Ramesside Egypt:The Nature & Role of the Army

Objective

• Explain the nature and role of the army in the Ramesside Period

• Recall sources of evidence for the army

Outline• Nature

– Structure and organisation– Infantry, chariots, siege warfare – Mercenaries– Forts– Navy– Support

• Role– Defence– Garrison– Gaining Booty– Expanding the empire– Public works– Policing– Ceremony– Social advancement

Structure

• Section (10)

• Platoon (50)• Company (250)• Battalion (500)• Division/army (4000)

• Geographic basis

Temple of Hatshepsut

Shaykh 'Abd Al-Qurnah

Royal War Imagery

“came forth to the [rear] in the palace the majesty of this august god, Amon, king of gods, his son before him. He embraced his beauty crowned with the royal helmet, in order to assign to him the circuit of the sun. The Nine Bows are beneath his feet.”- Coronation inscription of Horemheb

The Head of a Statue of Amenhotep III, Re-Carved for Ramesses II

Ramesses III smiting a Nubian – Medinet Habu

Infantry• Archers

– Composite bow (range 175 m, 75 mm penetration of metal)

– No armour

• Nakhtu-aa (shock troops)– Weapons: spears, maces, khopesh– Armour: stiffened cloth or bronze scales,

leather or bronze helmets– Shields: Round-topped wooden shields

• Tactics– Aggressive manoeuvre– Massed volleys to cover advance and

disrupt enemy– Chariots or Nakhtu-aa close– Shield-wall

Come, [let me tell] you the woes of the soldier, and how many are his superiors: the general, the troop-commander, the officer who leads, the standard-bearer, the lieutenant, the scribe, the commander of fifty, and the garrison-captain. - Papyus Lansing

Hittite style shield moulds from Per-Ramesses

Hittite charioteer in Kadesh scenes at Abu Simbel

very interesting bronze sword has been found in Ugarit Syria. This sword is inscribed with the cartouche of Merneptah and it displays a general typological affinity with central European bronzework. However, features such as the grooved blade and the cartouche imply Near Eastern production based on a foreign model.

Late Bronze Age swords found in Egypt which have not Egyptain origin and recall in general shape and design some of the ones handled by the Sea Peoples.

Achaean B Type sword

Chariots• Strong, lightweight construction (34 kg)• Reconstructions reach ~ 38 km/h• Trained horses could travel ~ 60 km/day• Manned by driver with shield and

warrior with bow; long scale armour• Versatile

– Scout– Raid– Patrol lines of seiges– Harass infantry then retreat– Ride down fleeing enemies

Ramesses II at Battle of Kadesh –Meha temple at Abu Simbel

Siege Warfare

• Scaling ladders (Darpur)• Sappers• Siege towers• Enclosing with walls

(Megiddo)• Infiltration (Megiddo)

Relief from the Temple of Ramesses III at Medinet Habu depicting severed right hands being counted and put into a heap. 

pits containing altogether 16 severed right hands at Tell el-Daba

Mercenaries

• Nubian tribesmen (Medjay)– Guarded KV– Hide shields– Simple bows or spears

• Sea People– Sherden tribe was bodyguard to

Ramesses II, then given land– Round shields, bronze corslets and

helmets– Sword fighting specialists

Sherden bodyguard of Ramses II – Sun Temple at Abu Simbel

Forts

• Built at strategic points on all frontiers• Ditches• Stone or mudbrick walls• Crenelated battlements• Interior towers

Foundation of the Fortress at Tell Haboa

Medinet Habu

Support

• Musicians• Medics– Request for bandages (pBN 197.V)– Manual for treating battle wounds (P. Edwin

Smith)• Priests • Embalmers• Scribes

P. Edwin Smith – Case 2

Title: Instructions concerning a gaping wound in his head, penetrating to the bone.

Examination: If you examine a man having a gaping wound in his head, penetrating to the bone, You should pal[pate his wound. If you find his skull uninjured, not having a perforation in it...

Diagnosis: You should say regarding him: “This is one having a gaping wound in his head. An ailment which I will treat.“

Treatment: You should bind fresh meat upon it the first day; thou should apply for him two strips of linen, and treat afterward with grease, honey, and lint every day until he recovers.

Gloss: As for: "Two strips of linen," it means two bands of linen which one applies upon the two lips of the gaping wound in order to cause that one join to the other.

P. Edwin Smith

• 1st written evidence of scientific reasoning (observation to conclusion)

• 1st description of brain, meninges and Cerebrospinal fluid

• 1st evidence of systematic triage (ailment to treat /not to treat)

• 1st use of splints and bandages• 1st to note effects on lower limb

from head wounds

1) knives; (2) drill; (3) saw; (4) forceps or pincers; (5) censer; (6) hooks; (7) bags tied with string; (8, 10) beaked vessel; (11) vase with burning incense; (12) Horus eyes; (13) scales; (14) pot with flowers of Upper and Lower Egypt; (15) pot on pedestal; (16) graduated cubit or papyrus scroll without side knot (or a case holding reed scalpels); (17) shears; (18) spoons.

Tomb of Horemheb at Memphis

Abu Simbel

Navy• Egyptian ships had no keel, few

ribs, planks pinned together• Sail/oar powered• Used to transport army and

supplies on Nile and along coast• Marines attack with bows,

javelins• Boarding parties of infantry• Use of grapples to overturn top-

heavy galleys

Enemies – ‘9 Bows’

Hypostyle Hall at Karnak

Glazed tiles from Medinet Habu

The Merneptah Stele

Merneptah year 5The kings are overthrown saying "Salem!"Not one holds up his head among the nine nations of the bow.Wasted is Tehenu,The Hittite Land is pacified,Plundered is the Canaan, with every evil,Carried off is Askalon,Seized upon is Gezer,Yeneam is made as a thing not existing.Israel is desolated, her seed is not,Palestine has become a [defenceless] widow for Egypt,All lands are united, they are pacified;Every one that is turbulent is bound by king Merneptah…