Uarda : a Romance of Ancient Egypt — Complete

by Georg Ebers

  CHAPTER XXXIX.

  Before the battle,

  [The battle about to be described is taken entirely from the epos of Pentaur.]

  prayers were offered and victims sacrificed for each division of thearmy. Images of the Gods were borne through the ranks in their festalbarks, and miraculous relics were exhibited to the soldiers; heraldsannounced that the high-priest had found favorable omens in the victimsoffered by the king, and that the haruspices foretold a gloriousvictory. Each Egyptian legion turned with particular faith to thestandard which bore the image of the sacred animal or symbol of theprovince where it had been levied, but each soldier was also providedwith charms and amulets of various kinds; one had tied to his neck orarm a magical text in a little bag, another the mystic preservativeeye, and most of them wore a scarabaeus in a finger ring. Many believedthemselves protected by having a few hairs or feathers of some sacredanimal, and not a few put themselves under the protection of a livingsnake or beetle carefully concealed in a pocket of their apron or intheir little provision-sack.

  When the king, before whom were carried the images of the divine Triadof Thebes, of Menth, the God of War and of Necheb, the Goddess ofVictory, reviewed the ranks, he was borne in a litter on the shouldersof twenty-four noble youths; at his approach the whole host fellon their knees, and did not rise till Rameses, descending from hisposition, had, in the presence of them all, burned incense, and made alibation to the Gods, and his son Chamus had delivered to him, in thename of the Immortals, the symbols of life and power. Finally, thepriests sang a choral hymn to the Sun-god Ra, and to his son and vicaron earth, the king.

  Just as the troops were put in motion, the paling stars appeared inthe sky, which had hitherto been covered with thick clouds; and thisoccurrence was regarded as a favorable omen, the priests declaring tothe army that, as the coming Ra had dispersed the clouds, so the Pharaohwould scatter his enemies.

  With no sound of trumpet or drum, so as not to arouse the enemy, thefoot-soldiers went forward in close order, the chariot-warriors, each inhis light two-wheeled chariot drawn by two horses, formed their ranks,and the king placed himself at their head. On each side of the giltchariot in which he stood, a case was fixed, glittering with preciousstones, in which were his bows and arrows. His noble horses were richlycaparisoned; purple housings, embroidered with turquoise beads, coveredtheir backs and necks, and a crown-shaped ornament was fixed on theirheads, from which fluttered a bunch of white ostrich-feathers. At theend of the ebony pole of the chariot, were two small padded yokes, whichrested on the necks of the horses, who pranced in front as if playingwith the light vehicle, pawed the earth with their small hoofs, andtossed and curved their slender necks.

  The king wore a shirt of mail,

  [The remains of a shirt of mail, dating from the time of Scheschenk I. (Sesonchis), who belonged to the 22d dynasty, is in the British Museum. It is made of leather, on which bronze scales are fastened.]

  over which lay the broad purple girdle of his apron, and on his head wasthe crown of Upper and Lower Egypt; behind him stood Mena, who, with hisleft hand, tightly held the reins, and with his right the shield whichwas to protect his sovereign in the fight.

  The king stood like a storm-proof oak, and Mena by his side like asapling ash.

  The eastern horizon was rosy with the approaching sun-rise when theyquitted the precincts of the camp; at this moment the pioneer Paakeradvanced to meet the king, threw himself on the ground before him,kissed the earth, and, in answer to the king's question as to why he hadcome without his brother, told him that Horus was taken suddenly ill.The shades of dawn concealed from the king the guilty color, whichchanged to sallow paleness, on the face of the pioneer--unaccustomedhitherto to lying and treason.

  "How is it with the enemy?" asked Rameses.

  "He is aware," replied Paaker, "that a fight is impending, and iscollecting numberless hosts in the camps to the south and east of thecity. If thou could'st succeed in falling on the rear from the north ofKadesh, while the foot soldiers seize the camp of the Asiatics from thesouth, the fortress will be thine before night. The mountain path thatthou must follow, so as not to be discovered, is not a bad one."

  "Are you ill as well as your brother, man?" asked the king. "Your voicetrembles."

  "I was never better," answered the Mohar.

  "Lead the way," commanded the king, and Paaker obeyed. They went on insilence, followed by the vast troop of chariots through the dewy morningair, first across the plain, and then into the mountain range. The corpsof Ra, armed with bows and arrows, preceeded them to clear the way; theycrossed the narrow bed of a dry torrent, and then a broad valley openedbefore them, extending to the right and left and enclosed by ranges ofmountains.

  "The road is good," said Rameses, turning to Mena. "The Mohar haslearned his duties from his father, and his horses are capital. Now heleads the way, and points it out to the guards, and then in a moment heis close to us again."

  "They are the golden-bays of my breed," said Mena, and the veins startedangrily in his forehead. "My stud-master tells me that Katuti sent themto him before his departure. They were intended for Nefert's chariot,and he drives them to-day to defy and spite me."

  "You have the wife--let the horses go," said Rameses soothingly.

  Suddenly a blast of trumpets rang through the morning air; whence itcame could not be seen, and yet it sounded close at hand.

  Rameses started up and took his battle-axe from his girdle, the horsespricked their ears, and Mena exclaimed:

  "Those are the trumpets of the Cheta! I know the sound."

  A closed wagon with four wheels in which the king's lions were conveyed,followed the royal chariot. "Let loose the lions!" cried the king, whoheard an echoing war cry, and soon after saw the vanguard which hadpreceded him, and which was broken up by the chariots of the enemy,flying towards him down the valley again.

  The wild beasts shook their manes and sprang in front of their master'schariot with loud roars. Mena lashed his whip, the horses startedforward and rushed with frantic plunges towards the fugitives, whohowever could not be brought to a standstill, or rallied by the king'svoice--the enemy were close upon them, cutting them down.

  "Where is Paaker?" asked the king. But the pioneer had vanished ascompletely as if the earth had swallowed him and his chariot.

  The flying Egyptians and the death-dealing chariots of the enemy camenearer and nearer, the ground trembled, the tramp of hoofs and theroar of wheels sounded louder and louder, like the roll of a rapidlyapproaching storm.

  Then Rameses gave out a war cry, that rang back from the cliffs onthe right hand and on the left like the blast of a trumpet; hischariot-guard joined in the shout--for an instant the flying Egyptianspaused, but only to rush on again with double haste, in hope of escapeand safety: suddenly the war-cry of the enemy was heard behind theking, mingling with the trumpet-call of the Cheta, and out from a crossvalley, which the king had passed unheeded by--and into which Paaker haddisappeared--came an innumerable host of chariots which, before the kingcould retreat, had broken through the Egyptian ranks, and cut him offfrom the body of his army. Behind him he could hear the roar and shockof the battle, in front of him he saw the fugitives, the fallen, and theenemy growing each instant in numbers and fury. He saw the whole danger,and drew up his powerful form as if to prove whether it were an equalmatch for such a foe. Then, raising his voice to such a pitch, that itsounded above the cries and groans of the fighting men, the words ofcommand, the neighing of the horses, the crash of overthrown chariots,the dull whirr of lances and swords, their heavy blows on shields andhelmets, and the whole bewildering tumult of the battle--with a loudshout he drew his bow, and his first arrow pierced a Cheta chief.

  His lions sprang forward, and carried confusion into the hosts that werecrowding down upon him, for many of their horses became unmanageable atthe roar of the furious brutes, overthrew the chariots, and so hemmedthe advance of the troops in the rear. Rameses sent arrow after ar
row,while Mena covered him with the shield from the shots of the enemy. Hishorses meanwhile had carried him forward, and he could fell the foremostof the Asiatics with his battle-axe; close by his side fought Rameri andthree other princes; in front of him were the lions.

  The press was fearful, and the raging of the battle wild and deafening,like the roar of the surging ocean when it is hurled by a hurricaneagainst a rocky coast.

  Mena seemed to be in two places at once, for, while he guided the horsesforwards, backwards, or to either hand, as the exigences of the positiondemanded, not one of the arrows shot at the king touched him. His eyewas everywhere, the shield always ready, and not an eyelash of the younghero trembled, while Rameses, each moment more infuriated, incited hislions with wild war-cries, and with flashing eyes advanced farther andfarther into the enemy's ranks.

  Three arrows aimed, not at the king but at Mena himself, were stickingin the charioteer's shield, and by chance he saw written on the shaft ofone of them the words "Death to Mena."

  A fourth arrow whizzed past him. His eye followed its flight, and as hemarked the spot whence it had come, a fifth wounded his shoulder, and hecried out to the king:

  "We are betrayed! Look over there! Paaker is fighting with the Cheta."

  Once more the Mohar had bent his bow, and came so near to the king'schariot that he could be heard exclaiming in a hoarse voice, as he letthe bowstring snap, "Now I will reckon with you--thief! robber! My brideis your wife, but with this arrow I will win Mena's widow."

  The arrow cut through the air, and fell with fearful force on thecharioteer's helmet; the shield fell from his grasp, and he put his handto his head, feeling stunned; he heard Paaker's laugh of triumph, hefelt another of his enemy's arrows cut his wrist, and, beside himselfwith rage, he flung away the reins, brandished his battle-axe, andforgetting himself and his duty, sprang from the chariot and rushed uponPaaker. The Mohar awaited him with uplifted sword; his lips werewhite, his eyes bloodshot, his wide nostrils trembled like those of anover-driven horse, and foaming and hissing he flew at his mortal foe.The king saw the two engaged in a struggle, but he could not interfere,for the reins which Mena had dropped were dragging on the ground, andhis ungoverned horses, following the lions, carried him madly onwards.

  Most of his comrades had fallen, the battle raged all round him, butRameses stood as firm as a rock, held the shield in front of him, andswung the deadly battle-axe; he saw Rameri hastening towards him withhis horses, the youth was fighting like a hero, and Rameses called outto encourage him: "Well done! a worthy grandson of Seti!"

  "I will win a new sword!" cried the boy, and he cleft the skull of oneof his antagonists. But he was soon surrounded by the chariots of theenemy; the king saw the enemy pull down the young prince's horses, andall his comrades--among whom were many of the best warriors--turn theirhorses in flight.

  Then one of the lions was pierced by a lance, and sank with a dying roarof rage and pain that was heard above all the tumult. The king himselfhad been grazed by an arrow, a sword stroke had shivered his shield, andhis last arrow had been shot away.

  Still spreading death around him, he saw death closing in upon him,and, without giving up the struggle, he lifted up his voice in ferventprayer, calling on Amon for support and rescue.

  While thus in the sorest need he was addressing himself to the Lords ofHeaven, a tall Egyptian suddenly appeared in the midst of the struggleand turmoil of the battle, seized the reins, and sprang into the chariotbehind the king, to whom he bowed respectfully. For the first timeRameses felt a thrill of fear. Was this a miracle? Had Amon heard hisprayer?

  He looked half fearfully round at his new charioteer, and when hefancied he recognized the features of the deceased Mohar, the father ofthe traitor Paaker, he believed that Amon had assumed this aspect, andhad come himself to save him.

  "Help is at hand!" cried his new companion. "If we hold our own for onlya short time longer, thou art saved, and victory is ours."

  Then once more Rameses raised his war-cry, felled a Cheta, who wasstanding close to him to the ground, with a blow on his skull, while themysterious supporter by his side, who covered him with the shield, onhis part also dealt many terrible strokes.

  Thus some long minutes passed in renewed strife; then a trumpet soundedabove the roar of the battle, and this time Rameses recognized thecall of the Egyptians; from behind a low ridge on his right rushed somethousands of men of the foot-legion of Ptah who, under the command ofHorus, fell upon the enemy's flank. They saw their king, and the dangerhe was in. They flung themselves with fury on the foes that surroundedhim, dealing death as they advanced, and putting the Cheta to flight,and soon Rameses saw himself safe, and protected by his followers.

  But his mysterious friend in need had vanished. He had been hit by anarrow, and had fallen to the earth--a quite mortal catastrophe; butRameses still believed that one of the Immortals had come to his rescue.

  But the king granted no long respite to his horses and his fighting-men;he turned to go back by the way by which he had come, fell upon theforces which divided him from the main army, took them in the rear whilethey were still occupied with his chariot-brigade which was alreadygiving way, and took most of the Asiatics prisoners who escaped thearrows and swords of the Egyptians. Having rejoined the main body of thetroops, he pushed forwards across the plain where the Asiatic horse andchariot-legions were engaged with the Egyptian swordsmen, and forced theenemy back upon the river Orontes and the lake of Kadesh. Night-fallput an end to the battle, though early next morning the struggle wasrenewed.

  Utter discouragement had fallen upon the Asiatic allies, who had goneinto battle in full security of victory; for the pioneer Paaker hadbetrayed his king into their hands.

  When the Pharaoh had set out, the best chariot-warriors of the Chetawere drawn up in a spot concealed by the city, and sent forward againstRameses through the northern opening of the valley by which he was topass, while other troops of approved valor, in all two thousand fivehundred chariots, were to fall upon him from a cross valley where theytook up their position during the night.

  These tactics had been successfully carried out, and notwithstandingthe Asiatics had suffered a severe defeat--besides losing some of theirnoblest heroes, among them Titure their Chancellor, and Chiropasar, thechronicler of the Cheta king, who could wield the sword as effectivelyas the pen, and who, it was intended, should celebrate the victory ofthe allies, and perpetuate its glory to succeeding generations. Rameseshad killed one of these with his own hands, and his unknown companionthe other, and besides these many other brave captains of the enemy'stroops. The king was greeted as a god, when he returned to the camp,with shouts of triumph and hymns of praise.

  Even the temple-servants, and the miserable troops from UpperEgypt-ground down by the long war, and bought over by Ani--were carriedaway by the universal enthusiasm, and joyfully hailed the hero and kingwho had successfully broken the stiff necks of his enemies.

  The next duty was to seek out the dead and wounded; among the latter wasMena; Rameri also was missing, but news was brought next day that he hadfallen into the hands of the enemy, and he was immediately exchanged forthe princess who had been sheltered in Mena's tent.

  Paaker had disappeared; but the bays which he had driven into the battlewere found unhurt in front of his ruined and blood-sprinkled chariot.

  The Egyptians were masters of Kadesh, and Chetasar, the king of theCheta, sued to be allowed to treat for peace, in his own name and inthat of his allies; but Rameses refused to grant any terms till he hadreturned to the frontier of Egypt. The conquered peoples had no choice,and the representative of the Cheta king--who himself was wounded--andtwelve princes of the principal nations who had fought against Rameses,were forced to follow his victorious train. Every respect was shownthem, and they were treated as the king himself, but they were nonethe less his prisoners. The king was anxious to lose no time, for sadsuspicion filled his heart; a shadow hitherto unknown to his bright andgenial nature had fal
len upon his spirit.

  This was the first occasion on which one of his own people had betrayedhim to the enemy. Paaker's deed had shaken his friendly confidence, andin his petition for peace the Cheta prince had intimated that Ramesesmight find much in his household to be set to rights--perhaps with astrong hand.

  The king felt himself more than equal to cope with Ani, the priests, andall whom he had left in Egypt; but it grieved him to be obliged tofeel any loss of confidence, and it was harder to him to bear than anyreverse of fortune. It urged him to hasten his return to Egypt.

  There was another thing which embittered his victory. Mena, whom heloved as his own son, who understood his lightest sign, who, as soonas he mounted his chariot, was there by his side like a part ofhimself--had been dismissed from his office by the judgment of thecommander-in-chief, and no longer drove his horses. He himself had beenobliged to confirm this decision as just and even mild, for that man wasworthy of death who exposed his king to danger for the gratification ofhis own revenge.

  Rameses had not seen Mena since his struggle with Paaker, but helistened anxiously to the news which was brought him of the progress ofhis sorely wounded officer.

  The cheerful, decided, and practical nature of Rameses was averse toevery kind of dreaminess or self-absorption, and no one had ever seenhim, even in hours of extreme weariness, give himself up to vague andmelancholy brooding; but now he would often sit gazing at the ground inwrapt meditation, and start like an awakened sleeper when his reveriewas disturbed by the requirements of the outer world around him. Ahundred times before he had looked death in the face, and defied it ashe would any other enemy, but now it seemed as though he felt the coldhand of the mighty adversary on his heart. He could not forget theoppressive sense of helplessness which had seized him when he had felthimself at the mercy of the unrestrained horses, like a leaf driven bythe wind, and then suddenly saved by a miracle.

  A miracle? Was it really Amon who had appeared in human form at hiscall? Was he indeed a son of the Gods, and did their blood flow in hisveins?

  The Immortals had shown him peculiar favor, but still he was but a man;that he realized from the pain in his wound, and the treason to whichhe had been a victim. He felt as if he had been respited on the veryscaffold. Yes; he was a man like all other men, and so he would stillbe. He rejoiced in the obscurity that veiled his future, in the manyweaknesses which he had in common with those whom he loved, and evenin the feeling that he, under the same conditions of life as hiscontemporaries, had more responsibilities than they.

  Shortly after his victory, after all the important passes andstrongholds had been conquered by his troops, he set out for Egyptwith his train and the vanquished princes. He sent two of his sons toBent-Anat at Megiddo, to escort her by sea to Pelusium; he knew that thecommandant of the harbor of that frontier fortress, at the easternmostlimit of his kingdom, was faithful to him, and he ordered that hisdaughter should not quit the ship till he arrived, to secure her againstany attempt on the part of the Regent. A large part of the material ofwar, and most of the wounded, were also sent to Egypt by sea.