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The
Mereneptha stele
The stele can actually be divided into two
parts,with only the last few lines in reference to Canaan and
Isreal.
The majority is dedicated to a war with Lybia.
Year
5, 3rd month of summer, day 3, under the Majesty of Horus: Mighty
Bull, Rejoicing in Maat; the King of Upper and Lower Egypt:
Banere-meramun; the Son of Re: Merenptah, Content with Maat,
magnified
by the power, exalted by the strength of Horus; strong
bull who smites
the Nine Bows, whose name is given to eternity
forever. Recital of his
victories in all lands, to let all lands
together know, to let the
glory of his deeds be seen: the King of
Upper and Lower Egypt:
Banere-meramun; the Son of Re: Merenptah,
Content with Maat; the Bull,
lord of strength who slays his foes,
splendid on the field of valour
when his attack is made: Shu who
dispelled the cloud that was over
Egypt, letting Egypt see the
rays of the sun disk. Who removed the
mountain of copper from the
people's neck, that he might give breath
to the imprisoned folk.
Who let Hut-ka-Ptah exult over its foes,
letting Tjenen triumph
over his opponents. Opener of Memphis' gates
that were barred,
who allowed the temples to receive their foods. The
King of Upper
and Lower Egypt, Banere-meramun, the Son of Re,
Merenptah,
Content with Maat. The Sole One who steadied the hearts of
hundred
thousands, breath entered their nostrils at the sight of him.
Who
destroyed the land of the Tjemeh in his lifetime, cast abiding
terror in the heart of the Meshwesh. He turned back the Libyans
who
trod Egypt, great is dread of Egypt in their hearts. Their
leading
troops were left behind, Their legs made no stand except
to flee,
Their archers abandoned their bows, The hearts of their
runners grew
weak as they sped, They loosened their waterskins,
cast them down,
Their packs were untied, thrown away. The vile
chief, the Libyan foe,
Fled in the deep of night alone, No plume
on his head, his feet unshod,
His wives were carried off from his
presence, His food supplies were
snatched away, He had no
drinking water to sustain him. The gaze of
his brothers was
fierce to slay him, His officers fought among each
other, Their
tents were fired, burnt to ashes, All his goods were food
for the
troops. When he reached his country he was in mourning Those
left
in his land were loath to receive him "A chief, ill-fated,
evil-plumed", All said of him, those of his town. "He
is in the power
of the gods, the lords of Memphis The Lord of
Egypt has made his name
accursed; Merey is the abomination of
Memphis, So is son after son of
his kin forever. Banere-meramun
will be after his children, Merenptah,
Content with Maat is given
him as fate. He has become a [proverbial
saying] for Libya,
Generation says to generation of his victories: It
was never done
to us since the time of Re;" So says every old man
speaking
to his son. Woe to Libyans, they have ceased to live In the
good
manner of roaming the field; In a single day their stride was
halted
In a single year were the Tjehenu burned! Seth turned his back
upon
their chief, By his word their villages were ruined; There's no
work
of carrying [loads] these days. Hiding is useful, it's safe in
the
cave. The great Lord of Egypt, might and strength are his, Who
will
combat, knowing how he strides? A witless fool is he who takes
him
on, He knows no tomorrow who attacks his border! As for Egypt,
"
Since the gods," they say, "She is the only
daughter of Pre; His son
is he who's on the throne of Shu, None
who attacks her people will
succeed. The eye of every god is
after her despoiler, It will make an
end of all its foes",
So say they who gaze toward their stars, And
know all their
spells by looking to the winds. A great wonder has
occurred for
Egypt, Her attacker was placed captive (in) her hand,
Through the
counsels of the godly king, Who prevailed against his foes
before
Pre. Merey who stealthily did evil To all the gods who are in
Memphis, He was contended with in On, The Ennead found him guilty
of
his crimes. Said the Lord-of-all: "Give the sword to my
son, The
right-hearted, kind, gracious Banere-meramun, Who cared
for Memphis,
who avenged On, Who opened the quarters that were
barred. He has freed
the many shut up in all districts, He has
given the offerings to the
temples, He has let incense be brought
to the gods, He has let the
nobles retain their possessions, He
has let the humble frequent their
towns". Then spoke the
lords of On in behalf of their son, Merenptah,
Content with Maat:
"Grant him a lifetime like that of Re, To avenge
those
injured by any land; Egypt has been assigned him as portion, He
owns
it forever to protect its people". Lo, when one dwells in the
time of the mighty, The breath of life comes readily. The brave
bestows wealth on the just, The cheat cannot retain his plunder;
[What a man has of ill-gotten wealth Falls to others, not (his)
children.] This (too) shall be said: Merey the vile foe, the
Libyan
foe Had come to attack the walls of Ta-tenen, Whose lord
had made his
son arise in his place, The King of Upper and Lower
Egypt,
Banere-meramun, Son of Re, Merenptah, Content with Maat.
Then said
Ptah concerning the vile Libyan foe: "His crimes
are all gathered upon
his head. Give him into the hand of
Merenptah, Content with Maat, He
shall make him spew what he
gorged like a crocodile. Lo, the swift
will catch the swift, The
lord who knows his strength will snare him;
It is Amun who curbs
him with his hand, He will deliver him to his ka
in Southern On,
The King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Banere-meramun, Son
of Re,
Merenptah, Content with Maat". Great joy has arisen in Egypt,
Shouts go up from Egypt's towns; They relate the Libyan victories
Of
Merenptah, Content with Maat: "How beloved is he, the
victorious ruler!
How exalted is he, the King among the gods! How
splendid is he, the
lord of command! O how sweet it is to sit and
babble!" One walks
free-striding on the road, For there's no
fear in people's hearts;
Fortresses are left to themselves, Wells
are open for the messengers'
use. Bastioned ramparts are becalmed,
Sunlight only wakes the watchmen;
Medjai are stretched out asleep,
Nau and Tekten are in the fields
they love. The cattle of the
field are left to roam, No herdsmen cross
the river's flood;
There's no calling out at night: "Wait, I come," in
a
stranger's voice. Going and coming are with song, People don't
[lament] and mourn; Towns are settled once again, He who tends
his
crop will eat it. Re has turned around to Egypt, The Son is
ordained
as her protector, The King of Upper and Lower Egypt,
Banere-meramun,
Son of Re, Merenptah, Content with Maat The
princes are prostrate
saying: "Shalom!" Not one of the
Nine Bows lifts his head: Tjehenu is
vanquished, Khatti at peace,
Canaan is captive with all woe. Ashkelon
is conquered, Gezer
seized, Yanoam made nonexistent; Israel is wasted,
bare of seed,
Khor is become a widow for Egypt. All who roamed have
been
subdued. By the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Banere-meramun,
Son
of Re, Merenptah, Content with Maat, Given life like Re every
day.
The Medjai were a Semitic people
from east of Nubia near the Red Sea.They were hired by the Egyptians
as policemen and mercenaries,but were not a permenant part of the
military.They were used to guard Egyptian borders against attacks and
not for military campaigns into other countries.Apparantly peace had
been restored to Egypt,and Mernepthah then set out to bring peace to
Canaan and Syria.
The
Journal of a Frontier Official
During
the reign of Seti I Mer-ne-Ptah
Pritchard,
James B. Ancient Near Eastern Texts. Princeton, 1969., pp., 258-259.
(Papyrus Anastasi III):
I
Year 3, 1st month of the
3rd season, day 15.
The Guardsman Baal-roy, son of Zippor, of
Gaza, went up, who had two
different despatches for Syria: the
Commander of the Garrison Khay,
one despatch; the Prince of Tyre
Baal-termeg, one despatch.
II
Year 3, 1st month of the 3rd
season, day 17.
The Chief of Bowmen of the Wells of Mer-ne-Ptah
Hotep-hir-Maat--life,
prosperity, health!--which is (on) the
mountain range arrived for a
(judicial) investigation in the
fortress which is in Sile.
III
Year 3, 1st month of the 3rd
season, day 22.
The Guardsman Thuti, son of Tjekrem, of Gaza,
came, in company with
Tjedet son of Shemu-Baal, of ditto, and
Seth-mose, son of Apar-dagal,
of ditto, who had with him, for the
place where One was, (for) the
Commander of the Garrison Khay,
gifts and one despatch?
There went up the Guardsman Nakht-Amon,
son of Tjer, of the Castle of
Mer-ne-Ptah Hotep-hir-Maat - life,
prosperity, health! - which is near
Sar-ram, who had with him two
different despatches for Syria: the
Commander of the Garrison
Pen-Amon, one despatch; the Steward (of)
this town Ramses-nakht,
one despatch.
There came the Overseer of the Stable of the town
Mer-ne-Ptah
Hotep-hir-Maat--life, prosperity, health !--which is
in the district of the Arem,
Pa-mer-khetem, son of Ani, who had
with him two different despatches for the place where One was:
the
Commander of the Garrison Pa-Re-em-heb, one despatch; the Deputy
Pa-Re-em-heb, one despatch.
IV
Year 3, 1st month of the 3rd
season, day 25.
The Charioteer of the Great Stable of Ba-(en)-Re
Meri-Amon--life,
prosperity, health!--[of] the Court, In-wau,
went up.
The Wadi Halfa
Stela of Seti I Mer-ne-Ptah
Year
1, fourth month of the third season, the last day.
Live Seti I
//////////// given life, beloved of Amon, lord of Thebes, and
Min-si-ese,
appearing upon the Horus throne of the living, like
his father, Re, every day.
Lo, his majesty was i[n the c]ity of
Memphis, performing the ceremonies of his father,
Harakhte, Ptah,
the great, South-of-His-Wall, lord of Life-of-the-Two-Lands,
Atum,
lord of the Two Lands of Heliopolis and all [the gods] of Egypt,
according as they gave [to him] might and victory over all lands,
united with one heart under thy sandals.
[/// /// ///] [His
majesty commanded] to found [divine offerings for his father Min-]
Amon residing in Bohen, his first foundation in his temple:
12
(pr.t-s) loaves; [100 (bjA.t) loaves; 4 (ds) jars of beer; 10 bundles
of vegetables.]
[Likewis]e this temple was filled with prophets,
ritual priests (wab);
his storehouse was filled with male and
female slaves from the captivity of his majesty,
L.P.H., [the
King of Upper and Lower Egypt]
Menmare (Seti I), given life, like
Re forever and ever.
Lo, his majesty sought excellent things to
do them for his father Min-A[mon]
residing in Bohen; he made a
great,
august stela of good sandstone for the /// place /////////
of [his father], Amon,
for the beautiful birth-house of the
ennead, where appears the lord of gods,
The King of Upper and
Lower Egypt ////////////.
James Henry Breasted Ancient Records of
Egypt Part Three, §§ 158 ff.
/// - missing or
undecipherable passages
The
Beth Shan Stela of Seti I (Merneptha)
Year
1, 3rd month of the third season, day 10.
Live the Horus: Mighty
Bull, Appearing in Thebes,
Making the Two Lands to Live; the Two
Goddesses: Repeating Births, Mighty of Arm,
Repelling the Nine
Bows; the Horus of Gold: Repeating Appearances,
Mighty of Bows in
All Lands; the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Lord of the Two Lands:
Men-maat-Re [Ir]-en-Re; the Son of Re,
Lord of Diadems: Seti
Mer-ne-Ptah,(full titulary of Seti I) beloved of Re-Har-akhti, the
great god.
The good god, potent with his arm, heroic and valiant
like Montu, rich in captives,
(5) knowing (how to) place his
hand, alert wherever he is; speaking with his mouth, acting with his
hands,
valiant leader of his army, valiant warrior in the very
heart of the fray,
a Bastet terrible in combat, penetrating into
a mass of Asiatics and making them prostrate,
crushing the
princes of Retenu, reaching the (very) ends of (m) him who
transgresses against his way.
He causes to retreat the princes of
Syria (Kharu), all the boastfulness of whose mouth was (so) great.
Every foreign country of the ends of the earth, their princes
say:
"Where shall we go ?" They spend the night giving
testimony in his name, saying:
"Behold it, behold it? in
their hearts.
It is the strength of his father Amen that decreed
to him valor and victory.
On this day one came to speak to his
majesty, as follows:
(15)
"The wretched foe who is in
the town of Hamath is gathering to himself many people,
while he
is seizing the town of Beth-Shan.
Then there will be an alliance
with them of Pahel.
He does not permit the Prince of Rehob to go
outside."
(Generally all the cities are near Beth-Shan.)
Thereupon his majesty sent the first army of Amen, (named)
"Mighty of Bows,"
to the town of Hamath, the first army
of the Mer-ne-Ptah
(20)
Re, (named)
"Plentiful of Valor," to the town of Beth-Shan,
and the
first army of Seth, (named) "Strong of Bows," to the town
of Yanoam.
(See Karnak inscription on felling trees near Yanoam.)
When the space of a day had passed, they were overthrown to the
glory of his majesty,
the King of Upper and Lower Egypt:
Men-maat-Re; the Son of Re: Seti
Mer-ne-Ptah, given life.
Pritchard, James B. Ancient Near
Eastern Texts. Princeton, 1969., pp.,
253-254.