Three Novels of Ancient Egypt

Day after day the army rose before dawn and marched on till dark, until it found itself encamped at Abydos. Scouts were patrolling to the north of the city — when one of their officers saw, at great distance, groups of people moving over the earth. At the head of a troop of his men, he made toward the approaching people, things becoming clearer the further he went down the valley. He saw crooked lines of peasants moving in bands carrying whatever of their belongings they could and some driving flocks or cattle, their appearance indicating misery and dispossession. Wondering, the man rode up to those at the front and was about to question them when one of them shouted to him, “Save us, soldier! They surprised us and destroyed us!”

Alarmed, the officer shouted back, “Save you? What has alarmed you?”

Many of them answered with one voice, “The Herdsmen, the Herdsmen!”

And the first man said, “We are the people of Panopolis and Ptolemais. One of the border guards came to us and told us that the Herdsmen's army was attacking the borders with huge forces that soon would burst through to our village. He advised us to flee to the south. Terror seized the village and the fields and we all hurried to our homes to call our women and children and carry away whatever we could. Then we fled and left the villages behind us and we haven't rested for an instant since yesterday morning.”

Faintness and fatigue were visible in the faces and the officer told them, “Rest a little, then be quickly on your way. Shortly this quiet valley will be turned into a field of combat!”

Then the man gathered the reins of his horse and galloped off to the commander's tent at Abydos and informed him. Pepi went immediately to Pharaoh and told him the news, which he received with astonishment and distress, shouting, “How can that be? Could Khayan have informed Memphis in so short a time?”

Pepi replied in fury, “There can be no doubt, my lord, that the enemy assembled its army on our borders before sending us its envoy. They set a trap for us and only presented their demands in the hope that we would reject them. When Khayan crossed our border on his way back, he gave the order to the assembled armies to attack. This is the only reasonable explanation for such a violent and rapid assault.”

King Seqenenra's face turned pale with anger and fury and he said, “So Panopolis and Ptolemais have fallen?”

“Alas, yes, my lord. The valor of our small garrison alone was not sufficient to defend them.”

The king shook his head in sorrow and said, “We have lost our best fighting ground.”

“That will have no effect on the courage of our magnificent fighting men.”

The king thought for a moment, then said to the commander of his armies, “We must evacuate Abydos and Dendara completely.”

Pepi looked questioningly at the king, who said, “We cannot defend these cities.”

Pepi grasped what his lord meant. He asked, “Does my lord wish to meet the enemy in the valley of Koptos?”

“That is want I want. There, the enemy can be attacked from many directions. There are natural forts in the sides of the valley. I shall leave bands behind in the cities that we evacuate to harry them without engaging them in combat. This will hold up their advance until we have strengthened our positions. Come, Pepi. Send your messengers to the cities to evacuate them and order the commanders to retreat at once. Lose no time, for the end of one of the ropes of the swing in which the destiny of our people is balanced is now in the hand of Apophis!”

9

The crier called out to the peoples of Abydos, Barfa, and Dendara, “Take your belongings and your money and go south! Your homes have become a battle ground that will know no mercy.” The people knew the Herdsmen and their ways. Fear seized them and they rushed to get their money and possessions, which they piled onto carts pulled by oxen, and to gather their cattle and flocks, driving them fast. They sorted themselves out and hastened southward, leaving their lands and homes, brokenhearted. The further they went, the more they threw dark looks behind them, their hearts tugging them toward their homes. Then fear — would seize them and they — would hasten on toward the unknown that awaited them. On their — way, they would pass divisions of the army and their hearts would feel easier in their breasts. Hope — would toy — with their painful dreams and their lips would part in a smile of joy that would shine in the sky of their woes as the sun's rays light up a gap in the clouds revealed for a second on an overcast day. They would wave to them and many would call out, “The lands entrusted to our keeping have been wrested from us. Restore them to us, brave soldiers!”