Turning now to the men and animals shown in decoration, in the period of the Empire we constantly see figures of captives introduced to emphasise the power of the king. These first appear in the great change which overcame Egyptian art consequent upon the Asiatic conquests. Before Tahutmes III. the character and style of work continually recalls that of the XIIth dynasty; but within one or two generations a profound difference changed for ever the nature of the art, and this is reflected in the national handwriting, which shows a similar break. Amenhotep II. appears on his nurse’s knee with an emblematic group of foreigners under his feet, while he grasps cords tied to their necks; and in the same spirit he is shown, when grown up, as smiting at one blow a whole bunch of captives whom he holds in his left hand (L.D. III. 62; L.D. III. 61). Tahutmes IV. similarly is seen seated on his tutor’s knee, with his feet on a footstool ornamented with prostrate captives (L.D. III. 69). Amenhotep III. appears with figures of a negro and a Syrian bound to the _sam_ sign on the sides of his throne, and henceforward the abasement of captives was an essential idea to Egyptians. But it should be remembered that common as the notion was in late times, it is originally Asiatic and not Egyptian; the king trampling on the nations and making foes a footstool are ideas not found in Egypt until the Semitic conquests of Tahutmes III., though the earliest figure of a sphinx trampling on a captive is under the XIIth dynasty. [Illustration: Fig. 163.] Under Akhenaten six various races are represented on the sides of his great balcony (L.D. III. 109), and the alternate negroes and Syrians are painted on the passage floors of his palace, or carved in blocks of alabaster to be trodden under foot. Down the various ages this symbolism recurs in decoration until in Ptolemaic and Roman times every decent Egyptian had captives painted on the soles of his sandals in which he was buried, so that for all eternity he might tread down the Gentiles. [Illustration: Fig. 164.] Among animals a favourite in decoration was the ibex, but it was not introduced till the XVIIIth dynasty. It often appears on the finger-rings of Akhenaten’s time, and later upon the funeral tent of Isiemkheb, ingeniously adapted to fill a square space. The bull or young calf was more frequently introduced; on the wooden boxes and trays it is shown as bounding in the meadows, and it is continually used in the groups of the painted pavement at Tell el Amarna. Birds are also a common subject for decoration, though only dating from the same period as the other animals. Besides the symbolic or sacred use of the hawk and vulture, the very secular duck was a favourite bird. On the great pavements of Akhenaten it appears above every group of plants. [Illustration: Fig. 165.]