History of Egypt, Chaldæa, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, Volume 2 (of 12)Maspero, G. (Gaston)
History
History of Egypt, Chaldæa, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, Volume 2 (of 12)
Maspero, G. (Gaston)
Civilization, Ancient; Egypt -- History -- To 640 A.D.; History, Ancient; Middle East -- History
* This bas-relief was first noticed and described by
Champollion, who took the immigrants for Greeks of the
archaic period. Others have wished to consider it as
representing Abraham, the sons of Jacob, or at least a band
of Jews entering into Egypt, and on the strength of this
hypothesis it has often been reproduced.
The foreigners presented the prince with green eye-paint, antimony
powder, and two live ibexes, to conciliate his favour; while he, to
preserve the memory of their visit, had them represented in painting
upon the walls of his tomb. The Asiatics carry bows and arrows,
javelins, axes, and clubs, like the Egyptians, and wear long garments or
close-fitting loin-cloths girded on the thigh. One of them plays, as he
goes, on an instrument whose appearance recalls that of the old Greek
lyre. The shape of their arms, the magnificence and good taste of the
fringed and patterned stuffs with which they are clothed, the elegance
of most of the objects which they have brought with them, testify to a
high standard of civilisation, equal at least to that of Egypt. Asia had
for some time provided the Pharaohs with slaves, certain perfumes, cedar
wood and cedar essences, enamelled vases, precious stones, lapis-lazuli,
and the dyed and embroidered woollen fabrics of which Chaldæa kept the
monopoly until the time of the Komans. Merchants of the Delta braved
the perils of wild beasts and of robbers lurking in every valley, while
transporting beyond the isthmus products of Egyptian manufacture, such
as fine linens, chased or _cloisonné_ jewellery, glazed pottery, and
glass paste or metal amulets. Adventurous spirits who found life dull
on the banks of the Nile, men who had committed crimes, or who believed
themselves suspected by their lords on political grounds, conspirators,
deserters, and exiles were well received by the Asiatic tribes, and
sometimes gained the favour of the sheikhs. In the time of the XIIth
dynasty, Southern Syria, the country of the “Lords of the Sands,” and
the kingdom of Kadûma were full of Egyptians whose eventful careers
supplied the scribes and storytellers with the themes of many romances.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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