War of the Crowns Read online

  ‘She has no chance.’ ‘She has already defeated the Hyksos several times.’ ‘No one has said anything about that in Avaris,’ retorted the woman.

  ‘No one would dare - the emperor’s soldiers and guards are everywhere. But the news will eventually get around, all the same. The Theban army has reached Qis and obviously intends to attack the Delta.’

  ‘The Hyksos are too powerful, and the gods have abandoned us.’

  No, they haven’t. I’m certain they haven’t.’

  Despite her reservations, the woman whispered in the ear of her neighbour, who passed on the information to the woman next to him. Little by little, all the prisoners learnt that Thebes had lifted her head once more and that battle had been joined. Even the most exhausted prisoners found new strength, and the way seemed less agonizing, despite the heat, the thirst and the mosquitoes.

  After Avaris, Sharuhen was the most impressive fortress in the empire. High towers enabled lookouts to keep a close watch on the surrounding area and the port. The garrison town housed highly trained troops who could take rapid action in Syria and Palestine at any moment and nip in the bud the smallest attempt at sedition.

  In accordance with Apophis’s orders, the Hyksos carried out regular raids to remind the civilian population that the emperor’s law was inviolable. A village would be burnt and looted, and the women raped and then used as slaves, together with their strongest children. It was the favourite pastime of the garrison at Sharuhen, whose port housed cargo-boats groaning with food supplies.

  The fortress commander was surprised by the arrival of the pitiful procession and impressed by the lady Aberia’s muscular frame.

  I am on an official mission,’ she declared haughtily. ‘The emperor wishes me to set up a prison camp near the fortress. He has decided to deport as many rebels as possible, so that they do not trouble the Hyksos order.’

  ‘But these are old men!’

  ‘They have been spreading dangerous ideas, liable to unsettle people’s minds.’

  ‘Very well, very well,’ said the commander. ‘You would do best to travel further into the interior, because it is very marshy around here, and—‘

  That suits me perfectly. I want these prisoners to be within bowshot of your archers on the towers. If one of these bandits tries to break through the barriers we build, they are to kill him.’

  Aberia chose the worst place she could find: a waterlogged area, infested with insects and buffeted by the wind. She ordered the prisoners to build themselves reed huts. From now on they would live there, hoping for the mercy of the emperor, who, in his great goodness, had granted them a daily food ration.

  One week later, half of the old people were dead. Their companions buried the bodies in the mud, digging the graves with their bare hands. They themselves would not survive much longer.

  Thoroughly satisfied, Lady Aberia set off again for Avaris. She would thank Khamudi warmly for his initiative. She would also prepare for the next deportation of rebels, who would cause the emperor no further trouble once they had sampled the delights of Sharuhen.

  8

  Although he was almost twenty years old, Way-Finder was still head of all the donkeys in Thebes. He guided them along the tracks and oversaw the carriage of goods. He never balked at any task, so long as the humans did likewise and did not look down upon him. Without Way-Finder and the other donkeys, the military camp could not have seen the light of day. And the donkey continued working, with the same constancy and the same sense of a job well done.

  And yet for Ahhotep this beautiful spring morning was touched with sorrow. At dawn Laughter, her unfailing guard and friend, had died. The huge old dog, his body worn out, had laid his enormous head upon the young woman’s feet and gazed lovingly at her for the last time. Then he had given one final long, deep sigh.

  Fortunately six-month-old Young Laughter not only had the same sandy pelt, black muzzle and amber eyes, but promised to be as strong and intelligent as his father. He could already detect his mistress’s every intention.

  Old Laughter was mummified and buried close to Pharaoh Seqen. Beneath the bandages was laid a papyrus bearing the magical incantations needed to pass through the gates of the other world.

  Way-Finder shared the queen’s sorrow, and nuzzled her shoulder gently. She stroked his neck and asked him to grant his friendship to the young dog, who still had a great deal to learn.

  The donkey shook his long ears, signifying his agreement.

  Aberia’s report delighted the emperor, who was in a foul temper after the failure of the lies about Ahhotep’s death. He only wished he had thought earlier of deporting rebels to a camp where they would die? Khamudi’s new idea was an excellent one, and Sharuhen was a total success. Little by little, Avaris would be emptied of possible opponents, even potential troublemakers, and the Hyksos would keep only the slaves needed to carry out the lowliest tasks.

  ‘Majesty/ said Khamudi smugly, ’bahave here a list of rebels whose actions or words merit imprisonment.’

  ‘Keep back a few for the bull and the labyrinth.’

  Of course, Majesty. But I must warn you: there are others beside Egyptians.’

  Apophis raised an eyebrow.

  4A Hyksos scribe showed a lack of respect for me,’ explained Khamudi, ‘and there’s an Anatolian gardener my wife dislikes. Don’t they deserve to be shown the error of their ways?’

  ‘Definitely,’ replied the emperor. ‘And I shall add a palace guard who made the mistake of sleeping with my loving sister, Windswept, and complaining of inconvenient workinghours. Such criticism cannot go unpunished. The camp at Sharuhen will correct his way of thinking. The lady Aberia shall take charge of this new consignment.’

  The deportation of the widows and widowers had spread terror throughout the Egyptian population of the Delta. No one felt safe from the arbitrary decisions taken by the emperor and Khamudi. The rebel networks no longer dared take any action at all, and confined themselves to gathering snippets of information from the front, in the hope that it was true. But hardly anyone yet knew that the army of liberation had reached Qis.

  Off the coast of Mycenae, Jannas had won victory after victory, but finding and pursuing the pirates’ ships took a great deal of time. Moreover, he had to keep part of his fleet within sight of Minoa, which he suspected might otherwise intervene.

  In Asia, Hyksos troops were imposing a bloody occupation, punctuated by summary executions. Despite this brutality, the tribal chiefs still persisted in taking up arms. None resisted for very long, and they and their families all ended up dead, but the irritating unrest meant that Apophis could not bring his regiments home and use them to attack Upper Egypt.

  ‘Queen Ahhotep won’t be able to make any further progress,’ observed Khamudi. ‘Her miserable war-band will soon wear itself out. I shouldn’t be surprised if she soon surrendered. Choosing a woman as a war-chief! What a ludicrous mistake! These Egyptians will never make real fighters.’

  ‘Very true,’ agreed the emperor. ‘We know, of course, that the Thebans are just about capable of controlling a few distant provinces. Nevertheless, we can attack the root of the evil and eliminate the cause of this stupid rebellion without even resorting to battle. One of our good friends will take care of it.’

  As he had vowed, Prince Kamose allowed himself no rest. He trained so intensively in handling weapons that his body became that of an athlete, and it took all the queen’s authority to make him lie down for a few hours to prevent exhaustion. But Kamose hardly slept, for he was haunted by the face of his father, whom he so badly wanted to emulate.

  From his mother, he was learning the art of governing. Together with his little brother, who was thoughtful and attentive, he read the texts of wisdom passed on by the pharaohs of the golden age. From time to time, he caught himself dreaming that Egypt was really free, that it was possible to move from one province to another and to travel peacefully along the Nile. But then reality hit home, and with renewed fire in his be
lly he continued his apprenticeship to become Pharaoh.

  One morning, as Ahhotep was addressing the members of a detachment setting out for Kebet, Qaris informed her that an unexpected visitor was requesting an audience: an envoy from Titi, the governor of Kebet. He showed in a short, fat, bearded man.

  The man bowed before the regent queen and said, ‘Majesty, I have good news. Governor Titi has at last succeeded in liberating Kebet. The last Hyksos have fled, and we have seized a cargo-boat containing many jars of food. Here are a few of them, in advance of other prizes.’

  They were indeed Hyksos jars, pot-bellied and painted brown.

  ‘I and two soldiers from Titi’s personal bodyguard brought them here along country tracks,’ explained the envoy. The region is quiet, and the peasants are regaining confidence. The inhabitants of Kebet await you, Majesty.’

  ‘Is the governor sure of his success?’

  ‘If not, Majesty, he would not have sent me to Thebes. Titi has suffered greatly from the occupation, and he is a cautious man.’

  Ahhotep remembered her brief stay in Kebet with Seqen. During their meeting, the governor had told her that he was organizing resistance with the greatest caution, while all the time pretending to be an ally of the Hyksos who controlled his town.

  Qaris beckoned to a servant and told him, Take these jars to the kitchens.’

  ‘You will dine with us, envoy,’ said the queen, ‘and tell us all about the liberation of Kebet.’

  *

  The hungriest of all was Young Laughter. Had it not been for Ahhotep’s stern looks, he would gladly have leapt at the dishes that the servants were laying on the royal table. The dog played for sympathy, as though he had not been fed for several days, and always managed to prompt some gullible person into giving him a titbit or two.

  ‘Do the Hyksos still control the caravan routes?’ the queen asked Governor Titi’s envoy.

  ‘No, Majesty, not for a long time now. But we shall have to dismantle the forts they set up in the desert, reaching as far as the Red Sea.’

  ‘Has the governor a detailed map?’

  ‘Yes, thanks to the caravan leaders, who are delighted to have escaped the Hyksos yoke at last. By using their information, we shall be able to mount surprise attacks on the enemy and dismantle his installations one by one.’

  By using this strategy, Ahhotep could free more of the Theban province, which would once again be able to receive the goods it had been deprived of for so many long years.

  ‘How many men has the governor at his disposal?’

  While the little bearded man launched into rather involved explanations, the queen ate mechanically from a dish of beans and braised beef.

  Suddenly, Laughter nudged her wrist with his nose.

  ‘Laughter! You really are a bad—‘

  The dog knocked over the dish with his paw, and started barking at the envoy from Kebet.

  The queen understood: her best bodyguard had saved her.

  ‘Arrest that man,’ she ordered.

  The envoy jumped to his feet and ran towards the door of the dining-hall. Two guards barred his way.

  ‘This food is poisoned,’ said Ahhotep, ‘and I have eaten some of it.’

  9

  Queen Ahhotep had begun to feel ill, and was lying down on a low bed while her mother wiped her forehead with perfumed linen.

  Heray, who had been interrogating the ‘envoy’ came in and bowed. ‘The man has talked,’ he said. ‘He poisoned your food with castor-oil seeds and scorpion’s venom. If it hadn’t been for Laughter, Majesty, you would be dead.’

  The huge dog lay at the foot of the bed. He had made up his mind never again to leave his mistress’s side.

  ‘Did he really come from Kebet?’ asked Ahhotep.

  ‘Yes, Majesty.’

  ‘Then he must have been acting on Titi’s orders.’ ‘He was. It was indeed the governor who sent the assassin, probably at Apophis’s behest.’

  ‘We must take Kebet as quickly as possible,’ said Ahhotep. She tried to stand up, but her stomach pains were so fierce that she could not.

  ‘We must go to the Temple of Hathor at once,’ advised Teti anxiously. ‘The priestesses will know how to cure you.’

  Despite taking a curative mixture of onion, carob, linen extract and a plant called ‘serpent’s wood’, Ahhotep was seriously ill on the way to Deir el-Bahari. By the time they arrived she was unconscious, and Heray had to carry her to the temple.

  Built by Pharaoh Montuhotep II,*the temple was truly remarkable. The vast tree-lined forecourt gave access to a portico. Its pillars were fronted by statues depicting the king wearing the Red Crown and the close-fitting white robe he wore during the Festival of Regeneration. The king’s black face, hands and enormous legs made him almost frightening.

  The pharaoh bore the three colours of the magic of resurrection, and was thus multiplied into the same number of guardians. These watched over the central monument: a representation of the primordial mound, the island that had appeared on the first morning of the world, and on which light had taken corporeal form.

  Beside the shrine, priestesses of the goddess Sekhmet were worshipping a very ancient statue which stood before a vast stone-lined pool where, in cases of serious illness, certain patients were allowed to bathe.

  Teti and Heray, the latter still carrying Ahhotep, went over to the priestesses. ‘I am Teti the Small and I entrust the Queen of Egypt to your care. She has been poisoned.’

  ‘Please read aloud the text written upon the statue,’ said the most senior priestess.

  ‘“Come to me, you whose name is hidden, even from the gods, you who created the heaven and the earth, and brought all beings into the world. No evil shall be done against you, for you are water, sky, earth and air. May healing be granted unto me.”‘

  The water first rippled, and then began to bubble.

  ‘The spirit of the statue accepts the patient,’ said the priestess. ‘Undress her and place her in the pool.’

  While Teti and the other priestesses were doing this, the senior priestess poured water on to the hieroglyphs. One of her colleagues collected up the precious liquid, which was now imbued with a magical energy.

  As soon as the unconscious Ahhotep was laid in the pool, the servant of Sekhmet sprinkled her throat with healing water. When she had performed this act seven times, she asked all those present to leave.

  Is my daughter going to live?’ asked her anguished mother.

  The priestess did not reply.

  Kebet was celebrating. In return for his services to the Hyksos, Titi had been given permission to celebrate the Festival of Min. Of course, certain elements of the ceremonies were omitted, such as the procession of the statues representing the royal ancestors. The only pharaoh was Apophis.

  By obeying orders, Titi had just ended a futile war which would have seen thousands of Egyptians die needlessly. For a long time now, the governor had realized that the invaders’ power was going to continue growing and that his country had become a Hyksos province. By playing a subtle double game, he had preserved a few of his prerogatives and enabled his favourites to live reasonably well under the occupation. Basically, all one needed to do was renounce the old values and adapt to the emperor’s demands. Consequently, this old festival of the god of spiritual and material fertility was to lose its sacred character altogether, and become a popular celebration accompanied by a glorification of Apophis, the benefactor of Egypt.

  If it had not been for that madwoman Ahhotep and her insane husband, the Theban province would have continued to live peacefully. Fortunately, Seqen had been killed and his army was rotting at Qis.

  The last danger was the queen. Having met her at Kebet, many years before, Titi knew that she would never give up the fight. She was too stubborn to face up to reality. Because of her, the South was in danger of falling victim to terrible repression.

  However, thanks to its governor, Kebet would be spared. By sending one of his most trusted me
n to Thebes to poison Ahhotep, Titi had become a hero of the empire. The queen’s death would mean the end of the fighting. This was the excellent news Titi was going to announce to the people, who were so happy to be celebrating.

  ‘Is everything ready?’ he asked his steward.

  ‘Yes, but the Hyksos guards insist on surrounding the procession.’

  ‘That is quite natural: I would not wish there to be any unruly behaviour.’

  Titi hurried to greet the commander of the local guards, a coarse-faced Syrian.

  ‘At the first sign of trouble,’ said the commander, ’bashall throw the rioters into prison and have half of them executed.’

  ‘Don’t worry, the inhabitants of Kebet are reasonable people. They will be content with enjoying themselves and will thank the emperor for these festivities.’

  Priests carried in procession the astonishing statue of Min, wrapped in the white shroud of resurrection. With his eternally erect phallus, he embodied the creative power that enabled life to carry on in all its forms and that, in particular, gave life to wheat.

  Desert prospectors, miners and caravan-traders were moved to see the statue pass by, for the god possessed the secret of the stones that were born in the belly of the mountains. With his arm raised, forming a secret angle known to temple-builders, and holding the three-skinned sceptre symbolizing the three births, celestial, earthly and underground, Min reigned over distant roads and guided adventurers.

  A magnificent white bull walked placidly behind the statue. According to tradition, it was the queen who mastered its natural violence and transformed it into fertile power. But the last queen was dead, and Apophis forbade women to attend rituals.

  Already a huge climbing-pole was being raised and stayed with ropes. The most agile men would try to be first to climb to the top and unhook the sought-after gifts. The competition never took place without incident, and there would be countless falls.

  ‘There are too many temples in Kebet, Governor,’ said the Syrian. ‘You may keep one - that will be quite enough - and the others will be turned into barracks and weapons stores.’