War & Trade With the Pharaohs
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Although some of Egypt’s other permanent garrisons in the Levant had
already been abandoned at the end of the 19th Dynasty, Beth Shean continued to operate under Ramesses III and afterwards too, until it was burned down at the end of the 20th Dynasty.
During the 20th Dynasty, the Egyptians constructed a redistribution
centre at Tell es-Saidiyeh, complete with a large residence and a ‘Western War and Trade with the Pharaohs.indd 136
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Palace,’ built according to Egyptian architectural norms. In one building, they kept storage jars in a pool, probably to keep the oils and wine within cool. Sea Peoples served alongside the Egyptians there; these were buried at the local cemetery, often in makeshift coffins formed from two large storage jars being put together. (Sea Peoples in the Levant could also be buried in ‘slipper coffins’ bearing fake hieroglyphic inscriptions.) Generally, Tell es-Saidiyeh’s dead were wrapped in linen and covered in bitumen – seemingly an attempt to replicate the work of Egypt’s embalmers – before burial.
They were also sometimes accompanied into the afterlife with weapons,
which were either individually wrapped like mummies, or placed among the mummy wrappings.
Meanwhile, Egypt’s influence over the southern Levant was being
challenged. Various Sea Peoples groups, such as the Peleset, Sherden,
and Tjekeru had settled in the coastal areas. Some cities were destroyed, including Ashdod, while Gaza, Egypt’s main headquarters in the region,
now found it difficult to communicate with other Egyptian bases. To
block any attempt at expansion, the Egyptians built new fortresses on the fringes of the Sea Peoples’ territory and increased the numbers of their troops at existing garrisons. Egyptian control nonetheless began to wane, but for the time being, their administrators continued to collect grain taxes from the local population in order to pay for Egypt’s military presence and bureaucracy in the region. Ramesses gave land in the Levant
to the Temple of Amun at Karnak, the Temple of Re at Heliopolis, and
the Temple of Ptah at Memphis. Turquoise continued to be mined in the
Sinai, and copper ore at Timna in Eilat, from where it was brought to the king’s Window of Appearance and presented during an official ceremony.
At least until the end of Ramesses III’s reign, life in the Levant was business as usual.
According to Papyrus Harris I, Ramesses III sent a mission to Punt,
which brought myrrh to Egypt, along with the children of the chief of
Punt, who returned with the expedition to meet the king. Ramesses is only recorded as building one temple in Nubia, though his eldest son, the Crown Prince Ramesses, did visit Soleb, where Amenhotep III had built a temple during the 18th Dynasty. The career of Ramesses’ King’s Son of Kush Hori is also well-known. Starting in the chariotry during the late 19th Dynasty, he worked his way up to become a royal messenger under Siptah, and by the reign of Ramesses III had become mayor of Buhen and king’s son of Kush.
His son, also called Hori, succeeded him as king’s son of Kush in around Ramesses III’s fifth year as king.
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Foreigners at Deir el-Medina
The state-run village of Deir el-Medina in western Thebes is one of the best-known settlements from Ancient Egypt, primarily due to the vast
amount of textual evidence discovered during excavations. Founded at the start of the New Kingdom, the village was home to the artisans who cut
and decorated the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings, and continued to operate until the end of the 20th Dynasty, when the Valley was abandoned. In addition to Egyptians, the village housed a number of foreign residents at various times during the New Kingdom. Some are referred
to by their place of origin, such as two individuals called ‘the Cypriote,’
while others reveal their foreign origins through their names, for example, the Semitic name Deliliah, or Hurrian names, such as Tulpriya and
Zilli. As it was unusual for Egyptians to give their children foreign names, it’s probable that these individuals were immigrants. Nine of the women with foreign names at Deir el-Medina were housewives, married to the
workmen, while another was a member of the workers’ team. Most of
the foreign men were workmen, though one was a necropolis guard and
two were gardeners. Perhaps the most influential foreign individual was the Chapel Scribe Zabu, who held a position in the lower temple bureaucracy. Around seventeen Libyans also lived at Deir el-Medina in the New Kingdom; most were low-ranking in village society, but one did become
a chief craftsman. Others held the positions of guardian of the tomb,
scribe, and priest.
The Loss of Empire and Growing Instability
Despite these signs of continued prosperity, Egypt’s economy started to slow. The country couldn’t escape the effects of the wider ‘systems collapse’
forever. As a result, corruption was on the rise: the first workers’ strike in history occurred under Ramesses III at Deir el-Medina, the state-run village housing the artisans who cut and decorated the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings. These artisans hadn’t been paid their food rations – their salaries –
and downed tools in protest. But their lack of payment wasn’t due to the state having run out of grain, it was because corrupt members of the local elite were diverting the supplies for their own use. Although this dispute was eventually settled, strikes continued to erupt throughout the 20th Dynasty.
Eventually, local people would turn to robbing the temples and tombs to improve their situation.
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As a bloodier sign of Egypt’s growing instability, Ramesses III ended
his reign with his throat slit – the victim of a large-scale harem conspiracy. This plot involved men and women from across the administration,
including a Libu-Libyan butler named Yanini, and was led by a minor
queen named Tiye. Though the attack was successful, the conspiracy’s
ultimate aim – to put a prince named Pentaweret on the throne – failed.
The rightful successor, Ramesses IV, was crowned and those involved in
the conspiracy were put on trial. The majority were executed or forced to commit suicide.
Having dealt with the conspirators, Ramesses IV got on with the business of running the country. Wanting to emulate his father’s success as a builder, Ramesses continued to exploit the copper mines at Timna, the turquoise
mines in Sinai, and sent a large-scale quarrying expedition into the Wadi Hammamat for stone. In the Levant, only a few objects bear Ramesses IV’s names, and it was probably during this time that the Egyptians lost control of Gaza, their main headquarters in the region. Between Ramesses IV and the end of the New Kingdom, Egypt’s other forts in the Levant would also be abandoned or destroyed. Indeed, the only slight evidence for a campaign in the Levant during Ramesses IV’s reign comes from a fragmentary stele found at Amara West in Nubia. These fragments refer to a sea battle and combat on land during the night. In Nubia, Ramesses IV is also mentioned on monuments at Aniba, Buhen, and Kawa, but there’s no evidence for military activity in the region.
Under Ramesses V, the copper mines at Timna were exploited for the last time, highlighting Egypt’s loss of control in the region. Indeed, there’s very little evidence for Ramesses V’s activities outside of Egypt at all. Egypt itself, however, remained heavily militarized, and many foreigners continued to live there. A glimpse into the demography of Middle Egypt under Ramesses V is provided by the Wilbour Papyrus, a taxation docu
ment recording land-ownership. From this, we find that land was owned by Sherden warriors,
Libyans, and Asiatics, probably the descendants of mercenaries, who were awarded these plots as thanks for their years of military service. Military settlements dotted the landscape, and Egyptian military men owned large portions of land. Meanwhile, in southern Egypt, Libyan incursions continued.
On one occasion, the Deir el-Medina workmen refused to work for fear of the ‘enemy,’ most probably Libyans, who had attacked a nearby town called Per-Nebty and burned the population. Ramesses V died after only four years as king, probably happy that he didn’t have to deal with the increasingly dire situation across his kingdom.
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Though Egypt’s influence in the Levant continued to wane, archaeologists have found objects made under Ramesses VI in the region: a ring bearing his name was discovered at Deir el-Balah; a scarab at Alalakh; and he had a bronze statue erected at Megiddo. At the same time, he was the last New Kingdom pharaoh to exploit the turquoise mines at Serabit el-Khadim – Egypt’s expeditions now didn’t even pass beyond the Sinai. Control of Nubia remained strong, however. As with his immediate predecessors, Ramesses VI’s main aim was to secure his borders. A scene on the second pylon-gateway at Karnak Temple in Thebes shows the king victorious over the Libyans – perhaps indicating that combat occurred – and a statue, also from Karnak, presents him striding along, his pet lion at his side, holding an axe with his right hand, and gripping a bent over Libyan with his left. Despite such aggressive imagery, Libyans, either through migration, forced settlement, or as the descendants of mercenaries, were becoming an increasingly large and integral part of Egyptian society, and were even appointed to high-level military positions.
The Royal Tomb Robberies at Thebes
Little can be said about the reigns of Ramesses VII and VIII, but under their successors, the final kings of the 20th Dynasty, there were further Libyan incursions, and the number of tomb and temple robberies at Thebes increased. These robberies – serious offences against the king and gods – are recorded on various papyri dated to the reigns of Ramesses IX and XI, and describe teams of thieves breaking into the tombs in the Valley of the Kings, the Valley of the Queens, and the tombs of the nobles to steal any items of value that they could get their hands on. Thieves targeted the temples too, taking precious stones and metals. These papyri record the depositions of those caught, providing vivid accounts of their crimes, as well as of the State’s efforts to investigate them. Among those mentioned in the papyri are foreigners living at Thebes.
From the reign of Ramesses IX, for example, a foreigner named Khallazi, seemingly a slave of the high priest of Amun, is among a list of people who had returned gold and silver to the authorities after realizing he’d received stolen goods. Others were not so honest. Papyrus Meyer B presents an
account of a quarrel between thieves, who were arguing about how their
loot should be divided. A ‘foreigner’ named Pais came across the thieves and blackmailed them into giving him a cut of the loot in return for his silence.
He then joined the band of robbers, and was involved in the robbery of the tomb of King Ramesses VI.
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Pakamun, another foreigner at Thebes, who worked for the land-survey
of Amun, was interrogated by the authorities. He took an oath, like all those interrogated, saying that if he spoke falsehood, he would be mutilated and sent to Kush. His captors asked him about his role in the tomb robberies, and beat him with a staff, but he said nothing. He was then beaten with a staff and birch, and ‘examined with the screw,’ but still admitted nothing. Perhaps Pakamun was innocent after all. Other foreigners mentioned in the tomb robbery papyri include Ptah-khau, who stole precious items from the Ramesseum – the mortuary temple of King Ramesses II; the Craftsman Tjauenanuy, who worked at Deir el-Medina; Panehesy, who was a priest of Sobek of Pi-ankh; Peikamen, who lived in Armant; and Usihatnakht, who worked for the superintendent of the hunters of Amun. The authorities also interrogated the family members of thieves; the wife of one suspect was asked from where she and her husband, a foreigner, had received the silver that they’d used to buy their slaves.
The End of the New Kingdom
The events that led to the fall of the New Kingdom are far from clear, and can only be pieced together from scattered evidence. Here I present one possible scenario, starting with the actions of a certain king’s son of Kush named Panehesy. First known from a papyrus in Turin – in which the king commands him to assist the Steward and Cupbearer of Pharaoh Yanusa during a mission to complete the construction of a portable shrine in Nubia – there’s nothing in this early evidence to suggest that Panehesy would start a civil war. But with ongoing turmoil at Thebes, and a king with little influence, someone had to step in to restore order. Indeed, the situation had become so dire at Thebes that the Deir el-Medina artisans had abandoned their village, and moved within the fortified walls of Medinet Habu, seeking protection from the frequent Libyan raids.
It is probable that Panehesy originally marched with his troops from
Nubia to Thebes to assist the High Priest of Amun Amenhotep, who due to some new outbreak of violence, had also been forced to hide within Medinet Habu for safety. He’d been there for eight or nine months by the time
Panehesy arrived to end the siege. The problem was, afterwards Panehesy refused to leave, and in doing so, effectively took control of southern Egypt.
Panehesy then tried to expand his influence north, looting Cynopolis along the way. But his march was halted by General Piankh, a man loyal to the king. Defeated, Panehesy fled south, chased by the king’s army, and escaped into Nubia. Piankh, meanwhile, stopped at Thebes to restore order (again).
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But perhaps inspired by Panehesy’s earlier actions, Piankh (not so loyal after all) decided to take control of southern Egypt for himself, instigating a period known as the ‘Repeating of Births,’ in which the calendar was reset to ‘year one.’ Removing the recently re-installed High Priest Amenhotep, Piankh proclaimed himself high priest of Amun and vizier, and kept the title of general too. Libyans continued to be present at Thebes under the new regime, and perhaps served in Piankh’s army (Piankh himself may even have been of Libyan descent).
Order restored, Piankh began to plan a Nubian campaign, his aim to kill Panehesy and take back the Nubian territory lost to the rebellious king’s son of Kush. An insight into this campaign can be gained thanks to the survival of a series of letters written by the Scribe of the Tomb – the most important administrative office at Deir el-Medina – Djehutymose to his
son, the Scribe Butehamun. From one letter, we learn that General Piankh had asked Djehutymose to meet him at Elephantine, and had sent a boat
to bring him from Edfu. At this meeting, Piankh told Djehutymose about
his plans to attack Panehesy in Nubia. Given that Djehutymose then asks Butehamun to pray to Amun for his safe return home, it seems that Piankh also commanded the scribe of the tomb to accompany him on the mission.
Djehutymose then mentions military conscripts at Thebes, asking that food be provided for them (while also telling Butehamun to make sure that they don’t run away). In another letter, Djehutymose, now in Nubia, once again asks his son to pray to Amun for his safe return, and refers to his location as
‘Yar,’ a word that some scholars translate as ‘hellhole’ (in one letter he says that he’d been ‘abandoned’ in Yar, and makes frequent references to being ill – an illness only relieved by beer).
Other letters refer to the movements of Medjay and Sherden warri
ors
between Thebes and Nubia; rations for the Medjay; the manufacture and
receipt of spears; and the use of cloth and rags as bandages for wrapping men – perhaps either for the wounded or to wrap mummies. Piankh also
asks that two Medjay be interrogated in his house, in order to find out what they’d been saying to people; it isn’t clear what these men were thought to have said, but Piankh ordered that if what he’d heard turned out to be true, then his men were to place the Medjay in two baskets and throw them into the river at night. (And nobody was to find out.) Piankh commands his men to find an intact royal tomb as well, presumably so they could empty it and use the treasures to fund his military campaign. But even with all this funding and power, Piankh failed to capture and kill Panehesy. The rogue king’s son of Kush continued to rule in Nubia until his death, when he
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was buried beneath a small pyramid at Aniba. Afterwards, the Egyptians
regained Lower Nubia up to the Second Cataract, and king’s sons of Kush continued to control the region into the Third Intermediate Period.
After Piankh’s death, he was succeeded as ruler of the south by a man
named Herihor, who, as well as being high priest of Amun, went one step further and awarded himself royal titles at Thebes (and may have married Piankh’s widow). Herihor also gave his children Libyan names suggesting that, although his own name was Egyptian, he might have had Libyan
ancestry. Through all of this turmoil, Ramesses XI continued to rule in the Delta. His troops fought the Shasu-Bedouin near the Red Sea, and according to a broken obelisk now in the British Museum, he sent a crocodile and a monkey as royal gifts to King Ashur-bel-kala of Assyria, who put them on public display. When Ramesses XI died, he was succeeded in the north by a man named Smendes (Nesibanebdjedet), who had been governor of