Fall of the House of Ramesses, Book 1: Merenptah

by Max Overton

  "Already done, Lady Tausret."

  "You did this before you spoke to me?"

  "It seemed best. Lady Tausret, you can return to your chambers and leave this to me. War is men's work."

  "So I have been told, Tjaty Merysekhmet. Nevertheless, my father left me in charge and did not stipulate that I was to have no say in matters of war. We will deal with this threat together."

  Merysekhmet started to scowl, but hid his displeasure with a bow. "Let it be as you command, Lady Tausret."

  "Send for the Chief Scribe and tell him I want a map of Ta Mehu, and..."

  "Map?"

  "A drawing that shows the relative positions of rivers and cities. Soldiers use them sometimes when planning a campaign."

  "We are not planning a campaign, Lady."

  "Just send for it. I also want to talk to the messenger and the senior army officer in Men-nefer."

  "You cannot be worried the Ribu will come down here. They are after farmland, not cities."

  "You are wasting time, Merysekhmet. Just bring these people to me."

  The Tjaty sighed and walked off to carry out the orders.

  Tausret waited until everyone was present before questioning the messenger from Perire further.

  "Show me on the map where the Ribu were when they were reported."

  The messenger looked at the map and scratched his head. "I don' know, Lady. What is these lines?"

  "Never mind. Tell me where they were."

  "'Bout day an' a half north an' west o' Perire, Lady. Movin' east like."

  The senior army officer, a Troop Commander by the name of Iymeru, pointed to a spot on the map on the edge of the farmland of Ta Mehu. "If they continue eastward, Lady Tausret," he said, "they'll take over prime farmland and by controlling this branch...and that one...effectively paralyse any movement of shipping between Men-nefer and the Great Sea."

  "Then we have to stop them," Tausret said.

  "You may be sure the king will do so," Merysekhmet said. "He will march westward and meet them in battle as soon as my messenger reaches him."

  Tausret studied the map, and then asked the messenger. "How many fighting men do the Ribu have?"

  "Don' know, Lady. Thousands maybe."

  "And chariots?"

  "Didn' see none o' them."

  "So, a large army of foot soldiers, probably not well trained..."

  "The Sea Peoples' army will be," Merysekhmet cut in.

  "Do not interrupt, Tjaty. Remember who I am and who I represent. Troop Commander Iymeru, how would you counter this threat?"

  "Well Lady, if they don't have chariots, our chariot squadrons would cut them to pieces, but the problem is the battlefield."

  "What do you mean?"

  "Chariots need a flat firm surface, but if the Ribu keep advancing to the east, and the king brings his legions to meet them, they'll come together somewhere here..." Iymeru traced a circle in the middle of the map. "That land is rich, deep earth, well-watered and soft. You couldn't fight a chariot battle on it."

  "Then the king will defeat them without chariots," Merysekhmet said. "He has at least two legions he can use."

  "Maybe, but if he goes down in defeat..."

  "Treason," Merysekhmet hissed. "How dare you suggest that?"

  Iymeru glanced at Tausret and shook his head. "Has no king of Kemet ever lost a battle? I just meant to say that if he loses there in the middle of Ta Mehu, every city becomes vulnerable and it will be much harder to fight them again. We would have to call on the border legions and risk leaving them undefended or on the southern legions and that takes time."

  "Then we must make sure the king meets the Ribu in a place where the chariots can be used to full advantage. Where is the best place, Iymeru?"

  "Chariots need firm, dry and open ground, like on the edges of Ta Mehu where farmland turns to desert. It would be demoralising to allow the enemy to cross the whole of Ta Mehu to the eastern desert– as well as costly. They would pillage and burn as they went, and may well decide to stay in the centre, drawing the Kemetu army inward to a place of their choosing. Better to stop them on the western border until the king can bring his army up."

  "So we just ask the Ribu to wait, do we?" Merysekhmet asked.

  "We have to make them wait," Tausret said.

  "And just how do we do that?"

  Tausret studied the map, trying to imagine the lines as broad slow-moving expanses of water, the tiny circles as cities and towns filled with actual living people, and somewhere there to the north and west of the circle marked 'Perire', a swarming mass of barbarians intent on destroying the very fabric of Kemetu society. It was not to be borne.

  "Kahu," she addressed the messenger, "how many fighting men are there in Perire?"

  "'Bout a hundred, Lady, mebbe few more."

  "Chariots?"

  "Don' know, Lady."

  "Iymeru. How many men have you in Men-nefer?"

  "Four hundred, Lady."

  "And chariots?"

  "You're not thinking of sending Iymeru to Perire, are you? Merysekhmet asked. "He would be wiped out."

  "Please don't interrupt. Iymeru, how many chariots?"

  The troop Commander shook his head. "Not many, ten or fifteen perhaps, depending on the state of repair. I'll lead my men up there, Lady, if that be your wish, though I don't know what good we'll do against thousands."

  "No, I won't ask you to lead your men up there. I'll do it myself."

  Iymeru and Kahu gaped, while the scribe raised his eyebrows in surprise. Tjaty Merysekhmet flushed deeply and forgot himself so much that he strode up to Tausret and yelled at her.

  "What do you think you are doing? This is not some child's game you play, but the survival of Kemet itself. Instead of prattling about being a hero of some sort, you should be..."

  Tausret stepped back, pale with anger as the Tjaty's spittle sprayed her face. "Tjaty Merysekhmet, you forget yourself."

  The Tjaty calmed enough to cease his tirade, but stood with fists clenched and trembling with emotion. "This is not a game we play, Lady Tausret."

  "I am aware of that," Tausret said, enunciating carefully to keep a tremor out of her voice. "The king will be on his way westward within days, but unless the enemy is delayed, he will be forced to meet the enemy on foot, in a place of the enemy's choosing. I propose that all our available fighting men be sent up to Perire as fast as possible, not to fight the enemy, but rather to delay them until the king's army arrives."

  "But you? A woman? Iymeru I can understand, he is a soldier, but..."

  "Iymeru is the senior army officer in Men-nefer at the moment, but he is outranked by the Governor of Perire and possibly by the guard commandant there. Even if we sent him with instructions under the seal of the Tjaty, there might be an argument concerning what needs to be done, and any delay could be fatal. That is why I must go. I am the king's daughter and I have been left in charge by Baenre himself. I outrank any governor."

  Merysekhmet scowled, and muttered an oath under his breath. "Then let me go, Lady Tausret. I outrank him too."

  "Ta Mehu needs you in Men-nefer, Merysekhmet. Proper government must be seen to continue, but I am not needed here. My only value is as a member of the royal family, so I will go where that will be of the most use, commanding Baenre Merenptah's forces in Perire."

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Tausret speaks:

  Tjaty Merysekhmet capitulated. He didn't like it, but he could see I was right. He went off to organise supplies and Iymeru went to bring together every able-bodied man and intact chariot that he could muster, and I went to have a bath. I know what you are thinking, the Kingdoms in peril and all the spoiled king's daughter can think of is to have a bath. Well, I reeked of sweat and fear. I may give the impression that I am cool, calm and collected, but in reality I am unsure of myself when it comes to military matters. My limbs were shaking and my clothes stuck to my body. I had to dominate the Tjaty and the army commander and the effort cost me every copper
kite of determination I had. A sheen of sweat coated my limbs, so I needed to feel clean again.

  The sun was scarcely halfway to the western horizon when we set out. Merysekhmet wanted us to wait until the following morning, but I was having none of it. Half a day lost might be the difference between success and failure. Several riders carried messages to Merenptah, telling him of my plan and bidding him make all haste toward Perire, but I could not be certain he would be in time. It was up to me to delay the enemy.

  I rode in a heavy war chariot at the head of the column of soldiers, with a driver and Iymeru beside me. The man had embraced our mission and had ordered the rams' horns to blow, and banners to fly bravely from the shimmering white walls of the city. Priests of every god were on hand to bless our venture and the population cried out in wonder at the sight of a woman leading Kemet's troops into battle. I had a sudden vision of my mythical ancestress Queen Scarab and briefly wondered if she would have been proud of me. Then I thrust such fantasies away and faced the reality of my situation.

  I led a column of just over four hundred men and thirteen chariots in addition to the cumbersome one I rode in. Behind us trailed ox-drawn wagons filled with supplies. Before very long I noticed that even the marching soldiers were outpacing the slow supply wagons, and it was with difficulty that I restrained the light chariots from racing ahead. I was loath to hold back their pace or to let my forces separate in this manner. The fighting men would need supplies that night, whether or not the wagons had reached us, so I called a halt and redistributed some essentials like bread, meat and water into all but two of the chariots, loading them down. Then I ordered the two unencumbered ones to scout ahead, and the encumbered ones to find a suitable camp for the night several thousand paces away. The soldiers struck out with a will and soon outdistanced the wagons, but as dusk fell we came upon the chariots and their cooking fires. The supply wagons took longer but were with us by moonrise.

  The same thing happened the next day, and the day after that, though the wagons fell further and further behind, and by the third day I actually had to send the chariots back to find the wagons and replenish our supplies. On the fourth day we spied the city of Perire, and by mid-afternoon we rode through the eastern gate.

  A great shout went up from the people when they saw our banners, for they imagined the king had come to save them, but the shouts tailed off into puzzled comments and shouted questions when they realised a young woman led the troops. Governor Amenakht came out from his mansion, ready to greet his king and stood confused for a moment. However, a man does not rise to become governor by being indecisive, so he quickly stepped forward to greet me.

  "Greetings, Exalted Lady, and welcome to Perire. Your troops will be most useful in defending the city against the barbarian invaders."

  I told him who I was and gave him the letter of confirmation under the seal of Tjaty Merysekhmet.

  He read it and stared at me. "Lady Tausret? Daughter of Baenre? What are you doing here? This is no place for a member of the royal family."

  "The king will be here with his army within days." I hoped that was the case, though I did not actually even know if the king was yet aware of the threat. "I have come to delay the enemy until he can defeat them."

  "Nothing can delay them, Lady, but with these men you have brought we might be able to defend the city."

  I shook my head. "That is not why I have come. How many men do you have? I will need all of them."

  Amenakht stared in disbelief, and I think it crossed his mind to refuse me, but he looked down at the letter from Merysekhmet and decided not to. "I have a hundred men under arms but they are garrison troops, not front line soldiers."

  "I will need them all. The townsfolk can man the walls. How many chariots?"

  "Six."

  "I will take them too. How far away is the enemy?"

  "The vanguard is already past the city, yet the column of barbarians yet extends into the west. They are like the grains of sand in the desert from which they come."

  I could see he was losing heart and I did not want him to affect the spirits of my little army, so I asked him if he could look to the defences of the city while Troop Commander Iymeru organised the soldiers into a fighting force to work outside the city walls. Governor Amenakht readily agreed, so Iymeru and I got to work.

  First, I needed accurate intelligence as to the whereabouts and strength of the enemy. Iymeru detailed a chariot officer to take three chariots out to find the enemy formations and report back on them. While they did their work, we billeted our men in the Perire army barracks, it was a tight fit, but we would not be there long.

  Iymeru asked, "What is your plan, Lady?"

  "I don't really have one beyond delaying them somehow."

  "We don't have enough men to fight them, but we could harass them."

  "Trouble is," I said, "we only have a few chariots and while we can drive in close and use our bows, we dare not let our few troops get close to the main army for fear of being overwhelmed."

  Iymeru smiled. "Then we must bring them to us, a few at a time."

  We worked on a battle plan and decided that we would mass our five hundred men in a defensive square close to the city, and send out the light chariots in two small squadrons to approach the enemy as close as possible, shooting off arrows, and then slowly withdrawing, in the hope that some of the enemy would follow us. It was not much of a plan, but I thought it might work.

  Iymeru insisted I stay within the defensive square in relative safety, but I overruled him. "They're your men," I said. "They will respond better to you. Besides, I'm going to be in one of the chariots."

  He tried to dissuade me, but as I pointed out, I had ridden in chariots before and he had not. I was not going to tell him that my experience was limited to chariots of the Sea Peoples, and never in battle. His face set stubbornly and I had to promise that I would not get too close to the enemy and that I would run at the first sign of trouble. Iymeru was getting quite protective, which I liked in one way but not in another. It was nice to be cared for, but I was a royal princess, strong and capable, and if anyone was going to offer protection, it was going to be me.

  The scouts reported back and shortly after I led out a small squadron of chariots. Each held a driver and an archer, except mine, but I carried a bow too. I knew I was not as good as a trained archer, but I could hit a target seven times out of ten and...Anyway, that was not why I was going.

  We came upon the Ribu north and east of the city, not far from the first well-watered farmlands, sweeping in close and releasing a shower of arrows. A cloud of arrows answered us and we lost two chariots immediately when the horses fell, and a few more archers and drivers besides. The enemy column boiled like a kicked ants' nest, but settled down and resumed its march.

  After withdrawing to resupply, we attacked again, dividing our force into smaller groups and thus dividing their retaliatory volleys. We lost nobody in this second attack, and managed to draw some of the enemy from the column. They turned back, however, refusing to be drawn from the security of the column. Another attack, and by chance an arrow struck somebody of importance. I'd like to say it was one of my arrows that turned everything around, but I was only one of several archers. Whosever arrow it was, a great bearded man roared in pain and anger and started yelling commands.

  Enemy soldiers ran out from the column so swiftly that they surrounded and overwhelmed one of our chariots, pulling the men off and stabbing them to death. The rest of us withdrew ahead of them, pulling back toward the city and our defensive square, drawing the enraged enemy after us.

  They attacked our square in force, and it was with difficulty that we repulsed them. We lost good men that day. During a respite in the fighting, the injured were taken inside Perire, and the rest of us drew back until we were under the walls of the city and the walls themselves could form the fourth side of our square. Literally with our backs to the wall, we threw back the attacks of the Ribu until, close to sunset, we
made use of a respite in the fighting to withdraw into Perire, taking our dead and wounded with us. For the rest of that day, the tribesmen poured toward the city, having been turned from their eastward course. It seemed as if my plan had worked, but I might have doomed us all. There were thousands of them.

  The campfires of the Ribu made the land around the city look as if the velvet body of Nut had come down to join with her earth-husband Geb, strewing the countryside with stars. I stood on the walls of the city and looked down on them in dismay, for they were far more numerous than I had anticipated. Iymeru stood with me, one arm in a sling from where a blade had opened his flesh; and Governor Amenakht, his face pale in the moonlight.

  "We are lost," Amenakht whispered. "We cannot possibly withstand such a force. Why did you have to bring them down on my city?"

  "Courage, Governor," I said. "We do this for Kemet."

  "You lost half your men today and were forced back into Perire. How long can you possibly last tomorrow?"

  "It will be quite another matter fighting from behind stout walls," Iymeru said. "The gates are the only weak points and we can shore them up, brick them up if we have to. All they can do is shoot arrows over the walls."

  A flicker of hope crossed Amenakht's face. "When they see they cannot succeed, they might leave."

  "Then we'll have to think of some way to keep them here," I replied. "That is the whole point, remember? To delay them until the king arrives."

  "He will come too late," Amenakht muttered.

  "He must be well on his way by now," I said, thinking back over the days. "The Tjaty sent a message five days ago, and four days ago I bade him meet us at Perire. A swift messenger would take two days to reach Per-Ramesses, a further day to marshal the troops and then a swift march across the breadth of Ta Mehu in what...five days?"

  "Closer to seven, My Lady," Iymeru murmured.

  "So even if he left immediately, there is at least five days before the king could possibly be here," Amenakht said. "In five days we will all be dead. I doubt the city can hold out that long."