Title: History of Egypt, Chaldæa, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, Volume 6 (of 12)
Author: G. Maspero
Editor: A. H. Sayce
Translator: M. L. McClure
Release date: December 16, 2005 [eBook #17326]
Most recently updated: December 13, 2020
Language: English
Credits: Produced by David Widger
Character set: ISO-8859-1
RAMSES III.: MANNERS AND CUSTOMS—POPULATION—THE PREDOMINANCE OF AMON AND HIS HIGH PRIESTS.
The Theban necropolis: mummies—The funeral of a rich Theban: the procession of the offerings and the funerary furniture, the crossing of the Nile, the tomb, the farewell to the dead, the sacrifice, the coffins, the repast of the dead, the song of the Harper—The common ditch—The living inhabitants of the necropolis: draughtsmen, sculptors, painters—The bas-reliefs of the temples and the tombs, wooden statuettes, the smelting of metals, bronze—The religions of the necropolis: the immorality and want of discipline among the people: workmen s strikes.
Amon and the beliefs concerning him: his kingdom over the living and the dead, the soul’s destiny according to the teaching of Amon—Khonsû and his temple; the temple of Amon at Karnak, its revenue, its priesthood—The growing influence of the high priests of Amon under the sons of Ramses III.: Hamsesnaklûti, Amenôthes; the violation of the royal burying-places—Hrihor and the last of the Ramses, Smendês and the accession to power of the XXIst dynasty: the division of Egypt into two States—The priest-kings of Amon masters of Thebes under the suzerainty of the Tanite Pharaohs—The close of the Theban empire.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I—THE CLOSE OF THE THEBAN EMPIRE—(continued)
CHAPTER II—THE RISE OF THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE
CHAPTER III—THE HEBREWS AND THE PHILISTINES—DAMASCUS
List of Illustrations
005.jpg the Necropolis of SheÎkh and El-qurneh
007.jpg Head of a Theban Mummy
008.jpg the Manufacture and Painting of The Cartonnage
009.jpg Wrapping of the Mummy, Under The Direction Of The “Man of the Roll”
012.jpg the Funeral of Harmhabi
013.jpg the Funeral of HabmhabÎ
014.jpg the Boat Carrying The Mummy
015.jpg the Boats Containing The Female Weepers and The People of the Household
016.jpg the Boats Containing The Friends and The Funerary Furniture
017.jpg a Corner of the Theban Necropolis
018.jpg Painting in the Fifth Tomb of The Kings to The Right
019.jpg the Farewell to The Mummy, and The Double Received by the Goddess
021.jpg Niche in the Tomb of Menna
025.jpg the Paraphernalia of a Mummy Of The XXth to The Xxiind Dynasties
026.jpg the Funeral Repast—music and Dancing
027.jpg the Coffin of The Favourite Gazelle Of IsÎmkhobiu
029.jpg One of the Harpers Of The Tomb Of Ramses III.
032.jpg Paintings at the End of The Hall Of The Fifth The Tomb
033.jpg Amenothes III. At Luxor
026.jpg Sketch of a Female Acrobat
Bas-relief of Seti I., Showing Corrections Made by The Sculptor
040.jpg the Kneeling Scribe at Turin
041a.jpg Young Girl in the Turing Museum
043b.jpg Statue in the Turin Museum
045.jpg Funerary Casket in the Turin Museum
046.jpg Shrine in the Turin Museum
048.jpg the Swallow-goddess from The Theban Necropolis
049.jpg the Goddess MabÎtsakbo
060.jpg Decorated Wrappings of a Mummy
062.jpg One of the Mysterious Books Of Amon
066.jpg the Entrance to a Royal Tomb
066b.jpg One of the Hours Of The Night
074.jpg KhonsÛ* and Temple of KhonsÛ**.
075.jpg the Temple of KhonsÛ at Karnak
077.jpg the Court of The Temple Of KhonsÛ
078.jpg the Colonnade Built by ThÛtmosis III
081.jpg the Temple of Amon at Karnak
082.jpg the Two Stele-pillars at Karnak
093.jpg Zodphtahaufonkhi, Royal Son of Ramses
101.jpg the Tree Growing on The Tomb of Osiris
106.jpg One of the Most Ancient Phoenician Inscriptions
110.jpg a Phoenician God in his Egyptian Shrine
111.jpg AmenÔthes I. Seizing a Lion
112.jpg a Phoenician Mastaba at Arvad
113.jpg Two of the Tombs at Arvad
115.jpg the Kabr-hiram Near Tyre
117.jpg Egyptian Treatment of the Cow on a Phoenician Bowl
118.jpg the King and his Double on a Phoenician Bowl
128.jpg AzÂz—one of This Tumuli on the Ancient Hittite Plain
143.jpg the 1st Assyrian Empire—map
145.jpg the Volcanic Cone of KÔkab
149.jpg Ishtar As a Warrior Bringing Prisoners to A Conquering King
152.jpg a Village in the Mountain Districts of The Old AssÆan Kingdom
155.jpg the Sabre of Ramman-nirari
179.jpg Lion Transfixed by an Arrow
182.jpg Libation Poured over the Lions on The Return From The Chase
184.jpg an Assyrian War-chariot Charging the Foe
185a.jpg Harness of the Horses
188.jpg Crossing a River in Boats and on Inflated Skins
189.jpg Making a Bridge for the Passage of The Chariots
190.jpg the King’s Chariot Crossing a Bridge
191.jpg the Assyrian Infantry Crossing The Mountains
193.jpg the King Crossing a Mountain in his Chariot
198.jpg the Bringing of Heads After a Battle
200.jpg the King Lets Fly Arrows at a Besieged Town
202.jpg a Town Taken by Scaling
203.jpg Tortures Inflicted on Prisoners
204.jpg a Convoy of Prisoners and Captives After The Taking of a Town
205.jpg Convoy of Prisoners Bound in Various Ways
216.jpg General View of the Ruins Of Euyuk
217.jpg the Sphinx on The Right of Euyuk
218.jpg Two Blocks Covered With Bas-reliefs in the Euyuk Palace
221.jpg the Asiatic Inscription of Kolitolu-yaÎla
222.jpg Double Scend of Offerings
223.jpg the Bas-relief of Ibriz
230.jpg Sacrifice Offered Before the Royal Stele
231.jpg Portions of the Sacrificial Victims Thrown Into The Water
233.jpg the Stele at Sebenneh-su
235.jpg Transport of Building Materials by Water
236.jpg Rare Animals Brought Back As Trophies by The King
237.jpg Monkey Brought Back As Tribute
261.jpg the Valley of The Jabbok, Near to Its Confluence With the Jordan
263.jpg One of the Mounds Of ÂÎn Es-sultÂn, The Ancient Jericho
264.jpg the Jordan in The Neighbourhood of Jericho
265.jpg One of the Wells Of Beersheba
268.jpg Map of Palestine in Time Of the Judges
288.jpg Mount Gerizim, With a View of Nablus
294.jpg a Procession of Philistine Captives At Medinet-habu
297.jpg a Philistine Ship of War
301.jpg Tell Es-safieh, the Gath of The Philistines
304.jpg the Hill of Shiloh, Seen from The North-east
324.jpg AÎd-el-ra, the Site of The Ancient Adullam
330.jpg the Hill of Bethshan, Seen from The East
354.jpg the Site of Rabbath-amon, Seen from The West
370.jpg Map of Tyre Subsequent to Hiram
371.jpg the Breakwater of The Egyptian Harbour at Tyre
372.jpg One of Solomon’s Reservoirs Near Jerusalem
374.jpg Some of the Stone Course Of Solomon’s Temple At Jerusalem
377.jpg an Upright of a Door at Lachish
384.jpg King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba
391.jpg the Mound and Plain of Bethel.
401.jpg the Mummies of Queen MÂkerÎ and Her Child
404.jpg the Two Niles of Tanis
410.jpg a Troop of Libyans Hunting
419.jpg Amon Presenting to Sheshonq the List of The Cities Captured in Israel and Judah
Ramses III.: Manners and Customs—Population—The predominance of Amon and his high priests.
Opposite the Thebes of the living, Khafîtnîbûs, the Thebes of the dead, had gone on increasing in a remarkably rapid manner. It continued to extend in the south-western direction from the heroic period of the XVIIIth dynasty onwards, and all the eminence and valleys were gradually appropriated one after the other for burying-places. At the time of which I am speaking, this region formed an actual town, or rather a chain of villages, each of which was grouped round some building constructed by one or other of the Pharaohs as a funerary chapel. Towards the north, opposite Karnak, they clustered at Drah-abu’l-Neggah around pyramids of the first Theban monarchs, at Qurneh around the mausolæ of Ramses I. and Seti I., and at Sheikh Abd el-Qurneh they lay near the Amenopheum and the Pamonkaniqîmît, or Ramesseum built by Ramses II. Towards the south they diminished in number, tombs and monuments becoming fewer and appearing at wider intervals; the Migdol of Ramses III. formed an isolated suburb, that of Azamît, at Medinet-Habu; the chapel of Isis, constructed by Amenôthes, son of Hapû, formed a rallying-point for the huts of the hamlet of Karka;* and in the far distance, in a wild gorge at the extreme limit of human habitations, the queens of the Ramesside line slept their last sleep.
Each of these temples had around it its enclosing wall of dried brick, and the collection of buildings within this boundary formed the Khîrû, or retreat of some one of the Theban Pharaohs, which, in the official language of the time, was designated the “august Khîrû of millions of years.”
A sort of fortified structure, which was built into one of the corners, served as a place of deposit for the treasure and archives, and could be used as a prison if occasion required.*
The remaining buildings consisted of storehouses, stables, and houses for the priests and other officials. In some cases the storehouses were constructed on a regular plan which the architect had fitted in with that of the temple. Their ruins at the back and sides of the Ramesseum form a double row of vaults, extending from the foot of the hills to the border of the cultivated lands. Stone recesses on the roof furnished shelter for the watchmen.* The outermost of the village huts stood among the nearest tombs. The population which had been gathered together there was of a peculiar character, and we can gather but a feeble idea of its nature from the surroundings of the cemeteries in our own great cities. Death required, in fact, far more attendants among the ancient Egyptians than with us. The first service was that of mummification, which necessitated numbers of workers for its accomplishment. Some of the workshops of the embalmers have been discovered from time to time at Sheikh Abd el-Qurneh and Deîr el-Baharî, but we are still in ignorance as to their arrangements, and as to the exact nature of the materials which they employed. A considerable superficial space was required, for the manipulations of the embalmers occupied usually from sixty to eighty days, and if we suppose that the average deaths at Thebes amounted to fifteen or twenty in the twenty-four hours, they would have to provide at the same time for the various degrees of saturation of some twelve to fifteen hundred bodies at the least.**
Each of the corpses,moreover, necessitated the employment of at least half a dozen workmen to wash it, cut it open, soak it, dry it, and apply the usual bandages before placing the amulets upon the canonically prescribed places, and using the conventional prayers.
There was fastened to the breast, immediately below the neck, a stone or green porcelain scarab, containing an inscription which was to be efficacious in preventing the heart, “his heart which came to him from his mother, his heart from the time he was upon the earth,” from rising up and witnessing against the dead man before the tribunal of Osiris.* There were placed on his fingers gold or enamelled rings, as talismans to secure for him the true voice.**
The body becomes at last little more than a skeleton, with a covering of yellow skin which accentuates the anatomical, details, but the head, on the other hand, still preserves, where the operations have been properly conducted, its natural form. The cheeks have fallen in slightly, the lips and the fleshy parts of the nose have become thinner and more drawn than during life, but the general expression of the face remains unaltered.
A mask of pitch was placed over the visage to preserve it, above which was adjusted first a piece of linen and then a series of bands impregnated with resin, which increased the size of the head to twofold its ordinary bulk. The trunk and limbs were bound round with a first covering of some pliable soft stuff, warm to the touch. Coarsely powdered natron was scattered here and there over the body as an additional preservative. Packets placed between the legs, the arms and the hips, and in the eviscerated abdomen, contained the heart, spleen, the dried brain, the hair, and the cuttings of the beard and nails. In those days the hair had a special magical virtue: by burning it while uttering certain incantations, one might acquire an almost limitless power over the person to whom it had belonged. The ernbalmers, therefore, took care to place with the mummy such portions of the hair as they had been obliged to cut off, so as to remove them out of the way of the perverse ingenuity of the sorcerers.
Over the first covering of the mummy already alluded to, there was sometimes placed a strip of papyrus or a long piece of linen, upon which the scribe had transcribed selections—both text and pictures—from “The Book of the going forth by Day:” in such cases the roll containing the whole work was placed between the legs. The body was further wrapped in several bandages, then in a second piece of stuff, then in more bands, the whole being finally covered with a shroud of coarse canvas and a red linen winding-sheet, sewn together at the back, and kept in place by transverse bands disposed at intervals from head to foot. The son of the deceased and a “man of the roll” were present at this lugubrious toilet, and recited at the application of each piece a prayer, in which its object was defined and its duration secured. Every Egyptian was supposed to be acquainted with the formulas, from having learned them during his lifetime, by which he was to have restored to him the use of his limbs, and be protected from the dangers of the world beyond. These were repeated to the dead person, however, for greater security, during the process of embalming, and the son of the deceased, or the master of the ceremonies, took care to whisper to the mummy the most mysterious parts, which no living ear might hear with impunity. The wrappings having been completed, the deceased person became aware of his equipment, and enjoyed all the privileges of the “instructed and fortified Manes.” He felt himself, both mummy and double, now ready for the tomb.
Egyptian funerals were not like those to which we are accustomed—mute ceremonies, in which sorrow is barely expressed by a furtive tear: noise, sobbings, and wild gestures were their necessary concomitants. Not only was it customary to hire weeping women, who tore their hair, filled the air with their lamentations, and simulated by skilful actions the depths of despair, but the relatives and friends themselves did not shrink from making an outward show of their grief, nor from disturbing the equanimity of the passers-by by the immoderate expressions of their sorrow. One after another they raised their voices, and uttered some expression appropriate to the occasion: “To the West, the dwelling of Osiris, to the West, thou who wast the best of men, and who always hated guile.” And the hired weepers answered in chorus: “O chief,* as thou goest to the West, the gods themselves lament.” The funeral cortege started in the morning from the house of mourning, and proceeded at a slow pace to the Nile, amid the clamours of the mourners.
The route was cleared by a number of slaves and retainers. First came those who carried cakes and flowers in their hands, followed by others bearing jars full of water, bottles of liqueurs, and phials of perfumes; then came those who carried painted boxes intended for the provisions of the dead man, and for containing the Ushabtiu, or “Respondents.” The succeeding group bore the usual furniture required by the deceased to set up house again, coffers for linen, folding and arm chairs, state-beds, and sometimes even a caparisoned chariot with its quivers. Then came a groom conducting two of his late master’s favourite horses, who, having accompanied the funeral to the tomb, were brought back to their stable. Another detachment, more numerous than the others combined, now filed past, bearing the effects of the mummy; first the vessels for the libations, then the cases for the Canopic jars, then the Canopic jars themselves, the mask of the deceased, coloured half in gold and half in blue, arms, sceptres, military batons, necklaces, scarabs, vultures with encircling wings worn on the breast at festival-times, chains, “Respondents,” and the human-headed sparrow-hawk, the emblem of the soul. Many of these objects were of wood plated with gold, others of the same material simply gilt, and others of solid gold, and thus calculated to excite the cupidity of the crowd. Offerings came next, then a noisy company of female weepers; then a slave, who sprinkled at every instant some milk upon the ground as if to lay the dust; then a master of the ceremonies, who, the panther skin upon his shoulder, asperged the crowd with perfumed water; and behind him comes the hearse.