A brief history of ancient Egyptian wars

Narmai Palette, an ancient Egyptian ritual sculpture, depicts the support of the great king Narmai (3 150 BC) who conquered his enemies and the approval of his gods. This work can be traced back to 3200 BC to 3000 BC, and was originally considered as an accurate historical description of Egypt's reunification under the first king of the first dynasty, Narmai.

However, the recent academic revision now interprets this artifact as a symbolic rendering of this historical event, and claims that Narmai (also known as menes) may or may not unify the country by force, but the concept of the king as a powerful warrior is an important cultural value, so Narmai is portrayed as a conqueror.

The great kings of Mesopotamia, especially the Assyrian rulers, left many inscriptions about their military victories, captives and urban destruction, but these records did not exist for most of the early history of Egypt. Egyptians believe that their land is the most perfect land in the world, and their interest in conquest is not so much to protect what they have as to be interested in conquest. The early records of the Egyptian war were all related to civil strife, not the conquest of other lands. This will be the paradigm from the early Egyptian dynasty (3150-26 BC13 BC) to the Middle Kingdom (2040- 1782 BC). /kloc-when the kings of the 0/2 dynasty maintained a standing army, they led more military operations than.

The development of professional warfare

Although modern scholars have different opinions on whether Narmai unified Egypt through conquest, there is no doubt that military force under the leadership of a strong leader is a necessary condition for reunifying the country. There are signs of unrest in the early dynasties of Egypt, and there may even be a split of the country and a civil war between factions for the throne.

During the New Kingdom, Egypt expanded its empire & it was a constant war. Tuthmus III led at least 17 different activities in 20 years.

In the ancient kingdom (26 BC13-2181), the central government relied on local governors (nomarchs) to provide personnel for the army. Nomads will recruit soldiers in their areas and send them to the king. Each battalion holds a flag with their regional totem (Nome). They are loyal to the community, their comrades and Nome. The successful battles in Nubia, Syria and Palestine proved the effectiveness of this early militia. The monarch of the ancient kingdom either defended the border to quell the uprising or seized resources for the royal family. The soldiers fought for the king and their country, but they were not a United Egyptian army, but a group of small military units fighting for the same goal. Candidates are usually supplemented by Nubian mercenaries, and their loyalty to the king is the same as long as they are paid.

The rise of the power of a single monarch was one of the contributing factors that led to the collapse of the ancient kingdom and the beginning of the first intermediate period in Egypt (2 18 1-2040 BC). The center of Memphis is no longer important, because the rulers of each region control their own areas, build temples in their own names instead of the king's, and use their own militia to achieve their goals. Perhaps the kings of Memphis moved their capital to this city to regain their lost prestige. Leopold, Iraq, in a more central position. However, they were not more effective in the new place than in the old one. They were overthrown by Mentuhotep II of Thebes (206 1-20 10 BC) and started the Middle Kingdom of Egypt.

Mentohotep II is likely to lead the army of Thebes conscripts, but he may have mobilized a professional fighting force in his own area. It is entirely possible that a group of professional soldiers fought for the king as early as the pre-dynasty period in Egypt (6000-3 BC150 BC), but the evidence in this regard is not clear. Most scholars believe that Mentuhotep II's successor, Amenehart I (BC 199 1- 1962) established the first Egyptian standing army. This will make sense because it will seize power from a single monarch and put it in the hands of the king. The king can now directly control an army loyal to him and the whole country, not different monarchs and their regions.

The armies and weapons of the old kingdom

The weapons of the former and early dynasties were mainly mace, dagger and spear. As the historian Margaret Benson explained, by the time of the ancient kingdom, bows and arrows and other weapons had been added:

Soldiers in the ancient kingdom were depicted wearing skulls and hats, with clans or named totems. They use hammers made of wood or pear-shaped stones. Bows and arrows are standard equipment, with pointed flint arrows and leather quiver. Some shields made of animal skins are in use, but they are not widely used. Most troops are barefoot, wearing simple short skirts or naked. ( 168)

The Egyptians used a simple single bow, which was difficult to pull, short in range and unreliable in accuracy. These soldiers are all lower-class peasants with little training. Although possible, they are unlikely to use bows in hunting. Farmers have no land in Egypt, and hunting is prohibited without the consent of the upper landlords. In addition, the Egyptian diet is mainly vegetarian, and hunting is a royal sport. However, these weapons can be very effective when archers shoot in groups at close range. After one or two arrows volley, soldiers will approach their opponents with hand-held weapons. At this time, the Egyptian navy was only used to transport troops, not to fight the enemy.

War of the Kingdom of China

During the Middle Kingdom, the army carried bronze axes and swords. Bronze spears become standard equipment, as do leather bulletproof vests on short skirts. The army is best organized by "a minister of war and a commander-in-chief of the army, or officials working in this capacity" (Bunson, 169). These professional troops are well-trained and have elite "assault troops" as pioneers. Officers are responsible for the unknown number of personnel in their units and report to the commander, who in turn reports to the superior; It is not clear what the specific personal responsibility is, or what it is called, but military life at this time provides much greater opportunities than in the past. Historian Mark Van de Mirup wrote:

Although our understanding of China's army is very limited, its role in society seems to be much greater than that of the old kingdom. The army was well organized, with professional soldiers as the core in the Twelfth Dynasties. They have served for a long time and are often stationed abroad. The army provides an outlet for ambitious people. Most of the troops continue to be recruited from the population of the provinces and only participate in individual battles. How many troops are involved and how long they will serve are still unknown. ( 1 12)

The military of the Middle Kingdom reached its peak under the rule of the warrior King Cesar Nusret III (BC 1878- 1860), who was an example of the legendary conqueror Cesar soste Rees who was later famous as a Greek writer. Nusret III led his men to carry out major battles in Nubia and Palestine, abolished the position of ruler, controlled the area where his soldiers came from more directly, and protected the Egyptian border with heavily guarded fortifications.

The contribution of Hixos

Kings of 12 dynasty, such as Nusret III, were powerful rulers and made great contributions to Egyptian stability, but the power of 13 dynasty was weak and failed to maintain an effective central government. Hixos, a Semite who immigrated from Syria and Palestine, settled in Varis, Lower Egypt, and accumulated enough wealth in time to exercise political power. The rise of Hyksos marked the beginning of the second intermediate period in Egypt (BC 1782- 1570), when the country was divided among Hyksos in the north, Egyptians in the middle and Nubians in the south. This situation continued, and the three men engaged in trade and unstable peace until the Egyptian king Seqenenra Taa of Thebes (BC 1580) felt challenged by King Api of Hyksos of Varis and launched an attack. The Hixos were finally driven out of Egypt by Ahmed I of Thebes (BC 1570- 1544), which marked the beginning of the new kingdom of Egypt.

The Egyptian army in the middle and late period was mainly composed of Nubian soldier Medje, who fought as mercenaries. Major worked as a scout, light infantry, and finally became a cavalry unit. Before the arrival of Hyxos, this horse was unknown in Egypt, and of course no one knew about the chariot. Although later Egyptian and Greek writers described the Hyksos era as a dark age of chaos and destruction, foreign kings made many major innovations in culture, especially in war and weapons. Egyptian archaeologist Barbara Watson pointed out:

The Hixos from West Asia brought the Egyptians into the people and culture of the region in an unprecedented way and introduced them into horse-drawn chariots. Composite bows made of wood, reinforced with ribs and horns, are more flexible and have a longer range than their own simple bows; A machete-shaped sword, named Hopish, and a narrow-edged bronze dagger cast in Tang Dynasty. The Egyptians developed this weapon into a dagger. (60)

Egypt has never been invaded and occupied by foreign forces before, and the rulers of the new kingdom (BC 1570- 1069) want to ensure that this will never happen again. Therefore, the early kings of this period put special emphasis on expanding the national border to establish a buffer zone, and thus established the Egyptian Empire.

Imperial army

The New Kingdom period is the most familiar period for modern audiences, with some of the most famous rulers (Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, seti i, Ramses II). This is the pinnacle of Egypt's prestige, power and wealth. Van der Mirup wrote:

Egypt, the new kingdom, is an imperialist country: it annexed territories beyond its traditional borders and controlled them for its own benefit. This policy originated in the early days, when military conquest was a routine part of the royal family's duties, but reached its peak in the new kingdom period when Egypt was in a state of almost permanent war. ( 157)

The empire of the new kingdom began when Ahmed I drove the Hyksos out of Egypt and crossed Palestine into Syria, but it really began under the rule of Amenhotep I (154 1- 1520 BC), who extended the southern border to Nubia. Thutmose I (BC 1520- 1492) went further, crossed Palestine and Syria into Mesopotamia and reached the Euphrates River. Queen Hatshepsut (BC 1479-BC 1458) sent expeditions to Nubia and Syria to organize trade delegations to Punte, including military escorts. But Tuthmus III (1458- 1425 BC) is considered as the greatest warrior king in the early New Kingdom. He conquered Libya, expanded to Nubia, and ensured the whole Levant region. Tuthmus III led at least 17 different battles in 20 years and established the Egyptian Empire in its heyday. Benson wrote:

The army is no longer an alliance of Nome conscripts, but a first-class military force. The king is the commander-in-chief, but Vizier and other administrative units handle logistics and reserve affairs ... The army is organized into divisions, including chariots and infantry. There are about 5000 people in each division. These departments all have the names of the country's main gods. ( 170)

Under this new organization, the command system of a division, from the lowest to the highest, is a strict hierarchy. Each division has an officer in charge of 50 soldiers and reports to the superior in charge of 250 soldiers. The officer reported to a captain, who was responsible to the army commander. Above the commander is the overseer, an officer stationed in the fortress, who reports to the head of the fortifications. The supervisor is a senior official in charge of the fort and reports to the major. The major reported to the Egyptian minister and the general in charge of the Pharaoh.

An important aspect of this new army is the horse-drawn chariot introduced by the Hixos. Van de Miyelup pointed out, "Chariots are well-trained soldiers and rich people. They provide their own equipment. They won more awards than other soldiers and had a high social status "(158). The Egyptians transformed Hixos' chariot, making it lighter, more flexible and faster. There are two people on each chariot, a driver and a soldier. They wore scales on their upper bodies and thin skirts on their lower bodies. The driver is a well-trained chariot driver. He controlled the vehicles, while the soldiers engaged the enemy with bows and spears. The chariot troops are divided into 12 chariots and a squadron of 24 people, of which 13 squadron commander.

It was this army that expanded Egypt into an empire and allowed Amenhotep III (BC 1386- 1353) and other pharaohs to rule luxuriously. Under his rule, Egypt enjoyed unprecedented peace and prosperity. This is not to say that there was no conflict during his reign, but that the army kept this unpleasantness far from the national border. This is also the army that Rameses II (Kloc-0/279-1213 BC) fought against the Hittites in the famous Battle of Kadesh in 1274 BC.

Ramses II moved the Egyptian capital from Thebes to a new city he built on the site of Per-Ramses ("Ramses City") in Varis, Lower Egypt. As usual, Pharaoh spared no effort to provide decorations and monuments, shrines and beautiful buildings for his new capital, but as Egyptian scientist Toby Wilkinson explained, what happened in Per-Ramses was not just architectural progress and religious festivals:

Although court scribes and poets praised Pei Lamez as a great royal residence, full of prosperity and joy, this most ambitious royal plan also had a more threatening side. One of the biggest buildings is a huge bronze smelter, and hundreds of workers make armaments every day. The most advanced high-temperature furnace is heated by a blast tube made of corrugated pipe. When molten metal flows out, sweaty workers pour it into molds for making shields and swords. In a dirty, hot and dangerous environment, Pharaoh's people made weapons for Pharaoh's army. Another large area of the city was handed over to stables, sports fields and the king's war team for maintenance ... In short, Per- Ramses is not an entertainment place, but a military industrial complex. (3 14)

Ramses II set out from Ramses and launched a campaign against the Hittites in Kadesh. He took a chariot and led twenty thousand men from four divisions. According to his inscription, the battle was an overwhelming victory for Egypt, but his opponent Muwatali II of the Hittite Empire claimed that his side was exactly the same. Today's scholars come to the conclusion that the Battle of Kadesh was more like a draw than a victory for both sides, but Ramses read the details of his great victory all over the country, and this conflict will lead Egypt and Egypt to sign the world's first peace treaty. The Hittite Empire in BC 1258.

Egyptian navy

In addition to the army and chariots, there is a third service-the navy. As mentioned earlier, in the ancient kingdom, the navy was mainly used to transport infantry. Even until the second intermediate period, Camos only used the navy as a means of transportation and took his troops down the Nile to rob Varis. However, in the new kingdom, the navy became more prestigious because foreign invaders threatened Egypt's maritime prosperity.

Among these intruders, the person with the clearest and most definite record is called the marine nation, which is a mysterious group whose identity has not yet been determined. They seem to be an alliance of different races. They roamed along the Mediterranean coast in the 10 century BC. In BC 1276- 1 178, they probably played an important role in the collapse of the bronze age. Ramesses II, his successors Melenputa (BC 12 13- 1203) and Ramesses III (BC1186-11)

Ramses II, who has a very efficient intelligence network, learned of the coming invasion in time and deployed his navy at the mouth of the Nile River. Then he put a small fleet in a defensive position and pulled the people's ships at sea into a trap. Once they were in position, he released more and bigger ships from the side and destroyed his opponents.

Like many other battles of the Egyptian navy, this battle was carried out by land forces at sea. Although soldiers are trained to fight on water, they are not sailors. Egyptians are not a maritime people, and their navy proves this. These ships are usually large, with about 250 crew members. Smaller ships can accommodate 50 crew members, of whom 20 are responsible for rowing, sailing and maneuvering the ship and 30 are responsible for fighting. Although Ramses II emphasized the victory of naval battle, he actually fought on water. Egyptian ships are closed to ships of maritime countries so that enemy ships can board and sink; The ship itself is not fighting.

So did Ramses III's contact with the people at sea. He led his predecessor's trick of luring the sea people into a trap and then wiped them out with guerrilla warfare. Melumpa completely avoided fighting at sea and met the enemy on the land of Pier, where his new kingdom army slaughtered more than 6,000 enemy troops.

The real value of the Egyptian navy lies in intimidating potential intruders and quickly transporting ground troops. Thutmose III used the navy in many battles and achieved good results. Previous cargo ships were often requisitioned and converted into warships for fighting in the upper or lower Nile. These ships will be equipped with protective walls to protect the crew from incoming missiles and sometimes improve their mobility.

The decline of the Egyptian army

Ramses III was the last effective Pharaoh in the New Kingdom. After his death, great military success became a thing of the past. The Pharaoh who followed him was not strong enough to support the empire and the empire began to fall apart. One of the factors that led to this decline was actually Ramses II's decision to establish Pell-Ramses and transfer its capital from Thebes to there. Thebes is the high priest of the ruins of the temple of Amon in Karnak, and he has great influence not only there, but also all over Egypt. When the capital moved to Lamez, the priests in Thebes found that they had more freedom to accumulate more wealth and power than before. During the reign of Ramesses XI (BC 1 107- 1077), the country was divided by the rule of Ramses and the rule of Father Amon of Thebes.

This division began an era known as the third intermediate period in Egypt (65438 BC+0069-525 BC). Any Egyptian power at sea was concealed by the Greek and Phoenician navies, which were faster and better equipped and operated by experienced sailors at that time. Egypt entered the so-called Iron Age II in BC. BC 1000, they began to produce iron tools and weapons. However, forging iron requires charcoal burning wood, and there are few trees in Egypt. In 67 1 BC, the country was invaded by King Isahadon of Assyria. He slaughtered the Egyptian army with a professional army waving iron weapons, burned the city of Memphis and brought the royal prisoners back to Nineveh. In 666 BC, his son Azubani invaded Egypt and conquered this land, passing through Thebes all the way. Assyrians' iron weapons, better armor and tactics once again proved that they were superior to the Egyptian army.

In the late ancient Egypt (525-332 BC), Assyrians invaded, which began after the Egyptian rulers and the continuous war lowered the power standard. The Egyptian royal family used Greek mercenaries to compete for hegemony with each other, and Greek mercenaries could easily fight for one side. In the end, many of these Greek soldiers stopped fighting completely and settled down in Egypt with their families.

The Egyptian army has acquired iron weapons and developed powerful cavalry at this time, but these innovations are not enough to improve it to the previous level of efficiency and power. Iron is very expensive because all the necessary elements must be imported.

The Persians invaded and defeated the Egyptian garrison in Pelusim in 525 BC, but this had nothing to do with their strong military strength. Persian general Cambyses Ⅱ knew that Egyptians respected animals, especially cats. He ordered his men to collect as many animals as possible and drive them to the army. In addition, he asked his soldiers to draw the image of Bast, the most popular goddess among all Egyptian gods, on the shield. Then he brought the animal in front of him and announced that if he didn't surrender immediately, he would throw the cat into the wall. The Egyptians were worried about the safety of animals (and their own safety if they offended Buster), so they laid down their weapons and surrendered. Later, it is said that Cambyses Ⅱ contemptuously threw the cat from the bag into the Egyptian's face.

Alexander the Great captured Egypt from the Persians in 33 1 BC. After his death, ruled by his general Ptolemy, Ptolemy I Soter became the Egyptian Ptolemy I Soter (323-283 BC). Ptolemy dynasty was the ruler of Macedonia-Greece, and he used the tactics and weapons of his own country. The history of the ancient Egyptian war basically ended with a new kingdom. Any innovation and progress in weapons after BC 1069 is no longer important to the Egyptian army because there is no strong central government support.