The Egyptian by Mika Waltari

Posted by admin_akashic on Mar 4th, 2022 in Stories

Horemheb rejoiced greatly at the peace, for his troops had dwindled and the war had impoverished Egypt, and he desired to build up Syria and its trade and so draw profit from Syria. But he agreed to make peace on condition that the Hittites yield Megiddo, which Aziru had made his capital and which he had fortified with impregnable walls and towers. Therefore the Hittites took Aziru and his family prisoner, and having confiscated the immense wealth he had amassed in Megiddo from all over Syria, they handed Aziru over with his wife Keftiu and both of his sons to Horemheb, in chains. As the pledge of peace and to show their good will, they sent Aziru with his family in chains to Horemheb’s camp and delayed yielding Megiddo until they had time to plunder it and drive the flocks of sheep and herds of cattle off the land of Amurru northward out of the country — which by the terms of peace was now under Egypt’s control. And Horemheb did not quibble at this, but had horns be sounded for the war to end and held a banquet for the Hittite princes and commanders, drinking wine with them all night and boasting of his prowess. But on the following day, he was to execute Aziru and his family before the assembled troops and Hittite commanders, in token of the eternal peace that should thereafter prevail between Egypt and the land of Hatti.

I would not partake of his banquet but made my way in the darkness of the night to the tent where Aziru was kept in chains, and the guards did not dare stop me from going to him, since I was Horemheb’s doctor, and the soldiers had learned to know me by now and knew what a mean man I was and knew how I could stand up even against Horemheb with vicious and biting words if I wanted to. But I went to Aziru because in the whole of Syria he now had no friend left, for an imprisoned man who has lost all his wealth and is condemned to a shameful death never has any friends left. I went to him because I knew that he dearly loved life, and I wanted to assure him that life was not worth living, by all that I had seen of it. I also desired to say to him as a doctor that death is easy — easier than life’s pain, sorrow and suffering. Life is a burning hot flame, but death is the dark water of oblivion. I desired to say all this to him because he was to die the following morning, and I knew he would be unable to sleep because he loved life so dearly. But if he would not listen to me, I thought to sit silently beside him that he might not be alone. A man might find it easy to live without friends, but to die without one friend is hard, especially if one has been a ruler of many and has worn crowns on his head during the days of his life.

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Thus I went in the darkness of the night to the tent where he was kept in chains, for in the light of the day I had not wanted to show myself to him but had stood back from his way, covering my face with my garment when he and his family had been brought in a shameful manner to Horemheb’s camp — where the soldiers had mocked him and cast mud and horse droppings on him. He was an exceedingly proud man and would not have wished me to see his degradation, since I had once beheld him in the days of his majesty and power. Therefore I had stood back from his way during the day and only went to his prison tent in the darkness of the night; and the guards raised their spears to let me go past them, saying, “Let us admit him, since he is Sinuhe, the doctor, and his errand must be lawful. If we forbid him, he might bash us viciously or by witchcraft deprive us of our manhood for he is a mean man and his tongue stings worse than a scorpion.”

In the darkness of the tent, I said, “Aziru, King of Amurru, will you receive a friend during the night of your death?” Aziru sighed deeply in the dark, and his chains rattled, and he said, “I am King no longer and have no friends, but is it indeed you, Sinuhe? I know your voice even in the dark.” I said to him, “It is Sinuhe.” And he said, “By Marduk and all the devils of the underworld, if you indeed are Sinuhe, bring some light here, for I am weary of lying in the darkness, and soon I will lie in the darkness of all my time. Though the accursed Hittites have torn my clothes and crushed my limbs in torture so that I am no pretty sight to your eyes, but as a physician you must be accustomed to see worse sights, and I am not ashamed of anything any more, for in the face of death, it is not worth while to be ashamed of one’s wretchedness. Sinuhe, bring a light into the tent that I may see your face and put my hand in yours for my liver aches, and water runs from my eyes because of my wife and my boys. If also you can fetch some strong beer to moisten my throat, I will tomorrow tell about all your good deeds to the gods of the underworld, Sinuhe. I cannot myself pay for even a mouthful of beer, for the Hittites have robbed me of my last copper piece.”

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