like many of the tribes of the interior, and the 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-ǹ-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.† The Shari were another Eastern or Northern people, against whom the Egyptians waged a successful 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 inhabitants 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 Pount, with a fillet, or a skull-cap fitting loosely to the head, secured by a * Very like the hunting leopard of India, or felis jubata. + Vide upper line of figures in plate 4. 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. band, and terminating at the end, which fell down behind, in a ball or tassel. * Their dress consisted 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-n-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 unsuccessfully, 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 captives †, cannot fail to remind us of the Syrians or Assyrians, whose name bears a strong analogy to the one before us. The Rot-ǹ-not, supposed by M. Champollion to Vide wood-cut, No. 62. fig. 6. c. + Vide wood-cut, No. 66. The same may be observed in the Persian figures of the beautiful tesselated pavement lately discovered at Pompeii. Vide wood-cut, No. 62. fig. 7. No. 66. 2 Prisoners of Tirhaka. Thebes. be Lydians*, were a nation with whom the Egyptians waged a long war, commencing at least as early as, and perhaps prior to, the reign of the third Thothmes. Their white complexion, tight dresses, and long glovest, decide them to have been natives of a much colder climate than Egypt or Syria; and the productions of their country, which they bring as a tribute to the victorious Pharaoh, pronounce them to have lived in the East. These consist of horses, and even chariots, with four spoked wheels‡, * It is difficult to decide upon the real names of these people, unacquainted as we are with the ancient geography of Asia; and the indiscriminate use of L for R and D for T, and other letters, in hieroglyphics, increases the uncertainty. Until I can fix the name from their position, or any other reason, I repeat the one I had previously adopted. + Vide plate 4. There are other instances of gloves in Egyptian sculptures; but they are very rare. The expression shoe, in Ruth, iv. 7., is in the Targum "right-hand glove." ‡ Vide suprà, wood-cut, No. 53. b. four spokes; the war-car six. The Egyptian town curricle had very similar to the Egyptian curricle, rare woods, ivory, elephants and bears, a profusion of elegant gold and silver vases, with rings of the same precious metals, porcelain, and jars filled with choice gums and resins used for making incense, of which a greater quantity was derived from their country than from any other tributary to Egypt. Their features were regular, without the very prominent nose that characterises some Eastern people represented in the sculptures; and they were of a very light colour, with brown or red hair, and blue eyes. Their long dress, usually furnished with tight sleeves*, and fastened by strings round the neck, either closed or folded over in front, and was sometimes secured by a girdle. Beneath the outer robe they wore a kelt: and an ample cloak, probably woollen like the modern herám, or blanket, of the coast of Barbary, was thrown over the whole dress† the head being generally covered with a close cap, or a fuller one bound with a fillet. The women wore a long garment secured with a girdle, and trimmed in the lower part with three rows of flounces; the sleeves sometimes large and open, sometimes fastened tight round the wrist : and the hair was either covered with a cap, to which a long tassel was appended, or descending in ringlets was encircled with a simple band. ‡ The Toersha §, a maritime people, are also mentioned among the enemies of Egypt; and their close * A dress with sleeves is seen in wood-cut, No. 64. fig. 6. + Vide wood-cut, No. 72., and No. 62. fig. 7. d. Vide wood-cut, No. 72., and No. 62. fig. 7. e. Vide wood-cut, No.67. fig. 1. cap, from whose pointed summit a crest of hair falls to the back of the neck, readily distinguishes them from other Eastern tribes. Their features offer no peculiarity; and we have not sufficient data from the sculptures to form any opinion respecting their wars with the Egyptians, though they are introduced among the tribes conquered by the third Remeses. The same applies to the Mashoash*, another Asiatic nation: who resemble the former in their general features, and the shape of their beards; but their head-dress is low, and rather more like that of Tirhaka's prisoners, already mentioned t, descending in two points at the side and back of the head, and bound with a fillet. No. 67. Other enemies of the Egyptians. Thebes. The people of Kufa appear to have inhabited a part of Asia lying considerably north of the latitude of Palestine; and their long hair, rich dresses, and sandals of the most varied form and colour, render them remarkable among the nations represented in Egyptian sculpture. In complexion they were much darker than the Rot-ǹ-no, but far more fair * Vide wood-cut, No. 67. fig. 2. + Vide wood-cut, No. 66. ‡ Vide plate 4., second line from the top. |