Part 5

It was not the Mycenaeans, however, but the Phoenicians who succeeded the Minoans as the seafarers and the traders of the eastern Mediterranean. A tomb painting from Thebes shows Phoenician merchant ships tied up at docks along the Nile with their crews selling merchandise in the Egyptian bazaar. Amarna letters speak of Tyrian sailors and the wealth of their home port. Ships of Arvad also carry merchandise to Egypt. Phoenician control of the eastern Mediterranean was not challenged until Rome fought a series of wars with Carthage, which began as a Phoenician colony. We know the conflicts as the Punic (i.e., Phoenician) wars.

Commerce was not without its dangers. Roving bands of pirates from Lycia in Asia Minor infested the eastern Mediterranean and even landed on the coast of the Egyptian Delta. Amenhotep III found it necessary to organize a police force to patrol the Delta coast and keep the mouths of the Delta closed to all but lawful ships. The police manned customs houses and collected duty on all merchandise that was not consigned to the king. The land routes into Egypt were also policed, and admission was only granted to those with legitimate business.

VIII THE ART OF AMARNA

Akhenaton's influence in art, like his religious beliefs, had antecedents and it would be improper to give him the credit--or blame--for all the art forms which found expression during the period of his reign. Nevertheless, under his inspiration we meet a new type of naturalism, almost an expressionism, coming to full flower. W. Stevenson Smith notes, "Men of ability ... fell in with the ideas of Amenhotep IV and after a few tentative efforts, developed a new style with remarkable speed."[54] Bas reliefs show that Akhenaton was personally interested in art. He appears on visits to the sculptors' workshops in the company of Nofretete. Akhenaton's views of art are reflected in the royal monuments of his reign, the stelae that were erected to mark the boundaries of Akhetaton, and in the tombs prepared for government officials in the eastern desert.

Sunken Relief

One change in the Amarna Age art was purely mechanical. Sunken relief replaces the traditional raised relief in the ornamentation of the rock tombs. Davies comments on the technique:

The rock in which they are hewn is far from having the uniform good quality which would invite bas-reliefs of the usual kind. Nor was Akhenaton willing, it appears, to employ the flat painting on plastered walls which was so much in vogue, and which the artists of Akhetaton also employed at times with good effect. The idea of modelling in plaster was conceived or adopted; and since figures in plaster-relief would have been liable to easy injury, the outline was sunk so far below the general surface as to bring the parts in highest relief just to its level Nor was this the only measure taken to ensure durability. The whole design was first cut roughly in sunk-relief in the stone itself. Then a fine plaster was spread over it, covering all the inequalities and yet having the support of all points of a solid stone core. While the plaster was still soft, it was moulded with a blunt tool into the form and features which the artist desired. Finally the whole was painted, all the outlines being additionally marked out in red, frequently with such deviations as to leave the copyist in dilemma between the painted and the moulded lines.[55]

Realism

Akhenaton's chief contribution to art, however, was anything but mechanical. Under his prodding, the artists at Akhetaton developed a realism--and even a distortion--which contrasts with the conservative, stylizing tendencies of earlier Egyptian art. The chief sculptor Bek describes himself on a stele as one "whom his majesty himself taught."

Arthur Weigall suggests that the innovations which Akhenaton brought into the art of his day were, in fact, a self-conscious return to earlier art forms. Young Akhenaton, Weigall assumes, would have discovered that the sun god Re-Harakhti was much more ancient than Amon of Thebes, and that ancient art forms differed from those in use during the Theban supremacy. In reverting to the religious views of the Heliopolitan priesthood, Akhenaton would also have chosen to effect a renaissance of earlier art forms.[56]

Others have speculated on the possibility of Minoan influence on Akhenaton's art, noting that the Minoans adopted a naturalism which parallels that of Amarna, although Knossus was sacked some time during the reign of Amenhotep III. Barring the migration of Minoan artists to Akhetaton (which is rather unlikely), it may be best to see in the Amarna art forms a development based upon changes which were already being felt in art circles in Egypt. John A. Wilson notes that the older stylized art forms were on their way out as early as the reign of Thutmose III, and that the earlier tradition ended by the time of Hatshepsut.[57]

The naturalism of Akhenaton, however, goes far beyond his predecessors. The Pharaoh is not depicted in the splendid isolation of a god-king, but in the informal pose of a husband and father. Akhenaton habitually appears in the company of his wife, Nofretete, and their daughters, of whom ultimately there were six. A stele depicts Akhenaton kissing an infant while a second child sits on the queen's knee. Another shows a banquet scene with the king gnawing on a large piece of meat while his wife is eating roast fowl with her hands.

Caricature

Not only informality, but actual caricature tended to mark the art of Akhetaton. The natural deformities of the king were more than faithfully reproduced--they were exaggerated. The elongated skull, long thin neck, pointed chin, obtruding stomach, and abnormally large hips and thighs of the king may have been emphasized by artists who felt that any characteristic of a son of Aton deserves special attention.

The way in which people reacted to the king's wishes may be seen in a child's toy depicted at Akhetaton. A tomb painting "shows a model chariot drawn by monkeys. In the chariot is another monkey urging along his steeds (his receding forehead is terribly like the king's), by him a monkey princess prods the rump of the horse-monkeys which are jibbing and refusing to budge an inch in spite of a monkey groom who is dragging at their bridles for dear life."[58] Such caricature would indicate that the "image" of Pharaoh as a son of Aton has been popularly dispelled, and with it much of his power over his subjects.

Transitional Art Forms

The transition from the pre-Amarna art forms to those encouraged by Akhenaton may be observed in the tomb of the vizier Ramose in the Theban necropolis. Ramose first had a portrait of young Akhenaton carved in his tomb in the conventional style, but later he added a second portrait in the new style. The latter depicts Akhenaton standing with Nofretete beneath the rays of the sun, bestowing golden necklets upon their faithful vizier. Officials of the royal harem and a number of servants look on. Akhenaton and his courtiers have the physical characteristics which became conventional in Amarna art.

The Development of Amarna Art

The most violent break with the older convention came in the early years of Akhenaton's reign. Before the move to Akhetaton, the Theban hillside was dotted with tombs decorated with the newer art forms and bearing inscriptions praising the Pharaoh. With the move to Amarna, the art conventions matured. Artists developed their own distinctive tastes and at times modified the prevailing tendencies.

The painted stucco pavement which Petrie discovered in 1891 expresses the love of nature which the Aton cult encouraged. It depicts a pool surrounded by clumps of flowers in which birds are sporting and calves playing. Frescoes from the Green Room of the North Palace, excavated by Francis Newton in 1924, represent the luxuriance of a papyrus thicket full of beautiful birds, brightened up here and there by blue lotuses.

Some of the finest specimens of ancient Egyptian art have come from the workshop of the sculptor Thutmose, discovered by Ludwig Borchard during the German expedition at Amarna prior to World War I. In preparing a series of heads of members of the royal family, Thutmose chose to refine rather than to stress their physical peculiarities. Thutmose based his work on keen observation, augmented by casts taken from life when he wanted to record the characteristic features of his subject. Among his masterpieces are the famous painted limestone bust of Nofretete--perhaps the best known piece of Egyptian art; and an unfinished portrait of the queen now in the Cairo Museum.

IX THE END OF AN ERA

The high hopes of Akhenaton's early years met an untimely end. The Asiatic provinces of Egypt fell away to the Hittites or to local Canaanite princes who had little sympathy with the Empire. Although there is no evidence of revolt in Egypt itself, Akhenaton's alienation from the older priesthood must have resulted in dislocations of the economy, and difficulties in the smooth running of government.

Smenkhkare

There is some evidence to suggest that Nofretete lost favor with her husband and moved to a new palace in the northern sector of Akhetaton. The king gave high honor to his eldest daughter Meritaton, whose husband, Smenkhkare became his successor on the throne of Egypt. We have no records indicating events in the earliest years of Smenkhkare's reign but in the third year he is known to have gone to Thebes. The reason for the visit can only be conjectured, but it may have been a gesture to appease the Amon priesthood which was still firmly entrenched there.

Our sources fail us again, but neither Akhenaton nor Smenkhkare are mentioned after _ca._ 1350 B.C. Whether they died natural deaths, or perished at the hands of assassins, can only be guessed. We are not even sure if Smenkhkare was co-regent with his father-in-law or if Akhenaton had died before he came to the throne. At most Smenkhkare reigned but four years. If his trip to Thebes was made to bring about a reconciliation with the Theban priesthood, it seems to have failed completely.

Tutankhaton-Tutankhamon

Smenkhkare's successor, Tutankhaton, was married to Ankhesenpaton, the third daughter of Akhenaton and Nofretete. Under Tutankhaton the capital was moved back to Thebes, and the Amarna revolt was at an end. His name, meaning "the living image of Aton," was changed to Tutankhamon, "the living image of Amon," and Amon was restored to his place as chief deity of Egypt. Ankhesenpaton's name was changed to Ankhesenpamon for the same reason. Although Tuntankhamon was one of Egypt's lesser kings, the discovery of his tomb by Howard Carter in 1923 has made him the best known Pharaoh of Egyptian history to most westerners.

Tutankhamon's return to the worship of Amon was a conscious repudiation of the Aton cult. He actually ascribes the calamities that befell Egypt in the years of Akhenaton to the anger of Amon:

The temples of the gods and goddesses ... had gone to pieces. Their shrines had become desolate and had become overgrown mounds.... The land was topsy turvy and the gods turned their backs upon this land. If one prayed to a god to seek counsel from him, he would never come (at all). If one made supplication to a goddess, similarly she would never come at all. Their hearts were hurt (?) so they destroyed that which had been made.[59]

Following Tutankhamon's early death we meet a story of intrigue and international politics which involves his widow. Ankhesenpamon, fearful of the future of herself and her country, wrote to the Hittite king, Suppiluliumas, asking that one of his sons be sent to Egypt to become her husband:

My husband died, and I have no son. People say that you have many sons. If you were to send me one of your sons, he might become my husband. I am loath to take a servant of mine and make him my husband.[60]

The Hittite king, suspecting something amiss, sent a servant to check on matters in Egypt. When the envoy reached Thebes, the widowed queen asked:

Why do you say, "They may try to deceive me." If I had a son would I write to a foreign country in a manner which is humiliating to myself and my country. You do not trust me and tell me such a thing. He who was my husband died and I have no sons. Shall I perhaps take one of my servants and make him my husband? I have not written to any other country. I have written only to you. People say that you have many sons. Give me one of your sons, and he is my husband and king in the land of Egypt.[61]

Suppiluliumas was convinced of the good faith of the young widow and sent a son to Egypt, but the young man never reached Thebes. Along the way he was murdered by Egyptians who resented the thought of a foreigner as their ruler. The result was a period of war between the Hittites and Egypt. Another son of Suppiluliumas made a record of the affair:

When my father gave them (the Egyptians) one of his sons (to take over the kingship), they killed him as they led him there. My father let his anger run away with him; he went to war against Egypt and attacked Egypt.[62]

The battle is not mentioned in the Egyptian annals. Probably it was brief and indecisive, for the Hittites could not afford to throw a major army into such a campaign. The rising power of Assyria was a threat to Hittite control in the north, and she had to be ready to protect her northern provinces. Had the Hittites launched a major campaign against Egypt it is doubtful if she could have survived.

Eye and Horemhab

The rule of Egypt fell to the aged vizier Eye, who had been a counselor and friend of Akhenaton. After four years Eye was succeeded by Horemhab (_ca._ 1340-1310 B.C.), an energetic ruler who sought to restore Egypt's fortunes abroad and erase the memory of the Amarna revolt at home. As a young general, Horemhab had espoused the cause of Akhenaton, but as a Pharaoh he sought to obliterate the records of the Amarna kings with as great enthusiasm as Akhenaton had sought to eliminate the name of Amon. Later orthodox king lists omit the names of Akhenaton, Smenkhkare, Tutankhamon, and Eye, placing the name of Horemhab immediately after Amenhotep III.

Although the Amon priests of Thebes seemed to be more firmly entrenched than ever after the accession of Horemhab, the calendar could not be pushed back completely. Egyptian art and literature retained some of the naturalism of the Amarna movement. There were effects in the religious world, too, for although Atonism was not pure monotheism, it exhibited tendencies in that direction which persisted in the Egyptian thought. God is frequently addressed in the singular, although under different names, in the hymns of the later periods of Egyptian history.

X AMARNA AND THE BIBLE

The Amarna texts make it clear that the inhabitants of Canaan during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries B.C. had a high degree of culture. While most people were probably illiterate, each community had its professional scribes who could write in at least one foreign language. Akkadian cuneiform, and not Canaanite, was the language of diplomatic correspondence between the city states of Canaan and the Egyptian court.

Written Records

The Hebrew Scriptures give evidence that Israel made use of written records before the composition of the canonical Bible. References to the _Book of the Wars of the Lord_, and the _Book of Jasher_, appear in the Pentateuch and Joshua (Num. 21:14; Josh. 10:13). While the events which they commemorate may have first been passed on by word of mouth, the word "book" (_sepher_, inscription, written document) implies that they also were recorded in written documents. By the time of the Judges, a lad whom Gideon happened to meet along the road was able to write the names of twenty-seven men who were the elders of Succoth (Judg. 8:14).

The discovery of the Amarna Tablets created considerable interest in the matter of writing in ancient Canaan, and among the Israelites. Early in the twentieth century, Edouard Naville of the University of Geneva argued that the earliest documents of the Old Testament were written "in the idiom and with the characters of the Tel-el-Amarna tablets, namely Babylonian cuneiform," or Akkadian as we call it today.[63]

Naville went so far as to suggest that the Akkadian documents which lie behind our Hebrew Old Testament (or at least the Pentateuch and Joshua) were in use until the time of Ezra who adapted them to the alphabet used by the Aramaic speaking Jews of the Persian Empire. This view is not seriously considered today, for we know that Early or Palaeo-Hebrew manuscripts antedate the Square or Aramaic form of the letters in current use. The Canaanite dialect in use at Ras Shamra, ancient Ugarit, was written in a cuneiform alphabet at a time contemporary with the Amarna texts. Another group of texts, dated about 1500 B.C., was discovered at the Egyptian turquoise mines in the Sinai Peninsula. There are about twenty-five inscriptions in all, written in a form of alphabetic writing which was clearly derived from Egyptian hieroglyphics. Three short examples of the same alphabet, dating somewhat earlier than the Sinai inscriptions, have been discovered at Gezer, Lachish, and Shechem in southern Canaan. The oldest actual Hebrew inscription, using the Paleao-Hebrew script, is the Gezer Calendar (_ca._ 900 B.C.).

We cannot know for certain the nature of the writing on the tables, or tablets of the Law (Exod. 34:27-28). Moses, raised as an Egyptian prince, probably knew both Egyptian hieroglyphs and Akkadian cuneiform, and he may have learned to write in an early form of the Hebrew alphabet as a result of contacts with his own people. The Amarna texts have underscored the fact that both Egypt and Canaan were highly literate during the fifteenth and fourteenth centuries before Christ.

Canaanite Glosses

Of particular interest to language students is the fact that the Amarna Letters frequently contain Canaanite words or expressions which are inserted to clarify the meaning of the Akkadian text, which was a foreign language to the scribe. These glosses are our earliest examples of the language which became Biblical Hebrew. While the language of Laban, and that branch of Abraham's family which settled in northern Mesopotamia, was Aramaic (cf. Gen. 31:47 where Laban uses an Aramaic name), the Patriarchs who entered Canaan came to speak "the language of Canaan" (cf. Isa. 19:18) which became the classical language of the Old Testament. The cuneiform syllabary in which the Amarna texts were written indicates vowel sounds which are not expressed in the alphabetic Hebrew script. In this way philologists are able to reconstruct some of the sounds of the ancient language.

Amarna Age Palestine

Although the Amarna texts do not name any personage met on the pages of Scripture, they are of value in helping us to visualize life in the Palestinian city states during the middle of the second millenium B.C. Biblical cities mentioned in the correspondence include: Akko, Ashkelon, Arvad, Aroer, Ashtaroth, Gebal (Byblos), Gezer, Gath, Gaza, Jerusalem, Joppa, Keilah, Lachish, Megiddo, Sidon, Tyre, Sharon, Shechem, Taanach, and Zorah. Beth-ninurta is thought to be identical with Biblical Beth-shemesh.

These cities are, for the most part, independent city states, owing allegiance to Egypt yet free to form their own alliances and resolve their own local problems. It was this type of political structure that Joshua met in Canaan. He waged war against "thirty-one kings" (Josh. 12:24). At times these kings made alliances in order to prevent Israel from gaining control of the land, just as the Amarna Age rulers aided one another in resisting Lab'ayu. A leader against Joshua was Adonizedek, king of Jerusalem, who found allies in Hoham, king of Hebron; Piram, king of Jarmuth; Japhia, king of Lachish, and Debir, king of Eglon (Josh. 10:1-3).

The military engagements were strictly limited affairs, judged by the numbers of troops and horses requested of the Pharaoh. Rib-Addi of Byblos pleaded:

Let it seem good to the lord, the sun of the lands, to give me twenty pairs of horses.[64]

In his encounter with Abdi-Ashirta, the Amorite chieftain who was seeking to control northern Syria in league with the Hittites, Rib-Addi asked for but three hundred men.[65]

Abi-milki of Tyre indicated that he could get by with but token help from Egypt. In one letter he asks for but twenty foot soldiers,[66] and in another he will be satisfied with but ten.[67] Somewhat earlier, in the Canaan of Abraham's day, the patriarch was able to assemble an army of three hundred and eighteen men (Gen. 14:14), pursue a confederation of five kings with their armies, rout and chase the enemy. An entire garrison might number but fifty men in the armies of Amarna Age rulers.[68]

Affairs of Government

The presence of a friend at the court was appreciated and cultivated by the rulers of the city states. Several of the Amarna tablets are addressed to an Egyptian official named Yanhamu who bore the title "the king's fanbearer." He was evidently a man of considerable power, for the king entrusted him with the issuing of supplies from a place known as Yarimuta. For this reason the local princes in Syria and Canaan frequently wrote to him. After outlining his needs, Rib-Addi indulged in a little apple-polishing as he concluded, "There is no servant like Yanhamu, a faithful servant of the king."[69]

Yanhamu seems to have occupied in the court of Amenhotep III (and possibly Akhenaton as well) a position comparable to the one Joseph held several generations earlier.[70] Both Yanhamu and Joseph were charged with overseeing the distribution of food supplies (cf. Gen. 42:51-57). They both had Semitic names, and the presence of Yanhamu in an Egyptian court during New Kingdom times indicates that Semites were not barred from government following the Hyksos expulsion. Rulers often find it safer to trust faithful foreigners than some of their own subjects who might be tempted to rebel.