As soon as the forward units of the army had entered Egyptian territory and descended on the eastern shore, followed by the clamoring battalions, those besieged on Biga realized that the newcomers — were invaders, not pirates, as they had first imagined. The commander of the fleet, Qumkaf, now gave his order to attack the island and the ships descended on it from all directions, the soldiers disembarking, bristling with weapons, under the protection of the bowmen. The soldiers then marched from all sides on the garrison besieged in the middle. The soldiers of the latter, in addition to finding themselves in a critical position militarily, had observed the impetuous charge of the Egyptian forces on land and on the Nile, and their hands betrayed them, their courage abandoned them, and they threw down their weapons and were taken prisoner. Ahmose Ebana was at the head of the attackers and entered the governor's palace in triumph. He raised the Egyptian flags above it and ordered that the Herdsmen officials and notables there be seized just like the soldiers.
When the peasants, workers, and servants of the island saw the Egyptian soldiers, they could not believe their eyes and they hurried, men and women, to the palace of the new governor and gathered in front of it to find out what was going on, hopes and fears struggling in their breasts. Ahmose Ebana went out to them and they stared at him in silence. He said to them, “May the Lord Amun, protector of Egyptians and destroyer of Herdsmen, bless you!”
The word “Amun,” of whose sound they had been deprived for ten years, fell on their ears like beautiful magic and joy lit up their faces. Some asked, “Have you really come to save us?”
In a trembling voice, Ahmose Ebana said, “We have come to save you and to save enslaved Egypt, so rejoice! Do you not see these mighty forces? They are the Army of Deliverance, the army of our lord King Kamose, son of our martyred sovereign Seqenenra, come to liberate his people and reclaim his throne.”
The assembled people repeated the name of Kamose in astonishment. Then joy and excitement swept through them and they cheered him at length, many kneeling in prayer to the Divine Lord Amun. Some of the men asked Ahmose Ebana, “Is our slavery really over? Are we free men again, as we were ten years ago? Are the days of the lash and the stick, of our being abused for being peasants, gone?”
Ahmose Ebana grew angry and said furiously, “Be sure that the era of oppression, slavery, and the lash is gone, never to return. From this moment, you shall live as free men under the benevolent protection of our sovereign Kamose, Egypt's rightful pharaoh. Your land and your houses will be returned to you and those who usurped them throughout this time will be thrown into the depths of the dungeons.”
Joy engulfed those suffering souls, who fell spontaneously into a collective prayer, whose words ascended to Amun in Heaven, and to Kamose on earth.
3
In the freshness of the morning, King Kamose, Crown Prince Ahmose, Chamberlain Hur, and all the members of pharaoh's entourage descended to the island, where the people received him enthusiastically, falling prostrate in front of him and kissing the ground before his feet. Their cheers for the memory of Seqenenra, and for Tetisheri, the king, and Prince Ahmose, rose high and Kamose greeted them with his own hands, speaking to a great throng of men, women, and children, eating the doum palm and other fruit that they brought them and drinking, along with his entourage and commanders, cups full of the wine of Maryut. All went to the governor's palace and the king issued an order appointing one of his loyal men, named Samar, governor over the island, charging him to provide justice for all and to apply the laws of Egypt. At the same meeting, the commanders agreed that they must surprise Sayin at first light, so as to strike the decisive blow before it awoke from its torpor.
The army slept early and awoke just before dawn, then marched north, the fleet accompanying it to block the Nile inlets. The soldiers marched through the darkness watched with shining eyes by the wakeful stars, anger boiling in their breasts as they yearned for revenge and battle. They drew close to Sayin as the last of night's darkness mixed with the bashful blue light of morning and the eastern horizon shimmered — with the first rays of the sun. Kamose issued an order to the charioteers to advance on the city from south and east, supported by troops from the archers’ and lancers’ battalions. Likewise, he ordered the fleet to lay siege to the western shore of the city. These forces attacked the city from three sides at the same time. The chariots — were led by experienced officers, — who knew the city and its strategic points, and these directed their chariots against the barracks and police headquarters. After them came the infantry, bristling — with weapons, — who fell on the enemy in a massacre in — which rivers of blood flowed. The Herdsmen were able to fight in certain positions and they defended themselves desperately, falling like dry leaves in autumn caught by a tempestuous wind. The fleet, for its part, met with no resistance and came across no warships in its path. Having once secured the beach, it disembarked parties of its troops, who assaulted the palaces that overlooked the Nile and seized their owners, among them the governor of the city, its judges, and its major notables. Then the same forces set out across the fields, heading straight for the city.
Surprise was the decisive element in the battle, which was short, but saw the fall of many Herdsmen. As soon as the sun rose on the horizon and sent its light out over the city, parties of the invaders might be seen occupying the barracks and the palaces and driving captives before them. Corpses were to be beheld flung down in the streets and the barracks’ courtyards, drained of their blood. It was bruited about in the outskirts of the city and the nearby fields that Kamose son of Seqenenra had entered Sayin with a huge army and taken possession of it, and a bloody uprising broke out in the wake of this news, the local people attacking the Herdsmen and killing them in their beds. They mutilated them and beat them mercilessly with whips, so that many Herdsmen fled in terror, as the Egyptians had done when Apophis marched on the South with his chariots and his men. Then tempers cooled and the army established order and King Kamose entered at the head of his army, the flags of Egypt fluttering at the front and the guards preceding him with their band. The people rushed to welcome him and it was a glorious day.
The officers conveyed to the king that a large number of young men, including some — who had been soldiers in his former army, had come forward — with striking enthusiasm to volunteer for the army. Kamose was delighted and set over the city a man of his called Shaw, whom he commanded to organize and train the volunteers so that they could be inducted into the army as battle-ready troops. The commanders also gave the king an accounting of the chariots and horses they had taken as spoils of war and it was a great number.
Chamberlain Hur proposed to the king that they should advance without delay, so as not to give the enemy any respite in which to ready itself and gather its armies. He said, “Our first real battle will be at Ombos.”
Kamose replied, “Indeed, Hur. Dozens of refugees may have knocked on the gates of Ombos already, so from now on there is no room for surprise. We will find our enemy prepared. Apophis may even be able to confront us with his barbaric forces at Hierakonpolis. So on with us to our destiny!”
The Egyptian forces proceeded, by land and by river, northward on the road to Ombos, entering many villages but meeting no resistance whatsoever. They did not come across a single Herdsman, indicating to the king that the enemy had loaded up their belongings and driven off their animals, fleeing toward Ombos. The peasants came out to welcome the Army of Deliverance and greet their victorious sovereign, calling out to him with hearts revived by joy and hope. The army hurried on until it arrived at the outskirts of Ombos, where the forward parties of scouts arrived to report that the enemy was camped to the south of the city, ready for battle, and that a fleet of middling size was moored to the west of Ombos. The king divined that the first major battle would be at the gates. He wanted to know the number of the enemy's troops but it was difficult for the scouts to find this out, as the enemy was camped on a broad plain that was not easy to approach. A
young commander called Mheb said, “My lord, I do not believe that the forces of Ombos can exceed a few thousand.”
King Kamose replied, “Bring me all our officers or soldiers who are from Ombos.”
Chamberlain Hur grasped what the king wanted and said, “Pardon, my lord, but the face of Ombos has changed in the past ten years. Barracks have been constructed that did not exist before, as I saw — with my own eyes on one of my trading voyages. The Herdsmen have probably taken these as a center to defend the towns that fall close to the borders.”
Commander Mheb said, “In any case, my lord, I believe that we should attack with light forces, so that we do not sustain a heavy loss.”
Prince Ahmose, however, did not favor this opinion and he said to his father, “My lord, I hold the opposite view. I think that we should attack with forces too heavy to be resisted and throw the main body of our forces into the battle, so as to deal the enemy the final blow as quickly as possible. In so doing, we will dismay the forces that are gathering now at Thebes to fight us and in the future we will be doing battle with men who believe that to fight us is to die. There is no fear of risking our troops, for our army will double in size with the volunteers who join it at every town we take, while the enemy will never find replacements for its own losses.”
The idea pleased the king, who said, “My men will sacrifice themselves willingly for the sake of Thebes.”
The king was aware of the decisive effect that the fleet's victory had had in winning the battle, because of the significant role that fleets can play in laying siege to the beaches of rich cities or landing troops behind enemy lines. He therefore issued an order to Commander Qumkaf to attack the Herdsmen's ships that lay at anchor to the west of Ombos.
All that now lay between the two armies was a broad plain. The Herdsmen were warlike and tough, intrepid and strong, and they harbored an ingrained contempt for the Egyptians. Ignorant of the Egyptians’ strength, they attacked first, sending against them a battalion of a hundred war chariots. Then Kamose gave the order to attack and more than three hundred chariots sprang forward and surrounded the enemy. Dust rose, horses neighed, bows twanged. A violent fight occurred, with Prince Ahmose determined to put paid to the enemy once and for all. He launched a further two hundred chariots against the enemy's infantry, — which — was awaiting the outcome of the chariot battle in front of the gates of Ombos. These — were followed by units from the archers’ battalion and others from that of the spearmen. The chariots swept down on the infantry and broke through their lines, throwing them into confusion and terror and raining arrows upon them. Their ranks gave — way, — with some — wounded, some dead, and some in flight, but they were met by Ahmose's attacking infantry in irresistible numbers and — wiped out in their entirety. The enemy — was taken by surprise, not having expected that it would meet with forces of this size, and its forces rapidly collapsed, its horsemen falling and its chariots disintegrating. The Egyptians had mastery of the field in a time so short as to be barely believable, having fought with anger and fury, striking with arms whose sinews were hardened by age-old hatred and blazing resentment.
Armed forces broached the gates of Ombos and forced an entry in order to occupy the barracks and cleanse them of the remnants of enemy troops, and officers went over the field, organizing their battalions and carrying off the wounded and the dead. King Kamose stood in the midst of the field on his chariot surrounded by his commanders, with Prince Ahmose on his right and Chamberlain Hur on his left. News had arrived that his fleet had borne down on the enemy ships and attacked them fiercely and that the enemy had retreated before them in disarray. The king was pleased and said to those around him, smiling, “A successful beginning.”
Prince Ahmose, his clothes covered with dust, his face smeared with grime, and his forehead dripping with sweat, said, “I am looking forward to plunging into battles more terrible than that.”
Kamose, throwing at his lovely face a look of admiration, said, “You will not have to wait long.”
The king then descended from his chariot, his men following, and took a few steps that brought him into the midst of the corpses of the Herdsmen. He looked at them and, seeing that the blood that had gushed from them had stained their white skin and that arrows and lances had lacerated it, he said, “Do not imagine that this blood is the blood of our enemies: it is the blood of our people whom they sucked dry and left to die of hunger.”
Kamose's face was drawn, hidden behind a dark mask of sorrow. Raising his head to the heavens, he murmured, “May your soul, my dear father, live in peace and felicity!”
Then he looked at those about him, and said in a voice bespeaking strength and courage, “Our strength will be tested in two fierce battles, at Thebes and at Avaris. If victory there be ours, we shall have cleansed the motherland of the Herdsmen forever and restored Egypt to the days of glorious Amen-hotep. When, then, shall we stand as we do now, on the corpses of the defenders of Avaris?”
The king turned to go back to his chariot and, at that very moment, one of the bodies sprang upright with the speed of lightning, aimed its bow at the king, and let fly. Nothing could prevent what was fated and none could strike the warrior before he released his arrow, which struck the king's chest. The men let out a yell of alarm and fired their arrows at the Hyksos warrior, then hurried to the king with hearts full of horror and pity as a deep sigh issued from Kamose's chest. Then he staggered like one intoxicated and fell in front of the crown prince, who cried, “Bring a litter and call the physician!”
He bent his head over his father and said in a trembling voice, “Father, Father, can you not speak to us?”
The physician came quickly and the litter with him, and they picked the king up and laid him on it with exquisite care. The physician knelt at his side and set to removing the king's armor and his upper garment, so as to reveal his chest. The entourage surrounded the litter in silence, their eyes darting from the wan face of the king to that of the physician. News spread through the field, and the noise died down. Then a heavy silence reigned, as though all that mighty army had been obliterated.
The physician tugged on the arrow and the blood immediately started gushing copiously from the wound. The king's face contracted with the pain and the eyes of the prince darkened in sorrow as he murmured to Hur, “Dear God, the king is in pain.”
The man washed the wound and placed herbs on it but the king showed no improvement and his limbs shook visibly. Then he sighed deeply and opened his eyes, with a dark, lifeless look. Ahmose's breast tightened still more and he said to himself in a plaintive voice, “How you have changed, Father!” The king's eyes moved until they fell on Ahmose, a smile appeared in them, and he said in a voice so weak as barely to be audible, “A moment ago I thought I was going on to Avaris but the Lord wishes my journey to end here, at the gates of Ombos.”
In a sorrowing voice, Ahmose cried out, “Let Him take my soul for yours, Father!”
The king returned in his weak voice, “Never! Take care of yourself, for you are much needed! Be more cautious than I and remember always that you must not give up the struggle until Avaris, the Herdsmen's last fortress, has fallen and the enemy has withdrawn from our lands to the last man!”
The physician feared for the king because of the effort that he was making in speaking and gestured at him to say no more, but the king was lost in a higher realm of experience, that which divides extinction from immortality, and he said in a voice whose accents had changed and which fell strangely on their ears, “Say to Tetisheri that I went to my father a brave man like him!”
He stretched out his hand to his son and the prince went down on his knees and held him to his breast, the king clinging to his shoulder for a while in farewell. Then his fingers relaxed and he surrendered his spirit.
4
The physician covered the body and the men prostrated themselves about it in a prayer of farewell, then rose as though drunk with sorrow. Chamberlain Hur sent out a call for the bat
talion commanders and upper officers and when they appeared addressed them as follows: “Comrades, it grieves me to announce to you the death of our brave sovereign, Kamose. He was martyred on the field of battle, fighting for Egypt, as was his father before him, and, snatched from our bosoms, has been transported to dwell next to Osiris. But first he left it as his testament to us that we cease not the struggle until Avaris has fallen and the enemy withdrawn from our lands. As chamberlain of this noble family, I offer you my condolences for this mighty loss and announce to you the succession of our new sovereign and glorious commander, Ahmose son of Kamose, son of Seqenenra, may the Lord preserve him and grant him clear victory!”
The commanders saluted the king's body and bowed to Ahmose, the new king, and the chamberlain gave them permission to go back to their troops and announce the death and succession.
Hur, consumed by grief, ordered the soldiers to raise the litter on their shoulders. Drying his eyes, he said, “May your sublime soul live in happiness and peace next to Osiris! You were on the verge of entering Ombos at the head of your victorious army but the Lord has decreed that you should enter it on your bier. However it be, you are the noblest among us.”
The army entered Ombos in its traditional order, the king's bier at its head. The grievous news had spread throughout the city and the rapture of victory and the anguish of death were drunk in a single draught. Multitudinous throngs came from every place to welcome the Army of Deliverance and bid farewell to their departed sovereign with hearts confused between joy and sorrow. When the people saw the new king, Ahmose, they prostrated themselves in silent submission but not a cheer went up that day. The priests of Ombos received the mighty body and Ahmose withdrew from public view and wrote a letter to Tetisheri as his father had bidden him and sent it with a messenger.
Three Novels of Ancient Egypt Page 55
