Egypt under Rameses the Great / by E.A. Wallis Budge.

  • Budge, E. A. Wallis (Ernest Alfred Wallis), Sir, 1857-1934.
Date:
1902
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Egypt under Rameses the Great / by E.A. Wallis Budge. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    the events which took place under Menephthah prove that the nations around were only waiting for his death to invade Egyptian territory. Under Rameses III. the Libyans and the Syrians with tbeir allies made a strong attack upon the Delta, and it says much for the ability of his generals and the administration of his forces that the Egyptians were victorious. This king appears to have been the first Pharaoh who con- structed fleets of boats which could be used both for the purpose of war and of trade. Under the succeeding Rameses kings the power of Egypt declined rapidly, and the poverty-stricken condition of Thebes, the capital of the South, is well illustrated by the fact that the priests of Amen-Ra were obliged to make Rameses IX. authorize them to levy taxes on the people for the maintenance of the temple of their god. The papyri of the period tell us that the royal tombs of Thebes were plundered, and that the mummies of many of the great Pharaohs were stripped of every- thing of value, and we know from the “ finds ” at Der el-Bahari that the sacrilegious thieves even broke the royal remains in pieces. The Governments of Rameses IX. and Rameses X. prosecuted the robbers and violators of the tombs, but the examination of the witnesses revealed the fact that the pillaging of the abodes of the dead was carried on in a systematic manner with the connivance of certain highly-placed officials, and, apparently, the wrecking of the royal mummies and plundering of their funeral furniture