The life of the soldier Khusobek is known only from his funerary stela, a short autobiography which he wrote so he might be known for posterity. Though he probably couldn’t have imagined how interested modern archaeologists would be. The stela and its inscription was found at the site of Abydos in Upper Egypt. It would have stood either in his tomb, or in some form of cenotaph: Abydos was the supposed burial-place of the god Osiris, and Egyptians who could not afford to be buried near the resting-place of this god sometimes built small chapels by the processional way leading to his sanctuary.
Khusobek says he was born around 1880 BCE. The lack of details about his family has made archaeologists believe he was of humble birth, but Khusobek managed to attract the attention of the new king, Senwosret III, who made him a royal escort, perhaps a bodyguard. He was given command of a squad of 60 men, and took part in the campaigns into Nubia. Egyptian interest in Nubia at this period, for both war and trading, is well documented. But the stela’s description of a campaign into Palestine comes as a surprise, since it had been assumed that the Middle Kingdom left this area alone to focus on its southern border. The army, with the now-veteran Khusobek,bpenetrated as far as Sekemem, perhaps the modern Nablus on the West Bank. Khusobek had the dangerous task of protecting the rear of the Egyptian army. He again distinguished himself and was given rewards for his bravery from the king’s own hands (at least, according to his stela). Thanks to this one funerary inscription, we know of a “new” ancient war!
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