A Manual of Ancient History. A. H. L. Heeren
the Nile; the central point of each being always such a colony as we have just now described; although each state consisted both of the aboriginal tribes of the neighbourhood, and of those that had migrated into the country. The bond which united every separate state was, therefore, as in most of those formed in the infancy of mankind, a common worship, in which all the members participated. But what, by reason of the peculiarities of soil and climate, could not take place in southern Africa, took place in Egypt: agriculture, and its progressive improvement, became the great support of civilization; and, as being the true foundation of states, formed the principal political object of the ruling caste.
Refutation of the idea, that the Egyptian priests were in possession of great speculative knowledge; since their knowledge rather had constant reference to practical life, and, therefore, was in their hands the instrumentum dominationis over the people, by which they rendered themselves indispensable, and kept the former in a state of dependence.—Explanation of the close reference which their gods, their astronomical and mathematical sciences bore to agriculture.
Manetho's account of them:
8. According to Manetho's catalogues, these separate Egyptian states existed first in Upper and Middle Egypt; in the former were Thebes, Elephantine, This, and Heraclea; in the latter, Memphis. It is only in the last division of his work that we meet with states in Lower Egypt, such as Tanis, Mendes, Bubastis, and Sebennytus.
To these states, therefore, no doubt, belong the 330 kings after Menes, whose names the priests read to Herodotus; as also those whom Diodorus mentions as reigning previous to Sesostris, among whom are remarked Busiris II. founder of Thebes, and Uchoreus, the founder of Memphis. Eusebius and Syncellus have preserved from Manetho the names of several of those kings, which Marsham has endeavoured to compare and arrange.
obscurity of their chronology.
9. In the absence of a certain and continuous chronology, it is impossible to determine accurately which of these states were contemporary, and which succeeded the others. There can be no question that Thebes was one of the earliest, if not indeed the most ancient of them all; certainly prior to Memphis, which was founded by it. According to the natural order of things, some of these states became wealthy and mighty, and swallowed up the others. Even at this early period, Thebes and Memphis had obtained a superiority over the rest.
This and Elephantine appear to have been united to Thebes; as were the states of Lower Egypt to Memphis.
Memphis a powerful state in Joseph's time: about 1800, BC
10. The Mosaic records prove, that even in Joseph's time the state of Memphis (the real place, it appears, of his residence, not On, or Heliopolis,) comprised Middle and Lower Egypt. It possessed a numerous and brilliant court; castes of priests and warriors. Its agriculture flourished, and several of its institutions indicated a deeply-rooted civilization. But after the establishment of vassalage in this state by Joseph, when the class of free proprietors was destroyed, by making the king the only landholder except the priests, the troubles which already threatened the kingdom must have assumed a more dangerous and alarming aspect.
Invasions by the nomad.
11. These troubles came from abroad. Egypt, surrounded on all sides by nomad tribes, had often suffered from their irruptions, which sometimes poured in from the south, sometimes from the east. But never were these invasions so frequent and durable as in the period which immediately followed the administration of Joseph. Lower Egypt was overrun by the Bedouin Arabs, whose chieftains, called by the Egyptians Hyksos, or Bedouins. Hyksos, settled in the country, fortified Avaris, or Pelusium, and extended their dominion to Memphis, which they made probably the seat of their government. They are depicted as the oppressors of religion, and of the caste of priests; but when we consider that Moses flourished in their time, we are led to infer that, like the Mongols in China, they must have gradually adopted Egyptian manners and civilization. They do not appear to have gained possession of Thebes in Upper Egypt; and it seems highly probable, that the long struggle against them was never, or at least but for a short time, suspended.
The dominion of the Arabian Hyksos falls between BC 1800—1600; and consequently was contemporary with Moses and the exodus of the Jews. Josephus gives 500 years to their dominion, in which he probably comprises the long periods of earlier wars.
Expulsion of the Hyksos:
and rising splendour of Egypt.
12. Defeat, and final expulsion of the Hyksos from Upper Egypt by Thutmosis king of Thebes. The consequence of this event was not only the restoration of freedom and independence to Egypt, but also the union of the different states into one kingdom; as the rulers of Thebes now became monarchs over all Egypt. This expulsion of the Hyksos, which in itself cannot be considered otherwise than as a vast national effort, must have been the more deeply impressed on the memory of the people, as it laid the foundation of the splendid period which immediately followed.
The expulsion of the Hyksos appears to have been one of the chief subjects on which the Egyptian artists exercised their talents: it is supposed to have been represented upon one of the large temples in Thebes. Denon, plate cxxxiii.
SECOND PERIOD.
From the Sesostridæ until the sole dominion of Psammetichus. BC 1500—650.
The sources for this period are the same as for the foregoing; and the history still preserves the character of records handed down by hieroglyphics. To this period belongs the line of kings subsequent to Sesostris, given both by Herodotus and Diodorus. Those two historians nearly agree, if we regard Herodotus's line of kings, not as uninterrupted, but as the fragments of a series deduced solely from public monuments: this will be demonstrated by the following table, in which the predecessors of Sesostris have likewise been indicated.
| Herodotus. | Diodorus. |
|---|---|
| Menes. | Menes. |
| He was followed by three hundred and thirty kings belonging to the previous period, concerning which our information is very incomplete: among those sovereigns were eighteen Ethiopians, and one queen named Nitocris. | Followed by fifty-two successors, ranging over a period of more than 1400 years. |
| Busiris I. and eight successors; the last of whom was | |
| Busiris II. the founder of Thebes. | |
| Osymandyas and eight successors; the last of whom was | |
| Uchoreus, founder of Memphis. | |
| Ægyptus, grandson of the foregoing. After the lapse of twelve generations, | |
| Mœris. | Mœris. |
| Seven generations. | |
| Sesostris. | Sesostris or Sesoosis. |
| Pheron, son of Sesostris. | Sesostris II. son of the foregoing: he assumed his father's name. |
| Interval comprising several generations. | |
| Amasis, and the Ethiopian, | |
| Actisanus. | |
| Mendes or Manes, builder of the labyrinth. | |
| Anarchy which lasted five generations. | |
| Proteus, in the time of the Trojan war. | Proteus or Cetes, in the time of the Trojan war. |
| Rhampsinitus. | Remphis, son of the foregoing. |
| Seven generations, in the course of which flourished Nileus, from whom the Nile derives its name. | |
| Cheops, builder of the great pyramid. | Chemmis or Chembes, from Memphis, builder of the great pyramid. |
| Chephres, brother to the foregoing, builder of a pyramid. | Cephren, brother to the foregoing, builder of a pyramid. |
| Mycerinus, son of Cheops, builder of a pyramid. | Mycerinus, son of Chemmis, builder of a pyramid. |
| Asychis the legislator. | Bochoris the legislator. |
| Anysis, who was blind. | Interval of several generations. |
| Sabaco, the Ethiopian. |
|