8 .

rOKEIGNEKS
Edda Brcsciam

In I *61, Sergio Donation i wrote, among other things, about the way
in which ancient Egypt dealt with the existence of other foreign
realities beyond its borders: “Universal empires do not suffer from
these realities that we see as In nils. They see them as a nebulous
disorganized l hairs, no more than a negative frame to the rcalir of a
poiirically united and completed casinos/'
This concept was a valuable tool for maintaining royal power
throughout rhe course cl Egyptian civilization. b was i he r.iskol' the
Pharaoh* as rhe gods' representative on earth, to ensure universal
order b\ acting against those who threatened it. Nnn-Egyptian
peoples tn rhe smith, cast. and west of rhe enunrrx were “com [nerd I "
by definition, even before any lighting took place. Scenes and sym-
bols presenting rhe enemy as a single entity — the “Nine Bows" —
arc found fhmughi mi Egyptian history, c\cn during the Greek and
Roman Periods. They acted as an example, and as a warning: the
figures <4 the defeated are shown beneath rhe soles of the king's
sandals. and they arc depicted on rhe floors and under rhe balus-
trades or' the palace ami on the plinths ofroyal statues.
In the Pyramid Texts, historical and ethnocentric Egypt already
regarded itself as the center of the world. \s “the eye of Horus/'
Egypt was destined by the god io be, not +ta” nation, bin “the1' na-
tion. created for I forus-Pharaoh:

I’he doors thar are on you rise in protection

I hey do not open to the w esterners.
They do nor open to die easterners.
 I 11 I : A H K I- S I H S I

they do not open tn the southerners,

they do not open tn the rnirtherriuis I ]
They open for Hnmsl It is ht who has nude them,
he whu I us raised them, he who has >j\cd [hem
against .ill attacks against them by Seth,
(Pyramid lexts. |5HS- 161Mu

This was die justilicat ion. elaborated so early on as myth, of the o p -

position between Egypt and its neighbors at the four astronomically
oriented corners of the world. I t contrasted t h e kingdom of Horus
with that of Seth. T h a t is, it contrasted Egy pt, where everything was
perfectly in order, with rhe "foreign l a n d s / the kingdom of t h e "dif-
ferent/ and of disorder,
In any case, the kingdom of the Pharaoh was protected. both
offii ially and rirually, against foreigners who refused to become part
of rhe most fortunate of all possible states, Egypt. Magical and politi-
cal maneuvers intended to make hostile foreigners harmless can be
seen in the so-called Execration texts of the Old Kingdom, written
on vases and clay statues found at Giza and Saqqara. I hesu texts list
the princes and countries of Nubia and Asia to be exorcized "along
with their conquered [subjects]." i " C o n q u e r e d / in this context,
means those "who will inevitably be conquered." 1

All rebels in this land, all people, all officials, all subjects, all males,
all eunuchs, all women, all leaders, all Nubians, all soldiers, all
messengers, all allies, and all confederates of all foreign lands whu
mav rebel, who arc in the land of I auat. of Djatiu. Irtjet. lam.
I inckh, Masit, Kaau, who may rebel, who may pint, who may fight,
who may talk of fighting, or who may talk of rebelling against I’p-
per and Lower Egypt |w ill he destroyed | tor .ill time

Lhcsc veryr specific rituals date nor onlv from rhe Old Kingdom
hut also from rhe Middle Kingdom. I hey reveal a wealth of direct,
concrete knowledge regarding rhe geography, politics, place-names,
and languages of Africa and Asia, and of the princes ovei w hose Linds
the Pharaoh had effective control. Xtr hough sonie of these kinds
were actually w itiiin Egyptian territory; the possibility of rebellion or
conspiracy was feared. Rarer cases, in which the people being exe-
crated bore Egyptian names, might have been directed at foreigners
who were living in Egypt, or even at Egyptian subjects considered
to be corrupt, or "rebellious/
I- • i K I- I ■ , X I-. K S

Detested, and convinced o i their defeat, "foreigners’ had no

choice bur to obey. W hether they remained as oppressed and I rival
subjects i n their own countries and provided Pharaoh with the riches
rheir lands produced or were taken to Egypt tn s e n e the k m c or
rhe temples, they had found their role, by this point. i n the well-
organized world nl'rhc Pharaoh’s political system. I hey c i c n bcnc-
rired from their position, jn the scuse so clearly expressed by the
‘loyalist" philosophy o l Srsostris I in Xubia, in Wadi cl-l hidc M E \ -
ery I imt i f nomad) c >F IX nbia who is recognized as a scrv am acting i n
accordance w i t h the power of this perfect k i n g w i l l see his descen-
dants live eternally/’
T h e difference, or “strangeness/' o f foreign countries when
compared with Egypt was noted, described, and represented with
curiosity by ancient Egyptians. It was recognized i n the form o f ,i
series o f anthropological, ethnographic, and even environmental and
hydrographical features. Yet even though foreign people were un-
doubtedly different, they were also “equal" in the providential ere-
atiiiu o f rhe divine demiurge — ai leasi i n rhe highly developed chib-
oration familiar co us from the mid-Eightcenth Dynasty However,
this d i d not exclude an awareness of difference ar a day-to-day level;
“ l i is Xi urn who has created men, ; M i n has defined their nature and
has made them live, / who has distinguished one from the other by
the coloi ol i heir skin " (Botdaq Papyrus 17. H y m n to Amun-Kc k See
also the I lyrmi i n Aten:

Thou didst create the world according to they desire.

[■ 1
I hc countries of Syria and \ uhia. die land of Egy pt.
Thou sertest even man in his place,
J'hait supplies: their necessities:
Everyone has his loud .inti his time ol lile is reckoned.
I heir tongues arc separate in speech,
Xiid their natures as well:
Their skins are distinguished,
\s thou distinguishes! the foreign peoples
h. I
All distant foreign countries, rhtm makes: their life (alsio,
I- or thou hast ser u Xile m heaven.
1 hat it mav descend tor tlicni and m.ikc waves i.ipmi the numnuiins.
22 J 1 1 J l> L ERE hC I I

To water rheir fields tn their mwns.

Ihiu effective they arc, thv plans. O lord <if ercmits 1
The IX i k in heaven, it is for the foreign people
And for the beasts of even desert that go upon (their) feet:
| While the true J Nile comes from the underworld lot Egypt.
(Trans. J. A. Wilson, in Pritchard 1969. pp. 370 -71)

Foreign countries, with rheir exotic goods, were created to enrich

the temples and storehouses of Egypt, as we can see from the I’hmi-
sand Sungs in honor of Amun:
Foreign countries come m you,
loaded down with marvellous goods,
each distrkr is tilled with fear of you:
the inhabitants of Punt a w to you,
rhe Land of Chai is verdant for you.
The waters bring ycsit [ships) loaded with resin
to celebrate your temple with festive fragrance:
trues of incense ooze balsam foi you I . . . |
The cedar grow s for you
Ifnnn whose wood] your barque is made
The mountain sends you blocks of stone
to make the doors [of your temple) great:
ships arc ar sen for you,
vessels arc loaded on the shores,
they sail far yarn. . , .

The universal ist, superracial conception of the world found tn

New Kingdom Egypt is eloquently depicted in the T h e b a n tomb of
Sethos 1: Asiatics, Nubians. Libyans, and Egyptians. each dressed in
national costume, advance under the eye of 1 Imus, each tn the same
way. toward the same otherworldly destiny ensured by religions
belief.
Most foreigners who settled in Egypt to become soldiers or
members of the royal bodyguard continued to wear national cos-
tume. 1 heir ch.iract eristic hairstyles and parades were as common a
sight in Egypt as the arrival of exotic merchants and processions
buari nu. foreign tribute.
Soldiers in Nubian (busline I divisions, employed I mm the Old
Kingdom on. carried (he arms ui their country (bows, arrows, and
I " K 1: I i A ERS

axes), wore wide c u n r d belts deconned with a diamond pattern, and

wore ribbons i n their hair. Libyan mercenaries continued tu tai ton
their bodies and wore u p to four feathers on their heads. T h e men
nt i he division of the Shardans (one o f the so-called Peoples o f the
Sea), who served i n rhe bodyguard of Ramesses I t . made a sink
iiig impression w i t h their sideburns and curled moustaches, their
rounded shield! i k e helmets, and their doublets covered with metal
studs,
I hc scenes i n the Xctt Kingdom tombs o f important officials
that show the arrival of tri h i ire-hearers from the \epean world are
extremely evocative. The details revealing rhe idenurx o f rhe
"< 'ret j n ” are so precise Ilona curling hair, knee-high boots < f decor-
ated leather, tasseled kilts) that Egyptian artists must have based
their work (m the actual presence o f these exotic models. I n an\ case,
painters arid sculptors delighted i n representing ethnic \aricty uid
enjoyed reproducing, and ironically accentuating. certain Negroid
and Semitic features.
I hc difference o f color observed between " the eye of an \si
atic" and +'the eve of a Nubian* is referred to i n a text force listing
birth:
You must look into the w..man's eyes by davlrght, and i f you find
that one ol her eyes is like diac of an Viatic and rhe orher like that
of a Nubian, [the woman] will nut give birth, but i f both hcr eyes
arc die same color, she w i l l give birth. (Berlin Papyrus 3(138.
r. 2.1-2 i

I hc letter written by \menophis 11 tn his viceroy i n Nubia, I s-

crsjtct (who had it copie I unco a srela found at Senina i n the Sudan)
adopts i n part the arrogant tone one might expect from a Pharaoh
toward Asiatics and Nubians, immediately recalling the lar mure l u -
cid ami pragmatic diagnosis of the character o f ‘S ilc Asiatics" offered
by Khcty I I to Ins son Mcrikare live hundred years earlier However,
the letter alsn contains some amusing — ami unused — teasing about
his official's harem, filled v i r h exotic women, along w i t h advice to
be wary of N u b i a n ‘wituhcrafl ” (we shall examine ibis widespread
Egyptian prejudice Inter) and observations on the unrrusi worthiness
oj \friuan subjects i n positions o f responsibility i n Kgvpr. due to
their inahililv to carry m i t any task beyond that o f the storehouse
keeper:
 r. I? H 4 m scIasi

( opy of the order which His Majesty wrote himself, with his own
hand, ro rhe vicems I sersateu His Majesty was i n Lhebes i n rhe
/w/ of rhe Pharaoh. and lie drank and spent the day i n merriment:
Look. this order is brought tt> you from the king, great i n mas-
sacre, strung of inn. \ ictoi khis with his scimitar, who has hound
ihc Northerners am! prostrated the Korn liciiicts in .ill their cities.
N o rebel exists i n any country.
You [live among rhe Nubians | 4 are a hero who brought booty
from all foreign countries. .1chiiricireer, who takes captures for H i s
Majesty Amen aphis, [who receives tribute from] Na ha tin. who
makes the land of the I littites a payer 1>1 tribute, you 1arc :■ the mas-
ter o j a wife from Babylon and a maidservant from Byblos, u young
girl from Alalakh I i n Syria] am! an old woman from Arapakha. Now;
these people f m m Ickhsi (Syriui are worthless — what arc they
good for?
A mtr h er message I b r i he siceroy: Do not l i lisl the Nubians bur
beware of their people and then witehcr.ift. "lake this servant ol a
commoner, for example, whom you have made .in official although
he is not an official whom you should have suggested l u His Maj-
esty. . . Do not listen Ln their wolds. Do not heed their messages!
l7 /■/■// I V 1343—M i

C o i n i n g from Kush ss.is m i l , i n t he eyes o f teachers, a guarantee

o f h i g h scholastic achieve m e m . Significantly, i n o n e o l the texts col-
l e c t e d i n rhe Miscellanies <Bologna Papyrus l ( N 4 , 3-5— 1ID. t h e u n -
w i l l i n g s t u d e n t is compared m .1 m o n k e y : “ b e e n t h e m o n k e y is aide
vr.i listen to rhe words, even t h o u g h i t has b e e n b r o u g h t from K u s h . "
The fact that " w e are w h a t we ear " is n u t a discovery o f m o d e r n
anthropology. For ancient Egyptians. the t y p e , quality, and prepara-
t i o n o f food were already, l i k e c l o t h i n g , l hanicterisrius that dis-
t i n g u i s h e d erne people from am.u h er. T h e B e d o u i n w h o w e l c o m e d
S m u h e gave h i m d i f f e r e n t food from that o f E g y p t , since it all was
c o n k e d i n m i l k . ’ A I any sweet things were m a d e for m e , and m i l k i n
every k i n d of c o o k i n g . " W h e n S m u h e r e t u r n e d to E g y p t , h e became
a n E g y p t i a n once iimre. rcmoving t b o t h physically a n d m e t a p h o r i -
cally, h i s B e d o u i n trappings:

I'hen his majesty said to the Queen: "Here is Sinuhe. come as a

Bedtt 1Bedouin). i n the guise ol the Asiatics. She gave a verv great
cry, and the m v t l children clamored all together Then they s.dd tn
His Majesty: " I t is not really he, O Sovereign, m y lurd!“ T h e n His
i o REISERS

Majesty said: ' I t is really l i e ! " | , . . ] Years were made tt> pass _m
from my body I w j s plucked .m-l my hair was cornbed \ Imd o f
d i n was given to the desert. and my clothes co the Sand -Cressets.
I was clad i n fine linen and anointed with prime ml. I slept on a
bed. I gave u p the sand to them who arc i n a. and wood oil to him
w I io is anointed w i t h it.

I n a w i tty and learned . i r r n le w r i i t e j i some years atuj, Surge Satin

c r o n s h o w e d t h e low o p i n i o n h e l d b y E g y p t i a n s o f their southern
neighbors. Even though the evidence dates from the Late Period, or
e v e n more recently, t h e r e is in ■ d<m b t that such an opt n i u n d e v e h <ped
d u r i n g the many centuries of c o n tact and coexistence b e t w e e n the
two peoples, I n a l Jemotic rale (Seme, no. 21 i n w h i c h t h e m a i n char-
acter is d i e son o f Ramesses I I , S e m e ( S e t e n v Khaemwese, a magi-
cian f r o m K u s h comes to Egypt, w h e r e he challenges t h e Pharaoh s
magicians to read a letter w i t h o u t u n r o l l i n g the scaled papyrus scroll.
A l t e r h a v i n g c a l l e d K u s h ’ ’ t h e land o f resin -eaters,” the Pharaoh or-
ders a room a n d " d i s g u s t i n g things | t o c a t ] according t n E t h i o p i a n
tastes*’ to be prepared for his guest.
Another t e x t , f o u n d a l Esna a n d d a t i n g from t h e T r a j a n age. ex-
p l a i n s that t h e p r o v i d e n t i a l d e m i u r g e K l i m m i has m a d e the products
o f foreign countries ( i n c l u d i n g the k i n d s u | food suitable lor the
N u b i a n c o n s t i t u t i o n ) d i f f e r e n t from those o l E g y p t :

Khnum created precious things i n their lands,

I'liat they might bear their products abroad.
I 'or the lord o f the wheel is dicir father too,
Enenen who made all that is on their sail.
I'hcy produce then supplies — thus the people T lbh.it —
Hi nourish themselves and their t hildren
< l.ichrhcim l HO, p 1 13)

h i another D e m o t i c talc ( P c t u b a s t i ; Strasbourg 15, 2C-21 1. M i n

ebumaat. p r i n c e o f E l e p h a n t i n e , is insultingly called a ’‘black resin-
eater," E v e n t h e fact o f possessing l i n k food. w h e n c o m p a r e d w i t h
i h e abundance t h e N i l e p r o v i d e d E g y p t , h e l p e d to d i s t i n g u i s h n n
m a d i i foreigners. Asiatic nomads were constantly o n t h e move i n
search of n e w supplies o f food, \ s w e can read o n the stela o f M e r e n
I n a i l ut Karnak, the peoples o f L i b y a “ w a n d e r c o n t i n u o u s l y and have
to l i g h t d a i l y i n order t o f i l l (heir b e l l i e s . ”
T h e i n t r o d u c t i o n of ‘’foreigners” i n t o the w o r l d e n t r u s t e d t o the
22b ED D A BR E 5< B VI

Pharaoh was already dmumcmed in the Annals, inscribed on the Pal-

ermo Sterne, and tin other munumcrns. Nubians and I Jbyans entered
rhe Nile Valley in considerable numbers, labeled as living prison-
ers, after having been captured in war or during raids. For die first
king of the Fourth Dv nasty, Snofru, the Palermo Stone lists seven
thousand prisoners “from the land of the Nubians, ' along with
200,000 beasts, both large and small, For the succeeding dynasty,
during rhe reign of Sahurc, the stone lists the importation of large
quantities of prci ions minerals from neighboring countries and Sinai
(rhe “Terraces of ' I ijn iuehsc" I, and of exotic materials from Punt
(frankincense, electrum, malachite, wood, etc J . Reliefs in Saliure's
funerary temple at Abu sir provide almost photographic images uf the
physical features, ways of dressing, and characteristic tattoos of mil-
itary leaders from different lands in Libya, captured and brought
to Egypt with their families and beasts. The following figures refer
to the number of animals captured in raids: cattle, 123,400; asses,
223,200; goats. 232,413; and sheep, 243,689, The fact that the cap-
ture of prisoners was assoc heed with that of livestock reveals the
“economic” motivation behind rhe Pharaonic domination of foreign
Linds These were the riches — minerals, animals, plams, manpower
and craftsmanship — co which rhe Pharaoh needed access and tn
which he was entitled by divine grace. Ar Ahusii once again, the god
Ash, "lord of Libya." says to Sahure: “I will bring you every good
thing that is in this kind." In other scenes, rhe god makes statements
such as: "1 give you all hostile peoples with all the pru\ isiuns chat
there are in foreign lands'1; and ,l l give you all the foreign lands to
the west and to the east, nil i he kinci (Nubian nomads) and rhe Men-
tiu (Asiatic nomads > that exist in every land."
T h e Abusjr temple reliefs lri.nn the reign of Sahure also show the
arrival by sea of Xsiancs — not as prisoners but, it would seern* as
merchants, probably from Byblos. Men, boys, and women enthusias-
tically greet the Pharaoh from their boat: "Health to you, <) Sahure,
god of rhe living! We see your beauty !" Health to you, Sahure,
loved by Thmh. I "rd of foreign lands!”
1 he hieroglyphs that stand for otic or more people on board
a boar do not scum to have meant ’Signaler” or "quartermaster sig-
naler" as Boreux (19241 suggests. The proposal of "interpreter?1
made by A. H. Gardiner and Inter partly modified by H Goedicke
("foreigner” acting as a mercenary in the Egyptian army), is more
likely. Nevertheless, despite Goedicke \ suggestion, the generic
I ‘ h K I I G X I- R *,

11.ins Ili Licm of ’’foreigner'' does urn seem t o be possible i n t h e titles

<>1t w o O l d K i n g d o m palace doctors. I n the case of t h e specialist i n
i n t e r n a l m e d i c i n e , I r i . t h e phrase m u s t be read as “ h e w h o recognizes
t h e s y m p t o m s of u r i n e i n r h e bladder. I n t h a t n f t h e other doctor,
K h m . i i s h o u l d be translated as " h e w h o recognizes t h e s y m p t o m s o f
t h e h i d d e n t u m o r (?),” These m e n , as i n t e r n a l specialists, w e r e able
t o " i n t e r p r e t ” t h e pathological language o f the body.
The n e e d l o r " i n t e r p r e t e r s . " ur. in other words, o f “foreigners-
v ho-can-s p e a k - T>yp r u m , " arose bee ause o f the intense international
t r a d i n g a c t i v i t y t h a t was so characteristic o f t h e Egy p t i a n w o r l d , e v e n
i n t h e earliest period, E g y p t i a n speakers van be seen, i n texts and
p u n c t i l i o u s l y realistic images, nn each boar a r r i v i n g from Asia i n t h e
ports u l 'Sa h Lire. Ir was t h e i r task to translate, . m i l thus rendei r u i n -
p r c h c n s i b l e , foreigners’ exclamations i n h o n o r o f the Pharaoh,
I he existence of a class o f b i l i n g u a l foreigners, o r “ i n t e r p r e t e r s , "
i n t e g r a t e d i n t o E g y p t i a n soeictx and e m p l o y e d ] m ifcssii ntally is
q u i r e w i d e l y d o c u m e n t e d i n rhe O l d K i n g d o m , although it is nut
clear w h e t h e r they were foreigners by b i r t h or t h e c h i l d r e n o f m i x e d
miirrki - The D e c r e e o f D a h s h u r [ / Vlw/M/r'w I , 209 J 6) refers spe-
cifically to li g r o u p o f interpreters c o m i n g from N u b i a n lands such as
M e d p , l a m . a n d Irtjct. These probably f o r m e d p a n of the “ p a c i f i e d
N u b i a n s " m e n t i o n e d i n t h e same decree (211, 3. 10 L L i k e others in
this g r o u p , t h e y w e r e probably at the service o f E g y p t , w h e r e they
w o u l d have b e e n u s e d as “scouts' ur “ i n t e r p r e t e r s ’ d u r i n g e x p e -
d i t i o n s to Sinai, N u b i a , and the R e d Sea. u n d e r the c o m m a n d o f
i m p o r t a n t officials such as t h e governors o f E l e p h a n t i n e , [ J e r k h u f ,
P c p i n a k h t c , ami S a r c n p u L \ h c r n a t i \ civ, they w o u l d have b e e n e m -
p l o y e d i n p r o f i t a b l e m i l i t a r y t r a d i n g missions tn those African lands
i n w h i c h natives a n d e x o t i c goods c o u l d b e acquired. T h e famous
i l a n c i n g d w a r f b r o u g h t hack I iy I I c r k h i i I u > the boy - k i n g P c p i I I was
a P x g i m fl " i n r h e l a n d of l a m , south o f t h e Second Cataract on ( h e

T h e fact that interpreters n o longer featured a m o n g recognized

trades, w i t h the e x c e p t i o n o f very rare cases, i n the N e v k i n g d o m
m i g h t be related t o t h e increasingly p r o f o u n d linguistic contact es-
t a b l i s h e d b e t w e e n E g y p t i a n s and foreigners from other countries i n
t h e e m p i r e a n d w i t h i n E g y p t itself. I here is nn f u r t h e r m e n t i o n of
i n t e r p r e t e r s as a specific class u n t i l r h e s e v e n t h century Ha . w h e n ,
according to H e r o d o t u s (2.154), t h e category was organized bx Psam-
t i k I t o spread r h e k n o w l e d g e o f d i e G r e e k language i n E g y p t ,
23(1 F. D 0 \ B R E < (! I \ M

['lie already massive presence of Nubians in the Egyptian arms

during rhe Sixth Dynasty is shown by rhe inscription (itLniff riun-
dev 1, 98 ff.f Uni was at the head of an army of many thousands of
men, iicji only from I Jppcr and Lower Egypt. bin ahu ‘ coming from
Ircjet of Nubia, from Medjai of Nubia, and from rhe country of
Liby a/’ He conducted a series of successful campaigns against the
"Sand-dwellers.” the nomadic Bedouin of the Carmel region.
From rhe Cid Kingdom on. groups or induiduals of Mrican ori-
gin < in it necessarily prisoners of war I were absorbed into Egypt's in-
digenous laboring class. This was rhe case for men and women from
Punt, for example, who worked as house servants in (he palace of
Mcrnr ncl Fayyum and as mercenary troops during the Middle King-
dom. In the case of Nubians and people from Punt, social acceptance
and cultural assimilation were encouraged by a basic ethnic affinity
The same process occurred, however. with rhe Xfrican populations
from Na paid in Kush, w ho began to arrive in Egypt m large numbers
from die middle uf the Eighteenth Dynasty on. when die roads that
led to Darfur and Kordofan were under the direct control of the Pha-
raoh. \ few figures will give us some idea: the Eighteenth Dynasty
Annals of Tuthmosis Hl 11 rlintden IVt 708 ffj state that between the
years 37 and 41 of the Pharaoh s reign t over two hundred prisoners
were imported from Kush, including four of the Prince of Item's chil-
dren During the Nineteenth Dynasty, Ramesses II lists, at Xmara.
approximately seven thousand prisoners taken from black \frican
lands.
Captured prisoners were employed in Egypt in a number of
ways: within the palace, in temples, and in royal funerary temples. X
series of small commemorate e stelae found at Qurna in the funerary
temple of Tutli im ois IV reveal the existence within the temple es-
tates of African colonies from the "vile land of Kush" and of "Syrians
captured bv His Majesty in i he ciiy of Gezer. 1 These people were
employed in specific activities: the Xfiicans worked in the kitchens
and bakery, or “house uf bread.” in the south wing of Tuthmusis IV's
funerary temple, and rhe Palestinians, traditionally experts in the
making of wine, worked in the cellars or "house of wine" in rhe
temple’s north wing.
Xnothet indication of rhe senile status imposed un Nubia ns and
Asiatics can he found, during the New Kingdom, in the wooden and
ivory cosme lit spoons in which die handle has rhe form of a servant
(a Nubian, an African, or an Asiatic) bent beneath the weight of a
I O U | I \ R > 231

large jar. w h i c h formed r h e b o w l of the spoon (closed b y a h i n g e d

l i d . t h i s contains t h e u n g u e n t ) .
D u r i n g rhe E l e v e n t h Dynasty; i n r h e f i r s t I n t e r m e d i a t e Period,
a colony of N u b i a n mercenaries settled at ( f c b e l c i n i n I p p e r E g y p t .
I h e y left e v i d e n c e of themselves i n a g r o u p o f a b o u t t w e n t y stelae,
E g y p t i a n i n t h e i r decorative arid religious style and use o f hiero-
glyphs. b u t t y p i c a l o f i h e i r u w u c u l t u r e i n the figures o f the p e o p l e
c o m m e m o r a t e d and of their families. The N u b i a n soldiers h a w
frizzy hair, often b o u n d b y a r i b b o n and st m i d hues w i t h a large p i n
i n r bone?} p u s h e d t h r o u g h i t ; t h e i i w i d e belts often l u n e tassels
a n i m a l tails h a n g i n g from t h e m . T h e y carry i n ( h e i r hands b o w s a n d
arrows, t h e symbols o f their trade. O n t h e N u b i a n stelae o f G e b e l e i n ,
w e n o t i c e the constant presence o f o n e nr t w o dogs, r h e friends a n d
companions of sol diets i n w a r ( t h e names of these dogs, however, are
n o t given* unlike t h e L i b y a n dogs, w i t h Lil.iv.in names, m the famous
Cairo M u s e u m r e l i e f from the t o m b (>f A n t c f 11 ar Du ir al- Bah ri, dat-
i n g t r o m t h e same p e r i o d L A l t h o u g h t h e w i f e of t h e " N u b i a n S u n u ”
i Boston Stela M I A . U3.184H) was probably E g y p t i a n , t h e i r son.
n a m e d N c b c s k a , was also a soldier and wears N u b i a n national dress
o n t h e stela. I ’he N u b i a n Tjcnenu*’ (Stela M . I t i r i n , S u p p l . 1270)
a n d his four b n it hers were professional soldiers, They arc s h o w n i n
n a t i o n a l c o s t u m e o n t h e G e b e l e i n stelae,
Thu e t h n i c group of mercenaries c o m i n g from the M c d j a y r e -
gion. at t h e Secund Cataract o f t h e N i l e , was particular h important
d u r i n g t h e E l e v e n t h Dynasty and c o n t i n u e d to be appreciated dur
m g r h e ' T w e l f t h Dynasty. The n a m e "Mudjay was later used to de-
scribe a special police force, often i n service it rumples.
N o t all Africans became part o f the E g y p t i a n social fabric by join-
i n g the army. M a n y ; c i t h e r freed or ’"adopted,” became " E g y p t i a n s "
and advanced w i t h i n society. I 'he N u b i a n A m c n i u , l o r example, cap-
t u r e d d u r i n g o n e o f Tilth most s I l l ’ s campaigns a n d c o d e d by the king
t o his b i u b e i . SabastL'i. m a r r i e d the barber’s n i e c e and l i v e d happily
ever a l t e r (sec chap. 7. p. 2 0 6 h The act o f e m a n c i p a t i o n (preserved
o n i papsfi.i\ hi t h e L o u v r u l was d r a f t e d i n the twenty-seventh year
of t h e r e i g n o f T u i h u i o s i s 111 " b e f o r e 1h e 'bos s o f rhe Zv//> [rox al nurs-
e r y ] . ’ ” ’ T h e N u b i a n s « h o b e l o n g e d ro the K a p (usually educated a n d
o f a h i g h social class) clearly h a d i h c task u f p r o v i d i n g "consular"
pmrc< n o n for less fortunate N u b i a n s .
T h e existence of t h e K a p reveals b o t h a basic absence i n ancient
E g y p t of racial p r e j u d i c e and a policy o f c u l t u r a l assimilation o f t h e
 I l i I j A. I l N I S I . I >X S 1

“defeated" by rhe victor Already i n the M i d d l e Kingdom, the Rap

o f i he ioval palaces accepted and trained rhe sons o f the Pharaoh and
of Egyptian nobles ah mg w i t h chose o f Nubian chiefs and nobles. B y
the New Kingdom, i f not sooner, the sons of Asiatics were also ac-
cepted I he liH'cign l bnys ci! the Rap” made their careers i n Egypt,
w i t h i n the palace, i n administration, and i n the army. Alternatively,
i hey returned in then i >\xrn v mnrries, presen ing political and cultural
links with die land o f the Pharaoh.
W i t h i n the palace, die Kap was also a k i n d o f male harem, or
all-male clulx where the Pharaoh could relax, drink, and enjoy die
n ini pany o f his friends, as we can sec from the letter, quoted above,
from Xmenophis I t to his victrox in Nubia; " H i s majestx was i n
I I n be.s m i lie Rap of rhe Pharaoh, and he drank and spent the das
i n m e n in icin’ IV. 1343—14k One African "boy of the Kap
was Heqanefer. depicted on the Theban tomb o f H u i . viccrox of
Kush. Huqanefcr, prince ol \ l i a m during the time of lutankhamun,
is shown inking part in an exotic procession to render homage to the
Pharaoh I Ic is wearing a mixed Afro-Egy ptian costume, although i n
his ou n tomb i n Nubia, he is depicted i n Egyptian dress. T h e young
princes accompanying him. also destined tn become "buys o f the
Rap/’ arc already dressed as Egyptians. I he African princess, i n
white pleated linen, will certainly enter the women's harem. 1 here
is ilmilii about rhe idemitx o f the black noblewoman on a charim
drawn bx oxen. Dressed i n an opulent mixture id* Egyptian and for-
eign styles announcing Meroitic splendors, she max have been the
bride o f the prince of Miam or of Wawar or have been destined for
the Pharaohs harem.
One category of foreigners had a special reputation i n Egypt ma-
gicians. I hey were mainly Nubians and Kush lies; even the goddess
Isis, us a magician, dec lared herself to be ‘Nubian.* I n magical texts,
Nubian names and spells (incomprehensible and thus even more ef-
fective} were parricul arlx powerful.
I n rhe chapel of I Lire mini I ■ at < «ebcl si I siI eh, (here is a depiction
o f the tri urn ph am return of an expedition Co Nubia, with its proces-
sion nt prixiincrs. hour N u b i a n magicians can lu seen, employed i n
a magical dance accompanied by singing (in favor, one hopes, o f the
Pharaoh . . J. Nubian magicians were powerful enough to be danger-
ous it hostile. Wc should remember what \menophis I I said to his
viceroy in Nubia.
A papyrus containing a magical text (Leiden 343-45, r. VI. 8) aL
I ■i H I I i ■ S E H S 233

hides i o powerful Palestinian magicians: “rhe people of' \haq.ina

who speak with serpents." The existence in Egypt u f a man u f By-
bios who was an expert i n medicine is revealed by rhe medical Ebe is
Papyrus, dating from the Eighteenth Dynasty: “Another remedy
tor rhe eyes that an Asiatic from Byhlus has told me ahum' (63.S-
I I h I he remedy in question contains the first known mention of
rhe word “//>'/ //." the Egyptian for alum. ' which might indicate ihar
both the term and the medical adoption of alum were foreign m
Egyptian tradition, having arrived from the Near East.
7 he fame of Nubian magicians lasted until Greco- Roman times.
\s we have seen, the secund of the cycle id Demotic talcs of Seine
Khaemwese describes how a magician from Kush came to court i n
order to challenge Egyptian magicians tn read a sealed papyrus scroll
without unrolling it.
I he Bedouin shepherds who wandered die edges of the eastern
Delta and rhe Wadi Tumi lac pass were not unb familiar to the Egyp-
tians bur appear to have been welcomed from rhe curliest times. In
rhe- Prophecy ol Neferti, written in the Twelfth Dvnasty, we read:
“They (the Asiatics) will beg lor water in iheir usual way; u> g h e m
their flocks/’
From rhe Middle Kingdom un, Asiatics became increasingly nu-
merous in Egypt, Picturesque caravans moved between the Near
East ami Egypt. I he famous rumh paintings of Khmimhorep ar Beni
Hasan (around 1900 n.t ,'i depict, in extraordinary detail, rhe arrival
iil an entire tribe of Bedouin: men, women. asses laden with bows,
axes, lances, and wooden harps of a kind not found in |-.g\pt. I hex
are led by their chief, Abishai, described in a somewhat boastful wav
as “Heqa Khasm, prince of foreign lands/’
A lining foreign carpenters we find the “Fcnckhu/’ a name that,
from the < )1d Kingdom on, uridi mhtcdly referred to carpenters from
the wooded kind of rhe Lebanon, although i t later began to be used
less precisely to describe various coastal regions in Asia. Later. in the
Ptolemaic Period, the hieroglyph “Fenekhi/' was used for the Greek
“Phi dilike” i I’hoenici.i ).
Middle Kingdom documents list Syrians who used both their
original names (must o.t vhich incorporated rhe names of gods such
as Reshef, SIi amush, Anat. B.uk and Baal.nl .mil Egyptian ones. I h e
fact rli.u foreigners adopted Egyptian names, h o w l e r , means that
they were already almost, i f nor cm rich. indistinguishable from
Egyptians.
234 I 1.1[J \ Il ft E S C t .X ft J

I he Thirteenth Dynasty usurpation ul the throne bx the Syrian

Khendjer i 'Wild Hoar"), an cx-mcrccnarx from the Pharaoh's divi-
sions, must have encouraged foreigners to conic to Egypt. XVe cannot
elaborate here rhe consequences of the arrival in Egypt of the people
from Asia known as rhe Hyksos and of their gods. T h e y settled in
the Delta, where their capital city of \varis was protected bx their
ofliciul deity, Baal-Smckh. a gud nf the tempest, l ie was later incor-
porated into the Egyptian deity Seth, already a "suspect 1' god in
Egyptian mythology, where his mlu had been ‘'confined ' to foreign
lands, beyond rhe border of Egypt
r h e Two Lands — the Nile Valley and the Delta — were divided
once again under the Hyksos, almost as 11 they had returned to the
chaos preceding historical times. I he eastern border had been
crossed bx Asiatic invaders, who allied, for reasons of mutual interest,
with the prince of Kush at the frontier of 1 pper Egypt, d liis anoma-
lous situation was perfectly appreciated by Kamose, the prince of
Thebes. Addressing his counselors, who wanted to leave things as
they were, he said; "1 should like to knuxv what my power means
when one chief is in Varis and another is in Kush, and I sit beside
an Viatic and a Nubian, and each has his piece ul (his Egypt?"
(Carnarvon Tablet).
A “war of liberation" followed, during which the Thebans won
numerous victories, lr came m an end when the etiemx s forces were
driven back into Palestine* and order was restored in a reunified
Egypt, The description of rhe taking nf \varis. rhe Hvksos capital,
emphasizes the presence of the Hxk is women, delectable spoils
awaiting the arrival of the victors:

I saw on the terraces your women, who looked at the port from
between the battlements; tlicx did not move when they heard me,
but pushed their noses out through rhe walls, like owl-chicks fiuiu
cheir hole, saying: “All is lust." (Stela of Karnak)

I'lic capture of Avaris anti its port, with its ships and wealth, as well
as of the inhabitants of the city, w ho were laken prisoner, is boast-
fully described hx Kamosc:

Your heart is I jroken, ( > vile \siaucl I drink die w ine of yniir cellar,
that which lias been squeezed for me bx Asiatic* who arc noxs mx
piisimcrs | . . . |
I hint thrown your women into the boats: I have captured the
F O R E I G S E It S J.vs

hoists. I have not left a single plunk nt the three hundred ships of
green umIut, full nfgohl, lapis lazuli, mKui. turquoise i n numeral 4l.-
bronze axes. as well as of oil, i license, I'at. hones, wm/muhkI,
carub, j z-wood, dl prized woods, and nil rhe guvd products of
Syria. ( Six*hi of Karnak)

During the long period, however, i n which Thebes and Avans

had coexisted w i d i o m violent conflicts, the resident invaders had
been assimilated by Egyptian culture. T h e letter to the prince nl
Kush whose hc.ircr was captured liy Kitnmse was , l wriucn by hand
by the prince o f A\ arisJ’ evidently m Egyptian i unlike, for example,
the letter carried by the messenger o f the prince o f Xaharin captured
by Amcnnphis I I and referred ro m the Memphis stela; borne m u m d
the messenger’s neck, its message was written i t i l uiicifi >i m cli.ii.it.-
ters inscribed on clay), h is curious tn discover that. i n his tercet,
Apopi accused rhe k i n g o f Thebes of having attacked and betrayed
h i m without warning inci of having attacked his territory without
provocation. T h e "barbarian*’ is accusing the Egyptian of barbarism,
1Tic subsequent centimes ot Egyptian domination i n Asia led to
the arrival i n the Nlilc Valley not only o f large numbers o f male and
female slaves b u t also o f groups o i prisoners ut war. 1 hese became
pan o f Egy ptian society, si mictimcs establishing ct domes. An inscrip-
tion by Ramesses I I at Abu Sirnbel i written tn comment on a depic-
tion of the Pharaoh i n the act of k i l l i n g some Libyans) provides im-
portant information about the practice o f transferring conquered
people from one part o f rhe empire i n anol hci. m i i f depi irtitig groups
from their original homeland:

I he perfect god, who kills the N i n e Bows.

who crushes the lands of rhe nnrrli
who i?» powerful m these kinds.
w Im bears the land o f Nubia into I lie land of the north,
and the Asiatics into Nubia.
I l e has placed die Shasu Asiatics into die western kind,
he has settled the Libyans i n the hills (th Asia''.
tilling die fortresses chai he has Imilt
with people captured by his mighty arm.

Produced during the reign of Ra messes \ + rhe Wil hour Papyrus

( I I I . 44 IT.> indicate# passible sites o f Semitic colonies in Egypt in
the region o f ( )xy rhy nehus. \ m o n g places listed m connecrion with
 E I J 1> \ n « |. s c I a s i

plowing, mention is made (if I’a-cn Shasu tthe Shasu established

there worshiped “Hathur'T* Per-Baalar I “ t h e temple o f the goddess
B j a l a t " ) , K h a m r l Svi'ia ,L ), and Na-Kharu ( " t h e seat o f the Syrians”).
Other place-names m the same documcnL such as I ’ j - c n Mciljay and
Pa-en Nehesu, i n dicace the existence of settlements i if people from
Medjay and o f Nubians as well.
At the time o f Sliesluinq I I I . a community of Shasu Bedouin,
originally from central Sv ria. was to be found ar Aphrodi copolis. I his
was almost ccriaiiih uric ul riic mlonius o l soldiers, or n f prisoners,
established during the Ramesside Period. D u r i n g rhe Bubastite Pe-
riod (Twen tv-second to Twenty-third Dynasties), a community o f
Shardan mercenaries also existed to rhe north of Aphroditupolis.
T h e arrh.il i n Egypt o f Asiatic prisoners of war was constant and
intense. I n certain cases, i t can be quantified by examining official
duciimcrirs. \> booty from a single Asiarit campaign, Anicnophis I I
brought back 838 women. 550 maritntH- warriors w i t h their 240
women. 328 children of princes, and 2,790 female singers of princes
u l all foreign lands, w ith their jew els, After rhe war fought during the
ninth year u f his reign, the Pharaoh returned w i t h .in even higher
number u f prisimcrs: 'Trinccs o f Syria ( R c t c n u i 127; brothers o f
princes: 170; Shasu Bedouin taken prisoner 15.2hi|; Kham Syrians:
36.30(1; people of Nuhassch 1 Aleppo) taken prisoner alive: 15,0711;
their families: ; O,b52. Total 89,600 people i Stela of M i t Hahina,
C’GC fi301 ). Although die total is, i n fact, too high by over ten thou-
sand prisoners, i i is nonetheless striking. It is significant i n that it
indicates the arrival i n Egypt of people from a wide range o f social
classes and ethnic origins*
T h e number o f foreign women to be absorbed into N e w K i n g -
dom Egypt is also striking. They range from those destined for the
harem uf die Pharaoh, or o f other important figures i n Egvptian soci-
ety, to weavers, maids, singers, and dancers.
Brothels were provided with exotic attract ions, and the music
performed i n them made use u f instruments that were now to Egvpt.
Nubian dancers were accompanied by drums and lambuurines. L i b -
van dancers, identified i n rhe D c i r al-Bahri reliefs by three leathers
o n their heads, performed ritual dances to a rhythm produced bx
curved sticks, simil u m the modern Italian “dance o f (he batons.”
\ r L u x o n a scene showing the festival o f Ope c depicts a group
cd Asiatit singers refeired rci as '"the singers n f Khcpcshii.” I n an-
other relict at fhebes. i n rhe scenes o f harems c a n e d on blocks from
 ■I R E J U S t K S 237

Karnak dating From the Amarna Period* we find N u b i a n singers. Svr-

lan singers (recognizable by die layered frills of their clothes) can lie
seen i n li.m m scents carved un the walls o f the El-Amarna tombs of
Ay and Tutu.
By the middle ot die Eighteenth Dynasty', Near Eastern influ-
ence nn Egyptian costume and behavior had even reached d i e Ph.i-
rauh, An extraordinary serpentine statuette (from I he he-*., ihiv. in
rhe Metropolitan M u s e u m o f Art in N e w York) shows Ament ip his I I I
wrapped in a long Asiatic. garment v i t h a fringed border, H i s hands
are clasped i n from u f h i m i n a gesture reminiscent of E h mite or.
more precisely, Babvlimian sunuarv of she period. The designs on
the runic u f Tuhiu k hainun also reveal the influence of decora th c
motifs from the Near East. By die t i m e of the Ama ma Period at least.
Egyptians had adopted a new was o f drinking beer, using a squared
siplun .is we car see in a stela (Berlin Museum) dedicated by a
Syrian soldier named Terera + N e w Kingdom Egypt also borrowed
from its Near Eastern neighbors new types o f weapons arid \ i s c s j n d
skills such as those involved i n making glass vessels, as well as new
shipbuilding and pottery tei hniques P
ITiis taste for rhe exotic also involved botany :im.| rlie environ-
ment. D u r i n g the Eighteenth I )y nasty. die pomegranate was intro-
duced to Egypt. Entire shrubs uf incense were uprooted and brought
from Punt by Hatshepsut. D u r i n g Ins military campaigns in Asia.
Tuth mosis 111also ‘"coni picrcd" some iinusii.il plants. Each detail o f
their leaves. Hrnvcrs, and seeds was observed and drawn, to form the
oldest herbarium i n the world, Known as the ’‘Botanical Harden of
l urhiiiosLs I I I , these drawings arc reproduced on a wall of the king’s
temple ar Karnak.
I ndeniable, albeit infrequent, examples of Asiatic in flu cnee on
Egyptian lire,ram re exist. These include the Talcs of Anal and Seth.
Xst.iric an<I rhe Sea, the episode (w hicli took place. h< iw r \ er, outside
Lgx p L i n the Lebanese Valley o f the Cedar I o f the girl of Bala de-
sired I tv 1he Sea i. i n rhe I ale o f the Two Br<it hers), and the allusion
( i n Anastas i Papyrus I . 23,7) to a story whose leading character, (Jag-
erdi. prince o f Iser, is chased b y a bear and forced to c l i m b a tree
l liar literary r t x i s written i n cuneiform were read is suggested by
the existence o f mythological tales among the tablets of El-Amarna
i Atlapa and rhe Southern Wind. Nergal and Vesh-kigaTi I he fre-
quent exchange n f correspondence i n cuncifomi between Egypt and
the N e a l East, repealed by the \marna archives, required the exis-
 I 1| Il « I S r I A \ I

i cute ar court ui scribes and readers u f cuneiform* I'his has been

l o n h r i n c d In the discpverj at E l A m a r n a Qfa dictionary 6f Egyptian
winds phonetically transcribed i run cuneiform,
I Juring rhe New Kingdom, the Egyptian army contained an ever
increasing number of foreign mercenaries. We indy have to look at
i lie list nt troops on an expedii ion i n Phoenicia (invented by the au-
thor o f rhe Satirical Letter, Anastas i Papyrus 1. during the reign u f
Ramesses I L to emphasize his rival's inability to organize): " 1’hc
troops before you number 1 ? W : S2<) Miardan, L60U(Jeh:iq (Libyan),
UiU Meshwcsh ( L i b y a n i, HSU Nubians, 5.UUU i n all, not counting
their i ifficials.”
Xlthmigh the Egyptians had abundant direct knowledge o f the
Near East by this time, alarming information about foreigners could
si i l l liiculatc. h i the Satirical Letter die dangers of a journey in Syria
arc vnidly described: *, ’l'lie narrow path is infested by Shasu (Bed-
i h i m i who hide m the scrub; some of them are four or t h e cubits (2.5
nr 3 meters! i tall from head tn toe; fierce i n face, their hearts are not
soft and they d u nut listen to jukes*' ( \nasrasi Papyrus I , 23,7-Ml,
Xmoiic the enemies brought back ui Egspt as prisoners during
i h e Nineteenth Dynasty were the inhabitants of the “land o f Khera.’*
rhese people die Hittites — were depicted by Egyptian artists
with beardless faces, double chins, and lung, ringleted hair. Toward
the middle of the thirteenth century; changing historical conditions
imposed new. pc.ice m l relations between the rwo countries. These
culminated in a bilateral — and bilingual — peace treaty’ between
Ramesses I I and rhe H i t t i t e king* I h c long period of negotiation
leading up to this treaty meant that many messengers ami ambassa-
diirs Lame i n Egypt i n a spirit of "peace and good brotherhood, as
the treaty; i n the hieroglyphic version known tn us from Thebes,
expresses it. I hc pact between the two lung-standing enemies was
also w uncssed by rhe gods, a diuiasand for each country. I or the H i t -
tites, these ranged from the sun god. lord o f the sky, to the si i n god-
dess u| i he city o f \rinn.i, the god u f storms, and. finally, the Rivers
ut rhe I and uf Khatti. I he Egy ptiaiis had Amun, Re, Seth, male and
female gods, .im! those ot rhe rivers and mountains of Egypt.
When, toward the end o f the feign o f Ramesses I I , Khattusili I I
decided tn send Ins daughter to become the w ife o f the I'haraoh. rhe
ci tv ut Piramesse and the eastern Delta were suddenly filled with
l l i t u t c s , According to the inscription on die '‘Wedding Stela" (be-
side ihc temple u f Abu Simbe.il, the princess brought w i t h hei .1
I t H< k I < > X I H S

splendid dowry ( ‘ g o l d , silver, bronze, slaves, innumerable pairs of

1
horses, livestock. goats, endless thousands of sheep *) and was ae*
companied by I l i t t i t c princes. I hr description i n the Wedding Stela
o l the l i n k a b l e relations between Egyptians and Hittites is rather
disconcerting when one remembers how often Egyptian texts ex-
pressed their scorn lor 'die vile kind of Khatti. I t is clear that both
the new affection and the traditional scorn were, i n c l feet, i m inure
than convention:
Now. when the daughter . a rhe great prince of Kharn came co

Egypt, the infantry; the chariots, and the nobles of His Majesty
escorted her and mingled w i t h the infantry; rhe i liariuts, and the
nobles of Khurti. I hey ate anti drank together, with one heart as
brothers, v. itlumi ihsnirl inc one amn her

As i n all love stories, the H i t t i t e princess — "her face as beautiful as

that o f a goddess” — enchanted the heart of Ramesses. H e gave his
royal bride the Egyptian mime Maaihornofnirc < ,pShc who sees the
beauts o f R e ” I to replace her I l i t t i t c name
The spread o f Egypt's political influence during the C i d King-
d o m w j s accompanied by the ‘'exportation of Egyptian gods
i l*ln ith and I lath or i n t o Sinai and By I dos; I Jathor i n t o I ‘tint ), increas-
ing constantly from that period on. I t is Jurdly surprising, therefore,
that Egypt also “ i m p o r t e d / and welcomed as integrated guests, for-
eign gods from rhe regions and lands around its borders. I n some
cases, these gods were allowed to keep their names, appearance,
clothes, anti myths o f origin. I n the case o f the emliesr contacts, they
lost their original character and were assimilated te.g., rhe Libyan
goddess N e i t h mid god Ha: mid, from the east, the god Soped, of
extremely remote Asiatic origin). \ Nubian god like Dediug “ w h o
presides oxer the land of the Nubians/* already m e m i<med m rhe
Pyramid lexis, remained confined ro rhe lands south of Aswan.
There he may be said to have cal la borated with the power of rhe
Pharaoh. to whom h e gave the exotic produce o f \frica. I lie lion
mask and hairstyle o f the Pygmy god Bes preserved all the magit.il
fascination o f the exotic.
I l was only natural that t h e arrived ol Asiatic deities m Egypt
should Inn e coincided w ith That o f V i a t i c peoples During the New
Kingdom, Sxrian and Palestinian deities triumphed in Egypt, along-
side other signs o f a new cosmopolitanism. Rcshcf and Baal u c r c
warrior gods ami wore their exotic national costumes proudly on
24(1 i n is a fl n i . s r I \ N I

Egyptian monuments to them, as did mercenaries serving the Pha-

raoh, 1 I mon, identified with the Great Sphinx, was worshiped at ( J iza
at least from the time of Amcnophis II. I he Amurite god nt shep-
herds, Huron was invoked by magical c limits preserved (both in
Egyptian and in Amoritc transcribed in Egyptian signs) in the Harris
Papyrus. I liuse chants asked the god tci protect herds from wolves
and other wild animals.
Muring the Nev Kingdom the cult of the ‘’naked goddess/
(Jadush. spread throughout the area nl Memphis, which contained
numerous military and civilian colonics of Syrians and Palestinians.
r f

Qadcsh was welcomed in the temple of Ptah as his bride (the gods
also following die fashion of hm ing foreign women in their harems! I.
Astarte received particular veneration from Amcnopliis H as the
"rider-goddess” and goddess of war. From his reign on. she was de-
clared the "Lady of Perunefer” (‘'Good journey"), a river port near
Memphis that possessed a shipyard and arsenal. Pcrunefer was an
important center because of the many Asiatic immigrants, mer-
chants, artisans, ami mercenaries living there.
Ehc statue of Astarte ar Nineveh, believed to ha e magical heal-
ing powers, was originally sent by Tiishratu of Miranni to rhe sick
Amcnophis 111. Harnesses II declared himself “l< ivvd b\ \nat/ who
became the titular god of a cult at Piramcssc.
flic "Asiatic"’ sickness (’ that of the Amoritcs” > also arrived in
Egypt from the cast. A suggested remedy was tn pronounce 4 magi-
cal spell invoking Seili, god of foreign lands, over certain me die ma I
substances:

Spell for the Asiatic sickness; “Wliti is uise as Re, who is wise .is
Rc : Blacken the bin ly « i t h » hans mI !■ ■ capture the god i rhe i aire
of the illness) |and bring h i m | m the surface |Sav|; "Just .is Seth
fought .grain'd rhe sea, so -Seth w i l l tight against you. O Viatic, so
that you shall not enter i n i he son of such-and-suchJ' 11karst Papy-
rus 170, 1 1.12-15)

It may have been necessary to address this “Asiatic illness in its

own language. Egyptian doctors were provided with the spell “used
in this case by the people of the land of Keftui (Cretans i; Saantaka-
papiuaia-ai.imanntarakukara" (such a gallimaufry of syllables that the
spell could hardly have failed to work I),
It has been known for some time that fnrt]gncrs h particularly
I < r H I . I i . X I- K - 241

Semites. played an increasingly active role i n Egyptian society dur-

ing d i e Harness ide I ’urn id. H a l f o f the known cupbearers (/ 4/?/<) o f
the king, lor example, are estimated to have been o f foreign origin.
I lie position of wlepu was anything but humble, since the k i n g had
to crust the loyaky of his cupbearer (among the members u! the pal-
ace plot against Ramesses H L however, we rind a number o f for-
eign cupbearers ).
The highest social level among immigrants was that of the l+suns
nf princes/' As a result of a deliberate policy, expressed by Tilth musis
I I I i n a frequently quoted passage describing Egypt’s relations with
the X c a r East i n the Eighteenth Dynasty, these boys u c i c brought
to Egypt as hostages. They were raised i n rhe harem nr Kap and
were caught to behave as Egy ptians so that they would return m rheir
l u uncs as loyal objects, favorably inclined to the i idrnrc i il then < ip-
pressors. T h e practice o f “diplomatic marriages" had a similai pur-
pose. Princesses and women o f rhe highest birth from every kingdom
of the Xcar East were taken into the harem. I ’ he royal fashion for
foreign brides was also imitated by others o f lesser rank
I t is easy to identify foreigners i n documents when they; or their
relatives, h a \ e ruin- Egyptian names. Ju pa, son o f I rkhai, and L t i l l u ,
son o f Buka, were from I burn. I lie grandfather o f I'ascr. \ izici o|
Sethos 1, also had a name o f H u m a n origin; Pupaia. T h e mother of'
the \izicr Neferrptlpet was called Qafraiat, a Semitic name that
might have meant ’She who has blonde hair/' T h e mother of (he
cupbearer Pencaur was named \ m a t i , and hei sister was Lukasha
(Cairo Stela N . Provu 12/6/24/1 7i, I’he chief draftsman Banin and
the painter Qefaa I Theban T o m b no. 14(1) were Semiric. as were rhe
goldsmith Pa-tjai -Biial and the m n a l carpenters \.irusii and Barna
(Petersburg Papyrus H 16. B 16). Names such as Ishrar-nmmi i/'Asr-
artc is my mother”: Ufiawfru IV, 11, no, 65), Ymisa, Baal -mahan and
1 kirn a leave n o doubt as to the Semim origins of rheir possessors,
V i m c s that include a place-name are another clear sign of foreign
origin: Pa- L u k a (‘"The Lycian" Pcn-llazoi ( “ T h e one I m m Ha-
zor"), and Pa-assnr ( “ I he Assyrian” ).
I j o i n rhe earliest period, however, immigrants concealed their
origins bs giving rheir children Egyptian names. A typical example,
from the New Kingdom, is that of Pa-ainteru ( “ T h e V m o r i t c ' l and
his wife, Karen, who called their two sons I scretiiiiri and Mcrire,
I he latter became the squire o f Tilth mos is I I L
I t has been noted that, during the Eighteenth Dynasty, foreign-
 I. n IJ A H K I U' I \ S I

er preferred ru adopt names containing the element “heqa" ( ro

rule." u riiler"i isuch as Hcqanefcr). whereas during the Ramesside
Period. ’ li >V4i ]i st ’’ names, which included the name of the current
Pharaoh, were mure common, I he doorkeeper Akbcr, for example,
changed his name co Ramessenakhce (“Ramesses is powerful"}.
Ramessecni-pcr-re, called Meri-iunu (“Loved by Heliopolis1 ), an
eminent figure at court as “first cupbearer, fanbearer to the right of
die king, fust herald ol His Majesty," was originally named Bcn-
Azan after Zeri-Basaui, a place ru the east of the Sea of Galilee
Tutu followed \khenacen m EbAmarna and possessed rhe fol-
lowing tides: “first servant of Akhenaten in the temple ot Aten."
“first servant of Aten in the barque." “overseer of all the works uf the
Pharaoh and overseer of all public works," “treasurer/1 and “chief of
.ill the country " Ilie name “Tutu" derives from the Semitic name
Thidtf 1, and rm this basis he has been reasonablv identified with
rhe Dudn known to i j s from letters sent to .Akhenaten bv Azinc son
of the Amoritc king Ahdi-ashirta. I his hypothesis seems to be con-
firmed by the fact that Tutu. in an inscription on his tomb, discov-
ered in El-Amarna, describes himself as a man who understands the
words of foreign ministers and can report them to rhe palace:
As fui the messengers from all the foreign kinds,
1 reported their words to the palace,
while I was at the palace daily
I was sent as rhe Pharaoh A delegare with each of
I I is Majesrv 5 orders.
Another very interesting case is that uf Sarbaina (ur Sarbakhana},
known as Abi, Abi was a prophet both • «f Amun and of the Semitic
deities Baal and Astarte in rhe city of Perimeter. H e probably lived
sometime during the middle of rhe Eighteenth Dvnastv and was
buried ar Snippra.
I he Semite Apcr-ia (or Aper-el) lived at the end of the Eight-
eenth Dynasty. His rock tomb at Saippna has recently been discov-
ered and investigated, with extraordinary results, by A. Zivtc. Apcr-
ia acttiallv achieved the rank of vizier, rhe highest administrative
position in i he Egyptian state. A parallel with the biblical Joseph’s
career in Egypt inevitably springs to mind.
rhe date of the arrival in Egypt of the Hebrew people and ol
i he I <y i id i is still can nut be established with .inv ceriaintv. Egypt pro-
vides rhe scenario fur many of rhe most important figures in the
I ■ : H F I < ■ S L J< S 243

Bible, such as \ bra ham and Sarah, who moved to [he verdant Delta
itiiu prototype of the Promised Land), and Joseph, sold as a slave in
Egypt b\ Ishmaclites and bought by Potiphar, one ol the Pharaohs
officers and captain ol the guard. Joseph later became Potipliar’s per-
sonal s o n a n t and was eventually promoted to die rank of vizier In
the Pharaoh. Finally. there is the Egyprianized figure of Muses.
.According to the Bible (Gen. 15;13)T the Hebrews had fixed in
Egypt fur o w r Imn hundred years when Moses led them from the
Delta. No trace, however. has been found in Egyptian documents of
t h e Hebrews as a special race, t hey would have been only one of
many groups ul Asiatics to have settled in Egypt, where they lived
by working as, among other things, brickmakers and masons. \l-
thinigh rhe term 1‘ XpirtJ (the designation borne by Semites who
seem m have been a kind of mobile workforce, constantly on the
move in both Eg’- pt and \sia) might evoke ‘ Hebrew” there is as
yet no proof that the two terms refer to the same ethnic group.
As we have already seen, the Libyan race was one of the four
peoples of the world according to Pharaonic tradition. In practice,
however, up ro the Nineteenth Dynasty, Egyptian interests were
concentrated cm Nubia, Kush, and the internal and cuascal regions of
\sia, ( lonrnd ovei rhe semi nomadic inhabitants t4 Libya was limited
to attempts to hair their constant insidious incursions into i he Deha
and die oases of the Western Desert by means of deterrent action
and raiding panics m capture prisoners and livestock.
Duri ng rhe Nineteenth Dynasty, rhe pressure of the Tjehenu
Libyans and their even more warlike and aggressive allies threat-
ened the binder of the Delta, forcing Merenptah to intervene. T h e
Great Inscription of Karnak describes in derail earlier episodes of
creeping invasion by the people of Libya, as well as their new .ind
dangerous aggressiveness, It also provides ethnographic com men is
expressing considerable contempt for rhe 'Peoples of rhe S e a /
“who had no foreskin." that is, xxlio were circumcised. The chief of
the invaders w .is the “vile chief of Libya, Xlcrireu son of Did”; Ins
allies were “Shardan, Shckelesh, and Equesh from the (foreign)
lands of the sea r///), who have no foreskin, I taxing no foreskin,
these were killed and their hands were cut off. I he Lukki and Rir-
sha tribes arc also menl ii mcil. It is clear that the Libyans were allied
to groups of i he Peoples > >f t h e Sea. ' I 'hese gr< nips w (mid Liter, during
the reign of Ramesses HL attempt in vain to enter the Delta from
the eastern border and the Mediterranean coast.
24-1 I. o D a n r es r i \ \ i

Merenptiih flies into a rage against those Egy prnins who had
been failing to keep rhe foreigners under control for some time:
Egypt has been abandoned to invasion by e\ery land,
the N i n e Rows have been able t n sack its borders,
Rebels can invade it each day [ . . . j
| so th.it Libyans) have entered on several occasions
Egypt’s fields from the Cheat River i N i l e L
passing days and months occupying [rhe- country I,
reaching the hills nf the oasis I . . . [
coming from The district of Farafne
this is testified, dies say, since the times of the kings
i n documents of other times.
No one was able to [destroy them) like worms,
there was no way tn overwhelm their bodies,
because they love life and hate death,
and theii hearts are exalted against those w ho know (?) | . . . |
Passing their time wandering around the land,
lighting each day to fill theii bellies;
they come to Egypt to seek food for their mouths.

In the same inscription, Merenptah boasts about his victory oxer

the Libyan leader, who fled ’"leaving behind him, in his haste. his
sandals, bcm, and quiver/’ and limn whose camp (he victors trough r
back his goods, women, and furniture to Egypt. As a result of the
king’s victory, the Libyans were no longer feared in the Delta, nor
were foreign languages rn lie heard there:
Oh how sweet it is to sit .incl babble!
One walks frec’Striding on the roud,
for there’s no fear i n people’s hearts;
fortresses a r t left tn themselves,
wells arc open for the messengers use.

’ I litre's n o calling tmr at night:

w
\Vait t 1 come/' i n 1 stran ger’s voice.
(Liehthcini 1976, p. 77)

I p [i.i I Ins point, the Libyans had been elusive enemies due to
rheir nomadic habits. Now. however, they effectively entered the
universal sc heme on which Pharaonic ideology was based. Ramesses
II] was able ro boast (hat be had brought the conquered I ibyans inio
I i I k I. I u X I . H - 24 S

E g y p b where they forgot all notion n f inn ionalism, their native

tongue being replaced bv Egyprian after a process ul cu I rural b r j in-
washing: "Brought back to Egypt, [the Libyan prisoners] were
placed i n fortresses. T h e y heard, in rhe service rd the king. the lan-
guage ul the Egyptians; rhe k i n g made (hem forget their h w i i speech
.md overturned their language’ ( L I ) 111, 218)
The army Ramesses I I I used against rhe L i l is ans \i as c omposed
ul' Egyptian troops and groups ul' m e n cn.uics. int lading the Shat
dam Philistines (the Philistines and Palestinians were pari o f the
Peoples of the Seal. Syrian Shasu, and Nubians, T h e Mi. r dan had
been mercenaries i n Egypt sim c the rime u l Xmcnuphis 111, I hat
they were soldiers o f fortune is confirmed hy rhe fact that they ap-
peared among Egypt's enemies during rhe wars against the I lutites.
Al the time of M c r c n p u h they were allies o f Libya, along w i t h the
Philistines (Pcrcsct), who were originally I m m Crete.
After the Twenty -first Dynasty the throne cd Morns was occu-
pied by dynasties o f foreign origin; first Libyans. then Ethiopians o f
N a paca from Kush. I Ins "scandalous" phenomenon wa> accepted as
a result u l the c ultural assimilation o f these "foreigners.*'
T h e founder o f the Twenty first Dynasty, Shcshonq I . de-
scended from an old family of military colonists at 1 lerakleopolis
known as the "chiefs o f M u " ( " M a " is ;m abbreviation o f “Mesh
wesh who were not only i n the pay o f I lie Pharaoh but also allied
to the enemies nt' Egypt defeated by the Ramcssides). I hese coin
iiists had established themselves at Btibastis. 1 he 11>iin de r o f rhe col-
ony was a Libyan w i t h the "barbaric” name ul Bui iuiu;i.
I t might be considered one o f history’s ironies that Egypt aC’
qtnred new international prestige, not u> muiirinn a certain domestic
harmony and an economic recovery revealed by large-scale building,
precisely during the reigns of these foreigners with the "barbaric"
names o f Sheshonq and Osorkon. A number o f alliances were made
i n \si;i during rhe same period, and Assyrian aggression was kepi,
under control.
[ h e fear o f hostile “foreigners. ’ however, was still aloe. It was
expressed in the proliferation o f "oracular amulets/’ intended to
protect their wearers from all evil: " f r o m the magic of the Syrians
( K h a r u f from the magk o f the Ethiopians, from the magic of the
\siarit Shasu, frniii the magic o f i he I ' m i Lihvans, from the magic o f
the people o f Egypt." h i this context, the name "Kharit" might indi-
cate the settled Palestinians or the people o f the Phoenician cikise.
24b i- 11 i k \ hHi sr i s I

Shasu might refer co the nomadic Semites to the cast of the Delta
and in Transjordan: people, that is, such as the Arabs, Kcnites, Midi-
anites, Edomites, Amalekites, or even, already, the Jews of Israel.
Tcfnakhte of Sais, the founder of rhe Twenty-fourth Dynasty
also belonged io a powerful family of rhe chiefs of the Mcshwcsh.
At the cud of the eighth century ba:, he proclaimed himself ' great
chief of the Libyans and great prince of the west" before announcing
that he was king, in apposition to rhe claim made by the king of
Napata. the Kushite Uiankhi (nr Peye. according to rhe proposal to
change the traditional spelling of the name). \t this point in Egyp-
tian history, a black African w .is recognized king of Kush and Egypt,
.i fi ci j I r turn pbain and victorious march along rhe entire Nile \ alley,
before celebrating the jubilee of the Pharaohs in Memphis.
I t is certainly remarkable that rhe conquest of Egypt by the king
of Kush ithc distant country to which triumphant Pharaohs had
taken their culture so many centuries before i was officially presented
by Piankhi (on the Great Stela of ( iebc] Barkal i, in a knowing refer-
ence to the glorious model of the great New Kingdom Pharaohs, as
a crusade conducted to crush Egyptians who were rebelling against
the decree of .Amun. Annin. god of both I hebes and Napata, had
given the king tif Kush sovereign power over all ct urn tries:
\ nu i n of Na para has granted me sovereignty over every land,
so ch.it he to whom 1 say, “You arc king,” [ w i l l be king|+
hut he to whom I say. "Yoi.i will mit he king,” [will nut he king|.
Amun of Thebes has granted me sovereignty over Egypr.
so that lie to whom I say, “Ynu are crowned.” will be crowned,
but he to whom I say. "You will not be crowned.” will not be crowned
\n\<me r o w h t i m I turn rm [benevolent] attention,
his ciry will nor be destroyed, it least not by m y hand
I t is the gods who create u k i n g—
even though men can also create a king:
I nn tne. Am mi has made me king.
(Stela 26 ut Gebel Barkal 1

In seventh-century Egypt, the defence of die eastern borders

against foreign invasion was in the hands of the Africans of Kush.
King Shabauka sent an army to help Hezekiah of Judah (an ineffec-
tive aid, however. compared in the Bible to “a broken reed that
pierces the hand in which it rests" I. King Taharqa fought fiercely
be lore retreating when faced bv the attack of rhe Assyrian king As-
H)RI.Ui\l NS 247

surbanipaL who reached as fai as Thebes with his army of Phoeni-

cians. Syrians, and ( S'priors, as well as Egyptians from the Delta.
Egyptian princes in the north. in I l h t , were ready to collaborate with
the Assyrian enemy, in reaction against the intolerable sovereignty
of Na pau.
For Assyrian domination in the province of Egxpr we have no
direct documentation from monuments, Howexei, u e know die pro
ccduics the Assyrians used to govern the province, procedures that
resemble those adopted by imperial Egypt in i clarion to its- Nubian
subjects and to those Asiatics brought ro Egypt m be educated. In-
spired by the same motive, the .Assyrians took the young princes of
Egypt's tributary and vassal cities tn Nineveh, giving them an Xssy r-
ian education and Assyrian names. I’he name of the prince uf Sais,
m»ii of Nccho and future founder of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty; was
thus transformed from Psamtik to rhe Assyrian Nabushizibanni. I t is
no. accident that Psamtik I w hose experience in Xssvria enabled him
to make \alnablc contacts with the lords of other Assyrian vassal
states, took advantage of the weakness of Napata and of rhe fact that
Assyria was ct iriceiitr.it inc its attentions elsewhere to restore Egypt s
liberty and independence. I he military supremacy lie needed was
provided by recruiting Ionian and Carian mercenaries from Anatolia.
I l is well known that pred lellenic contacts between the Greek
world and Egypt had been preceded by Egypt’s relations, first, with
Minoaii civilization and then with the Myccnean world. From rhe
Eighteenth Dynasts mi, Crete’s auuietu inhabitant s appear in mmb
decorations as importers of materials, thai is— .icuordma to rhe von
ventions of Pharaonit iconography —as tribute bearers, With their
customary skill and attention to eiliidc details, Egyptian artists dis-
tinguished these foreigners by their facial features, hair. clothes,
boots, and the objects they carried. T he studies carried nut by Jean
Veremitter* and published some years agot remain basic texts in this
field. We know that Egy ptian texts referred to the Mycet leans as the
Keftui i rhe Kaftor of the Hibicl. I he Keftui i belonging u • both die
Aegean world and rhe countries of the Syrian coast I frequently vis-
ited Egy p i during rhe \ c w Kingdom, as men Hants and importers of
various ’‘tribute. ’
Egypt’s ports and coasts were not unknown to Homeric Greeks.
\Vt might recall the account in the Wi'.wj td rhe attempts tn disem-
bark in Egypt made bv Odysseus — a pirate similar to the "Peoples
ol (he Sea," bur in rhe eighth cemury tu . The recurrence, in I .ineai
24H F 11 11 X R H 1- H i : | <. X I

Bt of the place-name Aigyptiu, dearly related to the Greek name

for Egypt. Aigypcos, is well known, T h e founding of Xiuicrutis, a
Mediterranean hub for Greek coimnercial activity. which was both
intense and highly organized by ibis time, dates buck to the seventh
century H.c.
Ionian and Garian mercenaries ' ''bronze men.1' in the often-
quoted passage from Herodotus. 2.152 53) were engaged by Psarn-
rik, attracted by high wages and pre muses of land (.tfzzz/J/w/zz > on
which to settle During the Suite Period, Egypt became the place
where Greek mercenaries could make their fortune. \ n Egyptian
statue with a Greek inscription dedicated tri an Ionian soldier during
the reign of Psamtik I, has recently been disciu ciedl at 1‘riene. It is
an extraordinary example of tile rapidity with which I ireco- Egypt iai i
ctdtural bilingualism dex eloped. as well as of rhe contacts between
Egypt and the Hellenic world of \sia Minor, contact* which had
such fertile consequences for archaic Greece. Twenty- sixth Dynasty
Egypt still possessed enough cultural prestige to oblige Greek phi-
losophers and in re Ik d u a l s m x isir ii.
The ethnically mixed compusiiton of rhe army of Psamcik II is
demonstrated by the famous graffiti in \ b u Simbel written in Greek,
(rari.m. and Phoenician, hmians and Iranians continued tn live in
Memphis during the centuries that followed. Alexander the Great
discovered their descendants. the "Hellenomemphites" and the
"Garioinemphiles." when lie arrived in Egypt.
Camby sts conquests in 525 b.cl transformed the Nite Valley into
i satrapy of the \c hacmcnii I Empire During the fifth and sixth cen-
turies B.i:,, when Herodotus xisited rhe country; Egypt was ex cn
mure multiethnic and mull dingual than it had been during the glori-
ous period when the empire was "Egyptian." T h e satrap was Persian
and generally a prince in rhe Great King's family. H e resided at
Memphis with his conn, which included the administrators of the
satrapy's wealth and the king’s Treasury; Egypt was still home to the
mass of scribes, lodges, provincial chiefs 1/>?/Zz//7zZ L garrisons of sol-
diers, merchants, and exporters, many of whom were Phoenician.
I lie official language in the provinces of rhe Vhaemcnid Empire
land thus in Egypt) was Aramaic, known m Egyptian as “(Asisvrian
writing." Darius 1 ordered the body of Egyptian luxxs "preceding rhe
year 44 of Arnaus" to be translated from Demotic into Aramaic
(Bibliuthequc Nationally Paris, r.ipvrus no. 2l5ti.
I he urea of the border garrisons, stretching from Migdol to
I O M I I <. \ r H -

M a r t a and Elephantine i n rhe south* was home for people ul various

national] tics and religions* 'Temples j nd chapels for foreign gods
sprang up throughout Egypt D u r i n g rhe period o f Aihacincmd
di in i i nation, chapels existed ar \ s u an fur the ulilts o f Naho, M d k a t
Sciamiri, and Hanit. Even before ( jnibx>es' victors tpossibly IriHti
the time of the edict of Cyrus permitting the return to Israel of d i e
Bahs Ionian exiles, nr, alternatively, from rhe rime o f Psarntik I I ) , Ju-
daic military colonists had ei CLrcLl a temple to Yahweh on the island
of Elephantine.
I n the decades during which independence was wrested back
from Persia, Egypt became rhe ally of, and point of reference f-r,
every enemy o f the Great King. T h e N i l e Valley recognized, and
welcomed. all kinds o f allies and exiles, until the country was con-
quered hs Mcxandcr the Great.
The Libyan Period, the Ethiopian conquest, and. above all. rhe
\ iolent invasions by .Assyria and then Persia, followed by the passing
■ ii Egypt m i n die Mexandriaii Empire and the periods i if I 'n ilcmaic
and Roman control, were all seen by l he people of Egypt as attacks
nn the ‘’throne o f Horus.” T h e y represented the mythological "Re-
turn < H Seth,” who. exited from Egy pt ami dismissed to r lie lands > if
the Asiatics, "turns back io his deviant ways and returns to plunder"
i n the guise o f an Assyrian conquer* »r. o f Cambys esT or of Xerxes.
I’hc last resort u l defeated Egypt wa* ritual exorcism, rhe magical
destruction by tire nt the figurine representing Seth, rhe god of dis-

Rehind, ( ) rebel vile of character

whose advance lias been blocked by Re' | |
You n i l ] cuiuc near Egypt no longer.
You will die wandering in foreign lands.
you u i l l penetrate no more die banks of Horus,
rhe kingdom dial Ii id been grained to him!
(ritual against Seth-Apop his, / \L
17.22 ff )

Similar rituals, intended to prnrei r Egypt from foreign i n c i s i o n

and resembling the Execration Texts from two millennia earlier, can
be found ar E d f i i i n the Book to Paralyze [Hostile] Humanity:

All the pt j nves of all Asiatic lands,

all their great ones, all their imtaliJc ones,
2SCi I-. D D A HR E s f I A M

all their soldiers, .ill their magicians.

all rhe women in.unit inns w Im are w i t h them [ . I.
who say that they will be joined together
with die rel.cls against the Pharoah.
i Edfu, V, 132,5-61

foreign invaders were exorcised ar Dendeni, along with magi-

cians and the wicked, who might profane the cry pt:
T h e place whose secret is hidden.
i n ease rhe Asiatics d i m e down tn the fortress
T h e Phoenicans ( F c n c k h u i will not come
near,
the Greeks < I launehn) will nor enter,
rhe Sand-dwellers will not encircle i t .
a magician will nor carry out his task there,
its (hiors w i l l nor open for a reprobate.
( I lenders, second crypr)

But by now it was coo late to close the doors of Egypt,

During this period rhe ‘‘defeated" Egyptians had nothing hut
memories of their national pride. All that remained to them was to
whisper thar Cambyses was the son of the last dy nasrically legitimate
Pharaoh, Aprics, or that Alexander was not only the "son of Amun”
but also the son of Olympia and N cetane bos IL rhe magician-king
who had si night refuge in \ n h i a (oh. that i\ tibia n magic! iT pursued
b\ l he Persian Artaxerxes.

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