Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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I Egyptian
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Warfare and
· Weapons
Ian Shaw
2 3
Cover illustration
Seti I shown charging Libyan enemies: from a nineteenth-century
Contents
coloured cast, now at the British Museum, made from a relief
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 4
Shaw, Ian.
CHRONOLOGY 5
/. Title.
1. INTRODUCTION 7
932.
ISBN 0-747X-OI42-8. 2. EGYPT'S ENEMIES 9
DIPLOMACY 45
7. NAVAL BATTLES 59
8. MILITARY DECLINE 65
Published by
9. MUSEUMS 69
Acknowledgements
from the publishers.
commented on the final draft of the text, and to Peter Clayton and
Printed in Great Britain by
Kenneth Kitchen, who kindly provided some of the photographs. The
C. I. Thomas & Sons (Haverfordwest) Ltd, dynastic chronology is based on that of Dr William J. Murnane and
Press Buildings, Merlins Bridge, Haverfordwest, Dyfed SA61 1XF. acknowledgement is made to him and to Penguin Books for its use here.
List ofillustrations 5
4
35, Sherden mercenaries at the battle of Qadesh, from the Temple of Ramesses
36. Map of Egypt, the Levant and Western Asia during the New Kingdom
1. Narmer Palette from Hierakonpolis, Protodynaxtic Period [Jag I' 8
paRe 46
5. Figure of Ramesses III smiting a Libyan at Medinet IIabu, New Kingdom Abydos, New Kingdom l)(lge 52
page 12
40. Scene of an Asiatic fortress being stormed, from Karnak, New Kingdom
6. View of the migdol gateway at Mcdinct l labu, New Kingdom page 14
page 53
7. Hieroglyphic symbols for fortifications: niwt, liwt and' h page f() 41. Plan of the battle of Qadcvh flag I' 54
9. Scene of siege warfare and a battering ram from the tomb or Khcry at Bcni
43. Hittite 'marriage stele', from Abu Simbel, New Kingdom flag I' 56
10. Map of the Egyptian fortresses in Nubia during tlK' Middle Kingdom 45. Naval battle depicted on the Gebel cl-Arak knife handle, late Predynastic
page 19
Period flage M)
11. View of the ramparts at Buhcn, Middle Kingdom page 20
46. Model of a boat, Middle Kinudoiu page 01
12. Plans of the Buhen, Uronarti , Shalfak and Scmnu forts page 2 I
47. Scene of boatbuildcrs. lrom thc tomb ofTi at Saqqar.t, Old Kingdom
13. Military ration tokens from Uronarti, Middle Kingdom page 24
page til
14. Papyrus bearing the' Scmna Dispatches', Middle Kingdom lJiJge 24
48. A Sea Peoples' boat. vlcdinct l labu. "Jew Kingdom/luge 62
15. Chart showing the military hierarchy in the New Kingdom pcn;« 27
49. An Egyptian boat ill the baltic againslthe Sea Peoples, at Medinet Habu,
16. Scene of five Nubian mercenaries from the tomb of Tjanuny at Thebes,
New Kingdom I'(/ge (13
New Kingdom page 28
50. 'Victory stele' of Piyc from Gebel Burkal. Lite Period puge ()4
17. Syrian mercenary, depicted on a stele from /vmarna, New Kingdom 51. Fragment of relief from Nineveh showing the storming of an Egyptian
page 30
town, Late Period I'age ()()
18. Early Dynastic warriors on the Hunter's Palette page 32
52. Map of Egypt showing the location of sites mentioned in the text page 68
19. Detail of the painting in the Hierakonpolis Painted Tomb, late Prcdynas!ic
Period page 32
20. The Scorpion Macchead from Hierakonpo!is, Protodynastic Period paRe "U
21. Scene of pharaoh smiting foreigners, at Esna, Gracco-Roman Period
page 33
Chronology
22. Wooden model of soldiers from the tomb of Mesehti at Asyut, Middle
Kingdom page 34
Predynastic c5DOD-::noo BC
~
4000-35DO Naqada I
35DO-3300 Naqada II
~
25. Different types of spear: Old Kingdom-New Kingdom pag« 36
27. Different types of bow: selfbow and rccurved composite bow page 36
Period
28. Scene of siege warfare from the tomb of Inti at Deshasheh, Old Kingdom
page 38
Early Dynastic 3050-2613 BC
29. Scene showing a mobile siege tower from the tomb of the general lntef at
~I 2S9D-26S6 D)nast) II
26L\-249S Dynasty IV
33. Papyrus Anastasi I, a text describing a visit to a chariot repair shop, New
2498-2345 Dynasty V
Kingdom page 42
23'+5-21 S I Dynasty VI
34. Rarnesses II wearing the blue 'war' crown, New Kingdom page 43
7
6 Egyptian Warfare and WeapoNS
First Interme diate 2181-20 40 BC 1
Period 2181-20 40 Dynasti es VlI-X
2134-20 60 Dynasty XI (Thcban ) Intro duct ion
Middle Kingdo m the well
2040-17 8213C
From the great primev al conflic t of the gods Horus and Seth to
2060-19 91 Dynasty XI lo and Qadesh , warfare was an
1991-17 82 Dynasty XII docum ented historic al hattles at Megiele
an culture . If the stereot yped image of Egypt
essenti al elemen t in Egypti
of priests, scribes and embalm ers, the real picture must also
Second Interme diate 1782-15 70 BC is a nation
the stable conditi ons
Period 1782-16 50 Dynasti es XIII-XI V include the warrio rs and genera ls who mainta ined
(Egyptia n) tion was able to flourish . The foun
within which Egypti an civilisa
es
1663- I555 Dynasti es XV-XV I dations of the pharao nic state itself emerge d out of power struggl
(Hykxos ) chiefdo ms of the late Predyn astic Perioel.
betwee n the local
1663-15 70 Dynasty XVII (Theban ) inevi
The vast array of sources for the study of Egypti an warfare is
its historic al range. For instanc e,
New Kingdo m 1570- I070 Be tably patchy , particu larly in terms of
the organis ation of the Egypti an army until the
1570-12 93 Dynasty XVIII little is known about
s Ior
1570- I 5</.0 I1./UI/OSC beginn ing of the second millenn ium Be, while the primar y source
/5(Nf45 0 only a few decade s in the
Tuthmosis IIf interna tional diplom acy arc restrict ed to
1380- /3</.CJ Ifl
I1.mcl/of Jhis l, howev er, the flavour ami atmosp here
1350 133</.
fourtee nth century Be. Overal
/vkhcua tcn h paint
/334-1325 Tutankh anum of Egypti an army life has been well preserv ed, whethe r throug
of new recruits being givenl1 1ilitary -style haircut s or in the form of
1293-11 85 Dynasty XIX ings
/279- 1212 R ([lIleSSCS II zealous ly pedant ic militar y dispatc hes from the Nubian front.
as a
1185-10 70 Dynasty XX The very Fact that the Egypti ans retaine d their indepe ndence
/182-1151 Rilll/CSSC S I I I part of three thousan d years is eviden ce enough of
nation for the greater
terms with a
their ability to defend their borders and to deal on equal
Third Interme diate 1070-71 313C s. The fortress es in Nubia
Period 1070-94 5 Dynasty XXI succes sion of ancient Near Eastern empire
also
945-712 Dynasty XXII and the numero us indicat ions of politica l interve ntion in the Levant
s policy of expans ionism and imperia l ism was
828-71 2 Dynasty XXIII indicat e that a vigorou
d by Egypt for many hundre ds of years. The policy was a funda
724-713 Dynasty XXIV pursue
~
s
mental part of the Egypti an world view whereb y the pharao h's domain
Late Period 713-332 BC lly compri sed the whole of creatio n.
(Egyptia n/Persia n) J
2
Egypt's enemies
The earliest depictions of Egyptian kings, such <IS the Protodynastic
Narmcr Palette (Cairo, Egyptian Museum, figure I), employ the motif
of the prostrate foreigner as a symbol of Egypt'S supremacy over the
rest of mankind. In these self-confident icons the Egyptian is portrayed
as the norm. conscientiously purging the world of such aberrations as
the 'vile Asiatic'. The breaking of a tribal warrior's bow was symbolic
of submission, therefore the trampling of the so-called 'Nine Bows'
was a vivid embodiment of tile king's supremacy over subject peoples
(inl'luding the Egy pt ians thcrnscl vex). The Sphinx Stele of Arncnophis
II (ruled 145:1-l41c) BC), in the New Kingdom, provides a graphic
verbal description of the Egyptian King dispatching his enemies: 'I-Ie
bound the heads of the Nine Bows .., lie has gathered them all into his
fist, his mace has crashed upon their heads ... ' The visual image of the
.t ,
V king slaughtering foreigners was a crucial and constantly repeated clc
mcnt in Egyptian iconography (figures 2, 5, I C) and 21).
<:
The Egyptians saw the Asiatics and Nuhians as the two opposite
c'
poles of a hostile world outside the Nile valley; with a typical sense of
I. (Above) The symmetry, their enemies were sometimes simply referred to as the
Narmcr Palcue [mill North and the South. The same air of symmetry is apparent in such
Ilier:lkonpo/is, Proto
dynastic Period. objects as the ceremonial cane from the tomb of Tuiankhamun (Cairo,
Egyptian Museum, figure :1), which is adorned with one head of a
~l
(Cairo Museum CG
14716.) Nubian and another of an Asiatic. The iconographic role of Egypt's
enemies was so prevalent that it is constantly necessary to distinguish,
in the archaeological and textual sources, between purely ritualistic and
If rhetorical references to foreigners and genuine historical records. Many
of the reliefs and statues in Egyptian temples arc decorated with rows of
capti ve enemies, often in the form of foreign place-names inscribed
2. The Battlefield within city walls (figure 4).
Palette, showing the \ One important source of information on the specific names of Egypt's
Egyptian king in the
form of a I ion
enemies is a body of inscriptions known as the Execration Texts, dating
savaging his enemies, from the late Old Kingdom to the reigns of Sesostris III and Amenemhat
probably Libyan in III k.1878-l797 BC) of the Middle Kingdom. These texts were lists of
v.iders, Protodynastie hostile forces that the Egyptians wished to destroy - they were written
Period. (Ashmolean
Museum, Oxford, in the hieratic script on small pottery vessels and clay figures of bound
1171.t892 l top ] and captives, which were then deliberately broken and buried. They have
British Museum, EA been found near tombs at Thebes and Saqqara, and in the so-called
20791 l bottorn ]; re
produced by courtesy
'ritual site' at Mirgissa. The names range from deceased Egyptians to
of the Trustees of the foreign princes and peoples, some of which suggest a detailed know
British Museum.) ledge of the places and peoples of Nubia and Syria-Palestine. It is clear,
10
Egyptian WarFare and Weapons Egypt's enemies II
3. Ceremonial cane (of wood, ivory, ebony and glass)
from the tomb of Tutankhamuu, showing the images of
Middle Kingdom boundary stele of Scsostris III from Semna (Berlin,
Egypt's principal enemies, the Nubiar, and the Asiatic, Agyptisches Museum) which denounces them as follows:
bound together, Eighteenth Dyn'ISly. (Cairo Museum, 'They are not people one respects; they are wretches, craven
.IE 61732.)
hearted. My majesty has seen it, it is not an untruth. r have
captured their women, r have carried off their dependents
(Lichtheim, 1973: 119).
It is ironic that, even in the Mcroitic Period, when Nubian rulers had
inherited the Egyptian pharaohs' mantle, the same traditional motifs of
the defeated Nubian were still depicted in the royal regalia, with no
apparent sense of contradiction.
The Libyans (known as the Tjchcnu or Tjcmehu) occupied the lands
to the north-west of the Nile valley and were portrayed by the Egyptians
as dark-skinned, bearded (and occasionally fair-haired and blue-eyed),
semi-nomadic peoples. The Protodynastic ceremonial palettes and the
temple reliefs of the Dynastic Period frequently show them as defeated
enemies (figures 2 and 5), and there are records from the reigns of the
Old Kingdom pharaohs Sneferu and Sahure of specific campaigns against
:1 the Libyans.
I
4. Line of foreign captives with their bodies in the form or walled towns containing the
II names of peoples and places, such as Shasu (the Bedouin), second from left. Relief from
the northern side of the outer wall of the Ptolemaic temple of Kom Ombo. (Photograph:
however, that lists of old and new enemies were often mixed together,
transforming the Execration Texts into powerful universal statements.
I
Ian Shaw.)
The sentiments of the Texts are, however, in direct contrast with the
Egyptians' apparently relaxed attitudes to the immigration of foreigners
into their society. II
For most of the Dynastic Period the Nubians (or Nehcsyw) were the
inevitable underdogs of the Egyptian system, constantly' crushed', 'vile'
and 'wretched'. From the First Dynasty onwards, military campaigns
and trading expeditions were sent into Nubia at regular intervals, pro
lI.
viding a steady supply of prisoners, herds of cattle and exotic products Il
from the south such as ivory, ostrich feathers and ebony. The inscrip (
tions in the tombs of the nobles at Elephantine, in Egypt's southernmost
province, refer to numerous forays against the Nubians,
By the early New Kingdom the conquest of Nubia was so complete
that the whole territory from Aswan to Napata was placed under the
command of a viceroy known as 'King's Son of Kush' - Nubia had
effectively become a province of Egypt. The icon of the Nubian as
defeated enemy, however, never lost its popularity as a symbol of Egyp
tian success. The official view of the Nubians is exemplified by a
12
Egyptian Wmfare and Weapons l.gypt:» enemies 13
The reliefs in two mortuary temples of the Old Kingdom (those of
')ahure at Abusir and Pcpi /I at Saqqara), as well as the Late Period
temple of Taharqa at Kawa. include the stock scene of a Libyan chief
lain being slaughtered hy the king while his wife and children beg for
mercy. The repetition or the same personal names Ior the Libyans in all
three scenes suggests that they were part of the elaborate ritual of king
ship rather than records or actual historical events. It is clear, however,
that the Egyptians were obliged to undertake periodic punitive cam
paigns against the Libyans throughout the Dynastic Period. Eventually,
in the New Kingdom, Mcrneptah (ruled 1212-1202 BC) and Ramesses
III (ruled 11 ~2-1151 Be) were obliged to stave off a major invasion
Irorn Libya. In the late New Kingdom Libyans ami other foreign
prisoners were often sell led in military colonies within Egypt. These
resettled Libyans, known as Mcxhwcsh, became an influential group in
Egyptian society and eventually gained temporary control of the country
in the Twenty-second Dynasty (('.945-712 BC).
Beyond the north-eastern border of Egypt, across the Sinai peninsula,
were the various peoples of Syria-Palestine. A distinction must he
made bet ween the simple iconographic image or the bound and en
slaved Asiatic and the more complex reality or the economic and politi
cal links, whereby Egyptians obtained goods from the Levant, particu
larly the timber which was so scarce in Egypt. In the Instruction to
King Merikarc, a didactic text dating originally to the First Intermediate
Period, the scribcs description or (he typical Asiatic suggests a grow
ing familiarity with the geography or Syria-Palestine: 'Lo, the miser
able Asiatic, he is wretched because of the place he is in: short or water,
bare of wood, its paths arc many and painful because of mountains'
(Lichtheim, 1973: 103-4).
During the Old and Middle Kingdoms there seem to have been rela
tively few Egyptian military campaigns of any significance in Western
5. Figure ofRamesses III smiting a Libyan on the southern wall of the temple of Medinet
Habu, Twentieth Dynasty. (Photograph: Ian Shaw.)
14
Egyptian Warlare and Weapons 15
Egypt comprised the Weslern Desert, Ihe Sinai Desert, the Mediterra
nean coast and the First Nile Cataracl al Aswall. Such natural physical
barriers were sufficienl 10 prorcct the Egyptian,~ from outside inter
Iercncc for the many eelllllries during which their distinclive civilisa
lion developcd. LaIn on in the Dynaslic Period these natural borders
helped to maintain Egypl',.. independence during periods of relalive
') "lene of siege warfare showing the lise ofa b"tlerin[', ram, from the tomb of Khcty at
weakness. Since, however, the plwraoh's title described him as the I \' [II I Iasan, Middle KlIlgclol11.
ruler of Ihe cnt irc known world, the political boundaries or Egypt were
theoretically infinite. In limes of strenglh and prosperity certain rulers,
such as Sesoslris , and Tullullosis III, declared their inlenlion 10 'extend \V;tlls of the Prince. These were intended to prevent invasion along the
the borders' of Egypt. In practice the furthest extent of the Egyptian \ oastal route from the Levant, which was known as the Way of Horus
empin; - achieved during the reign of TUlhmosis III in the Eighteenlh during the Middle Kingdom. At about the same lime a fortress seems to
Dynasty - was marked by the Euplmlles in the north-east and the have been established in the Wadi Natrun, defending the western Delta
Kurgus boundary stele (between the Fourth and Fiflh Nile Calaracts) in Irom the Libyans. The western and eastern Delta defences were well
the south. The nOI1h-easlern, north-western and southerII borders of maintained throughout the second millennium Be. The New Kingdom
Egypt were more or less fortified from the the time of the Middle fortresses and garrisons of the Della borders - including el-Alarncin
Kingdom onwards.
and Zawiyct Umm cl-Rakham in the west and Tell Abu Safa (Sile), Tell
From at least the reign of Amenemhat I (ruled J 991-l%2 BC) the cl-Fararna (Pclusiurn), Tell cl-Hcir (Migdol) and Tell el-Maskhuta
eastern Delta was protected by a string of fortresses, known as the (Pithom) in the east ~ were intended to prevent any recurrence of the
ignominious imposition of foreign rule by the Hyksos dynasty.
In the south of Egypt, the border with Kush (Lower Nubia) was
traditionally marked by the town of Elephantine, naturally defended by
its island location and surrounded by a thick defensive wall. The orig
,II inal name of the settlement around the First Cataract was Swn, meaning
'trade' (from which the modern name Aswan derives); this place-name
reflects the more commercial nature of the southern border, represent
ing opportunities for profitable economic activities rather than the threat
~II
8. Clay model of of invasion. Because the First Cataract constituted an obstacle to ship
battlements from ping (despite an attempt by the Old Kingdom ruler Merenre to cut a
Abadiych, Predynasric canal), all trade goods had to be transported along the bank. This
Period. (Ashmolean
Mu sc uni, OXford,
crucial land route to the east of the Nile, between Aswan and the region
E.3202; reproduced by of Philae, was protected by a huge mud-brick wall, almost 7.5 km (4 1/2
courtesy of the Visi miles) long, probably buill principally in the Twelfth Dynasty. The
tors of the Ashmolean land route at the Second Cataract (in the region of Semna) was de
Museum, Oxford.)
fended by a similar fortification.
18
Egyptian Wmfare and Weapons
The Nubian fortresses
10. Map of the
In the Old Kingdom (c.2613-21 XI Be) the Egyptian presence in Nubia Second Cata
seems to have principally consisted of a succession of trading and min t .ict fortresses
• fortresses
ing expeditions, peacefully exploiting valuable animal and mineral re ill Nubia, from
• lookout posts
Semna South,
tian outpost in Nubia was a small Olel Kingdom sclllement at Buhen Middle King
o 10
near the Second Cataract, which was protected by a large, crudely buill dom. (After I
stone wall. This site has been elated to the Fourth and Fifth Dynasties Adams.) KM
(and possibly as early as the Second Dynasty) and was apparently de
voted primarily to the smelting of copper. During the Middle King
dom, however, the Egyptians embarked on a programme of military
expansion into Nubia, bolstering their position with a long chain of
fortresses between modern Aswan anel the region of the Second Cata
ract (see figure 10). These heavily Fortified settlements, located at the
most vulnerable points in the trade route from the south, were simul
taneously both military outposts and customs stations. Most of them
f
have now vanished irretrievably beneath the waters of Lake Nasser
since the raising of the Aswan High Dam in 1971. Fortunately, how
ever, the rescue excavations of the Nubian Salvage Campaign (19S()
e_-----::
69) have provided a great deal of information concerning this unique
group of sites.
Virtually all of the forts were buill, mainly in mud brick, over a period
of 130 years (c.I971-1841 BC), from the reign of Sesostris I to that of
his great -grandson Sesostris III. A large cluster of eleven fortresses
was established by Sesostris IJI in the area of the Second Cataract, each
positioned in order to control the flow of traffic northwards at points
where the Nile was difficult to negotiate. The southernmost of these
(Semna, Kurnrna, Uronarti and Senma South) were located about 50 km
(30 miles) south of the Second Cataract, around the narrowest gorge in
the whole course of the Nile, marking the final frontier in the Twelfth
Dynasty. The role of these forts is clarified by the text of a stele set up
by Sesostris III at Semna: ~j
'11
'Southern boundary, made in the year 8, under the majesty of the
()
King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Khakaura Scsostris III who is
r~.
given life forever and ever; in order to prevent that any negro .1.1
should cross it. by water or by land, with a ship, or any herds of were the forts simply designed to subjugate Lower Nubia, since the
the negroes; except a negro who shall come to do trading in lken !( local population does not seem to have been considered a great threat
and the names of the Middle Kingdom forts appear to refer to enemies
[Mirgissa] or with a commission. Every good thing shall be done ~I located further south (perhaps because they provided bases from which
with them, but without allowing a ship of the negroes to pass by
Heh [Semna?], going downstream, forever.' ('I to launch attacks on Upper Nubia). They seem to have functioned
primarily as a means of enforcing the Egyptian kings monopoly on
The main reason for the Second Cataract forts was evidently not the J trade goods (especially gold, ivory, animals and slaves) emanating from
protection of Egypt's southern border, for they would have been easily
outflanked by invaders passing along the desert on either side. Nor African peoples further to the south, through Upper Nubia, which was
known to the Egyptians of the Old Kingdom as Yam.
20
Egyptian Ww./are and Weawms Fortresses andfrontiers 21
All of the Second Cataract forts had similar internal plans, consisting
of a grid plan of specialised zones for storerooms, workshops, barracks
and officers' houses. These various quarters were Iinked and inter
sected by a network of well constructed streets and drains, often built of
stone. The whole community was usually encircled by a street around
the inside of the walls (known as u pomoeriumi, allowing troops speedy
and convenient access to the battlements. Most of the forts were linked
with the Nile by covered or walled stairways. The Sernna South for
tress was provided with a granite-lined tunnel, passing under the river
side defences, which appears to have been intended to provide an alter
native supply of fresh water, presumably in the event of a siege.
Although the general uniformity of the Middle Kingdom forts' ground
plans suggests that they were probably designed by only one or two
architects, they show fascinating variations in response to the local
topography (see figure 12). Whereas the two largest sites, Buhcn and
- Mirgissa, were simply rectangular structures (as were all five of the
surviving forts north of the Second Cataract group), the rest had idio
syncratic shapes dictated by the terrain. The fort at Scmna, for instance,
was built in an L shape in order to COil form with the rocky hill on which
it stood. At Uronarti, an island near Scrnna, the fort was triangular
in shape and the northern side was more heavily fortified with huge
12. Plans of the r'gypti:m fortrcsses at A, Se111lw; B, l Irrmarti; C, Sh:Iifak; and D. Buhcn.
(After Adamx.)
o 50
'----'
M
11. View of the north-west ramparts at Buhcn, Middle Kingdom. (Reproduced by
By the New Kingdom (and perhaps earlier) the Second Cataract forts
were united under the command of Buhen, the traditional centre of
Egyptian operations in Nubia (figure II). A series of lookout posts,
~
consisting of clusters of rough stone huts (often accompanied by graffiti '1 stairway to river
carved in the cliff face) at strategic high points along the banks, helped B
to maintain strong communication links between the forts. A set of
dispatches from the Semna fortress (London, BM, EA 10752; see chap
ter 4) contains evidence of the close watch kept on the movements of ~I !'- ':)
It L:f
foreigners in the vicinity of the Second Cataract. All information, (1
however trivial, was conveyed back to the military headquarters ill
Thebes. Another Papyrus -- the so-called Ramesseum Onomasticon II
(Papyrus Berlin 10495) -lists the bellicose names of seventeen of the
Nubian forts, including 'Repelling the Seti ', 'Warding off the Bows'
\1 I
and 'Curbing the Countries'. '\ ~~/~5 -~ ~
a set of hieratic communiques bet ween the Ions in N u hia (EA 10752, l'h.ui ( J!~r\'
:;~\rri \()I ~j( Jl J! po".1
figure 14), probably sent in the third year of Amcncmhat I II's reign elite tr()()p~
(1'.11-\41 Be). The messages deal with the close military surveillance of \hijl n)lltjJl~cnt
the regions around the forts, as in the case of one communication xcnt !"n1"CigTl [1'0<lJ1\
from the guard Ameny (at the Serra East fort) to a commander in the
Si/l'\ o l umt»: ;1I'J11V divisioll - ,''i()OO
Theban administration: hosl~ -- 'iOO+ (OIl ka\1 2 COIl1!'dn]CS)
,It is a communication to the Master, may he live prosper and be company -r- 2,~O ('i pl;IIOOIl\)
healthy, to the effect that the soldier of Nckhcn .,. came to report pl"loo]l ,~() ('i sqll:\,h i
sqllad 10
this to your servant at breakfast time on the 2nd day of the 4th
month of spring, in the 3 rd year, on a mission from the officer of Hierarchy:
the town regiment, Khusobek's son Mcntuhotcps, son, Khusobek KIN(j
'" who is acting in Iieu of the officer of the sovereign's crew in 1
Egyptian bureaucrats' precise attention to detail and the existence of a COMMANDER 01' A llOSI
\
28 Egyptian Wwlarc and Wcapons 29
The Egyptian army
16. Scene of five Nubian
~
~'t('
Training and active service
mercenaries, one carrying The instruction of New Kingdom soldiers, which took place in special
~I military standard. from <::.> 0/~
the lomb of Tjan unv at military training camps, seems to have involved a combination of drill
Thebes. New Klng:do;11. practice and regular physical punishment. The decoration in the Theban
//;;Z tomb of Userhat (TT 56), an army officer at the time of Amenophis II,
!~.);;!~
includes scenes of the reception of recruits, barbers cutting soldiers'
hair, and quartermasters issuing rations. The tomb ofTjanuny (TT 74),
an army scribe in the reign of Tuthmosis IV, contains similar scenes,
~~ including a magnificent depiction of five marching Nubian mercenaries
wearing long net-like kilts reinforced with leather and decorated with
leopards' tails (figure 16). One carries a military standarcl-- a constant
feature of Egyptian warfare since Protodynastic times - bearing a
depiction of two wrestlers. Another scene in Tjanuny's tomb shows
well fed cattle being herded into the army camp as food for the troops.
Among Rarncsscs I1's reliefs of the battlc of Qaclesh there are two (on
the west wing of the Luxor temple pylon and on the north wall of the
Great Temple at Abu Simbel) that include detailed depictions of the
temporary camp set up by the Egyptian army on the move. The en
day shifts as members of the royal bodyguard. In terms of campaign camped soldiery, as well as stables for horses and cattle, arc shown
ing, on the other hand, there were three or four princi pal divisions of the surrounded by a rectangular barricade of shields. In the centre of the
Egyptian army, each numbering about five thousand soldiers, consist camp was the royal pavilion, surrounded by the smaller rectangular
ing of a combination of conscripts and professionals. According to framed tents of the military hierarchy.
various inscriptions of Seti I and Ramcsses II, these divisions were each These images present a vivid and relatively congenial view of army
given the name of a god followed by an epithet, such as 'Amun, Rich of life, whereas many of the literary texts of New Kingdom scribes were
Bows' or 'Pre, Numerous of Heroes'. It has been suggested that the obviously designed to discourage the young from pursuing a military
gods in question were probably the local deities of the regions from career. Papyrus Anastasi 11\ presents a typically jaundiced outlook on
which the recruits had been enlisted. Each division was commanded by army life:
a general, literally the 'great overseer of the division', a post dating 'Come, I will describe to you the lot of the infantryman, the
back to the Middle Kingdom, who was invariably one of the kings much exerted one: he is brought as a child of nbi and confined to
sons. a barrack. A painful blow is dealt to his body, a savage blow to
For tactical purposes, the basic military unit was the platoon of fifty his eye and a splitting blow to his brow. His head is split open
infantrymen, each under the command of a .chief of fifty'. There were with a wound. He is laid down and beaten like a piece of papy
usually five platoons in a 'company' and about twenty companies in a rus. He is lambasted with beatings. Come, I will describe to you
division (see figure 15). The units of infantrymen were reinforced by his journey to the land of Kharu and his march over the hi lis: his
separate companies of 'elite troops' and 'chariot warriors'. It appears bread and water are carried on his shoulders like a donkey's
that the officers in charge of units of chariot warriors were frequently burden. His neck becomes calloused, like a donkey's, and the
promoted to prestigious diplomatic posts such as 'royal envoy'. As I arches of his back arc bent. He drinks foul-tasting water and
well as the hierarchy of purely military officials there was also a sepa ( halts to stand guard. When he reaches the enemy he is like a
rate, superimposed chain of command made up of officials drawn from pinioned bird, with no strength in his limbs. If he succeeds in
the civil administration (such as scribes, quartermasters, adjutants and returning to Egypt he is like a stick that the woodworm has eaten
stablemasters). Judging from the accounts of the battles of Megiddo \ _ he is full of sickness. He is carried back in a state of paralysis
and Qadesh (see chapter 6), the overall tactics and campaign strategies I, on the back of a donkey. His clothes have been stolen and his
were dictated by a council made up of the king and his generals. ! retainer has run away.'
31
30 Egyptian Wmlare and Weapolls
Certainly the Egyptian soldier would have undergone enormous physi 5
cal suffering both in training and in action, but the rich rewards of
survival-- in the form of personal advancement, spoils of war and gifts Weapons and military technology
It
{~
".) :'. (
]!. <> \\\'V""
... (.\\\"". ;'(
Dyn asric
carrying
warriors
various
polis, Pr o todynus t ic
Period. (Ashmolean
.: /)..,_ ~i
! , 1\·' '-]' '!
' \!A. i'\\ \1 weapons, including a Museum, Oxford,
r
22. Painted wooden model of Egyptian soldiers from the tomb of Mcschti at Asyut,
Middle Kingdom. (Cairo Museum, JE 30986; reproduced by courtesy of Peter Clayton.)
11,1. [ __ [~9
of webbing across the shoulders and chest) was supplied by long, roughly
rectangular shields made of cowhide stretched over a wooden frame.
They were either I metre or 1.5 metres high and usually tapered to
wards the top to a curved or pointed edge. Handles for gripping were \' i I
carved out of the middle of the wooden framework. Leather straps c III1
could also be attached to the handle for occasions (such as siege war
II
fare) when the shield needed to be carried across the shoulder, leaving
both hands free.
One of the most important sources for the study of Egyptian weapons
in the early Middle Kingdom is a pair of painted wooden models (Cairo,
II
'1
Egyptian Museum) from the tomb of Mesehti, a provincial governor at I \ 1\
\ I"
Asyut in the Eleventh Dynasty (figure 22). Forty Egyptian spearmen
and forty Nubian archers are reproduced in faithful detail, showing the
typical costume and arms of the common soldier. The Egyptian spearmen
24. (Below) Middle Kingdom
battleaxe of wood, copper and
E
III
are wearing short linen kilts and carry a shield in the left hand and a leather. (Fitzwilliam Museum,
spear, with a long leaf-shaped bronze blade, in the right. Each shield is
painted with a different design imitating the mottled markings of cow
hide. The Nubian archers are dressed somewhat differently, in more
Cambridge, E14.1950; repro
duced by courtesy of the
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cam
bridge.)
llL
elaborate green and red loincloths, probably made from leather rather
than linen. They carry their wooden recurved bows in one hand and
bunches of arrows in the other. Another tomb at Asyut, belonging to a
Twelfth Dynasty nobleman called Nakhr, was found to contain a whole
replica armoury, including full-size spears (of a very similar type to
those in Mesehti's model), two cylindrical spear-cases, two bows and
arrows and a shield (Cairo, Egyptian Museum, and Paris, Louvre).
Throughout the Dynastic Period one of the most commonly used
Weapons and military technology 37
36 Egyptian War/are and Weapons
weapons was the axe. In the Old and Middle Kingdoms the conven type of axe, described as 'scalloped' or 'tanged ' (figure 23c), was also
tional axe usually consisted of a semicircular copper head (see figures particularly common in the Middle Kingdom; it had a convex cutting
23a and 24) tied to a wooden handle by cords, threaded through perfo edge and three tangs by which it was attached to the haft. Eventually,
rations in the copper and wrapped around lugs. At this stage there was by the New Kingdom, the blade of the conventional bauleaxe had been
little difference between the battleaxe and the woodworker's axe. In refined into a much longer, narrower and straighter form (figure 23d),
the Middle Kingdom, however, some bauleaxes had longer blades with designed to achieve deeper penetration. In addition, a more fragile
concave sides narrowing down to a curved cdge (figure 23b). Another openwork axe (figure 23e), evidently intended purely for ceremonial or
funerary purposes, was introduced at the beginning of the Eighteenth
25. (Left) Development of the Egyptian
Dynasty.
spear: A, copper tanged blade (Old and The Egyptian spear typically consisted of a pointed metal blade at
o
Middle Kingdoms); B, copper socketed tached to a wooden shaft. In the Olel and Middle Kingdoms the blade
blade (New Kingdom); C, copper halberd was of copper or Oint and was attached to the shaft by a tang (figure
blade (Middle and New Kingdoms).
25a), but in the New Kingdom bronze blades (figure 25b), often at
tached by means of a socket, became more common. Whereas the
ir
conventional spear was intended 10 be thrown at the enemy, there was
also a form of halberd (figure 25c), which was effectively a spear shaft
o
fitted with an axe blade and used for CUlling and slashing. From the
Middle Kingdom onwards the dagger grew in popularity as a weapon
for stabbing and crushing at close quarters. The two-edged blade,
26. (Below) Scene in a military workshop
usually riveted (before the Ncw Kingdom) to a bone or ivory handle,
showing a craftsman checking the straight was sometimes decorated with grooves in the form of plants or birds.
ness of an arrow, from an unknown tom bat The bow and arrow was a crucial element in Egyptian weaponry
Saqqara, New Kingdom. (After Martin, (figure 26). Along with plaited slings, bows provided a long-range
1991.)
assault that backed up hand-to-hand fighting with slashing and stabbing
27. (Bottom) The two major types of weapons. In the late Predynastic Period the 'hom bow' was in common
Egyptian bow: A, self bow; B, recurved
use; this consisted of a pair of antelope horns connected by a central
A B C composite bow.
piece of wood (figure 18). By the Dynastic Period, archers were most
--
~
- - - - commonly depicted using a 'self' (or simple) bow, firing reed arrows,
[j .~
fletched with three feathers and tipped with flint or hardwood (later
bronze) points. The self bow (figure 27a), usually between I and 2
metres in length, was made up of a wooden rod, narrowing at either end,
and strung with twisted gut. The longer self bows, often strengthened at
/1F I
I
certain points by binding with cord, tended to be either straighter than
before or 'rccurved '. The rccurved bow (figure 27b), which consisted
of two convex sections, had greater power and range.
The late Fifth Dynasty rock-cut tombs of the nobles Shedu and Inti, at
Deshasheh in Middle Egypt, are decorated with some unusual relief
scenes of warfare against Asiatics, including (in the tomb of Inti, figure
A 28) a depiction of a group of Egyptian soldiers attacking a Palestinian
fortress. The kilted Egyptian soldiers are engaged in hand-to-hand
combat using spears and axes, while some of the defending Asiatics are
shown pierced with arrows, indicating that the footsoldiers' advance
was backed up by a hail of arrows from Egyptian archers. A scaling
B
~.
39
38 Egypti an Warfar e and Weapo ns Weapo ns and militar y techno logy
of
ladder is shown proppe d up against the battlem ents and at the base
s a group of soldier s are eviden tly attemp ting to underm ine
the fortres
at
the wall. A wall paintin g in the Sixth Dynast y tomb of Kaemh eset,
proppe d agains t a city wall
Saqqar a, shows anothe r scaling ladder
this ladder is furnish ed with wheels at the base. of
About two hundre d years later, as eviden ced in anothe r group
scenes of siege warfar e
provin cial govern ors' tombs, at Beni Hasan,
ts in Middle Kingdo m wall paintin gs, prob
had becom e commo n elemen
ably harking back to the more anarch ic times of the First Interm ediate
Period. A scene in the tomb of the Eleven th Dynast y noble Khety
shows a pair of Middle Kingdo m soldier s, appare ntly under the protec
a
tion of a mobile roofed structu re, advanc ing toward s a fortress with
perhap s an early batterin g ram - thrust out in front of
long pole -
con
them. The Theban tomb of Intcf', an Eleven th Dynast y genera l,
tower (figure 29). Apart
tained a depicti on of a type of mobile siege
from these refinem ents, howev er, the weapon ry being used by the Egyp
,
tians and their oppone nts -- a combin ation of bows and arrows , shields
the Sixth to
spears and axes - remain ed virtually unchan ged from
m
Thirtee nth Dynast ies. It was not until the end of the Middle Kingdo
lesson in the danger s of militar y com
that Egypt receive d an abrupt
group
placen cy, when the throne was seized by the Hykso s Dynast ies, a
of Asiatic kings ruling from power bases in the Delta.
0J!!~
30. The horse-dr;lwn
chariot, introduced
---( -- - - into Egypt during the
Second Intcrmcd ian
Pel-iod.
33. Papyrus Anastasi I, a hieratic text describing a visit [0 a chariot repair shop. New
Kingdom. (British Museum, EA 10247; reproduced by courtesy or the Trustees of the
British Museum.)
~
narrow blade and tang cast all in one, appeared at the beginning of the
New Kingdom and gradually developed into a weapon resembling a
short sword. The most specialised form of dagger was the khepesh, a
scimitar-like weapon with a curved blade modelled on an Asiatic form
that first appeared in the Second Intermediate Period. The northern
exterior wall of the mortuary temple of Ramesses III (Medinet Habu) is
decorated with episodes from the war against the Sea Peoples (c.ll64
Be), including a scene of the official allocation of various types of arms
(spears, helmets, bows, quivers, khepesh daggers and shields) to the
soldiers.
Among the foreign mercenaries introduced into the Egyptian army in
the late New Kingdom were Libyans, often shown with feathers on
their heads and armed with bows, and Syrians armed with spears and
khepesh daggers. But perhaps the most distinctive, in terms of arms and
armour, were the Sherden, one of the groups described as Sea Peoples
(see chapter 7). The origins of the Sherden probably lay in northern
Syria but as far as the Egyptian records are concerned they first ap
peared as part of Ramesses Il 's army in his campaigns against the
Hittites. In contrast to the native Egyptian soldiers, who appear to have
45
44 Egyptian Warfare and Weapons
Imperial strategies
that of diplomacy.
In the rest of the ancient Near East there was a strong tradition of
treaties, by which power blocks were built up and maintained. There
were two basic types of treaty in the second millennium BC, distin
35. Scene showing Shcrdcn mercenaries at the baltic of Qadcsh, lrom the Great Temple guished by the Akkadian terms riksu (a parity treaty) and ade (essen
at Abu Simbel, Ninetecnth Dynasty. (photograph: Ian Shuw.)
tially an oath of loyalty or vassal treaty). In Syria-Palestine these kinds
of texts seem to have appeared at a particularly early date, probably a
served primarily as archers, the Sherden fought with sword and spear. natural consequence of the profusion of local princes in the Levant who
They are instantly recognisable by their unusual headgear, a round were constantly obliged to clarify their positions by means of vassal
leather helmet (sometimes with check protectors) surmounted by a pair and parity relationships. It was inevitable that Egypt should eventually
of curving horns on either side of a spike, which is itself topped by a bolster its domination of the region by assuming a pre-eminent role in
sphere or disc (figures 35 and 47). They also carry a round shield and this diplomatic activity. The use of Akkadian and Babylonian dialects
wear a distinctive kilt, longer at the back than the front. The long as the lingua franca of treaties and correspondence, however, suggests
tapering sword with which they are often armed is not specific to the that Egypt was simply absorbed into an existing network of international
Sherdcn but a lengthened form of a common type of dagger used through diplomacy, the origins of which probably lay in Mesopotamia.
out the Levant during the Middle Bronze Age. Throughout the Old and Middle Kingdoms southern Syria-Palestine
In one of Ramesses II's earlier campaigns in Syria-Palestine a group (figure 36) was regarded as part of the Egyptian sphere of influence, but
of foreign mercenaries, wearing tasselled ki Its and carrying round shields it was not until the reign of the Twelfth Dynasty ruler Sesostris III
decorated with bosses, are shown storming the fortress of Depcr in (ruled 1878-1841 BC) that Egypt began to play the part of a true inter
Amurru; their horned helmets (unusually shown in profile) suggest that national power. With a new northern capital aggressively named Itj
they may have been Shcrdcn, although no spike or disc is shown in the tawy ('Seizing the Two Lands') established by Amenemhat I in the area
centre of the helmet. In Merneptah's first Libyan war (c.1207 Be) the of Lisht, the scene was set for a more vigorous foreign policy both in
Sherden appear as allies of the Libyans, fighting against the Egyptians, Nubia and in Syria-Palestine. Regular envoys were sent to such Syrian
although they are distinguishable from the Egyptianised Sherden by the city-states as Ugarit and Byblos, and there was an increase both in
fact that their helmets were shaped to the backs of their necks and, like foreign trade and in the fortification of Egypt's north-eastern frontier.
the unnamed mercenaries at Deper, there was no disc shape between the The growing Egyptian influence on Syria-Palestine in the Middle King
horns. dom is indicated by the fact that the native rulers of Byblos were writ
_ Black Sea Caspian Imperial strategies and international diplomacy 47
Sea
_2>~:
• <::,,, "",," ~_ /
general, however, the Middle Kingdom pharaohs pursued a relatively
-,
- - "U""" "'>,__ /~,
('-"'~
r infiltration by the 'rulers of foreign lands' and the ensuing humiliation
'''I -,__-/---- , J Lake V" of the Second Intermediate Period.
o
HITTITE EMPIRE r"f
C'~-/-"-d
I ~~ig~n~S0'f; \\V l.aka Urrnia
The Eighteenth Dynasty rulers adopted a more mature approach to
international relations. As early as the reign of Ahmose (ruled 1570
1546 BC) they were laying the foundations of their Asiatic empire by
~
ar:lm'Sh
campaigning in southern Rctennu, but the crucial difference from their
) -Ale _~
MITANN! Nir
f
eh earlier forays into the Levant was the increasing use of diplomacy. The
0 ,
rapid construction of a framework of alliances and treaties took place
MEDrrERRANEAN
~ l, SSVA" ssur FA,~_- alongside the adoption of Asiatic weaponry and methods of warfare.
R""'''''''''{~
SEA
--.
48
Egyptian Wm/are and Weapons
Imperial strategies and international diplomacy 49
wards to the town or Djerty, emerging to the west of Megiddo; or to
takc the more southerly route via the town of Taanach, about 8 krn (5 The journey across the Carmel range took three days, ending with a
miles) south-east of Megiddo. The king chose the most dangerous lengthy but safe passage through the narrow defile. The army then
approach -- the direct route --- which would take the army through a descended on to the plain and immediate! y found itscl I' within a few
narrow pass, forcing them to march slowly one after thc other, relying hundred metres of the confederation of Asiatic troops encamped for the
solely on the clement of surprise. night in front or the city of Megiddo. The following morning Tuthmosis
Ill's troops launched a frontal attack that routed the enemy, described
--. ~-
as 'millions of men, hundreds or thousands of the greatest of all lands,
standing in their chariots'. In their haste to take shelter in Megiddo, the
~i-o) Q~r~~~iSh fleeing troops were said to have accidentally locked out the kings of
<S' \
't-~ I Qadesh and Mcgiddo, who had to be dragged on to the battlements by
)
• Alalakh J their clothing. After a seven-month siege the city was captured, bring
""" "1
/ i • Aleppo
("I;
JI
! If/i-
:L or
ing the campaign to a successful conclusion. The victory at Megiddo
was the culmination or the First of seventeen campaigns undertaken by
;o~r' I,,,,
Ugarit
(
l
<1/~s Tuihmosis III, which arc chronicled in the /uuutl: or his reign, com
piled by the military scribe Tjancni and inscribed on the walls of the
Hall or Annals in the Temple or Arnun-Rc at Karnak.
"-
Tuthmosis III backed up his military achievements in Retennu with
.r
-,
Tunip ~
the creation or a network or garrisons and numerous vassal treaties. In
/
MEDITERRANEAN his sixth campaign he adopted a more long-term strategy, taking back
AMURRLJ
36 chiefs' sons to the Egyptian court so that they could be held as
~ ~adesh
EltUtheros~
hostages, indoctrinated with Egyptian ideas and eventually restored to
their thrones as puppet rulers. Egyptian officials, such as the general
Byblos o,er
0'./
Djehuty, began to be appointed as viceroys in Rctennu, bearing the
Akkadian titles rabisu (overseer) and sakinu (resident) and probably
0'~ having equal rank with the local princes. By the Amarna Period there
",,'I UPI
.~1:fr
seem to have been three such Egyptian governors in Syria-Palestine,
--::r Damascus corresponding to the administrative zones of Arnurru, Upi and Canaan
0'/" • (figure 36). The three rabisus formed a court or arbitration to settle
«',""'//
_J I disputes bet ween the vassal princes, and there was regular correspond
ence, via royal envoys, between the princes, rabisus and the pharaoh.
Occasionally the local princes complained about the conduct of a rabisu,
as in the letter from Ribaddi, the ruler or Byblos, protesting that Pakhura,
the rabisu of Upi, had overstepped the mark in allocating a troop of
· t~
"~ c Bedouin soldiers to the city militia.
a
Sheche
The Amarna Letters: diplomacy in the New Kingdom
CANAAN ) Illi
Tuthmosis Ill's successors had varying degrees of success in main
.A shkelon J2
Im
taining the empire. By the reign or Arnenophis 111- who fought only
Gaza ~ 15· one campaign in Retennu, in the fifth year of his reign - the evolution
of a strong mesh of diplomatic links seems to have allowed the empha
~ 50 '\ a 5 _ EgYPtians sis to shift completely from battles to treaties. At a local level, the
a KM ead sea/\. KM = Asiatics Egyptian garrisons in Syria-Palestine were able to police both the vas
sal cities and the trou blesome bands of nomadic peoples such as the
51
Imperial strategies and iflternational diplomacy
50 Egyptian Warf(lf-C and Weapons
38. A cuneiform
Shasu and Apiru. On a wider international level, treaties were drawn letter written by the
up, gifts traded and royal sons and daughters gi ven in marriage between Mitannian king,
the kings of Egypt, Mitanni, Assyria, Babylonia, Arzawa, Alashiya Tushratta, to Amen
(Cyprus) and Haui. It is this golden age of ancient diplomacy that is ophis III, with an ink
archival label written
documented in the archive of 'Amarna Letters', discovered under the in hieratic, Eightcenth
Bureau for the Correspondence of Pharaoh in the capital city of Dynasty. (British Mu
Akhenaten (ruled 1350-1334 BC) at Amarna, as well as caches of simi scum, W A 29793; rc
produced by courtesy
lar cuneiform tablets found at the sites of Alalakh, Taanach and of the Trustees of the
'--""-",- "--"," '''li! both on papyri and on the walls of Ramcsscs' temples in Egypt and
Nubia (figures 35, 39 and 40).
The plan adopted by Rarncsscs in his second campaign was to send a
particular section of his army (referred to as Na'urn) northwards via the
Phoenician coast, while the main army, divided into four divisions
(named Amun, Pre, Ptah and Seth), marched through Canaan and Upi,
eventually approaching Qadesh from the south. Meanwhile Muwatallis
had assembled an army which, according to Egyptian estimates, con
sisted of 2,500 chariots and :n,ooo infantrymen -- more than double
the size of the Egyptian forces. Morale, however, was evidently high in
Ramcsses ' army and it marched untroubled through the newly pacified
",,", $'
southern territories of Retennu. Arter a journey of about a month the
39.
Ramcsscs IJ, A bydos, Nineteenth Dynasi y, (l'ho!ogr;lj'h:"Ill
Scene showing l'gypli;1Il ch;lriots at the h.ui!c of C);ldcsh, Irom the IClnpJc oj
Sh;m',)
Egyptian
camp
"-"Egyptians
====;> Hittites
main Egyptian army was passing through the Wood of Labni, just a
short distance to the south of Qadcsh, and preparing to ford the river
Orontes. At this point they captured two Shasu Bedouin, who con
vinced them that the Hittites were still far away to the north in the
region of Aleppo. Ramcsses therefore marched on ahead with the first
division, Arnun, and began to set up camp ncar Qadcsh, planning to lay
siege to it the following day.
It soon emerged, through the capture of two Hittite spies, that
Muwatallis and his army were already encamped nearby, just on the
other side of Qadesh, and ready to attack. Unfortunately, however, the
Pre division of the Egyptian army was still on its way from the river
Orontes to the new camp, while the two other divisions were still in the 42. Egypto-Hittite peace treaty, from Karnak TC111ple, Nineteenth Dynasty.
Wood of Labni, Before anything could be done to remedy this situation duced by courtesy of Kenneth Kitchen.)
----..
43. Hittite 'marriage stele', from Abu Simbcl, New Kingdom. (Photograph: Ian Shaw.)
58 Egyptian War/are and Weapons 59
7
Naval battles
The Nile was always the principal means of transport in Egypt, and the
sailing and construction of boats can be traced back to the papyrus rafts
of the Predynasric Period. Boats were commonly depicted in red paint
011 the buff-coloured pottery of the Naqada 11 Period (figure 44). The
carved relief decoration on a Naqada 11 ivory knife handle from Gebel
el-Arak (Louvre, figure 45) is the earliest Egyptian depiction of a naval
battle. It shows boats with high, straight prows and sterns, usually
interpreted as foreign vessels.
The early Nile boats seem to have been primarily used for the trans
portation of troops up and down the Nile (figure 46), but the reliefs in
the Fifth Dynasty mortuary temple of King Sahure at Abusir depict a
sea-borne fleer that is said to have transported his army to Syria. In the
Sixth Dynasty, the official Weni is said to have taken troops to Pales
tine in vessels described as nmiw ('travelling-ships '), Most Egyptian
boats, however, were unsuitable for sailing in the Mediterranean or the
Red Sea: the impetus for seaborne trade therefore seems to have come
from the Levantine seaboard, probably in the region of Byblos. Cer
tainly there was a strong connection in Egyptian minds between Byblos
and naval activity, since the most common word for an Egyptian sea
going vessel was kbnt, literally 'Byblos-boat'. It is not clear, however,
whether the use of the term denotes Byblos ' importance as a centre for
boatbuilding, its role as a source of timber or its familiarity as a regular
destination of merchant vessels. All three explanations are equally
likely.
Even the sea-going boats used by the Egyptians and their neighbours
were relatively simple, consisting of a rectangular sail and one or two
rudder oars. When there was no following wind, tacking was not poss
ible and the boats had to be propelled by rowers. However, the bronze
age wrecks excavated at Cape Gelidonya and Ulu Burun (both sites in
the eastern Mediterranean) indicate the crucial role played by small
wooden cargo ships in the flow of goods across the Mediterranean
between southern Europe and the Near East. It has been estimated that
the Levantine port of Ugarit had as many as 150 boats in its navy and
one of the Amama Letters (see chapter 6 above) records a request for
the king of Alashiya (Cyprus) to build ships for the Egyptian navy. In
Egypt itself boatbuilding was a craft with a long tradition, of which the
44. Early Nile boat painted on a pottery vessel, late Predynastic (Naqada II) Period. solar boat of the Fourth Dynasty King Khufu at Giza is a fine example.
(British Museum, EA 35324; reproduced by courtesy of the Trustees of the British The Palermo Stone records the construction of a ship 52 metres in
Museum.) length during the reign of King Sneferu (ruled 2613-2589 BC) of the
Egyptian Warfare and Weapons Naval battles 61
60
45. Naval battle de
picted on the Gebel el
Arak knife handle, late
Predynastic Period.
(Louvrc.)
46. Wooden model or a Nile boat with its mas: removed for rowing downstream, Middle
Kingdom. (British Museum, EA 34273; reproduced by courtesy of the Trustees or the
British Muscum.)
. _~__\¥d,~~~::i(_,~~-.=,~~lC_\[~
Military decline
The campaigns against the Sea Peoples were clear omens of the future
military fate of the Egyptians. With the onset of economic and political
decline, the last battles of the native Egyptian pharaohs were desperate
defensive struggles, far removed from the empire building of Sesostris
III, Tuthmosis III and Ramcsscs II in the Middle and New Kingdoms.
Many of the military actions of the Third Intermediate Period and Late
Period took place on Egyptian soil, as successive waves of foreigners
capitalised on the weakness of their old enemy. As with any such
decline, it is difficult to pinpoint the precise causes of this new vulner
ability. In the economic sphere, Egypt had become less self-sufficient
in metals (particularly with the increasing importance of iron, all of
which had to be imported), producing a dangerous dependence on trade
with Western Asia just at the time when Egyptian influence in the
Levant was at its lowest ebb. In thc purely military sphere there is
growing evidence that native Egyptians were once more gravitating
towards the traditional religious and bureaucratic routes to power, leav
ing the Egyptian army dangerously dominated by foreign mercenaries
and immigrants.
Eventually the campaigning of the Kushite (Twenty-fifth Dynasty)
pharaohs in Syria-Palestine led to direct conflict with a new imperial
power: the Assyrians. In 674 BC Taharqa (ruled 690-664 BC) was able
temporarily to deter the invading forces of the Assyrian king Esarhaddon
(ruled 680-669 BC), but in the ensuing decade the Assyrians made
repeated successful incursions into the heart of Egypt, and only the
periodic rebellions of the Meeks and Scythians - at the other end of
the Assyrian empire - prevented them from gaining a more permanent
grip on the Nile valley. In 671 Be Esarhaddon captured Memphis,
describing the event with relish in an inscription at Senjirli:
'I laid siege to Memphis, Taharqas royal residence, and con
quered it in half a day by means of mines, breaches and assault
ladders; I destroyed it, tore down its walls and burnt it down. His
'queen', the women of his palace, Ushanahuru, his heir apparent,
his other children, his possessions, horses, large and small cattle
beyond counting, I carried away as booty to Assyria. All Ethio
pians J deported from Egypt - leaving not even one to do hom
age to me. Everywhere in Egypt, I appointed new local kings,
governors, officers (saknu), harbour overseers, officials and ad
50. 'Victory stele' of Piye from Gebel Barkal, Late Period. (Reproduced by courtesy of ministration personnel' (Pritchard, 1969: 293).
Peter Clayton.) Three years later Taharqa had succeeded in briefly reasserting the
66 Egyptian Warfare and Weapons Military decline 67
9
Museums
.Tell el-Maskhuta The following museums have collections of ancient Egyptian artefacts,
LOWER including weapons and other evidence of warfare. Intending visitors
EGYPT
~ are advised to find out opening times before making a spccialjoumey.
United Kingdom
Ashmolean Museum ojAr: and /vrchacologv. Beaumont Street, Oxford
OX I 2PH. Telephone: 0865 27X000.
Birmingham Museum and /vn Gallery. Chamberlain Square, Birming
ham, West Midlands B3 3DH. Telephone: 021-235 2834.
Bolton Museum and /11'1 Gallery, Lc Mans Crescent, Bolton, Lancashire
BL I ISE. Telephone: 0204 2231 I extension 2191.
The British Museum, Great Russell Street, London WC IB 3Del. Tele
phone: 071-636 1555.
.Beni Hasan
Fitzwilliam Museum, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 IRB. Tele
Hermopolisl.'
phone: 0223 332900.
Magna
The Manchester Museum, University of Manchester, Oxford Road,
Manchester M 13 9PL. Telephone: 061-275 2634.
The Petrie Museum 01 Egyptian /vrcliaeology, University College Lon
don, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT. Telephone: 071-387 7050,
extension 2884.
Royal Museum ojScotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh EH 1 UP. Tele
UPPER phone: m1-2257534.
EGYPT
Egypt
Egyptian Museum, Tahrir Square, Cairo.
France
Musee du Louvre, Palais du Louvre, F-75041 Paris.
Italy
Museo Egizio, Palazzo dell' Accademia delle Scienze, Via Accademia
delle Scienze 6, Turin.
o! 100Km Musco Egizio ; Vatican City, Rome.
J
Aswan
Elephantine~Phiiae Netherlands
Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, Rapenburg 28, 2311 EW Leiden, Zuid-
52. Map of Egypt showing the location of sites mentioned in the text. (Drawn by Robert
Dizon.) Holland.
70 Egyptian Warfare and Weapons Further reading /I
United States of America McLeod, W. E. Composite Bows from the Toml. ,'I I III ',1111. luuuu«
The Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, New York NY Griffith Institute, Oxford, 1970.
11238. McLeod, W. E. Self Bows and Other Archery 'Iildll' I' i nu tlu: 1"/III" 'I
Metropolitan Museum ofArt, 5th Avenue at 82nd Street, New York NY Tut'ankhamun. Griffith Institute, Oxford, Il)X.J,
10028. Murnane, W. J. The Road to Kadesh: A Historical lntrt p 1'111/11 'II "It/I'
Battle Reliefs o] King Sety I at Karnak. Chic.uo ( lr Willill 111',1 lillI,
1985.
10
Newby, P. H. Warrior Pharaohs: The Rise and hi/I "I liI,' 11:\'1"/11/1
Further reading
Empire. Faber, 1980.
Petrie, W. M. F. Tools and Weapons. Egypt Resl'arch ;\(11 !I I Ill. I') I /
Adams, W. Y. Nubia: Corridor to Africa. Allen Lane. 1982, Pritchard, J. B. Ancient Ncar Eastern Texts Relating '" liI" I Jl.1 11'1/11
Breasted. J. H. The Battle 0/ Kadesh: A Study in the Earliest Known ment. Princeton University Press, 1969.
Military Strategy. Chicago Oriental Institute, ] 903. Sandars, N, K. The Sea Peoples: Warriors ofthe Eastern fll,', 111,'// 1111,'1111
Campbell, E. F. The Chronology of the /vmarna Letters. The Johns 1250-1150 B.C. Thames and Hudson, 1978.
Hopkins Press, Baltimore, 1964. Savc-Sodcrbcrgh, T. The Navy of the Eighteenth 1'.',1;1'/"1'/11 11\'110/11\
Davies, W. V. Catalogue ofEgyptian Antiquities in the British Museum, Uppsala University Press, 1946.
VII: Tools and Weapolls, I: Axes. British Museum Publications, Schulman, A. R. Military Hank, Title and Organization in Iii,' I, ,I;\'I"/i/ll
1987. New Kingdom. Miinchncr Agyptischer Studien 6, Hcrlin. l'lt"
Emery, W. B. Egypt in Nubia. Hutchinson, 1965. Spalinger, A. J. Aspects 0/ the Military Documents 11/1/1" ,111""11/
Emery, W. B., Smith, H. S., and Millard, A. The Fortress 0/ Buhen: Egyptians. Yale University Press, 1982.
The Archaeological Report. Egypt Exploration Society, 1979. Trigger, B. History and Settlement in Lower Nubia. Y:i1l'lltu\\"I'.II\,
Faulkner, R. O. 'Egyptian Seagoing Ships', Journal 0/ Egyptian Press, 1965,
Archaeology, 26 (1940), 3-9. Trigger, B. Nubia under the Pharaohs. Thames and Hudson. III /f'
Gardiner, A. H. The Kadesh Inscriptions o] Ramesses II. Griffith Vandcrsleyen, C. Les Guerres d'Amosis Fondateur ell' 1" .\\ 1/1,'
Institute, Oxford, 1960. Dynastic. Fondation Egyptologiquc Reine Elisabeth, Bruxxrll«. III / I
Goedicke, H. (editor), Perspectives Oil the Battle of Kadesh. Halgo, Winlock, H. E. The Slain Soldiers of Neb-Hepet-Re' MI'III/( 1/"'1'"
Baltimore, 1985. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1945.
Yadin, Y. The Art of Warfare ill Biblical Lands. London, 1%\,
Helck, W. Der Einlluj3 der Militdrfiihrer in der 18. Agyptischen Dynastic,
J. C. Hinrichs Verlag, Leipzig, 1939.
Hclck, W. Die Beziehungen ;1gyp tens zur Vorderasicn im 3. und 2.
Jahrtausend v. C hr. Harrasowiiz, Wiesbaden, 1971.
Kitchen, K. A. Pharaoh Triumphant: The Life and Times ofRamesses
II, King of Egypt. Aris and Phillips, 1982.
Landstrom, B. Ships ofthe Pharaohs. Allen Lane, 1970.
Lawrence, A. W. 'Ancient Egyptian Fortifications', Journal ofEgyp
tian Archaeology, 51 (1965),69-94.
Lichtheim, M. Ancient Egyptian Literature: A Book of Readings, I:
The Old and Middle Kingdoms. University of California Press, 1973.
Littauer, M. A., and Crouwe1, J. H. Wheeled Vehicles and Ridden
Animals in the Ancient Near East. E. J. Brill, Leiden and Cologne,
1979.
Littauer, M. A., and Crouwe1, J. H. Chariots and Related Equipment
from the Tomb of Tut'ankhamun. Griffith Institute, Oxford, 1985.
Egyptian Warfare and Weapons
This book traces the military exploits and achievements of the ancient Egyptians from the earliest
times to the height of the Egyptian empire. Pictorial and textual sources are combined with
evidence from the latest archaeological excavations to build up a complete picture of the grandeur
and squalor of Egyptian warfare. There are detailed descriptions of the arms and armour of Egypt,
including the distinctive regalia of foreign mercenaries such as the Sherden and the Nubians. A
chapter on frontiers and fortresses describes the remarkable development of sophisticated military
architecture, complete with moats, barbicans and drawbridges, three thousand years earlier than
the medieval castles of Europe. The dramatic expansion of the Egyptian empire in the second
millennium BC is brought to life with extracts from original sources such as royal propaganda,
military despatches and the autobiographies of war veterans. The careers of pharaohs such as
Tuthmosis III and Ramesses the Great are described, complete with maps and plans of their
campaign routes and major battles in Nubia and Syria-Palestine.
Shire Egyptology
This series is written by experts for the student or interested layman. Each book contains many
illustrations and deals concisely with a particular aspect of Egyptology. Titles in the series, with their
series numbers, are:
Akhenaten's Egypt Angela P. Thomas (10)
Egyptian Coffins John H. Taylor (11)
Egyptian Food and Drink Hilary lM"lson (9)
Egyptian Gods and Myths Angela P. Thomas (2)
Egyptian Household Animals Rosalind and Jack Janssen (12)
Egyptian Metalworking and Tools Bernd Scheel (13)
Egyptian' Mummies Barbara Adams (1)
Egyptian Painting and Relief Gay Robins (3)
Egyptian Pottery Colin Hope (5)
Egyptian Pyramids and Mastaba Tombs Philip Watson (6)
Egyptian Rock-cut Tombs Aidan Dodson (14)
Egyptian Textiles Rosalind Hall (4)
Egyptian Towns and Cities Eric P. Uphill (8)
Egyptian Warfare and Weapons Ian Shaw (16)
Predynastic Egypt Barbara Adams (7)