Taa the Victorious married his son Kames to the Princess Aah-hotep, an heiress of the ancient line, and it was their son Aahmes who brought the great war of liberation to a triumphant close, and placed upon his brow the double crown of Upper and of Lower Egypt.
[CHAPTER VIII.]
The Eighteenth Dynasty—Queen Hatasu and Thothmes iii.
(Circa 1600-1400 b.c.)
On the east bank of the river, about 50 miles from Thebes, there stood in ancient times a strong fortified city, surrounded by massive walls of such thickness, that chariots might have been driven abreast upon them. Of the city itself nothing survives save ruins; but in the valley that lies eastward, behind the hills, are still to be seen long rows of tombs and memorial sanctuaries, where were laid to rest the heroes of the great war of liberation.
The whole district was ruled by native governors, tributaries of the Hyksos, throughout the whole period of the foreign supremacy, and the daily course of Egyptian life seems to have gone on with but little interruption. The tombs just mentioned belonged chiefly to one family, and the walls are adorned as usual with inscriptions and representations of scenes and events from daily life. Baba-Abana, head of the family, tells us that he was the parent of 52 children, and was able to provide abundant food and every necessary comfort for them all. ‘If any one supposes I am jesting,’ he adds, ‘I invoke the god Munt to witness that I am speaking the truth.’ Baba-Abana was an officer under Taa iii. (the Victorious), and was no doubt actively engaged in helping forward the construction of the Egyptian flotilla. He tells us further of a famine that ‘lasted for many years,’ and that he provided corn for his city each year of the famine. This must have been the same famine that is mentioned in Genesis, when Joseph, at the court of the Hyksos Pharaoh, was providing corn for the land—the famine which led to the establishment of the Hebrew colony in the Goshen district of the Delta. Their presence there would be welcome, as they were no doubt of kindred race with those who then bore rule.
One of the numerous family of Baba-Abana, named Aahmes (like the king), did good service in the fleet during all the closing scenes of the war. He has left us an account of his doings, which opens thus:—‘The Chief of the fleet, Aahmes, son of Abana (the Blessed), speaketh to you all, ye people, that you may know the honours that have fallen to his lot.’ He was born, he tells us, in the city of Nek-heb (the Greek Eileithyia), and as a lad he served King Aahmes on board a ship called the ‘Calf.’ He married, and set up a house, after which he was promoted, ‘because of his strength,’ to another vessel called the ‘North.’ And when the king went out in his chariot, it was the duty of the young captain to follow him on foot. In the siege of the Hyksos stronghold, Avaris, he fought bravely on foot in presence of his majesty. During the siege he was further promoted to the vessel called ‘Going up into Memphis.’
Hard fighting went on around Avaris, and Aahmes tells us of the trophies of the dead[30] he brought in, as well as of his living prisoners. One of the latter he had much difficulty in securing, for he had to drag him some distance with a firm grasp through the water to avoid the road to the town. His prisoners were assigned to him as slaves, and many rewards and golden gifts were presented him for his services. Avaris was taken at length, and the Hyksos driven beyond the frontier, the king pursuing them as far as Sherohan, in Canaan, which town he also captured in the sixth year of his reign.