Three Novels of Ancient Egypt

Ahmose prepared for the great work. He summoned the famous engineers of Thebes and proposed his idea to them. They studied it with diligence and passion, then told the king that his idea was feasible, provided that he gave them enough time and a thousand laborers. Ahmose learned that his project could not be realized in less than two years but did not give up in despair. Instead he sent messengers to the cities to call for volunteers for the great work on which the liberation of the country and the expulsion of its enemy depended. The workers came in bands from all parts and soon there were enough of them to start with. The king inaugurated the great work, taking a mattock and striking the ground with it to announce the beginning. Behind him followed the brawny arms that labor to the rhythm of hymns and songs.

There was nothing for the king and army to do but settle in for a long wait. The troops did their daily training under the supervision of their officers and commanders. The king, for his part, passed his spare time in expeditions to the eastern desert to hunt or hold races, and to escape from the impulses of his heart and the agonies of his passion. During this period of waiting, messengers brought him a letter from Sacred Mother Tetisheri, in which she wrote:

My lord, Son of Antun, Pharaoh of Upper and Lower Egypt, may the Lord preserve him and help him with victory and triumph: little Dabod is today a paradise ofhappiness and joy by virtue of the news of the incontestable victory granted you by the Lord that the messengers have brought. We do not wait today in Dabod as we waited yesterday, for now our waiting is bounded by equanimity and closer to hope. How happy we all are to learn that Egypt has been freed from ignominy and slavery and that its enemy and humiliator has imprisoned himself within the walls of his fortress, waiting cringingly for the blow with which you will destroy him! The Almighty Lord has willed, in His solicitude and mercy, that He should present you with a gift — you who brought low His enemy and raised high His word — and has provided you with a son as a light for your eyes and a successor to your throne. I have named him Amenhotep in honor of the Divine Lord, and I have taken him in my arms, as I took his father, and his grandfather, and his father's grandfather before him. My heart tells me that he will be crown prince of a great kingdom, of many races, languages, and religions, watched over by his dear father.

Ahmose's heart beat as any father's must, tenderness flowed in his breast, and he rejoiced with a great joy that made him forget some of what he suffered from the pains of repressed passion. He announced the birth of the crown prince Amen-hotep to his men, and it was a day to be remembered.

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