NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT. EGYPTIAN HISTORY, THE history of Egypt is the oldest history known to us. It is true that the earliest of the Babylonian kings whose names are known lived very little later than the earliest kings of Egypt, nevertheless our knowledge of the early Egyptian is greater than of the early Babylonian kings. A large portion of Egyptian history can be constructed. from the native records of the Egyptians, and it is now possible to correct and modify many of the statements upon this subject made by Herodotus, Diodorus Siculus and other classical authors. The native and other docunients from which Egyptian history is obtained are :— I. Lists of Kings found in the Turin Papyrus, the Tablet of Abydos, the Tablet of Sakkarah, and the Tablet of Karnak. The Turin papyrus contained a complete list of kings, beginning with the god-kings and continuing down to the end of the rule of the Hyksos, about B.C. 1700. The name of each king during this period, together with the length of his reign in years, months and days, was given, and it would have been, beyond all doubt, the most valuable of all documents for the chronology of the oldest period of Egyptian history, if scholars had been able to make use of it in the perfect condition in which it was B discovered. When it arrived in Turin, however, it was found to be broken into more than one hundred and fifty fragments. So far back as 1824, Champollion recognized the true value of the fragments, and placed some of them in their chronological order. Its evidence is of the greatest importance for the history of the XIIIth and XIVth dynasties, because in this section the papyrus is tolerably perfect; for the earlier dynasties it is of very little use. On the monuments each Egyptian king has usually two names, the prenomen and the nomen; each of these is contained in a cartouche.* Thus the prenomen of Thothmes III. is C Rā-men-cheper, and his nomen is Teḥuti-mes. Rā-men-cheper means something like "Rā (the Sun-god) establishes becoming or existence;" Teḥuti-mes means "born of Thoth," or "Thoth's son." These names are quite distinct from his titles. comes nomen. Before the prenomen comes the title suten net, "King of the North and South," and after it se Ra, "son of the Sun," preceding the Each prenomen has a meaning, but it is at times. difficult to render it exactly in English. Every king styled himself king of "the North and South," and "son of the Sun." The first title is sometimes varied by "Beautiful * Cartouche is the name which is usually given to the oval which the name of a royal person is enclosed. + The ordinary word for "king" is in suten. The word Pharaoh,, which the Hebrews called the kings of Egypt, is derived from the Egyptian per aa, otherwise written or T god, lord of the two earths."* In the earliest times the kings were named after some attribute possessed by them; thus Mena, the first king of Egypt, is the "firm" or "established." In the Turin papyrus only the prenomens of the kings are given, but its statements are confirmed and amplified by the other lists. The Tablet of Abydos† was discovered by Dümichen in the temple of Osiris at Abydos, during M. Mariette's excavations there in 1864. This list gives us the names of seventy-five kings, beginning with Menȧ or Menes, and ending with Seti I., the father of Rameses II.; it is not a complete list, and it would seem as if the scribe who drew up the list only inserted such names as he considered worthy of living for ever. The Tablet of Sakkârah‡ was discovered at Sakkârah by Mariette, in the grave of a dignitary who lived during the reign of Rameses II. In spite of a break in it, and some orthographical errors, it is a valuable list; it gives the names of forty-seven kings, and it agrees very closely with the Abydos list. It is a curious fact that it begins with the name of Mer-ba-pen, the sixth king of the Ist dynasty. The Tablet of Karnak was discovered at Karnak by Burton, and was taken to Paris by Prisse. It * Some kings had a large number of titles. Thus Thothmes III. is styled "Horus, mighty bull, diademed with law, the lord, maker of things, Rā-men-cheper," etc., etc. He is also called: "King of the North and South, mighty of terror in all lands"; Δ "God, exalted one of the white crown, beloved of Rä"; "Golden Horus, mighty of valour, smiter of the Nine Bows," etc. discovered. When it arrived in Turin, however, it was found to be broken into more than one hundred and fifty fragments. So far back as 1824, Champollion recognized the true value of the fragments, and placed some of them in their chronological order. Its evidence is of the greatest importance for the history of the XIIIth and XIVth dynasties, because in this section the papyrus is tolerably perfect; for the earlier dynasties it is of very little use. On the monuments each Egyptian king has usually two names, the prenomen and the nomen; each of these is contained in a cartouche.* Thus the prenomen of Thothmes III. is O nomen is comes Rā-men-cheper, and his Teḥuti-mes. Rā-men-cheper means something like "Rā (the Sun-god) establishes becoming or existence;" Teḥuti-mes means "born of Thoth," or "Thoth's son." These names are quite distinct from his titles. Before the prenomen comes the title suten net, "King of the North and South," and after it se Rā, "son of the Sun," preceding the Each prenomen has a meaning, but it is at times difficult to render it exactly in English. Every king styled himself king of "the North and South," and "son of the Sun." The first title is sometimes varied by "Beautiful * Cartouche is the name which is usually given to the oval which the name of a royal person is enclosed. nomen. in + The ordinary word for "king" is suten. The word Pharaoh,, which the Hebrews called the kings of Egypt, is derived from the Egyptian per aa, otherwise written god, lord of the two earths."* In the earliest times the kings were named after some attribute possessed by them; thus Menȧ, the first king of Egypt, is the "firm" or "established." In the Turin papyrus only the prenomens of the kings are given, but its statements are confirmed and amplified by the other lists. The Tablet of Abydost was discovered by Dümichen in the temple of Osiris at Abydos, during M. Mariette's excavations there in 1864. This list gives us the names of seventy-five kings, beginning with Menȧ or Menes, and ending with Seti I., the father of Rameses II.; it is not a complete list, and it would seem as if the scribe who drew up the list only inserted such names as he considered worthy of living for ever. The Tablet of Sakkârah‡ was discovered at Sakkârah by Mariette, in the grave of a dignitary who lived during the reign of Rameses II. In spite of a break in it, and some orthographical errors, it is a valuable list; it gives the names of forty-seven kings, and it agrees very closely with the Abydos list. It is a curious fact that it begins with the name of Mer-ba-pen, the sixth king of the Ist dynasty. The Tablet of Karnak was discovered at Karnak by Burton, and was taken to Paris by Prisse. It * Some kings had a large number of titles. Thus Thothmes III. is styled "Horus, mighty bull, diademed with law, the lord, maker of things, Rā-men-cheper,” etc., etc. He is also called : "King of the North and South, mighty of terror in all lands"; Δ "God, exalted one of the white crown, beloved of Rä"; mighty of valour, smiter of the Nine Bows," etc. |