This was doubtless an expedition against the Nubians of Wawat. Mentuhotep II's inscriptions are elsewhere not infrequent, but contain only a word or two, chiefly his titles. His appearance on the monuments of later generations is such as to show that he was regarded as the first great king of the Theban line. REIGN OF SENEKHKERE-MENTUHOTEP III HAMMAMAT INSCRIPTION OF HENUa 427. As the only document of Mentuhotep III, this inscription is of great historical importance. The lists of Sakkara and Abydos show him as the immediate predecessor of the Twelfth Dynasty and the successor of the powerful Mentuhotep II; but the Turin Papyrus has after his, a lost name belonging to the last king of the dynasty. Mentuhotep III's minister, Henu, drew men for this Hammamat expedition from territory between Oxyrrhyncus and Gebelen (1. 10), which shows that practically all of Egypt above the Delta was under this king's rule. The Delta was also certainly subject to Senekhkere, for Henu calls himself (1. 8) one "who quells the Haunebu," the peoples of the distant north in the Mediterranean, who could only be reached in the Delta. Introduction 428. 'Year 8, first month of the third season (ninth month), day 3; 'his real favorite servant, who does all that he praises every day, wearer of the royal seal, [sole] com[panion], overseer of that which is and that which is not, overseer of the temples, overseer of the granary and White House, 3overseer of horn and hoof, chief of the six courts of justice, high-voiced in proclaiming the name of the king on the day of warding off — who judges the prisoner according to his desert. . . . . 7. b Satisfying the heart of the king as keeper of aCut on the rocks in the Wadi Hammamat. Text: Lepsius, Denkmäler, II, 150, a; better, Golénischeff, Hammamat, XV-XVII. For old literature, see Maspero, Dawn, 495, n. 1. I had also a collation of the Berlin squeeze by Mr. Alan Gardiner, which he kindly permitted me to use. bThe omitted lines contain similar but exaggerated epithets indicating Henu's high rank and great power; but no formal titles; omissions of similar character follow. .... the Door of the South; over the administration of the nomes of the South, chief treasurer. who quells ( bds) the Haunebu (H-nbw), to whom the Two Lands come bowing down, to whom every office reports; wearer of the royal seal, sole companion, "the steward, Henu says: Preparation for the Expedition 429. [My lord, life, prosperity],a health! sent me to dispatch a ship to Punt to bring for him fresh myrrh from the sheiks over the Red Land, by reason of the fear of him in the highlands. Then I went forth from Koptos upon the road, which his majesty commanded me. There was with me an army of the South from -d of the Oxyrrhyncus nome, the beginning thereof as far as Gebelen; the end thereof as far as -1; every office of the king's house, those who were in town and field, united, came after me. The army - cleared the way "before, overthrowing those hostile toward the king, the hunters and the children of the highlands were posted as the protection of my limbs. Every official body of his majesty was placed under my authority. They reported messengers to me, as one alone commanding, to whom many hearken. Departure and Provisions 430. I went forth with an army of 3,000 men. 12I made the road a river, and the Red Land (desert) a stretch of field,h for I gave a leathern bottle, a carrying pole (sts), 2 jars of water and 20 loaves to each one among them every day. The asses were laden with sandals a Restored from Hammamat inscription of Amenemhet (vizier), § 446, 1. 7 Lepsius, Denkmäler, II, 149. e, l. 7. bRead w❜d. No lacuna as in Lepsius, Denkmäler. dSee same phrase, § 442, l. 13. eRead ym. This passage indicates a campaign before the expedition, in order to clear the country of the Troglodytes. hSee a similar statement by the vizier Amenemhet (§ 447, l. 10). The same rare phrase "stretch or tract of field" (d) occurs also in Sinuhe (Berlin, ll. 9, 10). iRead ds later ds. iThe loaves are small like the German "Brödchen." The "every day" doubtless applies only to the last two articles, the rest being intended for carrying the rations. At the rate of 60,000 loaves a day, this expedition (which could not have lasted less than a month) consumed 1,800,000 loaves, which they must have brought with them from Coptos. Water skins could be replenished at the quarries. See the elaborate arrangements of Ramses IV for provisioning his expedition (IV, 467). Wells Dug 431. Now, I made 12 wells in the bush, 13and two wells in Idehet (Yd3hí), 20'square cubits in one, and 31 (square) cubits in the other. I made another in Iheteb (Y3htb), 20 by 20 cubits on each side — Ship Built and Sent 432. Then I reached the (Red) Sea; then I made this ship, and I dispatched it with everything, when I had made for it a great oblation of cattle, bulls and 14ibexes. Return and Quarrying at Hammamat 433. Now, after my return from the (Red) Sea, I executed the command of his majesty, and I brought for him all the gifts, which I had found in the regions of God's-Land. I returned through the valley of Hammamat, I brought for him august blocks for statues belonging to the temple. Never was brought down the like thereof for the king's court; never 15was done the like of this by any king's-confidant sent out since the time of the god. I did this for the majesty of my lord because he so much loved me. aMr. Griffith (Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archæology, XIV, 420), has read the sign before 12 as a measure of area; giving “a well of 12 -?" As this would leave the word "well" without either determinative or feminine ending, it is improbable. The sign in question is more probably a part of the word for well (nm), giving ḥnmt as usual. bSee Mr. Griffith, ibid. Henu only equipped and dispatched the ship, but did not accompany it to Punt; he then returned to Egypt by way of Hammamat (l. 14). dPossibly Wg, another land. eFurther asseverations of the king's favor follow. The same obscure phrases also Lepsius, Denkmäler, II, 149, e, l. 13=Golénischeff, Hammamat, XIII 1. 13. REIGN OF NIBTOWERE-MENTUHOTEP IV HAMMAMAT INSCRIPTIONSa 434. These are among the most important of the Hammamat inscriptions. Besides their unusual archæological interest, they throw great light on the reign of NibtowereMentuhotep (IV), from whom we have no other inscriptional material. They show clearly that the wars with the North (Heracleopolis), had long ceased, and that the North was now united under his rule; for he had an army of 3,000 men from the Delta to transport the lid block of his sarcophagus to Egypt (§ 453, 1. 21; similar indications in § 451, 3, II. 8-10). The only place that he can have held in the series of Eleventh Dynasty kings is therefore at the end of that dynasty. The place of Mentuhotep II and III is certain from the Turin Papyrus. Our Mentuhotep cannot precede Mentuhotep II, who supplanted an Intef; nor does the Turin Papyrus permit him to follow Mentuhotep II. The only place open after the close of the war with the North is at the end of the dynasty after Mentuhotep III, where the Turin Papyrus shows a lost name. I. THE FIRST WONDER b 435. A relief shows the king offering wine before Min of Coptos; behind the king are the words: "First occurrence aCut on the rock-walls of the Wadi Hammamat. Text: Lepsius, Denkmäler, II, 149, c to g; Golénischeff, Hammamat, X-XV; and partially in the manuscripts of Nestor l'Hôte in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris. I had also collations of the Berlin squeezes by Mr. Alan Gardiner, of which he very kindly gave me the use. bLepsius, Denkmäler, II, 149, c=Golénischeff, Hammamat, X. Copy in manuscript of Nestor l'Hôte; translated by Erman, Zeitschrift für ägyptische Sprache, 1891, 60. |