Drawn by Faucher-Gudin,
from a photograph by Daniel Héron.
One of his sons, named Thûtmosis, who resided at the “White Wall,” was in the habit of betaking himself frequently to the Libyan desert to practise with the javelin, or to pursue the hunt of lions and gazelles in his chariot. On these occasions it was his pleasure to preserve the strictest incognito, and he was accompanied by two discreet servants only. One day, when chance had brought him into the neighbourhood of the Great Pyramid, he lay down for his accustomed siesta in the shade cast by the Sphinx, the miraculous image of Khopri the most powerful, the god to whom all men in Memphis and the neighbouring towns raised adoring hands filled with offerings. The gigantic statue was at that time more than half buried, and its head alone was seen above the sand. As soon as the prince was asleep it spoke gently to him, as a father to his son: “Behold me, gaze on me, O my son Thûtmosis, for I, thy father Harmakhis-Khopri-Tûmû, grant thee sovereignty over the two countries, in both the South and the North, and thou shalt wear both the white and the red crown on the throne of Sibû, the sovereign, possessing the earth in its length and breadth; the flashing eye of the lord of all shall cause to rain on thee the possessions of Egypt, vast tribute from all foreign countries, and a long life for, many years as one chosen by the Sun, for my countenance is thine, my heart is thine, no other than thyself is mine! Nor am I covered by the sand of the mountain on which I rest, and have given thee this prize that thou mayest do for me what my heart desires, for I know that thou art my son, my defender; draw nigh, I am with thee, I am thy well-beloved father.” The prince understood that the god promised him the kingdom on condition of his swearing to clear the sand from the statue. He was, in fact, chosen to be the husband of the queens, and immediately after his accession he fulfilled his oath; he removed the sand, built a chapel between the paws, and erected against the breast of the statue a stele of red granite, on which he related his adventure. His reign was as short as that of Amenôthes, and his campaigns both in Asia and Ethiopia were unimportant.*
* The latest date of his reign at present known is that of
the year VII., on the rocks of Konosso, and on a stele of
Sarbût el-Khâdîm. There is an allusion to his wars against
the Ethiopians in an inscription of Amada, and to his
campaigns against the peoples of the North and South on the
stele of Nofirhaît.
Drawn by Boudier, from a photograph by Émil Brugsch-Bey.
He had succeeded to an empire so firmly established from Naharaim to Kari,* that, apparently, no rebellion could disturb its peace. One of the two heiress-princesses, Kûît, the daughter, sister, and wife of a king, had no living male offspring, but her companion Mûtemûaû had at least one son, named Amenôthes. In his case, again, the noble birth of the mother atoned for the defects of the paternal origin. Moreover, according to tradition, Amon-Ka himself had intervened to renew the blood of his descendants: he appeared in the person of Thûtmosis IV., and under this guise became the father of the heir of the Pharaohs.**
* The peoples of Naharaim and of Northern Syria are
represented bringing him tribute, in a tomb at Sheîkh-Abd-
el-Qûrneh. The inscription published by Mariette, speaks of
the first expedition of Thûtmosis IV. to the land of
[Naharai]na, and of the gifts which he lavished on this
occasion on the temple of Anion.
** It was at first thought that Mûtemûaû was an Ethiopian,
afterwards that she was a Syrian, who had changed her name
on arriving at the court of her husband. The manner in which
she is represented at Luxor, and in all the texts where she
figures, proves not only that she was of Egyptian race, but
that she was the daughter of Amenôthes II., and born of the
marriage of that prince with one of his sisters, who was
herself an hereditary princess.
Like Queen Ahmasis in the bas-reliefs of Deîr el-Baharî, Mûtemûaû is shown on those of Luxor in the arms of her divine lover, and subsequently greeted by him with the title of mother; in another bas-relief we see the queen led to her couch by the goddesses who preside over the birth of children; her son Amenôthes, on coming into the world with his double, is placed in the hands of the two Niles, to receive the nourishment and the education meet for the children of the gods. He profited fully by them, for he remained in power forty years, and his reign was one of the most prosperous ever witnessed by Egypt during the Theban dynasties.