Tutimaios (Tutimaeus) (Timaus) (Dedumose1)
Tutimaios according to Manetho was the Pharaoh that lost his country to the foreign invaders known by many as the ‘Hyksos’, although the Egyptians themselves would have used the term ‘Aamu’ meaning in rough translation ‘Asiatics’. While we are on the subject of names in those far off days Egypt would not have been the name of the country. The occupants of the rich fertile lands of the Nile Valley would have called it Kemet, Kem, or the Black Lands, (as opposed to the Red Lands of the desert).
The Invasion
In the reign of Tutimaeus According to Manetho an obscure race of invaders from the east (Palestine) overpowered the Pharaohs army, (Probably by the use of horse drawn chariots – the horse was unknown in Kemet prior to the invasion) swept through the land burning cities, destroying temples, massacring many and enslaving the wives and children.
They appointed one of their own, Salitis, (Saites), (Samu-qenu?), as king. He reigned from Memphis and after setting up garrisons in key positions, levied tribute from the north and the south of the country. He also fortified the eastern borders against any possible future attack by the Assyrians who were growing stronger. On the east of the Bubastite branch of the Nile, he rebuilt and massively fortified the city of Avaris and garrisoned it with 240,000, armed men to guard the border.
When Salitis invaded it is probable that nomadic tribes of the Aamu were already resident in the fertile and peaceful delta, having gradually infiltrated for a period many, many years. Most of them would have been Palestinians glad to escape from the strife torn eastern lands. Some of them would have been Semites, as scarabs of the period carry names of their chieftains, such as Anat-her and Ya’kob-her (Anat was a Semitic goddess, while Ya’kob could have commemorate the patriarch Jacob).
The Aamu ruled the land stretching from the northern delta as far south as Hermopolis. While the Pharaohs of Kemet ruled the rest of the country from Thebes and for over a hundred years both sides were a peace. Then the people of the south rose up, attacked the Aamu and after long and terrible war drove them north into the delta. There they were trapped in the fortress stronghold of Averis and besieged within.
The Pharaoh Tethmosis with and army of four hundred and eighty thousand attempted to take the city by force and failed in the attempt. He next laid siege to the fortress and when that failed, concluded a treaty with them. They were allowed to go in peace and two hundred and forty thousand of them crossed the desert into Syria and built a city in a country, which was later called Judea.
Copyright Ó Fred Watson October 2007
Josephus Flavious quoting passages from Manethos
“Tutimaeus. In his reign, for what cause I know not, a blast of God smote us; 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 overpowered the rulers of the land, they burned our cities ruthlessly, razed to the ground the temples of the gods, and treated all the natives with 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. He had his seat at Memphis, levying tribute from Upper and Lower Egypt, and leaving garrisons behind in the most advantageous positions. Above all, he fortified the district to the East, foreseeing that the Assyrians, as they grew stronger, would oneday covert and attack his kingdom.
In the Saite (Sethorite) nome he found a city very favourably situated on the east of the Bubasite branch of the Nile, and called Avaris after ancient religious tradition. This place he rebuilt and fortified with massive walls, planting there a garrison of as many as 240, 000 heavy-armed men to guard his frontier.”
