Three Novels of Ancient Egypt

Chamberlain Hur grasped what the king wanted and said, “Pardon, my lord, but the face of Ombos has changed in the past ten years. Barracks have been constructed that did not exist before, as I saw — with my own eyes on one of my trading voyages. The Herdsmen have probably taken these as a center to defend the towns that fall close to the borders.”

Commander Mheb said, “In any case, my lord, I believe that we should attack with light forces, so that we do not sustain a heavy loss.”

Prince Ahmose, however, did not favor this opinion and he said to his father, “My lord, I hold the opposite view. I think that we should attack with forces too heavy to be resisted and throw the main body of our forces into the battle, so as to deal the enemy the final blow as quickly as possible. In so doing, we will dismay the forces that are gathering now at Thebes to fight us and in the future we will be doing battle with men who believe that to fight us is to die. There is no fear of risking our troops, for our army will double in size with the volunteers who join it at every town we take, while the enemy will never find replacements for its own losses.”

The idea pleased the king, who said, “My men will sacrifice themselves willingly for the sake of Thebes.”

The king was aware of the decisive effect that the fleet's victory had had in winning the battle, because of the significant role that fleets can play in laying siege to the beaches of rich cities or landing troops behind enemy lines. He therefore issued an order to Commander Qumkaf to attack the Herdsmen's ships that lay at anchor to the west of Ombos.

All that now lay between the two armies was a broad plain. The Herdsmen were warlike and tough, intrepid and strong, and they harbored an ingrained contempt for the Egyptians. Ignorant of the Egyptians’ strength, they attacked first, sending against them a battalion of a hundred war chariots. Then Kamose gave the order to attack and more than three hundred chariots sprang forward and surrounded the enemy. Dust rose, horses neighed, bows twanged. A violent fight occurred, with Prince Ahmose determined to put paid to the enemy once and for all. He launched a further two hundred chariots against the enemy's infantry, — which — was awaiting the outcome of the chariot battle in front of the gates of Ombos. These — were followed by units from the archers’ battalion and others from that of the spearmen. The chariots swept down on the infantry and broke through their lines, throwing them into confusion and terror and raining arrows upon them. Their ranks gave — way, — with some — wounded, some dead, and some in flight, but they were met by Ahmose's attacking infantry in irresistible numbers and — wiped out in their entirety. The enemy — was taken by surprise, not having expected that it would meet with forces of this size, and its forces rapidly collapsed, its horsemen falling and its chariots disintegrating. The Egyptians had mastery of the field in a time so short as to be barely believable, having fought with anger and fury, striking with arms whose sinews were hardened by age-old hatred and blazing resentment.

Armed forces broached the gates of Ombos and forced an entry in order to occupy the barracks and cleanse them of the remnants of enemy troops, and officers went over the field, organizing their battalions and carrying off the wounded and the dead. King Kamose stood in the midst of the field on his chariot surrounded by his commanders, with Prince Ahmose on his right and Chamberlain Hur on his left. News had arrived that his fleet had borne down on the enemy ships and attacked them fiercely and that the enemy had retreated before them in disarray. The king was pleased and said to those around him, smiling, “A successful beginning.”

Prince Ahmose, his clothes covered with dust, his face smeared with grime, and his forehead dripping with sweat, said, “I am looking forward to plunging into battles more terrible than that.”

Kamose, throwing at his lovely face a look of admiration, said, “You will not have to wait long.”

The king then descended from his chariot, his men following, and took a few steps that brought him into the midst of the corpses of the Herdsmen. He looked at them and, seeing that the blood that had gushed from them had stained their white skin and that arrows and lances had lacerated it, he said, “Do not imagine that this blood is the blood of our enemies: it is the blood of our people whom they sucked dry and left to die of hunger.”

Kamose's face was drawn, hidden behind a dark mask of sorrow. Raising his head to the heavens, he murmured, “May your soul, my dear father, live in peace and felicity!”