The Double Crown: Secret Writings of the Female Pharaoh (31 page)

Greetings and salutations to the Pharaoh Ma’atkare Khnemet-Amen Hatshepsut, living for ever, from her devoted subject and friend Khani, Standard Bearer in the Division of Sobek at Memphis. Majesty, I hope this finds you well as it leaves me. I write to inform Your Majesty that I have been selected to be trained in the Kap. I am extremely proud of this, since I am very aware that only those destined to become officers and commanders are allowed into this secret fraternity. If, as I believe, Your Majesty’s good word had something to do with my acceptance, I wish to express my grateful thanks. I shall endeavour to fulfil your expectations of me. I live to serve Your Majesty and the Two Lands. May Your Majesty live for ever.

Indeed, it was true that I had spoken for him, but he would never have been accepted if he had not had the necessary qualities. He received the special training that the Kap has to offer, and he went on to become the Officer in Charge of Recruits in the standing army, where he did outstanding work. Although he was stationed in Memphis, he came to Thebes several times a year for the great festivals, wherein the military play an important part, and then he would always come to see me.

For the past four years he has been the Officer Commanding the Division of Sobek, currently stationed in Thebes. Naturally there must always be a full division in Thebes to defend the capital in case of incursions from the south. The various divisions of the army, the main rump of which is stationed at Memphis, are rotated to take terms of duty in Thebes. So, for these four years we have been close and it worries me that he does not write.

Well, it is bootless to keep brooding about this. Let me return to my story.

As the months went by, there were periods when I forgot about the expedition on its way to Punt. Then again I would remember and I would try to imagine the five ships with their sails bellied out in the wind, bravely voyaging into the unknown for my sake. I wondered whether they would be able to locate that fabled land. Would they reach it safely? Would the trading go off well, and would they succeed in returning home with their precious cargo? I worried about them and I thought how awful it would be if they were lost at sea, never to return, and never to be properly buried in the earth of Khemet so that they might attain the Afterlife. Indeed, those men ventured much for my sake, for they risked not only their lives on earth but even their claims to eternity. Yet the god Amen had spoken. I could not believe that they would be lost.

It would have been a great comfort to receive letters, but of course, given that they were at sea, that was impossible. However, General Nehsi understood my deep interest in the journey and realised that, if they were successful, a full record would be invaluable to anyone coming after them, and of course equally for those who would inscribe the events of my reign on my mortuary temple walls. So he kept a detailed journal that afterwards came into my possession. I shall add his scrolls to mine so that the story of that remarkable undertaking may be kept safe. As we have seen in the past, even the living stone where their actions were to be recorded may be altered. Let his writings attest to what they did.

From the journal of General Nehsi, begun in the reign of Hatshepsut year 11

The trip along the Nile to the delta
passed speedily and without any problems. The sailors were doing what they knew well how to do. The weather was hot, but it was cool on the water and everyone on board the five ships was in a festive mood. We lounged on deck drinking beer and watching the densely green river banks slip by. In places hippos loomed like round rocks and ducks quacked amongst the reeds. The sailors often caught fish and the cooks served them with a delicious sauce; we could obtain fresh vegetables and fruit from small boats that plied the river. It felt like a holiday.

The blessings of the gods be upon the Pharaoh, we all said when we reached the ancient canal leading from the delta to the Eastern Sea and found it in good order and easily navigable. King Ma’atkare’s foresight in sending work teams to prepare the thoroughfare made it smooth going for us, otherwise there had perforce been a considerable delay. So the second leg of the journey was also trouble-free and pleasant.

But now we have reached the open sea and turned southwards along the coast, and the journey has ceased being easy. Every day brings its own challenges. I fear that the sailors are no longer at home upon these rough and unpredictable waters; there are not many who have had any experience other than on the river, although some tell me they have sailed to ports such as Sidon and Byblos. Most of the soldiers are seasick, retching and wretched, and curse the evil day they left the stable land.

The captain, a swarthy Phoenician named Aqhat, fortunately does have experience of seafaring. He is a taciturn man who grunts his orders but otherwise hardly speaks. Also he seems to sleep very little, and only for short periods, trusting no man better than himself to keep us safe. He holds course close to the coast, but not close enough to see land at all times, else should we crash upon rocky promontories. Days go by that we can see nothing other than the limitless, rolling ocean stretching to the horizon on all sides, with the other four ships of our fleet tossing about somewhere within sight, looking frighteningly frail. We have been fortunate in the weather, having had a brisk following wind most of the time.

Hardly had I noted that the weather had been reasonably fair, when, of course, it changed. As I sat on the deck one night, it seemed to me that the stars low upon the horizon were dimming. The night was warm and still, and there was a slight wind; the ship was not making good headway, but was ploughing and wallowing in the dark water, which had an oily look. Something ominous was approaching from the south-east; there seemed to be a blackness there that was sending advance guards: a heavy swell, a closeness in the air, an oppressiveness that made it hard to breathe.

Suddenly Captain Aqhat was at my side. “Stormy weather coming, Sir,” he said. Almost at once a rush of wind arrived, bringing with it pelting rain. Sharp orders had the sailors jumping to their tasks, taking in the sails, bringing the ship heeling around. The air had grown cold very quickly. The motion of the ship was uneasy. I understood that we could not sail freely before the wind, for the direction was wrong; it would result in our running aground on the rocky coast. I could no longer sit, but I would not go below; it was too close down there, and besides, more of the soldiers would be seasick, for sure, causing a most disgusting smell. It was exhilarating to be out on deck in the dark night, riding the huge swells that now ran beneath our hull.

The weather turned thick and wild; the wind became a gale and lashed the towering waves into gleaming white foam. Taller and taller they grew, looming hugely as if they would smash down upon us and send us to the depths of the ocean in little pieces of wreckage. But the gallant ship mounted each swell, sometimes almost standing on end, and crashed down to the further side, wallowing until the next mountain of water bore down. It seemed as if Seth and all his screaming devils had descended upon us and were tossing us about for their sport. At our departure from Thebes our ship had looked large and sturdy compared to other boats on the Nile, but now it seemed to be but a tiny, fragile barque. When the sea grew calm again, it seemed to me miraculous that we had survived.

How presumptuous we were, I thought that terrifying night, to venture upon the fathomless deeps with such frail vessels and with so little knowledge of the vagaries of the gods who reigned over that vast world of water. By and large the gods of Khemet were far more predictable. Hapi could usually be counted upon to deliver the inundation year after year. One knew what to expect. The flood would bring the rich black earth and recede and planting would be done; the crops would germinate and ripen under the winter sun and when the time was right, the harvest would be brought in. It was comfortable and familiar. Out on the boundless ocean all was strange, and savage storms might at any moment descend to punish human audacity.

And yet, survival in such circumstances brings greater satisfaction than one derives from comfortable routines at home. To go beyond the known, the familiar, the safe and predictable; to venture, to dare, to challenge unknown gods – ah, therein lies a delight that the homebound and the faint-hearted will never experience. I shall be forever grateful to Her Majesty that she afforded me the chance to learn this truth.

Once we had lived through that first wild storm upon the open ocean I lost my fear. I had seen that our captain was a very capable seafarer and I became confident that we would reach our goal. And so, after a long and often wearying journey lasting many months, at last we did. One hot and humid day, we neared a widely curving bay edged with a broad sweep of white sand where the waves broke in curving lines of glittering foam. Further back a thick tangle of green foliage sheltered a village with curiously conical huts set high above the ground. Thin trickles of smoke ascended into the cloudless sky.

“Sir, I believe we have reached Ta-Neter,” said the captain. According to the few reports that I had been able to find before we departed, left by the ancients who had made this voyage before us, it seemed that we had indeed. Ta-Neter: the fabled Land of Punt.

Captain Aqhat suggested that at first only the lead ship, ours, should sail close enough to be sighted and that we should anchor well offshore, sending but a few small boats towards the beach. That way we could establish contact without their assuming that we were attacking them. I thought his plan well judged, and so we carried it out. I went ashore unarmed, carrying my staff of office, but escorted by eight armed soldiers. We were not a sufficiently large group to intimidate their king, who stood ready to greet us, accompanied by one wife, a daughter and two sons. He welcomed us in a friendly manner.

The king was a slender man with a reddish skin, wearing a loincloth and rows of anklets on his left leg. His long, thin beard straggled to his chest. He did not look so very different from ourselves, but the queen of that wondrous land was truly remarkable to behold. Never had I seen a woman of such ample girth. So heavy was she that she found it difficult to walk about and was carried everywhere upon a small ass, which seemed hardly capable of carrying such a load, yet bore her valiantly. She wore what seemed to be a short, split kilt, a shirt without sleeves and a necklace made of a thong with large, colourful baubles strung on it. She had fine eyes that flashed with laughter, and a wide smile showing strong white teeth.

The king was clearly very proud of her. We concluded that ample girth was considered beautiful, a strange idea for Egyptians, for our women are admired when they are slim and able to move with grace. However, one must expect that foreign lands will have foreign concepts and foreign customs.

We had brought some samples of the items we wished to use to barter with and upon landing we spread them out on the sand and stood back, showing that we had come in peace. They chattered among themselves in their strange tongue. It would have been difficult to communicate, but by great good fortune it appeared that there were some among them who had a knowledge of the tongue used in my country of Nubia. Besides myself several of our soldiers are able to speak it, so we managed better than I had anticipated. Soon their king had found an interpreter and had indicated his willingness to trade.

Thereafter, the other four ships hove into view and anchored offshore in deeper water. The soldiers who now arrived in larger numbers were made welcome also. The village where the Puntites live I judged most attractive. Their houses, with the oddly conical shapes we had noticed from the sea, are constructed from plaited palm fronds and set high off the ground on poles, so that they require a ladder to gain access to their homes. These structures are well suited to their climate, which is hot and sultry. The lush trees surrounding the houses provide cool shade. Chattering monkeys play in their branches, where we also noted many nesting birds. We saw ebony and incense trees as well as palms, and realised at once that we would be able to bring back the trees that Her Majesty desired to create an incense garden for the God at Djeser-Djeseru.

The Puntites were delighted with the items we had brought: brightly coloured beads and bracelets, and some useful tools. Cordial relations were quickly established, and I gave orders that a tent be prepared in which we could receive the chiefs of this land, so that we might present them with bread, beer, wine, meat and fruits – all the good things of the land of Egypt, as was ordered by the Pharaoh, to whom all life, strength and health are wished. So a tent was raised in the harbour of Punt, on the shore of the sea, and there was a small outpost of the Black Land on a strange and distant coast.

Captain Aqhat explained to me that it was necessary to await the reversal of the prevailing winds to carry us back to Egypt. So we spent several weeks travelling westwards overland, assisted by Puntite guides, to the interior of that wondrous land, to collect ebony and incense and to gather other treasures such as elephant tusks and panther skins, as well as a number of live animals, some more extraordinary than those told about in any ancient tale. From a number of villages on our route we collected tribute to their distant Pharaoh in the shape of sacks filled with precious metals. Several sturdy donkeys were required to transport the goods back to the shore. We would indeed have a rich haul to present to Her Majesty and to the god Amen.