The Taking of Joppa

The Taking of Joppa is an ancient Egyptian tale describing the conquest of the town of Joppa by Thutmose III's general Djehuti. The extant copy of the text is on the verso of Papyrus Harris 500.

This is by no means an historic account of a conquest, but rather a tale whose backdrop is Thutmose III's campaigning in Syria. [Nicholas Grimal, "A History of Ancient Egypt," Blackwell Publishing 1992, p.217] There was indeed a troop commander named Djehuti who served under Thutmose III.

The tactics used by Djehuti in the story are reminiscent of the episode of the Trojan horse in the "Iliad" and the tale of "Ali Baba and the forty thieves" from "Arabian Nights".

ynopsis

(The beginning of the tale is lost.) Djehuti invites the prince of Joppa to a party in his camp outside the town. He knocks him out, hides two hundred of his soldiers in sacks which he has loaded onto pack animals, and sends a charioteer to announce to the town that the Egyptians have surrendered and are sending tribute. Introduced into the city the hidden Egyptian soldiers emerge and conquer it.

Bibliography

* Fritz Hintze, "Untersuchungen zu Stil und Sprache neuagyptischer Erzahlungen", in "Journal of Near Eastern Studies", Vol. 11, No. 3 (Jul., 1952), pp. 227-230
* William Matthew Flinders Petrie, "Egyptian Tales: Translated from the Papyri", London 1895

References and footnotes