hmessides, it is difficult
at the present day to know what position to assign him in the Pharaonic
lists: while some regard him as the last of the XVIIIth dynasty, others
prefer to place him at the head of the XIXth. No such hesitation,
however, exists with regard to Ramses I., who was undoubtedly the
founder of a new family. The old familiar names of Thutmosis and
Amenothes henceforward disappear from the royal lists, and are replaced
by others, such as Seti, Minephtah, and, especially, Ramses, which now
figure in them for the first time. The princes who bore these names
showed themselves worthy successors of those who had raised Egypt to the
zenith of her power; like them they were successful on the battle-field,
and like them they devoted the best of the spoil to building innumerable
monuments. No sooner had Seti celebrated his father's obsequies, than he
assembled his army and set out for war.

It would appear that Southern Syria was then in open revolt. "Word had
been brought to His Majesty: 'The vile Shausu have plotted rebellion;
the chiefs of their tribes, assembled in one place on the confines of
Kharu, have been smitten with blindness and with the spirit of violence;
every one cutteth his neighbour's throat."* It was imperative to send
succour to the few tribes who remained faithful, to prevent them from
succumbing to the repeated attacks of the insurgents. Seti crossed the
frontier at Zalu, but instead of pursuing his way along the coast, he
marched due east in order to attack the Shausu in the very heart of the
desert. The road ran through wide wadys, tolerably well supplied
with water, and the length of the stages necessarily depended on the
distances between the wells. This route was one frequented in early
times, and its security was ensured by a number of fortresses and
isolated towers built along it, such as "The House of the Lion "--_ta
ait pa mau_--near the pool of the same name, the Migdol of the springs
of Huzina, the fortress of Uazit, the Tower of the Brave, and the Migdol
of Seti at the pools of Absakaba. The Bedawin, disconcerted by the
rapidity of this movement, offered no serious resistance. Their flocks
were carried off, their trees cut down, their harvests destroyed, and
they surrendered their strongholds at discretion. Pushing on from
one halting-place to another, the conqueror soon reached Babbiti, and
finally Pakanana.**

* The pictures of this campaign and the inscriptions which