Naguib Mahfouz - Before the Throne

Osiris turned to them.

“Go to the Northern Gate,” he bid them, “which leads to the Realm of Purgatory.”

HORUS CALLED OUT, “King Horemheb!”

A brawny, stern-faced man of middling stature came in, walking in his winding sheet until he stood before the throne.

Thoth, Scribe of the Gods, then read aloud, “He came to power though not from the royal line. So, despite her advanced age, he married Mutnodjmet in order to legitimize his rule. By main force he ended the chaos, corruption, and neglect, while repairing the damage to the temples after Akhenaten. Thanks to him, security and order were established inside the country. As for the empire, by that time it already — except for a small portion — belonged to the past.”

Osiris then invited Horemheb to speak.

“True, I was not of royal blood, yet I came from a venerable old family in the north of Egypt. My upbringing was military, and I rendered many successful services to Pharaoh Amenhotep III. When Akhenaten took the throne, he brought me close to him, bestowing his confidence upon me. Yet to my great regret, he did not take my advice and impose the necessary punishments for corruption within the country and dispatch expeditions to put down the rebels throughout the empire. When the crisis worsened, and the first warnings of civil war loomed on the horizon, I reached an understanding with the priests of Amun to put an end completely to Akhenaten’s rule. Everyone agreed that I had the competence to confront the anarchy that then prevailed all over Egypt. Yet it was also necessary to uphold legality, so first Smenkhkara, then Tutankhamun, and finally Aya became kings in succession. When Aya passed away, a revolution erupted — the tombs were plundered, and I found no escape from the obligations of loyalty. So I married Mutnodjmet, the sister of Nefertiti, for she was among the first to repent of Akhenaten’s heresy, and who agreed to join with the priests of Amun in order to save the country. I found before me a heavy and many-sided mission, but I lacked neither in strength nor determination. I smothered the revolt, and organized anew the army, police, and administration. I kept an eye on the civil servants, and showed no mercy to the corrupt among them. Next I restored the places of worship and the religious estates, defending the weak against the strong. And if I had been granted a longer life, I would have regained what had been lost of the magnificent empire of Thutmose III.”

“You did a glorious job, O king!” Khufu praised him.

“A glorious job indeed,” Abnum snapped sarcastically. “No one can blame you for not returning the power to the people, since you are from such a well-rooted family. My frank translation of that is a family well-rooted in looting and plunder!”

“I do not approve of your manner of speaking — apologize!” said Osiris imperiously.

“I apologize,” mumbled Abnum.

“You were the right man to return the empire to its glory of old,” said Thutmose III.

“The land was torn apart and in a state of moral ruin,” Horemheb answered him. “The chaos was beyond anyone’s imagining.”

“I loved none of my followers more than you, Horemheb,” Akhenaten reproached him. “Nor was I as generous with anyone as much as I was with you. My reward was that you betrayed me, making alliance with the enemies of the people as well as my own. Then you tore down my temple as well as my city. You scratched out my name and poured out curses upon me.”

“I deny nothing you have said,” replied Horemheb. “I loved you more than any man I’d ever known — but I loved Egypt more.”

“You helped blot out the adoration of the One and Only God,” seethed Nefertiti, “to hoist the host of imposters back on their thrones.”

“I say to the queen in this hall, in which no lie is permitted, that no woman ever occupied my heart except to the smallest extent possible,” declared Horemheb. “My battle with you both was purely a patriotic one, not at all one of romantic intrigue!”

“This son is too powerful to need any defense!” exclaimed the goddess Isis.

“Take your seat among the Immortals,” Osiris commanded him.

HORUS HERALDED, “King Ramesses the First!”

A tall, elderly man entered, advancing in his shroud until he stopped before the throne.

Thoth, Recorder of the Divine Court, recited to those present, “He was already old when he began his rule. He started to build a many-pillared hall in the temple of Karnak, but expired before he could finish it.”

Osiris called upon Ramesses I to speak.

“When Horemheb died, he left no legitimate heir to the throne of Egypt,” commenced Ramesses I. “At that time, I was a lector-priest in the temple of Amun, known for my wisdom and correctness of opinion, as well as for my piety. Hence the God chose me to sit on the throne. The empire was never out of my thoughts, but the condition of the country did not allow me to embark on a lengthy war. So I ordered the proper care for the land and for the means of irrigation in order to boost the wealth of the nation. And I launched the construction of the hypostyle hall — yet I did not have enough time to see it completed.”

“Perhaps the selection of this king was not propitious,” cautioned Isis, “but at that moment, Egypt did not have the right man at hand. As for this man, he tried as hard as he possibly could, and he bears no blame for his situation.”

Osiris turned to him, “Go to your place among the Immortals.”

NEXT HORUS CALLED OUT, “King Seti the First!”

In came a man tall of stature and powerfully built. He walked, wrapped in his winding sheet, until he stood before the throne.

Then Thoth, Scribe of the Gods, read aloud, “He assumed the throne upon the death of his father. He subdued Nubia, returned Palestine to Egypt, then focused his energies on building and construction.”

Following this, Osiris invited Seti I to speak.

“From the first day I strove to follow a well-laid plan,” Seti I said. “This was to shore up authority at home, while marching southward to our furthest borders, then taking Palestine back by victory over the Hittites, sealed by a pact of peace. This done, I completed the many-pillared hall at Karnak and restored the temples that had not before known a repairing hand. Throughout my reign security, order, and justice fared well, while ease and opulence overspread the land. The arts and literature flourished. The good life ruled, though near the end a conflict arose between my heir apparent and his brother.”

Thutmose III asked him, “Why didn’t you continue to combat the Hittites?”

“I felt that my army was exhausted,” Seti I replied, “while at the same time the Hittites as a nation were extremely tough in battle.”

“The only glorious way to deal with an enemy,” Thutmose III retorted, “is to fight against him, not to make a treaty of peace with him!”

“A treaty of peace is preferable to a war without glory,” Seti I answered.

At this, Akhenaten inquired, “Why did you not apply the Divine Law, the law of love and peace?”

Horemheb cut in sharply, “That which led to the empire’s ruin and left it defenseless?”

“Did you join yourself to the Divine Lineage,” Khufu queried, “in order to rule as a son of the gods?”

“I did this with my wife at the temple of Amun, in accordance with the observed rituals,” Seti I told him.

“I am pleased with this son, so lofty of purpose!” Isis exclaimed.

And so Osiris pronounced judgment, “Come take your place among the Immortals.”