History of Egypt, Chaldæa, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, Volume 5 (of 12)Maspero, G. (Gaston)
History
History of Egypt, Chaldæa, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, Volume 5 (of 12)
Maspero, G. (Gaston)
Civilization, Ancient; Egypt -- History -- To 640 A.D.; History, Ancient; Middle East -- History
It is recorded that he occupied himself with lion-hunting _en route_
after the example of the victors of the XVIIIth dynasty, and that he
killed three of these animals in the long grass on one occasion on the
banks of some river. He rejoined his ships, probably at Jaffa, and made
straight for the enemy. The latter were encamped on the level shore, at
the head of a bay wide enough to offer to their ships a commodious
space for naval evolutions--possibly the mouth of the Belos, in the
neighbourhood of Magadil. The king drove their foot-soldiers into the
water at the same moment that his admirals attacked the combined fleet
of the Pulasati and Zakkala.
[Illustration: 307.jpg THE ARMY OP RAMSES III. ON THE MARCH, AND THE
LION-HUNT]
Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from a photograph by Beato.
Some of the AEgean galleys were capsized and sank when the Egyptian
vessels rammed them with their sharp stems, and the crews, in
endeavouring to escape to land by swimming, were picked off by the
arrows of the archers of the guard who were commanded by Ramses and his
sons; they perished in the waves, or only escaped through the compassion
of the victors. "I had fortified," said the Pharaoh, "my frontier at
Zahi; I had drawn up before these people my generals, my provincial
governors, the vassal princes, and the best of my soldiers. The mouths
of the river seemed to be a mighty rampart of galleys, barques, and
vessels of all kinds, equipped from the bow to the stern with valiant
armed men. The infantry, the flower of Egypt, were as lions roaring
on the mountains; the charioteers, selected from among the most rapid
warriors, had for their captains only officers confident in themselves;
the horses quivered in all their limbs, and were burning to trample the
nations underfoot. As for me, I was like the warlike Montu: I stood up
before them and they saw the vigour of my arms. I, King Ramses, I was as
a hero who is conscious of his valour, and who stretches his hands over
the people in the day of battle. Those who have violated my frontier
will never more garner harvests from this earth: the period of their
soul has been fixed for ever. My forces were drawn up before them on
the 'Very Green,' a devouring flame approached them at the river mouth,
annihilation embraced them on every side. Those who were on the strand
I laid low on the seashore, slaughtered like victims of the butcher.
I made their vessels to capsize, and their riches fell into the sea."
Those who had not fallen in the fight were caught, as it were, in
the cast of a net. A rapid cruiser of the fleet carried the Egyptian
standard along the coast as far as the regions of the Orontes and
Saros. The land troops, on the other hand, following on the heels of the
defeated enemy, pushed through Coele-Syria, and in their first burst of
zeal succeeded in reaching the plains of the Euphrates. A century had
elapsed since a Pharaoh had planted his standard in this region, and the
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account