The Egyptian (55 page)

But I objected, “You cannot make war, Horemheb, for Pharaoh has forbidden it and allows you no gold for such a purpose.”

“I spit on his gold! I have borrowed right and left—borrowed myself into beggary to equip an army for Tanis. By my falcon, Sinuhe! You could not mean to ruin everything and journey to Syria as a peace maker?”

I told him that Pharaoh had already given me his commands and furnished me with all necessary tablets for the conclusion of peace. It was useful to know that Aziru himself desired it, for in that case he would be willing to concede it cheaply.

At this Horemheb flew into a rage; he kicked over his seat and shouted, “Now in truth if you buy peace from him, to Egypt’s shame, I will have you flayed alive and thrown to the crocodiles when you return, friend though you may be; this I swear! Go then, speak to Aziru of Aton. Be simple, tell him that Pharaoh of his infinite goodness will have mercy on him! Aziru will never believe you, for he is a crafty man, but he will puzzle himself into a fit before he lets you go; he will bargain and haggle and stuff you to the teeth with lies. But on no account are you to yield Gaza. Tell him also that Pharaoh cannot answer for the guerrillas and their plundering—for these free forces will in no circumstances lay down their arms; they give not a rap for Pharaoh’s tablets—I see to that! You need not tell Aziru this of course. Tell him that they are gentle, patient men whom sorrow has blinded but who will assuredly exchange their spears for shepherds’ crooks as soon as peace has been signed. But do not yield Gaza, or I will flay you with my own hand: so much anguish have I suffered, so much gold have I scattered in the sand, so many of my best spies have I sacrificed in order to open the gates of Gaza to Egypt.”

I remained in Memphis for several days, debating the terms of peace with Horemheb and disputing with him. I met envoys from Crete and Babylon, also distinguished fugitives from Mitanni. From their talk I formed a picture of all that had happened, and I was filled with ambition, aware for the first time of being an important factor in the great game, the stakes of which were the destinies of men and cities.

Horemheb was right: at this moment peace was a more valuable gift to Aziru than to Egypt, although events in the world at large bore promise of no more than an armistice. Having stabilized conditions in Syria, Aziru would turn once more against Egypt. The future now depended on whether the Hittites, having established their sovereignty in Mitanni, would march on Babylon or Egypt through Syria. Reason suggested that they would aim at the weakest point, and Babylon was arming while Egypt lay defenseless. The land of Hatti was an uncomfortable ally for anyone; nevertheless, to Aziru it afforded support. In joining with Egypt against the Hittites he was threatened with certain defeat so long as Pharaoh Akhnaton reigned and Aziru had thus only sand at his back.

Horemheb told me that he would meet Aziru somewhere between Tanis and Gaza, where Aziru’s chariots were engaging the guerrillas. He described conditions in Smyrna, numbering the houses that had been burned during the siege and giving the names of eminent persons who had been slain, so that I marveled at all he knew. Then he gave me an account of his spies who had visited the Syrian cities and followed Aziru’s troops in the guise of sword swallowers, jugglers, fortunetellers, oil merchants, and slave traders.

Both Horemheb’s officers and the fugitives told me such hideous tales of the men of Amurru and of the free Egyptian forces that my heart quailed and my knees turned to water as the hour of my departure approached.

Horemheb said, “You may choose whether to go by land or by sea.”

“Perhaps it will be safer to go by land,” I replied uncertainly. He nodded.

“From Tanis onward you shall have an escort of a few spears and chariots. Should they fall in with Aziru’s troops, they will abandon you in the desert and make off with all speed. It is possible that Aziru’s men, seeing you to be an Egyptian of high rank, will impale you on a stake in the Hittite manner, and urinate on your clay tablets. It is also possible that despite your escort you will fall into the hands of the guerrilla forces who will strip you and set you to turning their millstones until such time as I can ransom you for gold—but I do not think you would last so long, as their whips are fashioned of hippopotamus hide. Or they might as readily slit you open with their spears and leave you to the crows, which is by no means the worst way of ending one’s days but on the whole a fairly easy death.”

My heart quailed more than ever, and despite the summer heat my limbs were cold. I said, “I bitterly regret having left my scarab with Kaptah, for it might have done more to help me than Pharaoh’s Aton, whose power seems not to extend to these godless places. For the sake of our friendship, Horemheb, should you hear that I am turning millstones as a prisoner in any place, be prompt to purchase my freedom, and do not spare the gold, for I am a rich man—richer than you think—although I cannot now furnish you with a full statement of my property, of which even my own knowledge is incomplete.”

He answered, “I know of your wealth and have borrowed a considerable quantity from you through Kaptah as I have from other rich men, being fair minded and unwilling to deprive you of the privilege of lending. For our friendship’s sake I hope you will not dun me for the gold as this might strain the friendship or even break it. Go then, Sinuhe my friend, go to Tanis and there pick up an escort for your journey into the desert. May my falcon protect you, for I cannot; my authority does not extend so far. Should you be taken prisoner I will buy your freedom; should you die I will avenge you. May this knowledge comfort you when some spear is slitting your belly.”

“Should you hear that I am dead, do not waste your vengeance on me,” I said bitterly. “You will bring no comfort to my crow-pecked skull by bathing it in the blood of your victims. Do but greet the Princess Baketaton on my behalf, for she is a fair and desirable woman, although haughty, and at her mother’s deathbed she asked after you.”

Having loosed this poisoned arrow over my shoulder, I left him, somewhat comforted, and went to bid scribes to draw up my will and attest it with all necessary seals. This document, by which I bequeathed my whole estate to Kaptah, Merit, and Horemheb, I deposited in the archives of Memphis. I then took a ship for Tanis, where, in a sun-baked fortress at the edge of the desert, I met with Horemheb’s frontier guards.

These men drank beer, cursed the day of their birth, hunted antelope in the desert, and drank more beer. Their mud huts were dirty and smelt of urine, and the women they had there were of the lowest sort. In a word, they lived the usual life of frontier troops and longed for the day when Horemheb would lead them into battle in Syria. Any fate, though it were death itself, was to be preferred to the unbearable monotony of their existence in those ovenlike quarters among the sand fleas. They were full of ardor; they vowed they would form the spearhead of the free forces and press forward to Jerusalem and even to Megiddo, sweeping before them the stinking Syrians as the rising Nile sweeps away dry reeds.

My escort equipped themselves for the journey. Waterskins were filled and horses brought in from the grazing ground, while smiths reinforced the wheels of the chariots. By Horemheb’s command ten chariots were allotted me, each drawn by two horses and leading a spare. In them, besides the driver, were a foot soldier and a javelin thrower. When the leader of the troop reported to me, I scanned him very narrowly, for I was entrusting my life to him. His loincloth was as ragged and dirty as those of his men, and the desert sun had burned him black; only his silver-braided whip distinguished him from the rest. I had the more confidence in him—more than if he had worn fine clothes and had an attendant to shield him from the sun.

When I spoke of a carrying chair, he forgot his respect and burst out laughing. I believed him when he said that our only safeguard was speed and that I must therefore go with him in his chariot, leaving chairs and other home comforts behind me. He promised that I should sit on a sack of forage if I wished, but assured me that I would do better to stand and learn to balance myself to the motion, or the desert would jolt the breath from my body and crack my bones against the sides of the chariot.

I drew myself up and told him that this would be by no means my first ride in a chariot. I had once driven from Smyrna to Amurru in the shortest possible time so that even Aziru’s men marveled at my speed though at that time I had been younger than I now was. The officer, whose name was Juju, listened politely, after which he committed my life to all the gods of Egypt and I stepped up behind him into his chariot. There he broke out his standard and roared at the horses, and away we went along a caravan route into the desert. I bounced about on the forage sacks, clung to the sides with both hands, bumped my nose, and bewailed my condition. My groans were drowned in the din of the wheels, and the drivers behind me yelled madly for joy at driving out into the desert away from the scorching hell of the huts.

Thus we drove the whole day, and I spent the night on the sacks more dead than alive, bitterly cursing the day of my birth. Next morning I tried to stand in the chariot, holding to Juju’s girdle, but after a while the wheel went over a stone and I flew out in a high arc, landing on my head in the sand, where prickly plants tore my face. But I was past caring for this. When night came Juju seemed uneasy about my condition. Although he was keeping the men short of water, he spared some to pour over my head. He held my hands and comforted me, saying that the journey had been fortunate so far and that if the free forces did not surprise us on the following day either, the fourth day should bring us up with some of Aziru’s scouts.

At dawn I was roused by Juju rolling me roughly out of the chariot onto the sand. He threw out my tablets and chest after me, then turning his horses he commended me to the protection of the gods and tore off at full gallop, followed by the rest of the chariots, and their wheels struck sparks from the stones.

When I had rubbed the sand from my eyes, I saw a group of Syrian chariots advancing toward me from the hills and fanning out in battle order. I rose and waved a palm branch above my head in token of peace, although the branch had shriveled and withered in the course of my journey. The chariots whirled by unheeding—except that an arrow sang past my ear and plunged into the sand behind me—and tore after Juju and his men. I saw, however, that these made good their escape.

Finding that pursuit was vain, Aziru’s chariots returned to me, and the leaders stepped out. I announced my rank and showed them Pharaoh’s tablets, but they took no heed of these. They robbed me, opened my traveling chest, took my gold, and then stripped the clothes off me and bound me by the wrists to the tail of a chariot. When they drove off, I had to run behind—run until I was near suffocating while the sand scraped the skin from my knees.

I should certainly have died on that journey had not Aziru’s camp lain immediately beyond the range of hills. With half-blinded eyes I saw a great assembly of tents among which horses were grazing; a wall of chariots and ox sleds encircled the camp. After that I knew nothing more until I awoke to find slaves throwing water over me and rubbing oil into my limbs. An officer who could read had seen my clay tablets, and I was now treated with all respect and given back my clothes.

As soon as I could walk, I was taken to Aziru’s tent, which smelt of tallow and wool and incense. Aziru advanced to meet me roaring like a lion; golden chains jingled about his neck, and his curly beard was in a silver net.

He came to me and embraced me, saying, “I am distressed that my men have treated you ill. You should have told them your name and explained that you were Pharaoh’s envoy and my friend. You should also have waved a palm branch over your head as a token of peace, as good custom requires. My men tell me that you rushed at them brandishing your knife, so that in self-defense they were compelled to seize you.”

My knees burned as with fire, and my wrists ached. Consumed with bitterness I replied, “Look at me and see if your men were in danger! They broke my palm branch and robbed me, and they trampled on Pharaoh’s tablets. You should have them flogged to teach them respect for Pharaoh’s envoy.”

But Aziru threw open his garment in mockery and raised his hands.

“You must certainly have had some evil dream, Sinuhe! Can I help it if you have hurt your knees on the stones in the course of your wearisome journey? I should not dream of flogging my best men for the sake of a miserable Egyptian, and the words of Pharaoh’s envoy are as the buzz of flies in my ear.”

“Aziru, king of many kings, order at least that man to be flogged who shamefully jabbed my behind in many places as I ran after the chariots. Have him flogged, and I shall be content. Know that I bring peace as a gift to you and to Syria!”

Aziru laughed aloud and smote his breast.

“What is it to me if that pitiful Pharaoh crawl before me in the dust, begging for peace? Yet your words are reasonable. Since you are my friend and the friend of my consort and my son, I will have that man flogged who speared you in the backside to hasten you, for that was at variance with good custom. As you know, I fight with clean weapons for lofty aims.”

So I had the pleasure of seeing my worst tormentor flogged in the sight of the assembled troops before Aziru’s tent. His comrades had no pity but mocked him and howled with laughter when he shrieked, for they were warriors and glad of any break in their life of tedium. Without doubt Aziru would have let them beat the man to death, but when I saw the blood flow and the flesh loosen from his ribs, I raised my hands and gave him back his life. I then had him carried to the tent Aziru had set aside for me—to the indignation of the officers who had been quartered there—and his comrades began to acclaim me with enthusiasm, fancying that I intended to follow up the whipping with many ingenious tortures. But I anointed his back with the same salves I had rubbed into my own knees and buttocks, and I bound up his wounds and let him drink his fill of beer. The man thought I was mad and lost all respect for me.