Fall of the House of Ramesses, Book 3: Tausret

by Max Overton

  By mid-afternoon the chariots were out of sight of the wagons and Siptah revelled in the freedom he experienced. His charioteer drove, while he braced himself against the chariot's framework and ran his fingers over the bow in its rack beside him, and the sheath of arrows. He looked all around, hoping for some game to appear so he could start hunting, but nothing moved in the sun-rippled heat of the day. A hawk hung above him, lazily circling in the pale blue bowl of the sky and Siptah took it as a sign of the god's favour--one hunter to another.

  The vague dirt road led down into a steep-sided gully and Siptah reined in his stallion and studied the descent carefully. Senefer took the opportunity to close with the king and addressed him quietly.

  "Son of Re, we would do well to wait for the wagons."

  "Why?" Siptah asked, his eyes never ceasing to scan the gully.

  Senefer glanced across to where Ahtep, the guard commander stood in his chariot. "You should not be so far from the guards. Chancellor Bay told me..."

  "There is nobody out here that would seek to harm me," Siptah replied. "Besides, I have my bow." He pointed into the gully. "See there, that is out way down, then to the right and up there." Siptah looked at his charioteer. "You can manage that?"

  "Yes, my lord."

  "Then do so. Come along, Senefer. It's getting late and I want to find that bull today."

  The king's charioteer guided them down into the gully and they bounced and shuddered along its bed for a short time before he urged the stallion up the far side. Senefer and Ahtep followed in their heavier chariots and by the time they crested the far lip of the gully, the king's chariot was some distance away. They followed at as great a pace as they could manage and gradually overhauled the royal chariot.

  Siptah turned and grinned at Senefer as they drew level. "I let you catch up," he said.

  "I do not doubt it, Son of Re. May I suggest we wait for the wagons at..." he looked ahead, "...that patch of trees? The wagons will be held up by the gully and if we do not wait, we could lose them."

  The king grimaced petulantly. "How far ahead is this bull supposed to be?"

  "My huntsmen have not reported back to me yet. It could be only a sun span ahead or a full day." Senefer hesitated. "It would be better to meet it fresh, rather than after an arduous day."

  "I feel quite strong enough to face a bull."

  "Of course, Son of Re, for your heavenly father sustains you, but I meant your horse. It will need to be rested before it meets a fierce foe."

  Siptah scowled. "At least find me something to hunt today--while we are waiting for the wagons."

  "I believe I can do that, Son of Re."

  Senefer led the three chariots to the clump of trees near the gully, where they all dismounted and stretched their limbs, slapping the dust from their clothes. The charioteers stayed behind to tend to the horses, while Senefer led Siptah and Ahtep down into the gully again.

  "The gully is dry, as you can see, Son of Re, but the beasts have scraped a waterhole with their hooves and if we approach quietly, we should surprise some antelope."

  Senefer led the way. Siptah followed with his bow strung and three arrows clutched in one hand, while Ahtep brought up the rear with his long spear. They made little noise, though Siptah's left foot often dragged in the sand and occasionally small rocks clicked together. He scowled and made an effort to lift his withered leg clear with each step.

  Senefer gestured for complete silence and pointed to some large boulders that had fallen from the lip of the gully, indicating by signs that the waterhole lay beyond it. Siptah nodded and limped forward, moving between two boulders and kneeling to peer over a lower one. He saw a stretch of sand ploughed and churned by many feet, and a small expanse of muddy water. On the far side, three antelope stood ready to drink. Two had already lowered their heads to the water, front feet slightly splayed, while the buck, with slender horns lifted, stared across the water and mud toward the boulders.

  As Siptah watched, the buck stamped its foot and he could plainly hear the snuff of its breath as it sought out the scent of danger. The king felt a puff of breeze on his face and knew that the wind carried his scent away from the antelope. Silent and unmoving, he watched the buck deciding whether to drink or flee, until suddenly it dropped its head and moved forward to join its does at the water's edge.

  Siptah rose in a fluid movement, drawing and releasing an arrow. The buck saw the movement and reared in alarm, turning, its hind legs bunching and releasing as it sprang back, but the arrow took it in the chest, just behind its foreleg. Both does turned and raced back along the gully, leaving the buck kneeling in the sand, blood-flecked foam drooling from its lips and its eyes rolling in their sockets. Senefer ran forward with a bronze knife and slit the animal's throat, tipping it on its side as its legs kicked out in its death throes.

  "Magnificent, Son of Re," Ahtep said. "There is not one of my guards who could better that."

  Siptah grinned and limped forward to stand and stare down at the fallen beast. Senefer looked up and met his monarch's gaze. "Truly a mighty hunter," he said. "We'll find you a bull tomorrow."

  By the time the wagons caught up, Senefer and Ahtep had built a small fire near a stand of trees and had skinned and prepared some of the meat for the evening meal. The cooks immediately set about producing a suitable field dinner for the king, and everyone praised Siptah for his prowess in the field.

  Bay offered his praise too, but also offered caution. "An antelope is a timid creature, but a bull is a very different one. He is just as likely to attack. You must hunt him from a chariot rather than on foot, for you will need mobility."

  Siptah scowled, annoyed that his uncle seemed to be belittling his efforts. "Are you telling your king that he is incapable? Even with the infirmity that the gods have seen fit to thrust upon me, I am a match for an insensate bull."

  "I do not doubt it, but Kemet needs its king and I implore you not to endanger yourself unnecessarily. We would be lost without you."

  "Then I will hunt from my chariot, Uncle. I would not want to see you bereft."

  The next day, Senefer reported to the king that his hunters had found the bull they sought on the edge of the cultivated land. He grazed alone in a field that had been allowed to degenerate almost to scrubland. The chariots were made ready, and then Siptah announced that he would be driving his own chariot. When Bay remonstrated, Siptah drew him aside.

  "I told you that I would hunt from the safety of my chariot, Uncle. You cannot expect me to make it too easy with a charioteer to control the horse while I kill the beast. Therefore I will do both."

  The king would hear no counter-argument and limped off to his chariot. Bay looked at Senefer and the Overseer of the Hunt nodded, his face grim. Senefer took over the control of his own chariot and ordered two of his huntsmen to join him, while sending others running ahead to find the bull. Ahtep followed in the third chariot, with an extra archer beside him.

  The hunters on foot led the way, trotting through the light scrub in a direction that took them back toward the river and the cultivated lands. Scrub gave way to lank grass and one of the hunters slowed, pointing ahead. Siptah shaded his eyes against the morning light and stared at what looked like a large brown boulder. As he looked, he saw a head rise up, wide-spreading horns black against the pale blue of the sky.

  "It is a big one," he murmured.

  Senefer, in his own chariot alongside the king's nodded. "Let my hunters go in and soften him for the kill, Son of Re."

  Siptah shook his head. "First blood is mine, Senefer. Make sure your men understand that." The young wrapped the reins carefully around his waist, bracing his right foot against the wickerwork frame of the chariot, and his withered left foot he slipped into a special supporting brace. His stallion caught Siptah's excitement and tossed his head, stamping his feet, eager to start but mindful of the master's touch on the reins.

  The king pulled an arrow from the sheath and examined it closely, running a finger a
long its length, seeking out imperfections. He tossed it aside and picked out another, examining it in its turn, nodding with satisfaction as the sharp bronze head caught the sunlight. Siptah fitted it loosely to his bow and tested the string and the supple strength of the bow by drawing it back and then easing the pressure. With a click of his tongue, he started the stallion moving forward toward the bull.

  As he approached the bull it stood and shook itself, and Siptah saw it was even bigger than he had thought, a brown mountain of muscle that fixed the intruder with a belligerent stare. It pawed the ground as the king's chariot neared and then lumbered forward with a bellow. At the same instant, Siptah leaned right and the motion of his body, transmitted through the reins wound around his waist, guided his horse to that side. The stallion broke into a gallop and moved in a wide circle, drawing the bull after it. Siptah looked back over his shoulder and yelled with excitement, changing his course into a left hand circle as the lumbering bull tried to turn inside his circle and meet them.

  The scrubland was pitted with holes and indentations and these, together with scattered stones and gnarled shrubs, made the chariot bounce and slew, forcing the king to steady himself with one hand. Already the bull was tiring, slowing to a trot, apparently under the impression it had chased away the intruder. Siptah immediately hauled on the reins and turned his chariot to face the bull once more, urging his stallion into motion. His chariot's course took him parallel to the bull's course but in the opposite direction, and as they neared, the bull swung once more to face its tormentor.

  Siptah's chariot raced by, no more than twenty paces from the bull, and as they passed, he leaned out and, with a muttered invocation to the gods, loosed an arrow at the turning bull. The arrow thumped into the chest of the bull, too far back to find the heart, but bringing it to a halt. It stood with feet splayed and looked at the receding chariot, uttering a bellow filled with pain and puzzlement.

  Siptah turned his chariot once more and slowly approached the stricken beast. The bull turned to meet him, but slowly and painfully, allowing the king to loose another arrow into the beast's chest. It collapsed with a grunt, blood-flecked foam running from its mouth. The king yelled in triumph and leapt down from the chariot, clutching his bow and a single arrow. He limped toward the fallen bull, fitting his arrow to the string as he went. The bull groaned and rolled its eyes toward the approaching figure, but apart from its heaving flanks it was otherwise motionless.

  The king limped around the bull and moved closer, lining up his arrow to finally dispatch the bull with an arrow to its heart. He drew back on the bowstring and leaned forward until the bronze tip was almost touching the bull's hide. A breath let out to steady himself, fingers starting to move, to relax...and the bull moved, lurching forward and to the side. The arrow grazed the beast's back, falling to the ground fifty paces away while the bull's shoulder sent Siptah flying backward. Lurching to its feet, the bull stood on unsteady legs and faced the fallen king. It coughed blood and started toward him as Siptah scrambled away.

  Siptah saw his death approaching him and heard his heart hammering in his chest, the thunder of it seeming to shake the ground beneath him. He heard cries that he knew must be those of the watching hunters and felt shame that they should see him die lying on the ground. The king raised himself to a kneeling position and then awkwardly to his feet as the bull staggered closer, blood dripping from its mouth.

  "I will not run from you, Great Bull of Kemet, for I am a king." Siptah reached out a hand and touched the bull on the head, between the outspread horns, and a shadow passed near him, whispering in the hot, still air. "It is my death," he muttered.

  Then the bull was falling, kneeling before him, its great head lowering to the dusty ground and Siptah saw a thin spear shaft sunk deep into the beast's side. He looked up and saw a chariot, and a man running toward him.

  "Guard Captain Ahtep? You killed my bull?"

  The Captain fell to his knees in the dusty ground. "No, Son of Re, for the bull was already dead on his feet. My spear merely knocked it over."

  Senefer and the huntsmen crowded round, making sure the bull was dead and that the king was unhurt, offering him water and great praise.

  "I have never seen its like, Son of Re," Senefer said. "You stood unarmed and faced down a deadly wounded bull, then reached out and touched it on the head...and it fell down dead at your feet."

  "Ptah preserved me," Siptah said. "I will build him a temple."

  They drove their chariots back to the waiting wagons, leaving a hand of huntsmen behind to dress the meat. Senefer sent one of the wagons back to the killing site to bring the spoils of the hunt, and the story of the young king's skill and bravery lost nothing in the telling. Bay greeted his nephew with pride in his eyes, for he had seen the drama unfolding from a distance, yet even he gasped when told the particulars of the king's deeds.

  "Truly you are the chosen one of the gods."

  Siptah grinned, his heart swelling with pride. "Find me a lion," he said. "I need to hunt something worthy of a king."

  Chapter 13

  Year 2 of Akhenre Siptah

  While Siptah was away on his hunt, Queen Tausret put into motion her plans to identify more closely with the reigning king. As she told her now constant companion and adviser Ament, "I can no longer be seen as a remote and uncaring Regent, putting my grief and my son above the concerns of the Kingdoms. I must embrace the king as my son, and I can do this most effectively by putting myself on temple walls in association with the king."

  "And what of Chancellor Bay?" Ament asked. "Will you seek to replace him in Siptah's affections?"

  "I can scarcely do that...at least not yet, so I shall honour him by including him in the inscriptions of praise."

  "The Amorite soars high," Ament remarked.

  "He is accomplished," Tausret remarked, "and as long as he remembers his place, I will allow him a place in the king's light."

  Tausret chose Per-Banebdjedet as the site of her first inscription, commissioning a stele in the Domain of the Ram Lord of Djedet. This Ram Lord was worshiped as the Ba or 'personality' of the god Asar, and as Per-Banebdjedet was the capital city of the Kha sepat, an inscription here would not only bring praise to the god, but also to the king and those associated with him. It would also serve to praise the Great One of the House of Ramesses, Usermaatre Ramesses in his form as the god Amun.

  Ament looked up from the notes on the inscription that Tausret had been compiling. "Why the address to this man Pabes?"

  Tausret looked around from her contemplation of the river through the window of the governor's palace. "He is the steward of the temple estates of Amun in Waset. The temple of Amun of Usermaatre-Setepenre Ramesses here in Per-Banebdjedet comes under his jurisdiction. By including him and enumerating his assets, I'm forcing him to act as guarantor for the new chapel I'm having built."

  Ament smiled. "Cunning. And this Nedjem you mention? Why does he come in for criticism?"

  "He's a priest in the Temple of Millions of Years of Baenre Merenptah. Competent but tight-fisted when it comes to spending temple gold. Pabes loathes him so I thought I'd deliver a reprimand."

  "Why not just remove him from office?"

  "As I said, he's competent enough."

  Ament continued reading, putting down one sheet of papyrus and then another. "It's very...how should I put it...wordy...isn't it? I can't read half of these words...sort of don't need to as a soldier...but even so you're using ten words where I'd use two or three."

  Tausret laughed. "This is just the common script. Wait until the scribes turn it into temple hieroglyphs. It'll be three times longer."

  "All right, I can read half of what's here, but I understand only half of that. What's this? 'I was overseer of works for your eightfold adoring baboons which are in your forecourt.' What does that mean? Baboons? Did you mean to write something else?"

  "Sometimes I forget you are just a soldier, Ament, and have had no instruction in the ways of the g
ods."

  Ament's lips twitched into a smile. "Not just a soldier, Great Wife. I'm a passable fisherman too."

  "My apologies. Whatever else you are, you are not 'just' anything. Above all else you are a friend and a valued adviser in these straitened times."

  "Thank you, Great Wife," Ament said with a grin. "So, the baboons?"

  "The sun god Re is towed in a barque across the sky by four jackals and is adored in the court of the morning by four baboons. In the court of the evening is four more of each--so, eight baboons."

  "Why baboons though?"

  "Have you never watched them in the menagerie as the first rays of the morning sun strike their cage? They sit and face the rising sun and hold their arms out to worship the god."

  "Really? I would never have thought it of an animal."

  Tausret smiled. "It could just be that they welcome the heat of the sun after a chilly night, but it does look like they're offering up an act of worship."

  Ament nodded and kept reading. "I don't see anything about Bay. I thought you were going to include him in your inscriptions."

  "In the right place. On this stele I'll put my own name as Daughter of Amun of Usermaatre-Setepenre and that of the king, but I'll leave Bay for another time."

  "Good. It's more than he deserves."

  Tausret made further notes and then had long discussions with scribes, priests and architects, debating the relative merits of erection chapels, pylons or steles, and the best way of displaying the inscription on them. It took several days, but by the time she and Ament left Per-Banebdjedet, stone was already being hauled in from stores scattered across Ta Mehu and masons had started work with their copper chisels.

  The royal barge made many stops up and down the branches of the Great River, with Tausret visiting a score of temples in almost as many cities. In each one she discussed the importance of praising the god in the name of the king and his regent, and came to an agreement with each high priest. She would put her seal on a promissory note from the Treasury, enabling the priests to draw sufficient gold out to enable work to start. All of these inscriptions referred to Tausret as 'The Great Noblewoman of Every Land' as well as 'Daughter of Amun', 'King's Great Wife', and Regent, along with Akhenre Setepenre Merenptah-Siptah and all his titles. Somewhere amongst the wordy descriptions, she had Bay's name slipped in--nothing particularly praiseworthy, just that he, as Chancellor, also supported the king.