“I believe that he suborned the Hry-ssta secret-police in both Memphis and the South to turn a blind eye to his actions. Senni, head of your secret-police at Thebes couldn’t be bought, so he and his men were butchered in a fake uprising. Ra-em hotep didn’t intend to wait in line to possibly succeed princes Khaemweset or Merneptah on their deaths - you have many other sons you could have named as heir ahead of Ra-em hotep, most of whom would have been much more suitable and much more capable, and both Khaemweset and Merneptah have sons who are already adults. Ra-em hotep was middle-aged, and he wanted it all now, rather than perhaps gathering crumbs from your chosen successor. Osorkon and the others supported him for what they would receive from Ra-em hotep if he became Pharaoh. Like jackals eating the remains of a lion’s kill after the lion is satiated, so would the plotters have ripped the guts out of this country in their own greed.”
“When was this to happen?” asked Vizier Rahotep.
“Now, as soon as the mercenary army in the South was ready to march. Ra-em hotep’s death disrupted their plans and at first left the plotters leaderless. Then Osorkon stepped up to fill the void left by Ra-em hotep’s demise.”
“So Osorkon killed Ran-em hop?” asked Zineb.
“No. This was just a piece of opportunism on his part. With the death of Ra-em hotep Osorkon saw an opportunity for greatness above what most men can conceive. With the Court moved south here to Thebes for the Winter, close to his support-base and away from your own greatest strength in the North, he intended the death of Pharaoh and bloody murder of the princes. He thought to marry Queen Bent’anta, Pharaoh’s favourite daughter and Great Royal Wife, and have himself declared Pharaoh. He had made a political settlement with the Nubians, giving them back all of the lands below the Third Cataract in return for soldiers and a non-interference pact. Because of this he would then be able to afford to strip the garrison towns of the South and bring them to attack Thebes. With an army of seven thousand at his back, including most of the troops in the South, and no clear leadership to oppose him, Egypt would have fallen into his hands like a ripe fruit, if Pharaoh and the dozen or so principal princes were murdered.”
“Then who did kill Ra-em hotep?” asked Zineb.
Nikolas calmly and carefully looked at Ramesses. Ramesses stared back unconcernedly.
“Nobody,” replied Nikolas slowly, after a long pause. “Ra-em hotep’s death was a fortunate accident. The man was a hypochondriac. Many powerful poisons are beneficial to health problems if taken in minute dosages. Ra-em hotep had no serious illnesses, but took dangerous poisons as part of his medical regime. Aconite is one of the deadliest substances. Minute amounts can kill. Ram-em hotep took this, in the most tiny quantities, as a medicine, rubbed on his skin for arthritis. He took hellebore for bowel problems, and hemlock as a sedative to help him sleep. Hemlock has an unpleasant musty taste which Ra-em hotep covered by putting it in Bniw palm-date wine. Because he’d been taking it for a long time he needed a relatively large dose for it to be effective as hi snightly sedative, as he’d built up some immunity. The difference between a medicinal dose and a deadly dose is small. Ra-em hotep simply misjudged his dosage, probably of hemlock, and perished effectively at his own hand.”
Ramesses nodded gravely. “You’ve done well, my Cretan friend, as have your companions. You have Our thanks. Truly you have unravelled this mystery and also done much more. You’ve done this land a great service. Rise, all of you and stand before me.” Nikolas’ party rose to their feet, most looking respectfully down. Nikolas looked carefully at Ramesses, and saw a sly and satisfied smile partly hidden by his grave manner. “I give each of you in recognition of your services a golden torque, ‘The Gold of Praise’, so that all may see Pharaoh’s value of your service. Also you will have the title rekh nesu, or ‘Known to Pharaoh’.” Ramesses took thick and heavy golden necklaces one by one from Zineb and placed them in turn over the heads of Nikolas, Lorentis, Kahun and Pamose. “I give to each of you also 500 arura of good cultivated land near Pi-Ramesses in the delta. Nikolas, I also appoint you to be my own Royal Herbalist to care for me and my family. To Kiya I give 500 deben of silver. I appoint Khui to the staff of my Royal Household as an imry iqdw Principal Architect, and also 500 deben of silver. To Umtau also 500 deben of silver. You all have my blessings and thanks, and the gratitude of the gods of the Two Kingdoms of the kmet.”
Nikolas’ party again made low obeisance and withdrew from the chamber.
T T T T
Feeling well-satisfied, they retired to the lavish quarters provided to them.
“So the death that started this all was an accident of fate, or a play of the gods?” asked Kiya as they sat in the living quarters of Nikolas’ apartment, helping themselves to the food and drink that had been placed on the table.
After checking to make sure that no servants were present, Nikolas replied, “Neither! Ra-em hotep was murdered, as Pharaoh knows very well! He arranged it. I have no doubt that Ramesses found out the basics of the original plot and then had Ra-em hotep quietly removed.”
“But why did you just tell him that it was an accident?” asked Lorentis.
“Because I have no wish to spend the rest of my time here in Egypt worrying about poisons in my food, or a knife in my back. Ramesses had his own son very cleverly poisoned to remove a threat, and then used that death as best he could to hurt those plotting against him by denouncing Horwebbefer. If he killed his own son, if I become a threat to him what chance of survival do I have?”
“But how was it done?” asked Kiya
“Quite simply. As I said in the throne-room, with some medicines the difference between a therapeutic dose and a deadly dose is small, particularly if the patient is an habitual drug user. That’s true in this case; the poison was hemlock. The poison was the food.”
“Not the palm-date wine?”
“Not by itself. As I said, Ra-em hotep regularly used the drug-laced drink as a sedative each night. The dose of hemlock in the palm-date wine was strong, but not deadly - particularly as his regular usage made him less susceptible to the poison. It would have been what he took every night for many months or years as a sedative to help him sleep. Personally, I wouldn’t prescribe a dangerous substance as a medicine when there are other substances that can provide a similar benefit at little risk, but some physicians like to use the high-risk flashy choices.”
“But Zineb proved that the food was not tampered with, either in the kitchens or on the way to Ra-em hotep’s apartment,” said Kahun.
“That’s true. As I said the poison was the food, not added to it. Nobody in the kitchen would have known anything.” The others gave him blank and confused looks. Nikolas continued, “Hemlock is poisonous to humans, but not to some birds. Quails and larks can eat it safely, in that it isn’t poisonous to them. The berry fruit of the plant is particularly attractive to them, but it has no effect on them. But if they eat the berries then the meat of the birds itself becomes toxic, and to eat the meat of the birds is deadly. I knew at once that this was relevant, but it wasn’t until Pamose pointed out the behaviour of lizards near Kharga not eating insects that had been feeding on poisonous milkweed that I remembered what the detail was - until then it had been tickling at the back of my mind.
“When added to the therapeutic dose of hemlock in the palm-date wine, the additional poison in the food was enough to kill him, giving him an overdose.
“Ramesses is astonishingly subtle. Remember, the apothecaries’ assistant sold hemlock to a servant of Pharaoh’s Royal Chamberlain Lord Zineb about two weeks before the death of the prince? The prince’s last meal included quail. I’ll bet anything that hemlock was fed to the quail over a week or more, before they were then cooked and served to the prince. Quail was a favourite food of Ra-em hotep. These specific quail would have been kept especially for him, given their toxic propreties. If the amount of poison was not great then another person could eat them with perhaps little effect beyond some slight illness. But each ni
ght Ra-em hotep took a strong medicinal dose of hemlock in his palm-date wine. The prisoner later used to test that became ill, but didn’t receive a lethal dose. The extra amount of poison in the quail was enough, when combined with the usual but high medicinal dose in the palm-wine, to cause Ra-em hotep’s death. A truly neat operation! I don’t think that Ramesses needs me as Royal Herbalist. Clearly he has somebody with exceptional knowledge of herbs and poisons already advising him.”
“But why involve us to investigate?” asked Lorentis.
“We were never expected to find the murderer. Remember, Ramesses made it clear that he accused Horwebbefer for political considerations, not because he believed he was guilty of the murder. We were used like a stick in a wasps’ nest to stir up trouble and see what transpired. Kiya months ago referred to us as ‘goats staked out as bait to catch lions’. At Thebes we learnt nothing when we worked with the secret-police, and were just set up by Ramesses to see what reaction we achieved when we wandered in and started to ask questions. Unfortunately for us that reaction was the violent attack on us at the house where we were staying in Thebes, and then later the attack at Kharga. We, together with the loyal local secret police chief Senni and his own men, were used to provoke the rebellion to take place early, when the conspirators were still unready, so Ramesses could crush it - and then see what he could find when he turned over all the rocks.
“In Aswan we truly went underground, refused to work with Ramesses’ men and disappeared from view. I think that we did an outstanding job in finding out what we did, probably much more than Ramesses ever expected or wanted. Ramesses murdered his own son, and we were used as bait behind which Ramesses could conduct his own hunt for rebels. We were more successful than he expected - and much more successful than he knows!”
“What about the attempts to kill you?” asked Kahun.
“I don’t think that the attempt with the snakes in the palace at Memphis was intended to be serious. I’m fairly sure that there was a shout intended to rouse me, and the snake-catcher was remarkably close at hand and fully equipped. I think that was just part of the plan to show a reason for Ramesses to take some action. If you remember at that point we’d come up with very little and that it was the attempt on me that we relied on to believe that there was evil afoot. In hindsight I don’t think I was at much risk. The attack in the street… I don’t know. I think that may have just been a coincidental attack by some deranged individual and quite unrelated, or perhaps an attempted robbery. I was wearing Greek-style robes and some people just have a hatred for foreigners.
“At Thebes, Kharga and Aswan we were asking awkward questions, and brought ourselves to the attention of Ra-em hotep’s co-conspirators, who then took robust action to get rid of us. Fortunately for us they were unsuccessful, largely because of greed in wanting to sell us as slaves after we were captured. Thank Zeus - or the local deity of your choice - that they were greedy enough to sell us for slaves, rather than killing us immediately!”
Kiya asked, “Do you think that Pharaoh will send an assassin against you ‘to tidy up loose ends’? He knows that the story you’ve presented isn’t true, or at least is only partly true. And that you suspect Ramesses of murdering his son. Are you - or us - at further risk?”
Nikolas paused for a moment before shaking his head. “I don’t think so. Ramesses knows that I think that he arranged his son’s death, but he also knows I can’t prove it. He expects I’ll keep quiet, and he’s already bribed me handsomely. If he wanted any of us dead he wouldn’t have been so lavish in his rewards. And I think that he may believe that we may be of some use to him in the future. Ra-em hotep’s co-conspirators outside the palace are dead, taken or have fled. Those still inside the palace will hopefully accept the official ‘accident’ version and leave us alone.”
“So all’s well that ends well,” commented Lorentis.
“Those conspirators still inside the palace?” queried Kahun in surprise.
“Of course! Ra-em hotep was only moderately intelligent and moderately capable. He wouldn’t have been able to put together a complicated conspiracy such as this, drawing the various threads together like a spider. My guess is that Tjaty Grand Vizier Rahotep wanted a king who he could influence more than Ramesses or the princes Merneptah or Khaemweset. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s another tragic accident and a new official appointed in the next few months. All we have to do is make sure is that we stay well clear of it all! Now enough of this! Let’s celebrate! Tomorrow we’re due to sail downstream to Memphis on a royal transport!”
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Baines, John & Malek, Jaromir: 'Atlas of Ancient Egypt'. Time-Life Books 1984.
Brier, Bob: 'Ancient Egyptian Magic' 1980. Harper Collins.
Budge, E.A: 'Egyptian Magic'. 1971. Dover Publications
Budge, E.A: ‘Legends of the Gods: The Egyptian Texts, edited with Translations.’ Public domain. Available free on Kindle, or by purchase on Amazon from multiple sources.
Levi, Peter: ‘Atlas of the Greek World’, Time-Life Books, ©Andromeda Oxford 1984
Lubicz, R.A.S: 'The Temple in Man', Translation of 'Le Temple dans L’Homme' 1949. Inner Traditions International.
Lubicz, R.A.S: 'The Egyptian Miracle' Translation of ‘Le Miracle Egyptien’ 1963. Translation copyright Autumn Press Inc 1977. Inner Traditions International 1985.
Manniche, Lise: 'An Ancient Egyptian Herbal', British Museum Press 2006.
Mayer, C: 'Bir Umm Fawakhir: Insights into Ancient Egyptian Mining' JOM 49 (3) (1997), pp. 64-68.
Nunn, John: 'Ancient Egyptian Medicine', University of Oklahoma Press.
Shaw, Ian: ‘Pharaonic quarrying and mining: settlement and procurement in Egypt's marginal regions’. Published in ‘Egyptian Stories: A British Egyptological Tribute to Alan B. Lloyd on the Occasion of His Retirement’, ed. T. Schneider and K. Szpakowska.
Trigger, Bruce: ‘Nubia Under the Pharaohs’, Thames & Hudson Ltd 1976.
Uphill, Eric: 'Egyptian Towns & Cities'. Shire Egyptology 2001.
Wilson, John A: 'The Culture of Ancient Egypt'. University of Chicago Press.
Wikipedia: Various articles (note content of the self-moderated Wikipedia articles is frequently incorrect and is usually by people with few if any academic qualifications).
LINKS
Amongst the plethora of online sites, apart from the the brief details in my own humble website iaincampbell.net, for the true Egyptophiles I recommend:
Theban Mapping Project. After being ‘down’ for several years due to lack of funds, this extremely helpful and fascinating interactive site is again available as of January 2021, with its detailed plans and images of the tombs in the Valley of the Kings. https://thebanmappingproject.com/. I used this extensively in my initial editions of ‘Murder in the Palace’, ‘The Tomb Robbers’ etc to ensure exact accuracy of the descriptions of the tombs in those stories.
Ancient Egypt Online: https://www.ancient-egypt-online.com/index.html.
UCLA Encyclopedia of Eyptian History: Contains free access to many scholarly articles on various topics on Ancient Egypt. https://escholarship.org/uc/nelc_uee.
Fordham University: https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/ancient/asbook04.asp.
BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/egyptians/.
Facts and Details: http://factsanddetails.com/world/cat56/sub365/entry-6122.html.
These links are valid as at May 2021.
OTHER BOOKS BY IAIN CAMPBELL
NORMAN CONQUEST SERIES
Why did the initial policy of a relatively benign assumption of power in England by King William change within ten years to remove all the surviving English earls and most of the English officials (who had operated a highly effective taxation system providing substantial funds later needed by King William to fund his continental disputes) and influential English churchmen? England had a history of having foreign (Danish) kings and nobles, which had then resulted in the assimilation of the conquerors in to English politics
and society within a generation.
Why, in the face of constant but ineffective rebellion by the English and more serious repeated incursions by the Welsh, Scots, Danes and Irish, did the Norman conquest of England then result within a generation in the effective eradication of the previous rich English culture and the introduction of the Continental feudal system, replacing the previous English system of individual land owning?
This series provides the probable answers, and shows why the transition from Saxon law to feudal Norman/ French law occurred over a period of about 20 years.
This series is based on a pro-English perspective, as told via a Norman knight, Alan de Gauville, who is constantly required to weigh his own feudal obligations to King William and his legal and moral obligations to his English tenants and villagers, the need to defend his region of Essex from repeated Danish attacks, and his his love of Anne, the savvy and intelligent Anglo-Danish woman who he loves, woos and marries – and who builds a commercial enterprise which will fund all of Alan’s limited aspirations.
Historical detail and facts are woven into each story in the series, enriching the reading experience for the history aficionado. History comes alive on every page. Medieval England can be felt, heard, touched and smelt.
Wolves in Armour
Norman knight Alan de Gauville, highly educated following a failed effort by his family to place this ‘third son’ into a career with the church, participates in the invasion and the battle at Hastings and helps to save the life of Duke William.
Murder in the Palace: A Nikolas of Kydonia Mystery Page 39
