Three Novels of Ancient Egypt

Seqenenra knew the horror that awaited him and his army but he was brave and possessed of great faith and, not hesitating for even a moment, he looked to the sky and said in a clear voice, “Lord Amun, do not forget your faithful sons!” then issued the order to the chariot force surrounding him to charge and sprang forward at their head to meet the enemy.

Now began a battle of the greatest horror, in which the screams of man and horse rang loud, helmets flew, heads rolled, and blood flowed. The bravery of the Egyptians, however, was of no avail against the swift armored chariots, which decimated their ranks and harvested them like chaff. Seqenenra fought magnificently, never despairing or flagging, appearing at times as though he were the angel of death, choosing whomever he wished from the enemy. The battle went on until the late afternoon, at which point victory appeared to favor the Herdsmen, who gathered themselves to deliver the final stroke, and a large chariot, guarded by a mighty force led by an intrepid horseman with a long, shining white beard, charged at Seqenenra's chariot and forced its way through the ranks with extraordinary bravery. The king grasped the objective of the daring horseman and hastened toward him till they met face to face. They exchanged two terrible thrusts with their javelins, each deflecting the thrust aimed at him with his shield as he readied himself for the fight. Seqenenra saw his opponent unsheathe his sword and realized that his first attempt had not satisfied him. He unsheathed, therefore, his own and rushed toward him, but, at that critical moment, an arrow lodged in his arm, his hand was seized by a spasm, and the sword fell from it. Many of the king's guard cried out, “Beware, my lord, beware!” but the foe reached him faster than the warning and with all his strength aimed a terrible blow at his neck. It found its mark and, an expression of excruciating pain upon his dark-complexioned face, he came to a halt, incapable of further resistance. His foe seized a javelin with his right hand and flung it hard and it lodged in the king's left side. He staggered as though stupefied and fell to the ground. Shouts arose all around and the Egyptians said, “Dear God! The king is fallen! Defend the king!” while the enemy commander, with a triumphant smile, cried out, “Finish the impudent rebel off, and spare not one of his men!” The fighting intensified around the king's fallen body, and a horseman, consumed with malice, swooped down upon it, raised his sharp axe, and brought it down on his head. The double crown of Egypt was dislodged and fell and the blood spurted like a spring, at which the man dealt him another blow, above his right eye, smashing the bones and hideously scattering the brains. Many were those who wanted to snatch from that bloody feast some morsel to satisfy their rancor and they rushed in upon the corpse, aiming at it cruel, insane jabs that struck the eyes, mouth, nose, cheeks, and chest, and ripped the body to pieces, bathing it in a sea of blood.

Pepi fought at the head of those of his soldiers that remained, pushing back the enemy forces surging toward the spot — where his lord had fallen. Once they had despaired of gaining anything further by continuing the battle, life lost its meaning for the soldiers, who determined to seek martyrdom on the spot that their brave sovereign had watered with his blood. One by one they fell, until night overtook them and the world put on mourning, and the two sides ceased fighting, exhausted by their efforts, weakened by their wounds.

11

The soldiers came out with torches to look for their dead and wounded. Commander Pepi stood next to his chariot, utterly exhausted, his heart preoccupied with thoughts of the corpse whose guiltless blood had stained the field. He heard the voice of a commander saying, “What a wonder! How could the fighting have come to an end so fast? Who would believe that we lost the bulk of our forces in a single day? How could Thebes’ courageous soldiers have been overcome?”

Another voice, so exhausted as to sound like a death rattle, responded, “It was the chariots that could not be resisted. They destroyed all Thebes’ hopes.”

Commander Pepi called out to them, “Soldiers, have you performed your duty to the corpse of Seqenenra? Let us search for it among the corpses!”