another sarcophagus rested there. So we spell out, read and speculate
over these monuments of long ago. This king and queen were doubtless
buried with great honors; which was it, love or ambition, that ruled
their lives and stamped with its signet even their tomb? Could it be
said of them that “they were lovely in their lives and in death they
were not divided”? Evidently they did not wish to accept the common lot
of man, to pass away and be forgotten.
CHAPTER EIGHTEENTH.
SUCCEEDING QUEENS.
From the time of Rameses II to that of the Ptolemy period no queen
seems to make a marked impression on the passing centuries. We have
here and there a name, here and there an anecdote; but no figure, with
salient points, stands out, about which cluster vitalizing incidents,
or upon whom we may drape a robe of woven romance. Nor were there many,
even among the kings, who have the bold outlines of some of their
predecessors.
Seck-net or Seti-nekht was first of the Twentieth Dynasty, is believed
to have reigned seven years, and united with himself, and was succeeded
by, his son Rameses III. He seems to have made no special mark upon his
time, was neither a great ruler nor a great builder, and we know little
of him. There is a picture of him and Rameses III kneeling on either
side of the sun’s disk, and he appropriated and enlarged the tomb of
Queen Tausert for himself, covering the figures and name of the queen
with stucco.
Rameses III was a builder of temples, a rich, magnificent and
splendor-loving monarch, a warrior and conqueror. His Hobrus names were
“Mighty bull, great one of kings,” and “Mighty bull, beloved of Maat,
establisher of the lands.” But, even at a period, whose moral point of
view was so different from the Christian, it is claimed that this was a
court distinguished for its licentiousness. His queen’s name is given
as Ast, or Ise, also as Hemalczotha, which seems to suggest that she
was a foreigner, possibly a Khitan or Assyrian princess. Her father is
spoken of as Hebuansozanath. Often the space beside the king’s name is
left vacant, as if she could not or would not appear in his company.
From her tomb also her name is obliterated, while that of her husband
and son remain.
The walls of the temples and palaces built by Rameses III are adorned
with the story of his life. There are naval engagements, the ships
with embroidered sails, and the king is seen as a conqueror, of the
Libyans and others, carried in state above the heads of the people,
surrounded by priests and followed by warriors and captives, while in
other processions the queen also appears, following. The great Harris
papyrus, too, of the thirty-second year of his reign, found near the
temple of Medinet-Abou or Haboo, gives much information concerning him
and a long list of gifts which he presented to the temples.
Among the other pictures on the walls we see Rameses III enjoying
himself in the midst of, some say his daughters, but more probably
the members or slaves of his harem. Others, again, believe them to be
intended for goddesses or mythological characters. Sylph-like figures
attend upon the king. To quote from a previous article upon the
subject, “One plays draughts with him, another holds a lotus blossom
to his nose (a favorite attention in Egypt), others offer him wine
and refreshments. The queen, as a chief figure, nowhere appears. The
costumes approach that of the Garden of Eden, a necklace and light
sandals. We are reminded of the description of a Japanese family:
‘The summer costume of a middle class Japanese consists of a queue, a
breechcloth and a pair of sandals; that of his son and heir the same
minus the queue, the cloth and the sandals, while that of his spouse is
a little, and only a little more elaborate.’”
It is impossible, naively and gravely, remarks one critic, rather
than from the standpoint of the Twentieth Century, than the Twentieth
Dynasty, that respectable families should so have conducted themselves,
therefore the garments must have evaporated in the course of years. But
it was so near the Garden of Eden, the climate was so warm, and the
little creatures seem so at ease in their airy nothings, that it is
almost appears as if “beauty unadorned was adorned the most.” Some of
the pictures are too obscene for reproduction.
It is of interest to note how very ancient are certain games, such as
chess, draughts or checkers, and others which still hold a place among
our modern amusements. Other pictures, discovered years ago in the
mastabas or grave chambers, of still earlier date, 5200 B. C., give
also the game of chess, the invention of which has been attributed both
to India and China.
Extensive insurrection and disturbances, it is evident, had
prevailed in the kingdom, and that Rameses III had brought order
out of the chaos. He described himself as “the darling of Amen, the
victory-bringing Horus.” After his conquests he turned his attention
to building, commerce, digging of reservoirs and planting of trees;
nevertheless a general decline of Egypt is said to have begun in his
reign.
But if the king had restored order in the land, not so well had he kept
his own household in check. Records remain of a conspiracy which arose
in his harem, headed by the Lady Ti, Thi, or Tey, said to be the mother
of a certain Pentaur or Pen-ta-urt, whom she wished to put upon the
throne. She probably hated the “royal wife, the great lady, the lady
of two lands, Ast.” In exactly what way the Lady Ti was related to the
king is not specified. In both the museums of Paris and Turin there
is some account of this _cause celebre_. The steward, Pal-bak-Amen,
was her chief co-adjutor, also a certain Penhuiban or Hui, a cattle
inspector, who indulged in “Black Art,” made amulets and images of wax
for ladies, and had books containing directions how to strike people
blind and to make figures in effigy to bring trouble upon any one who
was hated. Melting wax figures and sticking pins in them to harm an
enemy we think of as belonging to the age of Queen Elizabeth, and lo,
it was known and practiced in Egypt thousands of years before!
On the other hand, may it not have been also possible that Queen Ise or
Ast had some share in the plot, or at least sympathized with it, thus
giving another reason for the non-appearance of her name beside the
king’s. One of the ladies concerned wrote to her brother, commanding
the army in Ethiopia, and ordered or entreated him to fight against
the king. But whether he did as was desired or not, the revolt was
unsuccessful. It was crushed with some severity, and it is said forty
men and six women were compelled to commit suicide, and a mummy,
thought to be that of Pentaur, and showing signs of death by poison,
has been found.
Rameses III reigned thirty-seven years, and there is a list of his
sons, several of whom succeeded him. He was buried in the Tombs of
the Kings, doubtless with all the honors of state, but his body was
not allowed to rest in peace, it was included in the general upheaval
caused by robbers, before described. His mummy was found in the large
coffin of Nefertari-Aames, and on being unrolled fell to dust. His
features were said to be softer, finer and more intelligent than some
of his predecessors, his figure less straight and vigorous and his
shoulders narrower. His red granite sarcophagus is in the Louvre and
the lid in the Fitz-William museum at Cambridge. His tomb is sometimes
called “the Harpers,” from the figure of two harpers in a scene on one
side, also “Bruce’s tomb” from the name of the modern discoverer. Among
the treasures found in this tomb were two golden baskets. His period is
given as 1200 B. C.
Rameses III was succeeded by his sons or connections of the same name,
who followed him, as one writer has said, with “ominous rapidity,” from
number one to number thirteen. They seem to have been a faineant race,
and the proud name of Rameses degenerated from reign to reign. Here and
there in the Tombs of the Kings, or in other spots, we find their last
resting places.
Among them, perhaps, Rameses IV was one of the most conspicuous; and
his queen, given as Isis-Ast, was buried in the Tombs of the Queens.
The tombs of Rameses IV and VI are decorated with astronomical designs;
the sun appears in his chariot as Horus-Ra, and that of Rameses IV
has pictures of the resurrection. The seventh son is given as Ramessu
Meritum, son of Queen Muf-nofer-ari.
A papyrus of the time of Rameses IX gives an account of the violation
of the royal tombs by robbers, which was then discovered; and this
Abbott papyrus contains a list of the tombs inspected, hence the
mummies were removed at different periods from place to place for
greater safety. A woman called “Little Cat” confessed that she had been
in the tomb of Queen Ast, wife of Rameses III, and purloined various
articles.
The line of priest-kings, of whom Her-Hor was the first, chose a
common place of sepulture, and thither were at last carried many
of the earlier royal remains. The discovery of these in the cave
at Deir-el-Bahari made a world-wide sensation and has already been
referred to. There were three kings of the Thothmes name, two Rameses
and Seti I, as well as the later kings of the priestly line, Pinotem or
Pinozem I and II.
Here, too, we learn the little we know of some of the queens. There
was Queen Ansera, of the Seventeenth Dynasty, Queen Aames Nofritari,
Hatimoohoo, and Sitha of the Eighteenth, and queens Notem-Maut,
Hathor-Houtta-ni, Ma-ka-Ra, and Isem-Kheb, and a queen Hest-em-Seket,
as well as Princess Nesi-Khonsu, and a number of princesses and
priestesses, called “Singers of Amen.”
Some of the coffins of this period show, on a yellow ground, a picture
of the dead piercing a serpent with a lance. Among the Tombs of the
Queens are a few of the Eighteenth, but more of the Nineteenth and
Twentieth Dynasties. Here was placed the wife of Rameses III, with name
no longer legible. Here Queen Ti, or Titi, wife of the earlier King
Amenophis III, with her blue eyes and fair skin, pictured as making
offerings to the gods. Here Bint-Antha, favorite daughter of Rameses
II. One tomb has the name obliterated and Tuattent-apt written upon it
in red ink. Here is Isis-Ast, wife of Rameses IV, Queen Sitra of the
Twentieth Dynasty, and many others.
There is an interesting story of a queen, by some authorities said to
be the wife of Rameses XIII, by others of Rameses XII, and by some
queen of Rameses II or III, claiming that Rameses XII was never in
Mesopotamia, while Mariette believes it to have been merely a legend
invented by the priests to do honor to the god Chonsu or Khonsu.
This king, whatever his place in the royal line, was, like his great
predecessor, Amenophis III, fond of hunting. He also went abroad to
collect tribute from subjugated peoples, and in Mesopotamia among
those who came to pay was a certain chief or prince, who brought with
him a beautiful daughter, with whom the Egyptian king at once fell in
love and bore her home to share his life and throne. This princess
of Bakhten took the name of Ra-neferu, “the glories of the sun,”
and evidently had much influence with her husband. For later came
messengers from her native country, saying that her sister, Bentresh,
was ill, and begging for the loan of the ark of the god Khonsu, which
was sure to cure her. We can hardly imagine the king willing to part
with such a treasure, except to pleasure the queen. To her wishes,
therefore, he yielded, and the ark, with a proper escort, was sent
away, and accomplished a miraculous cure, as had been anticipated.
Naturally, those who were benefited clung to the same, and years passed
without the return of the borrowed treasure. But finally the king, or
prince, of Bakhtan, “dreamed a dream,” like the Pharaoh of Scriptures,
in which a golden hawk came out of the ark and flew to Egypt. Possibly
the king of Egypt had demanded its return before, or perhaps the
queen’s influence had been used to induce him to leave it, for the
benefit of her family, as long as possible. The explanation is not
given, but at last the conscience of the delinquent was pricked, and
the ark, with royal honors, was returned to its native land.
Queen Ra-neferu is variously spoken of as Mesopotamian, Bakhtan or
Lidyan. From this story we may infer that she was young and beautiful
at the period of her marriage, that she had great influence with the
king, and possessed near relatives to whom she was warmly attached.
But this, so far as we know it, is the whole of her history, and other
queens than she of this same general period make no figure among the
records.
For some time the priests had been gaining in power and influence,
and Rameses XIII seems to have been set aside and Her-Hor, priest of
Amen, the third who had directed affairs of state, seized the reins
of government. He is described as of a “pleasing countenance,” with
features that were delicate and good, and expression that was mild
and agreeable. The priest-kings were the chief rulers, but a few
descendants of previous Pharaohs held sway in a portion of the kingdom,
as Japan was once divided between the Mikado of the old regime and the
Shogun, the military and political chief.
Of these monarchs and such of their consorts as are mentioned we now
give a brief summary, chiefly following the guidance of the well known
Egyptologist, Professor Wallis Budge.
Nes-ba-Tettet is called the first king of the Twenty-first Dynasty
of Tanis. From the time of this king to that of Rsammetichus II,
third king of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty, the dates are given as from
about 1100 to 600 B. C. Egypt declined in power and influence, and
its tributaries recovered their independence. With the close of the
Twenty-fifth Dynasty the New Empire came to an end, and the period of
Egyptian Renaissance began. The feeble kingdoms of the South and North
were again united, under Shashang I, and a Libyan reigned. The worship
of the cat-headed goddess Bast increased, and that of Amen-Ra declined,
while his priests were forced to seek refuge in Napata, Nubia.
Esarhaddon, king of Asyria, sacked Thebes, and ruled by governors.
Nes-ba-Tettet, the Smendes of Manetho, possibly a descendant of Rameses
II, reigned at Tanis, while the priest king Her-Hor reigned at Thebes.
The name of the former’s queen, Thent-Amen, is about all we know of
her, and is thought to suggest her having the true claim to the throne.
King Nes-ba-Tettet reigned twenty-nine years, making no such mark in
history as did his great predecessors. This king is also called Nessu
Ba-neb-Tet.
Next came Pasebkhanut I, second of the Tanite kings, who was called the
“Mighty Bull,” and reigned forty-one years. The statues of the Nile,
North and South, in the Cairo Museum, are said to belong to this period.
Long and uneventful seem to have been the reigns of these kings, for
Amen-em-apt, “Amen in Karnak,” a descendant of Nes-ba-Tettet, reigned
forty-nine years, and our chief knowledge of him seems to be derived
from a stele at Cairo, making offerings to Isis, his favorite goddess.
Possibly this king was succeeded by one or two others, with short
reigns. Authorities do not seem decided on this point. A king,
Sa-Sa-Amen, is believed to have reigned sixteen years; his greatest
work was the restoration of the pylons of the temple of Rameses III
at Tanis. Gold and porcelain tablets have also been found, engraved
with his name, and he added it also to the two obelisks taken from
Heliopolis to Alexandria, and thence in modern times to London and New
York, thereby proving he had authority in Heliopolis.
Pasebkhanut II added Heru to his name, thus distinguishing himself
from Pasebkhanut I. He was the last king of the Tanite, Twenty-first
Dynasty, and his daughter is said to have married Solomon. We read in
I Kings: “And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and
took Pharaoh’s daughter and brought her into the city of David.” Thus,
in the so usual fashion, he strengthened his political connection by
marriage. And the Bible further says: “Pharaoh, king of Egypt, had gone
up and taken Gezer and burnt it with fire, and slain the Canaanites
that dwelt in the city, and given it for a present unto his daughter,
Solomon’s wife.” Pasebkhanut II reigned, it is said, twelve years, and
another daughter married Osorkon I, the first king of the Twenty-second
Dynasty.
We now turn again to the priest-kings in Thebes, also called the
Twenty-first Dynasty. Of the first of them, Her-Heru, or Her-Hor, we
have already spoken. A common title of his was “Living, beautiful
god, son of Amen, lord of the two lands, lord of diadems,” and he
wore the royal uraeus on his forehead. Queen Notem-Mut, Notimit, or
Netchemet, was either mother or wife of King Her-Hor—authorities differ
as to which relation she held to him. By some she was believed to
be a princess of Rammeside blood, as her name is found encircled by
a royal cartouch, while that of the king was not so decorated until
the fifth year of his reign. Another says she was called “great royal
consort,” but not king’s daughter or princess. There is a finely
executed but dilapidated statue of this queen, inlaid with glass, and
her head is also on a sphinx. A papyrus belonging to her, illustrated
with medallion heads, or portrait vignettes of her husband, or son,
Her-Hor, still exists, part being in the Louvre, part in the British
Museum, and part in the possession of a lady in Berlin. It was the
sale of some of these fragments that led to the discovery of the
royal mummies at Deir-el-Bahari. The canopic boxes of Queen Notem-Mut
represented, according to custom, a little chapel, placed on a sledge,
a small jackal in black wood, mounted on the cover. Many were found,
like the mummies themselves, in coffins not belonging to them, but
their inscriptions tell who were the rightful owners. Miss Edwards
discovers a likeness between one of the carved masks of Rameses II and
the vignettes of Her-Hor, and thinks the mummy case may have been made
in the time of the Twenty-first Dynasty and given the likeness of the
reigning king, rather than the person for whom it was intended. Her-Hor
repaired and preserved many of the mummies of the more ancient kings.
He was succeeded, apparently, not by his son Piankhi, or Pianchi (who
perhaps died before him or whose reign was too short or insignificant
to be dwelt upon), but by his grandson, Pinotem, Pinozem, or
Pai-netchem I, who is said to have married a princess of the old line,
a daughter of Pa-seb-kha-nut I, king of Tanis, and who is variously
termed Maat-ka-Ra, Ra-ma-ka, or Rahama. He was both high priest and
king, which has caused some confusion to the chronologists. His Horus
name was “he who satisfieth the gods, he who performeth glorious things
for their doubles.” He had a long reign, some say twenty-one years.
Queen Maat-ka-Ra is called on one of her coffins, “divine wife, a
priestess of Amen, in the Apts, lady of the two lands.” In the same
coffin was the tiny mummy of her infant daughter, Mutem-hat. Mother
and child evidently died soon after the birth of the latter. A box
with two compartments accompanied them, filled with funeral statuettes
for the two queens, for the baby, though she died and was embalmed in
infancy, is called Queen Maut-em-hat. An accompanying papyrus gives the
royal cartouch, around the name of Maat-ka-Ra, but to the child also,
strangely enough, the title of “Royal Wife,” etc. Another wife of the
same king was called Henttaui, daughter of Nebseni, and Thent-Amen,
and mother of the high priest of Amen, Men-keper-Ra. Her mummy, with
double coffin, was found at Deir-el-Bahari. Great efforts had been made
to preserve the lifelike aspect, red was put on the lips and cheeks,
and the eyes were treated with eye-paint. She wore a much becurled wig,
and even the furrows made by mummification were filled with paste.
Pai-netchem I had also been removed to Deir-el-Bahari, and the upper
part of the body was found rifled of amulets, but the lower part was
intact, the Book of the Dead between the legs. He had repaired and
found places of safety for royal mummies, Amen-hetep II, Thothmes II,
Rameses II and Rameses III.
The priest kings made Thebes their residence while the old line dwelt
at Tanis or San. One writer says that the papyri of the princes
and princesses of the family of Pai-netchem or Pi-nozem show the
best traditions of art to have been yet in force in the time of the
Twenty-first Dynasty. The ushabti, little figures which so often were
placed in the tombs with the mummies, came into general use in the
Eighteenth Dynasty. They were made of painted limestone, hard stone,
steatite, wood, etc. At the end of the dynasty they began to be made of
porcelain, and were glazed with such colors as mauve, yellow, chocolate
and blue. In the Nineteenth Dynasty blue was the universal color, and
figures were made like living people, in every-day clothes, rather
than, as previously, to resemble mummies. This continued through the
Twentieth Dynasty and is found sporadically under the Twenty-second,
while in the Twenty-first, as a general rule, they had returned to the
mummy form and had a brilliant blue glaze with black inscriptions.
In the “Book of the Dead,” in the Eighteenth Dynasty, the vignettes
were sometimes colored, sometimes plain, later coarser and more
representative of modern things.
Masaherth and Men-kheper-Ra, sons of Pai-netchem I, seem to have been
priests rather than kings. The latter married Ast-em-khebit, and became
the father of Pai-netchem II, Hent-taui, and others. Ast-em-khebit or
Ist-em-khebit is sometimes spoken of as queen, and probably belonged to
the royal line. Authorities differ much as to this period, and it is
difficult to give a perfectly clear account of the succession. Many of
this lady’s belongings were found among those of the royal mummies so
often referred to. That she died before her husband is proved by his
seals remaining unbroken upon the hamper of mummified food accompanying
the body. She was evidently much beloved, and buried, like others of
her family, with special care, in three coffins, elaborately decorated
and swathed in the finest of linen, in long plaits. The usual shabti,
or “little servants,” accompanied her, as well as beautiful vases in
blue glass, inscribed with funerary legends. Baskets of food, boxes
with wigs, and many other articles, the reproductions of those used in
daily life, were included in her burial outfit. A pet gazelle was also
mummified and buried with her, a pathetic suggestion of her tenderness
of heart. While crumbled and cast aside was her funeral tent, with an
inscription wishing her “a happy repose,” among the first articles
found when the modern discoverers entered these long hidden places of
sepulture.
Pai-netchem II, son of Ast-em-Khebit, married Nes-su-Khensu, who seems
sometimes to be regarded as a queen, and is the last of the line of
whom we have record. Her husband, too, appears rather as a high priest
and commander of soldiers than a king, and again the claim to higher
descent may have been on the lady’s side. There were several children
of this marriage, but they are not specially noteworthy.
The priests apparently did little for the enlargement or aggrandizement
of Egypt. They ruled about a hundred and twenty-five years, preserved
generally friendly relations with the more ancient royal line, seem to
have been less oppressive and despotic than some of the earlier kings,
and contented themselves with repairing the temples and the royal
mummies, and have left behind many interesting funeral remains and
papyri, said to form a highly important class of literature.
CHAPTER NINETEENTH.
SUCCEEDING QUEENS (CONTINUED).