B.C. 1700] AAHMES THE GENERAL had marked its limit in the north, and which had always been made sufficiently strong to resist any attack which might be made upon it. He is called the "chief of the sailors," and claims in his inscription to be the son of Abana, ; some As think that Åbana was the name of his grandfather, and that his father's name was Baba, but it is far more likely that Abana and Baba are variant forms of one and the same name. Amasis served under four kings, and as his narrative must be given in connexion with the history of this dynasty, a rendering of the inscription is here given.1 He 1 For the text see Lepsius, Denkmäler, iii. pl. 11. 185 says:-"I speak unto you, O all men, and I would "make you to understand the favours which have come "upon me. I was decorated with gold on seven occa"sions in the sight of the whole country, and was given menservants and maidservants, together with "what belonged to them. I acquired many large "estates, and the fame of the brave deeds which I 66 wrought shall never cease from this land. I came "into being in the city of Nekheb, and my father, Baba, ", the son of Re-int, I was one of the captains of king Seqenen-Rā. "succeeded him as captain of the ship called the 'Bull' (Mas) in the time of the lord of the "two lands Amasis I., at which period I was still "young and unmarried, and was still sleeping in the "apparel of little boys. But afterwards I got for myself a house, and I rose up and betook myself to the ship "called the North,' that I might fight, and next it came upon me to follow on my feet after the Prince "when he journeyed in his chariot. Now the king besieged the city of Avaris,' and it became my duty "to fight upon my feet before his majesty. Next I was promoted to serve on the ship called 'Kha-em-Men 66 66 nefer,' "was fighting on the waters of the canal of Avaris "and in fighting made a capture and I took a hand. "When this feat was mentioned to the king he gave me a gift of gold for my bravery. And there was war again in this place, and again I fought and made a capture and took a hand; and again a gift of gold "for my bravery was given to me. Another time "war was going on in Ta-qemt, to "the south of the city of Avaris. I captured a prisoner alive, I rushed into the water, and dragged him with 66 66 me through it and then along the road to the city; "this feat having been announced to the king by the "herald, a gift of gold for my bravery was given to me again. Finally the king captured the city of Avaris, "and I brought in as captives one man, and three women, four persons in all, and his majesty gave "them to me for slaves. Then, in the fifth year of his 'reign, his majesty besieged the city of Sharuḥana,1 "Ind 66 66 , and took it, and I made a capture of two women and one hand; a gift of gold "was again given to me for my bravery, and the captives were given to me for slaves." From the above we see that king Amasis only succeeded in capturing Avaris at the fourth attack, but once having succeeded in doing this he was able to follow up his victory the following year, the fifth of his reign, by 1 I.e., Sharuhen,, of Joshua xix. 6. pursuing the Hyksos to the city of Sharuhen, whither they had fled for refuge, and its capture enabled him to exact submission from all the tribes in the desert to the north-east of Egypt. The narrative continues : "Now when his majesty had chastised sorely the "Mentiu1 of Asia, 66 he "sailed up the Nile as far as Khent-hen- nefer, ~" (which was a district that lay on the bank of the Nile to the east of that portion of it which flows between Wâdî Halfa and the fortresses of Usertsen I. at Semneh), " in order that he might punish "the Anti,, of Kenseti, -, i.e., { "Nubia; and his majesty made a great slaughter among them. I rose up and I brought in two "prisoners alive and three hands, and the king again 66 gave me a gift of gold and also two female slaves. "Then his majesty sailed down the river with joy, his "heart being elated with conquest and strength because "he had conquered and obtained possession of the "lands of the south and those of the north." Thus we see that Amasis I. was now master both of the Delta and of Upper Egypt and Nubia. Soon after this, however, we read that a serious revolt broke out in the south, and the leader, who is called the "Filthy One," or "Scourge," came north 1 I.e., the tribes who lived in the desert from southern Syria as far south as Sinai. B.C. 1700] EXPEDITION TO THENT-TAĂ 189 wards quickly and defiled, or laid waste, the shrines of the gods of the south; Amāsis I., with his two generals called Amāsis, son of Åbana, and Amāsis, surnamed Pen-nekheb, brought him to bay in a place on or near the Nile, close to Egypt, called Thent-ta-ā, 66 66 Here his majesty took him and his men prisoners, and, says the general, "I rose up and brought in two prisoners whom I had seized and dragged from the boat of the Scourge, and his "majesty gave me five heads as my share and five sta "of land in my native city. The same was done to all "the sailors of the boat wherein I was. Then there rose “up a vile one, whose name was Tetȧ-ân, 66 "and he gathered unto him a number of runagates and "rebels, but his majesty smote him and his companions so sorely that they could never again rise up. On "this occasion the king gave me three heads and five "measures of land in my own city." The general Amasis concludes his inscription by describing how he conveyed his majesty Amenophis I. up the river when he went to enlarge the boundaries of Egypt, and how the king took captive many Nubians, and also how For the text see Lepsius, Denkmäler, iii. pl. 43; and Prisse d'Avennes, Monuments, pl. 4. 8 2 Amasis brought the king back from "Khnemet heru," in two days. |