father's father of my fathera was field-scribe in the waters of Abydos of the Thinite nome, since the time of Horus: Wahenekh (Wh-nh), King of Upper and Lower Egypt: Son of Re, Intef (I)."b

INSCRIPTIONS OF MENTUHOTEP

530. The inscriptions of Mentuhotep contain little of historical importance, but were regarded as so excellent in style and content that they were partially copied on the mortuary stela of Sehetepibre, a nobleman living under Sesostris III and Amenemhet III. Their favor continued even into the Empire, when a nobleman under Queen Ahhotep also copied them on his stela. The text on the front, beginning with the names of Sesostris I, proceeds as follows:

e

531. Hereditary prince, vizier and chief judge, attached to Nekhen, prophet of Mat (goddess of Truth), giver of laws, advancer of offices, confirming the boundary records, separating a land-owner from his neighbor, pilot of the people, satisfying the whole land, a man of truth before the Two Lands, accustomed to justice like Thoth, his like in satisfying the Two Lands, hereditary prince in judging the Two Lands,

aImsu's great-grandfather was therefore a contemporary of King Intef I. Allowing 40 years for a generation, this Intef was still living over 100 years before Amenemhet I. Cf. § 415 and Steindorff, Zeitschrift für ägyptische Sprache, 1895, 90, 91, and Birch, Transactions of the Society of Biblical Archæology, IV.

bThe king's name is not inclosed in a cartouche.

con his mortuary stela found at Abydos, now in Cairo (No. 20539); published by Mariette, Abydos, II, 23 (very inaccurate; Catalogue général d'Abydos, 144, No. 617) = Rougé, Inscriptions hiéroglyphiques, 303, 304; Daressy has added the verso, Recueil, X, 144-49. I had also a copy of the original by Schaefer, which he kindly loaned me.

dThe form of the representations in the arch of the stela was also adopted. See Daressy, Recueil, X, 144.

eThe text on the verso was the one copied. It is much mutilated. Daressy has published all three in a parallel arrangement.

for: "recording."

supreme head in judgment, putting matters in order, wearer of the royal seal, chief treasurer, Mentuhotep.

-

Hereditary prince, count, chief of all works of the king, making the offerings of the gods to flourish, setting this land — — — according to the command of the god. [- -1, sending forth two brothers satisfied with the utterances of his mouth, upon whose tongue is the writing of Thoth, more accurate than the weight, likeness of the balances, fellow of the king in counseling --, giving attention to hear words, like a god in his hour, excellent in heart, skilled in his fingers, exercising an office like him who holds it, favorite of the king before the Two Lands, his beloved among the companions, powerful among the officials, having an advanced seat to approach the throne of the king, a man of confidences to whom the heart opens.

532. Hereditary prince over the - of the (royal) castle (wsh't), finding the speech of the palace, knowing that which is in every body (heart), putting a man into his real place, finding matters in which there is irregularity, giving the lie to him that speaks it, and the truth to him. that brings it, giving attention, without an equal, good at listening, profitable in speaking, an official loosening the (difficult) knot, whom the king (lit., god) exalts above millions, as an excellent man, whose name he knew, true likeness of love, free from doing deceit, whose steps the court heeds, overthrowing him that rebels against the king, hearing the house of the council of thirty, who puts his 'terror1 among the barbarians (htyw), when he has silenced the Sand-dwellers, pacifying the rebels because of their deeds, whose actions prevail in the two regions, lord of the Black Land and the Red Land, giving commands to the South, counting the number of the -1 of the Northland, in whose brilliance all men move, pilot of the people, giver of food, advancing offices, lord of designs, great in love, associate of the king in the great castle (wsht), hereditary prince, count, chief treasurer, Mentuhotep, he says:

533. "I am a companion beloved of his lord, doing that which pleases his god daily, prince, count, sem priest, master of every wardrobe of Horus, prophet of Anubis of --, the hry ydb, Mentuhotep, prince in the seats of 'Splendor,'a at whose voice they (are permitted to) speak in the king's-house, in charge of the silencing of the courtiers, unique one of the king, without his like, who sends up the truth to the

Name of a building.

palace, great herald of good things, alone great, sustaining alive the people. One to whom the great come in obeisance at the double gate of the king's-house; attached to Nekhen, prophet of Mat, pillar before the Red Land, overseer of the western highlands, leader of the magnates of South and North, 'advocate of the people, ——1, merinuter priest, prophet of Horus, master of secret things of the house of sacred writings, [——, governor of the (royal) castle, prophet of Harkefti, great lord of the royal wardrobe, who approaches the limbs of the king, -1, overseer of the double granary, overseer of the double silver-house, overseer of the double gold-house, master of the king's writings of the (royal) presence, wearer of the royal seal, sole companion, master of secret things of the 'divine words' (hieroglyphics), chief treasurer, Mentuhotep." He says:

534. Here follows a mortuary prayer, after which the concluding lines (22, 23) refer specifically to his building commissions at Abydos, as follows: "I conducted the work in the temple, built his house (pr), and dug the lake; I masoned the well, by command of the majesty of Horus." The back also contains references to buildings at Abydos:

I conducted the work in the temple, built of stone of Ayan.

I conducted the work on the sacred barque (nšm t), I fashioned its colors. offering-tables of lapis lazuli, of bronze, of electrum, and silver; copper was plentiful without end, bronze without limit, collars of real malachite, ornaments (mn-njr ̊t) of every kind of costly stone. of the choicest of everything, which are given. to a god at his processions, by virtue of my office of master of secret things.

This must refer to the king or the god.

bThe text of the back as copied very copiously by Sehetepibre, has been translated only once, to save space (see §§ 746 ff.). Only the references to building are translated here. The back begins with a royal decree, commanding that there be built for Mentuhotep "a tomb at the stairway of the great god, lord of Abydos, recording all thy offices and all the pleasing things which thou didst." It was to be furnished with statues and endowments; but the conclusion is illegible.

THE CONTRACTS OF HEPZEFI

535. Legal documents from civil, as distinguished from criminal, processes of early Egypt are so rare, and the contracts of Hepzefi also throw so much light on both political and social conditions in the Middle Kingdom, that it seemed necessary to include them in these historical translations. They offer nothing in the political history of the family of the Siut nobles, and it is not possible to connect the nomarch, Hepzefi, in any way with the earlier generations, known to us at Siut in the Tenth and Eleventh Dynasties (§ 391). He doubtless marks a new family installed here by the powerful Twelfth Dynasty, in preference to the earlier family, which had been friendly to the northern dynasty.

The ten contracts were made solely to secure to Hepzefi, after his death, certain ceremonies and offerings from the priesthoods of Siut. Similar contracts were customarily made with the priests of Abydos. Mentuhotep and Sehetepibre, nobles of the same time, say on their Abydos tombstones: "I gave contracts for the remuneration of the prophets of Abydos" (§ 746). The kings did the same (§ 765).

536. The form of the contracts is sufficiently clear; but the language is very involved, and burdened with an excess of relative clauses. Space will not permit the full commentary which they need in many places; but attention

a Engraved upon the east wall of the great hall in Hepzefi's cliff-tomb at Assiut (see 391 and note). The only complete copy is that published by Mr. Griffith (F. L. Griffith, The Inscriptions of Siût and Dêr Rijeh, London, 1889), which is a model of care and accuracy. It is unnecessary to refer to the earlier publications, as Mr. Griffith has collated them all. The first adequate treatment was that of Erman, written, unfortunately, before the appearance of Mr. Griffith's text (Zeitschrift für ägyptische Sprache, 1882, 159-84), which fact necessitated leaving some obscure passages unrendered. Cf. also Maspero, Etudes de mythologie et d'archéologie, I, 62-74.

bReverse of the well-known Mentuhotep stela, Recueil, X, 146.

The general reader should refer to Erman, Life in Ancient Egypt, 145-47, 497, 498.

should at least be called to the sixth contract which Hepzefi as count made with himself as superior prophet of Upwawet.

Two facts in the socio-political organization of the time are brought out by these contracts: (1) The property of the prince was held under two different titles, viz., (a) by inheritance from his father, the property being called the "paternal estate" (nw-pr-yt), which he could bequeath at will; and (b) by virtue of his appointment as "count" (h3ty-) by the king, the property being called the "count's estate" (pr-h'ty-), which he could not legally bequeath. The distinction between these two estates is clearly maintained throughout, and whenever Hepzefi bequeathes anything from his "count's estate" he concedes that such a title can endure only so long as his successors are willing to recognize it, and by appeal to the common feeling in such matters, he urges his successors to recognize it (e. g., § 547, 11. 280, 281) (2) There are in the contracts four classes of society: the "count" (hty-), or nomarch; the official (śr); the “citizen” (nds, lit., "the small"), and the "peasant" (yhty), lit., "belonging to the field," enumerated in descending scale. The interrelations of the four are not wholly discernible. The "citizen," like the count, gives to the temple from fields called “his field," which he therefore either owned or held in rental. The peasant is called “his (the citizen's) peasant,' and may therefore have been his serf or slave. He cultivated the field for the citizen, and carried the harvest offering to the temple for him (cf. 11. 280, 281). The "official" (śr) may have been of the same social class as the "citizen.'

The importance of these contracts in a study of the mortuary customs and beliefs is evident, but a discussion of

aOn such appointment by the king, see § 385.