the tombs of Thebes are not Jews, as I have observed in my Egypt and Thebes, but rather of those nations bordering on Assyria. Vide also supra, pp. 21. and 38. E 4 56 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. given to the arts of peace, the records of his suc- cesses, sculptured on the monuments he erected, have been preserved to the present day. He founded numerous buildings in Upper and Lower Egypt, and in those parts of Ethiopia into which his arms had penetrated ; he made extensive additions to the temples of Thebes •, and Coptos, Memphis, Heliopolis, and other cities in different parts of the country, benefited by his zeal for architectural improvements. In many of the monuments * he founded, the style is pure and elegant ; but in the reversed capitals and cornices of a columnar hall behind the granite sanctuary at Karnak, he has evinced a love of change consistent neither with elegance or utility, leaving a lasting memorial of his caprice, the more remarkable as he has else- where given proofs of superior taste. After a reign of about thirty-nine yearst he was succeeded t by his son Amunoph II., who besides some additions to the great pile of Karnak, founded the small tem})le of Amada in Nubia, which was completed by his son and successor Thothmes IV. The great sphinx at the pyramids also bears the sculptures of the son of Amunoph ; but whether it was commenced by him or by the * Several obelisks were cut by liis order, as the two now at Alex- andria, others at Rome, and one at ("onstaiitinopie. More scaraba;i and hniall objects liavu l)i'C'n f'onnd l)tarinLj tlie name of this king, than of any one who reigned before or after him, not excepting Remeses the Great. + According to Eratosthenes. Vide note*, p. !}l. 1 Tlie return of the Slic|)herds or Pastors (hu'ing liis reign, mentioned 1)V Manctho, is very doubt liil. They are out of place here, and we know that the Jews did not revisit ligyi)t. CHAP. II. AMUN-TOONH SUPPOSED DANAUS. 57 3d Thothmes, is a question which it would be curious to ascertain. At all events, the similarity of the names may have given rise to the error of Pliny, who considers it the sepulchre of Amasis. Amunoph III. and his elder brother Amun- Toonh succeeded to the throne on the death of the 4th Thothmes ; but as they were both young, the office of regent and tutor during their minority was confided to their mother, the queen Maut-ni shoi. She is perhaps the Achencheres or Acherres of Manetho, who according to liis list is introduced as a reigning queen. They appear to have ruled with equal authority and in perfect harmony, till some event caused the secession of Amun-Toonh, who left to Amunoph the undivided possession of the throne, and retired from Egypt. And so anxious was the younger brother to obliterate every recollection of his having ruled conjointly with him, that he not only prevented the mention of his name in the lists of kings, but caused it to be erased from all the monuments of Upper and Lower Egypt. That Amunoph III. was the younger brother, I am inclined to believe, from the circumstance of his prenomen being alone admitted on the buildings erected during their combined reign, while both the prenomen and nomen of Amun-Toonh are always introduced. The departure of the elder brother was the signal for changing all the second preno- mens of Amunoph into a phonetic nomen, as may be observed on every monument sculptured during the early part of his reign, some of which are in the British Museum and other European collections. 58 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. The reason of his secession it is now difficult to determine ; however, the similarity of his name with that of Danaus, and the time at which he lived, are strong arguments in favour of his having been the coloniser of Argos * : and the following is another remarkable coincidence. Amunoph had been already engaged in several military expedi- tions, and the expulsion of Danaus is also reported to have happened after the return of his brother from war ; nor is it improbable that the influence acquired by a warlike prince over the army during these campaigns sliould suggest to an ambitious mind the facility as well as the desire of obtaining sole possession of the throne, and lead to the ex- pulsion of his colleague ; and the only point of dis- agreement is the name of Danaus's brother, which is not stated to have resembled Amunoph. During the early part of their reign, stations on the road to the emerald mines were either built or repaired ; and the care bestowed on their con- struction is proved by our finding hewn stones carved with hieroglyphics, and the name of Amun- Toonh, within their precincts. The palace-temple of Luqsor and that behind * Danaus left Egypt and founded Argos, of which lie became king, and died ii. c. 14-^5. I liave noticed tills cliange of the prenoinen of Anuuiopli more fully in a j)aper on Lord I'rndlioe'.s lions now at the British Museum, wliich bear a convincing proof of what I lure ad- vance. I'iilr also my Materia llierog. p. H7, HH. 8ome say Inachus or I'horoneus led the colony from Egy|)t to Argos, and it is remarkable that in one of these names wi; trace the word oidi, which forms part of that of Annnioph's brother, and in the other that of Pharaoh. These accounts make Danaus one of the successors to the throne of Argos by right of lo. CHAP. II. USE OF IRON. 59 the vocal statue * were also founded by them at Thebes, and the sculptures in a side chamber of the former seem to refer to the birth and early education of the young princes. Many other buildings were erected in different parts of the country! during this reign ; extensive additions were made to the temple of Karnak, and the name and monuments of Amunoph III. are found in Ethiopia, and even at the distant city of Napatat The conquests of the Egyptians in Ethiopia and Asia were also continued by this monarch, and some of the enemies § with whom they fought under Thothmes III. again appear in the sculptures of Amunoph. It was about the same period, b. c. 1406, that some suppose the use of iron || to have been first dis- covered in Greece ; but whether it was already known in Egypt or no, is a question hitherto im- answered. We are surprised at the execution of * The vocal statue of the supposed Memnon is of Amunoph III. 1 have ah'eady noticed this error in my Egypt and Thebes, p. 33. ; Ex- tracts, p. II.; and Materia Hierog. p. 88. With the Romans every thing curious or striking in Egypt was given to Memnon, as with the Arabs every large grotto is the stabl (stable of) Antar. English sailors in like manner fix upon another remarkable person. ■f- I do not here notice all the monuments erected by the Pharaohs. They will be found in the description of the different towns of ancient Egypt given in my Egypt and Thebes. J I suppose Gebel Berkel to mark the site of Napata. From this place were brought Lord Prudhoe's beautiful lions. They were sculp- tured at the early part of his reign, and immediately before the seces- sion of his brother. § Those of Pouont, who are among the number of northern nations. II Hesiod (in his Opera et Dies) makes the use of iron a much later discover}'. In Theseus' time, who ascended the throne of Athens in 1235, iron is conjectured not to have been known, as he was found buried with a brass sword and spear. Homer generally speaks of brass arms, though he mentions iron. 60 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. hieroglyphics cut in hard granite and basaltic stone, to the depth of two inches, and naturally inquire what means were employed, what tools were used ? If the art of tempering steel was unknown to them, how much more must our wonder increase ! and the difficulty of imagining any mode of applying copper to this purpose adds to our perplexity. The era of Amunoph III. was noted for the great spirit and beauty of its sculptures, which seem gradually to have improved from the reign of Osirtasen to that of Ilemeses the Great, though without any great change, the general character being already established even at that early period, and only undergoing certain modifications of style. The features* of this monarch cannot fliil to strike every one who examines the portraits of the Egyp- tian kings, having more in common with tlie negro than those of any other Pharaoh ; but it is difficult to say whether it was accidental, or in consequence of his mother having been of Ethiopian origin. It is singular that the sepulchres of the kings who preceded him are not met with, and that he is the first of the 18th Dynasty! whose tomb occurs at Thebes. But it is not in the same valley as * I was wrong in sayinj; in my Materia Ilicro;?. that " Ef:;yptian sculpture (Iocs not ofiur portraits." On a sul)sc(|ucnt visit to Tliciics, I took sonic pains to set tiiis (|iuhtioa at rest, and Jiave become con- vinced (as stated in my I\u:}pt and Thebes, p. 1 HI.) tliat the represent- ations of tile kings are intended as likenesses; and I am happy to have an opportunity of acknowledging the truth of M. ('hampollioii's ob- servation and my own misconception on this point, -|- There is anoliier toiiib in the same valley of an ancient king, who may liave preceded the iHtli Dynasty, as his name occurs on a block used by Kemeses II, in repairs of the temple of Kariiak. CHAP. ir. REVOLT OF THE SYRIANS, 61 those of his successors ; and the next monarch whose tomb has been discovered is Remeses I., grandfather of the great conqueror of the same name. The tomb of Taia, the queen of Amunoph, is in company with many others in a valley behind the temple of Medeenet Haboo at Thebes ; a cir- cumstance which proves that they were not gene- rally buried in the same sepulchres with the kings, though some exceptions may occasionally have been made.* His successor has recorded his lineal descent from the 3d Thothmes on a block of stone used in the wall of a temple at Thebes in the t following manner, — " the father of his father's father, Thoth- mes III. ; " but the monuments of his reign are few and inconsiderable, consisting chiefly of additions to the previously existing buildings. Remeses I. has left little to elucidate the history of the era in which he lived, nor does he appear to have been conspicuous for any successes abroad, or the encouragement of the arts at home. It is probable that both he and his predecessor were pacific monarchs, and to this neglect of their fo- reign conquests we may ascribe the rebellion of the neighbouring provinces of Syria, which Osirei was called upon to quell in person on his accession to the throne. That the revolt of those countries is alluded to in the sculptures of Osirei I feel persuaded, from his being the only king who is * As in the tomb No, 10. of Biban-el-Mol6ok at Thebes, and perhaps in No. 14, f hdc Materia Ilierog. PI. I. name e. d. 62 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. represented attacking any country in the immediate vicinity of Egypt, and from the remarkable fact that some of the people through whose territory he passes are on friendly terms, and come forward to pay the stipulated tribute*, or to bring presents to the monarch. And the names of Cananat and Le- manont, added to the circumstance of its being at the commencement § of his reign, tend strongly to confirm this opinion. Osirei was the son and successor of Remeses I., and father of the second of that name. He ex- tended his conquests to a considerable distance in tlie *' north and south countries ; " but the destruc- tion of the upper part of the walls of Karnak has unfortunately deprived us of great part of the interesting historical bas reliefs which describe them. Among the people against whom the war was principally directed, we distinguish the llot-fi-no, who from their colour and dress, as * The tributes levied on the countries conquered by the Egyptians, .arc not only mentioned in the sculptures of Thebes, but also i)y Taci- tus : " Lcgebantur intlicta gentil)us tributa baud niinns inagnifica quani nunc vi Parthorum, aut potentia Koniana jubentur." An. ii. GO. •j- The Pharaoh, whose daughter Solomon married, destroyed " the (Janaanitcs that dwelt in (iezer, and burnt it with fire ;" probably for the same reason — neglect in paying the tribute they owed — which brought the vengeance of Osirei upon them on this occasion. 1 Kings, ix. IG. J The common custom of substituting m for l> in (!o|)tic, and the re- presentation of a momitainous and woody country in which tiio chariots could not ])ass, convince me of this being intended for Mount Lc'bauon. In tile compartnicut inunechately bi'low it is tiie " land of Canana." Vide Egypt and 'l'h(,l)es, p. !!»(). 1!)2. The modern (ireeks write vij) for h, as Phamprika, tor I''al)rica, and the sound of ?» may be detected when a |)erson having an itii|)ediment in his speech attem|)ts to |)ronounce a word commencing with />. Another remarkal)le instance of the use of m for h is met witli in the name of Ninu'od, which is written Nebrod in tlie list of (liialdec kings. Vide C!orry's Ancient Fragments, p. ()7. § In his first year, according to the liieroglyphits. CHAP. II. MARCH OF OSIREI. 63 well as the productions of tlieir country, appear to have lived in a colder climate than Egypt, which produced elephants and bears.* The march of the monarch is described with great spirit on the walls of Karnak, Leaving Egypt with a considerable force, he advanced into the heart of the enemy's country ; attacked and routed them in the field ; and following up his successes, he laid siege to their fortified cities, and obliged them to surrender at discretion. And in order to indicate the per- sonal courage of the hero, he is represented alighting from his car, and, having laid aside his bow, engag- ing; hand to hand with the hostile chiefs. Havino; established his dominion in the conquered coun- tries he returned to Egypt, and dedicated the rich booty and numerous captives he had made to the deity of Thebes. The subsequent part of his reign was employed in erecting the monuments which still serve to commemorate his victories, and the glory he ac- quired ; and the splendour of Egypt at this period is sufficiently demonstrated by the magnificence and grandiose scale of the buildings, and by the sculptures that adorn his splendid tomb, t Osirei was succeeded by his son, Remeses the Great t, who bore the name of Amun-mai-Reme- * From a tomb at Thebes. Vide Egypt and Thebes, p. 153. -f- Discovered and opened by Belzoni at Thebes, j M. Champollion and Sig. Rosellini are of opinion that there inter- vened another king between this and Osirei, to whom they give the name of Remeses II. Lord Prndhoe, Major Felix, and myself think them to have been one and the same monarch, and that the variation in the mode of writing the name was owing to his having altered it some time after he ascended the throne. If they were two kings, they nmst have been brothers, and both sons of Osireri, and the reign of the first 64t THE ANCIENT EGYrTIANS. CHAP. II- ses, or Remeses-mi-amun*, and was reputed to be the famous Sesostris of antiquity. The origin of the confusion regarding Sesostris may perhaps be explained. He is mentioned by Manetho in the 12th Dynasty, and Herodotus learned that he preceded the builders of the pyramids : I there- fore suppose that Sesostris was an ancient king famed for his exploits, and the hero of early Egyptian history ; but that after Remeses had surpassed them, and become the favourite of his country, the renown and name of the former monarch were transferred to the more conspicuous hero of a later age ; and it is remarkable that when Germanicus went to Egypt, the Thebans did not mention Sesostris, but Rhamses, as the king who had performed the glorious actions ascribed in olden times to their great conqueror. Nothing, however, can justify the supposition that Sesostris, or, as Diodorus calls him, Sesoosis, is the Shishak of Scripture. The reign of Remeses was conspicuous as the Augustine era of Egypt, when the arts attained a degree of perfection which no after age succeeded in imitating t, and the arms of Egy})t were ex- coiikl only I)e of very short duration. It is to be hoped that time an;l future discoveries will settle the (jtiestion. * I have noticed the sviioiiyiiioiis use of tiicsc titles, Ainiiii-mai and Mai-anmii (.Mi-ainmi), in the names oi' Remeses III. and others, when written horizontally and vertically. t Tlie head now in the I'ritish Mnseuin, and erroneously called of the Yonnj; Menmoii, is of Keineses II. We smile at the name young appUcd to a statne Itecanse it was smaller than a colossiis in the same teMi|)le; a distinction formerly adopted at the Louvi"e, where n statne was called /<■ Jcinic Apollon, Iwiaiisc it had not i/i/ att. lined the size of th« Belvedere. CHAP. II. MARCH THROUGH SYRIA. 65 tended by this prince considerably farther into the heart of Asia than during the most successfid invasions of his predecessors. He had no sooner ascended the throne than he zealously devoted himself to military affairs ; and we find that in his fourth year he had already waged a successful war against several distant nations. * His march lay along the coast of Palestine, and the record of that event is still preserved on the rocks of the Lycus near Beiroot, where his name and figure present the singular circumstance of a Pharaonic monu- ment without the confines of Egypt. But that this nation extended its arms and dominion far beyond the valley of the Nile, is abundantly proved by the monuments and by Scripture history, and some of their northern possessions were retained by the Egyptians until Nebuchad- nezer king of Babylon took from Pharaoh Neco all that belonged to him, "from the Euphrates to the river of Egypt." t From Syria their march pro- bably extended towards the N. E.; but I do not pretend to decide the exact nations tliey invaded, or the names of the people over whom the vic- tories of the great Remeses are recorded on the walls of the Memnonium.1: M. Champollion sup- • Vide iny Egypt and Thebes, p. 193. f 2 Kings, xxiv. 7. This river of Egypt is not the Nile, but the "rivulet" or "torrent of Egypt;" and is mentioned by Joshua (xv. 4.) as the boundary line, a little to the south of the modern Gaza (Ghuz- zeh). bn: (nahl) is a rivulet, and not a river, as some have supposed, which is in] (nahr), as in Arabic. Much less is nahl related to the Nile. Neco also " went up to fight against Carchemish by Euphrates." 2 Chron. xxxv. 20. For the first copy of the name of Remeses on the Lycus we are indebted to Mr. Wyse. Strabo (lib. xvii.) says, *' The rule of the Egyptians extended into Scythia, Bactria, India, and what is now called Ionia." if I use this name for the palace-temple of Remeses II., because it is better known than any other. VOL. I. F 66 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. poses them the Scythians, and perhaps the hiero- glyphics may admit of such a reading ; but let it suffice for the present that they were a northern nation, skilful in the art of war, and possessing strong towns and a country traversed by a large river. Indeed, from their general appearance and the mode of fortifying their towns, we may con- clude them to have been far above the level of a barbarous state ; and the double fosses that sur- rounded their walls, the bridges* over them, and the mode of drawing up their phalanxes of infantry, suggest a considerable advancement in civilisation, and the art of war. Their offensive and defensive arms, consisting of spears and swords, helmets, shields!, and coats of mail, were light and effective j and two-horsed chariots, containing each three men, formed a well constituted and j)owerful body of troops. Some fought on horses, which they guided by a bridle, without saddles t; but the far greater part in cars ; and these instances of the use of the liorse seem to be introduced to show a peculiarity of Asiatic people. I do not find the Egyptians thus represented ; and though it is })robab]e they had cavalry as well as chariots, mention being made of it in ancient authors §, the custom of cm})loying large bodies of ♦ As they arc seen from ;il)ov(', it is not possible to ascertain how tliey were constriieted. f III form liearini; a slii;ht resenil)lancc to tlie Tiiel)an CJreek buckler. j The Niiiiiidiaii cavalry had neither. § We read of the l'i;y|)tian horsenieii in Isaiah, xxxvi. 9., " put thy trust in l'".,i,'ypt for cliariots and horsemen;" and in Miriam's Song, " the horse and his rider." l-^xod. xv. 21. Shishak had with him 1;:^()0 chariots and (i(),0()() iiorscnicn. 2 Ciiron. xii. 3. Vide uiy Egypt and Tliebcs, p. l!)}-. note. CHAP. n. THE TESTUDO AND LADDER. 6j horsemen does not appear to have been so usual in Egypt as in some Eastern countries.* The Egyptian cars contained but two persons t, the warrior and his charioteer ; and to the great number of their chariots, and their skill in ar- chery, may be attributed the brilliant successes of this people in a long suite of wars waged against populous nations : and it is remarkable that their mode of drawing the bow was similar to that of our ancestors, who, for the glorious victories they obtained over armies far exceeding them in nu- merical force, were principally indebted to their dexterity in the use of this arm. Great light is thrown on the mode of warfare at this early period, by the sculptures of the Mem- nonium, where a very satisfactory representation is introduced of the scaling ladder and testudot; and it is highly probable that the Egyptians, accus- tomed as they were to subterraneous excavations, adopted the latter as coverts while mining the besieged towns, as well as for facilitating the ap- proach of their men. Indeed, since they are not formed of shields, but of a covering of framework supported by poles, and are unaccompanied, in this instance, by the battering-ram, we may con- clude that the men posted beneath them were * Homer's heroes are also mounted in cars. He mentions one cavalier (Iliad, vi. 684-.) using two horses. The Greeks did not em- ploy much cavalry till after the Persian war. -|- The Indian chariots, according to Megasthenes, contained each two persons, besides the charioteer. Vide in/id, on the Castes, in ciiap. iii. J It was already in use 400 years before this period, in the reign of Osirtasen I., as well as a sort of battering ram. The Aries, or Ram, is said by Vitriivius to have been invented by the Carthaginians at the siege of Gades. lib. x. 19, F 2 68 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. IT. SO employed, especially as they appear, in no osten- sible manner, to be connected with the fight.* In some instances, however, they served as a cover to those who directed the ramf against the walls, and were then very similar in use and principle to the testudo arietaria of the Romans. The wars and successes of the great Remeses are again recorded on the walls of Karnak, and in the temples of Nubia ; and the number of nations he subdued, and the extent of his arms in the north and south, are the subjects of many historical pic- tures. The Egyptians had already formed alliances with some of the nations they subdued, and the auxiliary troops enrolled in their army assisted in extending the conquests of the Pharaohs. Their principal allies, at this period, were the Shairetana, a maritime people, and the same who afterwards continued to assist the Egyptians in the time of Remeses III. Other alliances were also formed by the last-mentioned monarch, many distant tribes were subdued by him, and the reigns of Osirei and the second and third Remeses appear to have been the most remarkable for the extent of foreign conquest. According to Herodotus, Sesostris t, whom I as- * Tlic wooden horse is, perlia|)s, the first hint of a mine in ancient history. Remeses II. lived ahont \.W years before the taking of Troy, ■f Tlieir ram was a loiij; pike armed with a metal point, by which they loosened the stones of the wail : tiie terehra of the Romans, and the Tfxnrai'ov of the (Jreeks. J Sesostris, or Sesoosis, accortlinp; to Diodorns, during his father's reif;n, iiad led an exjx-dition into Arabia, as well as Libya; and we may, perhaps, trace some indication of this fact in the sculptnres of Karnak, where the son of Osirei ri'tnrns from the war with his father. Diod. i. 53. Can Ses-Osirei, or Se-()sirei, the "son of Osirei," bear any relation to the name of Sesostris ? CHAP. II. CANAL OF THE RED SEA. 69 sume to be the same as Remeses II., fitted out long vessels * on the Red Sea, and was the first who went beyond the straits mto the Indian Ocean. Diodorus says they amounted to no less a number than 400, and the historian supposes him to have been the first monarch who built ships of war ; though merchant vessels, as I have before observed, were probably used by the Egyptians at a much earlier period. And we may reasonably conclude the fleet to have been connected with the Indian trade, as well as the canal he cut from the Nile to what is now called the Gulf of Soo6z.t This canal commenced about twelve miles to the N. E. of the modern town of Belbayst, called by the Romans Bubastis Agria, and after following a direction nearly E. for about thirty-three miles, it turned to the S. S. E., and continued about sixty-three more in that line to the extremity of the Arabian Gulf. Several monarchs are reputed to have been the authors of this grand and useful undertaking ; some writers attributing it to Sesos- tris, others to Neco, and its completion to Darius and Ptolemy Philadelphus. Pliny, indeed, sup- poses it never to have been finished, and states, that after it had reached the bitter springs (lakes), the canal was abandoned from fear of the greater height of the Red Sea§ : but it is evident that it * Or ships of war. f Strabo, Pliny, and Aristotle attribute its commencement to Sesostris. J Strabo says " it began at the village of Phaccusa, which is near to that of Philon." (lib. xvii.) § Plin. vi. c. 29. s. 33., and Aristot. Meteorol. lib. i. c. 1-t. Diodorus says that Darius was prevented from completing it, owing to the greater height of the Red Sea ; but that the 2d Ptolemy obviated this objection by means of sluices, (i. 33.) Vide Egypt and Thebes, pp. 320, 321. F 3 70 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. was completed, and there is reason to believe even as early as the reign of the second Remeses ; nor is it improbable that the captives he had taken in war assisted in the construction * of this noble work. But the vicinity of the sands, amidst which it was excavated, necessarily prevented it from remaining in a proper condition without constant attention ; and we can easily conceive that, in the time of Neco and of the Ptolemies, it was found necessary to re-open it, before it could be again applied to the use for which it was intended.! Herodotus sayst, it was commenced by Neco, who lived about the year 6 10 before our era; that it was four days' journey in length, and broad enough to admit two triremes abreast ; and that it began a little above Bubastis, and entered the sea near the town of Patumos (Pa or Pi-Thorn); and since Diodorus§ says its mouth was close to the port of Arsinoe ||, this last may have succeeded to the old town men- tioned by Herodotus. Some have reckoned its length at upwards of 1000 stadia ; its breadth at 100 cubits, or, according to Pliny ^, 100 feet, and its depth forty ; and he reckons thirty-seven Ro- man miles from its western entrance to the bitter lakes. Six-score thousand Egyptians were said to have perished in the undertaking * * : but this is very * Herodotus (ii. lOH.) says that Scsostris ciiiplovcd his prisoners to cut the canals of Efiy[)t. ■f It is evident that it entered the sea very near the modern town of Sooez. t Ilerodot. ii. 158. § Diod. i. ."i.'i. II Strabo calls it " Arsinoe, or, as some style it, Clcopatris." lib. xvii. if Plin. vi. s. 33. ** Diodor. ioc. cit. CHAP. II. RE-OPENING OF THE CANAL. Ji incredible ; nor can we even believe that the lives of the captives taken in war, who were probably employed in the more arduous parts of this as of other similar works, were so inhumanly and un- necessarily thrown away. At the mouth of the canal were sluices, by which it was opened or closed ac- cording to circumstances ; and thus, at one period of the year, the admission of the sea water into the canal was regulated, as the Nile water was prevented, during the inundation, from discharging itself too rapidly from the canal into the sea. Though filled with sand, its direction is still easily traced, as well from the appearance of its channel, as from the mounds and vestiges of ancient towns upon its banks, in one of which I found a monument bearing the sculptures and name of Remeses II. — the more satisfactory, as being a strong proof of its having ex- isted at least as early as the reign of that monarch. After the time of the Ptolemies and Caesars, it was again neglected, and suffered to go to decay ; but on the revival of trade with India, this line of communication from the Red Sea to the Nile was once more proposed, the canal was re-opened by the Caliphs, and it continued to be used and kept in repair till the commerce of Alexandria was ruined by the discovery of the passage round the Cape. Herodotus also tells us that Sesostris was the only king who ruled in Ethiopia*, but his assertion is contradicted by the monuments which still exist there. The family of Remeses II., by his two wives, * This may refer to the original Sesostris, above mentioned. There is, perhaps, some analogy between this name and that of Osii'tasen. F 4 72 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. was numerous, consisting of twenty-three sons and three daughters, whose names* and figures are in- troduced in the Memnonium. The duties of children were always more severe in the East than among any European people, and to the present day a son is not expected to sit in the presence of his father without express per- mission. Those of the Egyptian princes were equally austere. One of their offices was " fan- bearer on the left of the king," and they were also obliged to carry the monarch in his palanquin or chair of state. As fanbearers, they attended liim while seated on his throne, or in processions to the temples ; and in this capacity they followed his chariot on foot as he celebrated his triumphant return from battle.t Nor did they lay aside their insignia of office in time of war ; and sometimes in the heat of battle, whether mounted in cars or engaged on foot, they carried them in their hand or shuig behind them ; and, as a distinguishing mark of princely rank, they wore a badge depend- ing from the side of the head, perhaps intended to cover and enclose the lock of hair, which, among the Egyptians, was the sign of extreme youth, and the usual emblem, of the god Harpocrates. The reign of liemeses the Great was long and prosperous ; nor does the period of sixty-six years appear too much, wlicn we consider the extent of his conquests, aiid the many graiul moiunnents he erected in every ])art of Egyi)t, after his * The names of the daughters are omitted. The families in the East are fre<|iicntly mentioned l)y aneient authors as being very numerous. Artaxerxes had 1.53 children ; Rehoboam begat 28 sons and 60 daughters. f Vtdc Plate 1. CHAP. II. MONUMENTS OF REMESES II. 73 victorious return. Indeed, the number I have stated is derived from the authority of Manetho ; and in the monuments, we have ah'eady met with the date of his 62d year. The extensive additions to the great temples of Karnak and Luqsor, where two beautiful obelisks of red gra- nite, bearing his name, proclaim the wonderful skill of the Egyptians in sculpturing * those hard materials : the elegant palace-temple of the Memnonium, and many other edifices at Thebes and Abydus : the temples hewn in the hard grit- stone rock of Aboosimbel : those erected at Dayr, Sabooa, andGerf Hossayn in Nubia: the obelisks at Tanis, and vestiges of ruins there and in other parts of the Delta, — bear ample testimony to the length of time required for their execution : and from these we may infer a proportionate number founded or enlarged by him at Memphis t, and other of the principal cities, whose sites are now unknown or concealed by mounds. Besides his military exploits, another very re- markable event is said t to have distinguished his reign ; the partition of the lands among the pea- sants §, who were required to pay a fixed tax to the government, according to the extent of the property they obtained. But that this division could have been the origin of land surveying, as Herodotus sup- * Many of the hieroglyphics are two inches deep. One of the obelisks has been removed to Paris ; the other is said to be ceded to the city of Marseilles. t At Memphis, a Colossus, and fragments of several statues, bearing his name, are still met with. J Vide infra, chap. iv. under " Different Lawgivers." § Herodot. ii. 109. 74 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. poses, is contrary to probability, and the evidence of the Bible as well as of the sculptures, both which showthe rights and limits of landed property to have been long since well defined ; and the necessity of ascertaining the quantity of land irrigated by the Nile, or changed by the effect of the inundation, must have led a people already highly civilised be- fore the accession of this prince, to the practice of geometry at least some centuries previous to his era. The Bible informs us, that a Pharaoh, the contemporary of Joseph, bought all theland (except that of the priests) from the Egyptian landholders : the partition of land, mentioned by the historian, could not therefore have been the first instance of such a system in the country ; and he may either allude to a new regulation made subsecpiently to the time of Joseph, or to the very change that took place by his advice. In this case, the tax imposed refers to the fifth part * annually paid to the government by the Egy})tian peasant, which continued to be the law of the country long after the time of Joseplit ; and hence some may derive an argument in favour of the idea before sug- gested, that the original Sesostris (so often con- founded with Remeses II.) was Osirtasen I.t, the Pharaoh in wliose reign Jose])h arrived in Egypt. § * Gen. xlvii. 21. t (it'll, xlvii. 20., "a law over the land ol" I'^^'ypt nii/n this dajj, that Pliaraoh should have the/i/'/A part, cxcej)t the land of the priests, whieh became not Pharaoh's." \ Osirtasen's livinf; posterior to the crt'ction ol" the pyramids is an objection. ^ I nuist, however, eonCess, that llerodotns's statement does not agree exactly with that mentioned in (ienesis; the people then selling their lands for corn, and aftervvai'ds farming it li'om the king. CHAP. II. END OF THE 18tH DYNASTY. 75 His thirteenth son, Pthahmen, succeeded him ; and, from the kingly oval accompanying his name at the Memnonium, it is highly probable that the first prenomen he took on ascending the throne was afterwards changed to that by which he is known in the lists of the Egyptian monarchs. But his reign was not marked by any mihtary event of consequence, nor by any particular encouragement given to the arts of peace. He may be the Se- soosis II. of Diodorus, and the Pheron of Hero- dotus, — a title mistaken by the latter historian for the name of the monarch, and evidently corrupted from Phra or Pharaoh. * Two obelisks are re- ported t to have been erected by him, at Helio- polis, in honour of the sun ; but they no longer remain ; and though his name appears on some of the monuments of his father and of his predecessors, those founded by him were comparatively few, at least in Upper Egypt ; and the additions he made to those buildings are neither numerous nor re- markable for their magnificence. In Pthahmen terminated the eighteenth dy- nasty, and a second family of Diospolitan or Thebant monarchs succeeded to the dominion of Upper and Lower Egypt, and reigned eighty-nine years. * The Arabs now call Phrah, or Pharaoh, Pharaoon. -f- Pliny calls him Nuncoreus, and says that he dedicated two obelisks to the sun on the recovery of his sight. Herodotus states the same of Pheron. Plin. xvi. 16. Herodot. ii. ill. J Sethos, or Pthah-men-Se-pthah, appears to have been an exception, and was, perhaps, a Memphite, or from Lower Egypt, as his name is omitted in the lists of Thebes and Abydus. It also seems to indicate a Memphite origin. 76 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. 19th Dynasty, of 1 Memphite ? and 6 Diospolite Kings. Name from ancient Authors. Name from the ; Monuments. Ascended the Throne. Sethos - -\ Rampses -< Amenophthis- \ Ramesses - < Ammenemes Thuoris - Pthah-men-Se- pthah Osirei II., ox Osiri-men- pthah O.sirita? Reme- rer? Amun-mai Remeses III. Mi-amun or Amun-mai - Remeses IV. Remeses V. Remeses VI. 'Was probably either a INIemphite, or succeeded to the throtie by right of inarriage with the Prin- cess Taosiri B. c. >1269 ]- {Troy taken 1 184 (Arundel" marbles), and in the reign of a Remeses, according to Pliny Thus far I have stated my own opinions respect- ing the accordance of the monuments with some of the historical data furnished by Manetho ; par- ticuhirly about the period of his eighteenth dynasty. I have placed the arrival of Jose])h in the reign of Osirtasen I. ; the birth of Moses in that of Amosis, the leader of this Theban succession, whom I suppose to be the " new king who knew not Josepli ; " and the Exodus of the Israelites in that of the third Thothmes. I have assigned the date of 13.5.5 for the accession of the great Remeses, and have had the satisfaction of finding the period thus fixed for his reign fully accords with, and is confirmed by, the astronomical ceiling of the Memnonium. But as another opinion, which ascribes to these events a higher antiquity, may CHAP. II. QUESTION RESPECTING THE EXODUS. 77 also be maintained by many forcible arguments, and my object is to examine the question impartially, and to be guided by what appears most probable, I gladly avail myself of this opportunity of intro- ducing Lord Prudhoe's view of the subject, which he has done me the favour to embody in the fol- lowing remarks: — "It is extremely difficult to determine the date of the Exodus in Egyptian his- tory, from the want of sufficient data in the Bible, and from the incorrectness of names given by an- cient historians ; but the event is so important, that even an attempt to ascertain that date must be interesting. " The first text bearing on the subject is *, * Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee, the land of Egypt is before thee, in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell : in the land of Goshen let them dwell. — And Joseph t gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had com- manded.* In this quotation it does not appear that the land was called Rameses when Pharaoh gave it to Jacob : his words are, give them the best of the land : the remainder of the text is in the form of a narration by Moses. But the land was called Rameses when Moses wrote, and consequently it was so called before the Exodus. It probably received its name from one of the Pharaohs ; we may therefore conclude the Exodus did not take place until after the reign of a Remeses ; and * Gen. xlvii. 5, 6. f Gen. xlvii. 11. 78 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. the earliest king of that name* is distinguished among students in hieroglyphics by the title of Remeses I. " ' Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.' t This text would agree with Remeses I., who appears to have been the first king of a new dynasty, and might well be ignorant of the benefits conferred on Egypt by Joseph. ' Therefore t they did set over them (the children of Israel) taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens, and they built for Pharaoh treasure-cities, Pithom and Raamses. The last was the name of the Pharaoh ; and it is remarkable, that the prefix used to designate Remeses II. was compounded of Pi * the,' and Thme ' Justice.* And though the figure of the goddess Thme is introduced into the names of his fatlier and of other Pharaohs, he is the first Remeses in whose prefix it occurs, and we may therefore conclude it was for this monarch that the Hebrews built the trea- sure-cities. ** Another instance of the name so used, is con- firmed by the testimony of Strabo and Aristotle, who attribute the making of the Suez canal to Sesostris ; and Herodotus says, that it entered the sea near the town of Patumos. Sesostris is now ge- nerally considered to be Remeses II., and tlie cir- cumstance of liis name being found on buildings near the canal, gives another Pithom built by tliis * Private iiidiviiliiiils l)orc tlic name long before : but it is uncertain whether there was any oliler king Remeses. f Exod. i.8, I Exod. i. IJ. CHAP. II. EXPULSION OF THE JEWS. 79 *' Lysimachus mentions, ' that in the reign of Boccoris, king of Egypt, the Jewish people, being infected with leprosy, scurvy, and sundry other diseases, took shelter in the temples, where they begged for food; and that in consequence of the vast number of persons who were seized with the complaint, there became a scarcity in Egypt. Upon tliis, Boccoris sent persons to inquire of the oracle of Ammon, respecting the scarcity : and the God directed him to cleanse the temples of all polluted and impious men, and to cast them out into the desert, when the land would recover its fertility.' This the king did with much cruelty. *' If Boccoris could be a mistake for the Coptic name OCIPI, with the article 11 prefixed, it was Osiri, the father of Remeses II., who thus op- pressed them. Again, the son of Remeses II. was called Pthamenoph. Josephus states, that * the king Amenophis was desirous of beholding the Gods, as Orus, one of his predecessors in the king- dom, had done. And having communicated his desire to the priest Amenophis, the son of Papis, the priest returned for answer, that it was in his power to behold the Gods, if he would cleanse the whole country of the lepers and other unclean persons who abounded in it ; upon which the king gathered them together, and sent them to work in the quarries.' Josephus relates, in continuation, that a revolt was the consequence of this measure : and after some delays and difficulties, king Ame- nophis marched with 500,000 Egyptians against the enemy, defeated them, and pursued them to 80 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. If. the bounds of Syria, having previously placed his son Sethos under the care of a faithful adherent. *' It is probable, that by Amenophis, Josephus meant Pthamenoph ; and this opinion is twice confirmed: 1. by his son Sethos, the Se-ptha of the hieroglyphics, which is the only instance of a king: so called in the known series of the Pha- raohs ; and, 2. when he describes Horus as one of his predecessors : for the grandfather of Pthame- noph succeeded to Horus, who was the only Egyptian monarch who bore that name. " If these corrections of names be permitted, six Pharaohs, who succeeded each other in regular succession, are mentioned, either as a direct or a collateral evidence of the Exodus having taken place at this era : 1. Horus, one of the predeces- sors of Amenophis : 2. Remeses I., tlie new king, who knew not Joseph : 3. Osiri I., or Boccoris, who oppressed the Jews : 4. Remeses II., who built Pithom and Raamses : 5. Pthamenoph, the Pharaoh of the Exodus : 6. Sethos, his son, who was placed with an attendant. ** From the many complaints of oppression in the Bible, it appears that tlie bondage was both severe and of some duration ; these two reigns may there- fore not be too long : but what, may be inquired, would be the effect in Egypt of an oppression of so numerous a po{)ulation, and of tlieir subsequent Exodus ? for even if the lunnber of ' ()00,U00 men, besides children,' liad not been mentioned, it is evident, from the j)revi()us account of their in- creased numerical force, that the Jews were a very CHAP. 11. 19th dynasty. 81 large body. 1. To oppress and keep them in bondage required a powerful monarch, and a war- rior ; and such were in an eminent degree Osiri I. and Remeses II. '2. The labours of so great a population could not fail to be distinguished ; and no Pharaohs have left finer buildings, nor in greater numbers, than these two kings. 3. A successful revolt could only take place under a feeble mon- arch, and such was Pthamenoph : and the loss of so great a population would inflict a blow on the prosperity of Egypt, and cause a lasting debility. Such was the state of Egypt after the reign of Re- meses II., when a sudden decline of the arts and power of the country ensued ; and if at the acces- sion of Remeses III. they for a time re-appeared, and in great splendour, yet with tliis monarch the glory of ancient Egypt departed for ever." From the preceding statement, it is evident that Lord Prudhoe places the Exodus in the reign of Pthahmen, (or, as he writes it, Pthamenoph,) the last king of the 18th Dynasty ; and tliat con- sequently the dates of those monarchs are all thrown back about 200 years. The decision of this interesting question I leave to the learned reader ; and shall feel great satisfaction, when the subject becomes so well understood as to enable a positive opinion to be pronounced upon it. I now return to the 19th Dynasty. Pthahmen Septhah appears to have been the Sethos * of Manetho and other authors, and the * So often mistaken for Sesostris. This rests on the authority of Josephus's version of Manetho: " 2f0w)^ tov Va^satjijv oivofiafT^isyov." VOL. I. G 82 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. second part of his phonetic nomen may have been the origin of the name it so much resembles. His right to the sceptre and admission into this dy- nasty were probably derived from his wife Taosiri, while his Memphitic origin excluded him from the privilege of being inserted in the list of Dios- polite monarchs, unless this was owing to his expul- sion from the throne.* Nothing of note occurred during his reign ; and whatever buildings he may have founded at Memphis, and in Lower Egypt, few bear even his name at Thebes, or in any other city of the Upper provinces. Those of his two suc- cessors are equally obscure in the history of their country, and little else remains of the monuments they erected except the avenue of Sphinxes, and the small chambers in the front area of Karnak, which the first of them added to that splendid edifice. But the name of the third Ilemeses is conspicuous in the annals of his country, as a conqueror, and as a zealous cncourager of the arts. The war of Asia had been neglected subsequently to, and perhaps in consequence of, the decisive successes of Ile- meses the Great, and the usual tribute from the conquered provinces was deemed a sufficient ac- knowledgment of their submission. But either some remissness in its ])ayment, or his own am- bition, stimulated the new king to a renewal of hostilities, and great preparations were made at Thebes and other j)arts of Kgyi)t for a formi- dable exj)C(lili()n. Large bochcs of chariots, and of * It would iiccomit fur liis name hciiij^ crnspd in the tonih No. Ik at Thebes, which M. (Ihampoilion supposed to he an instance of a king . refused the riglit of burial for his bad conduc t. CHAP. II. MILITARY COLONIES. 83 archers, spearmen, and other corps of infantry were collected *, and the usual route was taken to the intended seat of war. During their previous invasions t, the Egyptians had over-run several provinces t, in what I suppose to be the vicinity of the Caspian Sea; and in order to secure their possessions, and the fidelity of those who had entered their servdce as allies, they took the precaution to leave military colonies in the places where their presence was most essential, or which proved most suitable to the purpose ; and proper officers were appointed to urge and accom- pany § the annual tribute paid to the Egyptian king. We may hence account for the readiness shown by the allies to join the Pharaohs when invading the hostile countries; and they are repre- sented in the historical bas reliefs united with the Egyptians in the field of battle. Some of the people attacked by the third Re- meses are frequently alluded to on various monu- ments, as the enemies || of Egypt ; but others appear to be situated farther in the interior, and to * Represented at Medeenet Haboo. -j- I was wrong in saying (in my Materia Hiorog. p. 91.), "it does not appear to have been the object of the Egyptians to make any per- manent settlements in these countries:" I since find reason to aher that opinion ; and feel persuaded that they not only left colonies, as at Colchis (according to Herodotus), but enrolled the troops of the van- quished people in their own disciplined legions, allowing them to retain their own arms and dress. Vide Diodorus's Account (lib. i. 28.) of the Egyptian Colonies. J Diodorus (i. 71.) says, "many nations were conquered by them." Vide also Tacit. Ann. ii. 60. § According to the pictures in the tombs at Thebes. II Some of the allies at Medeenet Haboo are also a new people. They may have been represented on earlier monuments, now destroyed. Medeenet Haboo has been better preserved even than the Memnoniura. G 2 84 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. !!• have been previously unknown to, or unassailed by, the Egyptians. This last would, indeed, argue that ambition or the love of spoil were the main objects of the monarch who planned the expedition; and it was, probably, owing to some injustice on his part, that two of the nations who fought under his banners in the capacity of allies, were induced to quit their allegiance, and unite against the aggressions of the invader. These were the Shairetana and the Tok- kari*; and that the costume of the latter bears a remarkable analogy to those of the vicinity of Per- sia, may be seen by comparing it with the figures brought from Persepolis. t But whether the con- quests, or any of the captives represented in the sculptures of the tombs and temples, can be re- ferred to the rebellion and defeat of the Baetrians, is a question which I do not intend to discuss, since it would lead to arguments uninteresting to the general reader. It is possible that this monarch extended his conquests in one direction, even farther than his predecessor Remeses II. ; but the people represented at the Mcmnonium, and who have been supposed by M. Champollion to be the Scy- thians, do not a})j)ear to have been invaded to the same extent by the third Remeses. t After subduing several nations, whose troops he had defeated in the open field, in fortified towns, * Tlic Tokkari rebelled first, and were tlicn joined by tlic Sliairetana, who had been allies of the Egyptians at least from the time of Re- meses IF. f Vide infra, Chap. ill. Enemies of Epypt. ■| f)r perhaps gave no cause for the renewal of war ; and their names may only be noticed at Medcenet Ilaboo, as among the nations tributary to Egypt. CHAP. II. GLORIES OF REMESES III. 85 and by water, he returned with immense booty * to the valley of the Nile, and distributed rewards to his troops, whose courage and superior discipline had added so much to his glory, and to the power of their native country. And the latter part of his reign t was occupied, like those of his victorious ancestors, in erecting or embellishing many of the noblest monuments of Egypt. The sculptures of this period were elegant, as the architecture was magnificent ; but a peculiar innovation, introduced into the style of the hiero- glyphics, was the forerunner, though not the cause, of the decline and downfall of Egyptian art. The hieroglyphics had ceased to be executed in relief from the accession of the second Remeses ; but the change made in the reign of his fifth successor, was by carving the lower side of the characters to a great depth, while the upper face inclined gradually from the surface of the wall till it reached the in- nermost part of the intaglio, so that the hierogly- phics could be distinguished by a person standing immediately beneath, and close to the wall on which they were sculptured. It was a style not generally imitated by his successors ; and the presence of hieroglyphics of this kind may serve to fix the monuments in which they occur to the era of the third Remeses. kSome attempt was made by the monarchs of the S6th Dynasty to revive the beauty * If this king is the same as the Rhampsinitus of Herodotus, his successful wars may have been one of the great sources of the immense wealth he is said to have possessed. ■f- Among the Turks, it was long an established rule that no niosk could be founded by a Soltan who had not defeated the infidels, the enemies of their religion, of which he was the cliief. G 3 86 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. of ancient sculpture ; and so great was the care bestowed on the execution of the hieroglyphics and small figures, that a person unacquainted with the purity of the more ancient style feels inclined, at first sight, to consider them the most elegant productions of this school. But on more careful consideration, and judging with a full under- standing of true Egyptian design, tliey will be found to derive their effect from the minuteness of their detail, rather than from the boldness or superiority of their execution. At the close of his reign we bid adieu to the most glorious era of Egyptian history. But what was done by the labours of individuals zealous in the prosecution of the arts of peace, or what advances science and general knowledge under- went previous and subsequently to his era, still remains a secret; though it is probable, judging from similar events in other countries, that the epoch of conquest and mihtary renown was ac- comi)anied by a proportionate developemcnt of in- tellectual powers. That the Bible history makes no mention of the conquests of the Egyptian monarchs of tlie 18th Dynasty is not surprising, when we consider the state of the newly occupied land at the epoch in question ; and, as the history of the Jews only re- lates to themselves, or to those pco])le with whom they were at war, we readily perceive the reason of their silence. They had not, in fact, become settled in the promised territory; they were en- gaged in war witli rieigiibouring tribes; and the CHAP. II. BIBLE HISTORY. 87 passage of the Egyptian army along the sea-coast of Palestine could in no way disturb or alarm them. Nor could they have had any object in imprudently provoking the hostilities of a nation far more power- ful than those petty states, whose aggressions they found so much difficulty to resist : and we observe that, at a subsequent period, the insolent interfer- ence of Josiah on a similar occasion cost him his kingdom and his life*, and had the additional ef- fect of rendering his country tributary to Egypt. Whether the successors of Remeses III. pre- ferred the encouragement of the arts of peace and the improvement of the internal administration of the country, or, contented with the annual pay- ment of that tribute which the arms of their war- like predecessors had imposed on the vanquished states, ceased to thirst for further conquest, mili- tary expeditions on the grand scale of those equip- ped by the two Remeses and Osirei were now abandoned ; and the captives represented in their sculptures may be referred to the tributary people, rather than to those brought from any newly ac- quired territory. The immediate successors of the third Remeses were his sons. They all bore the name of their father, and completed the series of the 19th Dy- nasty. To them succeeded five other Remeses ; but the total of the 20th and 21st Dynasties is yet uncertain ; nor can the arrangement of their names be ascertained with any degree of precision, * 2 Kings, xxiii. 30. 3i. 2 Chron. xxxv. 20. ci seq., and xxxvi. 3. G 4 88 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. owing to tlieir having erected few buildings, at least in those cities whose monuments remain. Nor do the Dynasties of Manetho assist in the history of this period ; and, indeed, the unsatisfac- tory form in which they have been transmitted to us, precludes the possibility of our using them, in any instance, without some confirmation or as- sistance from the more trustworthy records of the monuments. Of the same epoch, little information is to be obtained either from Herodotus or Diodorus ; nor can we place much confidence in the accounts given by those authors of any portion of Egyp- tian history. Previous to the reign of Psamati- cus, the names of nearly all the sovereigns they mention are questionable, and great confusion is caused by their misplacing Scsostris, or by their ascribing events of the later reign of a Remeses to that conqueror. The cause of this error I have already endeavoured to explain, by supposing Se- sostris to have been the original hero of Egypt, and the conquests of the second Remeses to have been attributed to the former monarch, whose ex- ploits he had eclipsed ; the two persons thus becoming confounded together. Ilowev^r, as Herodotus and Diodorus mention some amusing details of the reigns of the early Pharaohs, I shall introduce them as a collateral account of the his- tory of the Egyptian kings. * * The History of I'-pypt, writtt'ii liy the iiiitlioi s of tlic ITiiivcrsal History, has been coinpiicd tliiifly from tliost; two historians; I liicrc- fore avail myself occasionally of some txtraits from that work, adding niv own remarks on the events there ticlailcd. CHAP. II. COURSE OF THE NILE CHANGED. 89 Menes, or Menas, as already stated, is allowed by universal consent to have been the first sove- reign of the country ; and was the reputed founder of Thebes, as well as Memphis. Having diverted the course * of the Nile, which formerly washed the foot of the sandy moun- tains of the Libyan chain, he obliged it to run in the centre of the valley, nearly at an equal dis- tance between the two parallel ridges of moun- tains which border it on the east and west ; and built the city of Memphis in the bed of the ancient channel. This change was effected by construct- ing a dyke about a hundred stadia above the site of the projected city, whose lofty mounds and strong embankments turned the water to the east- ward, and effectually confined the river to its new bed. The dyke was carefully kept in repair by succeeding kings ; and even as late as the Persian invasion, a guard was always maintained there, to overlook the necessary repairs, and to watch over the state of its embankments. For, adds Hero- dotus, if the river was to break through the dyke, the whole of Memphis would run a risk of being overwhelmed with water, especially at the period of the inundation. Subsequently, however, when the increased deposit of the alluvial soil had heightened the circumjacent plains, these pre- cautions became unnecessary ; and though we may still trace the spot where the diversion of the Nile was made, owing to the great bend it * If this is true, it shows great scientific knowledge at that early period. 90 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. takes, about fourteen miles* above the site of an- cient Memphis, the lofty mounds once raised there are no longer visible. The accumulated deposit of the river has elevated the bank about Kafr- el-Iyat to a level with their summit ; and a large canal runs, during the inundation, close to the vil- lages of Saqqara and Mit-rahenny, which occupy part of the old city, without endangering their security. Nor, judging from the great height of several mounds still existing at Memphis, could that city have been overwhelmed t at any period by the rising Nile, though much damage might have been done to some of the lower portions of it, which may have stood on less elevated ground. On the north and west of Memphis, Menes excavated a lake, which stood v>ithout the town, and communicated with the Nile by a canal ; it did not, liowever, extend to the east, because the river itself was on that side.t He also erected at Memphis a large and magnificent temple to Vul- can, who was called by the Egyptians Phthah, — the demiurgos, or creative power. Menes was the first who instructed the Egyp- tians in religious matters, introduced domestic magnificence and luxury, and instituted the pomp offcasts; and the change he made in the primitive sim])licity of the Egyptians was, in after times, so much regretted by Tncpliaclitluis, the father of liocchoris surnamed *' the Wise," that he ordered * I Iiave noticed this in my r>gy|)t and Tlicbcs, p. .34 1. -}- Herodotus says, *' Ktvfvi'ti Tratr^ MefKpi KaraKXvcrOiii'ai icfti.*' lib. ii, f)!). J But ;i|)|)aicntly at soinc distaiice from it. CHAP. II. QUEEN NITOCRIS. 91 a curse against the memory of Menes to be en- graved, and set up in the temple of the Theban Jupiter. A great blank is left after the death of Menes, both in Herodotus and Diodorus. The former re- lates, that 330 sovereigns succeeded him ; among whom were eighteen Ethiopians, and one queen, a native of Egypt, whose name was Nitocris. He fails to inform us if she preceded or followed tlie Ethiopian princes ; and we are left in ignorance of the events which led to their obtaining possession of the country — whether it was from conquest, or in consequence of intermarriages with the royal family of Egypt. Nitocris was a woman of great beauty ; and, if we may believe Manetho, she had a fair complexion, and flaxen hair. Her immediate pre- decessor was her brother, who was put to death by his subjects ; but neither his name nor the cause of that event are mentioned by Herodotus. Re- solved on revenging herself upon the authors of this outrage, Nitocris had no sooner ascended the throne, than she invited those she suspected of having been privy to it to a festival. A large sub- terraneous hall was prepared for the occasion ; and though it had the appearance of being fitted up with a view to celebrate the proposed feast, it was in reality designed for a very different pur- pose : for when the guests were assembled, the water of the Nile was introduced by a secret canal into the apartment ; and thus by their death she gratified her revenge, without giving them an op- portunity of suspecting her designs. But she did 92 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. IT. not live long to enjoy the satisfaction she had anticipated ; and fearing the indignation of the ■/2^fltj>-fc people, she put an end to herself by suffocation. No one monarch of the long suite above mentioned was distinguished by any act of mag- nificence or renown, except Moeris, who was the last of them. He built the northern pro- pyla^um of the temple of Vulcan at Memphis ; and excavated a lake called after him : a work of great splendour and utility, near * which he erected two pyramids, and the most wonderful of all buildings t either in Egypt or in any part of the world. This was the famous labyrinth t; from whose model that of Crete was afterwards copied by Daedalus § ; and in which, says Pliny ||, not a single piece of wood was used, being entirely constructed of stone. Herodotus attributes its foundation to the twelve kings, in the time of Psamaticus ; but tradition seems to have ascribed it to Moeris ; though it is possible that tlie son of Neco and his colleagues may have completed and enlarged it. Pliny says^ it was first built by king Petesuccus**, or Tithoes ; though others affirm * IlcroJotiis (ii. 149.) sa3s tlic pyramids stood in the lake, 200 cubits above tlie surface of the water, aiul tlie same below it ; and on each of tliem was a colossus of stone, seated on a tlu'one. + Ilerodot. ii. 148. 4; Pliny (xxxvii. 19.) mentions an emerald in tjiis building, of which a statue of the god !Sarii])is was made, nine cubits in height. Another stone of tlie same quaUty was sent to Egypt by a king of Jial)yIon, four cul)its long and three broad. These I suppose to have lieen of the smaragdite, or root of emerald, but even then their dimensions are extraordinary. His smaragdus is here evidently not the real cmeraM, § Plin. xxxvi. Ii). l^ \\ Plin. v. II. 1 Plin. xxxvi. 19. ** Or PetescuccH. The connnencemciit of his name bears an Egyptian character. CHAP. II. THE LABYRINTH. 93 it to have been the palace of Moth ems, or the sepulchre of Moeris ; and received opinion main- tains that it was dedicated to the Sun. Diodorus mentions Mendes, or, as some call him, Maron or Marrus, as the founder ; and others have put forth the claims of Ismandes* and various other mon- arch s. The entrance and some of the courts t were made of white stone resembling marble t; and the columns with which several of the corridors were adorned, as well as many other parts of the build- ing, were of red granite of Syene. § It was divided into sixteen parts, according to the number of the cuJ^^ nomes of, Egypt, and contained a temple to each of the deities: and with such remarkable solidity || was the whole constructed, that time, says Pliny, could not destroy it, though assisted by the He- racleopolites, from whose ill-will it sustained con- considerable damage. ,i r,.Ac:^ /fe ^c-^ Whether the lake Moeris was really commenced by, and owed its origin to, this monarch, it is dif- ficult to determine ; but from the name still given by the Egyptians to the canal which carries the water of the Nile to the Fyoom 5[ and its lake, and from traditions concerning it, I am inclined to attribute its commencement to Menes, from * Probably, as I have elsewhere suggested, the same as Mendes and Osymandyas, in which we trace the name of the god Mandoo, from which that of the king was derived. f Herod, ii. 148. X Pliny says, "of Parian marble." The stones which I found amidst the ruins on its site are, a hard white limestone, which takes a polish almost like marble, and red granite. § Plin. loc. cit. II Plin. loc. cit. Strabo, 17. H The modern name of the Arsinoite, or Crocodilopolite, nome. 94 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. whom the modern appellation El Menhi appears to have been borrowed. That the lake Moeris was in reality a name applied to the canal, as well as to the lake itself, we have the authority of Pliny, who asserts that "the lake Moeris* was a large canal;" and the great difficulty which has arisen on the subject is owing to the imperfect description of Herodotus, who has confounded the two : omitting to designate the canal as an ar- tificial work, and the lake as a natural formation. It has not only perplexed many of his readers, but has even misled the learned geographer D'An- ville, who, in order to account for his statement, suggested the existence of the Bath en ; an hy- pothesis entirely disproved by an examination of its supposed site : and of all authors who have written on this lake and canal, or the position of the labyrinth, none can be consulted with greater satisfaction than Strabot, in whose valuable work we only regret too much conciseness. During the period which elapsed from Menes to Sesostris, no monarch of note reigned in Egypt, if we except those above mentioned, and the Mnevis and Sasyches of Diodorust, who held a conspi- cuous place among the legislators of their country. But the exact period of their reigns is luicer- tain, and the historian has failed to inform us if Sasyches was the immediate successor of the for- * " Moeridus lacus, hoc est, fossa, grandis." Plin. xxxvi. 10. ■j- Vide Strabo's account of tlic lake and its canal, as well as^ the position of the labyrinth, iil). xvii. :jl Diodor. i. 94. The name call.s to mind fSnsachis, or Shishak ; thongh Diodorus places him before Sesostris (Sesoosis). CHAP. II. LAWGIVERS. ^5 mer, and whether they both preceded or followed McKris. Mnevis is represented to have been the first to teach the people to obey and respect the laws, and to have derived his sanction as a law- giver from Mercury himself j a fable which, with the name of the prince, argues strongly in support of the opinion that Diodorus has confounded him with Menes, the founder of the Egyptian mon- archy. Sasyches, a man of great learning, made numerous and important additions to the existing code, and introduced many minute regulations re- specting the service of the Gods. He was also the reputed inventor of geometi^ ; and ordained that astronomy should be taught, as an important branch of education. With the exception of these few reigns, Egyp- tian history presents a blank from the found- ation of the monarchy to the era of Sesostris : it is, however, probable that a portion of it may be filled by an event, which, though not fixed to any precise time by historians, is universally allowed to have occurred ; the occupation of the country by the Shepherds. If this and the so- journ of the Israelites in Egypt have been con- founded by Josephus, perhaps intentionally, and by other writers accidentally, the exploits of Se- sostris and of Remeses the Great have experienced the same treatment from Herodotus and others ; as the following extracts from his writings cannot fail to prove, with which I continue my compara- tive view of Egyptian history : — " Sesostris was the first who, passing the Ara- n^^t>." ..." «^r)s St Tov irtpiarvKov tovtov iraXiv txfpav (inoSov Kai irvXoova " . . " vapa 8« ttjc (tffo^ov (e) avSpiauras rpeis fi (voi f^tOtw . . . tovtcdv tva fxfv KaO-nfitvov {o ) imapx^^v (xfyMTov iravT(»v twv Kar 'Aiyvnlov." n, is tlie large sitting Colossus of Remcscs the Great, close to the second entrance e. " fitra 5« rov vvXwfa (f, i) irtpunvKov rov vportpov alioKoyairfpov (o, o) (v (p y\v(pas . . . STjAoutraj TOV TToKfuov." The battle scenes occur on these walls, and at 1 are traces of sculptures relating to the war; but that part, as well as j, is now in ruins. At K, ilwfirxt wall on the right entering, the king is !)esieging a city sur- CHAP. ir. THE STORY OF HELEN. 117 when the historian visited the country, and the whole of the environs thence obtained the name of the Tyrian camp. There was also in the same spot a small temple dedicated to Venus the stran- ger* ; and this goddess, Herodotus, with the vanity of a Greek, conjectures to be the Grecian *' He- len t, who was said to have lived some time at the court of Proteus." *' On inquiring," he continues, * Probably alluded to by Horace : " Oh quae beatam, Diva, tenes Cyprum, et Memphin carentem Sithonia nive." — Od. lib. iii. 26. 10. Strabo also mentions it. Lib. xvii. f Strabo sajs some consider this Venus to be a Greek goddess, and others suppose the temple to be dedicated to the moon. rounded by a river, " Kara rov Trpoojov toiv toikwv (k) rov jSacrjAeo . . iroXiopKowra reixos vtto vorafiov •n pippv rov." On the second wall were the y^f^/f captives led by the king, " ra re aiSoia Kai ras x^'P"'^ "•"' exovras," as at Medeenet Haboo; and in the centre of the area was an altar in the open air " vTraiOpiov," showing this court was also hypaethral in the centre. "Karrt Se TOP TeXevratov toixov virapxf^v avBptavTas KaBrifievovs Suo," l and m, — the head of the latter of which is now in the British Museum; " irap' ois eicro- dovs Tpeis (n, o, p) en tov irfptarvXav, KaQ' as olkou virapxeiv xrnocTTvXov (q) uthiiov Tpo-nov KaTeffKevaffiievov, eKaffrrjf irKevpav exAJ'Ta 5i.TrXe0pov." R and s are pedestals, perhaps belonging to some of the statues he mentions. " ej^js 8" VTrapxfiv ■Kepnrarov oiKcav iravToSaTruiv TrArjpTj," perhaps referring to the whole space containing the chambers u, v, y, z. " 6|r)$ S'vTrdpxfii' rrjy lepav Pi6\io6r]KT)v " (u or v) " (Tvvexets Se ravrri ruv ^eaiv airavrccv etKoyas, tov $aaiXiOi>s, ofioieas ^upotpopowros a iTpoar]Kov tjv fKOffrots," which is referred to in the sculptures of w and x. Whether his description of the parts beyond this are correct we cannot decide, as the chambers are entirely de- stroyed, and the general plan is scarcely to be traced ; and, as it is probable Hecataeus, who is his authority, was not admitted beyond the great Hall q, the information obtained of this part must have rested solely on report. Indeed, in this portion, he appears to have united or confounded two buildings, the temple of Remeses the Great, and that of Remeses III. at Medeenet Haboo ; though with the exception of the measurement of the areas (four plethra square), his description of the first part of the Tomb of Osymandyas agrees very closely with the edifice before us ; but we may be allowed to question its having been a tomb, or having been erected by that nwnarch. I, Battle scene, where the testudo occurs, I 3 -tV lis THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. 11. *• concerning her, the ])riests gave me the follow- ing information: — Paris (or Alexander) having carried off Helen from Sparta, was returning home, when, meeting with contrary winds in the ^gean, he was driven into the Egyptian sea ; and as they continued unfavourable, he proceeded to Egypt, and putting into the Canopic mouth of the Nile, landed at the Tarichasa*, near a temple of Hercules, which still exists there. If on any occasion a slave fled for refuge to this shrine, and, in testimony of his consecrating himself to the service of the god, submitted to be marked with certain characters, no one was permitted to molest him ; and the same custom has been strictly observed, from its first in- stitution to the present period. The servants of Paris, aware of the privileges of the temple, fled thither from their master, and with a view of in- juring him became su})})liants to the deity. They revealed the whole affair concerning Helen, and the wrong he had done to Menelaus; and they not only related it to the priests, but also to Thonis, wlio was governor of that mouth of the river. *' Thonis instantly despatched a courier to Mem- phis, with this message to the king: — ' A certain Trojan is arrived here, who has })erpetrated an atrocious crime in Greece. He has seduced the wife of his host, and has carried her away, with a quantity of treasure. Adverse winds liave forced him hither : shall I suffer liini to depart without molestation, or shall I seize his person and ])ro- * Or the Salt-pans. CHAP. II. HELEN AND PARIS IN EGYPT. 119 perty?' Upon this, Proteus gave an order that whoever the man was, who had thus violated the rights of hospitality, he should be arrested and brought before him. Thonis therefore sent Paris, with Helen and all his wealth, to Memphis, and detained his ships. As soon as he was admitted into the presence of the king, Proteus inquired who he was and whence he came. Paris faithfully related the name of his family and country, and from what place he had set sail. But when he was questioned concerning Helen, and how he had obtained possession of her person, he hesitated in his answers, and endeavoured to conceal the truth, till the slaves who had deserted him explained all the circumstances of his guilt. Proteus thereupon pronounced this sentence, ' If I did not consider it a very heinous crime to put any stranger to death, who may have been driven on my coast by contrary winds, I would assuredly, thou worst of men, avenge the Greek whose hospitality thou hast betrayed in a most treacherous manner : thou hast seduced his wife ; and not contented with this, thou hast carried her off' by stealth, and still detainest her ; and, as if this crime was not sufficient, thou has robbed his house. However, as I think it right not to put a stranger to death, I suffer thee to depart ; but this woman and the wealth thou hast brought I forbid thee to take: these shall remain with me till the Greek himself shall come and demand them. In three days leave my coast with thy companions, or expect to be treated as enemies.' I 4 120 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. '* Helen was therefore detained by Proteus till the arrival of Menelaus, who, finding at the capture of Troy, that his wife was not in the possession of Paris, but had been left by him in Egypt, re- paired to the court of the Egyptian king. On his arrival, he related the object of his journey. He was received with great hospitality, and Helen, who had been treated with respect, was restored to him with all his treasure. He then returned to the coast, intending to set sail immediately : but the winds were contrary ; and Menelaus, forgetting the gratitude he owed to his benefactors, clandes- tinely seized two children of the country, and of- fered them as a sacrifice.* This was no sooner made known to the Egyptians than they resolved on punishing the perpetrator of so great an out- rage ; but as he fled by sea to Africa, they were unable to overtake him, and Menelaus escaped their indignation, and the punishment his perfidy deserved.'* The fable related by the Greeks of the won- derful powers of Proteus, in assuming a multi- plicity of shapes, is thought by Diodorust to be explained from a custom common to the Egyptian kings of adorning their heads with various figures and emblematic devices, intended to strike the be- holders with awe ; but this is neither satisfactory nor probable. The head-dresses of the kings re- presented ill llie sculptures, when offering to the * Conf. Virg. /Kn. ii. I l(j. " S;m^iiiiic placastis vcDlos, et virgiiic c'a?sa." ■j J>io(lor. i. G2. CHAP. ir. ROBBERY OF THE TREASURY. 121 gods, are numerous and varied (especially in the later times of the Ptolemies and Cassars) ; yet such slight changes could never account for a similar fable among the Egyptians, who were fully ac- quainted with the intention of every vesture and crown of ceremony. Rhemphis, or Rhampsinitus, succeeded Proteus. He does not appear to have been distinguished for the extent of his conquests abroad, but he sur- passed all his predecessors in the immense wealth he possessed, and in his fondness for riches. Dio- dorus considers him of so avaricious a character that he was unwilling to employ any of the trea- sure he had amassed either for the service of the gods or the benefit of his subjects ; but the monu- ments he erected at Memphis disprove this state- ment, and claim for him a place among the patrons of religion, and the encouragers of art. *' The western vestibule of the temple of Vulcan," says Herodotus, *' was added by his order, as were two colossal statues, twenty-five cubits in height, which stand in front of it. The northern statue (or that on the left entering) is called by the Egyptians summer, the other to the south, winter; and though they treat the latter with no manner of respect, they reverence the former, and even worship it." Herodotus concurs in representing Rhampsini- tus as the most opulent of all the Egyptian kings who reigned before or after him 5 and if he does not state the amount of his wealth, which the former historian calculates at no less than 400,000 12^2 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. talents, he relates the great care he took in its preservation. *' For this purpose he constructed a stone edifice, one side of which was attached to the wall of his palace. But the architect he em- ployed, with a dishonest view, so disposed one of the stones of tlie outer wall that two or even one man might easily remove it. The building being completed, the king there deposited his treasures in supposed security. Some time afterwards, the architect finding his end approaching, sent for his two sons, and told them how their future prosperity was provided for by an artifice he had adopted in building the king's treasury. He then explained all the secret of the stone; its dimensions and po- sition; the mode of removing it; and, if they used proper caution, the certainty of participating in the royal wealth. After the death of their father, they were not long before tliey availed tliemselves of the advice lie had given them ; and re])airing by night to the palace, they found the stone as de- scribed, and having easily removed it, they carried away a large sum of money. When tlic king en- tered the a})artment he observed a sensible dimi- nution of the gold in the vases ; but as he had no suspicions of any person, and the lock and its seals were intact, he was greatly })er))lexed. At lengtli, finding the same diminution continue, the thieves constantly repeating their visits, he resolved on placing traps round the vases wliicli contained the money. They returned as usual, and one of them on going to the spot was caught in the trap, lie instantly called to his l^rother; and explaining his CHAP. II. ARTIFICE OF THE THIEF. 1Q3 situation, he requested him without loss of time to cut off his head, as the only means of preventing detection and preserving his own life. The advice appeared good ; and having overcome his scruples, he complied, replaced the stone, and ran home, carrying with him the head of his brother. *' As soon as it was light, the king entered the apartment; and seeing the body of a person with- out a head secured in the trap, the walls entire, and showing no place of exit or ingress, he was more astonished than ever. Still he hoped to unravel the mystery; and ordering the body to be exposed from the wall, he stationed guards on the spot, and directed them to seize and bring before him whoever should discover any symptoms of sorrow or compassion at the sight. The mother, exasper- ated at this treatment of her son's body, threat- ened the surviving brother if he did not contrive some means of removing and bringing it away, she would go herself to the king and accuse him as an accomplice in the robbery. In vain did he endeavour to excuse himself; at length, finding her determined, he had recourse to the following artifice: — He loaded some asses with skins of wine, and drove them to the place where the guards were stationed to watch the body of his brother. As soon as he approached them, he secretly drew the pegs from the mouths of two or three of the skins, and when the wine gushed out, he began to beat his head and to cry vehemently, running to and fro with pretended confusion, as if uncertain to which of the asses he should go first. 124 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. The soldiers perceiving the accident, ran with vessels; but instead of assisting him, all the wine they could save they considered themselves entitled to as their own. At first he abused them in ap- parent anger; then, feigning to be pacified by their endeavours to console him, he led his asses aside out of the road, put the skins in order, and began to enter into conversation with them. Affecting to be pleased with the drollery of one of them, he gave him a skin of wine; and having accepted their invitation to stay and drink with them, he sat down, and, to reward their civility, he added another. It was not long before the wine had its effect : the soldiers became intoxicated and fell asleep, and as soon as night came on, he took down the body of his brother ; and having shaved the right cheek * of the guards, in derision, he put the body into a sack on one of his asses and drove home. " When Rhampsinitus heard what had happened he was enraged beyond measure ; but being re- solved on discovering the robber, he is said to have had recourse to this stratagem, which to me appears very improbable. He commanded his daughter to receive every man indiscriminately, on condition he would tell her the most artful as well as the most wicked thing he had ever done ; and if any one confessed the crime of which this robber had been guiRy, she was to seize * This, like tlic rest of the .story, is very (niestion;vl)le. Tlie F,f,'y|)- tian soldiers iiad no beards, and Herodotus himself allows that the Egyptians shaved, and only allowed " the hair of their head and beard to grow in nionrning." ii. 'Mi. That this last is true, is proved by the scuiptiiiVb representing soldiers and otiicr individuals. CHAP. II. PARDONED BY THE KING. 1^25 him and prevent his escape. The daughter obeyed the orders of her father ; and the thief guessing what was intended, prepared to thwart the artful scheme of the king. He cut off the arm of a body recently dead, which he concealed under his cloak during his visit to the princess ; and when asked the same question as the rest, he replied * that the most wicked thing he had ever done was to cut off the head of his brother who had been caught in a trap in the king's treasury, — the most artful thing, his making the guards drunk and removing the body.* She immediately endea- voured to apprehend him ; but as it was dark, he held out the dead arm, and on her seizing it effected his escape. This being reported to the king, he was still more astonished at the art and audacity of the man, and issued a proclamation that if the offender would declare himself he should not only be pardoned, but rewarded handsomely. Trusting to his word, the thief presented himself before him, and Rhampsinitus, being much pleased with his address, gave him his daughter in marriage ; for knowing the Egyptians to be superior in inge- nuity to all other people, and finding he had sur- passed even the Egyptians, he looked upon him as infinitely more clever than any other human being." Such is the story told by Herodotus ; but we must do him the justice to say he expresses his dis- belief of it, as well as of the same king's visit to the lower regions, where Rhampsinitus was reported to have played at dice with the goddess Ceres, alternately winning and losing, and to have been 126 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. 11. presented on leaving lier with a napkin embroidered with gold. The period of his suppossed return was celebrated by the Egyptians as a solemn festival, and continued even to the time of Hero- dotus : but wliat the real origin or import of the ceremony may have been, the historian is unable to inform us. " The ministers," he adds, " who officiate on that occasion, wear a vest woven within the space of a day ; and this is put on by one of them, whose eyes are blinded, and who is conducted to a path leading to the temjile of Ceres, where he is left, and whence two wolves are said to take him to the temple, distant twenty stadia from the city, bringing him back to the same spot when the ceremony is concluded. But I leave every reader to judge for himself regarding the credibility of what I here relate." *' Till the reign of Rhampsinitus, Egypt was for- tunate, as well in the tranquillity and justice it enjoyed, as in the blessings of abundance. But Cheops*, his successor, abandoned himself to every kind of depravity. He closed all the temples, for- bade the Egyptians to offer sacrifices, and ordered their labours to be confined to his own ])urposes. Having the project of building a pyramid, he com- ])elled some to hew stones in the quarries of the Arabian mountains t, and to drag them to the bank of the Nile ; others were a})pointed to receive them • The Chemmis, Chenibcs, or (nicniiiis of Diodorus. This ana- chronism, of placing Cheops af'tiM- tiic Trojan \v;ir, must l)c obvious to every one. + Conf. Plin. xxxvi. 17. " I'vrainis amplissiiiia ex Aral)ici.s lapi- cidinis constat;" and Strabo, lib. xvii., 'I'iov Xi^wr, t^ lov at \\iif)((^if(<; yiyovaaiv .... tv Tij Apiifiif Tpwiicov r« KctXiiTcn TrtrpwOtt . . . ofiot;. CHAP. II. THE PYRAMID OF CHEOPS. 127 from the boats and transport them to the mountain of Libya; and for this service 100,000 men* were employed, who were reUeved every three months. In the operation of forming the road, by which the stones were carried, ten years were consumed ; and this arduous undertaking appears scarcely in- ferior to the pyramid itself, which, independent of the time employed in preparing the hill where it stands, occupied twenty years." The historian then proceeds to describe the pyramids : but as I have given an account of them in a previous workt, I think it unnecessary to repeat it here, and resume my history of the successors of this monarch. After a reign of fifty years, Cheops, who, as I have already stated, appears to have been the Suphis of Manetho, and the Chembres of Diodo- rus, was succeeded by Cephren his brother. He reigned fifty-six years, and erected a pyramid similar to that of his brother, but of rather less di- mensions. Mycerinus, the son of Cheops, was his successor. He was a good and religious prince ; and his memory was revered by the Egyptians beyond that of all his predecessors, not only because of the equity of his decisions, but because his love of justice was so great that if complaint was made of his conduct he always showed a willingness to redress the injury. He had an only daughter, * Plin. " Trecenta LX. liominuin millia annis XX. eani con- struxisse produntur. Tres vero factae annis LXXVIII. et men- sibus IV." t Egypt and Thebes, p. 323. 128 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. who died some time after he ascended the throne, which was the first misfortune he experienced ; and being much afflicted by her death, and wish- ing to honour her funeral with more than ordinary splendour, he enclosed her body in a heifer made of wood, riclily ornamented with gold. It was not buried, but remained even to the time of Herodo- tus in the palace at SaVs, in a magnificent chamber, where exquisite ])erfumes burnt before it every day, and brilliant illuminations continued tlirough- out the night.* Mycerinus afterwards met with a second cala- mity. The oracle of Buto sent to inform him he should live six years and die the seventh ; and though he represented his piety and upright con- duct, the same answer was returned, with this addi- tion, that his early death was in consequence of his virtues. During this period of his reign t he occupied him- self in constructing a pyramid ; and if we may be- lieve Diodorus, he died before its completion. It stands near those of his father and his uncle ; and though much smaller, was considered, when entire, far more elegant than the other two, being cased with red granitc.t On the northern face he inscribed • It is very (|uc'sti()iial)lc if this licifcr rcf'crrcil to the daiif^Iitcr of" Mycerinus; and jiulf,'iiif5 from what tlie historian adds of the Egyptians fhii^ellatinf; themselves in iiononr of a certain god (Osiris), it would rather seem to belong to Isis, or to Atlior. f Ilerodotns mentions a ridiculous story of his passing the night in revelry, and endeavouring to convict the oracle of falsehood, by turn- ing night into day, and thus douiiling the number of years. X Pliny says, " Tertia minor pr;edictis, sed nndto spcctatior iEthi- opicis la[)i(lil)us." xxxvi. 17'. Herodotus says, it was of ^Ethiopian stone, as far as the middle of its lieight. CHAP. II. TNEPHACHTHUS' CURSE OF MENES. 129 his name ; and the entrance, though still closed and undiscovered, may be looked for on this side, like those of the other two pyramids. The Greeks erroneously attributed its erection to the courtesan Rhodopis ; but, as Herodotus observes, it is im- probable that a monument, which cost several thousand talents, should have been erected by her, and even impossible, since she did not live at the same epoch, but during the reign of Amasis. The immediate successor of Mycerinus is un- certain. According to Herodotus, it was Asychis, who appears to have been a Memphite. Diodo- rus, however, here introduces the names of Tne- phachthus, and his son Bocchoris, both omitted by Herodotus, as Asychis and Anysis are in his catalogue of kings. Tnephachthus, or, as Plutarch calls him,Technatis, is only known as being the father of Bocchoris, and as having led an expedition into Arabia, where he endured great privations and hardships, owing to the loss of his baggage in so inhospitable a country. And being obliged to put up with the poor and slender diet he there met with, and finding his sleep in consequence much more sound and refreshing, he felt persuaded of the ill effects resulting from a luxurious mode of living, and was resolved on his return to Thebes to record his abhorrence of the conduct of Menes, who had induced the Egyptians to abandon their frugal and simple habits : he, therefore, erected a stela, with an inscription to that purpose, in the temple of Amun at Thebes, VOL. I. K 130 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. where his son also made considerable additions to the sacred buildings dedicated to the deity. While examining the ruins of Karnalc, I met with one tablet, which appeared at first sight to resemble a monument of this kind ; but on further examination I altered my opinion, and was obliged to relinquish all hope of finding it there, or, in- deed, in any other building at Thebes. Bocchoris, his son, a Saite by birth, succeeded him. He is represented to have been despicable in his person, but the qualities of his mind fully compensated for any imperfections of the body ; and so far did he surpass all his predecessors in wisdom and prudence, that he obtained the dis- tinctive surname of " the Wise." He is reputed to have been one of the Egyptian lawgivers, and in this capacity to have introduced many useful regulations in the ancient code respecting debt *, and fiscal matters ; though some have supposed his care of the revenue to proceed from a feeling of avarice, rather than from a desire to benefit the state, t He was said to have been taken prisoner by Sabaco the Ethiopian, and to have been burnt alive ; but this assertion is destitute of probability, and there is great doubt whether Sabaco was his immediate successor, or whether, as I have already observed, several kings intervened between Boc- choris and that monarch. t To enable us to solve these questions, we require more positive authority, either from the monuments, or from history, and * Diodor. i. 79. J'idc hij'ru on the T^aw.s of Egypt, f Ibid. i. 94. I This is also the opinion of Diodorus, i, G5. CHAP. II. BRICK PYRAMIDS. 131 it is equally useless to inquire if Asychis was the same as Bocchoris. I therefore proceed to notice the reigns of Asychis and Anysis, as given by Herodotus. The former was not only an encourager of art, but a benefactor to his country by the introduction of some salutary laws respecting debt. " Finding that commercial interests suffered from an extreme want of money, he passed an ordinance that any one might borrow money, giving the body of his deceased father as a pledge : by which law the sepulchre of the debtor fell into the power of the creditor ; for if the debt was not discharged, he could neither be buried with his family in that or in any other tomb, nor was he suffered to inter any of his children." Among the monuments erected by Asychis was a pyramid of brick, with this inscription engraved on a marble slab, " Compare me not with the stone pyramids, for I am as superior to them as Jove is to the other gods. Thus was I made : men probing with poles the bottom of a lake drew forth the mud which adhered to them, and formed it into bricks." Four pyramids built of these materials still re- main in Lower Egypt, independent of several .smaller ones at Thebes, and it is probable that one of them is that alluded to by Herodotus as having been erected by Asychis. Two are close to Memphis and the modern town of Dashoor ; the others stand at the entrance of the Fyoom. Near the former are two pyramids of stone ; and this circumstance, and their vicinity to Memphis, in- K 2 132 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. duce me to believe one of them to be the crude brick monument in question ; for it is reasonable to suppose it would be erected near the city where the prince resided, and in the vicinity of stone pyramids, to which it forbade the spectator to compare it. In what its superiority consisted, we are unable to decide. Dr. Richardson ingeniously ascribes it to the vaulted roofs of its chambers, whose construction was the result of the novel invention of the arch. But though chambers did exist in the brick pyramids, vestiges of which I have myself seen in one of those at Dashoor, and their roofs, as he justly concludes, were vaulted, other pyramids of similar materials had long before been erected at Thebes, with roofs of the same construction, and the arch was invented and used in Upper Egypt many centuries before the acces- sion of this monarch. According to Herodotus, Asychis was succeeded by Anysis, a native of a town of the same name, who was blind. In his reign, Sabaco, the Ethiopian, invaded and conquered Egypt, of which he con- tinued in possession fifty years ; and during the whole of that period Anysis remained concealed in the lowlands of the Delta, at a place called the Isle of VAho, which lie is said to have formed for himself of ashes and earth, neither daring nor having the power to dispute the authority of the invader. *• Sabaco, while he ruled Egypt, refrained from punishing any crime with death ; but, according to the magnitude of their offence, he condenmed all criminals to raise the ground around the place to CHAP. II. SECESSION OF SABACO. 133 which they belonged : in order to elevate the dif- ferent towns throughout the country, and to place them above the reach of the inundation. This had been previously done during the reign of Sesostris, when the canals were made ; but the mounds now added by order of the Ethiopian were much more extensive : so that every city was raised at this period, and particularly Bubastis." Manetho differs from the historian of Halicarnassus in his character of Sabaco, and in the name of the prince whose throne he usurped, since he affirms that he took Bocchoris captive and burnt him alive ; nor is Herodotus's own account consistent, when he men- tions his having put to death " Necos, the father of Psammitichus." * Again, Manetho limits his reign to eight or eighteen years, while Herodotus allows him fifty ; and states, that he relinquished the throne of Egypt and returned to Ethiopia in consequence of a dream, in which *' a person ap- peared advising him to assemble all the priests of Egypt, and to inflict upon them the cruel death of cutting them asunder . . . but, rather than perpetrate such a deed, he resolved to retire from the throne, especially as the duration of his reign over Egypt, according to the oracles, was now fulfilled ; for Sabaco, while in Ethiopia, having consulted them, was informed he should reign fifty years in Egypt ; and this period being accomplished, the vision so alarmed him that he voluntarily withdrew." On the secession of Sabaco, Anysis was re- called from his place of concealment, and assumed * This I shall presently show to have been impossible. Herod, ii. 132. K 3 134 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. the reins of government ; but for what length of time Herodotus fails to inform us. He was suc- ceeded by Sethos, a priest of Vulcan, who, as I shall presently have occasion to observe, was con- temporary of Tirhakah, and who, in consequence of the contempt with which he treated the mili- tary class, endangered the safety of the whole of Lower Egypt, when Sennacherib king of Assyria, threatened to invade it. This, and the events which occurred in the reigns of Sabaco, Psamati- cus, and succeeding monarchs, will also be noticed in my account of the 25th and 26th Dynasties ; and having, as I proposed, introduced a compar- ative view of the history of the early Egyptian princes, from Menes to Sethos, from the works of Herodotus and Diodorus, I resume my chrono- logical inquiry, which I had carried down to the end of the 19th Dynasty*, and consequently now return to the kings who succeeded the sons of the third Remeses, and who composed the 20th, 21st, and the following Dynasties : — The IQth and 'iYst Dynasties, on the Authority of the Monuments, were composed of Name from the Ascended Monuments. the Tlirone. Remeses VII. _ n. c. - 1170 Remeses VIII. . - 1155 Remeses IX. - - 1140 liemeses X. - - 1125 Jteineses XI. - - 1110 Ainun-mui-Pouee ? - - 1095 Amun-meses ? - - 1080 reigned till about 1068 * Vide p. 87. CHAP. II. 22d and 23d dynasties. 135 The succession is doubtful for a period of about 90 years, when a more interesting period opens to view, in the 2^d Dynasty, where we recognise a great similarity between the names * of Manetho's list and those on the monuments. The 22d Dynasty of Diospolitans. Name from Ancient Authors. Sesonchis Osorthon Tacellothis Name from the Monuments. Sheshonk I. Osorkon I. Takelothe Events. Shishak of S. S., who plun- dered the temple of Jem salem, b. c. 971 fCotemporary of Zerah, the Ethiopian King, who fought with Asa, B.C. 941 -] Ascended the Throne. B. C. 981 945 925 23thio- [)iaii capital, wiiero iiis name and Monnnicnts arc fonnd. •f Ilcrod.ii. 111. J At Mcdccnet Ilabo;) arc tlic fijiurc and name of tiiis king, and the captives he tf)()k. § Sabaco's name is I'uund at Abydiis. CHAP. II. DEFEAT OF SENNACHERIB. 141 Sethos, Memphis and all that part of the country was in danger of falling a prey to the invader. Sethos, who had been a priest of Pthah, was more solicitous, even after his elevation to the throne, for the observance of religious ceremonies than the welfare of the state ; and induced by fanaticism to consider the services of the soldier unnecessary for the security of a country entrusted to the pro- tection of the gods, " he treated that class with extreme contempt, and, among other indignities, deprived them of their arurcp, or fields, which, by way of reward, his predecessors had allowed to each soldier. They therefore refused to march against the Assyrians ; and in this dilemma the priest-king retired to the shrine of the god, before which he lamented his danger and misfortunes. He there sunk into a profound sleep; and the deity, appearing to him in a dream, promised that if he marched to meet the enemy he should experience no injury, for that he would furnish him with assistance. Inspired with confidence from this vision, he put himself at the head of his adherents, and advanced to Pelusium, the entrance of Egypt, unaccompanied by a single soldier, his army being entirely composed of trades- men and artisans."* Nor was it long before this assistance arrived. Tirhakah, having heard of the approach of Sennacherib, marched with a numerous army from the Thebai'd, and entering Palestine, de- feated the Assyrians ; thus delivering Lower Egypt as well as Judaea from the arms of this powerful * Herodot. ii. 141. It might be supposed that the sections 164 — 168. of the same book were intended to have been introduced here. 142 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. U. invader. But the ingratitude, perhaps the jea- lousy of the Memphites, disguised the truth from the Greek historian, and the miraculous interpo- sition of Ptliah was affirmed to have been the cause of Sennacherib's defeat. Concealing the assistance received from the army of Tirhakah, the priests assured Herodotus, that when the Assyrians or Arabians and the feeble party commanded by Sethos were encamped opposite each other, a prodigious number of rats infested the enemy's camp by night, and gnawed in pieces their quivers and bows, as well as the handles of their shields ; so that in the morn- ing, finding themselves without arms, they fled in confusion, and lost great numbers of their men. And in order to commemorate the event, a marble statue of Sethos was erected in the temple of Pthali at Memphis, representing the king holding a rat in his hand, witli this inscription — '* Who- ever thou art, learn from my fortune to reverence the gods." '* From Menes to tliis prince," adds the historian, *' was a period of .341 generations, in which there had been as many liigh-j)riests, and llie same num- ber of kings. And as three generations are equal to 100 years, tlie total of these may be estimated at 11,310 years." Such arc the extravagant dates given by ancient writers. That Tirhakali ruled at Napata and in tlie The- baid at the same period, is sufficiently proved by tlic adcHtions lie made to tlie temples of Thebes, and by the monunieiits he built in I*Hlii()j)ia ; Jior did the Egyptians effiice liis records, or forget the CHAP. ir. THE TWELVE KINGS. 143 gratitude they owed to the defender of their country. The name of Nectanebo has indeed usurped the place of Tirhakah's ovals in one or two instances among the sculptures at Thebes ; but such substitu- tions are not uncommon, and the name of the Ethio- pian has not been erased from any ill-will, so often evinced when an obnoxious monarch had ceased to reign. That he was a very potent prince, is evident from his defeat of the numerous army of Sennacherib* as well as from the monuments he has left both in Egypt and Ethiopia, and his main- tenance of the Egyptian possessions in Asia; and however Strabo may have exaggerated his power when he affirms that he extended his conquests, like Sesostris, into Europe, even as far as the Pillars of Hercules, yet his authority is of use, as it leads to the conclusion that Tirhakah, or, as he calls him, Tearcont, ruled Lower as well as Upper Egypt, to which he, perhaps, succeeded on the death of the priest-king Sethos. According to Herodotus, twelve kings, or rather monarchst, succeeded to the dominion of all Egypt; but it is probable they did not assume the title of Pharaoh, being only governors of the twelve provinces or nomes into which the country was divided. On this occasion the historian sarcas- tically observes, that " as the Egyptians were not capable of existing a single instant without a king, they elected twelve," each enjoying equal * In the Syriac and Arabic versions he is called Sanherib. ■f Strabo, lib. xv. j Herodotus, ii. 147. 144- THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. If. rank and authority. " They connected them- selves by intermarriages, solemnly promising to promote their common interests, and never to engage in any acts of separate policy : their principal motive in this union being to guard against the declaration of an oracle, which had predicted that whoever among them should offer a libation in the temple of Vulcan from a brazen vessel, should be sole sovereign of Egypt." For many years they continued the management of affairs in perfect amity and mutual confidence, and no administration was more eminent for justice and impartiality. An accident at length occurred to interrupt their friendship. " On a certain occa- sion they were called upon to offer sacrifice in the temple of Vulcan j and when the last day of the festival came, they prepared to make the accustomed libation. For this })urpose the chief priest pre- sented the golden cups used on those solemnities; but having mistaken tlie number, he brought only eleven. Psammiticlnis *, who was the last, not having a cup, took off his helmet, which was of brass, and poured from it the libation. The other princes had similar helmets, and wore them on the present occasion ; so that the circumstance of this one king using his was accidental and unpremedi- tated ; but when they observed what Psammiti- chus had done, and remembered the prediction of the oracle, they examined him, suspecting he had acted designedly. Finding, however, that * This is Ilcrodotu.s's mode of writing tlic name of P.sainatik, or P»aii)aticus. CHAP. ir. FULFILMENT OF THE ORACLE. 145 it was purely accidental, they did not think him worthy of death, but were satisfied with depriving him of his regal power ; and, confining him to the low lands of Egypt, they forbade him to leave that district, or to hold any communication with the rest of the country." Things continued in this state for some time ; the eleven kings having taken the whole direction of affairs, and the dethroned prince still remaining in exile. Psamaticus, however, could not pas- sively submit to this uncalled-for treatment ; and feeling the strongest resentment for the injury, he determined to be revenged upon his oppressors. With this view he sent to consult the oracle of Latona at Butos, which had among the Egyptians the highest character for veracity, and received for answer that the sea should avenge his cause by producing brazen men. He was little inclined to believe that such an event could ever occur ; but some time afterwards a body of lonians and Carians, who had been engaged in a voyage of plunder, were compelled by stress of weather to touch at Egypt and landed there, clad in brazen armour. Some Egyptians, alarmed at their appear- ance, hastened to carry the news to Psamaticus ; and as they had never before seen persons so armed, they described them as brazen men*, who had arisen from the sea, and were plundering the country. He instantly conceived this to be the accomplish- * The surprise of the Egyptians on seeing men clad in bronze or brass armour would seem to imply that they used iron for the same purpose. But can we trust this statement of Herodotus ? Psamaticus's helmet was also of bronze, according to the same author. VOL. 1. L 146 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II, ment of the oracular prediction ; and having entered into an alhance with the strangers, and engaged them by splendid promises to unite with his Egyp- tian adherents, he vanquished the eleven kings, and made himself master of the whole country. Previous to this event, the twelve kings are said by Herodotus to have erected the famous labyrinth in the nome of Crocodilopolis, afterwards called Arsinoe ; but since the prior claims of Mceris *, as the builder of that monument, appear to be fully established, we can only suppose that Psamaticus and his coadjutors completed a work commenced many ages previously by one of their early pre- decessors. " In acknowledgment," continues the historian, •* of the assistance he had received from the Ionian and Carian strangers, Psammitichus conferred upon them certain lands termed the camp, which were situated opposite each other, on either bank of the river ; and having fulfilled all his engagements with them, he entrusted to their care some Egyptian children, to be instructed in the Greek language; and from those the present interpreters of Egypt are said to be descended. The district they inhabited was near the sea coast, a short distance below Bubastis, on the Pelusian brancli of the Nile, and the same Greek settlers continued in possession of it for a considerable j)eriod ; till Amasis, wishing to avail himself of their services against the Egyp- tians, removed them to Memphis. They were the * ride p. 92. CHAP. II. DIODORUS'S ACCOUNT. 14? first foreigners whom the Egyptians received among them;" and Herodotus* affirms, that even in his time, *' the places they formerly occupied, the docks of their ships, and the vestiges of their houses, might still be seen." Such is his account of the temporary reign of the twelve kings, and of the accession of Psamaticus to the throne. According to Diodorust, the anarchy which pre- vailed in Egypt, during two whole years, after the rule of the Ethiopian princes, and the commotions excited by popular phrensy, suggested to the chief men of the country the expediency of assuming the reins of government, and restoring order to the state. With this view, twelve of the most in- fluential persons were chosen to preside with regal power. Each had a peculiar province allotted to him, in which his authority was paramount ; and though independent of one another, they bound themselves by oaths of mutual concord and fidelity. During fifteen years their relations were main- tained with the greatest harmony ; but as Psama- ticus, whose sway extended to the Mediterranean, had availed himself of the opportunities offered by the seaports within his province of establishing commercial intercourse with the Phoenicians and Greeks, and had amassed considerable wealth by these means, his colleagues, jealous of his increas- ing power, and fearing lest he should eventually employ it against them, resolved to prevent his sup- posed designs, and to dispossess him of his province. * Herodot. ii. 154-. f Diod. i. 66. L 2 148 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. They therefore prepared to attack him, and by this step obhged Psamaticus to adopt measures which his ambition might not have contemplated. Ap- prised of their resolutions, and finding liimself threatened by the formidable army of all the upper provinces, he sent to Arabia, Caria, and Ionia, and, having succeeded in raising a considerable body of mercenaries, he was soon in a fit state to oppose them ; and, putting himself at the head of these and his native troops, he gave them battle at Momem- phis, routed their combined forces, and obliging those of the princes who had escaped the slaughter to fly to Libya, became possessed of an undivided throne. This account is more consistent with rea- son than that of Herodotus, which Diodorus after- wards notices, and which he had the good judgment not to adopt. The fortuitous arrival of any great number of Greeks is in itself improbable ; but the necessity of believing that a party of pirates, driven upon the coast by adverse winds, paralysed a country so powerful and well garrisoned as Egypt then was, and uniting with the few adherents of the exiled Psamaticus, overcame the combined forces of the eleven kings, is alarming even to the credulous. No mention is made of the accession and de- tlnoncment of the twelve kings in the catalogue of Manctiio : and some might feel inclined to doubt tiie veracity of the two historians, did not some traces of these events a|)pear in the sculptures. The titles " Piiaraoh," " Souten," "king of men,'* and " lord of the upper and lower country," were applied to those sovereigns who had the sole direc- CHAP. ir. TITLE OF MELEK. 149 tion of affairs while Egypt was an independent state : the term " Melek" denoted an inferior grade of " king," or was reserved for those who governed as tributaries or viceroys of a more powerful prince, of which Egypt afforded some examples after the Persian conquest. To the twelve kings, each possessing a limited share in the sovereignty of Egypt, the honours conferred on the sole monarchs of the country was necessarily refused, and Melek was deemed a title of sufficient consequence to precede their names : and while this accounts for Psamaticus being designated in some instances ** Melek," and in others *' king of the upper and lower country," we have the satisfaction of finding history confirmed by the sculptures. Psamaticus then, and his eleven coadjutors, had, during the period of their joint reign, the title o? Melek ; and all monuments on which his name, with this prefix, is met with, may be ascribed to that epoch. Psamaticus was son of that Neco who is said by Herodotus to have been put to death by Sabaco *, and perhaps the same who occurs as the third king in the 26th Dynasty of Manetho : but there is no reason to suppose him one of the twelve kings ; and if he really enjoyed the sovereign power, and ruled the whole of Upper and Lower Egypt, it is probable that his reign preceded the accession of those princes. * yide supra. L 3 150 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. ^6th Dynasty of Sa'ite Kings. Name from Ancient Authors. ;} Stephinatbis Nechepsus Nechao I. Psammitichus - Psamaticus Nechao II. Psammitichus "| Psammutis, or \ Psammis - J Vaphres, or A pries Amasis, or Amosis Psaminicherites, or Psammeni- tus ) Name from the Sculptures. Psamatik I. Neco Psamatik 1 1. Psamatik III. Ames-Neit-se Observations. The Twelve Kings. Josiah defeated and slain, 610 B. c. ' Neco's defeat by Nebu- cliadnezzar, 606. A stela in the museum of Flo» rence gives 71 years from the 3d of Neco to the 35th of Amasis. Captivity of Jehoiakim, 599 B. c, Pliaraoh Ilophra of S. S. ; probably not tlie same as Psamatik III. Babylon taken by Cyrus, 538. Date of his 44th year, on the monuments. Ascended the Throne. 664 610 600 596 571 525 Psamaticus had no sooner become sole master of Egypt than he turned his attention to the internal administration of the country, and the suppression of party feeling consequent upon the late events. With this view he endeavoured to ingratiate him- self with the priesthood and the people, by erect- ing many splendid monuments, and beautifying the sacred edifices in the princij)al cities of Uj)per and Lower Egypt. At Thebes he made considerable additions to the great temple of Amun, now called Karnak ; and at Memphis the southern vestibule of tile tem])Ie ol" Pthah was erectetl by him, and opposite to it a magnificent edifice tor Apis, where CHAP. II. THE HOUSE OF APIS. 151 he was kept when publicly exhibited. The walls were richly decorated with sculpture, and its roof was supported by colossal figures twelve cubits in height, which served the purpose of columns, and represented the king himself in the character of Osiris, whose emblems he bore in either hand ; and in order to give the reader some idea of this building, I have introduced a view of the interior, restored according to the style and proportions of similar courts in the temples of Thebes. In the meantime, a strong feeling of jealousy was excited among the troops, in consequence of the marked favour shown by the king to the foreign auxiliaries ; and though they submitted patiently for many years, at length their secret discontent was openly manifested. That Psamaticus should have been indebted for the possession of his crown to the aid and interposition of strangers, who, viewed through the unfavourable medium of strong pre- judice, appeared an inferior and impure race, was in the highest degree humiliating to the Egyptian army, however disposed they might have been to acknowledge his claims and the injustice of his pre- vious exile ; and more tact was required to soothe the ruffled feelings of the soldier than of the people or the priests. The precautions necessary under these circumstances were altogether neglected by the king, who either failed to observe their growing disaffection, or totally disregarded it, *' discovering on all occasions a preference of the foreigners to the disparagement of his native troops * : " and he * Diodorus, lib. i. Ixvii. L 4 152 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. was not only guilty of injustice towards many of them, by prolonging their usual time of garrison duty *, in the frontier towns of Marea, Daphne of Pelusium, and Elephantine, where they con- tinued three years without being relieved, but he even deprived them of the post of honour in the Syrian war, and assigned the right wing to the Greek troops, and the left to the Egyptians, t Upon this, their indignation knew no bounds ; and, quitting the camp, they, joined by other regi- ments which had remained in Egypt, abandoned the service of Psamaticus, and, to the number of 240,000, retired into Ethiopia. As soon as the king received intelligence of it, he endeavoured to dissuade them from their project ; and having followed them himself as far as Elephantine t, he sent forward the Greek auxiliaries, and some of his most faithful Egyptian adherents, with instruc- tions, if possible, to prevail on them to return. It was not till after they had passed Aboccis § in Ethiopia, that these emissaries of the Egyptian monarch overtook them ; and using every kind of remonstrance and entreaty, they solemnly con- jured them not to desert the gods of their country, their wives and families: but all without effect; and one of them tauntingly observed, that, wherc- * llcroJot. ii. :}(). i Dioil. i. ()7. J DiodoruH siiys lir first sciil to tliciu, mid then followed by water to tlie confines oi' I'',ij;\ |)t. 'J'lie inscription at Ahoosinihel, written l THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. and their country. " Esar," says Pliny, " is called by Bion Sapen, and is supposed to mean stran- gers ;" and the neighbouring Symbari, Semberitse, Sambri, and Sembolitis, cannot fail to recall the Sebrites of Strabo, or the great similarity of the words shemmo, " a stranger," and beri, '* new," in the ancient Egyptian language. It is not less re- markable that Esar is the pure Arabic word sig- nifying " the left hand," synonymous with shemal ; and this last is plainly pointed out in the ao-fxa^ of Herodotus, where the letter ^ h^s been acciden- tally changed for the letter x it so much resembles. It is highly improbable that 240,000 men could have had any duty *' on the left hand of the king;" a post, moreover, reserved for the sons of the mo- narch, or the chief persons of the country; and we may rather conclude this name to have been assumed in commemoration of the affront offered them by Psamaticus, and the cause of their de- sertion ; or to have been given these strangers* in consequence of their coming from the left, or north, which was considered the left t of the world, and is still so called (Sheindl) by the Arabs of the present day. The reign of Psamaticus continued fifty-four years, twenty-nine of which he em])loyed in the siege and cai)ture of a large town of Syria called Azotust; and since Diodorus tells us that the * Tlicy liad, pcrh;i|)s, the two luuncs — "strangers," and "people from the left." ■f Tiic cast was the front, the west tiie hark, of the world. Pliifarch snpposcs the north to i)e the rij^lit side of the world. Dc Isid. s. 'A'^. J Now Ezdod, or Eshdood. Azotiis (Ashdod) was on the coast between Gaza and Joppa. CHAP. II. EXPERIMENT ON LANGUAGE, 155 defection of his troops happened during the Syrian war, it is probable that the taking of Azotus pre- ceded that event. It was in his reign, and by his order, that an idle experiment, since repeated in later times, was made to discover the language of nature, or at least to ascertain the oldest nation, and the oldest tongue. The account is thus given by Herodotus. * " Be- fore the reign of Psammitichus, the Egyptians con- sidered themselves the most ancient of men ; but this prince having taken considerable pains to investigate the truth of the matter, the result was, that they reckoned the Phrygians more ancient than themselves, and themselves than the rest of mankind. Psammitichus himself suggested the following method of solving the question. A shep- herd was ordered to take two children just born, of humble parentage, and to pay particular atten- tion to their early habits, and the mode of bringing them up. He was strictly enjoined never to speak in their presence, to place them in a sequestered hut, and at proper intervals to allow them to suck the milk of goats, whilst he was attending to other employments. By this means the king expected to ascertain what word they would of their own accord first articulate. The experiment succeeded to his wish : the shepherd complied with every particular of his instructions ; and at the end of two years, on paying his usual morning visit, and open- ing the door of their apartment, both the children ■* * Herod, ii. 2. 156 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. extended their arms towards him, in an attitude of suppUcation, and pronomiced the word * becos.' * It did not at first excite his attention ; but, on their repeating the same expression whenever he ap- peared, he thought it right to mention the cir- cumstance to his master, who ordered the children to be brought before him. When Psammitichus heard them repeat the same word, he sought to dis- cover among what people it was used, and found it was the Phrygian name for bread ; and on this account the Egyptians, after they had seriously considered the matter, were led to the conclusion that the Phrygians were of greater antiquity than themselves. That this experiment was really made, I myself heard at Memphis from tlie priests of Vulcan ; but the Greeks, in order to embellish the story, relate that Psammitichus caused the children to be nursed by women whose tongues had been previously cut out." During the whole of his reign, Psamaticus main- tained a direct intercourse with the Greeks, and estabiislied commercial relations with them as well as the Pha?nicians t ; and so mucii encouragement was given to foreigners that many settled in Lower Egypt; and by means of the constant comnumica- tion between Euroj)c and Egyj)t, the Greeks be- came acquainted with a country wliose history and internal administration had been previously un- known to them. And the lil)eral policy of this * Or Bcc; tlic i>.t hnwj, a (Jrcck fciiiiiniitioii. M. L:irc!icr inge- niously supposes it to Iiave l)ceii in iiiiilatioii of the cry oltlie i.<>atij. f niodor. i. .!)6. CHAP. II, INCURSIONS OF TFIE SCYTHIANS. 157 monarch continued to be followed at a subsequent period, particularly by Amasis, who reigned before, and by Nectanebo who lived after, the Persian invasion. In the reign of Psamaticus, the Scythians* having subjugated the whole of Asia, advanced towards Egypt with the intention of invading that country. They had expelled the Cimmerians from Europe ; and led by their valiant king Madyas, they over-ran the provinces to the left of Mount Caucasus on their way from the Palus Maeotis, and defeated Cyaxares, the Median monarch, who was besieging Ninus (Nineveh), the capital of Assyria. They then penetrated into Syria ; and Psamaticus, alarmed at their approach, went forward to meet them, and partly by presents, and partly by entreaty, prevailed upon them to desist from their project j thus saving Egypt from the aggressions of a dan- gerous foe. Psamaticus was succeeded by his son Neco II., whose wars and successes in Syria are recorded by sacred as well as profane writers. Studious of military renown and the promotion of commerce, he had no sooner ascended the throne than he ap- plied himself to the re-organisation of the army and the equipment of a powerful fleet ; and, recollect- ing the imprudent conduct of his father, he avoided all innovations which might tend to alienate the good will of his people, or sow the seeds of discord among his troops ; and while he courted the friend- ship of the Greeks, and appreciated the important * Herodot. i. 104, 103. 158 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. services he received from auxiliaries of that nation, he laid aside every appearance of partiahty, treating them with proper consideration, and giving them a post next to the Egyptian troops, as his wise prede- cessors had done to their allies in the wars of Asia. In the Mediterranean * he fitted out a fleet of triremes, and another in the Red Sea ; and having engaged some expert Phoenician pilots and ma- riners, he sent them on a voyage of discovery along the coast of Africa. *' They were ordered to start from the Arabian Gulf, and come round through the Pillars of Hercules (now the Straits of Gibraltar) into the North Sea, and so return to Egypt. Sailing, therefore, down the Gulf, they passed into the Southern Ocean ; and when autumn arrived they laid up their ships, and sowed the land. Here they remained till harvest time ; and, having reaped the cornt, they continued their voyage. In this manner they occupied two years ; and the third having brought tiiem by the Pillars of Hercules to Egypt, they related (what to me appears incredible, however others may be disposed to be- lieve it), that they had the sun on their right hand ; and by these means was the form of Africa first known." The historian t then relates, on the au- thority of the Carthaginians, a second attempt to circumnavigate that continent, under Sataspes, the * Herodotus calls it tlu; Nortli Sea. Tlic Arabs now style it the White Sea. -j- It may a|)|)car siiii,Miiar that they siioiiUI carry grain for this pur- pose; but the same was done by Tiniur in his march to China, who iia.'i with his army wafrf^ons laden with seed corn. I Herod, iv. +2, 43. CHAP. II. VOYAGES ROUND AFRICA. 159 son of Teaspes, a Persian, who, being alarmed at the length of the voyage and the dreary solitude of those regions, returned without accomplishing his task. He had been condemned to the cross by Xerxes for offering violence to the daughter of Zopyrus, the son of Megabyzus ; but his mother the sister of Darius, obtained his pardon on condition of his going round Africa. He therefore repaired to Egypt ; and having there engaged a ship and crew, he sailed to the Pillars of Hercules, entered the ocean, and passed the promontory of Soloeis on the coast of Africa. * He thence continued southwards ; but, after spending several months at sea, he returned to Egypt, and endeavoured to exculpate himself to the king, saying he found it impossible to proceed. Xerxes, however, rejected this excuse, and inflicted upon him the punishment to which he had been previously condemned. That similar expeditions round Africa were per- formed by other people is testified by ancient au- thors; and that of the Carthaginians under Hanno was described in Punic by the commander himself, and afterwards translated into Greek. Pliny states t that " Hanno, a Carthaginian, circumnavigated the continent of Africa, from Gades to the ex- tremity of the Arabian Gulf, and wrote all the details of his voyage, which was undertaken at the period when Carthage was most flourishing;" and * The promontory of Soloeis, or Soloentia, called also the Libyan headland ; and supposed by some to be the Cape Cantin of modern Africa, at the western extremity of Mount Atlas. f Plin. lib. ii. 67., and lib. v. 1.; and Arrian's Rerum Indie, ad fin. 160 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. *' founded several towns on the coast," none of which remained in the reign of Vespasian. He also mentions a certain Eudoxus, a cotemporaiy of Cornelius Nepos and of Ptolemy Lathyrus *, who went round Africa from the Arabian Gulf to Gades : and others before him were reported to have performed the same journey for the purposes of commerce. t The voyage of Hanno happened some time after that undertaken by order of Neco ; the honour, therefore, of being the first to equip an expedition for the purpose of making this discovery belongs to the Egyptian monarch, who thereby ascertained the peninsular form of Africa, about twenty-one centuries before the Cape of Good Hope was seen by Diazt, or doubled by Vasco de Gama. In mentioning the expedition sent by Neco, Herodotus makes one remark which is singular, from its confirming the truth of the statements detailed to him by the Egyptians ; for it is evident they could not have passed the Cape of Good Hope without observing the phenomenon he men- tions ; and the assertion that the sun (when rising) was on their riglit liand, though so improbable to Herodotus, is highly satisfactory to his modern * Pliny sa3.s he fled Iroiii tliat kinj,', "cum Latliiirtiin rcgcin fiigcrct;" but (ortil)ly sent hy liini is more probable. Plin. ii. 07. -(- I'lin. lor. cit. lib. ii. '^ liartliokiiiew Diaz discovered it in li87, in the reign of John II., King of" I'ortugal, but did not land. He named it Capo Tormentoso, froui the storms he experienced there ; but the king afterwards changed its name to Cape of (Jood Hope ; and Emanuel, his suc- cessor, sent Vasco de (Jama, in ll!>7, vvitii orders to double it and proceed to India. CHAP. ir. CANAL TO THE RED SEA. l6l readers, who are indebted to him for thus express- ing his doubts, and the proofs of a fact which might otherwise have been called in question. Previous to projecting this voyage of discovery, Neco had commenced re-opening the canal from the Nile to the Red Sea, which had been cut many years before by Sesostris, or Remeses the Great. The work, however, if we may believe Herodotus, was abandoned; an oracle warning the Egyptian monarch that he was labouring for the barbarian. * This may be true ; but we cannot attach any credit to the statement that 120,000 Egyptians perished before he desisted from the undertaking ; or, that he was the first who com- menced the canal t ; and not only do Pliny t, Strabo§, and Aristotle attribute it to Sesostris, but the monuments which remain in the towns upon its banks afford a satisfactory testimony of the ac- curacy of those writers II, and of the erroneous information of Herodotus and Diodorus. Neco also turned his attention to the Egyptian conquests in Asia ; and fearing lest the growing power of the Babylonians should endanger the territories acquired by the arms of his victorious predecessors, he determined to check their pro- * The same may be applied to the projected communication by the Euphrates. ■j- Vide supra, p. 70. Herodotus and Diodorus mention Neco as the projector of the canal. % Plin. vi. 33. " Navigabilem alveum perducere in Nilum . . . primus omnium Sesostris . . . cogitavit, mox Darius . . . delude Ptolcm^us sequens." § Strabo (17.) says," The canal was commenced by Sesostris, be- fore the Trojan war. Some suppose by Psammitichus, the son, who only began the work, and died. It was afterwards finished by Darius." II Assuming him to be Remeses II. VOL. I. M 16'2 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. gress, and to attack the enemy on his own frontier. Witli this view he collected a powerful army, and entering Palestine, followed the route along the sea-coast of Judsea, previously taken by the Egyp- tians under various kings, who had penetrated into Asia, intending to besiege the town of Car- chemish * on the Euphrates, t But Josiah, king of Judah, offended at the passage of the Egyptian army through his territories, resolved to impede, if he was unable to prevent, their march. Necot, learn- ing of the approach of the Jewish monarch, and ap- prised of his intentions, sent messengers to engage him to desist from his uncalled-for interference, as- suring him that he had no hostile intentions against Judaea, but against an enemy with whom he was at war; that his expedition was undertaken by the sanction, and at the express command of God ; and warning Josiah lest his imprudence should be fatal to him. § This conciliatory message was of no avail ; and Josiah having posted himself in the valley of Mcgiddo, prepared to oppose the Egyptians. Megiddo was a city in the tribe of Manasseh, between forty and fifty miles to the north of Jeru- salem, and within three hours of the coast, and is called by Herodotus Magdolus. In this valley the * Called Manbcg ■^■^^-•0 in tlic Araliic, and Mabog in the Syriac versions. f 2 Cliron. xxxv. 20. " Ncciio, king of Egypt, came np to fight against (-'archeinish, by Rnphrates." \ In the Targnni, or (Mialdfe Parapli., and tlic Syriac and Arabic versions, Neco is calk-d " the lame Pliaraoh." § 2 (Jhron. xxx.^l. " J>nt he (Neiho) sent ambassadors to him, saying, What have I to do vvitii tiiee, tiion king of Judah ? 1 come not against thee tiiis day, but against tlie house wherewith I have war: for God commanded me to make haste. Forbear then from niedlepliantine, and I'hilrc continued to be the frontier towns of E|.,ypt, even in the time of the Romans, though their dominions in the Pharaonic times extended beyond. " Ilcgni claustra Philae." Lucan, x. lilli. ; vide also Strabo and Procopius. CHAP. II. PROPHECIES AGAIMST EGYPT. I75 bring again the captivity of Egypt, and will cause them to return into the land of Pathros, into the land of their habitation, and they shall be there a base kingdom. It shall be the basest of kingdoms; neither shall it exalt itself any more above the nations : for I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule over the nations, and it shall no more be the confidence of the house of Israel.*'. . . " And the sword shall come upon Egypt .... Ethiopia, Libya, and Lydia*, and all the mingled people t, and Chubt, and the men of the land that is in league shall fall with them, by the sword .... I will also make the multitude of Egypt to cease by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon .... they shall draw their swords against Egypt, and fill the land with slain. § .... I will also destroy their idols, and cause their images to cease out of Noph II, and there shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt, and I will make Pathros^ desolate, and will set fire in Zoan**, and * In Hebrew, Cush, Phut, and Lud. ■f In Hebrew aii% ai-ab. The same word is used for the " mixed multitude" which went out with Moses at the exodus. J Hebrew, Cub. Probably the Cubii of Ptolemy, a people who lived in Mareotis. § Ezek. XXX. 4. et seq. II Noph was Memphis ; called by the Egyptians Memfi, Mefi, Menfi, or Menbe, and Men-nofri, or Ma-nofri, " the place of good," as well as Pthah-ei, "the abode of Pthah." In Hosea (ix. 6.) it is styled Moph. The Arabs call it Ma-nouf, or Menouf. In hieroglyphics it is written Men-nofri, followed by a pyramid. 1 Pathros or Pathures, in the Septuagint (S^aQiopi^g, is Pa-athyris, "belonging to Athor," or Aphrodite. It might be supposed to refer to Aphroditopolis, or Afhribis, or Atarbechis ; but there is more reason to believe it to be Pathyris, or the district of western Thebes, which was afterwards made into a separate nome of that name, and so called from the same goddess. ** Tanis. 176 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. will exercise my judgments in No.* And I will pour out my fury upon Sin t, the strength of Egypt ; and I will cut off the multitude of No The young men of Aven t and of Pibeseth § shall fall by the sword, and these cities shall go into captivity. At Tehaphnehes || also the day shall be darkened, when I shall break there the yokes of Egypt ; and the pomp of her strength shall cease in her . . . and her daughters shall go into captivity ; . . . and I will scatter the Egyptians among the na- tions, and disperse them among the countries." % I shall now endeavour to show how these pre- dictions were accomplished, and to explain the probable reason of Herodotus's silence upon the subject of Nebuchadnezzar's invasion. The defeat and death of Apries, before men- tioned, are given on the authority of Herodotus ; who represents Amasis as a rebel chief, taking ad- vantage of the disaffection of the army to dethrone his sovereign. This information he received from the Egyptian priests ; but no mention was made of the signal defeat their army experienced, or of that loss of territory in Syria which resulted from the * No, or No-Aniiin, Tlicl)c.s, Diospolis I'roper, on tlie cast bank. It is also written Na-Aniiin [or Arniui-na]; the l\!iyptian, Annni-ci, the abode of Ainun. r/V/cNahiini, iii. H. The Septna^int gives tv AiomroXn. + The Septiiagint lias " iloif ;" the Latin translation of the Hebrew, " Pehisiiini ;" tiie Aiabic, "San;" fiie I Iel)revv version and Taranni, " Sin." Pehisiinn, wliicii was tiie bniwark of J'>fj;}'[)t on the N. E. frontier, is to l)e preferred. It is now ealled Tineh. J Aon ]Mi, lleiiopolis, or On, as in (Jen. xli. ■!■.'>. $\ Bnbastis, Pi-Tasiit. II In tiie Scptnai;int iv Tafran^ ; or, as IIero(h)tns calls it, Aa^vr/irt r//(itjyir answers exactly to the Khatom of the Arabs; a rin,!^, with an cnj^raved stone, or entirely of j^old, with a name or device cut upon it. Pliny and Soliiuis say the ring of Polycrates was a sardonyx; and the former adds, that in his time tiicy showed one at Rome, in the Temple of Concord, given by Augustus, which was said lo l)e of the !?amian king. Clemeut of Alexandria supposes a lyre was figured upon it. Tiie Arabs have the story of Polycrates's ring, but they omit his name, and the reason of its loss; relating that it fell into the sea by accident. Vk/r IMin. xxxvii. 2., and 8oIin. c. xxxiii. p. G.'i. CHAP. II. THE RING OF POLYCRATES. 187 supper at the palace." * The fisherman, delighted with this mark of favour, returned home. Shortly after, the servants, on opening the fish, discovered the ring, and with great eagerness and joy carried it to the king, relating in what manner it had been found. Polycrates, concluding that such a circumstance could only be the effect of Divine interposition, carefully noted down every particular, and sent it to Egypt. Amasis no sooner perused his letter, than he felt convinced it was out of the power of one mortal to deliver another from the fate which awaited him; and that Polycrates, who had been so uniformly lucky, and who had even recovered what he had taken pains to lose, could not terminate his days in tranquillity. He therefore sent a herald to Saraos, disclaiming all connection with him for the future, in order that, when any grievous calamity befell Polycrates, he might not have to bewail the misfortunes of a friend. Such is the account given by Herodotus of Amasis's desertion of Polycrates ; which took place previous to the difficulties he experienced from the disaffection of his subjects, and the intervention of the Lacedaemonians, and some time before his cruel murder by tlie treacherous Oraetes.f Diodorust, however, assigns a different reason for the conduct * It is not necessary that the fisherman should have eaten at the same table as his royal host. Herodotus uses the expression, " I invite you to supper," a t-i cmrvov KaXsoi-ni'. Many persons are invited to sup at the house of a great man in the East without sitting at table with him. t Herodot. iii. 125. Valer. Max. calls him Orontes, vi. 9. X Diod. i. 95. 188 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. of Amasis. He affirms that the Egyptian monarch was offended with the tyrannical conduct of Poly- crates, and foresaw, from the feehng excited against him, both amongst his subjects and foreigners, that his fate was inevitable ; and, indeed the flight of many Samians to Crete*, and numerous in- stances of their discontent and of his oppression, are recorded by Herodotus and many ancient writers, t Polycrates has been represented as a great en- courager of learning, and the patron of eminent men, spending great part of his time in the company of persons of talent, among whom were Anacreon and Pythagoras. And his friendship with Amasis enabled him to recommend the latter to that mo- narch t, when he visited Egypt, and to obtain for him those facilities in studying the mysterious sciences and profound secrets of the Egyptians, which few foreigners were permitted to enjoy. Some §5 however, deny that his journey was under- taken at the suggestion, or even with the approba- tion, of Polycrates ; and affirm, on the contrary, tliat Pythagoras abandoned his native country, * Ilerodot. iii. 44'. f Valer. Max.vi. 9. " Samos ainara scrvitutc (Polycratis) prcssa." Plin. xxxvii. 2. " Polj'crati Sainio, scvcro insulanim ac litoriim ty- ranno." Diogenes, Porpli}! y, Gcllius, Euscbiiis, Dioilorus, &c. j; Pliny says the name of the king wiio rcigncii in Egypt vvlien Py- tliagoras visited it was Senncsertetis. (.'an this have l)een corrupted from Neit-se, or Se-Neit, "the Son of Neith," which was the cogno- men of Amasis, Ames-Neit-se, or Ames-se-Neit r' It rather resembles tiie name Sen-Osiri. ]*lin. xxxvi. II'. Another reading gives Sem- nesertens, perhaps mistaken for, or corrupted iVom, the name of Psannnenitus, the son of Amasis. § The authors mentioned in a preceding note. CHAP. II. PYTHAGORAS AND SOLON. 189 being unable to endure the tyranny of his sove- reign. Solon also visited Egypt during the reign of Amasis*; and being much pleased with the laws of the Egyptians, which, through the liberality of the king, he had every facility of studying, he intro- duced many of them into the code established by him at Athens. That Amasis was a great encourager of art, we have ample testimony from the monuments which remain, as well as from the statements of ancient writers; and being a native of Sa'is, or, as Hero- dotus affirms, of Siuph, in the Sai'te nome, his at- tention, as is reasonable to suppose, was directed more particularly toward the embellishment of that city. With this view he erected at Sa'is a magnifi- cent propylaeum in honour of Minerva ; a splendid building, far excelling any other of the kind, as well in size and grandeur, as in the quality and magnitude of the stones used in its construction ; and before it were placed several large colossi, with a series of immense androsphinxes, which formed the avenue or dromos leading to the main en- trance. The propylaeum was a large court, open in the centre, and surrounded in the inside by rows of columns, with the usual pyramidal towers in front, forming one of the approaches to the temple of Minerva, in the same manner as the propylaea attached to the temples at Thebes consti- * Herodot. i. 30. Thales is said, by Plutarch, in his Banquet of the Seven Sages, to have been in Eg)'pt in the reign of Amasis ; and he mentions the improbable story of his showing the Egyptians how to measure the height of the pyramid by its shadow. 190 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. tute the entrance halls of those edifices.* Portions of the same building, which had been erected by his predecessors, requiring some repairs, Amasis collected for this purpose a quantity of stones of amazing thickness, part of which were brought from the quarries of IVIemphist, and part from the cataracts of Syene. " But what, in my opinion," says Herodotus, " deserves the greatest admiration, is an edifice of a single stone, brought from the city of Elephantine, a distance of about twenty days' journey.t Two thousand men, chosen from the class of boatmen, were employed for the space of three years in transporting it to Sai's. Its external length is twenty-one cubits, its breadth fourteen, and height eight : and in the inside it measures eighteen cubits and twenty digits in length, twelve in breadth, and five in height. It stands near the entrance of the temple ; and the reason of its being left in this spot was that the architect, w^earied with the tedious duration of the undertaking, had been heard to fetch a deep sigh, while tliey were em- ployed in dragging it forward; upon which Amasis, who happened to be present, gave orders they should stop, and carry it no further. Some, however, affirm that one of the men while moving it with a lever * At Karnitk, in Thebes, are some instances of tlie avcnnes of spliinxes ; they only difl'er in being cnosphinxcs, or surmounted with tlic lirad of a ram instead of a man. f Herodotus means the moimtains opposite Memphis, of the Troiei lapidis nions, which he mentions in the same manner on an- other occasion, wlun speaking of tiie canal to the Ked Sea. Lib. ii. s. \58. J From Klepliantine or E'Souan, where the granite (|uarries may still be seen, to Sais, is about 700 miles by land. It must have crossed the river once at least. CHAP. II. MONUMENTS OF AMASIS. IQl was crushed to death, and that on this account they were ordered to desist. *' Amasis made many and magnificent presents to other temples both in Upper and Lower Egypt. At Memphis, he placed a colossal recumbent figure, seventy-five feet long, before * the temple of Vul- can ; and on the same basement two other colossi of Ethiopic stones, or granite, each twenty feet in height, one on either side of the principal partt of the building. There is at Sai's another statue similar to tliat of Memphis, and lying in the same positiont : and this prince erected the grand temple of Isis at Memphis, which deservedly claims uni- versal admiration." Many monuments still exist in different parts of Egypt, bearing the name of Amasis, one of which, a red granite monolith, at Tel-et-mai, resembles in form § that described by Herodotus as having been brought from Elephantine to Sais. Thebes and other places also present memorials of the encour- agement he gave to architecture and other branches of art ; and at the quarries of Syene several inscrip- tions indicate the removal of granite blocks for the * Strabo says, " Before the dromos of the temple lies a colossus of a single stone ; and in this dromos are held the bull-fights." Strabo, lib. xvii. t Probably by the fnyapov Herodotus means the temple, properly speaking, independent of the outer courts: or the isolated sanctuary in the centre of the temple, which was independent of the inner ady- tum, as at Luqsor, and the smaller temple of Medeenet Haboo at Thebes. % They were very uncommon in Egypt. § I am indebted to Mr. Burton for its dimensions, which are 21 ft. 9 in. high, 13 ft. broad, and lift. 7 hi. deep, outside; and 19 ft. 3 in., 8 ft., and 8 ft. 3 in. inside. 192 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. construction or decoration of edifices raised by him in the valley of the Nile. Pliny* affirms that some imagined him to have been buried in the celebrated Sphinx ; but this erroneous notion arose from the similarity of the names, Amosis and Thothmosist, and readily ob- tains that indulgence which cannot be extended to an assertion of Lucan, burying Amasis in the pyra- mids themselves, t To Lucan, however, accuracy was never imputed ; and no one, after reading his extravagant description of the cataracts at Philge §, is surprised to find him deposit the remains of the Ptolemies in the same monuments. || The situation of Amasis' tomb is mentioned by Herodotus.^ It stood like all those of the Sai'te monarchs, within the precincts of the temple of Minerva, in the chief city of that nome ; whicli, during the reign of the princes of the 20th Dynasty, had become the royal residence and nominal metro- polis of Egypt ; though Thebes and Mempliis still retained the titles of capitals of the upper and lower countries. ', * Plin. XXX vi. 17. " Aniasin rcgcni [)utaiit in ea (spliingc) conditiim." •|- This is still more striking when \vc consider tliat A, or loli, the moon, and Tiioth, are the same deity; and tiiat Amosis, the leader of tlie 18th J)ynasty, has been called by some Tethmosis. Amosis, or Amasis, are the same; the real name being Ames. Thoth is also the first montli. X " Pyramidimi tunniiis cvnlsis Amasis." Lncan. I'liars. ix. 155. Diodorus (i. (il.) says some attribnte the second pyramid to Amasis, the first to Armieus, and the thinl to Inaron, as well as to Khodope. § Lucan, lib. x. yl5. ct scq. II " Cum Ptolenueonnn manes pyramiiles claiidant." viii. 6f>(). t Tiie lake mentioned by Herodotus still exists at Sa'is (now Sa-el- Ilagar), as well as its extensive and solid crude l)rick walls. Ilerodot. ii. 170. CHAP. II. HIS QUARREL WITH CAMBYSES. 193 Towards the latter end of the reign of this monarch, Cambyses sent to Egypt to demand his daughter in marriage, a step to which he had been prompted by a certain Egyptian, an enemy of Amasis. This man was a physician ; and when Cyrus had requested of the Egyptian king the best medical advice he could procure, for a disorder in his eyes, Amasis forced him to leave his wife and family, and go into Persia. Meditating revenge for this treatment, he instigated his successor to require the daughter of Amasis, that he might either suffer affliction at the loss of his child, or by refusing to send her, provoke the resentment of Cambyses. Amasis detested the character of the Persian monarch; and persuaded that his treatment of her would neither be honourable nor worthy of a princess, he was unwilling to accept the overture: but fearing to give a positive refusal, he determined on sending the daughter of the late king. Her name was Neitatis, or, as Herodotus calls her, Nitetis. She was possessed of great personal at- tractions ; and Amasis, having dressed her in the most splendid attire, sent her into Persia as his own child. Not long after, Cambyses happening to address her as the daughter of Amasis, she ex- plained the manner in which he had been deceived, by a man who had dethroned and put Apries her father to death, and had seized upon the throne, through the assistance of a rebellious faction : upon which Cambyses was so enraged that he re- solved to make war upon the usurper, and im- VOL. I. o 194) THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. mediately prepared to lead an expedition into Egypt. * Such is the principal cause alleged by Hero- dotus for his invasion of that country ; but it will not bear the test of examination. Nitetis is re- presented to have been sent to Persia towards the close of the reign of Amasis, which, according to the historian, lasted forty-four years; and allow- ing her to have been born immediately before Apries was dethroned, she would have been of an age which in Egypt and Persia is no longer a re- commendation, or the associate of beauty, t But whatever may have been the real motive for this war, it is certain that Cambyses was greatly exasperated against Amasis, and Egypt, when in- vaded by the Persian monarch, was treated with unusual barbarity. Temples and public buildings w^cre destroyed ; tombs were violated, and the bodies burntt; re- ligion was insulted, private property pillaged or destroyed, and every thing which could tempt the avarice, or reward the labour, of the spoiler, was seized and appropriated either by the chief or his troops. Gold and silver statues and other objects * Oilier reasons arc given by Herodotus (iii. 2.). That of Cam- byses beinji born of the daiigliter of A|)ries is quite eastern, and rc- scmliU's tlic I'ersian .iccount of Alexander the Great. -f- For Nitetis to be yi-///" would have been agreeable to Cambyses; not so to be /<>rfi/. .1 It is remarkable tliat (lie offu'ers of the French frigate Luxor, who removeil the obelisk from 'l"hel)es, found the sareojjhagus of the (jueen of Amasis in a pit at I'^l Qoorneh, the body entirely burnt, though placed in its original rejiository. The tomb had been violated, pro- bably, by the Persians, who burnt the body, and was afterwards rc- closcd by the Fgyptians with masonry. The body had been gilded. CHAP. II. INVASION OF CAMBYSES. 195 of value were sent to Persia ; and it appears that numerous Egyptian captives were also transported to that country. The death of Amasis, which happened six months before the arrival of the Persians, pre- vented Cambyses from satiating his meditated re- venge on the Egyptian monarch ; and judging from the savage rage which the Persian conqueror vented upon his body, it was fortunate for Amasis that he had not fallen alive into his hands, and had died unconscious of what was about to happen. Many circumstances occurred to induce Cam- byses to undertake the invasion of Egypt and the overthrow of Amasis, independent of any insult he may have offered him, or the ambition of a rising empire ; one of which is thus detailed by Hero- dotus * : — '* Among the auxiliaries of Amasis was a man named Phanes, a native of Halicarnassus, greatly distinguished by his mental as well as his military accomplishments. This person being for some reason incensed against Amasis, fled in a vessel from Egypt, for the purpose of having a conference with Cambyses. As he possessed considerable influence, and was perfectly acquainted with the affairs of Egypt, it was of paramount importance that his designs should be prevented. Amasis, therefore, despatched the most faithful of his eunuchs in a trireme, with orders to overtake and bring him back. The pursuit was successful, and Phanes was taken in Lycia ; but having circum- vented his guards, he effected his escape, and fled * Herodot. iii. 4. o '2 196 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. to Persia. Cambyses readily accepted his services, and listened to the valuable information and ad- vice he gave respecting the affairs of Egypt, and the precautions necessary for passing the desert on the frontier. At his suggestion a treaty was made with the Arabians, to supply the Persians with guides, and abundance of water, and thus enable the army to pass a barren and inhospitable tract which would have been fatal to numbers of the invaders : " and the Arabian prince having ordered all his camels to be laden with skins filled wdth water, retired into the desert, and there awaited the arrival of Cambyses and his army.** * At the death of Amasis, Psammenitus, his son, succeeded to the throne. Conscious of the great danger to which his empire was exposed, from the threatened invasion of Cambyses, he made great preparations for tlie defence of the frontier, and advancing with his Egyptian troops, and the Ionian and Carian auxiliaries, to Pelusium, he encamped in a plain near the mouth of the Nile. The Persians, having passed the desert, took np a po- sition opposite the Egyptian army, and both sides prepared for battle. The Greeks, irritated with the treachery of *' Phanest, who had introduced a foreign invader into Egypt," and wishing to show their resentment against him, brought his two sons forward into a cons})icuous place, and slew them over a large vase in the sight of their father. This being done, they mingled wine and water with the blood j and having all drank of it, they rushed * Herodot. iii 9. f Ilud iii. II. CHAP. II. DEFEAT OF THE EGYPTIANS. 197 against the enemy. The conflict soon became general throughout the whole Une, and the battle was for a long time obstinately disputed ; till at length, a considerable slaughter having been made on both sides, the Egyptians gave way, and fled. From Pelusium to Memphis was now open to the invader, and with rapid marches he hastened towards the ancient capital of Lower Egypt. Hoping, however, to obtain advantageous terms without the necessity of another battle, Cambyses sent a Persian up the river in a Mitylenian vessel, to treat witli the Egyptians : but as soon as they saw the vessel enter Memphis, they rushed in a crowd from the citadel, destroyed it, and tore the crew to pieces. At the news of this outrage, the indignation of Cambyses was excessive : he imme- diately laid siege to Memphis, and having suc- ceeded in reducing the place, he indulged his resentment by putting many of the inhabitants to the sword* : the king was taken prisoner, and 2000 Egyptians of the same age as the son of Psam- menitus, preceded by the young prince, being com- pelled to march in procession before the conqueror, w^ere condemned to death as a retaliation for the murder of the Persian and Mitylenian heralds ; ten of the first rank among the Egyptians being chosen for every one of those who suffered on that occasion, t Psammenitus himself was pardoned j * Diodorus (i. 46.) sajs that at this time numerous r.rtificers, and immense wealth, were carried off to Persia ; and tiiat the palaces and splendid buildings of Persepolis, Susa, and the cities of Media, were erected by them at the command of the victors. "t- There were, therefore, 200 Mitylenians in tlie vessel destroyed at Memphis. o 3 198 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. and such was the respect entertained by the Persians for the persons of kings * tliat lie would in all pro- bability have been restored to a tributary throne, if he had not entered into an ill-timed conspiracy against the monarch who had spared his life. Egypt now became a province of Persia j and Cambyses and his seven successors compose the 27th Dynasty. Name from Ancient Authors. Name from the Monuments. Events. Ascended the Throne. |521 1 485 472 ■472 425 425 ("424 (.414 1 Cambyses - Darius, son of] Hystaspes -J Xerxes the 1 Great - J Artabanus Artaxerxes Xerxes II. - Sogdianus Darius No- "j thus, the son I of Xerxes - J Kanbosh Ntareeosh Ndareosh Khsheersh Artkhsheshcs r Conquers Egypt in his \ 4th year _ _ . r Battle of Marathon, 490; \ Egypt revolts, 486 r Xerxes reconquers Egypt, ■1 484; birth of Hero- (_ dolus Artabanus reigns 7 months r Egypt revolts, and Inaros and Amyrtanis are elected 1 kings, 463 ; Herodotus [_ visits Egypt, 460 Reigns 2 montlis' - Reigns 7 months The name of Cambyses, as may be easily ima- gined, is never met with on Egyptian monuments; but a visiter to the slate and breccia quarries on the road from Coptos to the Red Sea has, at a later period, recorded the name of this monarch in hiero- glyphics, adding to it the date of his sixth year. * Ilerodot. iii. IJ-, 1.5. "The Pcr.sians," says the liistorian, "are accustomed to lionom' flic sons of kings, ami to restore the throne to those whose parents liave rebelled against tliem." The same feeling is evinced by tlie Turks and other Asiatics; and respect for the person ol'a king was strongly marked in the case of Charles XII. CHAP. II. NAME OF DARIUS. J 99 Two other ovals also occur: one of Darius, with the lumber 36 ; the other of Xerxes, with the year twelve : showing the inscription to have been written in the twelfth of Xerxes ; and the date 36, intended as the full extent of Darius's reign, ac- cords with the authority of ancient history. On another rock, at the same place, are the sixteenth year of Xerxes and the fifth of Artaxerxes (Longi- manus) ; and these four are the only monarchs of the 27th Dynasty whose names I have seen in Egypt. In the principal temple at El Khargeh, in the Great Oasis, that of Darius again occurs, a considerable portion of the building having been erected by him j and it is remarkable that he is the only Persian king whose phonetic name is accompanied by a prenomen, like tliose of the ancient Pharaohs of Egypt ; a circumstance satisfactorily confirming the remark of Didorous, " that he obtained while living the appellation of Divus*, which was applied to no other of the (Persian) kings, and received after death the same honours which it had been customary to bestow upon the ancient sovereigns of the country. t The rule of Darius was mild and equitable ; and he was not only careful to avoid every thing that might offend the religious prejudices, or hurt the Feelings, of his foreign subjects, but having made * The title " Good God" was given by the Egyptians to all the Pharaohs. -f- Diodor. i. 25. This appears singular, since they were in open re- bellion at the time of his death. They did not, however, destroy his monuments or efface his name on that occasion ; which seems to indi- cate more than usual respect for a foreign ruler. o 4 200 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. diligent inquiry respecting the jurisprudence and constitution of the Egyptians, he corrected some abuses, and introduced many salutary laws, which continued to form part of their code, until, in common with many of those enacted by his Pha- raonic predecessors, they were altered or abrogated by the Ptolemies, after the Macedonian conquest.* Impatient, however, of foreign rule, and anxi- ous to free their country from the presence of a people whose cruelties at the time of Cambyses's invasion they could never pardon or forget, the Egyptians, thinking the reverses of Persia during the Greek war offered a favourable opportunity for throwing off the yoke, revolted towards the close of Darius's reign t, and succeeded in expelling the Persians from the whole valley of the Nile. For upwards of a year they continued in open rebel- lion, and defied the power of his successor; but in the second year of Xerxes they were again subdued, and treated with increased severity, Acha3mcnes, the brother of the king, being a})pointed governor of the country. Affairs remained in this state one and twenty years, until the death of Xerxes, when considerable confusion took place in Persia ; which being aug- mented by the intrigues of Artabanust, and the rebellion of Bactria, aflfbrded the Egyptians another opportunity for asserting their independence ; and * Diodor. loc. cit. f lltToilotiiK (vii. 1. 7.) says Darius riij;nctl HG 3cais, and tliat (lie revolt of the I\i;yptiaiis took |)lacc in the loiirlli ytur after the battle of Marathon, the year l)efore iiis death. J (Itesias, in Persicis, calls him Artapaniis, and makes Acluemenes a brother of Artaxerxes. CHAP. II. REVOLT OF THE EGYPTIANS. 201 prevailing on the Athenians to assist them with a fleet of forty sail, they attacked and overwhelmed the Persian garrisons. Upon intelligence of this, an army of 400,000 foot, and a fleet of 200 sail* were equipped by Artaxerxes, and placed under the com- mand of Achasmenes. Inarus the son of Psama- ticus, a native of Libya, and Amyrtseust of Sai's, who had been invested with sovereign power, and were charged with the defence of the country, made every effort to resist him ; and the two armies having met, the Persians were defeated with the loss of 100,000 men, and Achasmenes received a mortal wound from the hand of Inarus, of which he died. Enraged at the failure of an expedition which he had undertaken contrary to the advice of his friends t, Artaxerxes resolved on sending an over- whelming force, under the combined command of Megabyzus and Artabazus, consisting of 200,000 men, and a fleet of 300 sail, independent of the remnant of the former army, which swelled the amount to 500,000. Both armies fought valiantly, and many were slain on either side ; at length Megabyzus having wounded Inarus in the thigh, obliged him to leave the field, and the route became general. Inarus, with a body of Greek auxiliaries, having taken refuge in Byblus, which was strongly fortified, obtained for himself and companions a * Ctesias says 80 ships. Diodoriis considers Achaemenes tlie son of Darius, lib. xi. f Ctesias only sa3's, " Inarus the Lydian and another Egyptian." Thucydides (lib. i.) and other authors mention Amyrtsus. Some consider Inarus a Libj-an; and Thucydides styles him " King" of that country. J Ctesias, in Persic. » 202 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. promise of pardon from Megabyzus, upon condition of their surrendering themselves to the Persian mo- narch ; but the remembrance of Achaemenes' death overcame tlie regard lie owed to the promise of his general, and Inarus, by the command of Artaxerxes, was treacherously crucified. Amyrtseus was more fortunate : he escaped to the Isle of El bo, and re- maining concealed there, awaited better times ; the Persian troops again taking possession of the for- tified towns, and Sarsamas being appointed satrap or governor of Egypt. No attempts to throw off the Persian yoke were made by the Egyptians during the remainder of this reign ; and though the Athenians sent them a fleet of sixty sail*, in the fifteenth year of Arta- xerxes, and some hopes were entertained of restoring Amyrtaeus to the throne, these projects were aban- doned, and the Persians continued in undisturbed possession of the country till the tenth year of Darius Nothus. Perceiving that the Egyptians bore with great reluctance the presence of a foreign governor, and anxious to allay as much as possible the turbulent spirit and prejudices of that people, the Persians had permitted Thannyrus the son of Inarus, and Pausiris the son of Amyrta^ust, to hold the office and nominal power of governors, or tributary kings; but nothing could conciliate the Egyptians. They belield tlieir fortified towns garrisoned by Persian * Tluicyd. lib. i. The same sixty sliips are nieiitioiieil by Pliitarcli in his Life of Ciinoii, as liavinif l)cen sent liy bim to tlie coast of l\!:y|it. f Ilerodot. iii. 15. This iiiust iiave bappcned i)revioiis to tbe year 445, since Herodotus had then conii)leted bis history. CHAP. II. KEIGN OF AMYRT^US. 203 troops ; the degradation of paying tribute to a people they detested was insupportable; and nothing but the restoration of an independent monarch could satisfy them. They therefore made secret prepar- ations for expelling the Persians ; and Amyrtaeus being invited to put himself at their head, advanced from his place of concealment, routed the Persians, and finally succeeded in obtaining possession of Memphis and the whole country. Amyrtaeus now became independent master of Egypt ; and he is stated in Manetho's list to have been the only monarch of the 28th Dynasty. His reign continued six years, during which period he laboured to repair the many losses sustained by his country from the hostile aggressions of Persia. Numerous restorations* were made to the temples of Thebes and other cities, many of which had suffered from the sacrilegious fury of Cambyses ; and in order still further to weaken their power, and to remove the Persians to a distance from his territories, he engaged the Arabians, by a treaty, to assist him, and advance into Phoenicia. His conquests, however, in that quarter were not ex- tensive, and his efforts were chiefly confined to the defence of his own frontier. According to Manetho, he was succeeded by Nepherites, the first king of the 29tli Dynasty : though Diodorus mentions another, called Psam- aticus, descended from the first of that name. * Some gateways and other monuments bearing his name still re- main. The sarcophagus in the British Museum, called of Alexander, is of this Pharaoh. 20i THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. whom he supposes to have preceded Nepherites or Neplireus ; but it is uncertain whether he really ruled at this time, or whether he was confounded by the historian with the father of Inarus.* Of the character of Psamaticus, Diodorus draws a very unfav^ourable picture, representing t him to have been guilty of an act of cruelty and mean- ness unequalled in the history of his country. Tamus, a Memphite by birth, had been appointed by the Persians prefect of Ionia ; and having held that post some time, he was obliged to leave his province, in order to avoid the resentment of Tissaphernes, and fly to his own country. Feeling persuaded he had nothing to fear from Psamaticus, whom he had formerly obliged by many friendly oiiices, he scrupled not to take with him all his riches, and to confide in the protection of the Egyp- tian monarch ; but no sooner had Psamaticus be- come acquainted with this circumstance, than, regardless of the laws of humanity, and of the in- dulgence he owed to a friend, he perfidiously seized his treasures, and deprived him of life, t For the name § of this Psamaticus it is needless to look on Egyptian monuments; nor do the sculp- tures of Inarus a])pear on any of the temples at Thebes, or in the lower country : and Manetho omits the mention of Inarus || in his catalogue of kings. But that he wus an independent, tiiough * Ilcrodot. vii. 7. -|- Diodor. lib. xiv. "j: His (|iiittinf; tlic Persian service in the possession of'sncli treasures does not ari;nc in favour of Tanuis ; and the kin^ niaj' have liad some iHOtivc for this extraordinary con(hict l)esides avariee. § Manetho makes no mention of tliis I'saniaticus. II Diodorus omits Amyrta-iis. CHAP. II. THE 28th dynasty. 205 not the sole, monarch of Egypt, during the short period which elapsed between the commencement of their second revolt and the victory of Mega- byzus, is proved by the authority of several ancient historians ; and as the unsettled state of affairs during the whole of his reign, and the preparations required in order to resist the expected attack of the Persians, deprived the Egyptians of that tran- quillity necessary for the encouragement of art, the absence of monuments bearing the name of Inarus is readily accounted for. By some writers he is supposed to have been a king of Lybia, by others an individual of Libyan origin ; but as Libya was included within the dominions of Egypt, it appears more probable that he was the rightful heir to the throne, and had taken refuge there to avoid the tyranny of the Persians, and await an opportunity, which afterwards offered, of liberating his country from a foreign yoke. And the fact of his being a native of Egypt is still farther confirmed by the name of his father, Psamaticus, which is purely Egyptian. The 28th and 29th Dynasties, according to Ma- netho, and the monuments, are as follows : — '2Sth Dynasty, of 1 Sciite King. Name from Ancient Authors. Ainyrteus Amyrtseus Name from the Monuments. Ao-ma-hor-te ? Events. Ascended the Throne. B. c. 414 206 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. 29^A Dynasty of Mendesian Kings. Name from Ancient Authors. Name from the Monuments. Events. Ascended the Throne. Nepherites ~j Nephreusof Di- j. odorus -J Achoris - - 1 Acoris - -j Psammoutis Nepherites Mouthis Nefaorot Hakori Pse maut r not met witii "1 ■j on the mo- I [_ numents J f Death of Cyrus the L Younger, 401 B. C. 408 |402 389 r388 l_388 Few monuments of thi.s period occur in Egypt. Tiie arts, which had long been on the dechne, received a severe blow from the Persian invasion ; and many of the finest buildings were mutilated or destroyed. Numerous artificers were sent to Persia, and, with the encouragement required for the very existence of art, Egypt had lost the skill for which she was once so conspicuous. Of Ne})lierites the phonetic name once occurs amidst the ruins of Thebes ; and if some additions were made by his two successors to the temples* there and in Lower Egypt t, the style of the sculpture, like the scale of their monimients, was degraded, and unworthy of a Pharaonic era. Egy})t, however, free from a foreign yoke, enjoyed that tranquillity which had been so long denied, and Nepherites was even en- abled to join in active hostilities against the enemies * The name of Acoris oeciir.s in tlie tuinplc of Meileenct Ilaboo. -|- Diiriiii; his reij,'ii many stones ucire taken from the (|uarnes of the Troici hi|)i(lis Mons, ojiposite Memphis, probably for the erection of l)nil(lin:;s in that city. CHAP. II. REIGN OF ACORIS. 207 of his country. He therefore entered into a con- federacy with the Lacedaemonians, and sent a fleet of 100 ships to their aid, with a supply of corn for their army: though this last fell into the hands of the enemy, in consequence of the transports putting into Rhodes, which had lately submitted to the Persians. Acoris, who succeeded Nepherites, reigned thirteen years. He made a treaty with Euagoras, king of Cyprus, against the Persians, and endea- voured, by every means in his power, to weaken the strength and thwart the schemes of his adversary ; and the defection of Gaus, the son of Tamus*, who had been for some time commander of the Per- sian fleet, and now, abandoning their service, had entered into a league with Acoris and the Lacedae- monians, added to the intrigues of Orontes, so embarrassed the affairs of Artaxerxes, that Egypt was enabled to enjoy perfect security, and to defy his threatened projects of invasion. Nothing of consequence transpired during the reign of Psammoutis, which lasted only one year ; and, as might be expected, his name rarely occurs on any edifice, either of Upper or Lower Egypt, t Of the short period occupied by his two suc- cessors, Nepherites IL and Mouthis, little can be learned either from the monuments, or from the accounts of ancient writers, but that the Persians, intent upon the recovery of a country they had * Who was put to death by Psamaticus. Diodor. xiv. ■j- It is found at the temple of Karnak in Thebes. I^ide Egypt and Thebes, pp. 185. 517., and Plate II, and my Topographical Survey of Thebes. 208 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. long possessed, prepared to make a descent upon Egypt, which was attempted witliout success in the reign of the succeeding monarch. Mouthis was the last of the 29th or Mendesian Dynasty: and the 30th was composed, according to Manetho, of three kings from Sebennytus. SOth Dynasty, of Sehennyte Kings. Name from Ancient Authors. Name from the Monuments. Events. Ascended the Throne. Nectanebes, "j Nectabis of \ Pliny - -J Teos, T Tachos of Dio- I dorus - - J Nectanebes, "1 Nectanabis of l Pliitarch - J Nectanebo, or "1 Nakht-iiebo J r Defeated by the Persians, j and flies to Ethiopia, [_ B c. 340. B. c. 387 369 1 3G2 J 3-10 In the commencement of Nectanebo's reign, the Persian monarch equip})ed a formidable expedition, by land and sea, and sent it to Egypt under the connnand of Pharnabazus and Iphicratcs. He con- fidently expected that so imposing a force would speedily reduce the strongholds, and firmly establish his authority throughout the country ; but the jealousy of the two commanders prevented that union wliich was necessary to insure success. Pe- lusium was found to be impregnable, and all the fortified tow^ns had been put into a proper state of defence. Pharnabazus, therefore, despairing of making any im})ressioii ujiou tliem, advanced into the interior ; but being ()])))()sed by the Egyptian king with a considerable force, and, in consequence CHAP. U. NECTANEBO'S DREAM. 209 of the want of boats, being constantly impeded in his movements by the various channels of the rising Nile, he was obliged to retreat, and relinquish the hope of driving Nectanebo from his throne, and of subjecting his country to the yoke of Persia. The Egyptian monarch, now free from the dread of foreign aggression, directed his attention towards the internal administration of affairs and the en- couragement of art. Many temples in various parts of the country, from Philag to the sea-coast, were repaired or enlarged ; a fine obelisk was cut, and transported from the quarries of Syene * and the name of Nectanebo still occurs, in Upper and Lower Egypt, as a lasting testimony of his muni- ficence in the erection of public buildings. If he was censured, in a dream, by the god Mars, for allowing his temple at Sebennytus to remain unre- paired during the early part of his reign, he made ample amends for this unintentional neglect by the manner in which the commands of the deity were obeyed, the building being restored with great splendour ; and this circumstance, unnoticed by any ancient writer, is recorded in a curious Greek papyrus, which chance has preserved and modern researches have discovered in an Egyptian tomb.t Nectanebo, after a reign of eighteen years, was succeeded by Teos or Tachos. He had scarcely ascended the throne when he was alarmed by the warlike preparations of the Persian monarch, who * Pliny says it was without hieroglyphics. He calls him Nectabis. f This highly interesting document is in the possession of S' D'Anastasy, Swedish Consul-general at Alexandria. VOL. I. P 210 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. TI. threatened once more to invade his country. He therefore appHed to Sparta for assistance ; and Agesilaus, eager to assist a nation which had pre- viously befriended the Lacedaemonians, repaired himself to Egypt with a strong force of Greek auxiliaries. On the arrival of the Spartan prince, Tachos, whose expectations had been raised by his high military reputation, and who looked for a person of striking exterior, was greatly disappointed by the appearance of a little old man, whose figure and habits seemed contemptible, and unworthy of a king. Treating him, therefore, with scorn and disrespect, he refused him the post of generalis- simo, which had been promised ; and reserving it for himself, appointed Agesilaus to the command of the auxiliaries, and intrusted the fleet to Chabrias the Athenian. Nor did he regard the counsels of the Spartan general relative to the movements of the army ; and contrary to his advice, led his troops in person into Phoenicia, committing the whole direction of affairs at home to the hands of a viceroy. He had no sooner quitted the country, than Nectanebo, his uncle, aided by one of his principal generals, conspired against him * ; and Agesilaus, partly from resentment at his previous conduct, and partly from an interested motive, having basely deserted him, the Egyj)tian monarch was obliged to fly to Sidon. Mendesius, however, * Accordiiif; to I'liitarcli. This is (lifTcrcntly rrlated by Diodorus ; who says that, instigated l)y the viceroy he iiad Icit, his son Noctancbo conspired against him, and was defeated hy Afjesilaiis, wlio tints restored Tachos to the throne. CHAP. II. USURPATION OF NECTANEBO II. 211 whom Tachos had designed as his successor, re- solved on opposing the usurper, and marched to attack him with an army of 100,000 men. In number they were very superior to the troops of Nectanebo, but, being composed principally of townsmen and artificers, were inferior in military skill: and being opposed by the experience of Age- silaus, they were routed at the first onset; and thus, through the Spartan general, Nectanebo obtained undisputed possession of the Egyptian throne.* On the death of Artaxerxes Mnemon, which happened about the second year of Nectanebo II. t, Ochus or Artaxerxes III. ascended the throne of Persia. During his reign, the Sidonians and Phoenicians having revolted from the Persians, entered into a confederacy with the Egyptians, and assisted by 4000 Greeks, sent by Nectanebo under Mentor the Rhodian, succeeded in expelHng the Persians from their territories. This event seemed to have removed the enemy, and every prospect of an attack, to a convenient distance from the frontier, and the Egyptian monarch felt secure against their aggressions. Shortly after, a formi- dable army, led by Ochus in person, having reduced all Phoenicia, and Mentor treacherously desert- ing to the enemy, the affairs of Nectanebo began * Cornelius Nepos (in Agesilao) says Agesilaus received 220 talents from Nectanebo, for his aid in obtaining the kingdom. According to the same author, Chabrias was recalled by the Athenians, in conse- quence of a representation made to them by the Persian monarch (in Chabria). He calls Tachus Thamus, and, in another place, Thacus. f Diodorus only allows 43 years for the reign of Artaxerxes II. P 1 212 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. to wear an alarming aspect, and Egypt was itself invaded. Every precaution which skill or courage could suggest was taken by the Egyptian monarch ; the passes were well guarded; all the fortified towns were strongly garrisoned ; and, though inferior in numbers, his troops, both natives and Greek auxi- liaries, were animated with that enthusiasm which valour, confidence, and a good cause can alone impart. The soldiers were eager to meet the enemy, and boldly rushed to battle. The fight was obstinate ; but numbers prevailed. After a severe contest, the Persians were victorious ; and Nectanebo, having abandoned his positions, in order to retire upon and secure Memphis, his army became dispirited, Pelusium surrendered, and re- sistance was no longer offered to the arms of Ochus. Flying, therefore, from Memphis, Nectanebo re- tired into Upper Egypt, and at length withdrew to Ethiopia : the Delta and all Lower Egypt falling a prey to the conqueror, who finally succeeded in reducing the whole country, about the year 340, in the 21st of his reign. During the previous occupation of Egypt by the Persian troops the inhabitants had been exposed to cruel persecutions. They were now doomed to greater sufferings. If Cambyses had committed un- heard-of enormities ; if he had derided the religion and insulted the deities of Egypt; if he had ordered the bull A})is to be brought before him, and had stabbed it with his dagger*, and been guilty of every species of o])prcssion, — these were trifling ' Ilcrodot. iii. :i9. CHAP. II. CRUELTIES OF OCHUS. 213 compared with the enormities of Ochus. Wanton injustice, murders, profanation of religious rites, and continual persecutions, seemed to delight him. The sacred Apis was slain, and served up at a ban- quet, of which Ochus and his friends partook; and all Egypt groaned under the tyranny of this in- human despot. Two years, however, fortunately relieved them from his caprices ; and the Egyp- tians, to show their abhorrence for him, and their hatred of his name, substituted for it the represent- ation of a sword, the emblem of destruction, in their catalogue of kings.* Ochus and his two successors constituted the 31st Dynasty of Manetho : during which period nothing happened worthy of notice ; and the inva- sion of the Macedonians in the year 33^2 put an end to the dominion of the Persians in Egypt. 31 St Dynasty, of Persians. Name from ancient Authors. Name from the Monuments. Events. Began to reign. Ochus (or Arta- xerxes III.) - Arses Darius Codo-"| manus - J "Not met with" on the mo- numents. ■ In his 20th year. Death of Philip, 338 r Alexander makes himself master of Egypt, 332 ; \^ dies, 323 : Ptolemy La- gub becomes governor and (_ king of Egypt, 322—305. -V B. c. ■340 338 -336 The arrival of Alexander was greeted with uni- versal satisfaction. Their hatred of the Persians, and their frequent alliances with the Greeks, who had * Plut. de Iside et Osiride, s. ii. p 3 214 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II. fought under the same banners against a common enemy, naturally taught the Egyptians to welcome the Macedonian army with the strongest demon- strations of friendship, and to consider their coming as a direct interposition of the gods ; and so wise and concihatory was the conduct of the early Ptolemies, that they almost ceased to regret the period when they were governed by native princes. To detail the events of the Ptolemaic history is not my present intention, nor is it necessary to in- troduce any account of their reigns in a work which purposes to relate solely to the history and man- ners of the ancient Egyptians ; but if the reader is desirous of consulting a chronological notice of those princes, I refer him to that work* from which I have taken the dynasties inserted in the preceding pages. • My Egypt and Thebes, p. 508. et seq. No. 6. Alabaster pillow for the head. Alnwicli Miisruin. CHAP. III. EXTENT OF EGYPT. '215 Vignette C. View of the Ruins and Vicinity of Philae. CHAP. III. Extent of the Country, — Revenue and Commerce. — Seaports. — The Castes of the Egyptians. — The Sacerdotal Order. — Kings. — First Caste. — The Priests. — Second Caste. — Military Class. — Troops. — Auxiliaries. — Arms. — The Enemies and Conquests of the Egyptians. — March to War. — Their Humanity . — Triumph. — Captives. — Military Laws and Punishments. — Other Members of the Second Caste. — Third Caste. — Fourth Caste. — Laws and Government. — The Kings. — Judges. — Laws. — Passports. — Murder. — Right of Fathers. — Minor Offences. — Theft. — Debt. — Deeds. — Marriages. — Slaves. — Children. — Respect for Old Age, and for their Kings. — Gratitude of the Egyptians. — Uniformity of their Laws. — Differ e7it Lawgivers. — Governors of Provinces. Egypt, properly so called, is that portion of the valley of the Nile lying between latitude 24° S' and 31° 37', or between the island of Philje at the cataracts of E'Sooan * and the Mediterranean Sea. t • According to the Oracle of Ammon, all those who drank the water of the Nile and lived to the north of Elephantine were Egyptians. Herodot, ii. 18. f At Cape Boorlos. P 4 216 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. With the exception of the northern part about the Delta, its breadth is very limited, and the cultivated, and consequently inhabited portion, is frequently confined to less than half the distance between the eastern and Libyan chains. The average breadth of the valley from one mountain range to the other, between Cairo in Lower and Edfoo in Upper Egypt, is only about seven miles ; and that of the cultivable land, whose limits depend on the inundation, scarcely exceeds five and a half, being in the widest part ten and three quarters, and in the narrowest two miles, including the river.* The extent in square miles of the northernmost district between the pyramids and the sea is con- siderable, and that of the Delta alone, which forms a portion of it, may be estimated at 1976 square miles ; for though it is very narrow about its apex, at the junction of the modern Rosetta and Dami- etta branches, it gradually widens on approaching the coast, where the base of this somewhat irre- gular triangle is eighty-one miles. And as much irrigated land stretches on either side E. and W. of the two branches, the nortliern district, with the intermediate Delta included, will be found to contain about 4.500 square miles, or double the whole arable land of Egypt, which may be com- puted at 2255 square miles, exclusive of the Fyoom, a small province consisting of about 340. * Tliiit is ill Middle I',fi;yi)t, ;m(l to the north of luhbo j hetwccn which town and E'Sooan the valley is so narrow that in some places there is scarcely any soil on cither side of the river, so that this part does not enter into the general avenif^e 1 have t^iven. CHAP. in. POPULATION OF EGYPT. ^17 The number of towns and villages reported to have stood on this tract, and in the upper parts of the valley of the Nile, appears almost incredible ; and Herodotus affirms that 20,000 populous cities existed in Egypt during the reign of Amasis. * Diodorus, with more caution and judgment, cal- culates 18,000 large villages and towns ; and states that, under Ptolemy Lagus, they amounted to up- wards of 30,000, a number which remained even at the period when he wrote, or about forty-four years before our era. But the population was already greatly reduced, and of the seven millions who once inhabited Egypt, about three t only remained in the time of the historian. JosephusI, in the reign of Vespasian §, still reckons seven millions and a half in the valley of the Nile, besides the population of Alexandria, which amounted to more than -300,000 souls ; and, according to Theocritus il, the number of towns at an earlier period was 33,339 : we may here how- ever include some of the neighbouring provinces belonging to Egypt, as he comprehends Ethiopia, Libya, Syria, Arabia, Pamphylia, Cilicia, Caria, * Herodot. ii. 177. ■f- Diod. i. 31. There are two readings of this passage : according ta the other, Diodorus reckons 7,000,000, and in his own time a no less number. J Josephus makes Agrippa say, " kiyvnTov .... »yr/c fKrtivoi.icvi] HfXPK AiOioTTiov Kai Tr]g ivSaifiovo^ Apa€iac, o^opot; re oixja ti}q IvtiKtic, TTiVTiKovra Trpog raig evTaKeaung ixovaa fivpia^aQ aj/OpoiTron'." Alexandria, he adds, is thirty stadia in length, and ten in breadth. De Bello Jud. ii. 16. 4. § Or he may allude to the period when Egypt was conquered by the Romans. II Theocr, Id. xvii, 82. ^18 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. and Lycia within the dominions of Ptolemy Phila- delphus: and other authors may occasionally have extended the name of Egypt to its possessions in Libya, Ethiopia, and Syria ; since, making every allowance for the flourishing condition of this highly fertile country, the number of towns they mention is too disproportionate for the sole valley of Egypt lying between the cataracts and the sea. The produce of the land was doubtless much greater in the earlier periods of its history than at the present day, owing as well to the superior industry of the people as to a better system of government, and sufficed for the support of a very dense population ; yet Egypt, if well cultivated, could now maintain many more inhabitants than at any former period, owing to the increased extent of the irrigated land : and if the ancient Egyptians enclosed those portions of the uninundated edge of the desert which were capable of cultivation, the same expedient might still be resorted to ; and a larger proportion of soil now overflowed by the rising Nile offers additional advantages. That the irrigated part of the valley was much less ex- tensive than at present, at least wherever the plain stretches to any distance E. and W., or to the right and left of the river, is evident from the fact of the alluvial deposit constantly encroaching in a horizontal direction upon the gradual slope of the desert ; and, as a very perceptible elevation of the river's bed, as well as of the land of Egypt, has always been going on, it requires no argument to prove that a perpendicular rise of the water must CHAP. III. INCREASED EXTENT OF LAND. 219 cause it to flow to a considerable distance over an open space to the E. and W. Thus the plain of Thebes, in the time of Amu- noph III., or about 1480 before our era, was not more than two thirds of its present breadth ; and the statues of that monarch, around which the al- luvial mud has accumulated to the height of nearly seven feet, are based on the sand that once extended some distance before them. * How erroneous, then, is it to suppose the drifting sands of the en- croaching desert t threaten the welfare of this coun- try, or have in any way tended to its downfall ; and how much more reasonable is it to ascribe the degraded condition, to which Egypt is reduced, to causes of a far more baneful nature, — foreign despotism, the insecurity of property, and the effects of that old age which it is the fate of every country, as well as every individual, to undergo. Besides the numerous towns and villages in the plain, many were prudently placed by the ancient Egyptians on the slope of the desert, at a short distance from the irrigated land, in order not to occupy more than was necessary of soil so valuable * The ancient Egyptians were constantly obliged to raise mounds round the old towns to prevent their being overwhelmed by the inun- dation of the Nile, from the increased height of its rise after the lapse of a certain number of years. Herodot. ii. 137. Vide stiprd, p. 9. -f- It is true that the sand has accumulated about Bahnasa, and the edge of the irrigated land in its vicinity, as well as about Kerdasseh and a few other places, owing to the form of the valleys which open on those spots from the Libyan desert, but it is not general throughout the valley of the Nile, even on this side of the river ; and the progress of the sand can never be very great in any part of Egypt, however it may extend itself in Nubia over the exposed and narrow strip of land, which the west bank presents above the cataracts of E'Sooan. 220 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. for its productions ; and frequently with a view of encouraging some degree of cultivation in the desert plain, which, thougli above the reach of the inun- dation, might be irrigated by artificial ducts, or by water raised from inland wells. Mounds and ruined walls still mark the sites of these villages in different parts of Egypt ; and in a few instances the remains of magnificent temples, or the authority of ancient authors, attest the existence of large cities in similar situations. Thus Abydus, Athribis, Tentyris, parts of Memphis* and Oxyrinchus, stood on the edge of the desert; and the town that once occupied the vicinity of Qasr Kharoon, at the western extremity of the Fyoom, was far removed from the fertilising influence of the inundation. When towns or villages were surrounded with sand, tlie constant attention of the inhabitants pre- vented their being encumbered by it ; but, so soon as they were deserted, it began to accumulate around them, and we sometimes find their monu- ments half buried in large drifts collected by the wind.t As population and industry decreased, the once cultivated spots of land on the desert plain were gradually abandoned, and the vestiges of canals or artificial water-courses, the indication of fields once portioned into squares, or the roots of fruit trees, only now serve to attest the unremitting ex- ertions of a civilised people. It is not, however, to * Strabo says the Sfrapcuin was " in a very sandy spot." ■f- As at Al)ydii8 ; l)iit tonsidcrinj,' the l( ■ni;tli of" time lliis city has l)cen deserted, and its position, the state of tlic niins there is not surprising. CHAP. III. NOTIONS RESPECTING THE SANDS. '221 be inferred that the irresistible encroachments of moving downs have curtailed the limits, or threat- ened the existence, of this fertile country; and the fearful picture drav^n by M. De Luc* must rather be looked upon as a composition than a study from nature. " The sands of Egypt," he observes, •' were formerly remote from that country: and the Oases, or habitable spots, still appearing in the midst of them, are the remains of soil which formerly extended the whole way to the Nile ; the sand, transported thither by the western winds, having overwhelmed and buried this extensive tract, and doomed to sterility a land once remarkable for its fruitfulness." This singular statement is partly founded on the report of Denon, who, in his visit to Bahnasat (Oxyrinchus), observed some build- ings near the town so much encumbered with sand that their summits were scarcely visible above it, and who consequently concluded the Libyan desert had made proportionate encroachments along the whole of the western side of the valley. The opening here formed by the accidental position of the hills and neighbouring ravines, and the quantity of drifted sand in the interior of the desert to the westward, have been the cause of its accu- mulation, and of the partial formation of downs in * In the Mercure de France, September, 1809, on the Moving Sands of Africa. f The proper orthography of this name is Bahnasa, Behiiasa, or Behneseh, and is said to have been given it from one of its queens (or the wife of the governor of thephice), signifying Bahanissa, " the beauty of woman," or the most beautiful of women. Such is the account given in an Arabic MS. history of that city, written by Aboo Abdillah, Mohammed, Ebn Mohammed el Mukkari. 222 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. HI. the vicinity ; but neither these, nor any other sand drifts in similar exposed situations, could, after a careful examination of the whole valley, be deemed of such a nature as to endanger the fertility of Egypt; though it is possible that, if no inundation of the Nile counteracted its effects, or if the alluvial deposit did not continue to increase in height, the sand might then interfere with the extent of the arable land, and gradually tend to narrow its limits. For the satisfaction of those who are contented with simple facts, it will be sufficient to state that the breadth of the irrigated portion of the valley is much more extensive than it was at any former period, and this increase will continue in spite of the very few local impediments which the drifted sand may accidentally offer ; and it may not be irre- levant to observe that no soil is better suited to many kinds of produce than the irrigated edge of the desert*, even before it is covered by the fertil- ising deposit of the inundation. M. De Luc's idea respecting the Oases is novel and amusing ; and if Egypt once extended to that distance westward, instead of considering the ac- counts of ancient writers on its former populous- ness at all exaggerated, we should be inclined to think they had failed to ascribe an adequate num- ber of inhabitants to so extensive a region. So far from being the remains of a once cultivated and level tract, extending to the valley of the Nile, the Oases are surrounded by limestone mountains, * It generally consist!) of a clav mixed vvitii sand. CHAP. III. NARROW TRACT OF NUBIA. 223 rising to the height of several hundred feet, and generally bounding them on all sides ; whose level summit is part of the same table land, or mountain plain, extending to and bordering the western side of Egypt, which is overlooked by these precipitous cliffs in the same manner as the similarly depressed though less extensive tract of the Oases. * Like other provinces of Egypt, they were much more densely peopled than at present ; and remains of towns and villages attest their flourishing condition, even to the late period of the Roman dominion. Nubia, or that part of Ethiopia lying between the cataracts of E'Sooan and Wadee Halfeh, was at all times a thinly inhabited and unproductive province; and the vicinity of mountains, frequently reaching to the M'ater's edge, prevented its receiv- ing those benefits from the inundation, which the very great rise of the water would have afforded to a more level and extensive tract, t It is in this narrow strip of land that the noxious approach of moving sand is more particularly felt, since its ad- vances are more sudden and overwhelming than on a gradual slope ; and the ancient towns and temples on the west side of the Nile are therefore frequently surrounded or partially buried by its accumulating drifts. They are mostly built on this bank ; and it is not improbable that the * The Oases look very much like a portion of the valley of the Nile surrounded by the same kind of limestone mountains, but without any river. f The more southward the greater the perpendicular rise of the Nile. It decreases, of course, gradually towards the mouth ; and while in Nubia it is upwards of ten yards, at Rosetta it is only a very few feet. ^24 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. unproductive nature of the soil was the principal reason for placing the towns there; the land on one side, which they were taught to consider so valuable, not being thus unnecessarily wasted, and the religious respect due to the abode of their gods, and regard for their own comfort, being sufficient motives for industriously striving to prevent the encroachments of the desert on the other. For that they were aware of the danger threatened by the sand is evident from the crude brick walls fre- quently erected there as a protection to the monu- ments ; and the fall of one of those barriers gave ingress to the torrent which has overwhelmed and concealed the entrance of the great temple at Aboosimbel. REVENUES AND COMMERCE. That the conquests of the ancient Egyptians ex- tended beyond the limits of their valley, is abun- dantly proved by ancient authors and monumental records ; but as I have already noticed this fact in the foregoing chapter, I shall proceed to the consi- deration of the revenues arising from them, as well as the commerce and other fiscal resources of the country. Judging from the sculptures of Thebes, the tribute annually received by the Egyptians from nations they had subdued in Asia and Northern Ethio})ia was of immense vahie, and tended greatly to enrich tlie cofl'ers of the stiite; and the quantity of gold and silver in rings and ingots, the various objects of hixiiry, vases of j)orcehiin and different CHAP. III. THE REVENUE AND EXPORTS. 225 metals, ivoiy, rare woods, precious stones, horses, dogs, wild animals, trees, seeds, fruits, gums, perfumes, spices, and other foreign productions there described, perfectly accord with the state- ments of ancient authors.* And though they are presented to the king, as chief of the nation, we may conclude they formed part of the public revenue, and were not solely intended for his use ; especially in a country where royalty was under the restraint and guidance of salutary laws, and where the welfare of the community was not sacrificed to the caprice of a monarch. According to Strabo, the taxes, even under Ptolemy Auletes, the father of Cleopatra, the most negligent of monarchs, amounted to 12,500 talents, or between three and four millions sterlingt ; and the constant influx of specie resulting from com- mercial intercourse with foreign nations, who piu'- chased the cornt and manufactures of Egypt, during the very careful aduiinistration of its native sovereigns, necessarily increased the riches of the country, and greatly augmented the revenue at that period. Among the exports were yarn§, fine linen cloth, * Tacitus (Ann. ii. 60.) says, " The tribute paid by conquered nations was recorded at Thebes, as well as the specific weij^ht of gold and silver, the quantity of arms, the number of horses, the offerings of ivory and rich perfumes presented to the temples of Egy[)t, the measures of grain, and the vaj-ious supplies administered by every na- tion, making altogether a prodigious revenue." f The present revenue of Egypt has been variously stated : at 2i 3, 4, and even near 5 millions sterling. J " All countries came into Egypt to buy corn," in the time of the famine of Joseph. Gen. xli. 57. § " Linen yarn out of Egypt." 1 Kings, x. 28. j 2 Chron. i. 16. VOL. I. Q 226 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. HI. and embroidered work*, purchased by the Tyrians and Jews j chariots and horses t, bought by the merchants of Judaea in the time of Solomon at 6001: and 150 § shekels of silver; and other com- modities, produced or manufactured in the country. The Egyptians also derived important advan- tages from their intercourse with India and Arabia; and the port of Philoteras, which, there is reason to believe, was constructed at a very remote period II, long before the exodus of the Israelites, was pro- bably the emporium of that trade. It was situated on the eastern coast of the Red Sea, in latitude 26° 9'; and though small, the number of ships its basin would contain sufficed for a constant traffic between Egypt and Arabia, no periodical winds there interfering with the navigation, at any season of the year. Whether they had a direct communication with India at the same early epoch, or were supplied throujih Arabia with the merchandise of that coun- try, it is not possible now to determine ; but even an indirect traded was capable of opening to them a source of immense wealth ; and that the produc- * " Fine linen, with broidcrecl work from Egypt," was purchased by the Tyrians. Ezek. xxvii. 7. That painted or embroidered sail-cloth was used by the Egyptians for their pleasure-boats, at least tiiose be- longing to the kings and chief persons of the country, is provetl by the sculptures of Thebes, ■f 2 Clu-on. i. IG, 17.; and 1 Kings, x. t 70/. sterling. § 17/. 10.?. il Already noticed in Chap. II. p. 4.j. It was previously called TEnnuni, " op])iduni parvuni est TlMinnm, pro (juo :dii Philoteram scribunt." Strabo says it received the name of " i'liiloteras from the sister of the second Ptolemy." lib. xvii. I'lin. vi. 'Ji). 1[ Strabo thinks tliat in fornier times a fleet of twenty shij)s never passeil the Straits of lkil)elMiandcl) ; but the Indian trade migiit have l)een carrietl on through Arabia. Strabo (lil). xvii.) on Alexandria. CHAP. III. TRADE WITH INDIA. 2^7 tions of India diil actually reach Egypt we have positive testimony from the tombs of Thebes. The Scripture history shows the traffic esta- blished by Solomon with India, through the Red Sea, to have been of very great consequence, pro- ducing, in one voyage, no less than 450 talents of gold*, or 3,^240,000/. sterling; and to the same branch of commerce may be ascribed the main cause of the flourishing condition of Tyre itself. And if the Egyptian trade was not so direct as that of Solomon and the Tyrians, it must still be ad- mitted that any intercourse with India at so remote a period would be highly beneficial to the country, since it was enjoyed without competition, and con- sequently afforded increased advantages. The other harbours in this part of the Arabian Gulf, — MyosHormos, Berenice, Arsinoe, Nechesia, and Leucos Portus, — were built in later times ; and the lucrative trade they enjoyed was greatly in- creased after the conquest of Egypt by the Romans: 120 vessels annually leaving the coast of Egypt for India, at midsummer, about the rising of the dog- start, and returning in the month of December or January. " The principal objects of oriental ti'affic," says Gibbon, " were splendid and trifling : silk (a pound of which was esteemed not inferior in value to a pound of gold), precious stones, and a variety of aromatics." When Strabo visited Egypt tlie Myos Hormos seems to have superseded Berenice, and * 2 Chron. viii. 18. ; 1 Kings, ix. 26. ■f- The Peripliis gives " the month of July, wliich is E[;iphi j " and Pliny (lib. vi. 20.), " ante Canis ortum," about July 2(3. 228 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. all the other marithne stations on the coast ; and indeed it possessed greater advantages than any other, except Philoteras and Arsinoe, in its overland communication with the Nile : yet Berenice, in the later age of Phny, was again preferred to its rival. From both ports the goods were taken on camels by an ahnost level road across the desert to Coptos*, and thence distributed over different parts of Egypt ; and, in the time of the Ptolemies and CiEsars, those particularly suited for exportation to Europe went down the river to Alexandria, where they were sold to merchants who resorted to that city at a stated season. At a subsequent period, during the reigns of the Arab caliphs, Apollinopolis Parva, or Qoos, suc- ceeded Coptos, as the rendezvous of caravans from the Red Sea ; and this town flourished so rapidly, in consequenceof the preference it enjoyed, that in Aboolfldda'S time it was second only to Fostat, the capital of Egypt ; until it ceded its place to Qeneii, as Myos Hormos was destined to do in favour of Kossayr. Philoteras, however, continued to be resorted to after the Arab conquest ; and it was during the reigns of the Egyptian cali})hs that the modern Kossayr t took the place of that ancient port. The Myos Hormos, called also Aphrodite i, stood ♦ " Coptos Iiulicaruni Aral)ifwCiTTfQ cpiiov KdXtinVdi X(/if)'ff /tf-yar," lib. xvii. Agatharcides says, it was afterwards culled the Port of Venus. CHAP. Iir. PORTS OF THE RED SEA. 229 in latitude 27*^ 22', upon a flat coast, backed by low mountains, distant from it about three miles ; where a well, the Fons Tadnos*, supplied the town and ships with water. The port was more capacious than those of Berenice and Philoteras ; and though exposed to the winds, it was secure against the force of a boisterous sea. Several roads imited at the gates of the town, from Berenice and Philoteras on the south, from Arsinoe on the north, and from Coptos on the west ; and stations supplied those who passed to and from the Nile with water and other necessaries. Berenice owed its foundation to Ptolemy Phila- delphus, who called it after the name of his mother, the wife of Lagus or Soter.f The town was exten- sive, and was ornamented with a small but elegant temple of Sarapis ; and though the harbour was neither deep nor spacious, its position in a receding gulf t tended greatly to tlie safety of the vessels lying within -it, or anchored in the bay. A road led thence direct to Coptos, furnished with the usual stations, or hydreumas ; and another, which also went to the emerald mines, joined, or rather crossed it, from ApolHnopolis Magna. * " Mox deserta ad Myos Hormon, iibi Fons Tadnos." Plin. vj. 29. f " Berenice oppidum matris Philadelphi nomine, ad quod iter a Copto diximus." Plin. vi. 29. J Strabo says, " Berenice placed in a deep bay." The headland of Cape Nose stretches out on the east of it to the distance of 21 miles from the line of the shore, agreeing with another remark of the geogra- pher, that " an isthmus projects into the Red Sea near the city of Berenice, which, thougii without a port, affords a convenient shelter, from the vicinity of the headland." Q 3 230 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. Arsinoe, which stood at the northern extremity of the Red Sea, near the modern town of Sooez, was founded by the second Ptolemy, and so named after his sister.* Though vessels anchored there rode secure from the violence of the sea, its ex- posed situation, and the dangers they encountered in working up the narrow extremity of the gulf, rendered its position t less eligible for the Indian trade than either Myos Hormos or Berenice ; and had it not been for the convenience of establishing a communication with the Nile by a canal, and the shortness of the journey across the desert in that part, it is probable it would not have been chosen for a seaport. The small towns of Nechesia and the Leucos Portus were probably of Roman date, though the natural liarbours they possess may have been used at a much earlier period. Tlieir positions are still marked by the ruins on the shore, in latitude ^Zi° 51/ and 25° 37\ where I discovered them in 1826, while making a survey of this part of the coast from Sooez to Berenice. The former stands in, and perhaps gave the name to, the Wadee Nukkarce ; * " Arsiiiocn .... conditam sororis nomine in sinu cliarandra, a PtolemiL'o I'liihultilpho." Plin. vi. 29. •f It probably succeeded to some more ancient town. It is not cer- tain that Ciysma stood there; lint Qolzim appears to have occupied the site of Arsinoe and part of llie nuKleni Sooez. Vide my Egypt and Tiiel)es, p. TAO. note f. lIerodt)tus (ii. l.'iS.) says tlie canal entered tiie Red Sea near toPatiiinos; we may therefore conclude tliat town stood on the same spot as Arsinoe. We again trace in Pa- tnmos tiie name Pi-thom. It was common to many towns. Thomu, Tinmii, and otiiers are evidently derived, like Tlnnnmim, from 'J'hmei, the goddess of Truth or Justice. In l%gy|)tian pi is " the," and \ui " belonging to." CHAP. in. IMPORTS. EMERALDS. 231 the latter is called E'Shoona, or " the Magazine *," and, from being built of very wliite limestone, was readily indicated by the Arabs when I inquired of them the site of the White Harbour. Many other ports, the " Portus multi " of Pliny t, occur along the coast, particularly between Berenice and Kossayr ; but though they all have landmarks to guide boats in approaching their rocky entrances, none of them have any remains of a town, or the vestiges of habitations. The principal objects introduced in early times into Egypt, from Arabia and India, were spices and various oriental productions t, required either for the service of religion, or the purposes of luxury ; and a number of precious stones, lapis lazzuli, and other things brought from those coun- tries, are frequently discovered in the tombs of Thebes, bearing the names of Pharaohs of the 18th Dynasty. The mines of their own desert did, indeed, supply the emeralds they used ; and these were worked as early, at least, as the reign of Amunoph III., or 1425 b. c, but many other stones must have come from India ; and some plants, as the Nymphasa Nelumbo, could only have been introduced from that country. § Though we cannot ascertain the extent or exact * This word is taken from the Arabic Mukhzen, of similar import. f Plin, vi, 29. j Chinese bottles, with inscriptions in that language, are found in ancient tombs at Thebes, but of what date I am uncertain. § It was evidently not indigenous to Egypt, from the care that was necessary in planting it, and is now totally unknown in the valley of the Nile. Before they introduced it, would they not have seen the plant? and who was likely to bring the roots but some of their own people ? Q 4 252 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. quality of the various imports, of goods re-exported from Egypt, or the proportion which these last bore to the internal consumption, it is reasonable to conclude that every article of luxury was a source of revenue to the government ; and that both native and foreign productions coming under this denomination, whether exported or sold in Egypt, tended to enrich the state, to which they belonged, or paid a duty. That the riches of the country were immense is proved by the appearance of the furniture and do- mestic utensils, and by the great quantity of jewels of gold, silver, precious stones, and other objects of luxury in use among them in the earliest times : their treasures became proverbial throughout the neighbouring states*, and a love of pomp and splendour continued to be the ruling passion of the Egyptians till the latest period of their existence as an independent state, which is fully demonstrated by the history of the celebrated Cleopatra. Another source of wealth was derived from the gold mines in the desert of the upper country. Tlieir position t, still known to the Arabs, is about s. K. from Bahayreh, a village opposite the town of Edfoo t, or Apollinopolis Magna, and at a distance of nearly ten days' journey from that place, in the * " Greater riches than the treasures in Egypt." Ep. Hebr. xi. 26. " Tlie |)omp ofEjijnt." Ezck. xxxii. 12. Conf. also the jewels of silver and gold which tlic Jews borrowed of the Egyptians. Exod. xii. 35. f They have lately been visited by Monsieur Linant and Mr. Hono- mi, who have found the account of the Arabs to agree very well with their position. X Edfoo is in latitude 21" 58'. CHAP. III. GOLD AND SILVER MINES. 233 mountains of the Bishareeh. The Arab authors, Edrisi, Ebn-Said, and Aboolfidda, place them at Gebel Ollagee, a mountain situated in the land of Bega ; and this last word at once points out the Bisharee desert, being still used by the tribe as their own name. The gold lies in veins of quartz *, in the rocks bordering an inhospitable valley and its adjacent ravines : but the small quantity they are capable of producing by immense labour, added to the difficulty of procuring water, and other local impediments, would probably render the re-opening of them at the present day an un- profitable speculation ; and indeed in the time of Aboolfidda t they only just covered their ex- penses, and have never been worked since they were abandoned by the Arab caliphs. According to Agatharcides' account, the toil of extracting the gold was immense : it was separated from the pounded stone by frequent washings, and this pro- cess appears to be represented in the paintings of tombs executed during the reign of Osirtasen, and other ancient Pharaohs. We have no positive notice of their first discovery, but it is reasonable to suppose they were worked at the earliest periods of the Egyptian monarchy; and the total of their annual produce is stated by Hecata[3us t to have been re- * Mohammed Ali had an idea of re-opening them, but I believe the project has been abandoned. Wherever the ancients met with veins of quartz in the desert, I observe they invariably broke up portions of it, doubtless to try if it contained gold. f Or Omad-e'deen-Aboolfeda, Ismail-ben-Nasser. He was king of Hamah in Syria, and lived about the year 730 of the Hegira, a. d. 1334. J Diodorus,i. 49., on his authority. 234 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. corded in a temple founded by a monarch of the 18th Dynasty. He also notices an immense sum annually produced from the silver mines of Egypt, which amounted to 3,200 myriads of minge.* Be- sides these were valuable mines of copper, lead, iron, and emeralds, all of which still exist in the deserts of the Red Sea ; and the sulphur, which abounds in the same districts, was not neglected by the an- cient Egyptians. The riches, then, of the country were principally derived from taxes, foreign tribute, monopolies, commerce, mines, and above all from the produc- tions of a fruitful soil. The wants of the poorer classes were easily satisfied ; the abundance of grain, herbs, and esculent plants afforded an ample supply to the inhabitants of the valley of the Nile, at a trifling expense, and witli little labour ; and so much corn was produced in this fertile country, that after sufficing for the consumption of a very exten- sive population, it offered a great surplus for the foreign markett ; and the quantity on hand en- abling the peasant to sell it at a low rate necessarily afforded considerable profit to the government, being exported to other countries, or sold to the traders who visited Egypt for commercial ])urposes. Though the lower classes of the peo})le a})pear to have been contented with their condition, there is no evidence of their having })articipated in * Vide Kuprii, ]). 1 13. ■]• An idea ma}' Ix; formecl of tlic (|iiantity produced in F^jjypt from the account of the famine of Josepli, wlien they were enabled to lay up from the superabundance of Hcven plenteous years enounh corn to siiffice for seven years of deardi. (icn. xli. 47, CHAP. III. EGYPT HAPPY UNDER THE PHARAOHS. 235 the affluence enjoyed by the higher orders ; and the very great distinction between them and the richer classes is remarkable, as well in the sub- missive obeisance to their superiors as in their general appearance, their dress, and the style of their houses. Some, indeed, seem to have been little better lodged and fed than those of the pre- sent day * ; and the degrading custom of prostra- tion before those in authority argues that they were subject to severe discipline and punishment, though, doubtless, only administered according to the rules of justice. That they were happy under their native princes, and contented with the laws and early institutions of the Pharaohs, is strongly argued by the constant feeling of dissatis- faction evinced by them against foreign rule, not only in the time of the despotic Persians, but of the Ptolemies, who sought, on many occasions, to flatter their religious prejudices, to content the priesthood, and even to court the good will of the people. And though some allowance must be made in these cases for the effect of change, the influence of the priests, and the impatience common to all people under a foreign master, we may fairly conclude, that the spirit of their laws, under the original system, was dictated by a scrupulous re- gard to justice and the benevolence of a paternal government. * Herodotus (ii. 47.) speaks of poor people in Egypt who had scarcely any thing to live upon. I do not, however, imagine they suf- fered from hunger like the modern peasants, nor could the taxes have been as numerous or as oppressive. Diod. i. 80. Q3() THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. CASTES. The great distinction of classes * maintained in Egypt was characteristic of the East, and custom naturally removed every unpleasing impression which so readily occurs to men educated with dif- ferent habits and ideas ; and provided justice was regarded, it offered no cause of discontent in an eastern nation. The division of Egyptian society into separate classes, or castes, has been noticed by many authors. Herodotus t says they were divided into seven tribes, one of which was the sacerdotal, another of the soldiers, and tlie remain- ing five of the herdsmen, swineherds, shopkeepers, interpreters, and boatmen. Diodorust states that, like the Athenians, who being an Egyptian colony derived this institution from the parent country, they were distributed into three classes, tlie priests, the peasants, or husbandmen, from whom the soldiers were levied, and the artizans, who were employed in handicraft and other similar occu- pations, and in common offices among the people § ; but in another place || he extends tlie number to five, and reckons tlie pastors, husbandmen, and artificers, independent of the soldiers and priests. * The Etruscans were also divided into fonr castes ; but this insti- tution appears rather to have been derived from the East than to iiave taken its rise in Italy. They were, 1. the Larthes, Tyrani, or lords : 2. the Tiisci, or priesthood : 3. the Kasen;e, or warriors; and, l. the people, or popular caste. t Herod, ii. HJ4. :j; Diodorns. i. 28. § As public weighers, notarirs, and oilier oCdie usual avocations of largo towns. II Diod. i. 74. CHAP. in. CASTES. THEIR NUxMBEK. 237 Strabo limits them to three, the miUtary, husband- men, and priests; and Plato* divides them into six bodies, the priests, artificers, shepherds, hunts- men, husbandmen, and soldiers ; each peculiar art, or occupation, he observes, being confined to a cer- tain subdivision of the caste, and every one engaged in his own branch, without interfering with the occupation of another: as in India and China, where the same trade or employment is followed in suc- cession by father and son. From the statements above noticed, the exact number of classes into which the Egyptians were divided appears uncertain ; but as there is reason to conclude that some authors have subdivided the main castes into several of their minor branches, while others have been contented with the collec- tive divisions, I shall endeavour to point out (as I have already had occasion to do in a former workt) the four great comprehensive classes, and the prin- cipal subdivisions of each. The first caste was the sacerdotal order ; the second, the soldiers and peasants, or agricultural class ; the third was that of the townsmen ; and the fourth, the plebs, or common people. The first was composed of the chief priests or pontiffs t, as well as minor priests of various grades belonging to dif- ferent deities, prophets, judges, hierophants, magi- strates, hierogrammats or sacred scribes, basilico- * Plato in TiinjEO, near the beginning. + Egypt and Thebes, p. 230. J " Each deity has several priests and a high-priest." Herod, ii.37. THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. grammats or royal scribes, spliragistee *, Inerostoli f or dressers and keepers of the sacred robes, doctors, embalmers, hierophori t, pterophori§, praecones, who appear to have been the same as the pasto- phorill, keepers of the sacred animals^, hierolaotomi or masons of the priestly order, sacred sculptors and draughtsmen, beadles, sprinklers of water, and aTTOfxtjioiy mentioned by Hesychius, who drove away the flies with chown'es, and several inferior functionaries attached to the temples. The second was divided into the military, farm- ers, husbandmen, gardeners, huntsmen, boatmen, and others : the third consisted of artificers, trades- men, shopkeepers, musicians, builders, carpenters, masons, sculptors, and ])robably potters, public weighers**, and notaries ; and in the fourth may be reckoned pastors, poulterers, fowlers, fishermen, labourers, servants, and, generally speaking, the common people. Many of these were again sub- divided, as the artificers and tradesmen, according to their peculiar trade or occupation, and as the * Plutarch (dc Isiil. s. xxxi.) says the Sphragistic were a chiss of priests whose office was to examine the victims, aiui to |)iit a seal upon them, previous to their hL'ing sacriricecl. fide Herod, ii. 38. -|- I'lutarch. de Is. s. iii. " Those who have access to the adytiun to dotlie tlie statues of the gods." llosetta stone. I The bearers of sacreil eml)lems in the religious processions. ^ Those wiio bore the flal)ella and fans in the processions in which the statues of the gods were carried. II Bearers of the small statues, or shrines, of the gods. J'ii!r Diod. i. 29. % Ilerod. ii. OH. " Tliere are cci'taiu jji'rsons, both mi'u and wo- men, whose i)usiness it is to take care of the sacred animals, and of each peculiar sj)ecies: it is an honourable emphj^meut, and the son suc- ceeds his father in the office." ** The G'rtZi/^«w<'/( of the present day: wlio are also |)ul)lic scribes. CHAP. III. HINDOO CASTES. ^39 pastors, into oxherds, shepherds, goatherds, and swineherds ; which last were, according to Hero- dotus, the lowest grade, not only of the class but of the whole community, since no one would either marry their daughters or establish any family con- nection with them ; and so degrading was the occupation of tending swine, that they were looked upon as impure, and were even forbidden to enter a temple without previously undergoing a purifi- cation. Herodotus, indeed, affirms*, "they could not enter a temple;'* and the prejudices of the Indians against this class of persons almost justify our belief of the historian. In my division of the Egyptian castes I have been guided by Diodorus, and have classed the soldiers with the husbandmen ; though, I confess, to have placed them in a caste by themselves ap- pears preferable, or with the magistrates who were not priests, as among the Hindoos. If they really were a class of the same caste as the peasants, that class must have ranked far above the others, and have been almost as distinct as a separate caste ; nor did the fact of their occasionally following agri- cultural pursuits reflect upon them any disgrace : and in like manner, a Hindoo soldier, or even a brahmin, may cultivate land without the fear of reproach. Among the Indians are four castes: 1. Brah- mins ; 2. Cshatriyas ; 3. Vaisyas ; 4. Sudras. The first is taken from the mouth, the organ of the intellectual part ; the second, from the arms, or * Herod, ii. 47. 240 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. defending part ; the third, from the thigli, or sup- porting part ; and the fourth, from the feet, or hibouring part : comprising the priests and philoso- phers, the magistrates and soldiers, the husband- men and mercliants, and the artizans, labourers, and common people. Some ancient authors, among whom is Megasthenes, divide the Indians differently ; and as it is interesting to compare his account of the ancient Indian system with that of the Egyptians, I shall here introduce it.* According to Megasthenes, the whole popula- tion of India is distributed into seven castes ; among which, that of the philosophers is held in estimation as the first, notwithstanding their num- ber is the smallest. Whenever any one sacrifices, or prepares the feasts of the dead in private, it is usual for him to make use of the service of one of them ; but the kings publicly gather them together in an assem- bly, which is called synod, held at the commence- ment of each new year, in the gatet of the king, where all the ])hilosophers assemble, in order tliat whatever useful information they have collected relative to the increase of the fruits and animals, or to the state, may be produced in public. And it is a law, that if any among them be three times convicted of falsehood, he shall be doomed to silence during life : but the upright, they release from tax and tribute. The second division is tiie * From Stral)o, lib. XV. Cory. p. 'ilG. t This is an oriental expression. Tluis "the Snblimc Porte.' Conf, Psalm cxxvii. !>. and c. 4. llntli, iv. 1. Deut. xxi. 19. CHAP. III. MEGASTHENES' ACCOUNT. 241. caste of the agriculturists, wlio are the most numerous and worthy. They pursue their occu- pation free from miUtary duties and fear ; neither concerning themselves with civil, public, or any other business ; and it often happens that, at the same time and place, the military class is arrayed and engaged with an enemy, whilst the agricultural population, depending upon the other for protec- tion, plough and dig without any sort of danger ; and since the land is all held of the king, they cul- tivate upon hire, paying a rent of one fourth of the produce. The third caste is that of the shepherds and huntsmen, whose sole occupation is hunting, graz- ing, and selling cattle, for which they give a pre- mium and stipend : and for clearing the land of wild beasts and birds which destroy the grain, they are entitled to a portion of corn from the king, and lead a wandering life, dwelling in tents. After the huntsmen and shepherds, the fourth race is that of the innholders, artisans, and bodily labourers of all kinds ; of whom some bring tribute, or, instead of it, perform stated service in the public works. But the manufacturers of arms and builders of ships are entitled to pay and sustenance from the king, as they labour only for him. The keeper of the military stores gives out arms to the soldiers, and the governor of the docks lets ships for hire to the sailors and merchants. The fifth caste is the military, who, when disen- gaged, spend the rest of their time at ease in stations properly provided by the king; in order VOL. I. R ^242 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. Til. that, whenever occasion requires, they may be ready to march immediately, carrying with them nothing else than their bodies. The sixth are the inspectors, whose business it is to pry into all mat- ters that are carried on, and report them privately to tlie king ; for which purpose, in the cities they employ women of the town, and in the army the followers of the camp. They are chosen from the most upright and honourable men. The seventh class are the counsellors and assessors of the king, by whom the government laws and administration are conducted. It is unlawful either to contract marriages from another caste, or to change one profession or occu- pation for another, or for one man to undertake more than one, unless the person so doing shall be one of the philosophers, which is permitted on account of their dignity. Of the governors, some preside over rural, others over civil, others again over military affairs. To the first class is intrusted the ins])ection of the rivers, and the admeasurements of the fields, after the inundations as in Egypt, and the covered aque- ducts by which the water is distributed into chan- nels for the equal supply of all according to their wants. The same have the care of the luuitsmen, with the power of dispensing rewards and i)unish- ments according to their deserts. They collect also the tribute, and inspect all the arts which are exercised upon the land, as of wrights and carpen- ters, and the workers of brass and other metals. They also construct the highways, and at every ten CHAP. III. OF THE CASTES IN INDIA. 243 stadia place a milestone, to point out the turnings and distances. The civil governors are divided into six pentads, some of whom overlook the operative works, and others have charge of all aliens, distributing to them an allowance, and taking cognizance of their lives, if they give them habitations ; some they send away, but they take care of the goods of such as happen to die, or are unwell, and bury them when dead. The third class registers the births and deaths, how and when they take place ; and this for the sake of the tribute, that no births either of good or evil, nor any deaths, may be unnoticed. The fourth has the care of the tavern keepers and exchanges : these have charge also of the measures and qualities of the goods, that they may be sold according to the proper stamps. Nor is any one permitted to barter more, imless he pay a double tribute. The fifth class presides over the manu- factured articles, arranging them, and separating the stamped from the common, the old from the new, and laying a fine upon those who mix them. The sixth and last exacts the tithe of all thino-s sold, with the power of inflicting death on all such as cheat. Each, therefore, has his private duties. But it is the public business of them all to control the private as well as civil aflPairs of the nation, and to inspect the repairs of the public works, the prices, markets, ports, and temples. After the civil governors, is the third college, which presides over military affairs, and this in like manner is divided into six pentads, of which the R !2 244 THE AXCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. first is associated with the governor of the fleet ; the second, with him who presides over the yokes of oxen, by w^hich the instruments are conveyed, the provisions for themselves and the oxen, and all the other baggage of the army : they have with them, moreover, attendants who play upon drums and bells, together with grooms, smiths, and their under- workmen : and they send forth their foragers to the sound of bells, recompensing their speed with honour or punishment, and attending to their safety. The third class has the charge of the in- fantry. The fourth, of the cavalry. The fifth, of the chariots. The sixth, of the elephants. More- over, there are royal stables for the horses and beasts, and a royal arsenal, in which the soldier deposits his. accoutrements when he has done with them, and gives up his horse to the master of the horse, and the same with respect to his beasts. They ride without bridles : the oxen draw the chariots along the roads ; while the horses are led in lialtcrs, that their legs may not be injured, nor tlieir spirit impaired by the draught of the chariots. In addition to the charioteer, each chariot contains two riders ; but in the equipment of an elephant its conductor is the fourth, there being three bowmen also upon it. Such is the account given by Megasthenes of the Indian castes. The Egyptian nobles were of the upper classes, cither of the ])riestly or military orders ; and though Diodorus* tells us all the J*'.gy[)tians were equally * Dioil. i. 92, CHAP. III. EGYPTIAN CASTES. — THE KING. ^Z'\f5 noble, it is not to be supposed that this applied to their rank in society, during life, since in no coun- try, except perhaps India, does the distinction of castes appear to have been so arbitrarily maintained as with the ancient Egyptians. After death, how- ever, no grade was regarded, and every good soid was supposed to become united to that essence from which it derived its origin ; and the title of Osiris was applied indiscriminately to men and women of every rank. THE KING. It was also from one or other of those tv/o orders that the king was obliged to be chosen j and if he had been a member of the military class, previous to his ascending the throne, it was peremptorily required by the laws* that he should then be ad- mitted into the sacerdotal order, and be instructed in all the secret learning of the priests. He was the chief of the religion and of the state t, he regidated the sacrifices in the temples, and had the peculiar right of offering them to the godst upon grand occasions ; the title and office of * Plutarch, de Is. ix. " If the choice fell on a soldier, he was im- mediately initiated into the order of priests, and instructed in their abstruse and hidden philosophy." ■f- Like the caliphs and Moslem sultans. j In the absence of the kings, the priests officiated. Psammaticus offered libations with the other eleven kings. Herod, ii. 151. In the sculptures the kings always make the offerings in the temples. At Rome, the sovereign held the office of Pontifex maximus. Conf. also Aris- totle, " (JTparrjyoQ rji' Kai SiKacrrrjc; 6 fiaaiXivi;, kcu rii)v vpog tovq Beovi; Kvpiog." Arist. Polit. iii. 14'. Melchizedec was king, priest, and prophet. Among the Indians of America, the sovereign was also a priest. The Lacedaemonian monarchs were consecrated, at their coronation, priests of Jupiter Uranius. The kings of Athena were intrusted with the VOL. I. *R 3 246 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. " president of the assemblies " belonged exclu- sively to him, and he superintended the feasts and festivals in honour of the deities. He had the right of proclaiming peace and war; he commanded the armies of the state, and rewarded those whose conduct in the field, or on other occasions, merited his approbation ; and every privilege was granted liim which was not at variance with good policy or the welfare of his people. The sovereign power descended from father to son; but in the event of an heir failing, the claims for succession were determined by proximity of parentage, or by right of marriage.* Nor were queens forbidden to undertake the management of affairs t; and on the demise of their husbands they assumed the office of regent ; but, though intro- duced into the annals of Manetho, and Nitocris is mentioned by Herodotus as a queen, their names do not ap])ear in the lists of sovereigns sculi)tined in the temples of Thebes and Abydus. In some instances the kingdom was usurped by care of divine worship and the performance of the sacred rites ; and many ancient monarchs are mentioned, as uniting tlic office of priest and king : thus Virgil, " Rex Anius, rex idem honiinum, Phcrliicjuc saccrdos." With the Jews, the King provided the oifering, and tlie priest officiated. Ezck. xlv. 17. 2 Chron. xxix. 21. Nnnib. iii. 10. and xvi. 10. It was imputcil to Saul a sin for having offered a l)iM"nt offbiing in the plate of tSamuel. 1 Sam. xiii. 9. 1.3. * This I coiichulc from tiie motle of deriving their right from ancient kings, sometimes passing over many intermediate names, when they mention tiieir predecessors. -|- Tlie llgyptians, at a later period, do not seem to have been favour- ;il)ic' to female government, and ohliged (Ileopatra to marry her younger brother, on the death of the elder Ptolemy; and even afterwards we fmd the name of her son, Neoctesar, introduced into tiic sculptures with her own. v, vol. ii. p. 5!). CHAP. Iir. RIGHT OF SUCCESSION. 24? a powerful chief, as in the case of Amasis, or by some Ethiopian prince, who either claiming a right to the Egyptian crown from relationship with the reigning family, or taking advantage of a disturbed state of the country, secured a party there, and ob- tained possession of it by force of arms ; but there are no grounds for supposing that the Egyptian monarchy was elective, as Synesius would lead us to conclude. He affirms that the candidates for the throne of Egypt repaired to a mountain at Thebes, on the Libyan side of the Nile, where all the voters assembled, and according to the show of hands and the proportionate consequence of each voter, who was either of the sacerdotal or military order, tlie election of the king was de- cided. But his authority is not of sufficient weight on so doubtful a question, and from being at va- riance with all that history and monumental record have imparted to us, cannot possibly be admitted. We find the kings recorded on the monuments as having succeeded from father to son for several generations ; and if the election of a king ever took place in Egypt it could only have been when all lawful aspirants were wanting. Diodorus* says, *' In ancient times kings, instead of succeeding by right of inheritance, were selected for their merits:" but whether this really was the case at the commencement of the Egyptian monarchy it is difficult to determine. Indeed, both Herodotus and Diodorus mention the first kino-s beino- sue- ceeded by their children ; and we have positive * Diod. i. 43. R 4 248 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAr. III. authority from the sculptures that this was tlie case during the eighteenth and succeeding dynasties : nor did Plutarch*, in saying "the kings were chosen from the priests or the warriors," mean that the monarchy was elective, except when an heir was wanting. And this is further confirmed by the for- mula in the Rosetta stone : ** The kingdom being established unto him and unto his children for ever." But they did not presume, in consequence of the right of succession, to infringe the regulations enacted for their public and private conduct ; and the laws of Egypt, which formed part of the sacred books, were acknowledged to be of divine origin, and were looked upon with superstitious reverence. To have called them in question, or to liave dis- obeyed them, would have been considered re- bellion against the Deity, and the offender would have paid the forfeit of his presumption and im- piety. That their laws were framed witli the greatest regard to the welfare of the community is abun- dantly proved by all that ancient history has im- parted tons; and Diodorust observes, "this un- paralleled country could never liave continued throughout ages in such a flourishing condition, if it had not enjoyed the best of laws and customs, and if the people had not been guided by the most salutary regulations." Nor were these framed for the lower orders only; and their kings, says the same authort, so far from indulging in those acts * Pint, lie Is. ft. t i^'oil- '• ♦>!>. I Diod. i. 70. CHAP. III. DUTIES OF THE KINGS. 249 of arbitrary will, unrestrained by the fear of cen- sure, which stain the character of sovereigns in other monarchical states, were contented to sub- mit to the rules of public duty, and even of private life, which had been establislied by law from the earliest times. Even their daily food was regulated by prescribed rules, and the quantity of wine was limited with scrupulous exactitude. When a sovereign, having been brought up in the military class *, was ignorant of the secrets of his religion, the first step, as 1 have already ob- served, on his accession to the throne, was to make him acquainted with those mysteries, and to enrol him in the college of the priests. He was in- structed in all that related to the gods, the service of the temple, the laws of the country, and the duties of a monarch ; and, in order to prevent any intercourse with improper persons, who might in- stil into his mind ideas unworthy of a prince, or at variance with morality, it was carefully provided that no slave or hired servant should hold any office about his person, but that the children of the first families of the priestly order t, who had ar- rived at man's estate, and were remarkable for having received the best education and profited by it, should alone be permitted to attend him. And this precautionary measure was dictated by the persuasion that no monarch gives way to the im- * The greater part of the kings, if we may judge from the sculptures, appear to have been of the military caste, at least during the glorious era of the 18th dynasty. f This agrees very well with the sculptin-es. The king's sons also held the offices of pages and fan-bearers. Diod. i. 70. 250 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. pulse of evil passions, unless he finds those about him ready to serve as instruments to his caprices, and to encourage his excesses. It was not on his own will that his occupations depended, but on those rules of duty and pro- priety which the wisdom of his ancestors had framed, with a just regard to the welfare of the king and of his people.* They argued that he was an officer of the state ; that the situation he held had not been made for his sole benefit, but for that of the nation, which he was bound to serve as well as to govern ; and the king was thought rather to belong to the nation than the nation to the king. Impressed with these ideas, the Egyptian monarchs refused not to obey tliosc lessons which the laws had laid down for their conduct : their occupations, both by day and night, were regulated by prescribed rules ; a time was set apart for every duty, and a systematic method oftransacting business was found to lead to those results which a disregard of order usually fails to produce. At break of day t public business commenced, all the epistolary correspond- ence was then examined, and the subject of each letter was considered with the attention it required. The ablutions for prayer were then performed, and the monarch, having put on the robes of ceremony, and attended by proper officers, with the insignia of royalty, rei)aired to tlie tem])le to superintend * A ffW injiiiictions Cor the coiuhut of a Jewish kiii;; arc given in Dent. xvii. Hi. -|- Diod. i. 70. 1 lerodotiis (ii. 17.'!.) says that Aiiia.sis eiii|)l()\e(l hiiii- Kcir about public i)nsines.s Iroiii (layl)rcak till market time, or ahoiil tiiu third iioiir ol day. CHAP. III. EULOGY AND PRAYER FOR THE KING. 251 the customary sacrifices to the gods of the sanc- tuary. The victims being brought to the altar, it was usual for the high priest to place himself close to the king, while the whole congregation* present on the occasion stood round at a short distance from them, and to offer up prayers for the mo- narch t, beseeching the gods to bestow on him health and all other blessings t, in return for his respect to the laws, his love of justice, and his general conduct towards the people he ruled. His qualities were then separately enumerated ; and the high priest particularly noticed his piety towards the gods, and liis clemency and affable demeanour towards men. He lauded his self-command, his justice, his magnanimity, his love of truth, his munificence and generosity, and, above all, his en- tire freedom from envy § and covetousness. He * This ceremony must have taken place in the court of the temple and not in the sanctuary, since the people were admitted to it. The en- trance into the holy of holies, or the sanctuary, was only on particular occasions, as with the Jews. Ezek. xlii. 13, 14., in speaking of the temple, and Exod. xxviii. 29. ■\- As in the Moslem mosks, from the times of the caliphs to the pre- sent day. On the conquest of Egypt by Soltan Seleem, the aristocracy of the Memlooks was left, on contiition of annual tribute to the Os- nianlis, obedience in matters of faith to the Mooftee of Constantinople, and the insertion of the name of the soltan in the public prayers and on the coin. Mohammed Ali had an idea of introducing his own instead of Soltan Mahmood's name during the war of Syria in 1832 — 1833. J Conf. tlie Rosetta stone : " In return for which, the gods have given him health, victory, power, and all other good things, the kingdom being established unto him and unto his children for ever," which is, perhaps, the r^al formula here alluded to by Diodorus. § Some of the king's names seem even to bear a similar meaning, if we may believe the Laterculus of Eratosthenes, where one is trans- lated Abascantus, i.e. invidiii carens, though I confess Sirios does not appear to admit of that interpretation. Many of these eulogistic epi- thets occur in the obelisk inscription of Hermapion ; as, " the mighty lover of truth," " whom the Sun has preferred;" " to whom the gods have given a life free from satiety," &c. 252 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. exalted his moderation in awarding the most lenient punishment to those who had transgressed, and his benevolence in requiting with unbounded liberality those who had merited his favours. These and other similar encomiums liaving been passed on the character of the monarch, the priest proceeded to review the general conduct of kings, and to point out those faults which were the result of ignorance and misplaced confidence. And it is worthy of remark, that this ancient people had already adopted the principle, that the king should be exonerated from blame *, while every curse and evil was denounced against his ministers, and those advisers who had given him injurious counsel. The object of this oration, says Diodorus, was to exhort the sovereign to live in fear of the Deity, and to cherish tiiat up- right line of conduct and demeanour, which was deemed pleasing to the gods ; and they hoped, that, by avoiding the bitterness of reproach and by celebrating the praises of virtue, they might stimulate him to the exercise of those duties which he was expected to fulfil. The king then pro- ceeded to examine the entrails of the victim, and to perform the usual ceremonies of sacrifice ; and the hierogrammatcus, or sacred scribe, read those extracts from the holy writings which recorded the deeds and sayings of the most celebrated meu. It was recommended, that the prince should * Tliat the king could do no wrong is a nnich older notion than we generally imagine. Vidr Diod. i. 70. riii> im' /^(tmXin tioi> (yK\7iiiaTf)v ti^niinii'fin'or, &c. The title given to tliein, " living for ever," seeni.s also to bear analogy to the idea of the king ticrcr djjiiig. CHAP. III. RULES FOR HIS PRIVATE LIFE. 9.5S listen to that good advice which was dictated by experience, and attend to those lessons which were derived from the example or history of former monarchs ; and he was particularly enjoined to conform to a line of conduct which in other in- stances had proved beneficial to the state. But it was not in public alone that he was warned of his duty ; and the laws subjected every action of his private life to as severe a scrutiny as his be- haviour in the administration of affairs. The hours for washing, walking, and all the amuse- ments and occupations of the day, were settled with precision, and the quantity as well as the quality of his food were regulated by law : simplicity was required both in eating and drinking, and Diodorus affirms that their table only admitted the meat of oxen and geese. * A moderate allowance of wine was also permitted ; but all excess was forbidden and prevented, upon the principle that food was designed for the support of the body, and not for the gratification of an intemperate appetite. And, though we cannot admit the opinion of Plutarch t, who, on the authority of Eudoxus, affirms that winet was not allowed to the kings previous to the time of Psamaticus, this statement of Diodorus derives from it an additional testimony that the kings at all times conformed to the laws in private * They were tlie most usual meats ; but they had also the wild goat, gazelle, oryx, and wild fowl of various kinds, as we learn from the sculptures. "t" De Isid. et Osir. s. vi. X We find that as early as the time of Joseph tlie Egyptian kings drank wine ; since the chief butler of Pharaoh is mentioncVl in virtue of his office pouring out wine to the monarch. Gen. xl. 11. 254 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. 111. as well as in public life. In short, he adds, tlie regulations concerning food and temperance were of such a salutary nature, that one would ratlier imagine them the regimen of some learned phy- sician, who anxiously consulted the health of the prince, than an extract from a legislative code. But the most admirable part of their institutions, says the same historian, did not consist in sanatory res^ulations, which forbade tlie sov^erei^n to trans- gress the rules of temperance, nor has the conduct of the princes, who submitted themselves to such laws, the chief claim upon our admiration ; our praise is mainly due to those wise ordinances which prevented the chief of the state from judging or acting thoughtlessly, and from punishing any one through the impulse of anger, revenge, or any other unjust motive. And as he was thus con- strained to act in obedience to the laws, all punish- ments were inflicted according to real justice and impartiality. To persons habituated to the practice of virtue, these duties became at length a source of gratifl- cation, and they felt convinced that they tended as well to their own happiness as to the welfare of the state. They acknowledged the mischief which would arise from allowing the passions of men to be unbridled, and that love, anger, and other vio- lent impulses of the mind, being stronger than the recollection of duty, were capable of leading away those even who were well acquainted with the ])re- cepts of morality. Tlicy, therelorc, willingly sub- mitted to those rules of conduct already laid down CHAP. III. FUNERAL OF THE KING. 255 and sanctioned by competent legislators ; and by the practice of justice towards their subjects, they secured to themselves that good will which was due from children to a parent ; whence it followed that not only the college of priests but the whole Egyptian nation was as anxious for the welfare of the king as for that of their own wives and chil- dren, or whatever was most dear to them. And this, as Diodorus observes, was the main cause of the duration of the Egyptian state, which not only lasted long, but enjoyed the greatest prosperity, waging successful wars on distant nations, and enabled by immense riches, resulting from fo- reign conquest, to display a magnificence, in its provinces and cities, unequalled by that of any other country. Love and respect were not merely shown to the sovereign during his lifetime, but were con- tinued to his memory after his demise; and the manner in which his funeral obsequies were cele- brated tended to show, that, though their bene- fiictor was no more, they retained a grateful sense of his goodness, and admiration for his virtues. And what, says the historian, can convey a greater testimony of sincerity, free from all colour of dis- simulation, than the cordial acknowledgment of a benefit, when the person who conferred it no longer lives to witness the honour done to his memory ? On the death of every Egyptian king, a general mourning was instituted throughout the country ^56 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. for seventy-two days*, hymns commemorating liis virtues were sung, the temples were closed, sacri- fices were no longer offered, and no feasts or fes- tivals were celebrated during the whole of that period. The people tore their garments t, and, covering their heads with dust and mud, formed a No. 7. People throwing dust on their heads, in token of grief. procession of '200 or 300 persons of both sexes, who met twice a day in public to sing the funeral dirge. A general fast was also observed, and they neither allowed themselves to taste meat or wheat bread, and abstained, moreover, from wine and every kind of luxury. * Conf. the ciistoni of the Jews, :iiul Geii. 1. .'{. " The Eiiyptians mourned for Jacol) threescore and ten da^ys," for " so are iidlilled the days of tliose which are einhahned." f A common custom to the present day in rage and grief. Conf. the Scriptin-cs, passim. They liave different modes of rending their garments, according to tiie degree of anger, tlie excess of grief, or the display of feeHng recpiisite upon cacli occasion ; and thus, wlien 1)6- waiiing the U)ss of a parent, the rent is proportionably greater than wlicn mourning the death of an acquaintance. CHAP. III. FIRST CASTE. PIIIESTS. 257 In the meantime, the funeral was prepared, and on the last day the body was placed in state within the vestibule of the tomb, and an account was then given of the life and conduct of the deceased. It was permitted to any one present to offer himself as an accuser, and the voice of the people might prevent a sovereign enjoying the customary funeral obsequies ; a worldly ordeal, the dread of which tended to stimulate the Egyptian monarchs to the practice of their duty far more than any feeling inculcated by respect for the laws or the love of virtue. FIRST CASTE : THE PRIESTS. The Egyptians, as I have already observed, were divided into four principal castes : the sacerdotal order, the peasants*, the townsmen, and the com- mon people. Next to the king, the priests held the first rank, and from them were chosen his confidential and responsible advisers t, the judges, and all the principal officers of state. They asso- ciated with the monarch, whom they assisted in the performance of his public duties, and to whom they explained, from the sacred books, those moral lessons which were laid down for his conduct, and which he was required to observe j and by their * I have included the military under this general denomination on the authority of Diodorus ; but I suppose a great distinction existed in the subdivisions of the caste, and the military order, which was one of them, must have held a rank far above the others. f " The wise counsellors of Pharaoh," Isaiah, xix. 11. Diodorus, i. 7.3. VOL. I. S 258 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. great experience, their knowledge of the past, and their skill in augury and astronomy, they were sup- posed to presage future events, and to foresee an impending calamity, or the success of any under- taking. It was not one man or one woman, as Diodorus observes, who was appointed to the priesthood, but many were employed together in performing sacrifices and other ceremonies ; and each college of priests was distinguished according to the deity to whose service it belonged, or ac- cording to the peculiar office held by its members. The principal classes into which the sacerdotal order was divided have been already enumerated ; there were also many minor priests of various deities, as well as the scribes and priests of the kings*, and numerous other divisions of the caste. Nor should we omit the priestesses of tlie gods, or of the kings and queens, each of whom bore a title indicating her peculiar office. Of the former, the Pellices, or Pallacides, of Amun, are the most remarkable, as the importance of their post suffi- ciently proves ; and if we are not correctly in- formed of the real extent and nature of their duties, yet, since females of the noblest families, and prin- cesses, as well as the queens themselves, esteemed it an honour to perform them, we may conclude the post was one of the highest to which they could aspire in the service of religion. They are the same whom Herodotus mentions * (lonf. the Rosctta stone .mil tlic sculptures, as well as the papyri lutntioned bv Dr. Youiii;, Ilicroi,'. Lit. p. 72. CHAP. III. THE PALLACIDES OF AMUN. 259 as yovaixas if'r,7ag *, consecrated to the Theban Jove, whose sepulchres, said by Diodorus to have been about ten stadia from the tomb of Osyman- dyast, are still seen at Thebes, in a valley 3000 feet behind the ruins of Medeenet Haboo : and this fact strongly confirms, and is confirmed by, the evidence of the sculptures, which show them to have been females of the highest rank, since all the occupants of those tombs were either the wives or daughters of kings. Besides this class of priestesses, was another of similar rank, apparently a subdivision of the same, who fulfilled certain duties entrusted only to the wives and daughters of priests, and not unusually to members of the same family as the Pallacides. They had also the privilege of holding the sacred sistra in religious ceremonies, before the altar and on other occasions, and were attached to the service of the same deity, t The ridiculous story of their prostitution could only have originated in the depraved notions and ignorance of the Greeks, fond of the marvellous, and notorious as they were for a superficial ac- quaintance with the customs of foreign nations ; and it is unnecessary to request a sensible person to consider, whether it is more probable that women, who devoted themselves to the service of religion, among the most pious people of anti- quity §, and who held the rank and consequence * Herod, ii. 54. f Diod. i. 47. if See wood-cut, p. 260. § I mean, of course, of profane nations. s 2 260 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. Til. ^IS^'-I^^T.^IfrZ'" se o CHAP. III. PRIESTESSES. 26l necessarily enjoyed by the wives and daughters of a monarch, and of the principal nobles of a country, should have sacrificed every feeling of delicacy and virtue, or that the authors of the story were de- ceived, and perhaps intended to deceive others. Herodotus states that women were not eligible to the priesthood, either of a male or female deity, and that men were alone admitted to this post* ; but his remark evidently applies to the office of pontiff, or at least to some of the higher sacerdotal orders, from his referring in another placet to women devoted to the service of Amun, as well as from the authority of other writers. Diodorust, indeed, describes Athyrtis, the daughter of Sesos- tris, so well versed in divination that she foretold to her father the future success of his arms, and en- gaged him to prosecute his designs of conquest : her knowledge in these matters being sufficient to influence the conduct of the monarch, who was himself, in the capacity of high priest, well versed in all the secrets of religion : and her visions and omens were observed in the temple itself. Again, in the Rosetta stone, and the pa- pyri of Paris and Sig. D'Anastasy§, we find direct mention made of the priestesses of the queens. In the former, " Areia, the daughter of Diogenes, being priestess of Arsinoe, the daughter of Phila- delphus : and Eirene, the daughter of Ptolemy, priestess of Arsinoe, the daughter of Philopator : * Herod, ii. 39. f Herod, ii. 54. X Diod. i. 53. § Dr. Young's Hicrog. Literature, p. 72. and 65. s 3 £62 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. and Pyrrha, the daughter of Philinus, being canefora (or basket-bearer) of Berenice, the daugh- ter of Euergetes;" and in the latter, are **the priestess of Arsinoe, the father-loving:" and "the prize-bearer of Berenice Euergetes : the basket- bearer of Arsinoe Philadelphus : and the priestess of Arsinoe Eupator :" and those of the three Cleo- patras.* The same office usually descended from father to sont, but the grade was sometimes changed; and it is probable that even, when a husband was devoted to the service of one deity, a wife might perform the duties of priestess to another. They enjoyed important privileges, which extended to their whole family. They were exempt from taxes ; they consumed no part of their own income in any of their necessary expenses t ; and they had one of the three portions into which the land of Egypt was divided, free from all duties. They were provided for from the public stores, out of which they received a stated allowance of corn and all the other necessaries of life ; and we find that when Pharaoh, by the advice of Joseph, took all the land of the Egyptians in lieu of corn §, the priests were not obliged to make the same sacrifice of their landed property, nor was the tax of the fifth part of the produce entailed u])on it, as on * In p. 72. of Dr. ^'ouiif,'. f Diod. i. 7.'i. Proofs of tliis arc frequently met witli in the sculp- tures ; but I believe that thou};li a priest was son oi'a priest, tlie peculiar office held i)v a son may sometimes have been diHerent in point of rank from that of his hither. X llerodot. ii. 37. § IJcn. xlvii. W. 22. CHAP. III. LANDED PROPERTY OF THE PRIESTS. 263 that of the other people.* Diodorus states, that the land was divided into three portions, one of which belonged to the king, the other to the priests, and the third to the military order ; and I am inclined to think this exclusive right of free- hold property is alluded to in the sculptures of the Egyptian tombs. And if the only persons there represented as landed proprietors are the kings, priests, and military ment, this accordance of the sculptures with the scriptural account is peculiarly interesting, as it recalls the fact of Pharaoh's having bought all the land of the Egyptians, who farmed it afterwards for the proprietor of the soil, on condition of paying him a fifth of the annual produce ; though Herodotus would lead us to infer that Sesostris divided the lands among the people ti and having allotted to each a certain por- tion, received an annual rent from the peasant by whom it was cultivated. In the sacerdotal, as among the other classes, a great distinction existed between the different grades, and the various orders of priests ranked according to their peculiar office. The chief and high priests held the first and most honourable station ; but he who offered sacrifice in the temple appears to have had, at least for the time, the * Gen. Ixvii. 26. f The priests and soldiers had an allowance from the government ; though the latter are not mentioned as having profited by this dnring the famine of Joseph. J Herodot. ii. 189. J'ide infra, on the lawgiver ; and supra, p. 74. Unless he means that the crown lands were portioned out, and given to the peasants to farm, on payment of a certain rent, or a fifth of the produce, as mentioned in Genesis, xlvii. 26. s 4 264 THE ANCIICNT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. highest post, and one that was usually filled by the kings themselves. It is, however, probable that the chief priests took it by turns to officiate on those occasions, and that the honour of doing sacrifice was not confined to one alone ; but the priests of one deity were not called upon to per- form the ceremonies in the temple of another, though no injunction prevented any of them making offerings to the contemplar gods, and still less to Osiris in his capacity of judge of Amenti. Some also, who were attached to the service of certain divinities, held a rank far above the rest ; and the priests of the great gods were looked upon with far greater consideration than those of the minor deities. In many provinces and towns, those who belonged to particular temples were in greater repute than others ; and it was natural that the priests who were devoted to the service of the pre- siding deity of the place should be preferred by the inhabitants, and be treated with greater honour. Thus the priests of Amun held the first rank at Thebes, those of Pthah at Memphis, of Re at Heliopolis, and the same throughout the nomes of which these were the chief cities. One of the principal grades of the priesthood was the ])rophets. They were particularly versed in all matters relating to religion, the laws, tlie worshi]) of the gods, and the discipline of the whole order; and they not only })resided over the temple and the sacred rites, but directed the ma- nagement of the ])riest]y revenues.* In the solenni * Clciii. Ak'X. Strom, i. [). 7.jS, CIIAIMII. PROPHETS PRIVILEGES OF PRIESTS. QG5 })rocessions, their part was conspicuous ; they bore the holy hydria^ or vase, which was frequently carried by the king himself on similar occasions ; and when any new regulations were introduced in affairs of religion, they, in conjunction with the chief priests, were the first whose opinion was con- sulted, as we find in the Rosetta stone, where, in passing a decree regarding the honours to be conferred on Ptolemy Epiphanes, *' the chief priests and prophets" headed the conclave assembled in the temple of Memphis.* The sacred office of the priests, by giving them the exclusive right to regulate all spiritual matters, as well as to announce the will, threaten the wrath, and superintend the worship, of the gods, was cal- culated to ensure them universal respect ; and they were esteemed for a superior understanding, and for that knowledge which could only be acquired by the peculiar nature of their education. In con- sideration of the services they were bound to per- form in the temples, for the welfare of the country and of its inhabitants, they were provided with ample revenues, besides numerous free gifts ; for the Egyptians deemed it right that the administra- tion of the honours paid to the gods should not be fluctuating, but be conducted always by the same persons, in the same becoming manner, and that those, who were above all their fellow-citizens * " The chief priests and prophets, and those who have access to the adytum, to clothe the gods, and the pterophorae, and the sacred scribes, and all the other priests assembled in the temple at Memphis, established the following decree." Ros. St. line 6. S66 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. in wisdom and knowledge, ought not to be below any of them in the comforts and conveniences of life. A\'ith a similar view, a stated portion was as- signed also to the kings, in order that they might be enabled to reward the services of those who merited well of their country, and tliat by having ample means for supporting their own splendour and dignity, they might not burthen their subjects with oppressive and extraordinary taxes.* The chief cause of the ascendency they acquired over the minds of the people was the importance attached to the mysteries, to a thorough under- standing of which the priests could alone arrive ; and so sacred did they hold those secrets that many members of the sacerdotal order were not admitted to a participation of them, and those alone were selected for initiation who had proved themselves virtuous and deserving of the honour : a fact, satis- factorily proved by tlie evidence of Clement of Alexandria, wlio says, " tlie Egyptians neither entrusted their mysteries to every one, nor degraded the secrets of divine matters by disclosing them to the profane, reserving them for the heir ap})arent of the throne t, and for such of the priests as ex- celled in virtue and wisdom." t From all we can learn on tlie subject, it appears that the mysteries consisted of two degrees, deno- minated the greater and the less § ; and in order to * Diod. i. 7.'}. + If of the priestly order. :|; (!lein. Alex, strom. i. j). ()7(). He adds^ " Therefore, in their liiddeii character, the eiiiL^iiias of the I'>p;y|)tiaiis arc very similar to those of the .K'ws." § Like the lileu^^iiiiaii, wliieli were l)orrc)\ved from Kgyi)!. CHAP. III. THE GREATER AND LESS MYSTERIES. ^l&] become qualified for admission into the higher class, it was necessary to have passed through those of the inferior degree : and each of them was probably divided into ten different grades. It was necessary that the character of the candidate for initiation should be pure and unsullied ; and novitiates were commanded to study those lessons which tended to purify the mind, and to encourage morality. The honour of ascending from the less to the greater mysteries was as highly esteemed as it was difficult to obtain: no ordinary qualification recommended the aspirant to this important privilege ; and inde- pendent of enjoying an acknowledged reputation for learning and morality, he was required to un- dergo the most severe ordeal*, and to show the greatest moral resignation ; but the ceremony of passing under the knife of the Hierophantt, was merely emblematic of the regeneration of the neophyte. That no one except the priests was privileged to initiation into the greater mysteries, is evident from the fact of a prince, and even the heir apparent, if of the military order, not being made partaker of those important secrets, nor instructed in them until his accession to the throne, when, in virtue of his kingly office, he became a member of the priest- hood and the head of the religion. It is not, how- * I do not allude to the method of frightening the novice, wiiich I do not suppose to have been practised on these occasions, especially in the initiation of the members of the priestly order; if, indeed, this was ever done in Egypt before the time of the Romans. f I suppose some of the headless figures in the tombs of the kings, at Thebes, refer to this ceremony. ^08 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. ever, less certain that, at a later period, many besides the priests, and even some Greeks, were admitted to the lesser mysteries ; yet in these cases also their advancement through tlie different grades must have depended on a strict conformance to pre- scribed rules. On the education of tlie Egyptians Diodorus* makes the following remarks : — '* The children of the priests are taught two different kinds of wri- ting t, — what is called the sacred, and the more general ; and they pay great attention to geometry and arithmetic. For the river, changing the ap- pearance of the country very materially every year, is the cause of many and various discussions among neighbouring proprietors about the extent of their property ; and it would be difficult for any person to decide upon tlieir claims without geo- metrical reasoning, founded on actual observation. Of arithmetic they have also frequent need, both in their domestic economy, and in the application of geometrical theorems, besides its utility in the cultivation of astronomical studies ; for the orders and motions of the stars are observed at least as * Diodor. i. 81. Conf. Ilerod. ii. 'M. " They have two sorts of ■writiiif^, the sacred and tlie demotic." -j- Pcrha[)s Diodorus and Herodotus lioth refer to tlie hieratic and enchorial, or demotic, without considering the hieroiilyphic ; but Por- phyry and Clement of Alexandria are more explicit. The former states that I'ytlKir^oras (when in l''.gypt) became accjuainted with the three kinds of writini;, the epistolic, the hicr()i,dypliic, and the S3nib()lic; and the latter says, " that in the education of" the I-'i^yptians three styles of writinj; are taught : the first is called the epistolary (enchorial, or tlemotic); the second, the sacerdotal (hieratic), which the sacred scribes employ; and the third, the hieroglyphic. Porph. in Vita Pythag., p. I.'j. <'leni. Alex, strom. I), vol. ii. p. ().')7. The l\gyptian languages and characters I shall have occasion to notice hereafter. CHAP. III. EDUCATION OF THE EGYPTIAKS. !^f)l) industriously by the Egyptians as by any people whatever ; and they keep record of the motions of each for an incredible number of years, the study of this science having been, from the remotest times, an object of national ambition with them. They have also most punctually observed the mo- tions, periods, and stations of the planets, as well as the powers which they possess with respect to the nativities of animals, and what good or evil in- fluences they exert ; and they frequently foretel what is to happen to a man throughout his life, and not uncommonly predict the failure of crops, or an abundance, and the occurrence of epidemic dis- eases among men and beasts : foreseeing also earth- quakes and floods, the appearance of comets, and a variety of other things which appear impossible to the multitude. It is said that the Chaldaeans in Babylon are derived from an Egyptian colony, and have acquired their reputation for astrology by means of the information obtained from the priests in Egypt. But the generality of the common people learn only from their parents or relations tliat which is required for the exercise of their peculiar profes- sions, as we have already shown ; a few only being taught anything of literature, and those principally the better classes of artificers." Hence it appears they were not confined to any particular rules in the mode of educating their chil- dren, and it depended upon a parent to choose the degree of instruction he deemed most suitable to their mode of life and occupations, as among other civilized nations. ^i70 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. In their minute observations respecting every event of consequence, Herodotus states that the Egyptians surpassed all other men ; and " when any thing occurs," says the historian*, "they put it down in writing, and pay particular attention to the circumstances which follow it ; and if in pro- cess of time any similar occurrence takes place, they conclude it will be attended with the same results." If the outward show and pomp of religion, for which the ancient Egyptians were so noted, ap- pear to us unnecessary, and inconsistent with real devotion, we must make suitable allowance for the manners of an eastern nation, and bear in mind that the priests were not guilty of inculcating max- ims they did not themselves follow ; but on the contrary, by their upright conduct, and by im- posing on themselves duties far more severe than those required from any other class of the com- munity, they set an example to the people by which they could not fail to benefit. And the strict purification of body and mind they were bound to undergo, both as members of those sacred institutions, and as persons devoted to the service of the gods, not only obtained for them tlie esteem of the rest of the Egyptians, but tended also to ameliorate their own character ; and their piety and virtue t were as conspicuous as their learning. * Ilcrod. ii. 32. -f- Tlioiii,'li iiiiiiiy enjoyed tlic comforts and luxuries of tliis world, it docs not follow that they failed, on tlxis account, in the practice of morality. CHAP. Iir. CONDUCT OF PRIESTS TO THE PEOPLE. 271 We may, perhaps, feel disposed to blame the Egyptian priests for their exclusiveness in the study of religion, and in keeping concealed from the people those secrets which it imparted j but it was argued that being fully engaged in the temporal occupations of the world, the theories of metaphy- sical speculation were unnecessary for their welfare, and incompatible with their employments. They deemed it sufficient to warn them of their duty, and urge them to conform to the rules laid down for the encouragement of morality ; and the dread both of a temporal, and a future, ordeal, was held out to them as an inducement to lead a just and virtuous life. Restrained by the fear of punishment hereafter, and by the hope of a happier state, and dreading the displeasure of their rulers and the severity of the laws, they were necessarily taught to command their passions, and to practise, or at least to appreciate, virtue ; and respect for their spiritual pastors being heightened by the idea of their possessing superior talents, they obeyed their commands with deference and submission. It appears to have been the object of the priests to enhance the value of their knowledge, and thereby more easily to gain an ascendency over the minds of a superstitious people ; a measure which naturally strikes us as illiberal and despotic : but if we remember how much the force of habit and the sanctity of established laws serve to recon- cile men to the form of government under which they have long lived, we cease to be surprised at the fondness of the Egyptians for their ancient in- 272 THE ANCIKNT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. stitutions ; and if they were so well satisfied with them that every innovation was resisted, and the Ptolemies and Caesars vainly endeavoured to sug- gest improvements in their laws, we may conclude that the system and regulations of the Egyptian priests were framed with wisdom, and tended to the happiness as well as to the welfare of the people. And when the members of the legislative body are possessed of superior talents, even though their measures are absolute, they frequently govern with great benefit to the community; and this paternal authority is certainly more desirable in the ruling power than physical force. Some will also question the policy or the justice of adopting such exclusive measures in the study of religion ; but we may be allowed to doubt the prudence of allowing every one, in a nation * peculiarly addicted to speculative theory, to dabble in so abstruse a study. We have observed the injury done to the morals of society in Greece, at Rome, and in other places, by the fanciful inter- pretation of mysteries and hidden truths, which being misunderstood, were strangely perverted ; and licence in religious speculation has always been the cause of schism, and an aberration from the purity of the original. At a later period, when every one was permitted to indulge in super- stitious theories, the Egyptians of all classes bc- * Aniniianus Marcflliniis (lib. xxii. c. xvi.) says, " Homines TEfiyptii ijlcricjiic siil)f'H.stiili sunt, ct atrati, niagiscjuc niicstiores, graci- lenti et aridi, ail singiilos niotiis cxcandcsccntcs, confrovcrsi, el rrpaa- cofics accrrinu." CHAP. III. THEIU SYSTEINI CARRIED TOO FAR. 2/3 came notorious for their wild and fanciful notions, which did not fail eventually to assail Christianity, for a time tainting the purity of that religion ; and we find from Vopiscus, that the Emperor Aurelian considered them "smatterers in abstruse science, prophecy, and medicine ; eager for innovation, which formed the subject of their songs and ballads ; always turning their talents for poetry and epigram against the magistrates, and ready to assert their pretended liberties." There is therefore less reason to censure the Egyptian priests for their conduct in these mat- ters, though a little insight into the foundation of their theological system would have been more beneficial to the people than the blind creed of an imaginary polytheism, which was contrary to the spirit of the religion they themselves professed, but which the people were taught or left to believe. For it was unjust and cruel to conceal under the fabulous guise of a plurality of gods that knowledge of the attributes and omnipotence of the Deity which the priests themselves possessed*; and it was iniquitous to degrade the nature of the divinity by bringing it down to the level of the gross im- aginations of the people, when they had the means of raising their minds, by giving them an insight into some of tliose truths which have merited the name of "the wisdom of the Egyptians.'* The unity of the Deity would have been a doctrine which all classes might have been taught ; and the * I allude to the priests of an early epoch, and not in the time of the Romans. VOL. T. T QJ4) THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. eternal existence and invisible power of Ihoah* would have offered a higher notion of the Cause and Ruler of all things than any mention of his attributes, or the fanciful representation of a god in the sculptures of their temples. It would have been unnecessary to explain the nature or peculiar occupation of a trinity, the mysterious connection between truth and the creative power (which is referred to in their sculptures) ; and imprudent to confuse their ideas with the notion of interme- diate temporal and intellectual agents, or with the abstruse science of numbers and geometrical emblems. If the priests were anxious to establish a cha- racter for learning and piety, they were not less so in their endeavours to excel in propriety of outward demeanour, and to set forth a proper ex- ample of humility and self-denial; and if not in their houses, at least in their mode of living, tiiey were remarkable for simplicity and abstinence. They committed no excesses either in eating or drinking ; their food was plain, and in a stated quantity!, and wine t was used with the strictest regard to moderation. And so fearful were they lest the body should not " sit liglit upon the soul§," • I use tlic Hebrew luiine of the deity in unit}-, " the Being of Beings," " who is and was ; " Jehovah (Ychonali) ; tliis word has been still t'urtlier changed In' our custom of gi\ing J the ft)rce of (1: of whicli there are many instances, as Jaeol), .ludali, jot, and otliers. t llcrodot. ii. :i7. l During tlie fasts, which were fre(|uent, I'hitarcli says tliey ab- stained Irom it entirely. (IMut. de Is. s. vi.) The .Jewish |)riests were not permitted to drink wine when they went " into the tabernacle of the congregation." Levit. x. 9. § I'iut. dc Is. s. V. ; on the principle of plus dc corps, nioiits (Tcsimt. CHAP. III. FOOD OF THE PRIESTS. 275 and excess should cause a tendency to increase " the corporeal man," that they paid a scrupulous atten- tion to the most trifling particulars of diet : and similar precautions were extended even to the dei- fied animals: Apis, if we may believe Plutarch*, not being allowed to drink the water of the Nile, since it was thought to possess a fattening property. They were not only scrupulous about the quan- tity, but the quality of their food ; and certain viands were alone allowed to appear at table. Above all meats, that of swine was particularly obnoxious ; and fish both of the sea and the Nile was forbidden themt, though so generally eaten by the rest of the Egyptians. And indeed, on the 9tli of the month Thotht, when a religious cere- mony obliged all the people to eat a fried fish be- fore the door of their houses, the priests were not even then expected to conform to the general custom, and they were contented to substitute the ceremony of burning theirs at the appointed time. Beans they held in utter abhorrence ; and Herodotus affirms § that " they were never sown in the country; and if they grew spontaneously, they neither formed an article of food, nor even if cooked were ever eaten by the Egyptians." But this aversion, which originated in a supposed sanitary regulation, and which was afterwards so * Plut. de Is. s. V. t P3'thagoras borrowed his aversion to fish froiii Egypt. Plut. Symp. viii. 8. J PUitarch says, " the first month," which was Thoth. The 1st of Thoth coincided, at the time of the Roman conquest, with the 29th of August. Phit. de Is. s. vii. Vide Herodot ii. 37. $ Herodot. ii. 37. T 2 276 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. scrupulously adopted by Pythagoras, " did not," as I have already had occasion to observe*, " preclude their cultivation ;" and Diodorust expressly states, that some only abstained from them, as from others of the numerous pulse and vegetables which abounded in Egypt. Of these, lentils, peas, gar- lick, leeks, and onionst were the most objection- able, and no priest was permitted to eat them under any pretence ; but that the prohibition re- garding them, as well as certain meats, was con- fined to the sacerdotal order, is evident from the statements of many ancient writers ; and even swine were§, if we may believe Plutarch |!, not for- bidden to the other Egyptians at all times : " for those who sacrifice a sow to Typho once a year, at the full moon, afterwards eat its flesh." It is a remarkable fact that onions, as well as the first fruits of their lentils^, were admitted among the offerings placed upon tlie altars of the gods, together with gourds**, cakes, beef, goose, or wild fowl, grapes, figs, wine, and the head of the victim ; and they were sometimes arranged in a hollow circular bunch, which, descending upon the table or altar, enveloped and served as a cover * In my Eijypt and Tlicbcs, p. 210. f Diod. i. 89. i l*lut. s. viii. Diod. i. 81. Juv. sat. xv. " Porriim ct cepc ncfas violarc ac Irani^crc nior.sn." § On the day ol" the full moon, says Hcrodotns, tlic |)c'ople cat part of the victim they have sacrificed to that deity, i)nt t)M no otiier occa- sion do tiiey taste tiic meat of .swine, ii. 47. II Pint, de Is. s. viii. 11 They were offered in themontli of Me.sore (Angnst). Pint, de Is. s. Ixviii. *♦ Cncnrbita lagenaria, y, friictn longiorc, ednli, of Limi. Arab, (larra towecl. CHAP. III. ABSTINENCE OF THE PRIESTS. 277 to whatever was placed upon it. And the privilege of presenting them in this form appears to have been generally enjoyed by that class of priests who wore the leopard-skin dress. * 7?g-3 No. 9. Mode of tying up the onions for some offerings. In general, "the priests abstained from most sorts of pulse, from mutton, and swine's flesh ; and in tlieir more solemn purifications, even ex- cluded salt from their meals f ; " but some vegetables were considered lawful food, being preferred by them for their wholesome nature, and it is certain that the leguminous productions and fruits of Egypt are frequently introduced into the sculptures, and are noticed by Pliny and other authors 1: as abun- dant, and of the most excellent quality. In their ablutions as in their diet, they were * This spotted skin has been mistaken for that of the vtf3pic, or fawn. Pint, de Is. s. xxxv. t Pint, de Is. s. V. j When Alexandria was taken by Amer, 4000 persons were engaged in selling vegetables in that city. T 3 27S THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. equally severe, and they maintained the strictest observance of numerous religious customs. They bathed twice a day and twice during the night*; and some who pretended to a more rigid ob- servance of religious duties, washed themselves with water which had been tasted by the ibis, sup- posed in consequence to bear an unquestionable evidence of its purity ; and shaving the head and the whole body every third day, they spared no pains to promote the cleanliness of their persons, without indulging in the luxuries of the bath.t A grand ceremony of purification took place previous and preparatory to their fasts, many of which lasted from seven to forty-two dayst, and sometimes even a longer period : during which time they abstained entirely from animal food, from herbs and vegetables, and above all from the indulgence of the passions. DRESSES. Their dress was simple ; but the robes of cere- mony were grand and imposing, and each grade was distinguished by its peculiar costume. The high priest who superintended the immol- ating of the victims, the processions of the sacred boats or arks, the presentation of the offerings at tlic altar §, or at funerals, and the anointing of the * Ilcrodot. ii. .T/. Porphyry says thrice a day, and the noctiinial abhitions wiTc only rcciiiirt'd on certain occasions. -|- It is sni)[)osc(l that llonicr alhidcs to tliis when s])caking of tlie priests of Jove (Il.xvi. 2:iH.), thon;^ii lie describes tiieni with unwashed fcrf: — " niKpi ^t ^tWni 'Hat vaiovi^ vjTO(pi]Tai avnrToiroStQ, x"/'f"n'»'f<'." I Porphyr. de Abstinentia, 1. iv. s.7. § Probably in the cai)acity of priest to the lung. CHAP. III. DRESS OF THE PRIESTS. 279 king, was covered with a sort of mantle made of an entire leopard skin ; and this badge was also attached to the dress of the monarch when en- T 4 280 THE ANCIENT EGYPriANS. CHAP. HI. gaged in a similar office. Various insignia were worn by them, according to their rank or the ceremony in which they were engaged ; and neck- laces, bracelets, garlands, and other ornaments were put on during the religious ceremonies in the temples. Their dresses were made of linen, ^vhich, as Plutarch observes, is perfectly consistent with the customs of men anxious to rid themselves of all na- tural impurities ; for certainly, he adds, it would be absurd for those who take so much pains to remove hair and all other superfluities from the body, to wear clothes made of the wool or hair of animals. Their prejudice, however, against woollen gar- ments was confined to the under robes, it being lawful for them to put on a woollen upper garment for the purpose of a cloak ; and cotton dresses were sometimes worn by the priests, to whom, if we may believe Pliny*, they were particularly agreeable. But no one was allowed to be buried in a woollen robe, from its engendering worms, which would in- jure the body ; nor could any priest enter a temple without previously taking off this part of his dress, t Their sandals were made of the papyrus t antl })alm leaves, and the simplicity of their habits extended even to the bed on which they slept. It was sometimes a simple skin extended upon the bare ground § ; sometimes it consisted of a sort of wicker work made of palm branches ||, on which * Plin. xix. I. J Iciodotns sa^s tlu'v only wore linen, iii. .T/. -|- Ilcrod. ii. HI. ^ C'onf. Herod, ii. 37. § l\iistatli. ill Homer II. xvi. 2.35. II Mo doiil)t the same as tiic i-fij/iisa ol" the present day, which is so generally used for bedsteads in l'>f;yi't- I'orphyry is rij^lit in saying the palm braneli (in Aiwh'u- g/rcr/) was called /w/. Lib. iv. s. 7. CHAP. III. HABITS OF THE PRIESTS. 281 they s])read a mat or skin ; and their head, says Porphyry, was supported by a half cyhnder of wood, in Heii of a pillow.* The same mode of resting the head was common to all the Egyptians, and a considerable number of these stools t have been found in the tombs of Thebes : generally of sycamore, acacia, or tama- risk wood ; or of alabaster, not inelegantly formed, and frequently ornamented with coloured hiero- glyphics, t In Abyssinia, and in parts of Upper Ethiopia, they still adopt the same support for the head ; and the materials of which they are made are either wood, stone, or common earthenware. Nor are they peculiar to Abyssinia and the valley of the Nile : the same custom prevails in far distant countries ; and w^e find them used in Japan, China, and Ashantee §, and even in the island of Otaheite, where they are also of w^ood, but longer and less concave than those of Africa. Of the peculiar dresses worn by the different classes of priests I shall speak hereafter in describ- ing the costume of the Egyptians, the preceding- remarks being merely introduced in connection with the habits and character of the sacerdotal caste. Though excesses in their mode of living, and all external display of riches were avoided by the * Vide infra, on the furniture of the houses. t It is remarkable that the ancient Egyptians denominated them Jcoorsee (Jwrsi), a name still applied by the Arabs to a stool, or chair. J Vide siij)ra, p. 214'. § Those of the Chinese and Japanese are also of wood, but they are furnished with u small cubhion. 282 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. priests, we cannot reconcile the great distinction maintained between the different classes of society, or the disproportionate extent of their possessions, with the boasted simplicity of their habits ; and judging from the scale of their villas, and the wealth they enjoyed, we feel disposed to withhold much of that credit we should otherwise have bestowed upon the Egyptian priesthood. Besides their religious duties, the priests fulfilled the important offices of judges* and legislators, as well as counsellors of the monarch ; and the laws, as among many other nations of the Eastt, forming part of the sacred books, could only be adminis- tered by members of their order. But as the office of judge and the nature of their laws will be mentioned in another part of this work, it is un- necessary to enter upon the subject at present, and I therefore proceed to notice the military class, which was the first subdivision of the succeeding or second caste. SOLDIERS. Next in rank to the priests were the military. To them was assigned one of the three portions into wliicli the land of Egypt was divided by an edict of Sesostrist, in order, says l)iodorus§, "that those who exposed themselves to danger in the field might be more ready to undergo tlie hazards of • Elicn. Hist. Var. 1. xiv. c. ;M. •j- The Jews, Moslems, and otiiers. :j; Diodor. i. ./l. § J)iotlor. i. 73. CHAP. III. THE MILITARY CLASS. 283 war, from the interest they felt in the country as occupiers of the soil ; for it would he absurd to commit the safety of the community to those who possessed nothing which they were anxious to preserv^e. Besides, the enjoyment of comfort has a great tendency to increase population ; and the result being that the military class becomes more numerous, the country does not stand in need of foreign auxiliaries : and their descendants receiv- ing privileges handed down to them from their forefathers, are thus encouraged to emulate their valour; and studying from their childhood to follow the advice and example of their flithers, they be- come invincible by the skill and confidence they acquire." For it was forbidden that a child should follow a different profession from that of his father, or that the son of a soldier should belong to any other profession than that of arms. * Whether the Egyptians had any military schools, where their youth were instructed in the science of war, is uncertain ; though in the account given by Diodorus of the early education of Sesostris, there is distinct allusion to a system, which, from its having succeeded so satisfactorily, may have been continued by that monarch and his suc- cessors. And when we consider that the sole edu- cation required for the children of soldiers was such as prepared them for their future duties, and that they were obliged to follow the profession of their father, we shall find much stronger reasons for believing those establishments to have been set on * Herodot. ii. 1G6. 284 THE ANCIENT EGYTTIANS. CHAP. III. foot by the Egyptians, than by any other people of antiquity. Each man was obliged to provide himself with the necessary arms, oftensive and defensive, and every thing requisite for a campaign ; and they were expected to hold themselves in readiness for taking the field when required, or for garrison duty. The principal garrisons were posted in the fortified towns of Pelusium, Marea, Eilethyas*, Hieraconpolisf, Syene, Elephantine, and other in- termediate places ; and a large portion of the army was frequently called upon by their warlike mo- narchs to invade a foreign country, or to suppress those rebellions t which occasionally broke out in the conquered provinces. Herodotus tells us each soldier, whether on duty or no, was allowed 12 aroune of land §, free from all charge and tribute ; which was, probably the mode of dividing the portion mentioned by Diodorusll, though it may of course be inferred that every one obtained a share proportionate to his rank. And this system of portioning out land (but more par- ticularly of a conquered country), and making allotments for soldiers, has been prevalent at all times tlu'oughout the East. Anotlier important privilege was tliat no soldier^ * So I concliide, fioiii tlic fortified cnclosiiics tliat reinaiii tlicrc, dis- tinct from tiic wails of tlic town. ■f Tliis and iMlctliyas arc nearly opposite each other, and command the passage of the valley. J Diodor. i. 47., and the sciilj)tin-es. § TIcrodot. ii. Ids. Tlic aroma was a scjnarc measure, containing 10,000 cubits. II Diodor. i. 54-. 73. 11 Diod.i. 7y. CHAP. III. AMOUNT OF ARMY. THE GUARDS. 285 could be cast into prison for debt ; and this law, though it extended to every Egyptian citizen, was particularly provided by Bocchoris in favour of the military, who, it was urged, could not be arrested by the civil power without great danger to the state, of which they were the chief defence. The whole military force, consisting of 410,000*, was divided into two corps, the Calasiries and Hermotybies. They furnished a body of men to do the duty of royal guards, 1000 of each being annually selected for that purpose ; and each soldier had an additional allowance of five minae of bread t, with two of beeft, and four arusters of wine§, as daily rations, during the period of his service. The Calasiries were the most numerous, and amounted to 250,000 men, at the time that Egypt was most populous. They inhabited the nomes of Thebes, Bubastis, Aphthis, Tanis, Mendes, Seben- nytus, Athribis, Pharbsethis, Thmuis, Onuphis, Anysis, and the Isle of Myecphoris, which was op- posite Bubastis; and the Hermotybies, who lived in those of Busiris, Sais, Chemmis, Papremis, and the Isle of Prosopitis, and half of Natho, made up the remaining 160,000. It was here that they abode while retired from active service, and in these nomes the farms or portions of land before alluded * Herodot. ii. 165, 166. Diodorus (i. 34.) gives a much larger amount to the army of Sesostris, which, he sa3S, consisted of600,U00 foot, besides 24,o6o horse, and 27,000 chariots. He must have in- cluded the auxiliaries. f 5 lbs. 3 oz. 1 dwt. J 2 lbs. 2 oz. 8 grs. § If the aruster is the same as the cot} la, these four vvill be little Ices than 2 pints English. 286 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. to were probably situated: which were not only a substitute for regular pay*, but tended to en- courage habits of industry, and to instil a taste for the occupations of a country life. For the Egyptians justly considered that such employments promoted the strength of the body, as much as the idleness of a town life injured the physical and moral constitution, and the soldier was taught to look upon the pursuits of a mechanic as unmanly and contemptible. Indeed they were absolutely forbidden to engage in any such occupation ; as in Sparta, they made war their profession, and deemed it the most worthy pursuit of generous and free- born souls. They did not, however, confine the exercise of trades to slaves, like the Lacedaemo- nians, because the number of the military class alone, in a country so well peopled as Egypt, sufficed for all the purposes of defence ; but their prejudices against mechanical employments, as far as regarded the soldier, were equally strong as in the rigid Sparta. The sports of the field, and gymnastic exercises were recommended, as beneficial to their pliysical force, and as diversions peculiarly suited to the active habits of a soldier ; and mockfights, wrest- ling, lea})ing, cudgelHng, and numerous feats of strength t, and agility, were their constant amuse- ment. • Tlic military chiefs, like tlic kings ami priests, let out their lands to hiisi)aiii. Phalanx of heavy infantry. as well as the light mfantry were taught either to act in line, or to adopt more open movements, ac- cording to the nature of the ground, or the state of the enemy's battle. u 3 294 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. STANDARDS. No. 15. Ko-yptiiiii St.iiulards. Tliebct. Each battalion, and indeed each comj)any, liad its particular standard, which represented a sacred SLd)ject, — a king's name, a sacred boat, an animal*, * Similar to tlicsc were some of the (Jrcek l)aiiners. Those ol' Athens hail an owl, of Thtlies a spliinx, &c. CHAP. III. STANDARDS. ^95 or some emblematic device ; and the soldiers either followed or preceded it, according to the service on which they were employed, or as circumstances required. The objects chosen for their standards were such as were regarded by the troops with a superstitious feeling of respect ; and it is natural to suppose they must have contributed greatly to the success of their arms *, since every soldier was ready to stand by and defend what prejudice as well as duty forbade him to abandon ; and their wonderful effects in rallying desponding courage, and in urging men to court danger for their preservation, have not only been recorded in the history of Roman battles, where a general frequently ordered a standard to be thrown into tlie opposing ranks to stimulate his troops to victory, but are witnessed in every age. And being raised, says Diodorust, on a spear (or staff), which an officer bore aloft t, each standard served to point out to the men their respective regiments, enabled them more effectually to keep their ranks, encouraged them to the charge, and offered a conspicuous rallying point in the confu- sion of battle. And though we cannot agree with Plutarch §, that the worship of animals originated in the emblem chosen by Osiris to designate the different corps into which he divided his army, it is satisfactory to have his authority for concluding * Solomon, in his Song, says, " Terrible as an army with banners." vi. 4. They were used by the Jews. Ps. xx. 5. Isaiah, xiii. 2. t Diodor. i. 86. t Vide wood-cut No. 13. J Plut. de Isid. s. 72. His argument is merely that the animal was adored by the band to which it belonged. This could not affect the worship paid them by the cities of Egypt. U 4 296 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. that the custom of using these standards was of an early date in the history of Egypt. The post of standard-bearer was at all times of the greatest importance. He was an officer, and a man of approved valour ; and in the Egyptian army he was sometimes distinguished by a peculiar badge suspended from his neck, which consisted of two lions, the emblems of courage, and other two devices apparently representing flies, so poetically described by Homer as characteristic of an un- daunted hero, who, though frequently repulsed, as eagerly returns to the attack. * Besides the ordinary standards of regiments I ought to mention the royal banners, and those borne by the principal persons of the household I 2 OtHccrs of till- household. * Tlomtr, II. p, 570.: — " Kfie (11 fiviin; ^iipnor in nTiiOtfrnii' n'liKtr, Uti K(ti npyn/in'ti fitiXd TTffi \()iiii<; ni'0(>i>ntoin, CHAP. III. ARMS. 297 near the king himself. The pecuhar office of carrying these and the Jlabella was reserved for the royal princes or the sons of the nobility, who may be considered the staff corps. They had the rank of generals, and were either despatched to take command of a division, or remained in attendance upon the monarch ; and their post during the royal triumph, the coronation, or other grand ceremonies, was close to his person. Some bore the fans of state behind the throne, or supported the seat on which he was carried to the temple ; others held the sceptre, and waved flabella before him ; and the privilege of serving on his right or left hand depended on the grade they enjoyed. But as the processions in which the flabella were carried apper- tain more properly to the ceremonies than to the military aflairs of the Egyptians, I shall defer the description of them for the present. The troops were summoned by sound of trum- pet * ; and this instrument, as well as the long drum, was used by the Egyptians at the earliest period into which the sculptures have given us an insight: trumpeters being frequently represented in the battle scenes of Thebes, sometimes standing still, and summoning the troops to form, and at others in the act of leading them to a rapid charge. t ARMS. The offensive weapons of the Egyptians were the bow, spear, two species of javelin, sling, a short * Vide supra, wood-cut No. 13. -f- Vide irfia, on military music. 298 thp: ancient Egyptians. CHAP. III. and straight sword, dagger, knife, falchion, or en- sis falcatus, axe or hatchet, battle-axe, pole-axe, mace or club, and the lissdn *, a curved stick similar to that still in use among the Ababdeh and modern Ethiopians. Their defensive arms consisted of a helmet of metal, or, quilted l^, headpiece ; a cuirass, or coat of armour, made of metal plates, or quilted with metal bands; and an ample shield. But they hadno greaves ; and the only coverings to the arms were a part of the cuirass, forming a short sleeve, and extending about half way to the elbow. The soldier's chief defence was his shield, which, in length, was equal to about half his height, and generally double its own breadth. It was most commonly covered with bull's hide, having the No. 17. Tlichfs . • Lhsi'in is the modern name of tlii.s \\c:i|)<)n, and signifies, in Aral)ie, a tongue, wliich it is supposed in form to resemble. CHAP. 111. SHIELDS. 299 hair outwards, like the Xajo-yjiov of the Greeks, sometimes strengthened by one or more rims of metal *, and studded with nails or metal pins ; the inner part being probably wicker-work t, or a wooden frame, like many of those used by the Greeks and Romans, which were also covered with hide.t The form of the Egyptian shield was similar to the ordinary funereal tablets § found in the tombs, circular at the summit and squared at the base, frequently with a slight increase or swell towards the top; and near the upper part of the outer surface was a circular cavity in lieu of a boss. Ross of the Shield * Conf. Horn, II. v, 406. : — " (AffTTifa) oy' tv pwoiin /Sowv Kai VMponi \a\Kqi AlVOJTtjV (pOpUGKi. And II. V, 161. 163.: — " AffTTiSa ravptiTjv" And II. TT, 360. ; and ;t, 425. f Those of their enemies were in many instances wicker, and not covered with any hide. Conf. Virg. ^n. vii. 632. : — " Flectuntque salignas Umbonum crates." J That of Ajax had seven folds, that of Achilles nine folds, of bull's hide. § They probably borrowed their form from the shield, owing, per- haps, to a military custom of making the shield a monument in honour of a deceased soldier. 300 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. This cavity was deeper at the sides than at its centre, where it rose nearly to a level with the face of the shield ; but there is great difficulty in ascertaining for what purpose it was intended, nor does its appearance indicate either an offensive or defensive use. To the inside of the shield was attached a thong*, by which they suspended it upon their shoulders ; and an instance occurs of a shield so supported, which is concave within, and, what is singular, the artist has shown a knowledge No. 19. Thong inside Hie Sliielil. * The TiXainov of tlic Greek.s. " air lofiojv AuTTu; (jvv rtXctfiiovi x"/^'" Turf." llimi. II. tt, 803. " 'IcfMomt fill' rtv rtX(r/(aji' (//k/ii art]OnT(Tii> AffTTuuif «/i(/»(f^()orj/(,'." Iloin. II. /^, .'{88. " Tj; paViiw'*T(X«/i(ijj'( TTfpi (JTtjOKTai riTctnOiir, Hrn» n'niv'_rrnKK>(;, '' '^* ifxtnyavov apyvpntjXiii',^' 11. ; 11(1 II. M, 17 f). ; V, 119. ; /', 400. ; y, 3.11., rl alihi. , 101. CHAP. in. SHIELDS. 301 of perspective in his mode of representing it.* Sometimes the handle was so situated that they No. 20. Concave sliietd. Thrln-s. No. 21. Grasping a spear while supporting the shield Thehi s. might pass their arm through it and grasp a spear : but this may be another mode of representing the shield slung at their back, the handle being fre- quently fixed in a position which would prevent their holding the spear in that manner ; and though instances occur of the horizontal as well as the per- pendicular handle t, the latter appears to have been the more usual of the two. No. 22. Handle of shield. Thebes * Wood-cut, No. 20. f Wood-cuts, Nos. 19. and 29. 302 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN'S. CHAP. III. Some of the lighter bucklers were furnished with a wooden bar, placed across the upper part, which was held with the hand ; not intended, as in some round Greek shields*, for passing the arm through, w^hile the hand was extended to the thong encircling the cavity of the inside, but solely as a handle ; and from their general mode of holding it, we may conclude this bar was sometimes placed longitudinally, an indication of which is even traced in that of fig. 4. They are, however, seldom re- presented, except at Beni- Hassan, having been either peculiar to certain troops, and employed solely on particular occasions, or confined to foreigners in the pay of Egypt ; like those of a 10 II Riicklprfi of luiiisM.il fori * rif/r Hope's Costumes, pi. Iwii. CHAP. Ill, SHIELDS. 303 still more unusual appearance figured in the same paintings.* Some Egyptian shields were of extraordinary dimensions, and varied in form from those generally used, being pointed at the summit, not unlike some Gothic arches ; but as we seldom find any instances No. 24. Large sliields. of them, we may conclude they were rarely of such an unwieldy and cumbrous size.f Indeed, the common Egyptian shield was as large as was con- sistent with convenience, and if not constructed of light materials, would have been an encumbrance in long marches, or even in the field ; and we may * VUle figs. 10, II. Wood-cut, No. 23. t They are met with in a tomb at E'Sioot (Lycopolis), of very an- cient date. To them the description of Tyrtseus would apply : — Mt]povg Tf, Kvt]fiaQ Tt Karto, kcu dTtpvct, kcu lOfiovQ AffTTiCoQ evptitjQ yooTpi Ka\v\paixtvoc." And the expression of Virgil, " Clypeique sub orbe teguntur." JEa. ii. 227. Conf. Horn. II. v, 40 j. ; 0, 266.; and p, 128. Ajax' shield, tjvts itvpyov. 304 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. even doubt if it ever was covered with a surface of metal. The Egyptian bow was not unlike that used in later times by European archers. The string was either fixed upon a projecting piece of horn, or in- serted into a groove or notch in the wood, at either extremity, differing in this respect from that of the Koofa and some other Asiatic people, who secured the string by passing it over a small nut which pro- jected from the circular heads of the bow. No. S.'). String of bow belonging to the Koofa. Thebes. The Ethiopians and Libyans, who were famed for their skill in archery, adopted tlie same method of fastening the string as the Egyptians, and their bow was similar in form and size to that of their neighbours : and so noted were the latter for their dexterity in its use that their name is accom- panied in the hieroglyphics by a representation of this weapon. The Egyptian bow was a round piece of wood, from five to five feet and a half in length, either almost straight, and tapering to a point at both ends, some of which are represented in the sculp- tures, and have even been found at Thebes, or curving inwards in the middle, wlicn unstrung, as CHAP. III. MODE OF STRINGING THE BOW. 305 in the paintings of the tombs of the kings ; and in some instances a piece of leather or wood was attached to or let into it, above and below tlie centre. fg- 1- Egyptian bows. Thebes. In stringing it, the Egyptians fixed tlie lower point in the ground, and, standing or seated, tlie knee pressed against the inner side of the bow, they bent it with one hand, and then passed the string with the other into the notch at the upper extremity ; and one instance occurs of a man rest- No. 27. VOL. I. Mode of stringing the bow. X Tlichcs ami Be7ii Hassan. 306 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. ing the bow on his shoulder, and bracing it in that position. While shooting they frequently No. 28. Stringing a bow. Hrti? ffiisinn. wore a guard on the left arm, to prevent its receiv- ing an injury from the string ; and this was not only fastened round the wrist, but was secured by a thong tied above the elbow. Sometimes a groove No ^'» A Kii.ird \v CHAP. III. MODE OF DRAWING THE BOW, 307 of metal was fixed upon the fore knuckle, in which the arrow rested and ran when discharged*; and the chasseur, whose bow appears to have been less powerful than those used in war, occasionally lield spare arrows in his right hand, while he pulled the string, t Carrying spare arrows in the hand. Their mode of drawing it was either with the forefinger and thumb, or the two forefingers ; and though in the chase they sometimes brought the arrow merely to the breast, instances of which oc- cur in the two preceding wood-cuts, their custom in war, as with the old English archers, was to carry * I found an instance of this in a tomb at Thebes ; the person was a chasseur. I regret my being unable to give a copy of it, having mislaid the drawing, •^ This is rare ; I have only met with it twice so represented, X '2 308 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. it to the ear, the shaft of the arrow passhig very nearly in a Une with the eye. The ancient Greeks, on the contrary, adopted tlie less perfect mode of placing the bow immediately before them, and drawing the string to the body*; whence the Amazonian women are reported to have cut off the right breast, lest it should be an impedi- ment in its use. And if the Greeks, in later times, abandoned that inefficient method, and handled the bow in the same manner as the Egyptians, they never did attach much importance to it t, and few only excelled in archery, with the exception of the Cretans, who, from their skill, were supposed by some to have been the original inventors of the bow. The Scythians, Persians, and other oriental nations, also placed their principal reliance on this arm, whose power was often severely felt by tlie disciplined troops of Greece and Rome ; and our own history furnishes ample testimony to the ad- vantages it presented tln-ougliout the Avhole course of a battle, and in every species of conflict. The Egyptian bow-string was of hidet, catgut, or string; and so great was their confidence in the strength of it and of tlic bow, tliat an arclier from his car sometimes used them to entangle his opponent, whilst he smote him with a sword. Their arrows varied from twenty-two to thirty- four inches in lengtli ; some were of wood, others * (!oil('. Horn. II. «', \2'.i. " >ifVptp> flU' fllli:./;! TTtXftTH'.''' f Tims I loiiicr says : — " O'Ckti rt TrfXt/otrrffi Km ahvvfm ^rf^-oiTO, Km ttijicriv /if yirXtiiii, Kiti ty^trriv ajKJityviHni ." II. o, 71 I. X Coiif. I loin. II. (•, 122. " I'lvixt lUm" (HAP. III. ARROWS TIPPED WITH STONE 309 of reed *; frequently tipped with a metal head, and winged with three feathers t, No. 31. Arrows maJe of rcid. glued longitudinally, and at equal dis- tances, upon the other end of the shaft, as on our own arrows. Sometimes, in- stead of the metal head, a piece of hard wood was inserted into the reed, which terminated in along tapering pointt; but these were of too light and powerless a nature to be employed in war, and could only have been intended for the chase ; in others, the place of the metal was sup- plied by a small piece of flint, or other * r^V/e wood-cuts, Nos. 31. and 32. f Vide wood-cut, No. 30. p. 307. J 1'idc wood-cut. No 32.^g. 1. X 3 310 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. sharp stone, secured by a firm black paste * ; and thoiigli used occasionally in battle, they appear from the sculptures to have belonged more particu- larly to tlie huntsman; and the arrows of archers are generally represented with bronze heads t, some I)arbed, others triangular, and many with three or four projecting blades, placed at right angles, and meeting in a common point. Stone-tipped arrows JVIet.il heads of arrows. AlnivUk Museum, and Tlicbcs. were not confined to an ancient era, nor were they peculiar to the Egyptians alone ; the Persians and other eastern people frequently used them, even in war ; antl recent discoveries have ascertained that tliey were adopted by the Greeks tliemselves, several having been found in places unvisited by the troops of Persia t, as well as on the plain of Marathon, and other fields of battle where they fought. * VnIc wood-cut, No. 32. fiir. 2. i)£igc 30!). -| Vide wood-cut, No. .SO. p. ."507. t I am iiidibtc'd lor this cinious (act to Colonc 1 l-( akc, whose valu- alilc rescaich( s arc kuowu to cvcrv reader. CHAP. III. QUIVERS AND BOW-CASES. oil Each bowman was furnished with a capacious quiver, about four inches in diameter, and con- sequently containing a plentiful supply of arrows, which was supported by a belt, passing over the shoulder, and across the breast, to the opposite side. Their mode of carrying it differed from that of the Greeks, who bore it upon their shoulder*, and from that of some Asiatic people, who sus- pended it vertically at their back, almost on a level with the elbow J the usual custom of the Egyptian soldier being to fix it nearly in a horizontal position, and to draw out the arrows from beneath his arm. Many instances also occur in the sculptures of the quiver placed at the back, and projecting above the top of the shoulder ; but this appears to have been only during the march, or at a time when the arrows were not required. It was closed by a lid or cover, which, like the quiver itself, was highly decorated, and, when belonging to a chief, sur- mounted with the head of a lion, or other orna- ment ; and this, on being thrown open, remained attached by a leather thong.t They had also a case for the bowt, intended to protect it against the sun or damp, and to preserve its elasticity ; which was opened by drawing off a * Apollo is so represented by Homer, II. a, 45. : — " ro^' (ofioiciv £xwi', ajKpTjptfia re ^optrpjji'." Fide Hope's Costumes, pi. ccxx. Vide also infra, plate 3. + Vide infra, on the march of the Egyptian army. Wood-cut, No. 70. l The Greeks sometimes had the bow-case attached to the quiver, but open at the top. Vide Hope's Costumes, pi. Ixxvi. and cxxvi. X 4 31Q THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. moveable cap of soft leather sewed to the upper end. It was always attached to the war chariots ; and across it inclined, in an opposite direction, another large case, containing two spears and an abundant stock of arrows * ; and besides the quiver he wore, the warrior had frequently three others attached to his car. Archers of the infantry were furnished with a smaller sheath for the bow t, of which it covered the centre, leaving the two ends exposed ; and being of a pliable substance, probably leather, it was put round the bow, as they held it in their hand during a march. Besides the bow, their principal weapon of offence, they, like the mounted archers, who fought in cars, were provided with a falchion, dagger, curved stick, mace, or battle-axe, for close combat, when their arrows were exhausted ; and their defensive arms were the helmet, or quilted headpiece, and a coat of the same materials ; but they were not allowed a shield, being considered an impediment to the free use of the bow. The spear, or pike, was of wood t, between five and six feet in length, with a metal head, into which the shaft was inserted and fixed with nails : and one of them preserved in the Berlin Museum § satisfactorily accords with the general aj)})earance of those represented in the sculptures. The head * ndf iiifid, tlic l-lnyptian chariot. Wood-cut, No. 53. a. ■\ Vide wood-cut, No. I."}. (. Homer mentions sjicars ol asli, witli l)rafis or bronze licads. Vide wood-cuts, Nos. I.'i, II. 21. § Tiiis s|)car is about five feet and a half iouu, but the shank of its inonze head i.s much loiwer than usual. Vidi wood cut, .'it. (i. fi<^. I. CHAP. Itl. SPEARS AND JAVELINS. 313 was of bronze or iron, sometimes very large, usually with a double edge, like that of the Greeks * ; but the spear does not appear to have been furnished with a metal point at the other extremity, called a-aupcvTYjp by Homer t, which is still adopted in Turkish, modern Egyptian, and other spears, in order to plant them upright in the ground, as the spear of Saul was fixed near his head, while he " lay sleeping within the trench, "t Spears of this kind should perhaps come under the denomination of javelins, the metal being intended as well for a counterpoise in their flight as for the purpose above alluded to ; and such an addition to those of the heavy-armed infantry would neither be requisite nor convenient. The javelin, lighter and shorter than the spear, was also of wood, and similarly armed with a strong two-edged metal head, generally of an elongated diamond shape, either flat, or increasing in thick- ness at the centre, and sometimes tapering to a very long point § ; and the upper extremity of its shaft terminated in a bronze knob, surmounted by a ball, to which were attached two thongs or tassels, intended both as an ornament and a counterpoise * Horn. II. 0, 712. " Ey^^fffij^ ctfiipiyvoiai" t Horn. 11 K, 151. " aix(pi 5' iTcupoi EvSov vTco Kpamv ^' f^oj' a(nri5aQ' fyxJfi Si Gfiv Op0' tTTt aavpiOTt]poQ eXrjXaTo." i 1 Sam. xxvi. 7. Conf. Virg. ^n. xii. 130: — " Defigunt tellure hastas, et scuta reclinant." § /7f/c wood-cut at end of Chap. III. ^g. 9. 314 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. to the weight of its point.* It was somethnes used Jig- 1. M- 2. Jig- 3. Javelin and spear heads. Thebes. fig- !• Spear head and drum-stick. Berlin Museum. as a spear, for thrusting, being held with one or with two hands ; and sometimes, when the adver- sary was within reach, it was darted, and still re- tained in the warrior's grasp, the shaft being allowed to pass through his hand till stopped by tlic blow, or by the fingers suddenly closing on tlie band of metal at the end ; a custom I have often observed among the modern Nubians and Ababdeh. They had another javelin apparently of wood, taper- ing to a sharp })oint, witliout the usual metal headt; and a still liglitcr kind, armed with a small bronze point t, which was frequently four-sided, three- • It rcsciiiblc's tlic Purdiian javelin. J'tJr Hope's Costumes, vol. i. |)1. xiii. f Wood-cut, No. .'} l.Jlti. :i. I Wood-cut, No. ^o. y/i,'. 1.; and wood-cut at cud of Cliap. III. CHAP. III. JAVELINS. 315 bladed* , or broad and nearly flat ; and from the ujjper end of the shaft being destitute of any metal counterpoise t, it resembled a dart now used by the people of Dar-Foor, and other African tribes, who, without any scientific knowledge of projectiles, or the curve of a parabola, dexterously strike their enemy with its falling point. Heads of small javelins. Alnwick Museum and Tlubcs Another inferior kind of javelin was made of reed, with a metal head ; but this can scarcely be con- sidered a military weapon, nor would it hold a high rank among those employed by the Egyptian chas- seur, most of which were of excellent workmanship, and adapted to all the purposes of the chase, whe- ther in the river or the field. Of these last, the most remarkable was one used for spearing fish : it was propelled by the hand with the assistance of a thin cord X passing over its notched summit, and extending down the shaft : but being solely intended for sportsmen, and not among the arms * Wood-cut, No. 33.^. 2. f Wood-cut, No. 35./^. 4. J I do not find any instance of the amentum, mentioned by Seneca, Virgil, antl other writers, which was a thong bound round the middle of a heavy dart. Mn. ix. 665. " Amentaquc tonjuent." 316 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. borne by the soldier, it is unnecessary here to de- scribe it more minutely. The sUng was a thong, of leather*, or string plaited t, broad in the middle, and having a loop at one end, by which it was fixed upon and firmly held with the hand ; the other extremity terminat- ing in a lash, which escaped from the fingers as the stone was thrown : and when used, the slinger whirled it two or three times over his head, to steady it, and to increase the impetus.^ .h- '• /^•2. Slingcrs. licHt Hassan and Thebes. It was an arm looked upon by many of the Greeks with great contempt, cs})ecially by heavy- infantry, though generally carried by some of the light troops ; and Q. Curtius tells us that Alex- * Homer mentions one made of a sheep's fleece, and describes Agenor binding tiie wounded hand of Ilclcnus with it : " AuTIJl' St ^VVIC1)(TIV l\l(TT(H»pH> OIOI- (tloriv£ovy, I'li' apa ol ^ffxnrMV txi Troifinn Xmov." 11. v, 5f)9. t As that still used in l^g\ |)t to drive away bir.ls from the corn fields. yi(fc wood-cut at end of Chap. III. Ji^x. 'l ami b. t Conf. Virg. Tlin. ix. .jH7, : — " Ipse ter mlducta circum caput cgit liabena." CHAP. Iir. SLINGS. 317 ander, wisliiiig to picture an enemy in a despi- cable light, represented them armed with javelins and slings. The Acarnanians, however, were proud of their skill in managing it, and were surpassed by the Achgeans alone, of all the Greeks, who even vied with the natives of the Balearic Islands ; and so expert were these last, and of such importance did they consider the sling, that the principal care of a parent was to instruct a boy in its use : and it has been affirmed that, in those islands, young children were not permitted to taste their food until they had dislodged it from a beam with the sling. This unpleasant alternative does not appear to have been imposed on the more fortunate sons of an Egyptian family, nor was the same consequence attached to the sling as to the bow and many other weapons. Besides stones and ariows, the Greeks threw leaden plummets from the sluig, called [xoT^uS^i^isg or [xo7^u€^ivai o-cpaipa/, which were of an elongated sphe- rical shape, or, rather, like an olive, pointed at each end, frequently with three or four sides; sometimes weighing as much as an Attic pound, or one hun- dred drachms. Some had a single or winged thunder- bolt represented upon them ; and others bore the name of the person to whom they belonged, or a word, as AFGNIS, or AEHAI,— "Take this." Similar plummets were generally used by the Macedonians ; those of the Achaeans w^ere simple roimd pebbles found on the sea-shore, where they were in the habit of practising the sling : and the Egyptians employed round stones for this purpose. 318 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAT. III. which they carried in a small bag, hanging from a belt over the shoulder. * The Egyptian sword was straight and short, from two and a half to three feet in length, having apparently a double edge, and tapering to a sharp point. It was used for cut and thrust; but on some occasions they held it downwards, and stabbed as with a dagger. The handle was plain, hollowed in Stab'jing an onomy. Thchci the centre, and gradually increasing in thickness at either extremity, sometimes inlaid with costly stones, precious woods, or metals ; and the pom- M- 1- ll'i. 2. naggers in their sheaths, with inlaid handles. Tlichcs. * Vidr VVOOlI-CIlt, No .'Ui. fliS,. 1. CHAP. in. SWORDS AND DAGGERS. 319 mel of that worn by tlie king in his girdle was fre- quently surmounted by one or two heads of a hawk, the symbol of Phrali, or the sun, a Pharaonic title given to the monarchs of the Nile. Strictly speak- No. 39. Mode of wearing the dagger. ing, the short sword, so worn, should come under the denomination of a dagger, which was also a common Egyptian weapon, as is proved by those found in the excavated ruins of Thebes. It was much smaller than the sword : its blade was about ten or seven inches in length, tapering gradually in breadth, from one inch and a half to two thirds of an inch, towards the point ; and the total length, with the handle, only completed a foot or sixteen inches. The handle, like that of the sword, was generally inlaid* : the blade was bronze, thicker in the middle than at the edges, and slightly grooved * Vide also wood-cut at end of Chap. III. Jig. 7. 320 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. in that part; and so exquisitely was the metal worked, that some of those I have examined retain their pliabiUty and spring after a period of several thousand years, and almost resemble steel in elas- ticity. Such is the dagger of the Berlin collection, which was discovered by Sig. Passalacqua in a Theban tomb ; and, in noticing it, I avail myself of the opportunity of acknowledging his kindness, which has enabled me to introduce a representation of it, in the actual state in which it was found, en- f!^- J Dagger out of the shoath Back of the sheath. No. 40. Dagger, witli its sheath. Hiilin Museum. closed in a leathern slieath. * The handle is partly covered with metal, and adorned witli numerous small ])ins and studs of gold f, which are purposely shown tlu'ough suitable openings in the front part of the sheatli ; but the u})per extremity consists solely of ])one, neither ornamented, nor covered with any metal casing : other instances of which * Wood-cut, No.'IO. /if. y. I Like the swords nientioiied by Homer : — '• hihru- (tpyiifioijKov x;aXK-fo)'." II. 7r, \'.ih. ; and r, 372. CHAP. III. FALCHIONS, AND OTHER WEAPONS. 321 have elsewhere been found*, offering, m this respect, remarkable exceptions to the usual inlaid handles of Egyptian daggers!, already noticed. The knife was also shorter than the sword, and had a single edge, intended only for cutting, as was the falchion, a species of ensis Jcdcatus. This last was called Shopsh, or Khopsh ; and the resemblance of its form and name to the xoTrigt of the Greeks sug- gests that the people of Argos, an Egyptian colony, by whom it was principally adopted, originally derived that weapon from the falchion of Egypt. It was more generally used than either the knife or the sword, being borne by light as well as heavy armed troops ; and that such a weapon must have inflicted a severe wound is evident, as well from the size and form of the blade as from the great weight it acquired by the thickness of the back, which was sometimes cased with brass, the blade itself being of bronze or iron. § Officers as well as privates carried the falchion ; and the king himself is frequently represented in close combat with the enemy, armed with it, or witli the hatchet, battle-axe, pole-axe, or mace. A simple stick is more usually seen in the hand of officers commanding corps of infantry, though we cannot * Vide also wood-cut, No. 1. page 23., a dagger in Mr. Salt's collec- tion. + Another dagger with a simple unornamented handle is given in the wood-cut at the end of Chap. IH.^g. 3.; but I am not certain about its date. J Q. Curtius says, " Copides vocant gladios leniter curvatos, falcibns similes, quibus appetebant belluarum manus." lib. 3. conf. Apul. Metam. lib. 11." copides et venabula." § From the colour of those in the tombs of the kings, we may con- clude iron or steel. J'idc plate 3. VOL. I. Y 32^ THE ANCIENT EGYPFIANS. CHAP. 111. thence infer that they were not always provided with some other more efficient weapon ; and in leading their troops to the charge, we see them armed in the same manner as the king when he fought on foot. In chariots they had the bow ; and every chief prided himself upon his dexterity in archery, and emulated the skill as well as the valour of the monarch. The axe, or hatchet*, was small and simple, seldom exceeding two, or two feet and a half, in length : it had a single blade, and no instance is met with of a double axe resembling the bipennis of the Romans. Of the same form was that used by tlie Egyptian carpenters ; and not only did the soldiers carry it as a serviceable weapon in close combat, but even for breaking down the gates of a town, and felUng trees to construct engines for an assault. Independent of bronze pins which secured the blade, the handle was bound in that part with tliongs of hide, in order to prevent the wood, split to admit the metal, from opening when exposed to the Sim ; and the same precaution was adopted in those belonging to joiners and others, who worked in their own shops. The axe was less ornamented than other wea- pons ; some bore the figure of an animal, a boat, or fancy device, engraved upon the blade : and the handle frecpiently terminating in the shape of a gazelle's foot, was marked with circular and dia- gonal lines, representing bands, as on the pro- * A liatclict ill (;(>|)lif is /,i/i/)i>i ; but it docs not appt'iir vvlictlicr it was apiilial to this weapon. The name; kil(jl)iii calls to mind the Saxon cicofan, to cleave ; as the words Konroi and kiiopsli, or siiopsli, to chop. CHAP. III. HATCHETS AND BATTLE-AXES. 3^3 jecting torus of an Egyptian temple, or like the ligature of the Roman fasces.* The soldier, on his march, either held it in his hand, or suspended it at his back, with the blade downwards ; but it does not appear from the sculptures whether it was covered by a sheath, nor is any mode of wearing a sword indicated by them, except as a dagger in the girdle, the handle sloping to the right.t No. U. Axes or hatchets. Tlifbcs, and SalVs Collection. The blade of the battle-axe was, in form, not un- like the Parthian t shield; a segment of a circle, • Vide wood-cut. No. 41., and at the end of Chap. III. fig. 1. t As in wood-cut. No. 39. j Vide Hope's Costumes, vol. i. pi. xx. Y '2, 3^t THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. HI. divided at the back into two smaller segments, whose three points were fastened to the handle with metal pins. It was of bronze, and sometimes, if we may be allowed to judge from the colour of those in the paintings at Thebes, of steel; and the length of the handle was equal to, or more than double that of, the blade. Mr. Salt's last collec- tion, part of wliich was purchased by the British Museum, contained a portion of one of these wea- pons*, whose bronze blade was thirteen inches and a half long, and two and a half broad, inserted into a silver tube, secured with nails of the same metal. The wooden handle once fixed into this tube was wanting ; but, judging from those represented at Thebes, it was considerably longer than the tube, and even protruded a little beyond the extremity of the blade, where it was sometimes ornamented with the head of a lion or other device, reced- ing slightly t, so as not to interfere with the blow; and the total length of the battle-axe may have been from three to four feet. In some battle-axes, the handles were very short t, scarcely exceeding the lengtii of the silver tube, above-mentioned, which in this specimen is only eleven inches and a half longer than the blade, and may have been the en- tire handle ; the small aperture at the lower end § serving equally for admitting the pin which secured the wood inserted into it, whether this extended beyond, or merely filled, the tube. The blades of the battle-axes represented in the * F/V/c wood out. No. 4>i. /i,'. I. f As/t^. :i. J As /J^'. G., wliicli is from the HCiiIpturc's. ^ Fi<^.)i. CHAP. IIJ. HATTLE-AXE AND POLE-AXE. 325 paintings of Thebes offer two forms, one of which is more circular * than that of Mr. Salt's ; from the excellence, however, of its workmanship and materials, we may conclude that this last was of the Battle-axes, from the sculptures. Thebes and Bent Hassan most general and approved shape, and perhaps belonged to some military chief, or to the king himself; and it is singular that an axe very similar to this was formerly used by the Germans, and other European infantry. The battle-axe may answer to the TreXexu^, as the pole-axe to the a^ii/Tj of the Greeks. The pole-axe was about three feet in length, but apparently more difficult to wield than the preced- ing, owing to the great weight of a metal ball to which the blade was fixed : and if this increased its force, and rendered the blow more destructive, it required, like the mace, a powerful as well as a * Figs. 3. and 4. Y 3 3-26 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. HI. skilful arm to use it with success, and to make it as efficient a weapon as the battle-axe. We rarely find an entire corps of men armed with it ; the only instance I remember occurring at E'Sioot, where the same soldiers bear the cum- brous shields already noticed*; it may, therefore, have been peculiar to certain troops, and to the chiefs, in whose hand it is usually represented. The handle was generally about two feet in length, sometimes much longer ; the ball four inches in its greatest diameter t, and the blade varied from ten to fourteen inches, by two and three in breadth. Pole-axc. The mace was very similar to the pole-axe, with- out a blade, and appears to correspond to the xo^uvt) of the Greeks, which was frequently of iron. That used by tlie Egyptians was of wood, bound with bronze, about two feet and a half in length, and furnished witli an angular piece of metal, j)rojc('ling from the handle, wliicli may • Viilr vvood-ciit. No. .'}4'. t I suppose it to have boon a hall, lallic r lliaii a flat circular piece of metal. CHAP. III. MACES. 3'i7 have been intended as a guard, though in many instances they represent tlie hand placed above it, while the blow was given. * They had another macet, similar in many respects to this, without the ball, and, to judge from its fre- quent occurrence in the sculptures, more generally used, and evidently far more manageable ; but the former was a most formidable weapon against ar- mour, like that used for the same purpose by the Memlooks]: and the modern people of Cutch; and no shield, helmet, or cuirass, could have been a suf- ficient protection against the impetus given it by a powerful arm. Neither of these was peculiar to the chiefs: all the soldiers in some infantry regiments were armed with them ; and a charioteer was fur- nished with one or more, which he carried in a case attached with the quiver to the side of his car. § In ancient times, when the fate of a battle was frequently decided by personal valour, the dex- terous management of such arms was of primary * Wood-cut, No. U.fg. 2. f Wood-cut, 'So. 4^4: figs. 3. and 4. i Called daboss, or dabboos. 5 Vide Egyptian chariot, in wood-cut, No. ,^3. ri. p. 346. V 1- 828 IHE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. importance; and a band of resolute veterans, headed by a gallant chief, spread dismay among the ranks of an enemy; as Homer describes Areithous alone breaking through an opposing phalanx with his iron mace * : and notwithstanding the great im- provements which have taken place in the art of war, by the introduction of artillery and the musket, and by the machinery of modern armies, physical strength and individual courage are still considered the highest recommendation in close combat ; and thus the Egyptians, though they placed their chief reliance in the skill of their archers, failed not to attach great importance to heavy infantry, and paid particular attention to the nature of their offensive as well as defensive arms. And the variety of weapons used by dif- ferent corps, as well as the care they took in allotting to each its respective duties during action, in se- lecting those best suited for a peculiar service, and in the judicious arrangement of the army and its component parts, argue the great experience ac- quired by the Egyptians in the art of war. They had another kind of mace, sometimes of uniform thickness through its whole length, some- times broader at the up])er end+, without either the ball or guard, and many of their allies carried a rude heavy clubt ; but no body of native troops was * Homer, II. //, 138. : — " Aiov AfJiiWdoi', rnv nrtk-Xijirir, KupvinjTtiv AVC^IUJ KlKXtjlTKOV KaWil^wvoi Tt yvvaiKnj, Ovpik' (tf)' uv ToXcini iiityKTKfTO, (^oiyu rt UriKplf, \\\n nuiffttuj KOftvvy iiiiyriicTKt ^uXctyyaf." + rule wood-cut, No. V/./ifix. I. i\\u\ )i. l Vide wood-cut, No. I I. ///;. 'S. CHAP. III. CLUBS. HELMETS. 329 armed with the last, and indeed it cannot be con- sidered an Egyptian weapon. The curved stick, or club, (now called lissan)*^ was used by heavy and light-armed troops as well as archers ; and if it does not appear a formidable arm, ui: Curved stick or club. yet the experience of modern times bears ample testimony to its efficacy in close combat. To the Bisharieen it supplies the place of a sword ; and the Ababdeh, content with this, their spear, and shield, fear not to encounter the hostile Maazy, whom they frequently defeat, though armed with the matchlock and the atagan. t In length that of the ancient Egyptians was probably the same, about two fee.{ and a half, and made of a hard thorn wood, as the mimosas, sellem^ and sumr ; which are still used for the same purpose, as well as for the shafts of the Ababdeh lance. The shield, their principal defence, I have already noticed. The helmet was usually quilted, but rarely of metal ; and though bronze helmets are said to have been worn by the Egyptians t, we may con- * t. e, " tongue," in Arabic. f A long knife, or straight sword, worn in the gii'dle, and called gembceli (side arm) by the Arabs. X Vide Ilerod. ii. 161. 330 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. elude that, in accordance with the authority of the sculptures, they preferred and generally adopted the former, which being thick, and well padded, served as an excellent protection to the head, with- out the inconvenience resulting from the metal in so hot a climate.* Some of them descended to the shoulder t, others only a short distance below the level of the eart; and the summit, terminating in an obtuse point, was ornamented with two tassels. § They were of a green, red, or black colour ; and the long helmet, which fitted less closely to the back of the head, was fringed at the lower edge with a broad border ||, and in some instances consisted of two parts, or an upper and under fold.^]" Another, worn also by the spearmen, and many corps of in- fantry and charioteers, varied slightly from these, though very similar in many respects, being quilted, and descending to the shoulder with a fringe ; but it had no tassels, and fitting close to the top of the head, it widened towards the base, the front, which covered the forehead, being made of a separate ])iece** attaclied to the other part. If there is no representation of an Egyptian hel- met with a crest, we are less surprised, since even the ancient Greeks did not always adopt ittt; but * This alone would not be a sufficient objection, since metal hel- mets are still worn even in the far hotter climates of Darfoor and Konlofan. f Wood-cut, No. '!(!., /?^'.9. 1. and :i. ± /'Vij.v. b, G, 7. \\ F^.v. 3, 't, 5, 0, 7. ■ (I Fifis. 2, 3. 1 Fig. 4. ♦* Fi{>. 2. If This helmet was called KnTanvi. . . . . " (ipipl (V (U KVVHJl' KHp(l\l)tpH' tOljKf r<(ii()fJi;j', (KJxiXot'Tt, Kin (tXi>;rf KdTiiiTv'i Kf/cA/;ra»." Homer, II. k, 258. CHAP. HI. HELMETS. CUIRASS. 331 that of the Shairetana, once enemies and afterwards alHes of the Pharaohs, is particularly interesting, No. 46. Helmets or head-pieces. Thches. since it shows the existence of a custom, as early as two hundred years before the Trojan war, wliicli was afterwards introduced by the Greeks, of adorn- ing the helmet with horns ; whence the name keras (horn) was sometimes chosen to signify a crest.* The outer surface of the cuirass, or coat of ar- mour, consisted of about eleven horizontal rows of metal plates, well secured by bronze j^ins ; and at the hollow of the throat a narrower range of plates was introduced, above which were two more, com- pleting the collar or covering of the neck. The breadth of each plate or scale was little more than an inch, twelve of them sufficing to cover the front of the body ; and the sleeves, which were sometimes so short as to extend less than half way to the elbow, consisted of two rows of similar plates, t Many, * According to Suidas. Oiir word crest bears a stronij; rcsenil)lance to the Greek. Vide Hope's Costumes, plate cxxx. ; and infra, on the enemies of tlie Egyptians, p. 3C6. •j- Vide plate 3. 332 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. indeed most, of the cuirasses were without collars ; in some the sleeves were rather longer, reaching nearly to the elbow, and they were worn both by heavy infantry and bowmen. The ordinary cuirass may have been little less than two feet and a half in length : it sometimes covered the thighs nearly to the knee ; and in order to prevent its pressing heavily upon the shoulder, they bound their girdle over it, and tightened it at the waist. But the thighs, and that part of the body below the girdle, were usually covered by a kelt*, or other robe, detached from the cuirass ; and many of the light and heavy infantry were clad in a quilted vest of the same form as the coat of armour, for which it was intended to be a substitute ; and some wore corselets, reaching only from the waist to the upper j)art of tlie breast, and supj)orted by straps over the shoulder, which, to judge from tlie sculptured re- presentations of them, appear to have been faced with metal plates, t Among the arms painted in the tomb of Re- meses III., at Thebes, is a piece of defensive armour t, which, from the hollowed space left for the arm, seems to have been a sort of coat, or cover- ing for the body ; and were it not so highly orna- mented, might be considered a vest, or ju,3, worn beneatli tlie cuirass. It is made of a rich stuff, worked, or painted, with tlie figures of lions and other animals, devices common uj)on tlie shield and other parts of Greek armour, and is edged with a * The O'liKi, or 'CiorTTin>, of t\n'. lirvvks. t Fiik' wooil-ciit, NoA7- Ji'gn. 10, i I, 1;^. j. I'u/c fiy. 8. plate 3. CHAP. ITI. ARMS OF DIFFERENT CORPS. 333 neat border, terminating below in a broad fringe ; and though there is no appearance of metal plates, it may have been intended as a substitute for the more weighty coat of mail, which was not worn on all occasions either by infantry or charioteers. Tlie Greeks in like manner made some thoraces of hide, hemp, linen, or twisted cord. Ajax, the son of Oileus, from his having worn one of these, is styled by Homer* Linothorex : Alexander, according to Plutarch, had a double thorax of linen ; and Cor- nelius Nepos tells us that Iphicrates ordered his soldiers to lay aside their heavy metal cuirass, and to go to battle in hempen armour. ARMS OF DIFFERENT CORPS. Heavy-armed troops were furnished with a shield and spear ; some with a shield and mace ; and others, though rarely, with a battle-axe, or a pole- axe, and shield. They also carried a sword, falchion, curved stick or lissan, simple mace, or liatchet, which may be looked upon as their side-arms, t The light troops, who were not archers, had nearly the same weapons, but their defensive armour was lighter; and some were without the incum- brance of a shield, as the slingerst, and a few others, whose duty required great agility, and who fought in scattered parties, like the VeHtes of the Romans. Tlie arms of the bowmen have been al- * Homer, 11. /3, 329. \- r/rfc wood-cut, No. 47. \ nf/£> wood-cut, No. 30. , . "Ot\?;of Ta^vQ AtaQ oXiyof }iiv tt)v, Xivo9u)pt]K" 33 i THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. ready mcntionctl : of the E«^yptiiin cavalry we are unable to ohtniii any salisfiulory inroniiation ; and il now remains lo nolice the (•()rj)s oi' chariots, CHAP. III. CHARIOTS, ETC. 335 wliich constituted a very large and effective por- tion of the Egyptian army. Each car contained two persons, Uke the di- phros (^Kp^os*) of the Greeks. On some occasions it carried three, tlie charioteer or driver and two chiefs ; but this was rarely the case, except in tri- umphal processions, when two of the princes or noble youths accompanied the king in their chariot, bearing the regal sceptre, or the Jiabella, and re- quired a third person to manage the reins, t In the field each had his own car, witli a charioteer ; and the insignia of his office being attached behind him by a broad beltt, his hands were free for the use of the bow and other arms. When on an ex- cursion for pleasure, or on a visit to a friend, an Egyptian gentleman, or even the king, mounted alone, and drove himself, footmen and other at- tendants running before and behind the car, (like the sj/is or grooms of modern Egypt and India,) who, when the carriage stopped, were ready to take the reins, and walked the horses till their master returned, continuing, however, on foot^, and not venturing to step into it ; a custom equally observed by those who wished to show marked respect to the king, when passing before or following him, in state processions. * A name which implies carrying two. The Roman war chariot also contained two persons ; the hellator, or warrior, and the auriga, or driver. Virg. ^n. ix. 330., ii. 4G9. 624. '".37. Cent. Ji-aiah, xi. 7. " A chariot with a couple of horsemen." Or rather 1 Kmgs, xxii. 34., and 2 Chron. xviii. 33. ; since the former appears to refer to men riding on horses, dUlD. Fares, is also in Arahic, a horseman (or a Persian); and farras, tiie mare, is the horse par excellence. f Vide wood-cut. No. 48. ^g. I. % ' '"'' wuod-ciit. No. 19. (^ Wood -cut. No. 4. p. 46. 336 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. In battle, also, many attendants were always in readiness* ; and whenever a general dismounted from hirs car, to lead his troops over hilly and pre- cipitous heights inaccessible to chariots, to the *' Coiif. TTom. II. 0, lof). ll:{. CHAP. 11/. CHARIOTS AND CHARIOTEERS. 337 assault of a fortified town, or for any other purpose, they took charge of the horses, and keeping them in some secure place they awaited his return, or followed at a short distance ; and a second car * with fresh horses was always ready in the rear, in order to provide against accident, or the still less welcome chance of a defeat. In the battle scenes of the Egyptian temples, the king is represented alone in his car, unattend- ed by any charioteer!, the reins fastened round his body, while engaged in bending his bow against the enemy ; but it may be doubted whether we are to infer the absence of that person : and he may have been omitted, in order not to interfere with the principal figure and feature of the picture, which, with a similar notion of exclusiveness, they were accustomed to draw of colossal dimen- sions. The cars of the whole chariot corps contained each two warriors, comrades of equal rank, both joining in the labours and glory of the fight; and if the charioteer who accompanied a chief t did not hold the same high station, he was probably ap- pointed to the post as a mark of distinction ; and from the familiar manner in which one of them is represented conversing with a son of the great Remeses, we may conclude the office was filled by persons of consideration, who were worthy of the friendship they enjoyed. § * Conf. 2 Chron, xxxv. 24. f Conf. Homer, gods and heroes, passim. X Conf. Horn. U. X, 399. ; and ^•, 84. § Conf. Horn. II. 9, 120.; and X, 318. VOL. I. Z 338 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. 'J'lie son of King Kemcscs, with his charioteer. Thebes. As with the Greeks, the employment was neither servile nor ignoble; and if Hector*, Nestor t, Ulyssest, and others were not ashamed to act in this capacity, Egyptian officers of note,' in like manner, undertook the management of their own cars, and prided themselves on their skill in driving, as in wielding the javelin and bow : but whether the chariot race was instituted in Egypt does not appear ; and we may conclude from the absence of the subject hi their sculptures, and of the hip- podrome in the precincts of towns of early date, that the celebration of games similar to those of Greece was unknown there, previous to the Mace- donian conquest : the only hip})odromes being at * II. II, '.i!')2. " (KKrw()} jiaOTtyi KuToifKicov i]\(i itttt-ouc : " aiul the gods frc(|iiciitly. •j- II. 0, 1 Hi. Nestor iiioiiiits tile tar of Dioiiieil, aiiil taUtw the reins and whip. i II. ., .Oi:i. CHAP. HI. WHIPS. 339 Alexandria, and at the Roman town of Antinoe, founded by Hadrian, in Upper Egypt. In driving, the Egyptians used a whip, like the heroes and charioteers of Homer ; and this, or a short stick, was generally employed even for beasts of burden, and for oxen at the plough, in pre- ference to the goad. The whip consisted of a /3™ No. 50. Whips. Thebes. single or smooth round wooden handle, and a double thong : it sometimes had a lash of leather, or string, about two feet in length, either twisted or platted ; and a loop being attached to the lower end, the archer was enabled to use the bow, while it hung suspended from his wrist.* When a hero encountered a hostile chief, he sometimes dismounted from his car, and substituting for his bow and quiver the spear, battle-axe, or fal- chion, he closed with him hand to hand, like the * Vide wood-cut, No. !)\., next page. Z -2 340 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. No. 51. Whip suspended fVom the wrist of the archer. Tlicbcs. Greeks and Trojans described by Homer : and the lifeless body of the foe being left upon the field, was stript of its arms by his companions. Some- times a wounded adversary, incapable of further resistance, having claimed and obtiiined the mercy of the victor, was carried from the field in his chariot * ; and the ordinary captives, who laid down their arms and yielded to the Egyptians, were treated as prisoners of war, and were sent bound to the rear under an escort, to be ])resented to the monarch, and to grace his triumph, after the termination of the conflict. The hands of the slain were then counted before himt; and this * At Kiiriiiik kinj; Osirei i.s represented carr3'ing under each arm two van(|Mislied cliiefs ; and many inferior caj)tives, l)Ound with cords, follow liiiii to Ills car. -|- In 2 Kinys, x. H., tlie liead.s of tlie .scvent}' sons of the kinp were l)roiii;lit in liaskets to .lelni.who ordered them to be put" in two heiips at tlic enterin;^ in of tlie gate." CHAP. III. NO SEAT IN THE CAR. 341 return of the enemy's killed was duly registered, to commemorate his success, and the glories of his reign; a subject which occurs more than once on the walls of Medeenet Haboo ; and the great pic- ture, sculptured in the inner area of that building, represents Remeses seated in his car, while the tellers, taking the hands by the thumb, place them in a heap before him, and count them to the military scribes. From the position of the king in this picture, the Egyptian chariot might appear to be furnished with a seat, but judging from the usual represent- ations in the Theban sculptures, and from the nature of other ancient cars*, it is more probable that he is seated on the side or front. Indeed, for persons frequently accustomed to forego the use of seats, there could be little necessity for its intro- duction ; and though the Egyptian rooms were furnished with chairs and raised sofas, it was not unusual for persons of all ranks to sit upon the ground, crouched like the Nubians on a pedestrian journey, or cross-legged like the modern inhabit- ants of Eastern countries, when in the house, and even in their carriages, t The same remark applies to the chariots of those enemies with whom they fought ; and the representation of wounded war- * As of the Greeks. The Romans placed seats, or cnairs, in their town cars, and the magistrates took with them the sella curulis when going to the senate house. This last folded like our camp stools, and many of the Egyptian chairs. f Witness the Birmese carriage brought to England, which difterK principally from those of Europe in the absence of seats. 34^ THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAT. III. riors falling backwards out of their car, frequently occurring in the battle scenes of Thebes, and so forcibly calling to mind the descriptions of Horner *, may be adduced as an additional argument to prove the absence of any seat or bench within it. In some Egyptian chariots, the bottom part con- sisted of a frame interlaced with thongs or rope, forming a species of network, in order, by its elasticity, to render the motion of a carriage with- out springs more easy : and this custom is very prevalent at the present day in Italy and other countries, in carts and carriages used by the lower orders ; but it is difficult to determine whether it was adopted in every Egyptian car. That the chariot was of woodt is abundantly proved by the sculptures, wherever workmen are seen employed in making it ; and the fact of their having, at the earliest period of their known history, already invented and commonly used a form of pole, whose introduction into our own country dates only between thirty and forty years $, is a remarkable instance of the truth of Solomon's assertion, " there is no new thing under the sun§," and shows the advancement they had * Iliad, lib. 0, 122. ; uiid i, 585. : — " AvTdQ oy' arrOfidii'tiii' ivtpytoQ tKTTien ^if/i()oii, + In Joshua, wc read of tlic f'anaanitcs liavinji; " cliariots of iron." xvii. 16. Solomon made a diariot of the wood of Lcl)anon. Sol. Song, iii. f). j The pole of the Greek chariots was nsually straiglit; hut instances are met with of it cnrvcd, as in those of I-lgypt. 5 Ecclesiast. i. 0. CHAP. III. CHARIOTS OF WOOD. 34^3 2 3 No. 52. Making the polo and other parts of a chariot. Thchcs. made at that very remote era, and the skill of their workmen. And that this last was of wood, and not, as some have imagined, of bronze or other metal, we have a decided proof, from the repre- sentations of workmen, cutting and fashioning it with an axe.* The body of the car was exceedingly light, con- sisting of a wooden framework, strengthened and ornamented with metal and leather binding, like many of those mentioned by Homer t: the bottom part, on which the charioteer stood, was flat, whe- ther of an entire piece, or of the thongs already alluded to, the whole resting on the axle-tree and lower extremity of the pole, which was itself inserted into the axle. Its centre was not placed directly over the axle, in order to be on an equilibrium, but much more forward, the back part seldom ex- tending behuid the middle of the wheel, so that the body pressed considerably upon the pole, to * Wood-cut, No. 52. fig. .3. f Homer, II. k, 438. Resus' car was bound with sold and .silver ; that of Diomed with gold and tin. z 4 344 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. which also the upper rim of its front was con- nected by means of thongs or straps. The weight was therefore divided between the wheels and the horses ; but as a chariot was easily carried by one man*, we may conclude that even with the addi- tion of two persons it was not such as to fatigue the horses, and this mode of placing it had the ad- vantage of rendering the motion far more easy to the driver.t When the horses were taken out, the pole, unless propped up in some manner, fell to the ground ; they therefore rested it on a support, which was sometimes a wooden figure of a man, intended to represent a captive, or enemy, who was considered fitted for this degrading office. The greater portion of the sides, and the whole of the back, were open ; the latter indeed entirely so, without any rim or framework above ; and the hinder part of the lateral framework commenced nearly in a line with the centre of the wheel, and rising perpen- dicularly, or slightly inclined backwards, from the base of the car, extended with a curve, at the height of about two feet and a half, to the front, serving as well for a safeguard to the driver, as a supj)ort for his quivers and bow-case. To strengthen it, three thongs of leather were attached at either side, and an upright of wood connected it with the base of the front part immediately above the pole, where the straps before mentioned were fastened ; as may be seen in those 1 have already given from the an- • In tlic sculptures. Anotlicr supports the |)olc and traces. f The Ixxly of the (ir( ok car was also placed very forward, less so than that of I^;,'V|>t ; hnt it must liave heeii niui h heavier. CHAP. III. CHARIOTS. ^4.5 cient paintings and sculptures of Thebes, and in the accompanying view of the simple body of a car, re- presented according to our European mode of draw- No. 53. fips. 1. 2. Chariots, in perspective. figs. 3. i. Saddles and part of the yoke. From dijfejcnt Sculp/uirs. ing. It is, however, reasonable to suppose that they sometimes varied slightly in form, and that the car of war was of a different construction in some re- spects from the plau.strum*y or from the curricle of * The Roman plaiistrnm had two, sometimes four, wheels. The waggons, or rather carts, sent by Pharaoh for Jacob are called, in 346 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. (No. .W. a.) A war chariDt, with bow cases and complete rurnitiire. Tliiiics (No. rA I'. Chariol of the Itut-M-iio. CHAP. III. CHARIOTS. 150W-(:ASl!;. 847 towns ; and we not only find the two last destitute of all the cases for weapons except that of the bow, and sometimes of that also, but the solid portion of their sides was generally lower than in the former, where greater protection was required for those within ; and on this account the Greek cars were entirely closed, except at the back.* The bow-case, frequently richly ornamented, with the figure of a lion or other devices, was placed in an inclined position, pointing forwards ; its upper edge, immediately below the flexible leather cover, being generally on a level with the summit of the framework of the chariot ; so that when the bow was drawn out, the leather cover fell downwards, and left the upper part on an uninter- rupted level. In battle this was of course a matter of no importance ; but in the city, where the bow- case was considered an elegant part of the orna- mental hangings of a car, and continued to be at- tached to itt, they paid some attention to the posi- tion and fall of the pendent cover, deprived as it there was of its bow, since, as I have elsewhere observed, the civilized state of Egyptian society required the absence of all arms, except on service. Hebrew, m'?jy, wheeled carriages ; the chariot was rriDin, or nsi (une monture). 1 use plaustrum for a two-wheeled chariot drawn by oxen. * In pi. iii. of Hope's Costumes is a car less closed than usual. f The following passage of Homer shows that the how was sus- pended to tiie car, and exemplifies what I have before remarked (p. 72.), the severity of filial duties in those times. " A.VTup uy' viai; cffia^av ivrpo'^ov iiixioviU)v, 'OnXinai i]Vi)jyii, irnpivOa Ct ^rjaca stt' avTiic." II. w, 189.; vide also lines 253. 2G7. 348 THE ANCIENT EGYrTIANS. CHAP. HI. The quivers and spear-cases were suspended in a contrary direction, pointing backwards ; sometimes an additional quiver was attached close to the bow- case, with a mace and other arms, and every war chariot containing two men was furnished with the same number of bows. The framework, as I have stated, was of wood, like the pole, wheels, and other parte* of the cliariot ; and we even find the mode of bending the wood for that purpose represented in the sculptures.* In the ornamental trappings, hangings, and binding of the framework and cases, leather was principally used, dyed of various hues, and afterwards adorned with metal edges and studs, according to the taste of the workman or purchaser ; and the wheels, strengthened at the joints of the felly with bronze or brass bands, were bound with a hoop of metal, t The Egyptians themselves have not failed to point out what parts were the peculiar province of the carpenter and the currier. The body and frame- work of the car, the pole, yoke, and wheels, were the work of the former ; the cases for the bows and other arms, the saddle and harness, the binding of the framework, and the coverings of the body, were finished by the currier ; and lest it should not be sufficiently evident that they are engaged in cutting and bending the leather for this purpose, the artist has distinctly j)()inted out (he nature of the sub- *' yidr wood-cut, No. .VI., next pa^c. t (Jonf. Horn. II. t, 72i. : — " 'Vdit' tjroi XC'""'/ ""('i- (ifOinir, iiiiriif) vTrtftDtv CHAP. III. THE VARIOUS TARTS OF A CHARIOT. 349 '. Vide vvooil-ciit, No. 55., c. \ The spokes appear to have lieeii generally roiiiul. j Homer gives the car of Jiiiio wheels with eight s|)okc.s, " kvk\<( . . , oKTciKviiiifi" (II. f, 72',i.), whicli is the usual nnniher in the Greek Kciilptures ; instances, however, occur of four, six, and twelve. Vide IIo|)e's Costumes, |ii. iii. 205. and 2'.i(y. § There is only one nprisiiitalion o( a cariiagc with four wheels. Viilc wood-Luf at the t^nihof Chap. \J/ C CIJAT. 111. CIIAUIOT HARNESS. 851 probably contemned by them as by all nations who made any great advances in military tactics ; nor was it their custom to use camels, or elephants, in war, like the Indians and some other nations of antiquity * ; and it is probable that the former were only employed in their army for the transport of baggage and provisions, much of which was carried upon asses t, in those parts where water was abundant. The harness of curricles and war chariots was nearly similar ; and the pole in either case was supported on a curved yoke fixed to its extremity by a strong pin, and bound with straps or thongs of leather. The yoke, resting upon a small well padded saddle, was firmly fitted into a groove of metal ; and the saddle, placed upon the horses' withers, and furnished with girths and a breast- band, was surmounted by an ornamental knob ; and in front of it a small hook secured the bearing rein. The other reins passed through a thong or ring at the side of the saddle, and thence over the projecting extremity of the yoke ; and the same thong secured the girths, and even appears in some instances to have been attached to them. In the war chariots, a large ball, placed upon a shaft, projected above the saddle, which is generally supposed to have been connected with the reins, and to have been intended to give a * And even by the Greeks after the time of Alexander. ■f Baggage carried by asses is represented at Thebes and other places, but no camels have yet been met with, either in the sculptures or the hieroglyphics ; a remark which has been made even by Abd-el Azccs, the Arab historian. For this I can give no reason, since we know that animal existed in Egypt in the time of Abraham. Gen. xii. 16. 352 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. 111. greater power to the driver*, by enabling him to draw them over a groove in its centre ; but there is reason to believe it was added solely for an orna- mental purpose, like the fancy head-dresses of the horses, and fixed to the yoke immediately above the centre of the saddle t, or to the head of a pin which connected the yoke to the pole.t The same kind of ornament §, though of a different form, is met with in Persian cars; and that it was not a No. 5ft Saddle of a horse yoked in a Persian ear. Brilish Museum. necessary part of the harness is shown by the many instances of its omission in Egyptian curricles, and even in some of the chariots of war. II The traces were single, one only on the inner side of each horse, fastened to the lower part of the ])ole, and thence extending to the saddle ; but no exterior trace was thought necessary : and no provi- sion was made for attaching it to the car. Indeed the * Such was my own opinion ; l)ut on fnrthcr examination of numerous drawings of chariots, lam inclined to believe it stood on the yoke or the pole. + Vide wood-cut, No. .'i3. ,//;,'. 2. i i'(V/r wood-cut. No. ."i^./fX'. I. y^ /ji/t wood-cut, No. 50., at f. y Vulc wood-cuts, Nos.lB. and 4!>. CHAP. III. THE TRACES. 353 yoke sufficed for all the purposes of draught as well as for backmg the chariot ; and being fixed to the saddle, it kept the horses at the same distance and in the same relative position, and prevented their breaking outwards from the line of draught, a re- mark which applies equally to the Greek car ; and the description given of it by Homer * agrees very * II. £, 722. et seq. : — " 'H6»j 5' Oju^' oxfff^o'* ^ov, axle ; the irvg, wooden fellies of the wheel ; the tTTKjffojrpa, metal hoops ; the irXtjiivr], its box or nave ; the avTvyeg, sides or framework of the car ; pv/iog, the pole, sometimes nine cubits, or 13| ft. in length, (II. (i>, 270.), with the H^vyov, yoke, fastened at its extremity; and the XtTraSva, or Straps over the horse's breast. In another place (II. w, 268.) he describes the mode of fixing the yoke to the pole, by a ring passing over a peg at its extremity, and by a strap nine cubits in length, lashed thrice backwards and forwards across a prominent boss in the centre of the yoke, the end of the strap being tied in a knot below : — Zuyov .... ofKpaXofv . E/c S' t tm pvficfi, Jlt^y iTTi Trpiory, tiri dt KpiKOv karopi f3aXXov' Tptg 5' tKartpOfv iStjrrav nr' ofKpaXov' avrap tTrtira 'E^tiTjg KartSrjaav, inro yXwxiva 5' tyvafi\pav'" but as this refers to a moveable yoke, taken off the pole when the animals were released, it bears less resemblance to that of the Egyptian chariot than of the plough or cart, as I shall have occasion to remark hereafter, when comparing it with an ox-yoke found by Signor d'Anas- tasy in a tomb at Thebes. It may not be uninteresting, while examining the subject, to notice the Roman carriages. Besides litters or palanquins, and other modes of conveyance, they had carriages called unarotnm, with one wheel, drawn VOL. I. A A 354 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. nearly with that used by the Egyptians. In order to render this more intelUgible, I shall introduce a pair of horses yoked to a chariot according to by slaves; the Inrotiim, and tlic qtintrbndiiim, witli two, aiul four wheels. The higa -wixa a car with two horses; the trign, with tlircc ; and the CHAP. III. HOUSINGS, ETC. 355 the rules of European drawing, derived from a comparison of the numerous representations in the sculptures, omitting only their housings and head- dress, which may be readily understood in an Egyp- tian picture. On grand occasions the Egyptian horses were decked* with fancy ornaments : a rich striped or checkered housing t, trimmed with a broad border and large pendent tassels, covered the whole body, and two or more feathers t inserted in lions* heads, or some other device of gold, formed a crest upon the summit of the head-stall. But this display was confined to the chariots of the monarch, or the military chiefs ; and it was thought sufficient, in quadriga with four : we even read of six horses yoked abreast ; and Nero once drove a chariot with ten liorses at the Olympic games. The two- wheeled quadriga was most generally used, and preferred for the circus ; the biga was commonly employed in war ; it had also two wheels, and contained a warrior and the driver. The pilentum was a carriage prin- cipally intended for matrons, when going to the games; it had four wheels, like the rheda, a large travelling coach, and the petorritum, an open town carriage. The essedum was a light swift car, driven in the city, and adopted from the Gauls ; and the plaustrum, properly a cart, with two, and occasionally four, wheels, was intended for heavy burdens, though less cumbrous than the four-wheeled carrus, or waggon. The parts of the chariot were the wheels (rotae), the body (capsum or ploxe- mum), the pole (temo), and the yoke (jugum). The nave (modiolus), the fellies (apsides), the spokes (radii), and the metal hoop (canthus), were the parts of the wheel. The yoke was usually of wood, extending over the back of the two horses, of a crooked shape to fit the neck ; and it was tied to the pole with leathern thongs, frequently with a pin or ring, as in the Greek and Egyptian cars. Vide Hope's Costumes, plate 271. * Conf. Virg. ^n. vii. 275. : — " Instratos ostro alipedes pictisque tapetis, Aurea pectoribus demissa monilia pendent." And Hom. II. w, 230. ■j- Vide plate 1. j Probably peacock's feathers. A A ^2 356 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. the harness of other cars, and of the town curricle, to adorn the bridles with rosettes, which resemble, and cannot fail to call to mind, those used in Eng- land at the present day.* Blinkers t were deemed unnecessary, as in many countries of modern Europe; but a severe bit appears to have been employed by the Egyptians t as by other ancient people § ; though, from their mode of representing it, we should rather feel dis- posed to consider it a sort of snaffle than a curb. The head and upper part of the neck were fre- quently enveloped in a rich covering similar to the housing, trimmed with a leather fringe ; and the bridle, consisting of two cheek pieces, a throatlash, head-stall, and the forehead and nose straps, though simple, was not unornamental. No instance occurs of Egyptian chariots with more than two horses, nor of any carriage fur- nished with shafts and drawn by one horse ; they therefore resembled those in general use among the early Greeks, as described by Homer ||; though the poet occasionally mentions the four-horsed car, answering to the quadriga of the Latins, so * Vide wood-cut. No. 57. + In one or two instances we find something projecting above and at the side of the eyes, which may be intended to re[)rcscnt blinkers. J Tliis I conchide from the api)carance of their nioutiis ; and a simple bit may be made very severe. $ Conf. Hor. lil). i. Od. 8. : — " (iallica nee lupatis Tempcrat ora frenis." II ITom. II. f, 195.: — " Uapa Si (T(j)iv tKutrrf^ uCvyiQ iiriroi Like the biga of the Romans. CHAP. III. CARS OF OTHER PEOPLE. 357 frequently represented in sculpture and on ancient coins. Those used by contemporary eastern nations, with whom the Egyptians were at war, were not dissimilar in their general form or in the mode of yoking the horses, even if they differed in the num- ber of persons they contained, having usually three instead of the two in Egyptian and Greek cars : as may be seen from an examination of those repre- sented in the paintings of Thebes *, particularly that which is brought with its two unyoked horses, as a present to the Egyptian monarch, by the con- quered people of Rot-ii-not, and one actually found in Egypt, and now preserved in the museum at Florence, supposed by some to have been taken No. 58. Car and bow, in the collection at Florence (from the great work of Professor Rosellini). from the Scythians by the Egyptian victors. The harness of the Persian chariots figured at Persepolis * Vide wood-cut. f Plde wood-cut. No. 53. b. and plate 4. A A 3 558 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. is equally simple ; and as it is interesting to com- pare the customs of different ancient nations, it may not be irrelevant to the subject to introduce a copy of one taken from the work of Sir R. Ker Porter. * No. 59, Persian car (from Sir R. Ker Porter). The Egyptian chariot corps, like the infantry, were divided into light and heavy troops, both armed with bows : the former chiefly employed in harassing the enemy with missiles, and in evolu- tions requiring rapidity of movement ; the latter called upon to break through opposing masses of infantry, after having galled them during their advance witli a heavy shower of arrows ; and in order to enable them to charge vvitli greater security tliey were furnished witli a shield, which was not required for the other mounted archers, and a long sj)ear was substituted on these occasions for the • It may be seen in the British Museum. fide also vvoocl-cut> No. 56. CHAP. III. SIEGES. 3d9 missiles they had previously employed. The light- armed chariot corps were also supplied with wea- pons adapted to close combat, as the sword, club, and javelin ; but they had neither the spear nor shield ; and indeed this last was confined to cer- tain corps, even of infantry, as the spearmen and others, already mentioned. But the heavy foot, and light troops employed in the assault of fortified towns, were all provided with shields, under cover of which they made approaches to the place ; and so closely was the idea of a siege connected with this arm*, that a figure of the king, who is some- times introduced in the sculptures, as the repre- sentative of the whole army, advancing with his shield before him, is intended to show that the place was taken by assault. SIEGES. In attacking a fortified town, they advanced under cover of the arrows of the bowmen ; and either instantly applied the scaling ladder to the ramparts, or undertook the routine of a regular siege : in which case, having advanced to the walls, they posted themselves under cover of testudos, and shook and dislodged the stones of the parapet with a species of battering ramt, directed and impelled by a body of men expressly chosen for this service ; but when the place held out against these attacks, and neither a coup de maiuy * Conf. 2 Kings, xix. 32. " Nor come before it (the city) with shield, nor cast a bank aj^ainst it." Isaiah, xxxvii. 33. f See wood-cut. No. 60. A A 4 CHAP. III. USE OF THE TESTUDO. 361 the ladder, nor the ram, were found to succeed, they probably used the testudo for concealing and pro- tecting the sappers, while they mined the place* ; and certainly, of all people, the Egyptians were the most likely to have recourse to this stratagem of war, from the great practice they had in under- ground excavations, and in directing shafts through the solid rock. The testudo was of frame-work, sometimes sup- ported by poles having a forked summit, and covered, in all probability, with hides ; it was suffi- ciently large to contain several men, and so placed that the light troops might mount upon the out- side, and thus obtain a footing on more elevated ground, apply the ladders with greater precision, or obtain some other important advantage ; and each party was commanded by an officer of skill, and frequently by those of the first rank.t The TfiUTravov or pike of the testudo arietaria of the Greeks and Romans, and the covering or vinea which protected the men while they worked the battering-ram, were nearly on the same principle, and the Greeks most probably borrowed theirs originally from Egypt. They also endeavoured to force open the gates of the town, or hew them down with axes ; and when the fort was built upon a rock, they escaladed the precipitous part by means of the testudo, or by * The testudo ad fodiendum of Vitruvius, which, he says, the Greeks call opv'i., opvyig. Lib. x. c. 21. There was another, quae ad congestionem fossaruin paratur. Lib. x. c. 20. Fide Egypt and Thebes, p. 235. note f , and supra, p. 67. -|- Wood-cut, No. 6 L Four of the king's sons command the four testudos, a, h, c, d, VOL. I. * A A 5 )62 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. II r. 12 3 4 No. 61. Assault of a fort. The testucio and scaling ladder. Thcbra. short spikes of metal, wliich they forced into the crevices of tlie stone*, and tlien a])])lied the ladder to the ranij)arts. * Vide wood-cut, No. C)\.Jl^. .'J. CHAP. III. WARLIKE ENGINES. 363 It is reasonable to conclude that several other engines were employed in sieges with which the sculptures * have not made us acquainted j and the bulwarks used by the Jewst, on their march to the promised land, were doubtless borrowed from those of Egypt, where they had lived until they became a nation, and from whence they derived the greater part of their knowledge upon every sub- ject. These bulwarks being only constructed in the case of a siege, appear to have been similar to some of the mounds or towers employed by the Greeks in later times : they were of wood, and made on the spot during the siege, the trees of the neighbouring country being cut down for the purpose : but the Jews deemed it unlawful to fell a fruit tree for the construction of warlike engines, nor were they permitted to use any other than those which grew wild, or in an uncultivated spot, t Besides bulwarks or moveable towers, we may also suppose the Egyptians adopted destructive missiles, for burning the houses and works of the besieged, like the fire-balls, 7ru§ojQoXo< Xi^oi, of the Greeks, or the o-^uraXaia, wooden staves, armed with an iron point, and carrying with them lighted fire-brands ; and the same mode of protecting their own works, from the assaults of the besieged, was probably resorted to by the Egyptians as by that people. * The scaling ladder is most frequently represented, and seems to have been very generally used, t Deut. XX. 20. % " For the tree of the field is man's life." Deut. xx. 1 9. 364f THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. The northern and eastern tribes, against whom the Egyptians fought, were armed in many mstances with the same weapons as the disciphned troops of the Pharaohs, as bows and spears ; they had besides long swords, rude massive clubs, and knives ; and their coats of mail, helmets, and shields, varied in form, according to the custom of each nation. They also used stones, which were thrown with the hand, while defending the walls of a besieged town ; but it does not appear that either the Egyptians or their enemies threw them on any other occasions, except with a sling. Indeed we seldom find any people armed with stones, except those who have not yet advanced beyond their infancy in the art of war*; and the same remark applies to the Greeks, during the siege of Troy, some of whom are introduced by Homer, fighting with these rude weapons, — an era, when Grecian manners, and military tactics, were only beginning to emerge from a state of primitive simplicity. THE ENEMIES WITH WHOM THEY FOUGHT. The most distinguishing peculiarities of some of the nations at war with the Egyptians, were the • Horace says, Sat. i. 3. 101. : — " Unfiuibiis, et pugnis, dcin fustibus .... PiiUiiabant ; " and Lucretius nuiitions tlie liand.s, nails, teeth, stones, and l)rani'hes of trees, as tlie earliest wea{)ons : — " Arma antiqiia, nianiis, ungues, dent:i Jiij,. .'*. a. I Viilc wood-cut, No. (j(i.//V;. 1. CHAP. in. THE REBO, A POWERFUL PEOPLE. Sjl his wars against the Rebo; and though they occur among the foreigners who had been conquered by the arms of Egypt, the same feehng of inveterate enmity, resulting from a repeated succession of con- flicts, did not exist towards them as towards many otJier Asiatic tribes. The same remark appHes to another people, represented at Medeenet Haboo*, as allies of the Egyptians, whose name has been unfortunately lost : they were clad in a short tight dress, and carried a shield, like the former, with a bow and a heavy club ; but of their features we have little or no knowledge, owing to the imperfect state of the sculptures. One of the most formidable Asiatic enemies en- countered by the Egyptians were the Rebot, — a fact attested by the frequent representations of severe contests ; the large masses of troops they brought into the field ; the great duration of a war which, commencing at a very remote era, con- tinued long after the accession of the nineteenth dynasty ; and by their having been selected in the Egyptian paintings t as the type of Asia, or the representation, par excellence, of the nations of the East. One of the principal military events in the glorious reign of the great Remeses was his suc- cess against these powerful enemies ; and three victories over the Rebo, won with great slaughter, by Remeses III. about a century later, added afar * Fide the allies, in wood-cut, No. 1 1-^^'. 3. -|- Fide wood-cut, No. 62. fig. i. j As in the procession of figures — emblematic of the four quarters oi' the world, north, east, south, and west — in Belzoni's toniii. B B ^^ 372 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. 111. hriffhter lustre to his name, tlian the numerous defeats of other Asiatic people, though they en- riched him with immense booty, and considerably increased the extent of the Egyptian conquests. In these encounters several thousand of the enemy were killed, as reported in the Egyptian returns ; and the obstinacy of the fight, and the firm resist- ance they opposed to the highly disciplined and numerous forces of their antagonists, distinctly prove them to have been a nation both powerful and skilled in the art of war. They were defeated, but not conquered ; nor would any portion of them submit to become allies of the Egyptians: and from the long duration of the war, the repeated attempts made by the Pharaohs to subjugate their country, their marked hatred of them, and their eagerness to commemorate each victory, we may conclude the Egyptians had also suffered during these campaigns ; and though, as might be ex- pected, the sculptured history in the Thelxin tem- ples merely relates the victories of the Pharaohs, the Ilebo themselves had probably reason to record their own successful resistance, and sometimes even the defeat of the invaders. From the style of their costume, and the lightness of tlieir complexion, it is evident they inhabited a northern* as well as an Asiatic country, very dis- * Besides c<)lf)iir, wc have always a |)t, and the tinee-leaved (h)wer of anotlier water |)lant, to ()oint out the Afiiean or soiitliern trihes, as may he seiii in tiie wood- cnt, No. (in. /7i,'. f). of the Asmaor, and//i,'. 10. of a hhick eaptive from CHAP. III. DRESS OF THE RE130. 673 tant from Egypt, and of a far more temperate climate. Their dress consisted of an under gar- ment, with the usual short kelt, and a long outer robe, highly coloured, and frequently ornamented with fancy devices, or a broad rich border, which descended to the ankles, and was fastened at the neck with a large bow, or by a strap over the shoulder, the lower part being open in front. It was not bound by a gh'dle : this was worn beneath it; though the Egyptian artists occasion- ally represent it as if worn above, or seen through the transparent robe : but the substance of the latter was generally too thick to admit of this, being sometimes of bulls* hide or leather, and sometimes of a woollen stuff. Their girdle was highly orna- mented, and the extremity falling down in front terminated in a large tassel*; and so fond were they of decorating their persons, that besides ear- rings, necklaces, and trinkets, common to Asiatic and other tribes, the chiefs decked their heads with feathers, and some painted or tattooed their arms and legs. If the costumes of several foreign nations met with in the Egyptian sculptures call to mind those of Persia and Parthia, none perhaps resemble them more than that of the Rebo, or of the Rot-h-no, whom I shall presently describe. The hair of the Rebo was not less singular than their dress : it was Africa. These two plants, in like manner, are chosen as emblems of the lower or northern, and upper or southern, divisions of Egypt. * Very like that of a Persepolitan figure in wood-cut. No. 64. Jig. 3. B B 3 374 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. divided into separate parts, one of which fell in ringlets over the forehead, and the other over the back of the head ; and a plaited lock of great length, passing nearly over the ear, descended to the breast, and terminated in a curled point. In feature they were as remarkable as in costume ; and the Egyptians have not failed to indicate their most striking peculiarities, as blue eyes, aquiline nose, and small red beards. Their arms consisted principally of the bow, and a long straight sword with an exceedingly sharp point ; and it is probable that to their skill in the use of the former we may attribute their effectual resistance to the repeated invasions of the Egyptians. Another Eastern nation, with whom the Egyp- tians were already at war in the remote age of Amun-m-gori II.*, or about iGSO years before our era, was the Pountt ; who were subsequently com- pelled to pay tribute to Egypt in the reign of the third Thothmes. Proud of their liberty, they neglected no opportunity to throw off the yoke, and the records of the repeated invasion of their country by successive Pharaohs prove their inde- pendent spirit, and their courage in expelling the invaders. Their features were less marked than those of many Oriental people re})resented in the sculp- tures : they shaved their beards, and wore their liair enveloped in a large cap, bound with a fillet, * Mentioned on a stone found by Mr. Hntron in the desert of" tlic lied Sea; where I met with the small tempU- and station of Wailec (Jasoos, mentioned in my I'^j^ypt and Thebes, p. 'MH. f Or, I'onont. r/f/f wood-eiit, No. ()2.//ir. .5. CHAP. HI. THE rOUNT AND SHAUr. S'^5 like many of the tribes of the interior, and tlie Syrians who bordered upon Egypt. Their dress consisted chiefly of a short kelt, secured with the usual girdle : and though of a lighter hue than the Egyptians, they appear to have inhabited a region lying more to the south than the Rot-h-no or the Koofa, who were also tributary at the same period to Thothmes III. Among the presents brought by them to the Egyptian monarch were the ibex, leopard*, baboon, ape, ostrich eggs and feathers, dried fruits and skins ; and exotic shrubs, with ebony and ivory, seem to prove that they lived in a cultivated country as well as a warm climate.t The Sharit were another Eastern or Northern people, against whom the Egyptians waged a suc- cessful war, principally in the reigns of Osirei and his son, the great Remeses ; and I am inclined to think them either an Assyrian tribe, or the inhabit- ants of some part of Arabia. The former appears more probable, though the fact of the Arabian Gulf having been called by the Egyptians the Sea of Shari may argue in favour of the latter. Their features were marked by a prominent aquiline nose and high cheek bones : they had a large beard ; and their head-dress consisted either of a cap bound, like that of the Fount, with a fillet, or a skull-cap fitting loosely to the head, secured by a * Very like the hunting leopard of India, or felis jiibata. + Vide upper line ot" figures in plate 4. if M. Champollion was mistaken in supposing them the Bishari, who inhabit the deserts of Nubia, as I have already observed in my Egypt and Thebes, p. 484. I mention this again, because the respectable name of a person like M. Champollion is likely to perpetuate an error which can only have been accidental. B B 4 376 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. band, and terminating at the end, which fell down behind, in a ball or tassel.* Their dress con- sisted of a long loose robe reaching to the ankles, and fastened at the waist by a girdle, the upper part furnished with ample sleeves. The girdle was sometimes highly ornamented : men as well as women wore ear-rings ; and they frequently had a small cross suspended to a necklace, or to the collar of their dress. The adoption of this last was not peculiar to them ; it was also appended to, or figured upon, the robes of the Rot-h-no ; and traces of it may be seen in the fancy ornaments of the Rebo, showing that it was already in use as early as the 15th century before the Christian era. Their principal arms were the bow, spear, two javelins, and a sword or club ; and their country was defended by several strongly fortified towns. But no want of courage prevented their resisting the Egyptian invaders in the open field ; and it was only after severe struggles that they retired to those strong-holds, which were bravely, though unsuc- cessfully, defended. Some wore a sort of double belt, crossing the body and passing over each shoulder, and this, together with the pointed cap, so much resembling the dress of Tirhaka*s cap- tives!, cannot fail to remind us of the Syrians or Assyrians, whose name bears a strong analogy to the one before us. The Rot-h-no t, supposed by M. Champoliion to * Jldr wood-cut, No. 02. //,:,'. (i. r. f Vide wood-nit, No. (Ki. The .saiiu' iiiiiy he olj^irvcd in (hi; Per- sian figures of flic heanlilul tcsselated |)avenient latily discovcTcd at I'oinpcii. { /'9. /if^. Hi. c, d. CHAP. III. NATIONS IN ALLIANCE WITH EGYPT. 389 The names of foreign nations who acted as auxiliaries of the Egyptians I have ah-eady no- ticed. The first unequivocal mention of these alliances* are in the sculptures of the great Re- mesest, where the Shairetana unite with him in an expedition against the Sheta. They had been previously conquered by the Pharaohs, with whom they entered into a treaty, agreeing to furnish troops and to assist them in tlieir future wars : and firm to their engagements, they continued to main- tain a friendly intercourse with the Egyptians for a considerable length of time, and joined the army of the third Remeses, when, about a century later, he marched into Asia, to attack the Tokkari and the Rebo. In the war against the Rebo, Reineses was assisted by another body of auxiliaries, whose high fur cap sufficiently denotes their Oriental origin 1^; and a third tribe, whose name is likewise lost, aided the Egyptians in the same campaign. It is evident that the Tokkari also united with the invaders against the Rebo, and contributed to the successes of the third Remeses ; but either a portion of their tribe still remained hostile to the Egyptians, or some cause of complaint alienated their friendship, and we find that they were soon afterwards engaged in war with that monarch. Being joined by many of the Shairetana, to whose country they fled for refuge after their first defeat; * Perhaps we ma}' also trace them in the time of Osirtasen I, f At the Memnonium and Aboosimbel. Tz'^e wood-cut, No. 61. ^gs. 5. and 6. % Vide wood-cut, No. 1 1 . /g. 2., the same as Jig. 3. in wood-cut No. 62. c c 3 390 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. and relying on the protection promised them by the fleet of that maritime people, they offered battle to the Egyptians : but their combined efforts were ineffectual ; they were again reduced to sub- jection ; and Remeses, loaded with booty and a considerable number of captives, returned to Egypt, accompanied by the auxiliary legions of those of the Shairetana, Tokkari, and the other allies, who had remained faithful to him. MARCH OF THE EGYPTIAN ARMY. When an expedition was resolved upon against a foreign nation, the necessary preparations were made throughout the country, each province fur- nishing its quotum of men ; and the members of the mihtary class were summoned to muster in whatever numbers the monarch deemed it neces- sary to require. The troops were generally commanded by the king in person ; but in some instances a general was appointed to that post, and intrusted with the sole conduct of the war.* A place of rendezvous was fixed, in early times generally at Thebes, Memphis, or Pelusiinn ; and the troops having assembled in tlie vicinity, re- mained encamped there, awaiting the leader of the ex])edition. As soon as he arrived, the neces- sary preparations were made ; and orders having been issued for tiieir march, a signal was given by sound of trumpet ; the troops fell in, and with a * This was tlie case when the army was sent by Apries aijaiiist the ryreneans. Herod, ii. l()l. CHAP. III. MARCH OF THE ARMY. 391 profound bow each soldier in the ranks saKited the royal general, and acknowledged his readi- ness to receive his orders, and to follow him to the field. The march then commenced * ; the chariots led the van; and the king, mounted in his car of war, and attended by his chief officers t carrying flabella, took his post in the centre, pre- ceded and followed by bodies of infantry armed with bows, spears, or other weapons, according to their respective corps. On commencing the attack in the open field, a signal was again made by sound of trumpet. The archers drawn up in line first discharged a shower No. 70. A body oi archers. * It is represented at Medeenet Haboo. If the whole of the back part of that temple were cleared, much more might be obtained from those interesting sculptures. ■f" If he had sons, they held this office, which was considered a very honourable post. C C i 392 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. of arrows on the enemy's front, and a considerable mass of chariots advanced to the charge ; the heavy infantry, armed with spears or clubs, and covered with their shields, moved forwards at the same time in close array, flanked by chariots and cavalry*, and pressed upon the centre and wings of the enemy, the archers still galling the hostile columns with their arrows, and endeavouring to create disorder in their ranks, t PRISONERS, BOOTY, AND ENCAMPMENTS. Their mode of warfare was not like that of na- tions in their infancy, or in a state of barbarism ; and it is evident, from the number of prisoners they took, that they spared the prostrate who asked for quarter : and the representations of per- sons slaughtered by the Egyptians who have overtaken them, are intended to allude to what ha})pened in the heat of action, and not to any wanton cruelty on the part of the victors. Indeed in the naval fight of Remeses III. t, the Egyptians, both in the ships and on the sliore, are seen res- cuing the enemy, whose galley has been sunk, from a watery grave ; and the humanity of that i)eople is strongly argued, whose artists deem it a virtue, worthy of being recorded among the glorious ac- tions of tiicir coiuitrymcn. * The cliariots arc represented in this position, the eavalry I siig- f^est from prohal)ility, thougli not inihcaletl in the .sciil[)tures. + At Medeenet Jlal)oo, in Thebes. I At Medecnet Ilaboo. CHAP. III. THEIR CONDUCT IN WAR. 303 Those who sued for mercy and laid down their arms, were spared and sent bound from the field ; and, as I have already observed, the hands of the slain being cut off, and placed in heaps before the king, immediately after the action, were counted by the military secretaries in his presence, who thus ascertained and reported to him the amount of the enemy*s slain. Sometimes their tongues, and occasionally other members, were laid before him in the same manner ; in all instances being intended as authentic returns of the loss of the foe : for which the soldiers received a proportionate reward, divided among the whole army : the cap- ture of prisoners probably claiming a higher pre- mium, exclusively enjoyed by the captor. The arms, horses, chariots, and booty, taken in the field, or in the camp, were also collected, and the same officers wrote an account of them, and pre- sented it to the monarch. The booty was some- times collected in an open space, surrounded by a temporary wall, indicated in the sculptures by the representation of shields placed erect, with a wicker gate *, on the inner and outer face of which a strong guard was posted, the sentries walking to and fro with drawn swords. The subject, from which this is taken t, may serve to show their mode of encamping ; for though, after they had been victorious, and no longer feared an attack, the strongly fortified camp was unnecessary, its general * Vkfe wood-cut. No. 7 1 ., next page. f On the N. E. tower of the Memnonium, at Thebes. 394 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. form maybe hence inferred; and the only dif- ference between this and a permanent station, or /' <• b A guard at the gates of an encampment. regular encampment, (the castra stativa of the Romans) probably consisted in the latter being constructed with greater attention to the principles of defence, and furnished with ditches and a strong efficient rampart. Judging from those of El Kab, Hieracon, and other fortified places in the valley of the Nile, distinct from the towns themselves, their fixed stations were surrounded by a massive and lofty wall of brick, whose broad rampart, having a wide staircase, or inchned way, was fur- nished with a parapet wall, for the protection of the soldiers ; and though, from the nature of the ground, or other accidental causes, they were not CHAP. III. MODE OF ENCAMPING. 395 strictly confined to the figure of a square, the quadrangular form was always preferred, and no instance occurs of a round camp like that of the Lacedaemonians. It was forbidden to the Spartan soldier, when on guard, to have his shield, in order that, being de- prived of this defence, he might be more cautious not to fall asleep ; and the same custom appears to have been common also to the Egyptians, since we find the watch on duty at the camp gates are only armed with swords and maces, though belonging to the heavy-armed corps, who, on other occasions, were in the habit of carrying a shield. * The field encampment was either a square or a parallelogram, with a principal entrance in one of the faces ; and near the centre were the generaPs tent, and those of the principal officers. In form, it resembled a Roman camp ; but the position of the general's tent agreed with the Greek custom mentioned by Homer t, and differed from that of the Romans, who placed the praetoriumt on the side most distant, or least exposed to attack, from the enemy. The general's tent was sometimes surrounded by a double rampart or fosse, enclosing * Vide wood-cut, No. 71. f Horn. II. e, 222. : — " 2ry S' en' OSvffarjo^ fteyaKTirt'i vrji fiiKaivy H p' iv fie(7ffar<^ taKt, ytyu)Vf.jxiv aiJ.(poTtp(ijae" '• High on the midmost bark the king appear'd : There, from Ulysses' deck, his voice was heard." Poj)e, viii. 270. J Or general's tent. 396 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. two distinct areas, the outer one containing three tents, probably of the next in command, or of the officers on the staff; and the guards, like the Roman excubige, slept or watched in the open air. Other tents were pitched without these en- closures ; and near the external circuit, a space was set apart for feeding horses and beasts of burthen, and another for ranging the chariots and baggage. It was probably near the general's tent, and within the same area, that the altars of the gods, or whatever related to religious matters, the standards, and the military chest, were kept ; and we find an instance of persons kneeling before cer- tain sacred emblems beneath a canopy, within an enclosure similar to that where the tent stood. To judge from the mode of binding their pri- soners, we might suppose they treated them with unnecessary harshness and even cruelty, at the moment of their capture, and during their march with the army ; and the contempt with which they looked upon all foreigners, whom they stig- matised by the name of impure gentiles, did probably lead many of the soldiers to commit acts of brutal severity. They tied their hands behind their backs, or over their heads, in the most strained positions, and a rope passing round their neck fastened them to each other ; and some had their hands enclosed in an elongated fetter of wood*, made of two opposite segments, nailed to- * J'idc wooil-ciit, No. U2. at tlic eml of ('liap. IV. CHAP. III. TREATMENT OF THE CONQUERED. 397 gether at each end ; such as are still used for securing prisoners in Egypt, at the present day. In the capture of a town some were beaten with sticks*, in order to force from them the secret of the booty that had been concealed ; many were compelled to labour for the benefit of the victors ; and others were insulted by the wanton soldiery, who pulled their beards and derided their ap- pearance. But when we remember how frequently instances of harsh treatment have occurred, even among civilised Europeans, at an epoch which deemed itself much more enlightened than the fourteenth century before our era, we are dis- posed to excuse the occasional insolence of an Egyptian soldier ; and the unfavourable impres- sions conveyed by such scenes are more than coun- terbalanced by the proofs of Egyptian humanity, as in the sea-fight above mentioned. Indeed, I am inclined to think the captives bound beneath the chariot of the conqueror in his triumph t a licence of the sculptors, who, as Gibbon t observes, " in every age have felt the truth of a system, which derives the sublime from the principle of terror." The custom of dragging behind a chariot the murderers of a friend was usual among the Thes- salians ; and the early Greeks insulted the dead on the field of battle, and mutilated their bodies to * This is the usual mode in the East of eliciting the truth at the pre- sent clay. -f- At Medeenet Haboo and Karnak, :j: Gibbon, vol. ii. 64. note. C^98 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. satiate their revenge. But this shameful practice was afterwards abandoned ; and though the Per- sians had treated the body of Leonidas in a bar- barous manner, the Spartans refused to retaliate the insult on a subsequent occasion, when Mar- donius was defeated and slain at Plataea. And if Alexander imitated the ungenerous conduct of Achilles, and dragged the body of Bessus behind his chariot, it was a singular instance : and, gene- rally speaking, none but barbarous nations were guilty of similar enormities. I cannot therefore suppose that the Egyptians, who surpassed all others in the practices of civilised life, were in the habit of indulging in wanton cruelty, and much less do I believe that the captives represented on the fa9ades of their temples, bound at the feet of the king, who holds them by the hair of the head, and with an uplifted arm appears about to immolate them in the presence of the deity, were intended to refer to a human sacrifice * : but rather that the subject was a religious allegory, purporting to be an acknowledgment of the victory he had obtained by the assistance of the Deity, — in short, an em- blematic record of his successes over the enemies of Egypt ; and this is strongly confirmed by the fact of our finding the same subject on monuments erected by the Ptolemies and Caesars.t • Herodotus justly blames the Greeks for their ignorance of the Ej,7ptian character, in taking literally their allegorical tales of human sacrifices, ii. 45. t At E'Dayr, near E'sne, at Dendera, and other places. CHAP. HI. TRIUMPHAL RETURN OF THE ARMY. 399 RETURN, AND TRIUMPH. On returning from war, the troops marched ac- cording to the post assigned to each regiment, observing the same order and regularity as during their advance through the enemy's country : and the alUes who came with them occupied a position towards the rear of the army, and were followed by a strong corps of Egyptians. Rewards were afterwards distributed to the soldiers, and the triumphant procession of the conqueror was graced by the presence of the captives, who were con- ducted in bonds beside his chariot. On traversing countries tributary to, or in al- liance with, Egypt, the monarch received the homage of the friendly inhabitants, who, greet- ing his arrival with joyful acclamations and rich presents, complimented him on the victory he had obtained ; and the army, as it passed through Egypt, was met at each of the principal cities by a concourse of people, who, headed by the priests, and chief men of the place bearing bouquets of flowers, green boughs, and palm branches, received them with loud acclamations, and welcomed their return. * Then addressing themselves to the king, the priests celebrated his praises ; and, enumerat- ing the many benefits he had conferred on Egypt * Vide Mr. Burton's Excerpta, plate 36. 400 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. by the conquest of foreign nations, the enemies of his country, they affirmed that his power was exalted in the world like the sun in the heavens, and his beneficence only equalled by that of the deities themselves.* Having reached the capital, preparations com- menced for a general thanksgivhig in the principal temple : and suitable offerings were made to the presiding deity, the guardian of the city, by whose special favour and intercession the victory was supposed to have been obtained. The prisoners were presented to him, as well as the spoils taken from the enemy, and the monarch acknowledged the manifest power of his all-protecting hand, and his own gratitude for so distinguished a proof of heavenly favour to him and to the nation. And these subjects, represented on the walls of the temples, not only served as a record of the victory, but tended to impress the people with a religious veneration for the Deity, towards whom their sove- reign set them so marked an example of respect. The troops were also required to attend during the performance of the prescribed ceremonies, and to return thanks for the victories they had ob- tained, as well as for their personal preservation ; and a priest offered incense, meat-offerings, and hbations, in their presence, t Each soldier carried in his hand a twig of some tree, probably ohvc, * Conf. Roscttii Stoiio, wlicro Kin<,' Ptolemy is (•()i(i|)aicd to Ho- rns, the son of Isis and Osiris, and is called a hiMuficcnt diity. f 8ncii is the subject of a procession I met with at the small tcmi)le in tiie Assaseef, at Thebes. CHAP. III. RETURNING THANKS TO THE GODS. 401 with the arms of his peculiar corps ; and being summoned by sound of trumpet, they marched forwards to the temple, to the beat of drum. Not only the light infantry, but even the heavy armed troops, presented themselves on this occasion without shields ; and we may infer from their ab- sence, and the substitution of a green branch, em- blematic either of peace or victory, that the artist intended to convey an idea of the security they felt, under the protecting influence of tlie Deity, to whose presence they were summoned. It is difficult to decide whether this was a twig of olive, or what peculiar tree among the Egyptians was symbolic of peace or of victory ; and if the bay tree was cul- tivated in Egypt, there is no reason to suppose it bore the same emblematic force as in Greece.* A judicious remark has been madef respecting the choice of the olive as the emblem of peace. After the devastation of a country by hostile in- vasion, and the consequent neglect of its culture, no plantation requires a longer period to restore its previously flourishing condition than the olive grove ; and this tree may therefore have been ap- propriately selected as the representative of peace. t There is, however, reason to suppose that its em- blematic character did not originate in Greece j * I have seen garlands from Thebes apparently of ba)' leaves ; but though cultivated there, the tree is not indigenous to Egypt. + By Mr. Bankes. 4; " Paciferseque manu ramum prgetendit olivee." Virg. Mn. viii. 116. VOL. I. D D 402 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. but that it dated from a far more remote period ; and the tranqiiiihty and habitable state of the earth * were announced to tlie ark through the same token. It was not customary for the Egyptian soldier to wear arms except on service, when on garri- son duty, or in attendance upon the king : nor did the private citizen at any time carry offensive weapons about his person, either in the house or in the street; and this circumstance, as I have already observed, goes far to prove the advanced state of civilisation in that country, at a time when the rest of the world was immersed in barbarism. In Greece, the Athenians were the first to adopt the custom of going out unarmed; but many years elapsed before they were induced to welcome the innovation generally ; and it was only finally es- tablished as an universal custom by the laws of Solon, six hundred years before our era. CAPTIVES. The captives, being brought to Egy})t, were employed in the service of the monarch, in build- ♦ Tin; Arabs liavc an amusing legend resj)ecting the dove, or pigeon. The first time, it returned with tlie ohve branch, but witliout any indi- cation of tiie state of" tlie earth itself; but on its secouil visit to the ark, tlie red appearance of its feet jiroved that the red mud, on which it had walked, was already freed from the waters ; and to record the event, Noaii prayed tiiat tiie feet of tliose i)irds might for ever continue of that colour, whicii marks them to tlie present day. The similarity of tlur Hebrew words ailoom (onN), red, admeli (no-^N), earth, and Adm (C1N), Adam, is remarkable. A " iiuin" i.s .still called " A'llam" ill Turkish. CHAP. III. CAPTIVES. 403 ing temples *, cutting canals, raising dykes and embankments, and other public works : and some, who were purchased by the grandees, were em- ployed in the same capacity as the Memlooks of the present day. Women slaves were also en- gaged in the service of families, like the Greeks and Ch'cassians in modern Egypt, and other parts of the Turkish empire ; and from finding them represented in the sculptures of Thebes, accom- panying men of their own nation, who bear tribute to the Egyptian monarch, we may conclude that a certain number were annually sent to Egypt from the conquered provinces of the North and 1 No. 72. 3 4 5 6 7 8 Women of the Rot-n-no sent to Egypt. East, as well as from Ethiopia. It is evident that both white and black slaves were employed as ser- * Herodotus and Diodorus state that the prisoners of Sesostri.s were condemned to perform all the laborious part of the works he un- dertook on his return to Egypt. Herod, li. 108. Diod. i. 56. Diodorup here mentions some Babylonian captives. D D '2 404 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. No. 73. 3 4 5 Black slaves, with their women and children. vants : they attended on the guests when invited to the house of their master ; and from their being in the families of priests, as well as of the military chiefs, we may infer that they were pur- chased with money, and that the right of possess- ing slaves was not confined to those who had taken them in war. The traffic in slaves was tolerated by the Egyptians ; and it is reasonable to suppose that many persons were engaged, as at present, in bringing them to Egypt for public sale, independent of those who were sent as part of the tribute, and who were probably at first the })roi)erty of the monarch: nor did any difficulty occur to the Ishmaelites* in the purchase of Joscpli from his brethren, nor in his subsequent sale to Potiphar on arriving in Egypt. MILITARY LAWS AND PUNISHMENTS. According to Diodorus, the Egyptians were not * (ivn. xxxvii. 28. CoiiC. also (Jen. .xliv, 9. CHAP. III. MILITARY PUNISHMENTS. 405 actuated in the administration of punishments by any spirit of vengeance ; but solely by the hope of reclaiming an offender, and of preventing for the future the commission of a similar crime. Im- pressed with this feeling, they were averse to making desertion and insubordination capital of- fences : the soldier was degraded, and condemned publicly to wear some conspicuous mark of igno- miny, which rendered him an object of reproach to his comrades ; and, without fixing any time for his release, he was doomed to bear it *, till his contrition and subsequent good conduct had retrieved his character, and obtained for him the forgiveness of his superiors. " For," says the historian f, " by rendering the stigma a more odious disgrace than death itself, the legislator hoped to make it the most severe of punishments, at the same time that it had a great advantage in not depriving the state of the services of the offender ; and deeming it natural to every one, who had been degraded from his post, to desire to regain the station and character he had lost, they cherished the hope that he might eventually reform, and become a worthy member of the society to which he belonged." For minor offences, it may be presumed, they inflicted the bastinado t, which was commonly employed for punishing servants and other people ; but the soldier who * Many officers regret the discontinuance of similar punishments in our army. t Diodor. i. 78. % The Greeks flogged their sailors with cords ; and deserters had both their hands cut off. 406 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. III. treacherously held communication with the enemy was sentenced to the excision of his tongue. * * The ancient practice of punishing the offending member. '■> " W // 7 No. 73. (I. Kgyptian arms. Cntlcclions of S. 1)' Atltdiuisi and Mr. Salt : and from Tliclics. FiR. 1. a, hatchet, 1 foots inches in IciiKtli. Fig. .3. dagger l.'ii inches in length. Figs. 4 and 5. slings, from the sculptures. Fig. n. is transferred to wood. cut, No. !)2. Fig. 7. dagger lOJ inches long. Fig. 8. head of dart, ;5 inches. Fig. (). javelin licul II inches long. END OF THE IIRST VOLUAIE. London : — Printed by A. Spottiswoodk, New -Street- Square. :'^' iffH^^IT? / ':(7 i^m^ %-. ^^ ^, k. %■■ m .fVv^ 1,,, ?5>« ( ^ '-^ //ttI > ir H i/l(-'/^/^79-#,f'lAA./ /Afi- -^ «M<£a« GETTY CENTER LIBRARY 3 3125 00954 0085