History of Egypt, Chaldæa, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, Volume 4 (of 12)Maspero, G. (Gaston)
History
History of Egypt, Chaldæa, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, Volume 4 (of 12)
Maspero, G. (Gaston)
Civilization, Ancient; Egypt -- History -- To 640 A.D.; History, Ancient; Middle East -- History
* The wording of the text is so much condensed that it is
difficult to be sure of its moaning. Modern scholars agree
with Brugsch that Titianu is the name of a man, but several
Egyptologists believe its bearer to have been chief of the
Ethiopian tribes, while others think him to have been a
rebellious Egyptian prince, or a king of the Shepherds, or
give up the task of identification in despair. The tortuous
wording of the text, and the expressions which occur in it,
seem to indicate that the rebel was a prince of the royal
blood, and even that the name he bears was not his real one.
Later on we shall find that, on a similar occasion, the
official documents refer to a prince who took part in a plot
against Ramses III. by the fictitious name of Pentauirit;
Titianu was probably a nickname of the same kind inserted in
place of the real name. It seems that, in cases of high
treason, the criminal not only lost his life, but his name
was proscribed both in this world and in the next.
A revival of military greatness always entailed a renaissance in art,
followed by an age of building activity. The claims of the gods upon the
spoils of war must be satisfied before those of men, because the victory
and the booty obtained through it were alike owing to the divine help
given in battle. A tenth, therefore, of the slaves, cattle, and precious
metals was set apart for the service of the gods, and even fields,
towns, and provinces were allotted to them, the produce of which was
applied to enhance the importance of their cult or to repair and enlarge
their temples. The main body of the building was strengthened, halls and
pylons were added to the original plan, and the impulse once given to
architectural work, the co-operation of other artificers soon
followed. Sculptors and painters whose art had been at a standstill for
generations during the centuries of Egypt's humiliation, and whose
hands had lost their cunning for want of practice, were now once more in
demand. They had probably never completely lost the technical knowledge
of their calling, and the ancient buildings furnished them with various
types of models, which they had but to copy faithfully in order to
revive their old traditions. A few years after this revival a new school
sprang up, whose originality became daily more patent, and whose leaders
soon showed themselves to be in no way inferior to the masters of the
older schools. Ahmosis could not be accused of ingratitude to the gods;
as soon as his wars allowed him the necessary leisure, he began his work
of temple-building. The accession to power of the great Theban families
had been of little advantage to Thebes itself. Its Pharaohs, on assuming
the sovereignty of the whole valley, had not hesitated to abandon their
native city, and had made Heracleopolis, the Fayum or even Memphis,
their seat of government, only returning to Thebes in the time of the
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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