Biography of Ahmose, son of
Abana
The Crew Commander Ahmose
son of Abana, the justified; he says.
I speak to you, all people.
I let you know what favours came to me.
I have been rewarded with
gold seven times in the sight of the whole land,
with male and
female slaves as well.
I have been endowed with very many fields.
The name of the brave man is in that which he has done; it will
not perish in the land forever.
(Urkunden des ägyptischen
Altertums - Urk IV 1,16 - 2,6)
I grew up in the town of Nekheb,
my father being a soldier of the King of Upper and Lower Egypt,
Sekenenre, the justified.
Baba son of Reinet was his name.
I
became a soldier in his stead on the ship "The Wild Bull"
in the time of the Lord of the Two Lands, Nebpehtire, the
justified.
I was a youth who had not married; I slept in a
hammock of netting.
Now when I had established a household, I was
taken to the ship "Northern", because I was brave.
I
followed the sovereign on foot when he rode about on his chariot.
When the town of Avaris was besieged, I fought bravely on foot in
his majesty's presence.
Thereupon I was appointed to the ship
khaemmennefer ("Rising in Memphis").
Then there was
fighting on the water in "P'a-djedku" of Avaris.
I made
a seizure and carried off a hand.
When it was reported to the
royal herald the gold of valour was given to me.
Then they fought
again in this place; I again made a seizure there and carried off a
hand.
Then I was given the gold of valour once again.
Then
there was fighting in Egypt to the south of this town. and I carried
off a man as a living captive.
I went down into the water - forhe
was captured on the city side - and crossed the water carrying
him.
When it was reported to the royal herald I was rewarded with
gold once more.
Then Avaris was despoiled, and I brought spoil
from there: one man,three women; total, four persons.
His majesty
gave them to me as slaves.
Then Sharuhen was besieged for three
years.
His majesty despoiled it and I brought spoil from it: two
women and a hand.
Then the gold of valour was given me, and my
captives were given to me as slaves.
Now when his majesty had
slain the nomads of Asia,
he sailed south to Khent-hen-nefer, to
destroy the Nubian Bowmen.
His majesty made a great slaughter
among them,
and I brought spoil from there: two living men and
three hands.
Then I was rewarded with gold once again, and two
female slaves were given to me.
His majesty journeyed north, his
heart rejoicing in valour and victory.
He had conquered
southerners, northerners.
Then Aata came to the South.
His
fate brought on his doom.
The gods of Upper Egypt grasped him.
He was found by his majesty at Tent-taa.
His majesty carried
him off as a living captive, and all his people as booty.
I
brought two young warriors as captives from the ship of Aata.
Then
I was given five persons and portions of land amounting to five arura
in my town.
The same was done for the whole crew.
Then came
that foe named Tetian.
He had gathered the malcontents to
himself.
His majesty slew him; his troop was wiped out.
Then
I was given three persons and five arura of land in my town.
The
defeat of Tetian
Then I conveyed King Djeserkare, the justified,
when he sailed south to Kush, to enlarge the borders of Egypt.
His
majesty smote that Nubian Bowman in the midst of his army.
They
were carried off in fetters, none missing, the fleeing destroyed as
if they had never been.
Now I was in the van of our troops and I
fought really well.
His majesty saw my valour. I carried off two
hands and presented them to his majesty.
Then his people and his
cattle were pursued, and I carried off a living captive and presented
him to his majesty.
I brought his majesty back to Egypt in two
days from "Upper Well," and was rewarded with gold.
I
brought back two female slaves as booty, apart from those that I had
presented to his majesty.
Then they made me a "Warrior of
the Ruler."
Nubian campaign of King Amenhotep
I
Djeserkare: Amenhotep I (ca.1546-1527)
Then I conveyed King
Aakheperkare, the justified, when he sailed south to Khent-hen-nefer,
to crush rebellion throughout the lands, to repel the intruders
from the desert region.
I was brave in his presencein the bad
water, in the towing of the ship over the cataract.
Thereupon I
was made crew commander.
Then his majesty [was informed that the
Nubian] ..
At this his majesty became enraged like a leopard.
His majesty shot, and his first arrow pierced the chest of that
foe.
Then those [enemies turned to flee], helpless before his
Uraeus.
A slaughter was made among them; their dependents were
carried off as living captives.
His majesty journeyed north, all
foreign lands in his grasp,
and that wretched Nubian Bowman head
downward at the bow of his majesty's ship "Falcon."
They
landed at Ipet-sut. Nubian campaign of King Thutmose I
Aakheperkare:
Thutmose I (ca.1527-1515)
The cataracts were serious obstacles.
Fortresses were built to protect the struggling navigators
who
had to unload the boats and drag them through the
cataracts.
Ipet-sut: Karnak, where there was the temple of
Amen
After this (his majesty) proceeded to Retenu, to vent his
wrath throughout the lands.
When his majesty reached Nahrin, his
majesty found that foe marshalling troops.
Then his majesty made
a great slaughter of them.
Countless were the living captives
which his majesty brought back from his victories.
Now I was in
the van of our troops, and his majesty saw my valour.
I brought a
chariot, its horse, and him who was on it as a living captive.
When
they were presented to his majesty, I was rewarded with gold once
again.
Syrian campaign of
King Thutmose I
Retenu: Northern Canaan
Nahrin: Eastern
Mesopotamia, i.e. the land between the two rivers
I have grown
old; I have reached old age.
Favoured as before, and loved [by my
lord],
I [rest] in the tomb that I myself made....in Behy.
Again
I am given by the King of Upper and Lower Egypt ... 60 arura in
Hadjaa.
In sum ... arura. Ahmose served under three pharaohs
whose combined reigns lasted from ca.1570 to 1515
Kamose
Inscription
"Regnal year 3 of Horus, he who has appeared on
his throne;
The-Two-Ladies [7], repeating monuments;
Horus-of-Gold, who pacifies the Two Lands,
King of Upper and
Lower Egypt [Wadj]-Kheper-[re, son of Re] Kamose, given life,
beloved of Amenre lord of the Thrones of the Two Lands, like Re
forever and ever!
A mighty king native of Wese [5],
Wadj-[kheper]-re [6], given life forever, even a good king!
It
is Re [that made] him king himself, and that authorized victory for
him in very Truth!
D. Redford, Textual Sources for
the Hyksos Period
His majesty spoke in
his palace to the council of nobles who were in his retinue:
'Let
me understand what this strength of mine is for!
(One) prince is
in Avaris [1], another is in Ethiopia, and (here) I sit associated
with an Asiatic and a Negro!
Each man has his slice of this
Egypt, dividing up the land with me.
None can pass through it as
far as Memphis (although it is) Egyptian water!
See he (even)
has Hermopolis! No man can settle down, when despoiled by the taxes
of the Asiatics.
I will grapple with him, that I may rip open
his belly!
My wish is to save Egypt and to smite the Asiatic!
Then spake the magistrates of his council: 'See, as far as Kos
it is
Asiatic water, and they have drawn out their tongues of
one accord.
We are doing all right with our (part of) Egypt:
Elephantine is strong, and the interior is with us as far as
Kos.
Their free land is cultivated for us, and our cattle graze
in the Delta fens, while corn is sent for our pigs.
Our cattle
have not been seized, and /// have not been tasted.
He has the
land of the Asiatics, we have Egypt.
Only when comes one who
[acts against us] should we act against him.'
But they troubled
His Majesty's heart. As for your counsel /// [op]posite me.
He
who partitions the land with me will never respect me /// the
Asiatics who /// with him.
I will sail north to engage the
Asiatics and success will come!
If he intends to be at ease in
/// his eyes weeping and the entire land!
The Mighty Ruler in
Thebes, Kamose the Strong, protector of Egypt.
I went north
because I was strong (enough) to attack the Asiatics through the
command of Ammon [2], the just of counsels.
My valiant army was
in front of me like a blast of fire.
The troops of the Madjoi
[3] were on the upper part of our cabins, to seek out the Asiatics
and to push back their positions. East and west had their fat, and
the army foraged for things everywhere.
I set out a strong troop
of the Madjoi,
while I was on the day's patrol /// to him in ///
Teti, the son of Pepi, within Nefrusi [4].
I would not let him
escape while I held back the Asiatics who had withstood Egypt.
He
made Nefrusi the nest of the Asiatics. I spent the night in my boat,
with my heart happy.
When day broke, I was on him as if it were
a falcon.
When the time of breakfast had come, I attacked him.
I broke down his walls, I killed his people, and I made his wife
come down to the riverbank.
My soldiers were as lions are, with
their spoil, having serfs, cattle, milk, fat and honey,
dividing
up their property, their hearts gay.
Pritchard,
James B. Ancient Near Eastern Texts. Princeton, 1969.,
pp.232-233.
Carnarvon Tablet I.
See also, Ancient Near Eastern Texts., pp.
554-555.
The district of Nefrusi came down (in submission) :
it
did not take us long until its /// was hemmed in [?] [unknown
location] was deserted when I approached it.
Their horses had
fled inside, and the border patrol /// those who had spent the night
in the valley, their property
D.
Redford, "Textual Sources for the Hyksos Period," in E.D.
Oren, (ed)
, The Hyksos: New Historical and Archaeological
Perspectives
(Philadelphia: 1997)
The inscription was made a few
generations after the events.
Crew commander: Ahmose is generally
given the title of admiral, t
he most we know is that he was an
officer of sorts commanding sailors.
Abana: Ahmose defines
himself as the son of his mother,
Abana, rather than his father
as was usual during other periods.
Gold: awards in the form of
golden necklaces or the like He speaks as follows.
(Urk IV 3,2 - 5,2) The
campaign against the Hyksos seizure and carried off a hand:
Prisoners often either died of their wounds or were killed by
their captor,
a practice known since earliest times, and as
proof of a kill a hand or the genitals were cut off.
Avaris:
capital city of the Hyksos in the eastern delta"P'a-djedku"
of Avaris: canal of Hutuaret i.e.
Avaris (Ángel Sánchez
Rodríguez)
Sharuhen: Sharhana, border town in
south-western Canaan
The enslavement of large numbers of Asiatic
began during this war.
(Urk IV 5,4 - 14) Nubian
campaign of King AhmoseKhent-hen-nefer:
Nubian region south of
the second cataract.
Many Nubians served in the Egyptian army as
archers since the First Intermediate Period