Egypt. Behold, thya name shall be forever in the temple 24of Upwawet, thy memory shall be beautiful in the colonnade. Some shall communicate it to others,b - the future - 25in years, one hundred after another hundred, of added life upon earth; thou shalt (still) be among them that dwell on earth. 31 ....d

с

Peaceful Rule

404. How beautiful is that which happens in thy time, the city is satisfied with thee. That which was concealed from the people, 32thou hast done it 'openly, in order to make gifts to Siut, by thy plan alone. Every 'official' was at his post, 33there was no one fighting, nor any shooting an arrow. The child was not smitten beside his mother, (nor) the citizen beside his wife. There was no evil-doer 34in -, nor any one doing violence against his house - Thy city-god, thy father who loveth thee, leadeth thee.

405. Kheti II's relation to the two preceding nomarchs is not quite certain, but the unmolested rule which he enjoyed would seem to indicate that he lived before the war with the Thebans, and hence before Tefibi. His inscription curiously inverts the order of his life, placing his youth last, but does not mention the name of his father. On the death of his maternal grandfather, who was lord of the Lycopolite nome, Kheti's mother ruled until he grew up to succeed to his maternal heritage (11. 40-25). Meantime, he was educated with the royal children by the king (11.

a Pronoun refers to Kheti.

bThe text has a dittography of n kt.

cSee Sethe, Zeitschrift für ägyptische Sprache, 1893, 113. dThe intervening lines contain praise of Kheti as builder of the temple. The text then proceeds to the government of the nome.

eIn tomb V, the northernmost of the three tombs on the same terrace, in a false door on the back wall (1l. 1-24) and on the south wall, inner half. Text, Griffith, Siut, Pl. 15. See § 391.

f On his mother's name, see note on 1. 38.

22, 23), and was installed in his nome at an early age (1. 21). His life was peaceful and prosperous, and devoted to the development of the material resources of the nome. He dug a much-needed irrigation canal, conducting the water to land unreached by the inundation (ll. 1-8). He was rich in grain, which he dispensed to the people (ll. 9, 10). He remitted taxes (ll. 10, 11), and his herds greatly multiplied (l. 11-14). He built in the temple, increased its offerings (ll. 14-16), was a good soldier, and, as military commander of Middle Egypt, he raised a troop (ll. 16–18); like Kheti I, he had a navy (ll. 18, 19). His people and those of Heracleopolis were pleased with his government, and recognized the instruction of a king in it (ll. 23, 24). It is possible that Kheti II became an official of the contemporary Theban king (Eleventh Dynasty) after the triumph of Thebes and the consolidation of the country (see note on 1. 38).

406. The inscription opens with the usual titles of the Siut nomarchs,a and Kheti states that there is no falsehood in his narrative, but that all which he did was done in the face of the people (ll. 1, 2); and then proceeds:

New Canal

407. I brought a gift for this city, in which there were no families of the Northland, nor people of Middle Egypt (3m); 3making a monument in c I substituted a channel of ten cubits. I excavated for it upon the arable land. I equipped a gate [for] 4its

aSee $391.

Le it

The determinative shows that people of some sort are meant, parallel with "families." The remarkable statement perhaps means that no forced labor was employed on the canal, from any part of Egypt composing the Heracleopolitan kingdom, viz., the "Northland" (Delta) and "Middle Egypt."

cAbout one-third line is lost; it doubtless contained some reference to an insufficient canal. Kheti's gift to the city, is a larger canal "of 10 cubits," probably in breadth.

dA little over 17 feet.

eAbout one-third line.

- I

in the ground of - in one building, free from. I was liberal as to the monument — 5[____] a [I sustained1] the life of the city, I made the -b with grain-food, to give water at 'mid'day, 'to a [I supplied water] in the highland district, I made a water-supply for this cityd of Middle Egypt in the 'mountain1,e which had not seen water. "I secured the borders made the elevated land a swamp. I caused the water of the Nile to flood over the ancient landmarks1, I made the arable land Every neighbor was ['supplied with water, and every citizen had] Nile water to his heart's desire; I gave waters to his neighbors, and he was content with them.

Wealth and Generosity

water.

408. "I was rich in grain. When the land was in need, I maintained the city with khaf and with heket. I allowed the citizen to carry away for himself grain; and his wife, the widow and her son. I remitted "all imposts which I found counted by my fathers. I filled the 'pastures with cattle, 12[every]] man had many colors; the cowsh brought forth twofold, the folds were full of 13 calves. I was kind to the cow, when she said, "It is " I was one rich in bulls 14— his ox; he lived well.

aAbout one-third line.

bThe determinative is a man. The word itself ḥsb means "to reckon." Maspero says: "Hobsou (reading the root as hbs) est l'homme qui paie la redevance annuelle, le contribuable" (Revue critique, II (1889), 413, n. 8), and hence renders “sujet,” but I cannot find any such usage elsewhere. Furthermore, the grammatical construction is not clear.

<The same word (‹-mw) is used in enumerating the duties of the vizier (II, 698), among which was care of the water-supply in the whole land.

dThis means Siut. Maspero (loc. cit., 414, n. 2) calls it Thebes. But šme in these inscriptions means Middle Egypt, not South; and "this city" in a nomarch's inscription means his own city; see II, 11.

eThe sign for mountain is certain, but an uncertain sign precedes it; the parallelism with "highland" demands a word like "mountain."

H' and ḥ't are measures of capacity referring here to grain. See Griffith,

Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archæology. XIV, 425.

8 Doubtless referring to breeds of cattle.

hThe text has "bulls" (!) misread from l. 13, where the word "bulls" occurs with "many" before it, as in this line.

iCompare the talking cows in Papyrus d'Orbigny.

Kheti's Monuments

409. I was one rich in monuments of the temple, 15

La [who

'increased] that which he found, who repeated offerings. I was a favorite, 16

b

His Army

410. I was one strong with the bow, mighty with his sword, 17great in fear among his neighbors. I made a troop of soldiers

18as commander of Middle Egypt.

411. I had goodly ships,

he sailed up-river.d

His Fleet

a favorite of the king 1when

His Tomb

412. I was one 'vigilant in that which he said; with a 'determined1 heart on the evil [day]. I had a lofty 2otomb with a wide stair before the chamber.

Kheti's Childhood

413. I was a favorite of the king, a confidant of his princes, his 'exalted ones before Middle Egypt. He caused that I should rule as a child of a cubite (in height); he advanced my seat as a 'youthf1. 22He had me instructed in swimming along with the royal children. I was one correct of 'speech, 23free from 'opposition to his lord, who brought him up as a child. Siut was satisfied with 24my administration; Heracleopolis praised god for me. Middle Egypt and the Northland (Delta) said: "It is the instruction of a king.g

aAbout one-half line.

bAbout two-thirds line.

The title (h-tpy) was also borne by Kheti, son of Tefibi (§ 398), but with the addition "of the whole land."

eSee note, § 395, l. 13.

dFrom Heracleopolis to Siut. fThe phrase is literally "as a hairy one," and the parallelism demands a word like "child" or "youth." It is possibly a reference to the lock of childhood.

The description of Kheti's childhood is now continued in the fragmentary lower ends (mostly less than half the height) of sixteen columns on the south wall (Griffith, p. 11; but on the west wall according to Pl. 15). Originally there were twenty-four columns. The numbering of the lines on Pl. 15 (ll. 25-40) must be reversed, but I have retained it for convenience, beginning with 40 and going back to 25. The probable connection between the fragments is indicated as usual in brackets, but without pretense to even approximate restoration for which the basis is lost. For the interpretation of these lines, see § 405.

Death of Kheti's Grandfather

414. 4oSaith [Kheti]

night watch 37.

36

[Then mourned1] the king himself, all Middle Egypt

and the Northland (Delta) 35

The king himself and the

counts were gathered together 34 [for the burial. He was interred in his tomb of the] highlands.

Regency of Kheti's Mother

['His daughter ruled in

The son of his daughter made his name to live and glorified 33[him].

32[Treigned in the city]]

doing good to her city] 31.

Silut, the worthy stock of her father beloved of Upwawet, rejoicingd in

e 30.

belovedf of the king, his favorite. The city was satisfied with that

which she said. 29

[She acted as] lord, until her son became

strong-armed 28

25...

h

aThe Kheti who appears with an unidentified Intef offering homage to Nibkhru-Re=Mentuhotep at Shatt er - Regâl (cf. § 425) is elsewhere an official of the same king (§ 426), and his mother's name is Sitre. This renders it possible that he is the same as the Siut Kheti of our text whose mother was “Si[t]-." Our Kheti II may therefore have become an official of the Theban Mentuhotep II after the subjugation of the North. His tomb and inscriptions would then have been made before the union of North and South, and show no trace of it. bThe deceased is the grandfather of Kheti.

cWith a feminine determinative.

dFeminine ending.

*This obscure phrase occurs also, Griffith, Siut, III, 7.

hThe remaining fragments are apparently the usual encomium, but too disconnected for translation.