The Egyptian by Mika Waltari

Posted by admin_akashic on Mar 4th, 2022 in Stories

Worst of all, the foreign envoys followed the processions and were witnesses to these things and learned also of the assassination attempt on Pharaoh’s life since it could not be concealed due to Pharaoh’s insistence. Therefore I believe that Aziru’s envoy had many agreeable tales to tell his master on his return to Syria. He also took with him many costly presents from Pharaoh to Aziru, and I, too, sent presents to Aziru and his family with his envoy. I sent his son an entire little army carved in wood, with beautifully painted spearmen and archers, horses and chariots, and half of them I had had painted like Hittites and half like Syrians, in the hope that he would let them fight each other when he played. Wooden sculptures like this were cheap to acquire since Amun’s temples and workshops had been closed, and Amun could not have his magical servants and boats in the tombs of the wealthy any more, and so his woodcarvers were out of work. In any case, my present was skilled work, and the eyes of the soldiers were of black stone, and officers had precious stones as their eyes, and officers’ chariots were covered with gold, and their little whips were gold and silver, so that my present was royal and according to my rank, and I paid more for it than I did for all my presents to Aziru, since his son was closer to his heart than his own interests.

Presently, Pharaoh Akhenaten suffered greatly and wrestled with his heart, and many doubts shook his faith so that sometimes in the darkness of the night he would bitterly lament that his visions had faded and Aten had forsaken him. But eventually he turned the attempted assassination to his strength and agitated himself to believe that his mission was yet greater and his works of more importance than before, since there was still so much darkness and fear in the land of Egypt. He tasted the bitter bread of hatred and he drank the salty water of hatred — and that bread could not satisfy his hunger nor that water quench his thirst, but yet he believed he acted only in goodness and for the sake of his love when he allowed harsher persecution of Amun’s priests and those who spoke the name of Amun aloud to be sent to the mines. Those who most suffered from persecution were of course the poor and simple, for the secret power of Amun’s priests was formidable, and Pharaoh’s guards dared not interfere with them but overlooked their doings. Thus hatred bred hatred, and unrest continued to increase in Egypt.

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Having no son, Pharaoh sought to strengthen his power by marrying his two elder daughters, Meritaten and Ankhesenaten, to the sons of his court’s noble and faithful men. He let Meritaten break the jar with a boy named Smenkhkare, who held the rank of Royal Cup Bearer in the golden house and had all his life grown up in the golden house believing in Aten. He was a fifteen-year-old, ardent boy who saw dreams eyes-open, just like Pharaoh, but his will was weak, and his will always complied with the strong will of Pharaoh which made him pleasing to Pharaoh Akhenaten. Therefore Pharaoh Akhenaten let this young boy be crowned with royal headdress and ordered him to be his successor since he no longer expected to have a son of his own.

But Ankhesenaten broke the jar with a ten-year-old boy whose name was Tut and who got the titles of Caretaker of King’s Horses and Overseer of Royal Building Works and Stone Quarries. He was a slender, sickly boy who played with dolls and liked sweets and was obedient in everything and learned easily. There was no evil in him, if no particular good, and he believed all he was taught, echoing the words of the last speaker. These boys were of the noblest blood in Egypt, and by marrying his daughters to them, Pharaoh Akhenaten thought to secure to himself and Aten the alliance of their illustrious and powerful families. These boys pleased him because they had no wills of their own, for in his fanaticism he would not any more tolerate difference of opinion nor listen to his counsellors.

This way, all went on as before ostensibly, but the death of the little princess and the death of her dog and the attempt on Pharaoh’s life were evil signs, and an even worse sign was that Pharaoh Akhenaten wanted to stop his ears to all earthly voices and would listen only to those within him. So life became oppressive in Akhetaten, and the streets were quieter, and the people laughed less than formerly and they spoke in an undertone as if some secret fear were looming over the City of the Heavens. Often while at work beside the murmuring water clock, I would be roused from my thoughts and look outside becoming aware of a sudden, deadly hush over Akhetaten so that not a sound would reach me — no rumbling of carriages, no twittering of birds, no

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