*

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 Napata ‡ 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 discovered in Greece; but whether it was already known in Egypt or no, is a question hitherto unanswered. We are surprised at the execution of

* The vocal statue of the supposed Memnon is of Amunoph III. I have already noticed this error in my Egypt and Thebes, p. 33.; Extracts, p. 11.; 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.

+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.

I suppose Gebel Berkel to mark the site of Napata. From this place were brought Lord Prudhoe's beautiful lions. They were sculptured at the early part of his reign, and immediately before the secession of his brother.

§ Those of Pouônt, who are among the number of northern nations. Hesiod (in his Opera et Dies) makes the use of iron a much later discovery. 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.

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 Remeses 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 fail to strike every one who examines the portraits of the Egyptian kings, having more in common with the 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 saying in my Materia Hierog. that "Egyptian sculpture does not offer portraits." On a subsequent visit to Thebes, I took some pains to set this question at rest, and have become convinced (as stated in my Egypt and Thebes, p. 116.) that the representations of the kings are intended as likenesses; and I am happy to have an opportunity of acknowledging the truth of M. Champollion's observation and my own misconception on this point.

There is another tomb in the same valley of an ancient king, who may have preceded the 18th Dynasty, as his name occurs on a block used by Remeses II. in repairs of the temple of Karnak.

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 circumstance which proves that they were not generally 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 † following manner," the father of his father's father, Thothmes 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 foreign 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-Molóok at Thebes, and perhaps in No. 14.

+ Vide Materia Hierog. Pl. I. name c. d.

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 Lemanon ‡, added to the circumstance of its being at the commencement § of his reign, tend strongly to confirm this opinion.

He ex

Osirei was the son and successor of Remeses I., and father of the second of that name. tended his conquests to a considerable distance in the "north and south countries; " but the destruction 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 Rot-n-no, who from their colour and dress, as

The tributes levied on the countries conquered by the Egyptians, are not only mentioned in the sculptures of Thebes, but also by Tacitus: "Legebantur indicta gentibus tributa haud minus magnifica quam nunc vi Parthorum, aut potentia Romana jubentur." An. ii. 60.

+ The Pharaoh, whose daughter Solomon married, destroyed "the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer, 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. 16.

The common custom of substituting m for b in Coptic, and the representation of a mountainous and woody country in which the chariots could not pass, convince me of this being intended for Mount Lebanon. In the compartment immediately below it is the "land of Canana." Vide Egypt and Thebes, p. 190. 192. The modern Greeks write mp for b, as Phamprika, for Fabrica, and the sound of m may be detected when a person having an impediment in his speech attempts to pronounce a word commencing with b. Another remarkable instance of the use of m for b is met with in the name of Nimrod, which is written Nebrod in the list of Chaldee kings. Vide Corry's Ancient Fragments, p. 67. § In his first year, according to the hieroglyphics.

well as the productions of their 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 personal courage of the hero, he is represented alighting from his car, and, having laid aside his bow, engaging hand to hand with the hostile chiefs. Having established his dominion in the conquered countries 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 acquired; 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. +

Osirei was succeeded by his son, Remeses the Great, who bore the name of Amun-mai-Reme

* From a tomb at Thebes. Vide Egypt and Thebes, p. 153. Discovered and opened by Belzoni at Thebes.

M. Champollion and Sig. Rosellini are of opinion that there intervened another king between this and Osirei, to whom they give the name of Remeses II. Lord Prudhoe, 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 must have been brothers, and both sons of Osireri, and the reign of the first