This inscription does not have an obvious indication of its date, and modern scholars have suggested various different dates. It now seems most likely that the Syrian war it describes was the war between Ptolemy X and his brother Ptolemy IX in 103-101 B.C. It remains surprising that, although Petimuthes came from Semabehdet in Lower Egypt, the statue was found far from there, at Karnak in Upper Egypt.
The translation of the inscription is taken from E. Van?t Dack et al., "The Judean-Syrian-Egyptian Conflict of 103-101 B.C.", p. 97 (Brussels, 1989).
1 The venerated one {imakhu} with Amon-Rê, lord of Semabehdet, who created himself, the great god, lord of the sky, the earth, the water and the double mountain, the prince and count, the only friend, the great chief of the army, the commander and the superior at the head of the people {rekht}, the scribe-who-fulfils-his-duties of the temple of Paiuenamon, the prophet of Amon-Rē, lord of the Great Green, the prophet of Mut, of Khonsu, of Osiris, of Harsiesis, the prophet of Amenemopet, Petimuthes, son of the similarly titled Psenobastis, born of the lady Tabaket. The god (?) protected him on the day of terror. . .
2 Heroic like Montu, lord of valour; he reached the land of Khor {Syria}, being in the company of the queen; he entered foreign countries like a divine hawk; he seized the town and the fortress of Psy of Ptolemy; he massacred tens of thousands of enemies, he trampled underfoot hundreds of thousands of enemies; he made a great massacre among the "children of the revolt". The great royal wife gave him many presents, as well as to his father and his army. The temple (?) was in [joy?]. He said adoring his lord:
3 Amon-Rê, king of the gods, venerable power which is above all gods, I have walked along your water, I have walked along your path, I have achieved beautiful things in your city by building for you a store, great, pure and made new to deliver the Divine Offerings there every day. The reward which resulted from it: I was gratified, during my lifetime, with the four ka: a long and happy life, my house being stable, a beautiful offspring after me(?), in prosperity and stability, in. . . of the gods (?). This is my reward, because I am a righteous person, someone who walks along the water of his god, I am someone who does good without doing bad. May you do good (?) for me, according to your heart's desire, every day.
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