Sergei Ignatov " The Deserted King… " in Egyptian Literature (original) (raw)

My exploratory work on the Kadesh inscriptions and more specifically on the so-called " Poem " , which narrate how Ramesses the Great has succeeded alone, with the help of God Amun, in overpowering the Hittites, has directed my attention to a peculiar plot line in the Egyptian literature, which I have named " The Deserted King… ". That story starts sending impulses through texts from the beginning of the epoch of the New Kingdom, in times when political tensions acquire noticeable density. We know of three quite characteristic scenarios of the " Deserted King… ". The first case is from the epoch of the expelling of the Hyksos, i. e. from the very beginning of the New Egyptian Kingdom epoch!; the second case is linked to the Kadesh inscriptions of Ramesses II; the third case is Herodot's story about the King of priestly background Sethon, in which events from the VII B.C. are described. Out of the three sources outlined above, the substance of the " Deserted King… " is best clarified in Herodotus' story about Sethon, in which the Father of History explains personally why the King was abandoned. This circumstance permits us to explain the priests' supportive mood of Herodotus' story with authentic historical facts. Therefore, we would start the study of the issue under consideration by analyzing Herodotus' story: " After him (i.e. Anisis) a High Priest o Hefest (i.e. Ptah) named Sethon, who demonstrated his disregard for the Egyptian militaries, treating them poorly, as if not at all expecting that he would be needing them in the future. By committing also various other outrageous acts in regard to them, he went on to deprive them of their land plots, which had been bestowed upon them by former pharaohs (to each one twelve selected plots – aruri). After all these events, Sanaharib – the King of the Arabs and the Assyrians sent a great army against Egypt. Having fallen into a political gridlock and stepping into the holy of holies, the Priest started to complain in front of the statue of the God of his sufferings when being exposed to danger. And well, while complaining, he fell into a sleep, and had a vision as if the God appeared and began to give him inspiration that he would not suffer anything unpleasant from the Arab army, because He (the God) will send him defenders. And hence, putting his trust into all that deserved it and taking with him the Egyptians who were willing to follow him, he positioned himself in Pelusia. It is namely there that the door-gates to Egypt are located. Yet, he was accompanied not by military persons but by merchants, craftsmen and salesmen from the markets. " (Hdt. II 141) The result was that the army had deserted the King-Priest, Sethon, because he was treating them very badly, depriving the military personnel of the land plots rendered to their ownership. God Ptah, on his behalf, did not abandon the King but promised him help. Thus, the King-Priest Sethon, God Ptah, the merchants, craftsmen and the salesmen from the markets were shown in unity. They all encountered the opposition of the caste of the military. Due to Herodotus, this story is understandable, because the concrete reasons for the situation