Pepi fought at the head of those of his soldiers that remained, pushing back the enemy forces surging toward the spot — where his lord had fallen. Once they had despaired of gaining anything further by continuing the battle, life lost its meaning for the soldiers, who determined to seek martyrdom on the spot that their brave sovereign had watered with his blood. One by one they fell, until night overtook them and the world put on mourning, and the two sides ceased fighting, exhausted by their efforts, weakened by their wounds.
11
The soldiers came out with torches to look for their dead and wounded. Commander Pepi stood next to his chariot, utterly exhausted, his heart preoccupied with thoughts of the corpse whose guiltless blood had stained the field. He heard the voice of a commander saying, “What a wonder! How could the fighting have come to an end so fast? Who would believe that we lost the bulk of our forces in a single day? How could Thebes’ courageous soldiers have been overcome?”
Another voice, so exhausted as to sound like a death rattle, responded, “It was the chariots that could not be resisted. They destroyed all Thebes’ hopes.”
Commander Pepi called out to them, “Soldiers, have you performed your duty to the corpse of Seqenenra? Let us search for it among the corpses!”
A shudder passed through their drooping bodies and each took a torch and followed Pepi in silence, tongue-tied by the depth of their sorrow. At the spot where the king fell they split up, the moans of the wounded and the raving of the feverish ringing in their ears. Pepi could barely see what was before him for sorrow and pain, and could not believe that he was indeed searching for the body of Seqenenra. It was too much for him to grant that the fight for Thebes had ended on that sorrowful day. With tears streaming from his eyes, he said, “Bear witness and wonder, land of Koptos! We search for the body of Seqenenra among your dunes. Be gentle with it and make a soft bed for its injured ribs! Did it not sacrifice itself for you and for Thebes? Alas, my lord, — who will stand up for Thebes now that you are gone? Who do we have but you?” He remained thus distressed until he heard a voice call out, “Companions, come! Here is the body of our lord.” He ran toward him, torch in hand, his eyes wide with terror at the awful sight that he was about to see. When he reached the corpse, an echoing scream of anger mixed with pain escaped his lips. He found the king of Thebes a disfigured lump of torn flesh, bones protruding, blood everywhere, and the crown thrown aside. In anger he shouted, “Vile foreigners! They have treated the body as hyenas would the corpse of the ravening lion. But it can never harm you that they have torn your pure body, for you lived as a king of Thebes must live and died the death of a valiant hero!” Then he shouted to those around him who were struck motionless by sorrow, “Bring the royal litter! Off with you, you sleepers!” Some officers brought the litter and all helped to lift the body and place it upon it, while Pepi lifted up the double crown of Egypt and placed it beside the king's head, then wrapped the corpse in a winding sheet. They raised the litter in painful silence and proceeded with it toward the broken camp and placed it in the tent that had lost its protector and master forever. All the commanders and officers who had escaped with their lives stood around the litter with heads bent, worn out with misery, their looks filled with a deep sadness. Pepi turned to them and said in a strong voice, “Arouse yourselves, companions! Do not surrender to sorrow! Sorrow will not bring Seqenenra back to us, yet it may make us forget our duty toward his corpse, his family, and our country, for whose sake he was killed. What has happened has happened, but the remaining chapters of the tragedy are still to be acted out. We must be steadfast at our posts so that we may perform our duty to the full.”
The men raised their heads and gritted their teeth as do those who are filled with resolve and strength and looked at their commander as though thereby to offer him their pledge of death.
Pepi said, “The truly courageous do not let disasters make them forget their duty. It may be true that we must admit that we have lost the battle for Thebes but our duty is not yet over. We must prove that we are worthy of a noble death, as we were of a noble life!”
All then shouted, “Our king has set us his example. We shall follow in his footsteps!”
Pepi's face rejoiced, and he said with pleasure, “You are the offspring of brave soldiers! Now listen to me! Few of our army remain, but tomorrow we shall lead them into battle to the last man and by fighting delay the advance of Apophis long enough for Seqenenra's family to find a means of escape, for as long as the members of this family are alive, the war between us and the Herdsmen is not over, though the battlefields may fall silent for a while. I shall leave you for a few hours to carry out my duty toward this corpse and its valiant offspring, but shall return to you before dawn, that we may die together on the field of battle.”
He asked them to pray together before the body of Seqenenra and they knelt together and immersed themselves in ardent prayer, Pepi completing his with the words: “Merciful God, enfold our valiant sovereign with your mercy in Osiris's abode, and grant our destiny be a death as happy as his, so that we may meet him in the Western World with heads held high!”
Then he called some soldiers and ordered them to carry the litter to the royal ship, and he turned toward his companions and said, “I commend you to the Lord's safekeeping! Till we meet again soon.”
He walked behind the litter till they placed it in the deck cabin, then said to them, “When the ship has brought you to Thebes, proceed to the temple of Amun and place it in the sacred hall and do not answer any who question you about him until I come to you.”
Then the commander returned to his chariot and ordered the driver to proceed to Thebes and the chariot dashed off with them at tremendous speed.