Merneptah’s Nubian War, the Book of Caverns, and his Legacy. The later years of Merneptah’s reign were eventful. Just as the Libu war wound down, another conflict started in Nubia. Shortly after, there may have been some disruptions or reshuffling in the government. We also get a new religious text known as the “Book of Caverns.” Finally, we follow Merneptah’s passing and his legacy.
Music by Ihab Mahna, Keith Zizza, Luke Chaos.
An extended version of this episode (49m) is available on my Patreon.
Transcript (Preview)
Merneptah’s Nubian War
In 1221 BCE, Egypt’s Delta-lands breathed a sigh of relief. After a month of disorder, the Libu invasion was defeated. Its leaders were dead, their bodies impaled on stakes along the western roads. Families were enslaved, bound and dragged away to labour for pharaoh. The “Sea Peoples,” five distinct groups arriving simultaneously with the Libu, were also thrown down. The royal cities of Men-nefer (Memphis) and Pi-Ramesses could rest, knowing the danger had passed.
Unfortunately, the violence was not over. As the King’s army prepared to fight the Libu, a messenger arrived at Merneptah’s palace: “It happened in Year 5, the IIIrd Month of Shemu, Day 1. Now… just as the victorious arm of His Person came to overthrow the wretched… Libu… (One) came to inform (the King) that the fallen ones of Wawat had transgressed in the South…”[1]
Just as the Libu attacked the north, a band of Nubians attacked the south. The timing seems awfully coincidental. Were the Nubians just taking advantage of Egypt’s distraction… or did the two parties conspire, to launch a joint attack?[2] We can’t be sure. Usually, pharaohs mention that sort of thing, to heighten drama and build up their victory. Maybe the timing was a coincidence. But the threat was real enough. With the royal army deployed in the north, the southlands might be terribly vulnerable.
The Nubian attack came from or against Wawat (Lower Nubia) between Abu Simbel and Aswan. Chances are that the enemy would attack temples in this region.[3] Ramesses II had lavished wealth on his sanctuaries, like Abu Simbel, Amada, and Beit el-Wali.[4] They were certainly easier targets than the fortresses, and with Egyptian troops heading north to fight the Libu, security may have been weakened.
Fortunately, the war in the Delta took just a few days to resolve. As his troops mopped up the Libu survivors, Merneptah could despatch a force to the south.
The next part of the story is hazy. Unlike the Libu campaign, where Merneptah describes his response and the marshalling of troops, the Nubian story jumps straight to the enemy’s defeat. It was a bloody one:
“The hot blast from (pharaoh’s) mouth (has gone forth) against the land of Wawat. They are destroyed at one blow… having been carried off to Egypt all together. Their chiefs have been set on fire in the presence of their followers / families(?) As for the remainder, the hands of some were cut off because of their crime. As for others, (their) ears and eyes were removed; they were taken to Kush. They were made into heaps in their cities (niwt).”[5]
Once again, Merneptah inflicted terrible punishments on the defeated. Treating these Nubians as criminals, the Egyptians cut hands off living warriors, burned the war-chiefs alive, and dumped corpses at enemy towns. The goal, quite simply, was terror; a warning to anyone thinking of transgressing Egypt’s borders.[6] Merneptah declared as much in his victory proclamation: “Never again will Kush (KS) repeat rebellion for eternity (n sp wHm KS bSd r nHH). Evil befalls the one who attacks… (Merneptah), first-born child of Sutech… (He) causes the Nine Bows / Enemies to writhe (in agony)… (he) sweeps them away by the breath of his mouth… (All enemies say) ‘Where can we go? The fierce lion is out hunting!’ He guards Kemet, he protects Ta-Mery…”[7]
The image of divine pharaonic power is on full display. Like a beast on the hunt, the King’s troops dispersed the enemy raid and left their enemy cowering. It’s a shame we don’t get any detail on the conflict. Where did the fighting take place? Was it really such an easy victory? The language of royal propaganda obscures much of the detail, but Merneptah’s message shines through: blood, fire, and pain. A sharp warning to all Egypt’s foes.
The Viceroy Messuy
Merneptah made zero claim to have led this war in person.[8] Instead, he described the victory through metaphor. Pharaoh’s army goes forth as his “victorious arm,” and his divine power manifests as a “fiery blast.” The description is brief because the King wasn’t present, having passed the campaign to an underling. Scholars have a fairly good idea who the general may have been.
To crush the Nubians, Merneptah probably despatched a man named Messuy.[9] He was the Viceroy of Nubia (or “King’s Son of Kush”), Overseer of the Southern Deserts, Fanbearer to the King, and Royal Scribe.[10] Messuy might have been a son or grandson of the pharaoh himself; one text refers to the Viceroy as sA-nsw-n-Ds.f, “Son of the King himself.”[11] Which could refer to Ramesses II (“son” being grandson/descendant) or Merneptah himself.[12]
Messuy led the troops southward to crush the rebellion. In gratitude, Merneptah allowed the viceroy to carve images of himself on major Nubian temples.[13] He shows up on monuments like Amada and Beit el-Wali, where he adores the cartouches of the pharaoh.[14] Near Aswan, Messuy carved a graffito, showing him before Merneptah, who sits in his chariot (a classic “post-battle” image).[15] The Viceroy must have been riding high in the wake of the campaign.
As was the King!
Victory Celebrations
At the end of 1221 BCE, Merneptah’s wars came to their bloody conclusion. You can imagine the army must have been tired. Between years 3 and 5 they had fought multiple campaigns in quick succession. First Canaan, then the Libu, then the Nubians… it was just one bloody affair after another. But at last, Kemet could rest.
In the wake of victory, it was time to celebrate, and Merneptah did so in grand style. First, he gathered up prisoners, loaded them onto ships, and sailed upriver from the Delta. Pharaoh visited the great temples of Ra, Ptah, and Amun, to make offerings and donate captives as slaves. A record of this survives at Karnak, where Merneptah seems to have held an enormous celebration. We hear of a parade: “The victorious army is come after he (Merneptah) has triumphed, in victory and power… How delightful is your going to Waset, your chariot laden with (enemy) hands and (their) chiefs bound before you! You will present them to your great father, Amun-the-Bull-of-His-Mother.”[16]
Riding in procession (perhaps along the Avenue of Sphinxes), Merneptah displayed the fruits of his army’s success. In the grand temple, the King offered to Amun-Ra. Then, the King appeared in splendour to address his soldiers, followers, priests, and dignitaries of the court. A hieroglyph inscription, at Karnak, records pharaoh’s words for his subjects:
“Their Lord the King appeared – Life, Prosperity, Health! – in the broad hall of the palace… (His Majesty said) ‘It is god (nTr) who gives power… to his beloved, the King… the son of Ra… The Libu had plotted evil, to do in Kement. Behold, I felled them, slew them, made them into piles… A great slaughter was made among (enemy) chiefs. I have place those who (still) live to fill the temples… the people shall reply ‘All of Libu is conquered!’ … I set this land [free of] my enemies… Sutech has given victory and valour…’”[17]
In response, the King’s followers acclaimed the great victory, rejoicing that peace had returned to the Nile Valley. They said:
“(Merneptah is) the Bull, Lord of Might, who slays his enemy… the Sun who clears the storm-clouds that were over Kemet, the one who lets Ta-Mery see the sun’s light (again)… (He is the one) who opens the gates of the White Walls (of Mennefer), which had been closed up, and who allows its temples to receive their divine offerings (once more)… The great Lord of Egypt, power and victory are his… Anyone who takes him on is a mindless fool… (he) opens up the towns that had been sealed shut. He has freed the multitudes that were enclosed, in every district…”[18] “Great joy has arisen in Kemet, jubilation rings forth in the towns… they tell of the victories that Merneptah has achieved…”[19]
It wasn’t all grandiosities. The scribes also rejoiced in a more relaxed tone:
“Ah, to sit chatting is pleasant. Striding freely, one can now walk the roads… no fear in the people’s hearts. The fortresses are left to themselves, the wells are open and accessible to messengers. The fortified walls are undisturbed, only the sunlight awakens their guards. The Medjay-police lie fast asleep… The Nau (NAw) and Tjukten (Tktn) are in the fields that they desire. The herds of the field are let loose to roam around… one goes and one comes with song. There is no shriek of people who grieve. Towns are founded once more, and he who cultivates a harvest shall (safely) eat it.”[20]
Peace had returned, and everyone was happy.
Well, not everyone.
The rest of the transcript, along with a 57-page pdf booklet of images and notes, is available on my Patreon.
[1] For the texts and translations, see RITA IV, 1—2; Davies, Historical Inscriptions of the Nineteenth Dynasty, 189—194.
[2] Proposed by Kitchen, K. A. (1990). The Arrival of the Libyans in Late New Kingdom Egypt. In Libya and Egypt c.1300—750 BC, pp. 19—20; Manassa, Great Karnak Inscription, 95—97; Abbas, M. R. (2020). “The Canaanite and Nubian wars of Merenptah,” Égypte Nilotique et Méditerranéenne, 13, 133–149 online.
[3] Kahn, D. (2012). A Geo-Political and Historical Perspective of Merenptah’s Policy in Canaan. In The Ancient Near East in the 12th-10th Centuries BCE: Culture and History, p. 262 online.
[4] Török, L. (2009). Between Two Worlds: The Frontier Region Between Ancient Nubia and Egypt, 3700 BC-AD 500, 194; Shaw, I. (1996). Battle in Ancient Egypt: The Triumph of Horus or the Cutting Edge of the Temple Economy? In A. B. Lloyd (Ed.), Battle in Antiquity (pp. 239–270).
[5] KRI IV, 1:15; RITA IV, 2; For mutilation and treatment of prisoners, see Matić, U. (2019). Body and Frames of War in New Kingdom Egypt https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvsf1qpk.
[6] Abbas, “The Canaanite and Nubian wars of Merenptah,” 143.
[7] RITA IV, 1—2, 29—30; Davies, Historical Inscriptions of the Nineteenth Dynasty, 189—194.
[8] Spalinger, A. J. (1982). Aspects of the Military Documents of the Ancient Egyptians, 13—14.
[9] Iskander, S. (2002). The Reign of Merneptah [Unpublished PhD. Thesis], 363; Servajean, Mérenptah et la fin de la XIXe dynastie, 48 fig. 6.
[10] RITA IV, 74—76.
[11] Krauss, R. (1977). Untersuchungen zu König Amenmesse (2. Teil). SAK, 5, 131—174.
[12] Hopper, R. W. (2010). The Monuments of Amenmesse and Seti II: A Historical Inquiry [Unpublished PhD. Thesis], 620—633.
[13] RITANC IV, 77—81.
[14] Beit el-Wali: Ricke, H. et al. (1967). The Beit el-Wali Temple of Ramesses II, pl. 21, online.
[15] Dodson, Poisoned Legacy (Revised edn), 24 fig. 24.
[16] P. Anastasi II. Gardiner, Late Egyptian Miscellanies, 5:1—5:4; Caminos, Late Egyptian Miscellanies, 44—46; Spalinger, War in Ancient Egypt, 248 n. 32.
[17] KRI IV, 9:10—12:10; RITA IV, 8—10.
[18] RITA IV, 11—14.
[19] RITA IV, 14—15; Davies, Historical Inscriptions, 184—185.
[20] RITA IV, 14—15; Davies, Historical Inscriptions, 184—185.
