majesty, the likeness of a son who is the champion of his father, 19who maintains the boundary of him that begat him, Now, as for him who shall relax it, and shall not fight 20for it; he is not my son, he is not born to me.

Royal Statue at Boundary

660. Now, behold, my majesty caused a statuea 21of my majesty to be made upon this boundary, which my majesty made; in order that ye might prosper because of it, and in order that ye might fight for it.

V.

INSCRIPTION OF IKHERNOFRET

661. The following commission of Ikhernofret to Abydos, of great interest and importance in many respects, is inserted here especially for its bearing on the Nubian wars of Sesostris III. It is not dated, but we are able to date it from another source with considerable probability. Ikhernofret was accompanied to Abydos by one of his officials, Sisatet;* each of the two men erected a stela there on this occasion, and that of Sisatet states that the visit was made "when

Sesostris III journeyed to overthrow the wretched Kush, in the year 19." The gold taken from Kush (ll. 3, 4) was therefore probably captured in the campaign of the sixteenth year (8657). We have nowhere else any record of the campaign of the nineteenth year.

662. Ikhernofret narrates how he executed the king's commission, and adds a statement of the functions which

aNo trace of this statue has ever been found.

bU has the proper genitive n.

cOr: "upon it," the boundary.

dOn his memorial tablet erected at Abydos; now in Berlin (No. 1204, Ausführliches Verzeichniss des Berliner Museums, 90, 91); published by Lepsius, Denkmäler, II, 135, h. It is in bad condition, and full of gaps. I had a copy made from the original, which Schaefer kindly placed at my disposal; it filled nearly all of the gaps in Lepsius' Denkmäler. Schaefer has since published it, with full translation and commentary, in Sethe's Untersuchungen, IV, but I have not yet seen it.

e§§ 671 ff.

he fulfilled at the feasts of Osiris and the celebration of the sacred drama, re-enacting incidents from the myth of the god. Among these duties, there is one of the greatest interest, viz., the conduct of Osiris "to his tomb before Peker." This is, of course, none other than the tomb of the hoary old King Zer, which already at this time was misunderstood as the tomb of Osiris.

Introduction

663. 'Live the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Khekure (Sesostris III), a who is given life forever and ever.

Royal Letter; Introduction

664. Royal command to the hereditary prince, count, —, wearer of the royal seal, sole companion, lord of the double gold-house, lord of the double silver-house, chief treasurer, Ikhernofret (yy-hr-njr ̊t), revered:

Commission to Abydos

665. 3"My majesty commands that thou shalt be sent up-river to Abydos,b to make monuments for my father Osiris, First of the Westerners, to adorn his secret place with the gold, 4which he caused my majesty to bring from Upper Nubia in victory and in triumph. Lo, thou shalt do this in 5 for offering, in satisfying my father Osiris, since my majesty sendeth thee, my heart being certain of thy doing everything according to the desire of my majesty; since thou hast been brought up in the teaching of my majesty; thou hast been in the training of my majesty, and the sole teaching of my palace. My

aFull fivefold titulary.

bThe reference shows the royal residence was down-river, that is, northward from Abydos. An inscription of the king's sixth year, hitherto unnoticed, furnishes further indication of his interest in the Abydos temple. The mortuary stela of a certain Sebekhotep (British Museum, No. 257) after the usual prayer, states: "His majesty commanded to dispatch the servant (the deceased) to the crown possessions of Thinis of the South (tp rŝy), to cleanse the temples. He did them; 'cleansed that they might be pure for the monthly feast, and clean for the half-monthly feast.” At the top is the date.

cProbably Osiris.

majesty appointed thee, while thou wast a young man (ḥwn) of 26 years. My majesty hath done this, 8(because) I have seen thee to be one excellent in character (shr), ready of tongue on coming forth from the body, and sufficient in speech. My majesty [sendeth]a thee to do this, (since) my [majesty] has recognized that no one doing it possesses thy good qualities. Quickly go thou, and do thou according to all that my majesty has commanded."

Execution of the Commission

666. I did according to all that his majesty commanded, by adorning all that my lord commanded for his father, Osiris, First of the Westerners, lord of Abydos, great, mighty one residing in Thinis.

Temple Monuments and Utensils

b

667. "I acted as "Son, Whom He Loves," for Osiris, First of the Westerners, I adorned the great forever and ever. I made for him 12a portable shrine, the "Bearer-of-Beauty" of the "First-of-theWesterners," of gold, silver, lazuli, fragrant woods, carob wood, and meru wood. (I) fashioned the gods 13belonging to his divine ennead, (I) made their shrines anew.

Priestly Duties

668. I caused the lay priests to ['know how] to do their duties, (I) caused them to know 14the stipulation of every day, the feasts of the beginnings of the seasons. I superintended the work on the sacred barque (nšm[1]), I fashioned (its) chapel. 15I decked (shkr) the body of the lord of Abydos with lazuli and malachite, electrum, and every costly stone, among 16the ornaments of the limbs of a god. I dressed (db) the god in his regalia (bw) by virtue of my office as master of secret things, and of my duty as (wtbl) priest. "I was pure-handed in decking the god, a (sm-) priest of clean fingers.

aOnly the determinative of a verb of going or motion is preserved.

bKnyw.

This word (sntyy, perhaps sny't, as on the Piankhi stela,) has a determinative exactly like the chapel or cabin in the determinative of năm t.

Osirian Festival Drama

669. I celebrated the (feast of) "Going Forth" of Upwawet, when he proceeded to champion his father. 18I repelled the foe from the sacred barque (nšm ̊t), I overthrew the enemies of Osiris. I celebrated the "Great-Going-Forth,"a following the god at his going. 19I sailed the divine boat (dpt) of Thoth upon I equipped the barque (called): "Shining-in-Truth" of the lord of Abydos, with a chapel. 20(I) put on his regalia when he went forth to - Peker; I led the way of the god to his tombb before Peker; I "championed Wennofer at "That Day of the Great Conflict;" I slew all the enemies upon the 'flatsle of Nedyt (Ndy't). I conveyed him into the barque (called): "The Great," when it bore his beauty; I gladdened the heart of the eastern highlands; I -ed the rejoicing in the western highlands 23 When they saw the beauty of the sacred barge, as it landed at Abydos, they brought [Osiris, First of the Westerners, lord] of Abydos to his palace, and I followed the god into his house, 24to attend to his, when he 'resumed his seat. I loosed the knot in the midst of his 'attendants', among his courtiers.

670. Below appear five of Ikhernofret's relatives, among them Sisatet, whose stela follows herein (§§ 671-73), Sitameni, the mother, is also mentioned, as she is likewise on the stela of Sisatet.d

671. After a prayer for the benefit of Sisatet's father, Ameni, follows a long list of his near relatives, beginning

This is the designation of a funeral procession "going forth" to the necropolis, as is evident from the description in Bergmann, Hieroglyphische Inschriften, VI, 1. 12. It refers above to the funeral procession of Osiris in the drama.

bThis is unquestionably the tomb of Zer, already in the Twelfth Dynasty mistaken for the tomb of Osiris.

This is the word (sw) used in Uni (§ 323, l. 45; see note) for "flats" or the like. dIkhernofret's mortuary stela, erected at Abydos on his death, is now in Cairo (Catalogue No. 20310). It contains nothing of historical importance.

eOn his family mortuary stela, from Abydos, now in the Museum of Geneva; published by Maspero in Mélanges d'archéologie égyptienne, II, 217–19, and again, Maspero, Etudes de mythologie et d'archéologie, III, 211–15. I had also my own copy of the original.

with his mother, Sitameni. The inscription of Sisatet then follows, giving the occasion of his visit to Abydos, during which, of course, he erected this stela to secure for his family the favors of Osiris in the next world. It is as follows:

672. Master of the double cabinet, a Sisatet; he saith: "I came to Abydos, together with the chief treasurer, Ikhernofret, to carve (a statue of) Osiris, lord of Abydos, when the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Khekure (Sesostris III), living forever, journeyed, while overthrowing the wretched Kush, in the year 19."

673. Some nineteen years later, perhaps at Sisatet's death, his own memorial stelab was erected at Abydos. The inscription above begins:

"Year 1, under the majesty of the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Nematre (N-mt-R, Amenemhet III), living forever and ever. Stela which the master of the double cabinet of the office of the chief treasurer, Sisatet, made, in order that his name might endure at the stairway of the great god.

HAMMAMAT INSCRIPTION

674. The principal interest attaching to this inscription arises from the destination of the stone taken out, which is stated to be Ehnas Heracleopolis. The text is so barbarously cut that much is unintelligible:

2

675. 'Year 14, fourth month of the first season, day 16, under the majesty of ... .... the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Khekure (Sesostris III), living forever and ever, 3beloved of MinHor of Coptos. Behold, his majesty commanded to dispatch me to

a His title on his own mortuary stela is: "Master of the double cabinet of the office of the chief treasurer."

Now in the Louvre (C 5); published by Gayet (Stèles, VIII-IX, very inaccurate).

cEngraved on the rocks in the Wadi Hammamat; published by Lepsius, Denkmäler, II, 136, a.