FIRST BLACK WAR OF LIBERATION
By LEGRAND CLEGG
During the Twentieth Century, we have all read about the great
liberation struggles in Africa. In recent years this focus has been on Rhodesia
(now Zimbabwe) and South Africa. While many may believe that the great
Africa wars to end imperialism are unique to modern times, a review of
the historical record reveals that this is not true. Foreigners have
always been drawn to Africa for its warm and gracious people, its great
wealth and its magnificent civilizations. Unfortunately, as the
distinguished historian, John Henrike [sic] Clarke has noted, foreigners have
taken much from Africa, but rarely contributed anything to her.
The first true invasion of Africa took place almost four thousand years
ago. The special circumstances that led to this stem from events that
transpired at the end of the Middle Kingdom, i.e., the Twelfth Dynasty.
At that time Egypt had lapsed into confusion, contention and internal
strife that ultimately resulted in what is called the Second
Intermediate Period (i.e., the Thirteenth through the early Seventeenth Dynasties,
c. 1786-1567 B.C.)
Manetho, an ancient historian, wrote a treatise on Egypt which includes
this period, but it has perished. Fortunately, however, Jewish
historian Flavius Josephus quotes a portion of Manetho's account of a foreign
attack and conquest which were the most significant events of the Second
Intermediate Period and which transformed Egyptian history. "[A] blast
of God smote us," Manetho states, "and unexpectedly from the regions of
the East, invaders of obscure race marched in confidence of victory
against our land. By main force they easily seized it without striking a
blow; and having overpowered the rulers of the land they then burned our
cities ruthlessly, razed to the ground the temples of the gods, and
treated all the natives with a cruel hostility, massacring some and
leading into slavery the wives and children of others... Finally, they
appointed as king one of their number whose name was Salitis."1
Manetho designated these invaders as "Hyksos," which he interprets to
mean "shepherd kings" in the Egyptian language.2
Today the word Hyksos is more generally interpreted as "rulers of
foreign lands."3
The Hyksos were largely Semites driven from Western Asia into Africa by
instability and famine. They appear to have established themselves in
Lower Egypt and may have extended their influence, if not their actual
rule, over portions of the remainder of the country for about two
hundred years.
During the time of the Hyksos occupation, a powerful Black family in
Upper Egypt founded the Seventeenth Dynasty. This family was headed by
Senakhtenre Tao and his wife Tetisheri.4 The king and queen built up
their power and cemented bonds with their Egyptian kinsmen and Nubian
royalty. Their goal was to develop enough power to drive out the Hyksos
occupants of Lower Egypt.5
Although Senakhtenre did not himself begin the Black War of Liberation,
he and Terisheri laid the groundwork for it. Following the passing of
Senakhtenre, his son by Tertisheri, Seqenenre Tao, ascended the throne.
The Hyksos King Apophis, who reigned three hundred miles north of
Seqenenre's Theban capital, realized the growing strength of this Black
dynasty and decided to goad the new king to battle. Apophis sent an
official delegation to Sequenenre with this provocative message:
"King Apepa [Apophis] sends thee to say: Give orders that the
hippopotamus-pool which is in the flowing spring of the city be abandoned; for
they [the voices of the hippos] do not allow deep sleep to come to me
either by day or by night; but their noise is in mine ear."6
Now the cry of the hippopotamuses was a symbol of the pharaoh's
authority. Hence, when King Apophis, who could not possibly have heard the
animals three hundred miles away, complained of their noise, he was
obviously challenging the pharaoh's power. The "Prince of the Southern City,"
as Seqenenre was called, understood this and immediately launched a war
against the Hyksos.
Sequenenre was killed in battle. But the war did not end upon his
death. Instead, his wife-sister Ahhotep I rallied the troops and pushed
northward against the Hyksos until her son by Seq[u]enenre, Kamose, reached
the age to take his father's place as pharaoh and head of the army. An
Eighteenth Dynasty inscription tells of Ahhotep's valor:
"The king's wife, the noble lady, who knew everything, assembled Kemet.
She looked after what her Sovereign had established. She guarded it.
She assembled her fugitives. She brought together her deserters. She
pacified her Upper Egyptians. She subdued her rebels, The king's wife
Ahhotep given life."7
Kamose too was killed and his brother Ahmose succeeded him. Through a
series of battles, this young king drove the invaders back into
Palestine where he finally defeated them. All in all the war of liberation
lasted perhaps fifty years.8
The Hyksos invasion and domination of Lower Egypt have been called "The
Great Humiliation" because they marked the first time that "The Black
Land" was conquered and many of its people subjugated. Ahmose's triumph
against the Hyskos in Palestine came to symbolize a watershed in the
history of the African people. It represented a transition from the
Seventeenth to the Eighteenth Dynasty. It signaled a time during which the
pharaohs would become more vigilant and aggressive, lest the nation be
invaded again. But, most important, it also introduced an era in which
the influence of the queen mother and female head of state reached
unprecedented heights.
The Egyptian masses largely attributed their liberation from Hyksos
domination to the great royal women of the Seventeenth Dynasty, who not
only maintained national stability while the king was at war, but also,
in the case of Ahhotep I, led the incipient kingdom into battle.
Ahmose's grandmother, Tetisheri, his mother Ahhotep, and his wife-sister,
Nefertari, survived Seqenenre and Kamose, and were alive during the
transition of their dynasty into the Eighteenth. This female trio was
venerated as the Founding Mothers of the Eighteenth Dynasty. For generations
Nefertari in particular was deified as ancestress of the New Kingdom,
which emerged during this period.
FOOTNOTES
1. Manetho, Edited by T.E. Page et al, with an English translation by
W.G. Waddell, Cambridge, Harvard University Press, MCMXL, pp. 79-81.
2. IBID
3. George Steindorff and Kent C. Steele, When Egypt Ruled The East,
Chicago, The University of Chicago Press, 1942, p. 24.
4. James E. Harris and Kent R. Weeks, X-Raying The Pharaohs, New York,
Charles Scribner's Sons, 1973, p. 120
5. William L. Hansberry, "Africa's Golden Past," Ebony, November, 1964,
p. 37
6. Lester Brooks, "Great Civilizations of Ancient Africa," New York,
Four Winds Press, 1971, p. 46
7. Diedre Wimby, "The Female Horuses And Great Wives of Kemet," Journal
of African Civilizations, April, 1984, vol. 6, no. 1, p. 36
8. Brooks, Great Civilizations of Ancient Africa, op. cit., p. 48
Taken From: http://www.cwo.com/~lucumi/liberation2.html
------------------------------------------------------------
"I would rather be a member of this [Afrikan] race than a Greek in the
time of Alexander, a Roman in the Augustan period, or Anglo-Saxon in
the nineteenth century." - Edward Wilmot Blyden
"However much we may detest admitting it, the fact remains that there
would be no exploitation if people refused to obey the exploiter. But
self comes in and we hug the chains that bind us. This must cease." -
Mohandas Gandhi
UHURU!
The Drum Collective - http://www.thedrum.org
Assata Shakur Forum - http://www.assatashakur.org/forum
AAPRP - http://members.aol.com/aaprp
InPDUM - http://www.inpdum.com
The Talking Drum - http://www.thetalkingdrum.com
By LEGRAND CLEGG
During the Twentieth Century, we have all read about the great
liberation struggles in Africa. In recent years this focus has been on Rhodesia
(now Zimbabwe) and South Africa. While many may believe that the great
Africa wars to end imperialism are unique to modern times, a review of
the historical record reveals that this is not true. Foreigners have
always been drawn to Africa for its warm and gracious people, its great
wealth and its magnificent civilizations. Unfortunately, as the
distinguished historian, John Henrike [sic] Clarke has noted, foreigners have
taken much from Africa, but rarely contributed anything to her.
The first true invasion of Africa took place almost four thousand years
ago. The special circumstances that led to this stem from events that
transpired at the end of the Middle Kingdom, i.e., the Twelfth Dynasty.
At that time Egypt had lapsed into confusion, contention and internal
strife that ultimately resulted in what is called the Second
Intermediate Period (i.e., the Thirteenth through the early Seventeenth Dynasties,
c. 1786-1567 B.C.)
Manetho, an ancient historian, wrote a treatise on Egypt which includes
this period, but it has perished. Fortunately, however, Jewish
historian Flavius Josephus quotes a portion of Manetho's account of a foreign
attack and conquest which were the most significant events of the Second
Intermediate Period and which transformed Egyptian history. "[A] blast
of God smote us," Manetho states, "and unexpectedly from the regions of
the East, invaders of obscure race marched in confidence of victory
against our land. By main force they easily seized it without striking a
blow; and having overpowered the rulers of the land they then burned our
cities ruthlessly, razed to the ground the temples of the gods, and
treated all the natives with a cruel hostility, massacring some and
leading into slavery the wives and children of others... Finally, they
appointed as king one of their number whose name was Salitis."1
Manetho designated these invaders as "Hyksos," which he interprets to
mean "shepherd kings" in the Egyptian language.2
Today the word Hyksos is more generally interpreted as "rulers of
foreign lands."3
The Hyksos were largely Semites driven from Western Asia into Africa by
instability and famine. They appear to have established themselves in
Lower Egypt and may have extended their influence, if not their actual
rule, over portions of the remainder of the country for about two
hundred years.
During the time of the Hyksos occupation, a powerful Black family in
Upper Egypt founded the Seventeenth Dynasty. This family was headed by
Senakhtenre Tao and his wife Tetisheri.4 The king and queen built up
their power and cemented bonds with their Egyptian kinsmen and Nubian
royalty. Their goal was to develop enough power to drive out the Hyksos
occupants of Lower Egypt.5
Although Senakhtenre did not himself begin the Black War of Liberation,
he and Terisheri laid the groundwork for it. Following the passing of
Senakhtenre, his son by Tertisheri, Seqenenre Tao, ascended the throne.
The Hyksos King Apophis, who reigned three hundred miles north of
Seqenenre's Theban capital, realized the growing strength of this Black
dynasty and decided to goad the new king to battle. Apophis sent an
official delegation to Sequenenre with this provocative message:
"King Apepa [Apophis] sends thee to say: Give orders that the
hippopotamus-pool which is in the flowing spring of the city be abandoned; for
they [the voices of the hippos] do not allow deep sleep to come to me
either by day or by night; but their noise is in mine ear."6
Now the cry of the hippopotamuses was a symbol of the pharaoh's
authority. Hence, when King Apophis, who could not possibly have heard the
animals three hundred miles away, complained of their noise, he was
obviously challenging the pharaoh's power. The "Prince of the Southern City,"
as Seqenenre was called, understood this and immediately launched a war
against the Hyksos.
Sequenenre was killed in battle. But the war did not end upon his
death. Instead, his wife-sister Ahhotep I rallied the troops and pushed
northward against the Hyksos until her son by Seq[u]enenre, Kamose, reached
the age to take his father's place as pharaoh and head of the army. An
Eighteenth Dynasty inscription tells of Ahhotep's valor:
"The king's wife, the noble lady, who knew everything, assembled Kemet.
She looked after what her Sovereign had established. She guarded it.
She assembled her fugitives. She brought together her deserters. She
pacified her Upper Egyptians. She subdued her rebels, The king's wife
Ahhotep given life."7
Kamose too was killed and his brother Ahmose succeeded him. Through a
series of battles, this young king drove the invaders back into
Palestine where he finally defeated them. All in all the war of liberation
lasted perhaps fifty years.8
The Hyksos invasion and domination of Lower Egypt have been called "The
Great Humiliation" because they marked the first time that "The Black
Land" was conquered and many of its people subjugated. Ahmose's triumph
against the Hyskos in Palestine came to symbolize a watershed in the
history of the African people. It represented a transition from the
Seventeenth to the Eighteenth Dynasty. It signaled a time during which the
pharaohs would become more vigilant and aggressive, lest the nation be
invaded again. But, most important, it also introduced an era in which
the influence of the queen mother and female head of state reached
unprecedented heights.
The Egyptian masses largely attributed their liberation from Hyksos
domination to the great royal women of the Seventeenth Dynasty, who not
only maintained national stability while the king was at war, but also,
in the case of Ahhotep I, led the incipient kingdom into battle.
Ahmose's grandmother, Tetisheri, his mother Ahhotep, and his wife-sister,
Nefertari, survived Seqenenre and Kamose, and were alive during the
transition of their dynasty into the Eighteenth. This female trio was
venerated as the Founding Mothers of the Eighteenth Dynasty. For generations
Nefertari in particular was deified as ancestress of the New Kingdom,
which emerged during this period.
FOOTNOTES
1. Manetho, Edited by T.E. Page et al, with an English translation by
W.G. Waddell, Cambridge, Harvard University Press, MCMXL, pp. 79-81.
2. IBID
3. George Steindorff and Kent C. Steele, When Egypt Ruled The East,
Chicago, The University of Chicago Press, 1942, p. 24.
4. James E. Harris and Kent R. Weeks, X-Raying The Pharaohs, New York,
Charles Scribner's Sons, 1973, p. 120
5. William L. Hansberry, "Africa's Golden Past," Ebony, November, 1964,
p. 37
6. Lester Brooks, "Great Civilizations of Ancient Africa," New York,
Four Winds Press, 1971, p. 46
7. Diedre Wimby, "The Female Horuses And Great Wives of Kemet," Journal
of African Civilizations, April, 1984, vol. 6, no. 1, p. 36
8. Brooks, Great Civilizations of Ancient Africa, op. cit., p. 48
Taken From: http://www.cwo.com/~lucumi/liberation2.html
------------------------------------------------------------
"I would rather be a member of this [Afrikan] race than a Greek in the
time of Alexander, a Roman in the Augustan period, or Anglo-Saxon in
the nineteenth century." - Edward Wilmot Blyden
"However much we may detest admitting it, the fact remains that there
would be no exploitation if people refused to obey the exploiter. But
self comes in and we hug the chains that bind us. This must cease." -
Mohandas Gandhi
UHURU!
The Drum Collective - http://www.thedrum.org
Assata Shakur Forum - http://www.assatashakur.org/forum
AAPRP - http://members.aol.com/aaprp
InPDUM - http://www.inpdum.com
The Talking Drum - http://www.thetalkingdrum.com
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