In The Twelfth Dynasty Egyptian Literature
A Reconstruction
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In The Twelfth Dynasty Egyptian Literature
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Sinuhe remained angry that his brother had led the crowd into the heresy and wasteful slaughter in the human sacrifices. Sinuhe continued the trek, the long terrible evacuation of refugees from Egypt through the Sinai Peninsula, the name of the land which sounded so similar to the hero’s name. Finally to Madian. He aimed for his old home, the land of his in-laws. The tribal leaders continued greeting and adopting their assigned groups.
The followers did not make the savior’s mission easy. Squabbling and complaining led many to seek judges and courts. They even wanted judges to decide on the royal succession, which had become disarrayed after Khuni became Sesostris II. Sinuhe had appointed judges, but many disputed his authority to do so. Nevertheless, they still wanted rulings on who was to be king when order returned. The followers had broken into groups. Some of the groups rejoined with the groups led by Khuni/Sesostris II. The Egyptians had accepted the innovation of co-regency recently, but never had to deal with a pair of kings in opposition. The courts of differing factions seemed to disagree. And the high court also, perhaps because of the migration, fell into disagreement and disarray. The appearance of a revolution became a reality when the brothers’ armies skirmished occasionally. After Sinuhe found out how Amenemhet II had died, in a sacrifice presided over by Khuni, Sinuhe’s anger rekindled. The anger that he had tried to suppress on the balcony with his brother on that bloody day, began to surge and envelop him. “He will not rule Egypt! His sons will not succeed him! He cannot continue after that bloody murder!” he shouted to no one in particular. A tinge of sorrow briefly passed over him upon hearing of Meri’s fate, but somehow no anger surged at the pitiable Nemty no matter his angered matricide. Sinuhe understood the situation, the anger without knowing the king’s exact motive. The knowledge that he had himself killed a king returned to his memory. “That was different,” he thought to himself about Amenemhet I’s assassination. “I punished a man, a rapist. He was a king secondarily. But nevertheless,” Sinuhe sighed, “still a king. But I did not profit from his death. I only wanted justice, revenge perhaps. But I cannot imagine that these two murders are in any way similar,” he rationalized perhaps correctly. “God alone can judge each of us, each our motives. But I cannot justify what Khuni did. He will not remain king.” Sinuhe declared himself to be king among his followers, and chose the name Sesostris III, allowing some legitimacy to the reign of his brother, that is, he chose the kingly designation III, allowing Khuni’s II to stand. “But Khuni’s son or sons will not become king. The succession will be decided in the courts, and in the hearts of the people,” Sinuhe proclaimed as he considered how many more of his followers he would appoint as judges. Ammuneschi had provided him a long list of candidates. By becoming Sesostris III, Sinuhe had become the third brother born of his mother, to rule as king, all three having chosen the name Sesostris in honor of Seni. Seni, the beloved husband of their mother, was grandfather of the first Sesostris, the youngest of the trio, and father of the later two. Later Sesostris/Sinuhe ordered an after-the-fact prophecy to be written about these unusual triplet kings. After a time the two groups, the followers of Sesostris II and Sesostris III, approached each other. Controlling his anger, Sinuhe acted conciliatory to Khuni. “Come my brother to a feast. The goddess has spared us. Let us celebrate that the goddess had begun to wane, her powers to diminish, and some peace has come begun to return. Let us make peace with each other.” Khuni accepted the invitation, “We will attend. My sons will be happy to end the animosity. We must rebuild Egypt and have Maat return. Our reunion will signal to the people that reconstruction will begin. Thank you my dear brother.” Khuni arrogantly assumed that his brother would accept his superiority. The rival groups had been roving through the landscape seeking passage to avoid the destroyed roads and to escape across the mining land of Sinai to Midian. Disagreements arose as to where to settle. Some preferred to return to Egypt to their old homes, while others, the young unlanded, hoped to acquire their own new estates. Both factions divided temporarily to await some decisions. Sinuhe sent his groups north where some of the towns had escaped the massive destruction. He led his army to Pelusium, a city near the Great Green, at the eastern Egyptian delta, Sinuhe ordered a banquet hall constructed, and a feast prepared to allow a meeting between the competing kings. The wooden structure’s floor stood waist high above the ground. Inside the long banquet tables arranged in a circle near the walls, allowed the food to be distributed from the center. The kings met outside, their armies facing off, not mingling, as both enjoyed the food the host had ordered distributed. With minimum fanfare the brothers, each dressed in royal regalia, bowed to each other and embraced. The host escorted Sesostris II inside to the seat of honor. His priest-sons followed with their mothers, wives and children. Sinuhe brought none from his families. Seated and having had as lavish a meal as could be prepared under the circumstances, Sinuhe began, “Khuni, I remain grateful for your eloquence on my behalf. You won over the king, Amenemhet II, and the people to my cause. Because I returned to Egypt, I led many through the disasters to safety. “Because you are my brother, because you spoke for me, I will allow your reign to remain on the history lists. However, because you unlawfully executed Amenemhet II, your reign must end soon. Neither your favored son, nor any of your sons will succeed you. You know that I have taken the name Sesostris III, which means that I will rule after you, and I will choose my successor. These are the facts. The courts will go on interminably until my son becomes my co-regent. Do you understand?” The beer and entertainment offered no break from the harsh realities outside. Khuni sat speechless as his sons, who had been listening, stared at him. Sinuhe arose and left “to relieve himself,” he said leaving the stunned guests entertained with dancers. The entertainment ladies and their musicians began a line dance and followed Sinuhe out the door. Sinuhe ordered the doors closed and the fire started under the wooden building. Inside, it took a few minutes for the guests to realize the situation. Fire circled the structure. The king ordered his sons to use a table and crash through the doors. After several attempts the burning doors opened allowing a flash of flames to enter violently. The walls engulfed in flames, the king’s two sons said, “we will throw ourselves down the stairway, and you and mother run out over our bodies!” At least twelve escaped following the king over his burning sons. Both sons, famous highpriests, and heirs apparent to the throne, died consumed by the flames as both armies looked upon the scene. Sinuhe took a stand in front of his army and watched as the king fled to his retainers. The armies did not engage. But the victim king’s smaller army gathered him and his family up as Sinuhe and his group watched their escape. Sinuhe yelled out at his terrified brother who looked back in horror as his two sons burned, “Mourn not for your sons, brother! Rather remember those you sent to their deaths as food for the goddess! Remember the young king you unwisely dispatched for your own profit!” Khuni, paused looking like a wild man, his clothing singed, his family in hysteria, and said nothing to his brother. “We will meet again brother. Your reign is over now,” Sinuhe declared. “I will require your presence within the week.” Sinuhe’s larger army had encircled Khuni’s army and held it confined. No fighting occurred as the trapped group recognized the futility of any resistance. Later Sinuhe summoned his brother to stand before him. “During this week you must write for me two eloquent documents that I will allow to be recorded for history. Write about your priestly ba. Tell how you failed during the passover time. I will read them and decide if they are acceptable.” Sinuhe turned and faced both crowds. “I declare the reign of Sesostris II ended. I, now as sole ruler, Sesostris III, will lead you to safety. I will give you a set of rules for your hearts that has come from God’s holy mountain. I will guide you to new lives. You will become a victorious crowd. All others will bow before you. You will learn cleanliness of mind and body and discipline of ba and ka. You will be blessed. Praise God forever!” The horrified crowd paused, and began to cheer in fear of their mighty leader. He became everything to them. They surrendered entirely to his wisdom and methods. The deposed Khuni, and remaining family, stunned by the events staggered to the besieged nearby town and sought refuge. His grief still fresh he called for stenographers to write his compositions. His elite elegance never leaving him, he began a subdued vocal debate with his Ba. As he waxed eloquent, two scribes quickly jotted down his musings. He addressed his ba from his pain. But, “My ba will not converse with me! . . . he misleads me! . . . I do not listen to it . . . My ba drags me to a death I do not want . . . It casts me on the fire! “My suffering is too great . . .” Khuni described his brother as a criminal without mentioning his name. He referred to the fire lit for him, the fire that took his unmentioned heroic martyr sons. He called his ba “his brother,” but actually aimed his barbs at his real brother: “Brothers are mean.” Khuni’s self indulgent despair led him to desire the freedom of death, but his high opinion of himself led him to fantasize that history would prove him right. His name, he thought, would live on in history as the name of a hero. Khuni continued his eloquent wallowing in his companion autobiography, “Lamentations of a priest, the son of Seni.” He described the earthy disasters that drove him to rashness. He referred to the predictions of the ancients. He referred to his victorious brother’s attempt to get him to write in order to allow his own eloquent words to reveal his own self condemnation. He repeated some of the themes of Ipuwer, “Order is cast out . . . the land is in turmoil . . . mourning . . . the great man is overthrown . . .” he wrote referring to himself. Despite his grieving bitterness, he closed with an unusually insightful conciliatory remark to his brother, “Lo, servant and master fare alike, There is much that weighs upon you!” He sent the required documents to Sinuhe the king who approved them without change, and ordered them into the historic records. Khuni ended his reign in the same way that he had ended the reign of Amenemhet II, by his own knife. His body received the same treatment. |
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