War & Trade With the Pharaohs
Page 18
Meanwhile... Back in Egypt
While the Hittites had been expanding their influence, defeating the Mitanni, building their empire, succumbing to plague, and fighting rebellions, a man named Pa-Ramessu, born in the north-east Delta – close to where the Hyksos had once established their capital – had been working his way up through Egypt’s military hierarchy. From the position of stable-master, he’d War and Trade with the Pharaohs.indd 109
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advanced to become commander at the fortress of Sile – a border fortification on the eastern edge of the Delta – and served as a royal messenger in foreign countries. Perhaps due to a combination of skill, pure luck, and nepotism, he was eventually appointed vizier by King Horemheb, who had
been a military man himself before ascending the throne. Like his immediate royal predecessors, Horemheb had no surviving children, and having witnessed the problems that an unclear dynastic succession could bring, wanted to leave Egypt in stable hands upon his death. His solution was Pa-Ramessu, who, although quite elderly by this time, had both a son and a grandson to succeed him. And so, when Horemheb died, taking the 18th Dynasty with
him to the grave, his appointed successor Pa-Ramessu was crowned as King Ramesses I. The 19th Dynasty, and the Ramesside Period, was born.
Crowned in his advanced age, Ramesses I was unable to rule alone, and
so enlisted the help of his eldest son Seti, who took over his father’s earlier position as vizier and even led a campaign into the Levant. Ramesses also resumed expeditions to the turquoise mines in Sinai – the first since the reign of Amenhotep III. Stability was returning to Egypt, and less than two years after his coronation, Ramesses was buried in a small tomb in the Valley of the Kings – in his youth, a place that he could never have imagined seeing, let alone being buried. Seti, in turn, perhaps similarly amazed by his family’s sudden rise to greatness, took his place on the throne.
The Wars of Seti I
As king, Seti continued the restoration of Egypt following the turmoil of the Amarna Period, sending artisans to re-carve defaced inscriptions across the country, and undertook large-scale building projects, such as his temple at Abydos. He also sought to re-establish Egypt’s authority over the Levant.
He fought his first campaign as king against the Shasu-Bedouin, who, we are told, were being rebellious: on this occasion, their infighting was causing trouble for people travelling between Egypt and the Levant. Although you might expect such developments to be a bad thing, Seti was rather pleased; as one inscription at Karnak Temple explicitly states, he looked forward to seeing the blood of his enemies and to cutting off their heads. The game afoot, Seti departed from the fortress at Sile – where his father had once been stationed – and travelled by land towards Gaza. Two battles ensued, one fought on the coastal road leading into the Levant, and the other near Gaza. The Shasu attempted to flee from the Egyptians, while others broke their weapons and surrendered.
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Later that same year, Seti returned to the Levant with his army, this time heading further north into Lebanon. There, he sent out three divisions to attack different towns: one to Beth Shean, another to Hamath (whose chief was the main instigator of the problems in the region), and a third to Yenoam.
Afterwards, the army brought prisoners and booty back to Egypt and pre-
sented them before the Theban triad: the gods Amun, Mut, and Khonsu.
Seti launched further campaigns over the following years, including one that led to a confrontation with the Hittites somewhere in Syria; this enabled the pharaoh to reaffirm Egypt’s control over the routes leading into the northern Levant: a show of strength for this new military dynasty.
For much of our journey through history so far, the various Libyan
groups west of Egypt have caused little trouble for the Egyptians; there were occasional raids, and some low level hostilities, but no serious invasions or campaigns. In the reign of Seti I, this all changed. In Seti’s fourth or fifth year as king, the Egyptians launched a campaign against the Libyans, marking the first serious hostilities on Egypt’s western border since the Middle Kingdom. Significantly, although there’s little detail about this campaign, Seti’s eldest son, the young Prince Ramesses – the future King Ramesses II – joined the mission; he was probably only fourteen or fifteen years old at the time. Even as a teenager, he was learning the art of war.
After defeating the Libyans, Seti once again turned his attention towards the Levant, and in particular to the issue of Qadesh. By this time, Qadesh, and the surrounding region of Amurru, had been lost to Egypt for about a century. Regaining the city would help Seti to reinstate the ‘empire’ created by Tuthmosis I and Tuthmosis III, and give the Egyptians a tactical advantage in the region. And so, wanting to ‘vanquish the land of Qadesh and the land of Amurru,’ Seti led a campaign against Qadesh, successfully taking the city and erecting a victory stele within its walls. But the city, and the surrounding region of Amurru, quickly fell back into Hittite hands. It’s not entirely clear what happened, but it seems that Seti might have reached an agreement with his enemies, allowing the Egyptians to retain control over the seaports of the northern Levant, in return for giving up control of Qadesh and Amurru.
In his eighth year as king, Seti fought a war in Nubia, an event recorded on stelae at Sai and Amara West. A messenger informed the king that enemies in the southern region of Irem were plotting rebellion. At first Seti gathered information, and only after learning of the rebels’ plans, did he send out his infantry and chariotry. Over the course of seven days, the Egyptian troops recaptured five wells – probably dotted along an important War and Trade with the Pharaohs.indd 111
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desert route that was being disrupted – and took 434 prisoners. The young Prince Ramesses later led a second Nubian campaign during the reign of his father, accompanied by two of his own sons (each in their own chariot); for the Ramessides – as the 19th and 20th Dynasty kings would be known – war was a family business.
The Reign of Ramesses II
Seti died after seventeen years as king, and passed Egypt’s throne to his son Ramesses, aged only around twenty-five at the time. Ramesses would reign for the next sixty-seven years, with much of the first third of his reign dedicated to military endeavours. Idolizing Amenhotep III, Ramesses built on a massive scale across Egypt and Nubia – temples, colossal statues, the royal city of Pi-Ramesses – but also usurped monuments made under his predecessors, carving his name over theirs and even remodelling the faces of some royal statues to reflect the artistic style of his reign. Like Amenhotep III, he was also deified in his own lifetime, and had himself depicted offering to himself in some temple scenes. A self-styled god, who irreversibly changed Egypt’s landscape, it should come as no surprise that Ramesses’ family life was equally as epic: over his long life, he fathered around a hundred children, including the famous Prince Khaemwaset, who later became a hero
in Egyptian literature. And, due to her beautifully painted and preserved tomb at Thebes and presence on religious monuments, Queen Nefertari,
Ramesses’ first great royal wife, is also one of Ancient Egypt’s most famous names. With so much going on during his reign, there’s a good reason
Ramesses II was later dubbed Ramesses the Great.
Sherden Warriors
As well as Egyptians, Nubians, and Libyans (said to have been captured
by Ramesses II and trained as soldiers), Ramesses’ army included Sherden warriors – mercenaries, perhaps of Sardinian origin, first mentioned in the Amarna Letters, and one of the various groups classed by the Egyptians as
‘Peoples of the Sea,’ normally shortened as ‘Sea Peoples.’ In the final years of Seti I, or the early reign of Ramesses II,
the Sherden sailed on warships to attack the Delta, an event described in passing on two of Ramesses’ stelae
– one from Pi-Ramesses, the other from Aswan. Said to be from the ‘Great Green Sea’ or the ‘midst of the sea,’ the Sherden were an unstoppable force that no one could defeat, but Ramesses still managed to capture them and War and Trade with the Pharaohs.indd 112
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save the Delta, enabling the region to ‘sleep’ once again. Sherden warriors are then described among Ramesses’ troops at the Battle of Qadesh, having been captured and brought by his ‘strong arm’; these mercenaries – probably prisoners taken during their attack on the Delta – can be seen in the Qadesh battle reliefs wearing horned helmets. Some acted as royal bodyguards.
The Battle of Qadesh
After his coronation, Ramesses quickly asserted his military power over the Levant. He focused his first campaign on reaffirming control over the coastal region, but it’s probable that his main aim all along was to re-take the region of Amurru and the city of Qadesh. It was a foolish goal that would provoke and enrage the Hittites, but one that would associate his new dynasty – recently commoners, let’s not forget – with the great kings of the 18th Dynasty and their glorious victories. To take Qadesh would be a much-needed symbol of legitimacy. Ramesses’ chance came in his fifth year as king.
He would record the events of this famous campaign – generally known as
‘The Battle of Qadesh’ – on a large-scale on various monuments in Egypt and Nubia: at Abu Simbel, the Ramesseum (Ramesses’ mortuary temple at
Thebes), Karnak Temple, Luxor Temple, and Abydos. No one would ever
forget what happened. Ramesses would not let them.
Following Egyptologist Kenneth Kitchen’s reconstruction of events,
Ramesses’ army was initially formed of four divisions: Amun, Pre, Ptah, and Seth, which started the journey to Qadesh together, marching across northern Sinai and into the Levant. After passing Gaza, in the vicinity of Megiddo, it was decided that an extra division should be created, formed of the best troops from all divisions. This new division, called Nearin, would be sent westward to the coast, and then north to Amurru, before travelling east to join the other divisions at Qadesh. The remaining divisions would travel with the king along the inland route northwards to Qadesh; as these four divisions marched north, they separated from one another: the king and his Amun Division were some distance at the front, followed by the Pre Division, the Ptah Division, and finally the Seth Division.
South of Shabtuna, about 10 km from Qadesh, Ramesses came across
two Shasu-Bedouin. Pledging to abandon their allegiance to the Hittites and to serve pharaoh, they convinced the king that the Hittite army was still 190
km away in Aleppo – about nine days march – and were remaining there out of fear of the Egyptians. Now expecting an easy time, the Amun Division set up camp near Qadesh and released the Shasu, who (of course) immediately War and Trade with the Pharaohs.indd 113
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ran off to tell the Hittites – actually camped on the opposite side of the city
– that the Egyptians had fallen for their ruse: their true aim was to report on the Amun Division’s location.
This was probably when the Hittites – their army consisting of a
coalition of various vassal states – launched their first attack. Bypassing the Egyptian camp, they marched south and sent their chariots against
the Pre Division, by now at Shabtuna and unprepared for battle, scat-
tering them and cutting off the Amun Division’s support from behind.
Next, chasing the Pre Division’s fleeing survivors, the Hittites moved
northwards, towards the Egyptian camp and the oblivious Amun Division
within. Meanwhile, the Amun Division had captured two Hittite scouts,
who after some violent encouragement divulged the true location of the
Hittites. Unaware no longer, Ramesses ordered an emergency war coun-
cil be held and sent his vizier along with messengers to hurry up the
Ptah Division (clearly they were under no illusion that the distant Seth Division could make it in time). But it was too late. As the king and his advisors spoke, the Hittites broke into the western end of the Egyptian camp. The Pre Division already in disarray, and the Amun Division
caught off-guard, the Egyptian camp fell into chaos. Ramesses says that he was totally alone, abandoned by his troops (except for his shield-bearer and butlers, naturally), and in this moment of despair, prayed to Amun. His mind now became joyful, his heart strong, and like a super-hero discovering his powers, he was suddenly unbeatable: on his chariot, he charged at wave after wave of enemies, slaughtering every Asiatic that dared attack him. To Ramesses, Amun had saved him: it was a sign that
he was indeed a true, legitimate pharaoh.
In reality, although Ramesses may well have prayed to Amun, it’s proba-
ble that at this point the Nearin Division arrived. Unaware of the existence of this extra division, the Hittites scattered in surprise, only to regroup near the fords of a river. The Egyptians took chase, forcing the Hittites across the water, and causing many to drown in the process (or to need resuscitation, as was the case with the ruler of Aleppo). The battle was over. The Egyptians returned to their camp. There, Ramesses scolded his troops for abandoning him, saying: ‘I defeated a million foreign lands, alone, with Victory-in-Thebes and Mut-is-Content, my great chariot horses. It was they whom I
found to support me, when I alone fought many foreign lands! I shall make them eat food, in my presence, every day I am in the palace. It was they whom I found in the middle of the battle, with the Charioteer Menna, my shield-bearer, and with my household butlers who were at my side...’1
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The next day, Ramesses set out early with the Pre, Amun, Ptah, and
the Nearin Divisions (the Seth Division still remained too far behind to join them). Their target was the Hittite camp, but their march was wasted: the Hittites fought off the Egyptians, forcing them to retreat to their own camp. At this point, Ramesses says that he received a message from
the Hittite king, begging for peace (‘Look, your manifest power is great, and your strength is heavy on the land of Hatti,’2 he reportedly said). In reality, negotiations probably began: the goal being to reinstate the peace treaty that had existed under Seti I. But Ramesses rejected the offer, and commanded his troops to return home. The Hittites, including Hattusilis (Hittite King Muwatallis’ brother), took chase, and briefly invaded the Egyptian territory of Upe before turning back north. The campaign was
over. The Egyptians had gained no territory. The king had barely escaped with his life.
Why Advertise the Battle of Qadesh?
By anyone’s estimation (except for Ramesses’), the Battle of Qadesh wasn’t a fantastic victory for the Egyptians. At best, it was a draw. This is why it is unusual that after returning home, Ramesses decided to publicize the event on his most important monuments, including at Abu Simbel and
his mortuary temple, today known as the Ramesseum (construction of
which was overseen by a former charioteer and army commander named
Amenemone). The accounts, full of royal boasting, focus on the large size of the Hittite coalition army and how Ramesses was abandoned by his
troops (as well as his complaints about them). When disaster loomed,
Ramesses says, it was the god Amun that saved him and gave him strength to win the day.
The question is why advertise the battle this way? Why not just forget
about it? Born a commoner, Ramesses was only the third king of his new
dynasty, and perhaps felt the need to le
gitimize his presence on the throne.
To prove their kingliness (and providing an insight into their thinking), both Ramesses II and his father, Seti I, commissioned extensive king lists within their temples at Abydos, proclaiming themselves as the latest in a long line of pharaohs that stretched back to the beginning of time.
During the early 19th Dynasty it had become trendy for people to por-
tray gods as personal saviours on their monuments: they erected stelae in thanks for deities saving or protecting them in times of need or danger, or to thank a god for healing. At Qadesh, if all had seemed lost, Ramesses might War and Trade with the Pharaohs.indd 115
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truly have regarded Amun as interceding on his behalf, protecting him and his troops in their moment of need. So, by advertising the events at Qadesh, the king was probably just following the popular trend of thanking divine saviours, but on a suitably royal scale. In turn, by publicizing Amun’s protection of him, Ramesses was also emphasizing the god’s endorsement of
his new dynasty; it proved that these commoner kings were not so common any more.
Hail to the King(s) (of the Hittites)
Muwatallis, Ramesses’ nemesis at Qadesh, died in around year eight or nine of the pharaoh’s reign, just a few years after the famous battle. The Hittite throne then passed to Urhi-Teshub, a prince born of Muwatallis and a con-cubine, who from the time of his coronation took the name Mursilis III. As a child, Mursilis had been taught by his uncle Hattusilis – the same man that had taken on the northern Kaska rebels to protect the Hittite Empire under Muwatallis, and had later chased Ramesses south from Qadesh. Both tutor and pupil would now direct the future of the empire. Whilst dealing with continued instability in his borderlands – including constant campaigning by Ramesses in the Levant – early in his reign, Mursilis enacted a number of unusual policies, reversing decisions taken by his father. For one, he moved the Hittite capital back to Hattusa from Tarhuntassa, and re-installed certain banished and deposed vassals. It’s possible that Hattusilis was behind the scenes influencing Mursilis in his decisions, continuing to ‘teach’ his old student. Perhaps he disagreed with some of Muwatallis’ acts, and now saw an opportunity to reverse them.