Let me tell you about a lesser-known pharaoh, Seqenenra, the 8th pharaoh of the 17th Dynasty of Egypt (circa 1560 BC). He was the father of Ahmose (1550-1295 BC), the founder of the 18th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt. During his reign, he changed his long-standing policy of peace toward the Hyksos dynasty in the north, and, knowing that his country was weak, led the ancient Egyptians in a war to expel the foreign Hyksos and unify the country. Sure enough, he ended up with a "death before he left the school", and judging from his mummy, he died quite tragically.
Although he did not complete the unification of the country, he was the initiator and leader of the "National Independence War" in ancient Egypt, and he was also a fierce man who dared to "shine his sword" and fired the first shot.
Sekenella
1. Background of the war
Beginning in 1650 BC, the Hyksos began to rule most of northern Egypt with Avaris in the Nile Delta as their capital. During the same period, the Egyptians established the 16th Dynasty centered on Thebes, ruling a small part of southern Egypt. In 1580 BC, the 17th Dynasty replaced the 16th Dynasty to establish its dominance in Thebes, but its sphere of influence remained concentrated in a small part of southern Egypt.
After the establishment of the 17th Dynasty, the pharaohs were relatively low-key in foreign policy, carefully maintaining peaceful relations with the powerful Hyksos dynasty in the north. However, by the time of the reign of king Sekenella, the relationship between the North and the South deteriorated, as evidenced by a slightly later document.
Like the Hyksos dynasty in the middle of the day
According to this document, known as The Story of Apophis and Sekenella, Apophis, king of Hyksus, wrote to Seconella: "Fill in the pond east of the city!" Because day and night, the cry of hippos resounded throughout the city, disturbing me to sleep. ”。 From this letter, it is not difficult to see that Apophis is provoking Seconella. Because the capital of the Hyksos dynasty was more than 600 kilometers away from the Region of Thebes, the cries of hippos in the Region of Thebes could not disturb Apophis's sleep in any way. However, even in the face of such a provocation, Sekenella swallowed his anger and, in his reply, agreed to Apophis's request. This may be because the Theban dynasty ruled by Sechenella during this period was still weaker than the Hyksos dynasty in the north.
2. Analysis of the mummies and causes of death of Sechenella
After the above humiliation, Sekenella was greatly stimulated, and soon he launched a war against the Hyksos. The war was protracted and tragic, lasting nearly a decade, and even the Pharaoh Sekenella was killed.
In 1881, the mummy of Sekenella was discovered. Judging from his mummy' condition, he suffered multiple traumas during his lifetime, and his arms showed spasms and convulsions at the time of death. The arrows below point to the locations of which they have been injured, and the fatal wound on his forehead matches the shape of the Hyksos's tomahawk, which is most likely cut by the weapon; there is also a tomahawk slash on the left cheek, which went down and even punched a crack in his jaw. In addition, a short sword pierced behind his ear; a fracture of the cheekbones on the left side of his face, possibly smashed by a blunt object.
The mummy of Sechenella
Despite the multiple wounds on his body, sekenella's arms were strangely unharmed. Usually, if a person is attacked, it will usually be blocked with both arms, so the presence of wounds on the arms is inevitable. According to this, some scholars speculate that when Sechenela was attacked before his death, he probably did not fight back, he may have been suddenly attacked to death on the battlefield, or he was captured by the Hyksos before his death, and then tied up and executed; and even when he was asleep, he was raided by the enemy.
After his death, his sons Camos and Ahmose continued his unfinished business. Finally, in 1550 BC, the Hyksos were expelled from Egypt and the national independence and national unity were achieved. At this point, ancient Egypt entered the 18th Dynasty period.
In doubt, @I@Explore Ancient Egypt