“Both of us lived out our reigns in the field of battle,” Menes said sympathetically.
“All kings are indebted to Egypt for their glory,” mused Abnum, “except for this dynasty — to which Egypt is herself in debt.”
“This monarch needs no defense from me,” confessed Isis.
Osiris commanded Kamose, “Take your seat among the Immortals.”
12
HORUS HAILED, “King Ahmose the First!”
A svelte man entered, walking in his winding sheet until he stood before the throne.
Thoth, Recorder of the Sacred Court, read aloud, “He took his father’s place when the latter succumbed. He never flinched in fighting the foe, completing his preparations to shift from defense to attack. He affirmed a gift for leadership equal to his personal valor as he swept from victory to victory, besieging the Hyksos’ capital at Avaris until he overcame it. Afterward, he hounded the enemy into Asia, where he chopped him up and scattered the pieces.”
Osiris asked him to speak.
“In truth, I reaped the fruits of my family’s long preparations,” Ahmose I admitted, “and I was aided in my struggle by a son of the common people, the Commander Ahmose, son of Ebana. Each time that we won a battle, the warlike spirit rose in my men — as it fell among the forces of the enemy. From that point forward, we could not imagine that we would lose, while he could not imagine that he would win. With the fall of their city, the rule of the Hyksos came to an end, and Egypt again was free. My mind would not rest until we had driven them beyond our eastern borders, so that they could not reestablish themselves anywhere or contemplate revenge. I devoted the rest of my life to purging the land of their monuments and their appointees, in reorganizing the administration, and in reforming irrigation and the management of lands. When my era came to a close, Egypt was welcoming a new generation of her sons — resplendent with the courage of warriors, dreaming of foreign forays, and blazing with the spirit of martial expansion.”
“Such a nature is new,” remarked Khufu.
“And splendid, too,” added Djoser.
“But perhaps not lacking in evil,” cautioned Ptahhotep.
“Among such savages, there is no other path to an honorable life,” said Seqenenra.
Isis interjected, “Then let us bless this son who has liberated our land.”
Osiris told him, “Go to your seat among the Immortals.”
13
HORUS HERALDED, “King Amenhotep the First!”
A stout, broad-shouldered man came in and stood humbly in his shroud before the throne.
Thoth then read from the book of the gods, “At the start of his reign, the Libyans crept into the west of the country. He threw them out after dealing them grievous losses, just as he expanded Egypt’s southern borders, and invaded a wide swath of Syria.”
Osiris invited him to speak, so he replied, “I took the throne with Egypt’s past, both recent and distant, very much in mind. The elders had not forgotten the ghosts of the Hyksos and their humiliation of them, while the young reveled in the victories of Ahmose I and demanded to see more of such things. First, I strove to organize the administration by spreading the protection of the law and security and the proper supervision of those in the civil service. At that moment, the western borders were broached by the Libyans, to which I reacted swiftly. I exceeded the enemy’s expectation and brought down upon him a shocking defeat. The fire of passion in the hearts of the commanders and officers set me aflame, so I undertook a successful attack in the unexplored regions of Nubia.
“Then my spies among the Hyksos informed me they were gathering with the ambition of gaining back what they had lost in our nation. So I set out at the head of a campaign and declared my rule over Palestine without having to engage in combat. I assailed the assembled Shepherds in the west of Syria, broke up their ranks, and destroyed the rest of what remained of them. I ordered the reconstruction of the temple of Amun, then returned the prisoners of war and captured livestock. I compelled the entire country to pay a head tax, and the nation’s resources increased and the markets boomed.”
“Everything you did was right,” Ahmose I enthused, “for Egypt’s southern borders are not secure without possessing Nubia, while the pivot of defense on our eastern borders lies in Syria.”
“This means that Egypt’s security was not truly established except by launching two different random aggressions outside our borders!” exclaimed the Sage Ptahhotep.
“I have learned that life is but a continuous conflict, in which the human being finds no rest,” Ahmose I replied. “Whoever neglects to prepare his forces makes himself an easy prey to beasts who know nothing of mercy.”
“I did not stint,” said Amenhotep I, “on the most lavish of offerings in the temples to procure the blessings of the gods, for within their holy confines lies the first and last guarantee of Egypt’s survival.”
“This son’s works are his testament,” Isis opined.
“Go to your seat among the Immortals,” ordered Osiris.
14
HORUS CALLED OUT, “King Thutmose the First!”
A lissome man of medium height advanced in his shroud until he stood before the throne.
Thoth read from the sacred scroll, “Domestic matters calmed during his reign. He undertook a military expedition to Nubia. He put down a revolt in Syria and extended his reach nearly to the borders of Naharin. He had wood imported from Lebanon, using it to build temples to the gods.”
Osiris invited Thutmose I to address the court.
“My mother was a commoner,” confessed Thutmose I, “thus my blood was not wholly royal. To make up for this, I married the Princess Ahmose, legitimizing my rule. My urge to see into the Unknown led me to invade Nubia in order to arrive at the sacred spring that lay at the source of the Nile. When I aimed my arrow at the enemy commander, he fell down dead — and I ripped his army to shreds. I was the first to reach the Third Cataract, where I erected five stelae to record our victories just as I built a fortress there as a garrison. I reorganized the administration, improving conditions for the tribes, and had almost returned to Thebes when news came to me of an uprising in Syria — which I put down by leading a campaign against it.
“Once back in Egypt, I decided to use the head tax exclusively for reform and construction, putting my trust in the genius of Ineni, who built two giant pylons at the entrance of the temple of Amun, as well as a great covered enclosure supported by columns made from the cedars of Lebanon. It was my good fortune to have restored the temple of Osiris — your own temple, My Lord — in the town of Abydos long since buried in sand, embellishing it with splendid furnishings and vessels of silver and gold, while creating religious endowments to maintain it as well.”
“Why was there unrest in Syria?” asked Pharaoh Ahmose I.
“To put an end to the head tax,” answered Thutmose I.
“Didn’t you leave a garrison behind you, as you had done in Nubia?” queried Amenhotep I.
“No,” came the reply, “I was wary of splitting my forces, but left behind a contingent to deal with emergencies.”
“And thus we reap what we sow!” lamented the Sage Ptahhotep.
“You were humiliated to the point where you had to marry a princess in order to bestow legitimacy on your rule,” bemoaned Abnum. “There’s no shame in the fact that your mother was from the people. If only you had not disavowed the glorious popular revolution and its great rule, and drawn the veil of injustice over it, then you would not have subjected your dignity to this degradation.”