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ship our deities and contemplate nature.
Dolora let the subject drop. Ofir was right: their religion
would have to be imposed by force. It was no good waiting
for the people to convert on their own. Once they were
properly indoctrinated, they would renounce their erro-
neous beliefs.
Your Highness . . . have you heard the latest?
The chambermaid s sparkling eyes showed that she was
simply bursting to talk. Dolora sensed a chance to pick up
some interesting gossip.
They say you plan to remarry and all the noblemen are
fighting for your hand.
Don t believe everything you hear.
That s too bad. You ve been grieving long enough. I
don t think it s right for a woman like you to be alone.
I m happy just as I am.
You seem so sad sometimes. I guess it s normal. You
must think about your poor husband. It s awful that he was
murdered. Do you ever wonder what happened to him in
the Judgment Hall of the Dead? With all due respect, Your
Highness, I hear that he wasn t exactly blameless.
I m afraid you re right, she sighed.
Then why not get on with your life?
I have no wish to remarry.
Well, better days ahead, Your Highness. Especially if
your husband s murderer is convicted!
What are you talking about?
Ramses: The lady of abu simbel 89
Moses is going on trial soon.
Moses I thought he was still a fugitive!
It s supposed to be a secret, but my husband is friends
with the warden of the main prison. They have the Hebrew
locked up there. They ll ask for the death penalty!
Is he allowed to have visitors?
No, they re keeping him in solitary because the charges
against him are so serious. You ll surely be asked to testify.
Then you can get revenge!
Moses, back in Egypt! Moses, who worshiped the One
True God! It had to be a sign, Dolora thought. A sign from
heaven.
fifteen
he trial was held in the main courtroom, with the vi-
Tzier presiding as Ma at s representative. Dressed in a
starched and heavy robe, his only ornament was a heart, the
symbol of human conscience, to be weighed on the scales
in the Judgment Hall of the Dead.
Before the hearing, the vizier had met Ramses in the
temple of Ptah to renew the Pharaoh s oath to uphold jus-
tice. Refraining from mentioning any particulars, the king
had confirmed his commitment to an impartial legal process.
90 Christian Jacq
The courtroom was full. This was one trial no member
of the court would want to miss.
A few Hebrew elders were among the spectators. Opinion
was sharply divided. Some remained convinced of Moses
guilt, while others believed he would be exonerated. They
were all acquainted with the defendant s strong personality;
no one doubted that he had known what he was doing.
The vizier opened the hearing with an invocation to
Ma at, the divine law that would outlive the human race.
Forty-two strips of leather were lined up on the courtroom
floor, a reminder that the verdict would be valid in all of
Egypt s forty-two provinces.
Two soldiers accompanied Moses into the courtroom.
All eyes were riveted on the Hebrew. His face was weathered
and bearded, his stature impressive. Ramses former chief
of construction appeared surprisingly calm. The guards
showed him to a seat that faced the vizier.
On either side of the attorney general sat the fourteen-
member jury, including a surveyor, a priestess of the god-
dess Sekhmet, a doctor, a carpenter, a housewife and
mother, a farmworker, a Treasury scribe, a noblewoman, a
builder, a woman weaver, the general of the Ra division, a
stone carver, a scribe attached to the granaries, and a sailor.
Is your name Moses? the judge began.
It is.
Do you have cause to disqualify any member of this
jury? Look at them and take time to think.
I trust in your country s justice.
Isn t it your country, too?
I was born here, but I m a Hebrew.
You re an Egyptian citizen, and will be tried as such.
Would the proceedings and the verdict be different if I
were a foreigner?
Ramses: The lady of abu simbel 91
Of course not.
What does it matter, then?
That s for the court to decide. Are you ashamed of
being Egyptian?
That s for the court to decide, as you just said.
You stand accused of killing a foreman named Sary,
then fleeing the law. Do you acknowledge these facts?
I do, but they require an explanation.
That s the point of this trial. Do you consider the
charges against you to be incorrect?
No.
You will therefore understand that in keeping with the
law I must seek the death penalty in this case.
A murmur ran through the crowd. Moses was stone-
faced, as if these dreadful words had nothing to do with
him.
Given the grave nature of the accusations, the vizier
continued, I am placing no limits on the length of this
trial. The defendant will have all the time he needs to pre-
sent his side of the case. I demand absolute silence and will
suspend proceedings if there is the least disorder in the
court. The offenders will be held in contempt and liable for
heavy penalties.
The judge then turned to face Moses.
At the time of the incident, what was your occupation?
I was a government official, in charge of construction at
Pi-Ramses. One of my duties was supervising the Hebrew
brickmakers.
By all accounts, your performance was exemplary. You
were a personal friend of the Pharaoh s, were you not?
Yes, I was.
You graduated from the royal academy in Memphis,
were appointed junior administrator with the harem at Me-
92 Christian Jacq
rur, served as supply officer and surveyor in the late
Pharaoh Seti s army, directed his renovations at Luxor, then
went on to supervise the construction of Pi-Ramses. In
short, you were a rising star. The victim, Sary, was exactly
the opposite. He had been Ramses private tutor, rose to
become director of the royal academy, but later emerged
from exile to become a construction foreman, working with
the Hebrew brickmakers. Were you informed of the reasons
for his demotion?
I had my opinion.
Please state it for the record.
Sary was an evil man, ambitious and greedy. It was Fate
that struck him through my hand.
Ahmeni requested the floor. The defense can show evi-
dence that Sary repeatedly plotted against the king. Because
he was married to the princess Dolora, Ramses declined to
press charges.
A number of the influential spectators appeared sur-
prised.
Let the princess Dolora appear before this court,
ordered the vizier.
The lanky brunette came meekly forward.
Do you agree with the statements made by Moses and
Ahmeni?
Dolora hung her head.
If anything, they re much too moderate. My husband
had become a monster. Once he understood his academic
career was finished, he was a broken man. He took his frus-
trations out on his subordinates. In the end, he was con-
sumed with hatred for the brickmakers he supervised. His
cruel mistreatment of the Hebrew workers amounted to per-
secution. If Moses hadn t killed him, someone else would
have.
Ramses: The lady of abu simbel 93
The vizier looked intrigued. Are you sure you re not
exaggerating?
I swear I m not! My husband was making my life a
living hell!
Are you saying you re glad he died?
Dolora slumped even more. I was, well, relieved, and
ashamed of feeling that way. But how could I miss a man
who d become so cruel?
Any further information that pertains to the case?
No, Your Honor. Dolora returned to her place among
the nobles.
Does anyone wish to testify in Sary s defense or chal-
lenge his widow s testimony?
The courtroom was silent. The scribe who was serving as
court reporter took notes in a sure and rapid hand.
Give your version of the events in question, the vizier
instructed Moses.
It was a sort of accident. Although my relations with
Sary were strained, I never intended to kill him.
Why the strained relations?
Because I d found out that the man was an extortionist
who abused the Hebrew brickmakers in his work gang. I was
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