The Ancient History of the Egyptians, Carthaginians, Assyrians Part 20

Cham was the second son of Noah. When the family of the latter, after the extravagant attempt of building the tower of Babel, dispersed themselves into different countries, Cham retired to Africa; and it doubtless was he who afterwards was worshipped as a G.o.d, under the name of Jupiter Ammon.

He had four children, Chus,(404) Misram, Phut, and Canaan. Chus settled in Ethiopia, Misram in Egypt, which generally is called in Scripture after his name, and by that of Cham,(405) his father; Phut took possession of that part of Africa which lies westward of Egypt; and Canaan, of the country which afterwards bore his name. The Canaanites are certainly the same people who are called almost always Phnicians by the Greeks, of which foreign name no reason can be given, any more than of the oblivion of the true one.

I return to Misram.(406) He is allowed to be the same with Menes, whom all historians declare to be the first king of Egypt, the inst.i.tutor of the worship of the G.o.ds, and of the ceremonies of the sacrifices.

BUSIRIS, some ages after him, built the famous city of Thebes, and made it the seat of his empire. We have elsewhere taken notice of the wealth and magnificence of this city. This prince is not to be confounded with Busiris, so infamous for his cruelties.

OSYMANDYAS. Diodorus gives a very particular description of many magnificent edifices raised by this king;(407) one of which was adorned with sculptures and paintings of exquisite beauty, representing his expedition against the Bactrians, a people of Asia, whom he had invaded with four hundred thousand foot and twenty thousand horse. In another part of the edifice was exhibited an a.s.sembly of the judges, whose president wore, on his breast, a picture of Truth, with her eyes shut, and himself was surrounded with books-an emphatic emblem, denoting that judges ought to be perfectly versed in the laws, and impartial in the administration of them.

The king likewise was painted here, offering to the G.o.ds gold and silver, which he drew every year from the mines of Egypt, amounting to the sum of sixteen millions.(408)

Not far from hence was seen a magnificent library, the oldest mentioned in history. Its t.i.tle or inscription on the front was, _The office, or treasury, of remedies for the diseases of the soul_. Near it were placed statues, representing all the Egyptian G.o.ds, to each of whom the king made suitable offerings; by which he seemed to be desirous of informing posterity that his life and reign had been crowned with piety to the G.o.ds, and justice to men.

His mausoleum displayed uncommon magnificence; it was encompa.s.sed with a circle of gold, a cubit in breadth, and 365 cubits in circ.u.mference; each of which showed the rising and setting of the sun, moon, and the rest of the planets. For so early as this king's reign, the Egyptians divided the year into twelve months, each consisting of thirty days; to which they added every year five days and six hours.(409) The spectator did not know which to admire most in this stately monument, whether the richness of its materials, or the genius and industry of the artists.

UCh.o.r.eUS, one of the successors of Osymandyas, built the city of Memphis.(410) This city was 150 furlongs, or more than seven leagues in circ.u.mference, and stood at the point of the Delta, in that part where the Nile divides itself into several branches or streams. Southward from the city, he raised a lofty mole. On the right and left he dug very deep moats to receive the river. These were faced with stone, and raised, near the city, by strong causeys; the whole designed to secure the city from the inundations of the Nile, and the incursions of the enemy. A city so advantageously situated, and so strongly fortified, that it was almost the key of the Nile, and by this means commanded the whole country, became soon the usual residence of the Egyptian kings. It kept possession of this honour till Alexandria was built by Alexander the Great.

MRIS. This king made the famous lake, which went by his name, and whereof mention has been already made,

(M65) Egypt had long been governed by its native princes, when strangers, called Shepherd-kings, (Hycsos in the Egyptian language,) from Arabia or Phnicia, invaded and seized a great part of Lower Egypt, and Memphis itself; but Upper Egypt remained unconquered, and the kingdom of Thebes existed till the reign of Sesostris. These foreign princes governed about 260 years.

(M66) Under one of these princes, called Pharaoh in Scripture,(411) (a name common to all the kings of Egypt,) Abraham arrived there with his wife Sarah, who was exposed to great hazard, on account of her exquisite beauty, which reaching the prince's ear, she was by him taken from Abraham, upon the supposition that she was not his wife, but only his sister.

(M67) THETHMOSIS, or Amosis, having expelled the Shepherd-kings, reigned in Lower Egypt.

(M68) Long after his reign, Joseph was brought a slave into Egypt, by some Ishmaelitish merchants; sold to Potiphar; and, by a series of wonderful events, enjoyed the supreme authority, by his being raised to the chief employment of the kingdom. I shall pa.s.s over his history, as it is so universally known. But I must take notice of a remark of Justin, (the epitomizer of Trogus Pompeius,(412) an excellent historian of the Augustan age,) _viz._ that Joseph, the youngest of Jacob's children, whom his brethren, through envy, had sold to foreign merchants, being endowed from heaven(413) with the interpretation of dreams, and a knowledge of futurity, preserved, by his uncommon prudence, Egypt from the famine with which it was menaced, and was extremely caressed by the king.

(M69) Jacob also went into Egypt with his whole family, which met with the kindest treatment from the Egyptians, whilst Joseph's important services were fresh in their memories. But after his death, say the Scriptures,(414) "there arose up a new king, which knew not Joseph."

(M70) RAMESES-MIAMUN, according to archbishop Usher, was the name of this king, who is called Pharaoh in Scripture. He reigned sixty-six years, and oppressed the Israelites in a most grievous manner. "He set over them task-masters, to afflict them with their burdens, and they built for Pharaoh treasure-cities,(415) Pithom and Raamses-and the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour, and they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in mortar and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field; all their service wherein they made them serve, was with rigour."(416) This king had two sons, Amenophis and Busiris.

(M71) AMENOPHIS, the eldest, succeeded him. He was the Pharaoh, under whose reign the Israelites departed out of Egypt, and was drowned in pa.s.sing the Red-Sea.

(M72) Father Tournemine makes Sesostris, of whom we shall speak immediately, the Pharaoh who raised the persecution against the Israelites, and oppressed them with the most painful toils. This is exactly agreeable to the account given by Diodorus of this prince, who employed in his Egyptian works only foreigners; so that we may place the memorable event of the pa.s.sage of the Red-Sea, under his son Pheron;(417) and the characteristic of impiety ascribed to him by Herodotus, greatly strengthens the probability of this conjecture. The plan I have proposed to follow in this history, excuses me from entering into chronological discussions.

Diodorus, speaking of the Red-Sea,(418) has made one remark very worthy our observation; a tradition (says that historian) has been transmitted through the whole nation, from father to son, for many ages, that once an extraordinary ebb dried up the sea, so that its bottom was seen; and that a violent flow immediately after brought back the waters to their former channel. It is evident, that the miraculous pa.s.sage of Moses over the Red-Sea is here hinted at; and I make this remark, purposely to admonish young students, not to slip over, in their perusal of authors, these precious remains of antiquity; especially when they bear, like this pa.s.sage, any relation to religion.

Archbishop Usher says, that Amenophis left two sons, one called Sesothis or Sesostris, and the other Armais. The Greeks call him Belus, and his two sons Egyptus and Danaus.

SESOSTRIS(419) was not only one of the most powerful kings of Egypt, but one of the greatest conquerors that antiquity boasts of. His father, whether by inspiration, caprice, or, as the Egyptians say, by the authority of an oracle, formed a design of making his son a conqueror.

This he set about after the Egyptian manner, that is, in a great and n.o.ble way. All the male children, born the same day with Sesostris, were, by the king's order, brought to court. Here they were educated as if they had been his own children, with the same care bestowed on Sesostris, with whom they were brought up. He could not possibly have given him more faithful ministers, nor officers who more zealously desired the success of his arms. The chief part of their education was, the enuring them, from their infancy, to a hard and laborious life, in order that they might one day be capable of sustaining with ease the toils of war. They were never suffered to eat, till they had run, on foot or horseback, a considerable race.

Hunting was their most common exercise.

aelian remarks(420) that Sesostris was taught by Mercury, who instructed him in politics, and the art of government. This Mercury is he whom the Greeks called Trismegistus, _i.e._ thrice great. Egypt, his native country, owes to him the invention of almost every art. The two books, which go under his name, bear such evident characters of novelty, that the forgery is no longer doubted. There was another Mercury who also was very famous amongst the Egyptians for his rare knowledge; and of much greater antiquity than he of whom we have been speaking. Jamblicus, a priest of Egypt, affirms, that it was customary with the Egyptians, to affix the name of Hermes or Mercury to all the new books or inventions that were offered to the public.

When Sesostris was more advanced in years, his father sent him against the Arabians, in order to acquire military knowledge. Here the young prince learned to bear hunger and thirst; and subdued a nation which till then had never been conquered. The youths educated with him attended him in all his campaigns.

Accustomed by this conquest to martial toils, he was next sent by his father to try his fortune westward. He invaded Libya, and subdued the greatest part of that vast country.

(M73) SESOSTRIS. During this expedition his father died, and left him capable of attempting the greatest enterprises. He formed no less a design than that of the conquest of the world. But before he left his kingdom, he provided for his domestic security, in winning the hearts of his subjects by his generosity, justice, and a popular and obliging behaviour. He was no less studious to gain the affection of his officers and soldiers, whom he wished to be ever ready to shed the last drop of their blood in his service; persuaded that his enterprises would all be unsuccessful, unless his army should be attached to his person, by all the ties of esteem, affection, and interest. He divided the country into thirty-six governments (called Nomi,) and bestowed them on persons of merit, and the most approved fidelity.

In the mean time he made the requisite preparations, levied forces, and headed them with officers of the greatest bravery and reputation, and these were taken chiefly from among the youths who had been educated with him. He had seventeen hundred of these officers, who were all capable of inspiring his troops with resolution, a love of discipline, and a zeal for the service of their prince. His army consisted of six hundred thousand foot, and twenty-four thousand horse, besides twenty-seven thousand armed chariots.

He began his expedition by invading aethiopia, situated to the south of Egypt. He made it tributary, and obliged the nations of it to furnish him annually with a certain quant.i.ty of ebony, ivory, and gold.

He had fitted out a fleet of four hundred sail, and ordering it to advance to the Red-Sea, made himself master of the isles and cities lying on the coasts of that sea. He himself heading his land army, overran and subdued Asia with amazing rapidity, and advanced farther into India than Hercules, Bacchus, and in after-times Alexander himself, had ever done; for he subdued the countries beyond the Ganges, and advanced as far as the Ocean.

One may judge from hence how unable the more neighbouring countries were to resist him. The Scythians, as far as the river Tanais, as well as Armenia, and Cappadocia, were conquered. He left a colony in the ancient kingdom of Colchos, situated to the east of the Black Sea, where the Egyptian customs and manners have been ever since retained. Herodotus saw in Asia Minor, from one sea to the other, monuments of his victories. In several countries was read the following inscription engraven on pillars: "Sesostris, king of kings, and lord of lords, subdued this country by the power of his arms." Such pillars were found even in Thrace, and his empire extended from the Ganges to the Danube. In his expeditions, some nations bravely defended their liberties, and others yielded them up without making the least resistance. This disparity was denoted by him in hieroglyphical figures, on the monuments erected to perpetuate the remembrance of his victories, agreeably to the Egyptian practice.

The scarcity of provisions in Thrace stopped the progress of his conquests, and prevented his advancing farther in Europe. One remarkable circ.u.mstance is observed in this conqueror, who never once thought, as others had done, of preserving his acquisitions; but contenting himself with the glory of having subdued and despoiled so many nations; after having made wild havoc up and down the world for nine years, he confined himself almost within the ancient limits of Egypt, a few neighbouring provinces excepted; for we do not find any traces or footsteps of this new empire, either under himself or his successors.

He returned therefore laden with the spoils of the vanquished nations, dragging after him a numberless mult.i.tude of captives, and covered with greater glory than any of his predecessors; that glory, I mean, which employs so many tongues and pens in its praise; which consists in invading a great number of provinces in a hostile way, and is often productive of numberless calamities. He rewarded his officers and soldiers with a truly royal magnificence, in proportion to their rank and merit. He made it both his pleasure and duty, to put the companions of his victory in such a condition as might enable them to enjoy, during the remainder of their days, a calm and easy repose, the just reward of their past toils.

With regard to himself, for ever careful of his own reputation, and still more of making his power advantageous to his subjects, he employed the repose which peace allowed him, in raising works that might contribute more to the enriching of Egypt, than the immortalizing his name; works, in which the art and industry of the workman were more admired, than the immense sums which had been expended on them.

A hundred famous temples, raised as so many monuments of grat.i.tude to the tutelar G.o.ds of all the cities, were the first, as well as the most ill.u.s.trious, testimonies of his victories; and he took care to publish in the inscriptions on them, that these mighty works had been completed without burdening any of his subjects. He made it his glory to be tender of them, and to employ only captives in these monuments of his conquests.

The Scriptures take notice of something like this, where they speak of the buildings of Solomon.(421) But he prided himself particularly in adorning and enriching the temple of Vulcan at Pelusium, in acknowledgment of the protection which he fancied that G.o.d had bestowed on him, when, on his return from his expeditions, his brother had a design of destroying him in that city, with his wife and children, by setting fire to the apartment where he then lay.

His great work was, the raising, in every part of Egypt, a considerable number of high banks or moles, on which new cities were built, in order that these might be a security for men and beasts during the inundations of the Nile.

From Memphis, as far as the sea, he cut, on both sides of the river, a great number of ca.n.a.ls, for the conveniency of trade, and the conveying of provisions, and for the settling an easy correspondence between such cities as were most distant from one another. Besides the advantages of traffic, Egypt was, by these ca.n.a.ls, made inaccessible to the cavalry of its enemies, which before had so often hara.s.sed it by repeated incursions.

He did still more. To secure Egypt from the inroads of its nearer neighbours, the Syrians and Arabians, he fortified all the eastern coast from Pelusium to Heliopolis, that is, for upwards of seven leagues.(422)

Sesostris might have been considered as one of the most ill.u.s.trious and most boasted heroes of antiquity, had not the l.u.s.tre of his warlike actions, as well as his pacific virtues, been tarnished by a thirst of glory, and a blind fondness for his own grandeur, which made him forget that he was a man. The kings and chiefs of the conquered nations came, at stated times, to do homage to their victor, and pay him the appointed tribute. On every other occasion, he treated them with sufficient humanity and generosity. But when he went to the temple, or entered his capital, he caused these princes to be harnessed to his car, four abreast, instead of horses; and valued himself upon his being thus drawn by the lords and sovereigns of other nations. What I am most surprised at, is, that Diodorus should rank this foolish and inhuman vanity among the most shining actions of this prince.

Being grown blind in his old age, he died by his own hands, after having reigned thirty-three years, and left his kingdom infinitely rich. His empire, nevertheless, did not reach beyond the fourth generation. But there still remained, so low as the reign of Tiberius, magnificent monuments, which showed the extent of Egypt under Sesostris,(423) and the immense tributes which were paid to it.(424)

I now go back to some facts which took place in this period, but which were omitted, in order that I might not break the thread of the history, and now I shall but barely mention them.

(M74) About the aera in question, the Egyptians settled themselves in divers parts of the earth. The colony, which Cecrops led out of Egypt, built twelve cities, or rather as many towns, of which he composed the kingdom of Athens.

(M75) We observed, that the brother of Sesostris, called by the Greeks Danaus, had formed a design to murder him, on his return to Egypt, after his conquest. But being defeated in his horrid project, he was obliged to fly. He thereupon retired to Peloponnesus, where he seized upon the kingdom of Argos, which had been founded about four hundred years before, by Inachus.

(M76) BUSIRIS, brother of Amenophis, so infamous among the ancients for his cruelties, exercised his tyranny at that time on the banks of the Nile; and barbarously murdered all foreigners who landed in his country: this was probably during the absence of Sesostris.

(M77) About the same time, Cadmus brought from Syria into Greece the invention of letters. Some pretend, that these characters or letters were Egyptian, and that Cadmus himself was a native of Egypt, and not of Phnicia; and the Egyptians, who ascribe to themselves the invention of every art, and boast a greater antiquity than any other nation, give to their Mercury the honour of inventing letters. Most of the learned agree,(425) that Cadmus carried the Phnician or Syrian letters into Greece, and that those letters were the same as the Hebraic; the Hebrews, who formed but a small nation, being comprehended under the general name of Syrians. Joseph Scaliger, in his notes on the _Chronicon_ of Eusebius, proves, that the Greek letters, and those of the Latin alphabet formed from them, derive their original from the ancient Phnician letters, which are the same with the Samaritan, and were used by the Jews before the Babylonish captivity. Cadmus carried only sixteen letters(426) into Greece, eight others being added afterwards.

I return to the history of the Egyptian kings, whom I shall hereafter rank in the same order as Herodotus has a.s.signed to them.

(M78) PHERON succeeded Sesostris in his kingdom, but not in his glory.

Herodotus(427) relates but one action of his, which shows how greatly he had degenerated from the religious sentiments of his father. In an extraordinary inundation of the Nile, which exceeded eighteen cubits, this prince, enraged at the wild havoc which was made by it, threw a javelin at the river, as if he intended thereby to chastise its insolence; but was himself immediately punished for his impiety, if the historian may be credited, with the loss of sight.

(M79) PROTEUS.(428) He was of Memphis, where, in Herodotus's time,(429) his temple was still standing, in which was a chapel dedicated to Venus the Stranger. It is conjectured that this Venus was Helen. For, in the reign of this monarch, Paris the Trojan, returning home with Helen whom he had stolen, was driven by a storm into one of the mouths of the Nile, called Canopic; and from thence was conducted to Proteus at Memphis, who reproached him in the strongest terms for his base perfidy and guilt, in stealing the wife of his host, and with her all the effects in his house.

He added, that the only reason why he did not punish him with death (as his crime deserved) was, because the Egyptians were careful not to imbrue their hands in the blood of strangers: that he would keep Helen, with all the riches that were brought with her, in order to restore them to their lawful owner: that as for himself, (Paris,) he must either quit his dominions in three days, or expect to be treated as an enemy. The king's order was obeyed. Paris continued his voyage, and arrived at Troy, whither he was closely pursued by the Grecian army. The Greeks summoned the Trojans to surrender Helen, and with her all the treasures of which her husband had been plundered. The Trojans answered, that neither Helen, nor her treasures, were in their city. And, indeed, was it at all likely, says Herodotus, that Priam, who was so wise an old prince, should choose to see his children and country destroyed before his eyes, rather than give the Greeks the just and reasonable satisfaction they desired? But it was to no purpose for them to affirm with an oath, that Helen was not in their city; the Greeks, being firmly persuaded that they were trifled with, persisted obstinately in their unbelief: the deity, continues the same historian, being resolved that the Trojans, by the total destruction of their city and empire, should teach the affrighted world this lesson:(430)-THAT GREAT CRIMES ARE ATTENDED WITH AS GREAT AND SIGNAL PUNISHMENTS FROM THE OFFENDED G.o.dS. Menelaus, on his return from Troy, called at the court of king Proteus, who restored him Helen, with all her treasure. Herodotus proves, from some pa.s.sages in Homer, that the voyage of Paris to Egypt was not unknown to this poet.

RHAMPSINITUS. What is related by Herodotus(431) concerning the treasury built by this king, who was the richest of all his predecessors, and his descent into h.e.l.l, has so much the air of romance and fiction, as to deserve no mention here.

Till the reign of this king, there had been some shadow, at least, of justice and moderation in Egypt; but in the two following reigns, violence and cruelty usurped their place.

CHEOPS and CEPHREN.(432) These two princes, who were truly brothers by the similitude of their manners, seem to have vied with each other which of them should distinguish himself most, by a barefaced impiety towards the G.o.ds, and a barbarous inhumanity to men. Cheops reigned fifty years, and his brother Cephren fifty-six years after him. They kept the temples shut during the whole time of their long reigns; and forbid the offering of sacrifices under the severest penalties. On the other hand, they oppressed their subjects by employing them in the most grievous and useless works; and sacrificed the lives of numberless mult.i.tudes of men, merely to gratify a senseless ambition of immortalizing their names by edifices of an enormous magnitude, and a boundless expense. It is remarkable, that those stately pyramids, which have so long been the admiration of the whole world, were the effect of the irreligion and merciless cruelty of those princes.