Napata, where a great religious complex had been built. Th e
chief temple was dedicated to Egypt’s chief god, Amun, who
was also at that time Kush’s chief god. Th e queens of Kush
would go into the depths of the temple of Amun to give birth,
implying that Amun was the father of their children, linking
themselves with a tradition of Egyptian religion that Amun
recognized his children in their wombs. An oracle also re-
sided in the temple. A statue of Amun spoke to people, tell-
ing them the god’s will. Priests conveyed Amun’s words to
the outside world. Th us, the priests had great power. Th eir
temples and dwellings at Jebel Barkal were covered in gold,
silver, and gems. Hallways were dazzling with their glittering
walls and many statues of Egyptian gods. Th e statue of Amun
even foretold when kings were to die. In fact, the priests actu-
ally ordered a king to commit suicide, on Amun’s orders, and
he obeyed.
Th en came King Aspelta (r. 593–568 b.c.e.). Th e outset
of his reign must have been very challenging because a revi-
talized Egypt had sent an army into Kush, and it had sacked
Napata in about 593 b.c.e. Th en the priests of Amun declared
that the god had said Aspelta was to die. Perhaps not as gull-
ible as his predecessors, or perhaps not as faithful, Aspelta not
only refused to commit suicide but also conspired with one
of his generals to have the buildings and caves of Jebel Barkal
seized and the priests killed. Apparently, nearly every priest
was killed, helping to end the importance of Jebel Barkal.
Perhaps the invasion by Egypt had soured public sentiment
against all things Egyptian enough for Aspelta to get away
with such sacrilege. He moved his court to Meroë, farther
south along the Nile, formerly an Egyptian military outpost
but by then a thriving trading center. He and his successors
promoted a lion god as their new chief god.EGYPT
BY AMR KAMEL
Ancient Egypt, like any other place ancient or modern, was
not an ideal society. People who engaged in bribery and all
manner of crime and corruption existed alongside people
who were humble, law-abiding, and religious. Th e Egyptians
attempted to hold their society together using a group of fun-
damental principles called maat, which eventually came to
represent the cosmic order as well, since Egyptians believed
their land to be the center of the world. Maintaining maat was
the major duty of Egyptian kings, and it was the subject of
many ancient Egyptian teachings. Any abuse of power by an
offi cial could be controlled only if there was ethical awareness
and a sense of loyalty in the community. When these faltered,
offi cials increasingly took advantage of their positions, espe-
cially when the purchase of offi ces and the abuse of oracles
were concerned. Th ese abuses become apparent notably from
the Nineteenth Dynasty (ca. 1307–ca. 1196 b.c.e.) forward.
Desiring reform, Horemheb, the last king of the Eigh-
teenth Dynasty (ca. 1550–ca. 1307 b.c.e.), conscientiously
enforced maat, issuing a royal decree against bribery and cor-ruption that can still be read on the 10th pylon at Karnak. In
the decree Horemheb states that corrupt behavior on the part
of the authorities represents an off ense and warns that these
off enses “from today onward” will be punished by such penal-
ties as fl ogging and cutting off of noses a nd, in some cases, w i l l
require the redress of any damage infl icted on an individual.
He advises his newly appointed offi cers: “Do not compromise
yourselves with people! Do not accept rewards from others!”
Nonetheless, such instructions did not guarantee a
peaceful life. Ancient Egyptian literature refers from time
to time to scandals, corrupt people, and other illegal behav-
ior. Th e earliest example was mentioned in the biography of
Weni, an important Sixth Dynasty (ca. 2323–ca. 2150 b.c.e.)
offi cer. Th ere appears to have been an unsuccessful conspir-
acy against Pepi I plotted by one of his numerous wives. Weni
seems to have been singled out to hear about that confi dential
matter when he was in the royal women’s quarters. From the
same Sixth Dynasty period, a scene in the Saqqara mustaba
of the vizier Khentika depicts the judgment and corporal
punishment of fi ve district governors brought before the vi-
zier and charged with corruption in collecting taxes. All were
punished swift ly and harshly.
Egyptian texts do not mention other cases of immoral
behavior until late in the New Kingdom, when abundant evi-
dence of corruption appears, possibly because of a defi ciency
in the administration. Th e inscription of Mes, engraved in his
tomb at Saqqara from the Nineteenth Dynasty, describes a
lawsuit about the ownership of some fi elds inherited by vari-
ous members of the family to which Mes belonged. Th e text
refers to a certain Khay, who originally was not a family mem-
ber but who claimed his right based on forged documents that
he submitted to the highest law court in Egypt, presided over
by the vizier who pronounced his judgment in favor of Khay.
A literary document dating from the late Nineteenth Dy-
nasty describes the career of a corrupt man named Paneb—
the foreman of a group of workers at Deir el-Medina—who,
with his son Aapehti, committed several crimes. Paneb is ac-
cused of having obtained his position by bribing the vizier.
Paneb stole some statues from the temple of King Seti I, with
the intention of decorating his own tomb. He then went on to
murder his adoptive father, Neferhotep. He was arrested and
sent for trial before the vizier Amenope. Nonetheless, by the
exercise of some infl uence or chicanery, he was able to secure
his acquittal and not only obtained the murdered Neferhotep’s
position but also eventually had himself buried in a handsome
tomb. He and his son made love with fi ve of his colleagues’
wives and their daughters. He was also accused failing to pay
for clothes that had been made for him and of drunkenness.
In the reign of Ramses III legal documents describe a trial
of persons who planned the murder of the king. Th e princi-
pal defendant was the secondary queen Tiy, who apparently
wanted the throne for her son Pentewere. Th e jury was com-
posed of 14 offi cials, four of whom were convicted of having
sexual intercourse with the wives of some of the defendants
and were accordingly deprived of their titles and punished910 scandals and corruption: Egypt0895-1194_Soc&Culturev4(s-z).i910 910 10/10/07 2:30:24 PM