by Max Overton
"At last, the lion I have been waiting for."
"You won't be allowed to," Sepi said.
"Of course he will," Huni said. "He's the king. He can do whatever he wants."
"Whatever the Regent allows him to do, you mean," Sepi corrected.
"Tausret need not know," Siptah said. "My uncle Bay will let me do it. He has already allowed me on hunts. This will be no different."
Siptah sent a servant to summon Bay and after a while he turned up on the balcony where the boys had been playing. As he was in the presence of the sons of court officials, Bay displayed none of the annoyance he was feeling at being dragged away from his work and merely sketched a bow toward his nephew.
"Ah, Uncle," Siptah said. "I did not need your huntsmen after all. There is a lion killing cattle near Per-Ramesses and I have decided to hunt it. Organise whatever is necessary and we shall leave tomorrow."
"I will see what can be done," Bay said. He left the boys excitedly making plans for the coming hunt and returned before the sun had advanced the shadows on the wall more than a hand span. "Alas, my lord, the Regent has forbidden the hunt as being too dangerous."
"She can't do that," Siptah exclaimed. "I want to do it. Tell her, Uncle."
"Regrettably, she can forbid you. She is the sole Regent. I am sorry, nephew. I know you had your heart set on a lion, but there will be others when the Regent has no power over you." Bay bowed again, and left the boys once more.
Siptah scowled and would have stamped his foot in anger had he not learned from bitter experience that the act made him stumble and look ridiculous. "She has no right to forbid me. I am the king, crowned and anointed, not some boy still with his sidelock."
"So tell her," Hay said.
"Hay's right," Huni added. "She may be Regent, but you are the anointed king."
"That's the whole point of being Regent though," Sepi said. "She has the power. It's just a pity your Uncle Bay isn't Regent."
"Perhaps he could be," Hay suggested. "Would that be possible?"
"What? You think Queen Tausret will just stand aside?"
"I just meant that maybe Bay could be regent as well as Queen Tausret," Hay replied. "That way, you could ask Bay for permission and he could officially grant it."
"The Queen would never agree."
"How do you know? Ask her, Akhenre."
"Or tell her. You are the king."
Siptah called a servant to him once more and ordered him to tell the Regent to attend upon him at once. The servant quailed visibly, but bowed and went off. Time passed and an overseer appeared. He bowed to the young king and cleared his throat nervously before speaking.
"My lord king, your summons was conveyed to the Queen Regent but she declines to appear before you. I am charged with giving you her exact words. Er, do you wish to hear them in private, my lord king?"
"Say what you will, Overseer. These are the king's friends and are in his confidence."
"As you will, my lord king. The Queen Regent's words are, 'if the boy who plays at being king wishes to see me, then he must come in person and petition me. Queen Tausret attends on no man or boy.'"
Sepi and Huni gasped aloud at the overseer's words, while Hay sucked his front teeth and shook his head. Siptah paled at the insult, but bit off the retort that sprang to his lips.
"You may leave us," he muttered to the overseer. Siptah turned away and put his hands on the balustrade of the balcony and gazed out at the gardens. Tears of chagrin threatened to flood his eyes and he angrily brushed them away.
"What will you do?" Hay asked.
"What can he do?" Huni asked. "He has been put in his place," he added in a whisper to Sepi.
"This challenge to your authority cannot go unanswered," Sepi said. "Shall I send for Chancellor Bay so that he might advise you?"
Siptah turned and glared at his friends. His eyes glittered with unshed tears but his voice was steady. "Leave me." He waited until the three youths had left his presence before taking a deep breath and letting it out shakily. "So," he muttered. "If I must come to you, I shall, but I am now determined that my uncle shall be regent."
Siptah went to his private suite and called his body servants. He bathed, selected perfumes and cosmetics to age his youthful face and dressed in royal clothing, donning ornaments and regalia befitting a king. Then he made his way to the Queen's quarters where she sat examining a selection of jewellery and had himself announced, limping into the room before the herald had finished his address.
"Send your servants out, Queen Tausret. What I have to say is not for their ears."
Tausret stared, her eyebrows lifting in surprise at the king's tone. She nodded to the Overseer of the Jewel Box, who gathered the servants together and ushered them from the room. When the door closed behind the last of them, the Queen beckoned Siptah forward.
"What game is this you play, Siptah? Can you not see I am busy?"
"No game, Lady, and I am properly addressed as King Akhenre."
Tausret smiled. "You will always be Siptah to me. You are scarcely older than my own son, and he still toddles around playing with his toys."
Siptah trembled with anger. "I am not a little boy any longer," he shouted. "I am a king."
"A true king would not need to proclaim it, Siptah. The evidence of it would be plain to see." She yawned ostentatiously. "What is it you came to say?"
"I am old enough to rule as king by myself. I don't need you as Regent any longer."
Tausret looked at the boy-king with a faint smile on her face. "Does this have something to do with my refusal to let you go on a lion hunt?"
"Yes...no...not just that. I am quite capable of making decisions on my own."
"That is not what Tjaty Hori says. He tells me you are making progress in the law courts, but you can still only handle the simpler cases. And as for your priestly duties...I have had three Hem-netjers complaining that you yawn and scratch yourself during the ceremonies." Tausret shook her head. "What must the gods think of your behaviour?"
Siptah scowled and looked down at the floor. "I am learning...and getting better all the time. Besides, as king I have a Tjaty and priests to do my bidding. I don't need to do everything myself."
"A king is the head priest of every temple in the land, Siptah, and represents the gods. Do you imagine the gods will look favourably on the Two Lands if you can't be bothered to pay attention during the rituals? And how can the people and nobles look up to a king who doesn't know the laws sufficiently well to adjudicate in even the hardest decisions?" Tausret regarded the boy with a softer expression on her face. "Must I explain your position to you again? You came to the throne for one reason only--Kemet needs a king and the son of Userkheperure Seti was too young. I might point out that your father killed my husband..."
"And you killed my father," Siptah blurted out.
"Is that what you believe? Well, I will not deny his death made my job simpler, but I did not give the order. In fact, my husband Userkheperure gave specific instructions that he not be harmed. I would have gone along with that."
"So who did kill him then?"
"I don't know. It would seem a man broke into the palace and stabbed him to death. When I heard, I told Tjaty Paraemheb to order a full investigation, but the murderer has not been found. Your father had many enemies after his general Sethi tore Ta Shemau apart."
"Why then did you make me king if my father was so bad?"
"Kemet needed a king and Seti-Merenptah was too young. I have told you this already."
"Why did you not just rule as regent with your son on the throne? Why does it matter if the king is two years or ten years?"
Tausret regarded the young king for another long moment. "If I am being honest, I would have preferred that, but my advisers convinced me you would make a good interim king."
"Interim?"
"Temporary. You are king until Seti-Merenptah is old enough, and then he will become co-ruler and eventually succeed you on the throne."
"No. That was the proviso for letting you become king. All this was explained to you before you were crowned."
Siptah shook his head. "I didn't know...or it wasn't explained to me. Did my Uncle Bay agree?"
"Yes. You can ask him if you like."
The young king was silent for a long time. He walked to a chair and sat down, his shoulders hunched, as he digested the unwelcome information. At length, he looked across at Tausret.
"I came to ask you to let my Uncle Bay become Regent instead of you."
Tausret shook her head. "He can't be Regent; he's a commoner. How could he possibly stand for the king when he is not royal?"
"But he is my family--my only family. I want him to play a part in my life."
"He already does that, Siptah. You spend far more time with him than you do with me."
"But he has no authority. Anything I want I must ask you for, and it would be much easier if I could just ask Uncle Bay. Please, Queen Tausret, can't you make my uncle the Regent?"
"No, Siptah; that is never going to happen. As I explained, he may be related to you but only because he was your mother's brother. He is an Amorite, a servant and a commoner. I am not going to let him rule Kemet through you."
"He is the king's uncle. Doesn't that count for something?"
"And he has a tomb in the Great Field among the kings. Is that not honour enough? Some would say it is too great an honour for a common man."
Siptah's shoulders slumped further and he swung his withered foot so his toes brushed the stone floor. He did not look up at the queen as he spoke.
"Why do you hate me so much?" he asked.
Tausret stared at the king who now looked like nothing more than a miserable child. "I don't hate you, Siptah."
"It feels like it. Bay is the only one who loves me."
"I'm sorry if it seems that way, but I only have the good of Kemet in my heart. You have a difficult path to tread, child, because of your father. He ripped the kingdoms apart and killed my husband who was the rightful king. The easiest thing would have been to wipe all memory of him from men's minds--but you exist. None of this is your fault, but you bear the burden. You are king of Kemet, for better or worse, to hold the kingdoms together until the wounds of civil war can heal. Then Seti-Merenptah will take his place on the throne alongside you and you will rule together."
Siptah considered his future, his swinging toes continuing to brush the floor. "Although I am king, I am treated as a child, and when I am no longer a child I must have a child beside me on the throne, knowing I can never truly be king in my own right. Is this fair, Queen Tausret? Am I always to be treated thus?"
"Such are the circumstances that led you to the throne, Siptah. The future is in the hands of the gods but..." Tausret hesitated, pity strong on her face. "Perhaps I can alleviate some of your sorrow. I cannot make your uncle Bay the Regent, but I can involve him more in the running of your affairs. Already I have included him in inscriptions and caused his image to be carved in monuments for your sake, but I will do more. I will create a title for him that allows him to be honoured on inscriptions in your name. Would that please you?"
"What title?"
"How about 'fan-bearer on the right of the king'? That is a prestigious title for a commoner."
"There are other fan-bearers."
"You want more?" Tausret thought for a few moments. "All right, here is a title that raises him higher than any other in the land of Kemet. In addition to 'fan-bearer on the right of the king', I will add 'king's messenger to Khor and Kush'. That gives him status above any other king's messenger and allows him to act throughout the lands of Kemet from the land of Khor in the north to the land of Kush in the south. Will that satisfy you, Siptah? It is unheard of for a commoner to bear those titles together, but such is my love for you, I will do it."
Siptah rose and limped across to where Tausret sat. He took her hands in his and bowed his head. "Thank you, Queen Tausret. I am pleased that you offer my uncle such honours. Will you also grant me leave to hunt my lion?"
Tausret smiled but shook her head. "One thing at a time, Akhenre Siptah. There will be other lions."
The young king left the presence of the Queen and made his way slowly through the palace to the chamber where Chancellor Bay sat alone, conducting the business of the Kingdoms.
"I hear you have been to see the Queen. Did you persuade her to let you hunt a lion where I failed?"
"No, Uncle, but that was not the only reason I went to see her."
Bay lowered the scroll he had been reading and looked at his young nephew. "What else did you discuss?"
"I asked her to make you Regent."
"Did you, by the gods? What did she say?"
"She said no, but rather insultingly, saying you were a commoner and an Amorite--as if that matters."
"It does to some people." Bay shrugged. "She was never going to agree, so you must not be too downhearted. There are other ways to achieve power..." Bay's voice trailed away as he saw the grin on the young king's face. "What?"
"She has agreed to give you what she says are some great honours. You are to be fan-bearer on the right of the king, and king's messenger to Khor and Kush."
"Khor and Kush? Are you sure?"
"That's what she said. I know about the fan-bearer but not about the messenger bit. She explained it but I didn't really understand. Is it really a great honour?"
"Oh yes. A messenger carries the king's words to a nation of the Nine Bows and can negotiate terms and truces on behalf of the king. Normally, a man is a messenger to a single nation, but Khor is the northernmost nation and Kush the southernmost, so what that title gives me is the right to talk to any nation on the king's behalf. I've never heard of anyone being given that title before."
"So although you are not Regent, you are more powerful than before?"
"Oh yes indeed. And let me assure you, it is but the first step. Together, you and I will overcome any opposition Queen Tausret puts in our way. You will become sole king, young Akhenre Siptah. Mark my words."
Chapter 16
Year 2 of Akhenre Siptah
Tjaty Hori and the king were in the law courts dispensing justice when there was a disturbance in the forecourt. Hori stopped the proceedings and sent a scribe to find out the cause, and the scribe returned a few moments later with a messenger in tow. Both men bowed before the Tjaty, and the messenger made a deeper bow toward the king.
"My lord Tjaty, Son of Re," said the messenger. "I come bearing serious news from the governor of the city of Perire."
"Wait." Hori dismissed the remaining petitioners and then bade the messenger speak.
"The Ribu have rebelled er, my lord...Son of Re." The messenger looked a little confused as to who he should be addressing.
"Report to me," Hori said. "Disregard the king's presence."
"Yes, my lord. Governor Nebmaktef of Perire bids me tell you that a small force of Ribu have crossed into Ta Mehu and have plundered several villages and driven off livestock. He sent the City Troop out to meet them, but they avoided battle, melting away as they approached and returning after the soldiers had left."
"How many Ribu?"
"Five hundred, my lord, maybe a thousand. They are only lightly armed and have no chariots."
"Why has Governor Nebmaktef sent me this message, rather than one that reports the Ribu has been destroyed?"
The messenger shuffled his feet. "Governor Nebmaktef says he has insufficient men to guard the city, the farms and neighbouring villages as well as march out to meet the Ribu. He asks that the king--Life! Health! Prosperity!--send a legion to destroy his enemies."
"And I will do it," Siptah exclaimed. "This is my chance to go to war, Hori." The king grabbed his walking stick and lurched to his feet. "I must get ready."
Hori hurriedly dismissed the messenger and called Siptah back. "Son of Re, even the king must consult his advisers, and in
your case, the Regent will make the decision whether to send an army to Perire."
Siptah scowled. "What does a woman know of war? I will drive a chariot squadron at the enemy and destroy them utterly."
"Of course you will, Son of Re, but have you forgotten that Queen Tausret has fought the Ribu before, at the famous Battle of Perire in King Baenre's day? It may be that she will lead the army."
"She would not so insult me...would she? What will people think if a woman goes to war and the king stays at home? No..." Siptah shook his head and thumped his walking stick on the floor. "I must go."
"Nothing should be done precipitately, Son of Re," Hori said. "Let me call a War Council so these matters may be discussed and a decision made."
Siptah grumbled but agreed. He limped off to find Chancellor Bay, eager to discuss his exciting news. Somehow, Bay seemed to know all about it by the time he reached the Chancellor's chambers.
"You know already? Oh...well...it's exciting, isn't it? It means I can go to war. I can go, can't I? It would be just too unfair if I couldn't and the king should lead his army..."
"Calm yourself, Siptah. The news has only just come to Men-nefer. There will be a Council and the Regent will decide whether there is to be a war or not."
"But you'll argue for me, won't you? They'll listen to you."
Bay smiled. "I will make every effort on your behalf," he assured the boy.
***
A War Council was called for later that day, but Bay decided to call on Queen Tausret beforehand, wanting to argue Siptah's case in relative privacy. If the queen was vehemently opposed to the king's presence on the battlefield, it was better to know beforehand. It would be regarded as a sign of weakness if he was overruled in front of the whole Council. This way, he could openly support the Queen's decision and gain standing in front of the army officers. He found Tausret in the company of her frequent companion Ament.
"Regent," Bay said, offering up a slight bow of courtesy to Tausret but ignoring Ament. "You will have heard the serious news of the Ribu incursion?"
"Naturally, but I am unconvinced this is serious. Only five hundred men? All that's needed is a Troop of soldiers to run them out of Ta Mehu. I don't know what's wrong with Nebmaktef that he hasn't done that already."
