in the quarries of
Dababieh, opposite Gebelen.

It would have been impossible for him to have exercised any authority
over so rich and powerful a personage as Hrihor had he not possessed
rights to the crown, before which even the high priests of Amon were
obliged to bow, and hence it has been supposed that he was a descendant
of Ramses II. The descendants of this sovereign were doubtless divided
into at least two branches, one of which had just become extinct,
leaving no nearer heir than Hrihor, while another, of which there were
many ramifications, had settled in the Delta. The majority of these
descendants had become mingled with the general population, and had sunk
to the condition of private individuals; they had, however, carefully
preserved the tradition of their origin, and added proudly to their name
the qualification of royal son of Ramses. They were degenerate scions
of the Ramessides, and had neither the features nor the energy of their
ancestor. One of them, Zodphta-haufonkhi, whose mummy was found at Deir
el-Bahari, appears to have been tall and vigorous, but the head lacks
the haughty refinement which characterizes those of Seti I. and Ramses
II., and the features are heavy and coarse, having a vulgar, commonplace
expression.

[Illustration: 093.jpg ZODPHTAHAUFONKHI, ROYAL SON OF RAMSES]

Drawn by Boudier, from the photograph by Insinger.

It seems probable that one branch of the family, endowed with greater
capability than the rest, was settled at Tanis, where Sesostris had,
as we have seen, resided for many years; Smendes was the first of this
branch to ascend the throne. The remembrance of his remote ancestor,
Ramses IL, which was still treasured up in the city he had completely
rebuilt, as well as in the Delta into which he had infused new life, was
doubtless of no small service in securing the crown for his descendant,
when, the line of the Theban kings having come to an end, the Tanites
put in their claim to the succession. We are unable to discover if
war broke out between the two competitors, or if they arrived at an
agreement without a struggle; but, at all events, we may assume that,
having divided Egypt between them, neither of them felt himself strong
enough to overcome his rival, and contented himself with the possession
of half the empire, since he could not possess it in its entirety. We
may fairly believe that Smendes had the greater right to the throne,
and, above all, the