Kemetic Egypt Rises

[Justinian the Mighty]

A group of men and women stood around a central emblem of a falcon embossed on the granite floor. In the center was a podium and upon the podium was a replica of the Pschent, a crown worn by the pharaohs of Ancient Egypt. The room was situated inside an old fortress in the outskirts of Cairo. The european style structure rested along the banks of the Nile river--a relic of a bygone era. candle flames swayed in the wind throwing off light that accentuated the waning sunlight coming through the open windows. The cloaked figures in black robes--13 in total were known as the Order of Horus. The order was a secret organization who worshiped the ancient egyptian gods with Osiris, Isis and Horus at the top of the divine hierarchy. To this end they quietly chanted in a dead language,

“Horus, God-King of Egypt, divine and majestic

Protector of the land, extender of its boundaries”

A light gust of wind swept through the room causing the heavy drapes to billow and the candle flames to shudder like a frightened child. The volume of their voices grew gradually with each word as they chanted.

He who defeats foreign lands by His great crown

He who embraces the Two Lands with His arms.

Defend and protect Egypt!

Finally the chanting stopped and the members removed their hoods and revealed their faces. The leader, a man of average height and build with short curly hair that merged with a well managed beard, walked to the center of the circle, stood by the crown and addressed his comrades.

“Egypt was once a great and powerful civilization. Its wealth and power were envied across the ancient world--its military feared,” he said as he turned to the crown and picked it up. “It has been two millennia since the Egyptian people gave up their gods, their culture and freedom to invading armies. But our time has come!”

“Long live Pharaoh Ramesses!” The other members said in unison, “long live Kemet!”

The Order of Horus’s followers were many. The 13 present represented the Council of Thirteen--9 men and 4 women who ruled the Order and secretly maneuvered in the shadows to overthrow the succession of Arab governments. To this end it had infiltrated the highest echelons of the Egypt’s society. Businessmen, politicians and military leaders swore fealty to the Order, and now the time had come.

Orders went out from the Council of Thirteen to the commander of the Northern Military Region. Within hours Alexandria and other major cities were put under martial law by local military commanders with a 20:00 curfew in effect. Military commanders and government ministers not loyal to the Order of Horus were arrested, many were summarily executed. When the sun rose the next day Egypt would be reborn--baptized in the blood of the invaders and infidels that had subjugated the holy land of Egypt for 2000 years. Ramesses XII would proclaim himself the founder of the Twenty-first Dynasty and Pharaoh of Kemetic Egypt, claiming his new state to be the direct successor of Aidennic Egypt including all land, assets and powers and vowed to keep Egypt free from invaders and scoundrels.

[Hereno]

[Private]

The Neapolitan foreign ministry has sent a message welcoming the Kemetic state to the Mediterranean.

[Xavier Harkonnen]

OOC: This is a very interesting twist. I have a fondness for Kemet. I will be watching this develop closely :)

[Horo the Wise Wolf]

The Kingdom of Prussia would welcome Egypt and wish them success for the future.

[Justinian the Mighty]

Pharaoh Ramesses personally penned responses Naples and Prussia thanking them for their warm responses toward the new regime. So far the international response to the pharaoh's proclamation was meager, but that was inconsequential. Ramesses set out to begin his great work--turning Egypt into a regional power able to compete with its neighbors economically as well as militarily.

Ramesses XII's version of Egypt would be radically different from the ancient civilization he invoked. Yes the ancient religion would be re-instituted but the hierarchy would resemble nothing like its past self. The Order of Horus and its Council of Thirteen were in the position to act as priests and clerics guiding the flock toward the afterlife. However, the old Abrahamic religions, especially Aidennism had to be cleansed from the sands of egypt. Churches, synagogues and mosques were seized by the state. Many were torn down or repurposed. In their places rose temples to egyptian gods resembling their ancient counterparts but built using modern techniques. Only the oldest, most historic buildings were allowed to be kept in their original state and used for their intended purposes.

Enforcement of the Order’s will was left to the Most Holy Inquisition, a group of fanatical priests and theologists who sought out heretics and blasphemers. Despite the Order’s brutal tactics they did not plan to violently wipe out adherents of the polytheistic religions. People would be strongly urged to convert through a series of incentives and privileges and those who refused would be ostracized.

Members of the Order of Horus would be given positions of power from the onset, or in many cases allowed to keep their positions. The Council of Thirteen itself would oversee every aspect of Egyptian society, dividing it up between the 12 remaining members, called High Counsellors  with the Pharaoh at the apex. Each High Counsellor had absolute authority over his or her own Pyramid. In all there were twelve, they were; Pyramid for Defense, Pyramid for Foreign Affairs, Pyramid for Justice, Pyramid for Interior Affairs and Social Order, Pyramid for Religious adherence, Pyramid for Commerce Energy and Labor, Pyramid for Science and Development, Pyramid for Finance and Economic Development, Pyramid for Defense of the Homeland, Pyramid for Intelligence and Counter-Intelligence, Pyramid for Communications and Information, and Pyramid for Education Health and Social Welfare.

There was great debate over whether or not Alexandria should remain the capital, be moved to Cairo, or a new capital built. In the end Ramesses and the ruling council decided that Cairo would temporarily serve as the capital since the Order of Horus issued all decrees from there, but a new capital was to be built in the coming years.

While Egypt's ancient religious rituals would be restored based on the descriptions of the old texts the system of government needed to be more pragmatic. Nominally, Egypt would be an autocracy with the Pharaoh exercising absolute power. In reality the pharaoh would need a robust bureaucracy which would be headed by the other 12 members of the Council of Thirteen, thus tying the government directly to the religious order.

Building a new social order necessitated a strong hand from the government and the likelihood of a hostile foreign power interfering was high. Egypt had to be protected from foreign and domestic threats, but the army the Kemetic people inherited was weak and outdated. A new one had to be created from scratch. To this end the Pharaoh created the Armed Forces of the Kemetic People of Egypt or the Egyptian Armed Forces for short. It consisted of 3 branches; the army, navy, and air force, which were all under the aegis of the Pyramid for Defense.

The Army, a force of over less than 100,000 active troops were dispersed across the country with major bases in Alexandria, Cairo, Port Said, Benghazi, Aswan, and Al-Arish. Tasked with defending the country the with a vast array of equipment purchased from former superpowers and left over from a previous era. Egypt’s Navy was strictly a green water force with no power projection ability to speak of. Still, it boasted a wide array of ships including: frigates, corvettes, and diesel attack submarines based at Alexandria and Port Said. The air force that Ramesses’s new state inherited was, like the army and navy, paltry compared to egypt’s neighbors. With just two dozen working F-16’s and over 100 inoperable Mirages, MiGs, and other imported aircraft, Egypt’s air force was likely the smallest in the world.

As Supreme Commander of the Egyptian Armed Forces the duty to restore military pride fell on the Pharaoh’s shoulders. In the first few weeks the number of national recruitment offices for all 3 branches increased by 200% hoping to quadruple the size of the standing army. New recruits would be indoctrinated with the values the Order held sacred and trained in the art of modern combat. The basic training program consisted of team building, weapons training, and live day and night drills and exercises. Once basic training was completed every recruit went on to specialist training which covered everything from how to drive a tank to hightech engineering.

As Ramesses’s new society was taking form he knew he would have to begin his next task soon. Egypt was a lamb and the rest of the world were wolves. Egypt would have to humble itself and seek out new allies in order to bide its time until it became strong.