The History of Antiquity, Vol. 3 (of 6)Duncker, Max
History
The History of Antiquity, Vol. 3 (of 6)
Duncker, Max
History, Ancient
father Ra, and the morning barque of Ra, and the evening barque of Tum.
Then he closed the doors and sealed them." After this, Osorkon (of
Bubastis) and Petise (of Athribis) submitted. Tafnecht himself sent a
messenger to Pianchi; he could not stand before his fire; Pianchi may
receive his possessions for his treasury. Pianchi on his part sent the
"leader of the prayers" and his chief captain, and Tafnecht took the
oath: "he would not transgress Pianchi's commands, nor disregard his
words; he would do no harm to any prince against his will; he would do
according to the words of Pianchi." Then the ships were laden with
silver, gold, copper, and other good things of Lower Egypt, and Pianchi
went up the stream, and the dwellers on the bank sang: "O royal
conqueror, thou hast come, and hast smitten Lower Egypt; thou makest the
men to be women. Thy work will continue, thou king and friend of
Thebes."[153]
This campaign of Pianchi from Napata, the first attempt of a ruler of
Ethiopia to possess himself of Egypt, must be placed about the year 760
B.C.[154] We can hardly contest the successes which the memorial stone
ascribes to Pianchi. Pianchi as a fact took Chnensu and Memphis; he
reached Heliopolis; most of the vassals of Tnephachtus paid homage to
him. But Pianchi's own narrative does not maintain that he took Sais,
and that Tnephachtus appeared before him. He makes a treaty with
Tnephachtus; he is contented that Tnephachtus recognises his supremacy,
and at once turns back to Ethiopia with the presents or tribute of the
vassals of Tnephachtus. From this it follows that Tnephachtus maintained
the Lower Delta; that Pianchi either made no vigorous attempt to conquer
this district, or was unable to conquer it; that he did not believe that
he could maintain his position permanently in Egypt, and therefore was
content with a recognition of his supremacy. In any case, after
Pianchi's retirement, Tnephachtus re-established his power over the
princes of these districts; he must even have extended it further to the
south, than was the case before Pianchi's campaign, if, as Diodorus
states, he set up inscriptions in the temple of Zeus, _i.e._ of Ammon,
at Thebes, and could bequeath the sovereignty over Egypt to his son. The
position which Manetho's list and the accounts of Western nations give
to his son Bocchoris, is in favour of the assertion, that Tnephachtus
succeeded in subjugating all Egypt to his power. It is easily
conceivable that to such a vigorous and indomitable warrior the
ceremonial and the splendour of the Pharaohs' table and kitchen, the
royal bed-chambers and couches, were highly distasteful.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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