Brugsch, Heinrich: Egypt under the pharaohs: a history derived entirely from the monuments (London, 1891)

»m xxi. THE PRIEST-KINGS 365'

other hand, in Lower Egypt he had won over a
moderate number of the holy fathers of the Kamses-
city of Zoan-Tanis, who stood in close connection with
the imperial city of Thebes, owing to their common
worship of Amen. The letters and documents of the
Ramessides which have come down to us leave not the
slightest doubt upon this point. And yet the plans of
Her-Hor were not destined to attain complete success.
While Ea-messu XIIL and his successors, according to
all probability, were banished to the Great Oasis, they
had raised up in silence an enemy to the priest-kings,
whose power and importance might be brought in to-
aid their cause.

On the east of Mesopotamia the great empire of
the Kheta had been succeeded by a new race of rulers,
to whom the Egyptian monuments of the time give the
short name of Ma,1 and whose ruler they designate-
as ' the great king of kings.' Even though, in a style*
which is rather pompous than historically true, Her-
Hor conferred on himself the honorary title of con-
queror of the Euthen, to which in all probability he
had no right, it may be assumed that the power of
these Ma had reached a strength which must at any
rate have restrained the priest-king from thinking of
conquests in the East.

His successors, whom the reader will find named in
the Genealogical Table opposite p. 325, were far from
securing a firm position in the country. Their most

1 Since the year 1876, when Dr. name when written in hieroglyphs

Brugsoh first brought out his history, clearly indicates. Mr. Kenouf believes

his opinions concerning these Ma, that they should be considered Elam-

whom he then designated as As- ites, Shashanq being the equivalent

Syrians, have undergone consider- of a Susan word—Sesonqu, meaning

able modification. It is no longer ' the man of Susa.' Professor Oppert

possible to regard them as Assyrians, says that all the names of the Twenty-

though to define their nationality second Dynasty are Susan. The

would be too bold a venture. They Libyan origin of this dynasty is

were certainly foreigners, as the de- generally admitted by Egyptologists

terminative sign placed after their on insufficient grounds.