I shall begin with the writings of the Egyptians; not indeed of
those that have written in the Egyptian language, which it is impossible
for me to do. But Manetho was a man who was by birth an Egyptian, yet had
he made himself master of the Greek learning, as is very evident; for he
wrote the history of his own country in the Greek tongue, by translating
it, as he saith himself, out of their sacred records; he also finds great
fault with Herodotus for his ignorance and false relations of Egyptian
affairs. Now this Manetho, in the second book of his Egyptian History,
writes concerning us in the following manner. I will set down his very
words, as if I were to bring the very man himself into a court for a witness:
"There was a king of ours whose name was Timaus. Under him it came
to pass, I know not how, that God was averse to us, and there came, after
a surprising manner, men of ignoble birth out of the eastern parts, and
had boldness enough to make an expedition into our country, and with ease
subdued it by force, yet without our hazarding a battle with them. So when
they had gotten those that governed us under their power, they afterwards
burnt down our cities, and demolished the temples of the gods, and used
all the inhabitants after a most barbarous manner; nay, some they slew,
and led their children and their wives into slavery. At length they made
one of themselves king, whose name was Salatis; he also lived at Memphis,
and made both the upper and lower regions pay tribute, and left garrisons
in places that were the most proper for them. He chiefly aimed to secure
the eastern parts, as fore-seeing that the Assyrians, who had then the
greatest power, would be desirous of that kingdom, and invade them; and
as he found in the Saite Nomos, [Sethroite,] a city very proper for this
purpose, and which lay upon the Bubastic channel, but with regard to a
certain theologic notion was called Avaris, this he rebuilt, and
made very strong by the walls he built about it, and by a most numerous
garrison of two hundred and forty thousand armed men whom he put into it
to keep it. Thither Salatis came in summer time, partly to gather his corn,
and pay his soldiers their wages, and partly to exercise his armed men,
and thereby to terrify foreigners. When this man had reigned thirteen years,
after him reigned another, whose name was Beon, for forty-four years; after
him reigned another, called Apachnas, thirty-six years and seven months;
after him Apophis reigned sixty-one years, and then Janins fifty years
and one month; after all these reigned Assis forty-nine years and two months.
And these six were the first rulers among them, who were all along making
war with the Egyptians, and were very desirous gradually to destroy them
to the very roots. This whole nation was styled HYCSOS, that is, Shepherd-kings:
for the first syllable HYC, according to the sacred dialect, denotes a
king, as is SOS a shepherd; but this according to the ordinary
dialect; and of these is compounded HYCSOS: but some say that these people
were Arabians." Now in another copy it is said that this word does
not denote Kings, but, on the contrary, denotes Captive Shepherds,
and this on account of the particle HYC; for that HYC, with the aspiration,
in the Egyptian tongue again denotes Shepherds, and that expressly also;
and this to me seems the more probable opinion, and more agreeable to ancient
history. [But Manetho goes on]: "These people, whom we have before
named kings, and called shepherds also, and their descendants," as
he says, "kept possession of Egypt five hundred and eleven years."
After these, he says, "That the kings of Thebais and the other parts
of Egypt made an insurrection against the shepherds, and that there a terrible
and long war was made between them." He says further, "That under
a king, whose name was Alisphragmuthosis, the shepherds were subdued by
him, and were indeed driven out of other parts of Egypt, but were shut
up in a place that contained ten thousand acres; this place was named Avaris."
Manetho says, "That the shepherds built a wall round all this place,
which was a large and a strong wall, and this in order to keep all their
possessions and their prey within a place of strength, but that Thummosis
the son of Alisphragmuthosis made an attempt to take them by force and
by siege, with four hundred and eighty thousand men to lie rotund about
them, but that, upon his despair of taking the place by that siege, they
came to a composition with them, that they should leave Egypt, and go,
without any harm to be done to them, whithersoever they would; and that,
after this composition was made, they went away with their whole families
and effects, not fewer in number than two hundred and forty thousand, and
took their journey from Egypt, through the wilderness, for Syria; but that
as they were in fear of the Assyrians, who had then the dominion over Asia,
they built a city in that country which is now called Judea, and that large
enough to contain this great number of men, and called it Jerusalem. note
Now Manetho, in another book of his, says, "That this nation, thus
called Shepherds, were also called Captives, in their sacred books."
And this account of his is the truth; for feeding of sheep was the employment
of our forefathers in the most ancient ages note
and as they led such a wandering life in feeding sheep, they were called
Shepherds. Nor was it without reason that they were called Captives by
the Egyptians, since one of our ancestors, Joseph, told the king of Egypt
that he was a captive, and afterward sent for his brethren into Egypt by
the king's permission. But as for these matters, I shall make a more exact
inquiry about them elsewhere. note
But now I shall produce the Egyptians as witnesses to the antiquity
of our nation. I shall therefore here bring in Manetho again, and what
he writes as to the order of the times in this case; and thus he speaks:
"When this people or shepherds were gone out of Egypt to Jerusalem,
Tethtoosis the king of Egypt, who drove them out, reigned afterward twenty-five
years and four months, and then died; after him his son Chebron took the
kingdom for thirteen years; after whom came Amenophis, for twenty years
and seven months; then came his sister Amesses, for twenty-one years and
nine months; after her came Mephres, for twelve years and nine months;
after him was Mephramuthosis, for twenty-five years and ten months; after
him was Thmosis, for nine years and eight months; after him came Amenophis,
for thirty years and ten months; after him came Orus, for thirty-six years
and five months; then came his daughter Acenchres, for twelve years and
one month; then was her brother Rathotis, for nine years; then was Acencheres,
for twelve years and five months; then came another Acencheres, for twelve
years and three months; after him Armais, for four years and one month;
after him was Ramesses, for one year and four months; after him came Armesses
Miammoun, for sixty-six years and two months; after him Amenophis, for
nineteen years and six months; after him came Sethosis, and Ramesses, who
had an army of horse, and a naval force. This king appointed his brother,
Armais,, to be his deputy over Egypt." [In another copy it stood thus:
After him came Sethosis, and Ramesses, two brethren, the former of whom
had a naval force, and in a hostile manner destroyed those that met him
upon the sea; but as he slew Ramesses in no long time afterward, so he
appointed another of his brethren to be his deputy over Egypt.] He also
gave him all the other authority of a king, but with these only injunctions,
that he should not wear the diadem, nor be injurious to the queen, the
mother of his children, and that he should not meddle with the other concubines
of the king; while he made an expedition against Cyprus, and Phoenicia,
and besides against the Assyrians and the Medes. He then subdued them all,
some by his arms, some without fighting, and some by the terror of his
great army; and being puffed up by the great successes he had had, he went
on still the more boldly, and overthrew the cities and countries that lay
in the eastern parts. But after some considerable time, Armais, who was
left in Egypt, did all those very things, by way of opposition, which his
brother had forbid him to do, without fear; for he used violence to the
queen, and continued to make use of the rest of the concubines, without
sparing any of them; nay, at the persuasion of his friends he put on the
diadem, and set up to oppose his brother. But then he who was set over
the priests of Egypt wrote letters to Sethosis, and informed him of all
that had happened, and how his brother had set up to oppose him: he therefore
returned back to Pelusium immediately, and recovered his kingdom again.
The country also was called from his name Egypt; for Manetho says,
that Sethosis was himself called Egyptus, as was his brother Armais called
Danaus."
