as far as Imhotep concerned,” Sensei began to tell. “This man used skillfully and praiseworthly the knowledge revealed to him by the Sokrovennik. Soon due to his tireless work Imhotep became famous among people as a skillful doctor and was invited to the court of the pharaoh who is known today in history under the name of Djoser (though his name sounded in Ancient Egypt differently), the king of the third dynasty who founded his capital in the city of Memphis. To put it more precise, at those days this city was called by Egyptians also differently, ‘Khet-Ka-Ptah’, which meant ‘chamber of the soul of god Ptah’ (or the ‘palace of the soul of god Ptah’) since god-craftsman Ptah was believed to be a supreme god of this city. And before that it was simply called a ‘city with white walls’. Memphis is already a Greek interpretation of the more ancient Egypt name of this city ‘Menepher’ (‘Good haven’). If you look at modern map and this city was situated not far from modern Cairo in the strategically important location of the Nile delta. Now there are only ruins left from this city, they are buried under a thick sand layer. By the way, in the Old Testament this city was named as Nof.
“Imhotep showed himself not only just as an outstanding doctor but also a wise man who knew well natural sciences (today these sciences are known as astronomy, mathematics, chemistry, physics, geometry) and as it turned out later who had a talent of speaker and excellent organizer. Soon the pharaoh Djoser appointed his to the position of his chief clerk, the first high official in the state after the pharaoh, someone like vizier or present prime-minister in Western countries. It was at all an extraordinary case at those times since this position was taken by people from hereditary aristocracy. Imhotep was an ordinary man by birth and reached this position, as they say, owing to his intellect and hard work.”
“Aha, owing to the knowledge given to him by the Sokrovennik,” Andrew said.
“Right but one thing is to get knowledge. Another one is to use it properly,” Sensei remarked. “For you to better estimate what this Human managed to do for people I will tell you briefly about the situation which was typical under the rule of pharaoh Djoser before Imhotep appeared among high authorities.
“The head of the state was worried about strengthening of his power. He tried to reinforce his position on the North and waged a war on the Southern border. He controlled copper mines on the Sinai half-isle which belonged to his predecessors in power. By and large he was more busy with solving his ‘strategic’ problems than needs of his people. His suite followed him.
“The priests were engaged in their political intrigues and confrontation among them fighting for domination of their theological system. Since that time each ‘sep’, or how Greeks named it later, ‘nome’ (in our words, regions into which the country was divided) had its own gods, its own religious concepts based, one should say, on the same more ancient knowledge. However, gods of that nome where the capital was located at that moment were announced as central gods of the whole country. But all influential priests claiming for big power wanted to live very well. That’s why each of them played his tricks in fight for power. For example, if the doctrine of competitive religious concept influenced more on the world view of people priests even added not only main statements of this concept to their systme but also the very attributes of the ‘competitive’ god to their ‘own’.”
“Well, though priests were in power, nevertheless they paid much attention to the world view of ordinary people,” Nikolai Andreevich remarked.
“Of course. And it may sound for you as a paradox but they depended on the world view of ordinary people! Since it’s bread of priests! They support only external illusion of their power that any religious position of their believers depends on the general decision of the ruling authorities of this religion. But in fact it’s only a small group of people who are afraid of losing their power if the majority of people will change their world view. Since together with this power they will lose their significance as ‘intermediaries’ between gods and people and therefore not only the political influence but also quite comfortable and prosperous existance which is provided to them by this power.”
“That’s true,” Nikolai Andreevich confirmed.
“So, at those times religion was more politics and it was profitable for priests to keep their flock obedient… Thus, the very nomes were ruled by governors appointed by the pharaoh, they were provincial aristocrats who have been spending their time mostly in idleness. And if they needed for some issues to get a support of the people they obtained loyalty as usual with the help of priests. Some of the governors of the nomes were relatives of the pharaoh because there was a custom among monarchs to take wives from daughters of nome governors or to conclude marriages between them and their children.”
“I see,” Nikolai Andreevich grinned. “It seems to be a quite actual modern ‘custom’.”
Sensei just smiled and went on telling. “However these political marriages brought to a provincial aristocracy not always a long waited connection with the ruling house. Sometimes it turned to an uncompromising enmity and competition. And when a pharaoh got a few off-springs from different wives, who were candidates for the throne, it could lead to plots and counter-plots with secret support of this process by several priests and interested aristocrats who in their turn also dreamt to advance their son or close relative to the nome governors.”
On hearing the last words Nikolai Andreevich laughed even more, “But really nothing has changed indeed!”
“In general almost everybody, starting from pharaoh, high ranked priests, aristocrats, nome governors and ending collectors of natural tributes were occupied with an actual problem, where to steal something, to capture more, to broaden the sphere of his influence. Whereas ordinary people were mostly deprived attention of authorities and were left by its own, as they say, they survivied as they could. The commercial activity of the country was controlled by big cities, or to be more precise by those who controlled them. Even Memphis which was an important handicraft and trade centre of the state with big multinational population lived by its own. Simply saying, everything was as usual. Everybody was occupied by his problems, some had nothing for a soup, others complained about small pearls.”
“Therefore Imhotep got ‘hereditary’ from his forerunner not the best situation in the country. Moreover as a man of Knowledge he understood reasons of what was happening around. He was aware that the main Egypt’s trade routes were secretly controlled by people of the Archons and that they profited by such a situation in the country and by concern of people with their own problems. Knowing that Imhotep acted in a very wise way.
Practically for the short period of time he put the country in order. First of all he dismissed people of the Archons and replaced them with responsible people whom he trusted and who knew well their work. He reorganized bureaucracy and forced clerks to work. He established severe discipline among them: any theft, deceit, bribery, mercenary use of position were stopped and strictly punished. He made the pharaoh the protector of all people, grown-ups and young. Due to Imhotep they introduced fair laws which were strictly kept. Anyone in this state even if it were a poor commoner who was treated unjustly had a right not only to complain about his offender even he was a high and mighty but, to say in our language, to sue him and to win the case. Imhotep organized groups which checked quite quickly and effectively complaints from population. And if these complaints were justified, the guilty person was punished immediately. That’s why common people began to name Imhotep as ‘Kind friend of poor people’, ‘Enemy for all law-breakers and genuine Truth-seeker’, ‘Wiseman who gives valuable advices without any reward’, ‘The one who is respected by the most esteemed men’. Later they began to attribute these people’s epithet to pharaohs of next dynasties.”
“At the same time Imhotep brought to order the irrigation system. He put responsible and professional people at the head of works on canal building and solved in short time one of the main problems for Egyptians, the problem which was a heave burden on the ‘shoulders’ of the pharaoh and namely distribution and use of water both for everyday and agricultural needs. Since in the hot dry climat e of Egypt where the average annual temperature of air is about thirty five degree, the lack of water provoked hunger and national troubles. The irrigation system existed also before but it was in bad state. However after bringing it to order the result was not only improvement of conditions of life of common people