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life.

0:46

Brother betrays brother and

0:48

one steals their birthright, but

0:51

vengeance will be taken. Welcome to

0:53

the History of Egypt podcast, and

0:55

Total War Pharaoh. Today,

0:58

we introduce Amen-Messi, a

1:00

most curious individual, whose rise

1:02

to power and reign as king were

1:05

fraught with conflict. Amen-Messi,

1:07

the Viceroy of Kush, is a strong

1:10

choice to lead your armies. Today,

1:13

we get to know the man himself.

1:21

Amen-Messi, or Born

1:23

of Amun, is a fascinating figure.

1:26

He is incredibly shadowy, a

1:29

few records survive here and there, and

1:31

historians can piece together some of his

1:33

story from scattered hints and

1:36

references. On that basis,

1:38

he may not sound important, but

1:40

Amen-Messi was a vital figure

1:43

in the last years of the 19th royal

1:45

dynasty. His actions, and

1:48

his legacy, cast a great

1:50

shadow over events of this time.

1:53

Let's meet him. Amen-Messi's exact

1:56

origins are unclear.

1:58

He was probably part of the extended

2:01

royal family of the 19th dynasty.

2:04

His mother was a woman named Ta-Khat,

2:07

who might have been a daughter of King

2:10

Remeses II. Ammon-Messy's

2:12

father, though, is totally unknown.

2:15

It is possible that his father was the King

2:17

Mernapta, we can only speculate.

2:20

What we do know is that Ammon-Messy

2:23

may have gained prominence in the last

2:25

years of King Remeses II,

2:28

his possible grandfather. This isn't

2:30

definitive, but there is a decent chance

2:32

that Ammon-Messy served Remeses

2:35

II as the king's son

2:37

of Kush, that is, the Viceroy

2:40

of Nubia, the royal governor over

2:42

modern Sudan. In the last years

2:45

of Remeses II, historians

2:47

have identified a Viceroy of Kush

2:49

named Messui. Messui,

2:52

or Messy, could be a shortened

2:54

version of Ammon-Messy.

2:57

So there is a decent chance that this

2:59

Viceroy is actually the young prince.

3:02

If that is accurate, then Ammon-Messy

3:05

apparently served as the Viceroy of

3:07

Kush, the overseer of Nubia,

3:09

on behalf of the pharaohs. When

3:12

his grandfather, Remeses II,

3:14

finally died, the new king,

3:16

Mernapta, kept Ammon-Messy

3:19

in his position. At least,

3:21

he did for a few years. Mernapta

3:24

came to power as a relatively old

3:27

man, and for much of his

3:29

reign, things were stable. He

3:31

continued the practices of Remeses

3:33

II and did not rock the boat. That

3:36

is, until year seven. About

3:39

seven years into his reign, Mernapta

3:42

suddenly reformed or shook

3:44

up the royal administration. In

3:47

this time, a bunch of high-ranking

3:49

officials suddenly disappear,

3:51

replaced by new names and individuals.

3:55

Ammon-Messy, or Messui, the

3:57

Viceroy of Kush,

3:59

was one of the most important. these people.

4:01

The causes are unknown. Perhaps

4:03

there was a disagreement, a disgrace,

4:06

a rebellion, or simply discord.

4:09

Whatever happened exactly, trouble

4:11

was brewing. And when Mernepta

4:14

died, Amen-messi saw

4:17

his opportunity. The

4:19

Viceroy of Nubia, the king's

4:21

son of Kush, was an extremely

4:24

high-ranking position. The

4:26

governor over modern Sudan held

4:28

sway in an enormous territory,

4:31

and his duties extended all

4:33

across the region. The Viceroy

4:35

of Kush was responsible for the Egyptian

4:38

administration and imperial

4:40

control of Nubia. Within

4:43

this remit, the duties included military

4:45

security, control of the

4:48

river Nile and its traffic, subjugation

4:50

of rebels or outsiders who might

4:52

threaten the peace, and the security

4:55

and peacekeeping of the locals themselves.

4:58

Also, the gold mining expeditions

5:01

were a vital source of royal wealth, and

5:03

the Viceroy of Nubia was responsible

5:05

for these projects.

5:07

Finally,

5:08

the Viceroy also held sway

5:10

over the local chieftains and leaders

5:13

of the Nubian communities, and

5:16

he, on behalf of the pharaoh, received

5:19

tribute from the Nubians and

5:21

gifts from all the loyal subjects.

5:24

The Viceroys of Nubia are incredibly

5:26

well-documented. In the time

5:28

of King Tutankhamun, over a

5:30

hundred years before Amen-messi, we

5:33

know about a Viceroy named Hui,

5:35

and the reason he's interesting is that Hui

5:38

constructed a lavish tomb, which

5:40

he decorated with images of his work

5:43

and job. In the tomb

5:45

of Hui, from the time of King Tutankhamun,

5:48

we see the duties of the Viceroy

5:50

of Nubia. He sails up and down the

5:52

river, inspecting regional fortresses

5:55

and towns. He also gathers

5:57

the tribute that comes from the Nubian land.

6:00

in chieftains and from distant

6:02

lands. The most important

6:05

thing we see here is the gold.

6:08

Within the tomb of Hui and that of other

6:10

viceroys, there is an overriding

6:12

emphasis on the presentation of gold.

6:15

Rich yellow metal smelted

6:17

into rings, kind of like doughnuts,

6:20

pile up before the viceroys,

6:23

and foreign dignitaries bring them by

6:25

the dish and plate load, holding

6:28

endless amounts of valuable material.

6:30

The reason is simple, the highlands

6:33

and mountains of eastern Sudan, ancient

6:35

Kush, were rich in seams of

6:37

gold, and from an early age

6:40

the Egyptian monarchs began to exploit

6:42

this reekin, mining it constantly

6:45

to extract the valuable metal. As

6:48

the viceroy of Kush, the overseer

6:50

of southern lands, a man like

6:52

Mesui or Amen Mesi would

6:55

have had access to incredible

6:57

wealth. With that in mind, it

7:00

probably wasn't a good idea to

7:02

make Amen Mesi angry. When

7:05

Mernepta died, his son, Seti

7:08

II, ascended to the throne. For

7:10

a short period, Amen Mesi bided

7:13

his time. But then, suddenly,

7:16

about six months into Seti's

7:19

first year of rule, Amen Mesi

7:21

led a rebellion. Record

7:23

records throughout the Nile Valley suggest

7:26

that very soon into Seti II's reign,

7:29

Amen Mesi rose up and

7:32

declared himself to be the true

7:34

king of Egypt. This rebellion

7:37

probably began in Nubia. Amen

7:40

Mesi, the former viceroy of

7:42

Kush, may have travelled south after

7:44

losing his job, and perhaps he

7:47

gathered allies from among the

7:49

regional governors and rulers of

7:51

this wealthy land. Then,

7:54

when Seti II took the throne, Amen

7:56

Mesi seized on his opportunity. He

7:59

gathered the troops troops and commanders, and

8:01

rose up in civil war. Our

8:04

earliest record for this conflict is

8:06

at a fortress called Buhen. Buhen

8:10

today is underwater, buried

8:12

beneath the waters of Lake Nasser, but

8:15

once upon a time Buhen was

8:17

an enormous fortress and town,

8:20

kind of like a giant castle controlling

8:22

the river Nile. At Buhen, Amen-messi

8:25

commissioned a text that proclaimed

8:28

his identity as the king of

8:30

Egypt. Amen-messi claimed

8:33

for himself the titles and names

8:35

of a legitimate pharaoh. He called

8:38

himself

8:39

Men-mi-ra-setep-en-ra,

8:42

this translates as one who

8:44

endures like Ra, the sun

8:46

god, who is chosen by Ra.

8:50

He also called himself Amen-messus-hek-ra-wa-set,

8:54

that is Amen-messi, the

8:56

ruler of Thebes. It

8:59

seems that Amen-messi declared himself

9:02

the rightful pharaoh of Egypt. He

9:04

rose up in rebellion in the southern lands,

9:07

and then, gathering his forces, he

9:09

started to move north. Small

9:12

traces throughout the Nile Valley hint

9:14

at Amen-messi extending his power

9:17

over a period of several months, until

9:20

he reached the city of Waset. Waset,

9:24

ancient Thebes or modern Luxor,

9:26

is the great southern city of Egypt.

9:29

It is here that you will find the Temple of

9:32

Karnak of Luxor, the memorial

9:34

temples, and the Valley of the Kings.

9:37

Waset, or Thebes, was an

9:39

incredibly valuable settlement. Amen-messi

9:43

invaded it.

9:44

By studying monuments throughout the region

9:46

of Waset, or Thebes, archaeologists

9:49

can identify a historical process. First,

9:52

we have a spate of monuments constructed

9:55

and partially decorated by King

9:57

Seti II.

9:59

probably date from the very first months

10:02

of his rule, when he would have started a whole

10:04

series of projects to glorify

10:06

his new reign. But

10:08

then, suddenly, work stops

10:11

on Seti's monuments, and we see a period

10:14

in which the king's name is suddenly

10:16

being erased and defaced from

10:18

these structures. Those names,

10:21

originally of Seti II, were

10:23

then replaced by the usurper

10:25

himself. Amenessi

10:28

seems to have swept into Thebes, taken

10:31

over the regional administration, and

10:33

expelled all traces of

10:35

Seti. It's not clear if Amenessi

10:38

took Wasit or Thebes peacefully,

10:41

or if he had to conquer and sack the city.

10:44

There is no archaeological evidence on this

10:46

particular point.

10:48

We do have one record that

10:50

may be hints at local resistance.

10:53

In the region of Thebes, there is the famous

10:55

Valley of the Kings, the site of

10:57

the royal tombs commissioned by the

11:00

various monarchs. The people

11:02

who built those tombs, the workers and

11:04

artisans, they lived in a small

11:06

village not too far from the valley.

11:10

This village, dear El Medina, has

11:12

been fully explored by archaeologists,

11:15

and coming out of that settlement, we

11:17

have thousands of tiny fragments

11:19

of texts and records relating

11:22

to these periods.

11:23

In one record, a small document

11:25

references the chief workman, Neferhotep,

11:29

who apparently was killed during

11:31

the time of Amenessi. Neferhotep

11:35

had been a high-ranking member of

11:37

the community at Dier el Medina, and

11:39

it's possible he was killed as part of the

11:42

political turmoil taking place during

11:44

this time. Another record

11:46

from the same source describes

11:49

a conflict between Neferhotep and

11:51

one of his colleagues. Neferhotep

11:53

had complained about this colleague to

11:56

a high-ranking government official, and

11:58

eventually the matter went all the way to the city. to the

12:00

top, to a man called Messi.

12:03

Messi is almost certainly the

12:05

shortened version of Amen Messi,

12:07

the usurping pharaoh who now controlled

12:10

Thebes. We are missing a lot of the

12:12

context here, but we maybe have the beginnings

12:15

of a story. Apparently, Neferhotep

12:18

was involved in a civil dispute

12:20

taking place within the community at Der

12:22

el Medina. That dispute escalated,

12:25

eventually coming to the attention of the

12:27

local pharaoh himself. And subsequently,

12:30

Neferhotep was killed. To

12:33

be clear, we can't say who ordered

12:36

this killing. It may have been Amen

12:38

Messi, but it may have been somebody else

12:40

acting on their own initiative. The

12:43

reference to Messi or Amen Messi

12:45

simply provides a greater political context

12:48

for what was happening, but whether the usurping

12:50

king actually got involved in this dispute,

12:53

we can't say for sure. It

12:56

is possible that Neferhotep fell

12:58

on the wrong side of politics.

13:01

Anyway,

13:01

back to the big picture. When Amen

13:04

Messi seized control of Wasit,

13:06

the pharaoh Seti II was not

13:09

within that place. Apparently,

13:11

Seti was far to the north, probably

13:13

staying at one of the two palaces in

13:16

Memphis or P. Ramesses, so

13:18

Amen Messi did not face Seti directly.

13:22

Nor did he kill the reigning king. Instead,

13:25

the two monarchs seemed to have settled down

13:27

into a kind of divided realm. In

13:30

the north, Seti II continued

13:32

to hold power, and he built monuments

13:34

and left records during this time.

13:37

But in the south, Amen Messi

13:39

held control of Wasit and

13:41

the southern lands.

13:43

Amen Messi would try to expand

13:45

his power north, but he never

13:47

managed to take control of the entire country.

13:50

The furthest northern record for

13:52

this king is at a place called Rika,

13:55

which is near the great Fayyum, just

13:57

south of modern Cairo.

15:16

at

16:00

worst. On the other hand, that

16:02

can be a good thing. Should

16:05

you decide to take command of the Amen-Messi

16:07

faction,

16:08

you have a clear path to power.

16:11

You control the southern goldlands,

16:13

the abundant mines of Nubia. You

16:16

can gather skilled warriors from the

16:18

local communities and build a

16:20

force in relative peace and security.

16:24

Then, when you are ready, you

16:26

can start moving north, sailing

16:28

down the Nile River and extending

16:30

your influence. Ultimately,

16:33

you will need to face the rulers of Egypt,

16:35

Seti II and his wife, Pauseret,

16:39

and you will need to fight to take control

16:41

of the country. But where

16:43

Amen-Messi might have failed,

16:46

perhaps you will succeed. You

16:48

can step into the gaps of history, seize

16:50

control of Wasit, and then even

16:53

further north. You might unify

16:55

the country under your rule, bringing

16:57

it together in the name of Amen-Messi.

17:01

Should you do so, well, you will

17:03

go even further than this

17:05

curious man.