THE EPIC OF PENTA-OUR
The commencement of the epic of Penta-our is wanting in the papyrus, and the end is also defective, but the date of the composition and the name of the writer have fortunately escaped. It appears to have been written in the ninth year of the King whose valor it celebrates. Champollion saw this papyrus, and had formed some notion of the nature of its contents, but to M. de Rougé belongs the honor of having first given a complete translation of it. This was published in the "Revue Contemporaine," 1856, p. 389. The scene of the exploit lies in the neighborhood of the city of Katesh,[1] the capital of the Hittites, which stood on the banks of a river named Anrata (or Aranta, as it is sometimes written), perhaps the Syrian Orontes. It appears, from the sculptures and inscriptions of Ibsamboul and the Theban Ramesseum, that Rameses II, in the fifth year of his reign, made an expedition into Asia to suppress a revolt of the Asiatic tribes headed by the Prince of Heth. Arrived near Katesh, upon the south side of the city, certain wandering Arabs came to inform him that the forces of the Hittites had retired toward the south, to the land of the Khirbou. These Arabs were, however, in the service of the enemy, and were sent with the intention of entrapping the Egyptians, the fact being that the Hittites and their allies were assembled in force to the north of the town. Rameses fell into the trap, and advanced to the northwest of Katesh while the body of his army proceeded to the south. Shortly after two Hittite spies were caught and brought to the King, and under the pressure of the bastonnade, confessed the true state of the affair. The prince of the Hittites had in the meantime executed a movement to the south of the city, and thus the King was cut off from the body
of his troops, and only escaped destruction by the dashing ex-
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- ↑ M. de Rougé reads "Atesch," but there are very strong reasons for believing that the first syllable in this word is to be read "Kat," not "At." Of this opinion is M. Brugsch. The Syrian name was probably "Kadesh" (the Holy City), which the Egyptians, not having the letter "d," wrote "Katesh." There were several places so called in the East, but the Kadesh here mentioned has not been satisfactorily identified with any of them.
