Word of a Rebellion

In Year 5, word of a Nubian rebellion reached Amenhotep III in Memphis. Our conjectured absence of a viceroy would have created a power vacuum – the perfect opportunity for a local chieftain, “Ikheny the braggart,” as he was called in the report, to cause trouble. The exact date of the bulletin is not known, but the most effective time to plan a rebellion in Nubia was flood season, which started around the end of June or beginning of July, when fields were under water and farmers out of work. Amenhotep's response to this threat became one of the most celebrated, well-recorded, and lucrative events of his reign, and it guaranteed a steady flow of Nubian gold into Egypt's coffers for years to come. His account of the adventure is carved onto a stela near Aswan and Konosso, where he had previously left memorials as a prince.

After receiving the bulletin, Amenhotep gathered his officials, several of whom also left graffiti on the boulders at Aswan. Primary among these men was Amenhotep son of Hapu, who, in his autobiographical inscription, claimed to have organized combat troops to “smite the Nubians and the Asiatics.” In his words, he “levied the troops of my Lord” and “separated the gangs from their homes,” the word gang being the term commonly used for a team of workers.