He said to me, “I think I will travel with you as far as Hetnetsut and take this figure with me, to insure that it is set up in the temple there in a position befitting Horemheb’s rank and my own. Yes, I will come with you, Sinuhe, and let the river wind blow the wine fumes of Akhetaton from my head. My hands tremble with the weight of hammer and chisel, and fever frets at my heart.”
The scribes brought me the clay tablets, with Pharaoh’s blessing, and when Horemheb’s statue had been carried aboard, we set sail down the river. My servant had orders to tell Mehunefer that I had gone to the war in Syria and there perished. I felt there was but little falsehood in this, for I feared that I should indeed die a hideous death on this journey. I had further bidden my servant convey Mehunefer aboard some vessel bound for Thebes, with all due honor and if need be by force. “For,” said I, “should I, against all expectations, return and find Mehunefer in my house, I will have all my slaves and servants beaten, I will have their ears and noses cut off, and send them to the mines for the rest of their lives.”
My servant looked me in the eye and, seeing that I was in earnest, was duly frightened and promised to obey my orders. So with a mind relieved, I sailed down the river with Thothmes. Being convinced that I was bound for certain death at the hands of Aziru’s men and of the Hittites, we did not spare the wine. Thothmes declared that it was not the custom to be sparing of wine when going to war, and he could speak with authority having been born in barracks.
BOOK 12
The Water Clock Measures Time
1
In my official capacity I was received with full honors by Horemheb at Memphis, but as soon as we were alone together, he began slapping his leg with his whip, and he asked impatiently, “What ill wind blows you hither as Pharaoh’s envoy, and what new maggot has hatched out in his brain?”
I told him that my mission was to journey to Syria and buy peace at any price from Aziru. Horemheb swore bitterly at this.
“Did I not guess that he would ruin all the plans I have laid with such care and cost? Know that thanks to me Gaza is still in our hands, so that Egypt holds one bridgehead in Syria for military operations. Moreover, by means of gifts and threats I have induced the Cretan battle fleet to guard our sea communications with Gaza, this being partly in Crete’s own interest since a strong and independent Syrian federation would threaten its naval supremacy. Know also that King Aziru has much ado to control his own allies, and many Syrian cities are at war with one another now that the Egyptians have been expelled. Those Syrians who have lost home and possessions have joined guerrilla forces, which are in control of the desert from Gaza to Tanis and are now in conflict with Aziru’s troops. I have armed them with Egyptian weapons, and many valiant men from Egypt-former soldiers, robbers, and runaways from the mines-have joined them. Most important of all, the Hittites have at last invaded Mitanni with their full strength; they have wiped out the people and the Mitannian kingdom is no more. The Hittite forces are detained there by this victory; Babylon grows uneasy and is equipping troops to defend its boundaries, and the Hittites have now no time to give Aziru adequate support. If he is wise, Aziru will go in fear of them since their conquest of Mitanni, which was Syria’s shield against them. The peace Pharaoh offers would be most welcome, for it. would allow him time to consolidate his position and look about him. Give me half a year, or even less, and I will buy an honorable peace for Egypt; with singing arrows and thundering chariots I will force Aziru to fear the gods of Egypt.”
But I objected, “You cannot make war, Horemheb, for Pharaoh has forbidden it and allows you no gold for such a purpose.”
“I spit on his gold! I have borrowed right and left-borrowed myself into beggary to equip an army for Tanis. By my falcon, Sinuhe! You could not mean to ruin everything and journey to Syria as a peace maker?”
I told him that Pharaoh had already given me his commands and furnished me with all necessary tablets for the conclusion of peace. It was useful to know that Aziru himself desired it, for in that case he would be willing to concede it cheaply.
At this Horemheb flew into a rage; he kicked over his seat and shouted, “Now in truth if you buy peace from him, to Egypt’s shame, I will have you flayed alive and thrown to the crocodiles when you return, friend though you may be; this I swear! Go then, speak to Aziru of Aton. Be simple, tell him that Pharaoh of his infinite goodness will have mercy on him! Aziru will never believe you, for he is a crafty man, but he will puzzle himself into a fit before he lets you go; he will bargain and haggle and stuff you to the teeth with lies. But on no account are you to yield Gaza. Tell him also that Pharaoh cannot answer for the guerrillas and their plundering-for these free forces will in no circumstances lay down their arms; they give not a rap for Pharaoh’s tablets-I see to that! You need not tell Aziru this of course. Tell him that they are gentle, patient men whom sorrow has blinded but who will assuredly exchange their spears for shepherds’ crooks as soon as peace has been signed. But do not yield Gaza, or I will flay you with my own hand: so much anguish have I suffered, so much gold have I scattered in the sand, so many of my best spies have I sacrificed in order to open the gates of Gaza to Egypt.”
I remained in Memphis for several days, debating the terms of peace with Horemheb and disputing with him. I met envoys from Crete and Babylon, also distinguished fugitives from Mitanni. From their talk I formed a picture of all that had happened, and I was filled with ambition, aware for the first time of being an important factor in the great game, the stakes of which were the destinies of men and cities.
Horemheb was right: at this moment peace was a more valuable gift to Aziru than to Egypt, although events in the world at large bore promise of no more than an armistice. Having stabilized conditions in Syria, Aziru would turn once more against Egypt. The future now depended on whether the Hittites, having established their sovereignty in Mitanni, would march on Babylon or Egypt through Syria. Reason suggested that they would aim at the weakest point, and Babylon was arming while Egypt lay defenseless. The land of Hatti was an uncomfortable ally for anyone; nevertheless, to Aziru it afforded support. In joining with Egypt against the Hittites he was threatened with certain defeat so long as Pharaoh Akhnaton reigned and Aziru had thus only sand at his back.
Horemheb told me that he would meet Aziru somewhere between Tanis and Gaza, where Aziru’s chariots were engaging the guerrillas. He described conditions in Smyrna, numbering the houses that had been burned during the siege and giving the names of eminent persons who had been slain, so that I marveled at all he knew. Then he gave me an account of his spies who had visited the Syrian cities and followed Aziru’s troops in the guise of sword swallowers, jugglers, fortunetellers, oil merchants, and slave traders.
Both Horemheb’s officers and the fugitives told me such hideous tales of the men of Amurru and of the free Egyptian forces that my heart quailed and my knees turned to water as the hour of my departure approached.
Horemheb said, “You may choose whether to go by land or by sea.”
“Perhaps it will be safer to go by land,” I replied uncertainly. He nodded.
“From Tanis onward you shall have an escort of a few spears and chariots. Should they fall in with Aziru’s troops, they will abandon you in the desert and make off with all speed. It is possible that Aziru’s men, seeing you to be an Egyptian of high rank, will impale you on a stake in the Hittite manner, and urinate on your clay tablets. It is also possible that despite your escort you will fall into the hands of the guerrilla forces who will strip you and set you to turning their millstones until such time as I can ransom you for gold-but I do not think you would last so long, as their whips are fashioned of hippopotamus hide. Or they might as readily slit you open with their spears and leave you to the crows, which is by no means the worst way of ending one’s days but on the whole a fairly easy death.”