Фараон: Роман о власти и судьбе цивилизаций

1895 novel by Bolesław Prus

Pharaoh (Faraon) is the fourth and last major novel by the Polish writer Bolesław Prus (1847–1912). Composed over a year's time in 1894–95, serialized in 1895–96, and published in book form in 1897, it was the sole historical novel by an author who had earlier disapproved of historical novels on the ground that they inevitably distort history. Pharaoh has been described by Czesław Miłosz as a "novel on mechanism[s] of state power and, as such, probably unique in world literature of the nineteenth century Prus, [in] selecting the reign of 'Pharaoh Ramses XIII' [a fictitious character] in the eleventh century BCE, sought a perspective that was detached from pressures of [topicality] and censorship. Through his analysis of the dynamics of an ancient Egyptian society, he suggest[s] an archetype of the struggle for power that goes on within any state." Pharaoh is set in the Egypt of 1087–85 BCE as that country experiences internal stresses and external threats that will culminate in the fall of its Twentieth Dynasty and New Kingdom. The young protagonist Ramses learns that those who would challenge the powers that be are vulnerable to co option, seduction, subornation, defamation, intimidation and assassination. Perhaps the chief lesson, belatedly absorbed by Ramses as pharaoh, is the importance, to power, of knowledge. Prus' vision of the fall of an ancient civilization derives some of its power from the author's keen awareness of the final demise of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795, a century before the completion of the novel. Preparatory to writing Pharaoh, Prus immersed himself in ancient Egyptian history, geography, customs, religion, art and writings. In the course of telling his story of power, personality, and the fates of nations, he produced a compelling literary depiction of life at every level of ancient Egyptian society. Further, he offers a vision of humankind as rich as Shakespeare's, ranging from the sublime to the quotidian, from the tragic to the comic. The book is written in limpid prose and is imbued with poetry, leavened with humor, graced with moments of transcendent beauty. Pharaoh has been translated into twenty three languages and adapted as a 1966 Polish feature film. It is also known to have been Joseph Stalin's favorite book.

Pharaoh comprises a compact, substantial introduction; sixty seven chapters; and an evocative epilogue (the latter omitted at the book's original publication, and restored in the 1950s). Like Prus' previous novels, Pharaoh debuted (1895–96) in newspaper serialization—in the Warsaw Tygodnik Ilustrowany (Illustrated Weekly). It was dedicated "To my wife, Oktawia Głowacka, née Trembińska, as a small token of esteem and affection." Unlike the author's earlier novels, Pharaoh had first been composed in its entirety, rather than being written in chapters from issue to issue. This may account for its often being described as Prus' "best composed novel"—indeed, "one of the best composed Polish novels." The original 1897 book edition and some subsequent ones divided the novel into three volumes. Later editions have presented it in two volumes or in a single one. Except in wartime, the book has never been out of print in Poland. A 2014 edition of Faraon, in Poland, is furnished by Andrzej Niwiński, professor of Egyptian archaeology at the University of Warsaw, with extensive annotations. Though Prus was not a historian and, apart from Pharaoh, wrote no other historical novel, it is regarded as superior to any other novel on ancient Egypt. From available sources, Prus drew information and authentic ancient texts and worked them, as vital elements, into his masterpiece. Regardless of occasional anachronisms, anatopisms, and errors in description of some realia, the novel has well stood the test of time. In spite of translations into many languages, however, it still remains little known in the wider world. Pharaoh has been published in a 2020 English translation by Christopher Kasparek, as an Amazon Kindle e book, which supersedes an incomplete and incompetent version by Jeremiah Curtin published in 1902 as well as Kasparek's own earlier hardcover translations of 1991 and 2001.

Prus took characters' names where he found them, sometimes anachronistically or anatopistically. At other times (as with Nitager, commander of the army that guards the gates of Egypt from attack by Asiatic peoples, in chapter 1 et seq. ; and as with the priest Samentu, in chapter 55 et seq.) he apparently invented them. The origins of the names of some prominent characters may be of interest:
Ramses, the novel's protagonist: the name of two pharaohs of the 19th Dynasty and nine pharaohs of the 20th Dynasty. Nikotris, Ramses' mother: semi historic Sixth Dynasty female pharaoh Nitocris; or the identically named daughter, Nitocris, of the Twenty sixth Dynasty king Psamtik I.
Amenhotep, high priest and Ramses' maternal grandfather: name of a number of ancient Egyptians, including four 18th Dynasty pharaohs and the High Priest of Amon under Pharaohs Ramses IX to Ramses XI (the High Priest played a key role in the civil war that ended Egypt's 20th Dynasty and, with it, the New Kingdom). Herhor, High Priest of Amon and Ramses' principal antagonist: historic high priest Herihor. Pentuer, scribe to Herhor: historic scribe Pentewere (Pentaur); or perhaps Pentawer, a son of Pharaoh Ramses III. Thutmose, Ramses' cousin: a fairly common name, also the name of four pharaohs of the 18th Dynasty. Sarah, Ramses' Jewish mistress; Taphath, Sarah's relative and servant; Gideon, Sarah's father: names drawn from those of Biblical personalities. Patrokles, a Greek mercenary general: Patroclus, in Homer's Iliad. Ennana, a junior military officer: Egyptian scribe pupil's name, attached to an ancient text (cited in Pharaoh, chapter 4: Ennana's "plaint on the sore lot of a junior officer"). Dagon, a Phoenician merchant: a Phoenician and Philistine god of agriculture and the earth; the national god of the Philistines. Tamar, Dagon's wife (chapters 8, 13): Biblical wife of Er, then of his brother Onan; she subsequently had children by their father Judah, eponymous ancestor of the Judeans and Jews. Dutmose, a peasant (chapter 11): historic scribe Dhutmose, in the reign of Pharaoh Ramses XI. Menes (three distinct individuals: the first pharaoh; Sarah's physician; a savant and Pentuer's mentor): Menes, the first Egyptian pharaoh. Asarhadon, a Phoenician innkeeper: a variant of "Esarhaddon", an Assyrian king. Berossus, a Chaldean priest: Berossus, a Babylonian historian and astrologer who flourished about 300 BCE. Phut (another name used by Berossus): Phut, a descendant of Noah named in Genesis. Cush, a guest at Asarhadon's inn: Cush, a descendant of Noah named in Genesis. Mephres, an elderly Egyptian high priest and the most implacable foe of the protagonist, Ramses: an 18th Dynasty pharaoh, evidently identical with Thutmose I.
Mentesuphis, a priest aide to Herhor: name given by Manetho to Pharaoh Nemtyemsaf II of the 6th Dynasty. Hiram, a Phoenician prince: Hiram I, king of Tyre, in Phoenicia. Kama, a Phoenician priestess who becomes Ramses' mistress: Kama, a word in Hindu scriptures, associated variously with sensuality, longing and sexuality. Lykon, a young Greek, Ramses' look alike and nemesis: Lykaon, in the Iliad. Sargon, an Assyrian envoy: name of two Assyrian kings. Additionally, the earlier Sargon of Akkad was the first ruler of the Semitic speaking Akkadian Empire, known for his conquests of the Sumerian city states in the 24th to 23rd centuries BCE; he was the founder of one of history's first empires. Seti, Ramses' infant son by Sarah: name of several ancient Egyptians, including two Pharaohs. Osochor, a priest thought (chapter 40) to have sold Egyptian priestly secrets to the Phoenicians: a Meshwesh king who ruled Egypt in the late 21st Dynasty. Musawasa, a Libyan prince: the Meshwesh, a Libyan tribe. Tehenna, Musawasa's son: "Tehenu", a generic Egyptian term for "Libyan." Dion, a Greek architect: Dion, a historic name that appears in a number of contexts. Hebron, Ramses' last mistress: Hebron, the largest city in the present day West Bank.