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ANCIENT WARFARE
The oldest remaining documentation of military campaigns come from the Middle East where the Egyptians, Assyrians, Hittites, and Persians were the main combatants. Read about the rise of standing armies and how battles were fought 4000 years ago.
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PART I: Ancient Egyptian Military The Army
Until the takeover of Lower Egypt by the Hyksos, most conflicts the Egyptians had fought had been civil wars, where mainly armies of conscripted peasants and artisans led by noblemen opposed each other, or relatively short campaigns south into Nubia extending the southern borders of the realm, or east and west into the desert regions. From the Old Kingdom on foreigners were incorporated into the army. The Egyptians possibly even signed contracts with foreign potentates to insure the supply of mercenaries. Weni, who lived during the 6th Dynasty wrote" "When his majesty took action against the Asiatic sand-dwellers, his majesty made an army of many tens of thousands from all of Upper Egypt: ...; from Lower Egypt: ...; and from Irtjet-Nubians, Medja-Nubians, Yam-Nubians, Wawat-Nubians, Kaau-Nubians; and from Tjemeh-land." Lichtheim I, The Autobiography of Weni, p. 19 Nubian Medjay entered Egypt during the turmoils of the First Intermediate Period, formed mercenary archer units and served in the armed constabulary. They are known to have fought under Kamose against the Hyksos.
The Changing Army of the New Kingdom
The equipment was basic at the beginning of Egyptian history: something to throw at the enemy or hit him with and a heavy shield to hide behind, and the need to improve the weaponry remained small for a long time. After the Hyksos had taken control of the Delta, the Theban pharaohs of the 17th and 18th dynasties adopted new weapons and strategies, a prerequisite for empire building in the Middle East, a region where the constant development of new and better weapons was necessary for survival. Their presence also caused changes in the role of the military in Egyptian society. As the length of the campaigns grew, the use of conscripts became impractical, and the army turned professional, with the nobility in the role of officers and charioteers, and the king fighting among them, generally in closed ranks. Many specialized troops evolved, such as sappers with heavy shields using battering rams and scaling ladders, trench digging pioneers and, after the reconquest of Nubia, Kushite shock troops and Nubian archers. This new army did not have all the centuries old traditions other social institutions had. It was therefore relatively easy for talented individuals to rise through the ranks. They could move into other segments of society and maintain exalted positions thanks to the gifts of land and slaves they received from the pharaohs, from Ahmose I onwards. Appreciation for this new nobility, its courage and achievements, was often expressed in inscriptions  A number of army commanders reached kingship, among them Horembeb and Ramses I (XIX Dynasty) and many kings surrounded themselves with former soldiers whose loyalty and self-sacrifice they had experienced. Didu, a professional soldier, was appointed to the post of responsible for the deserts east of Thebes, then became the king's envoy to foreign countries, later standard bearer of the king's guard, captain of the ship Meri-amen and finally commander of the police force. After a long and blameless service Neb-amen, another standard bearer, was appointed chief of police of western Thebes.
Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten), whose bodyguard consisted mostly of foreigners -Syrians, Libyans and Nubians - used the army to break the power of the priesthood and the bureaucrats. But after his death the military establishment made peace with the civil service and the clergy. Subsequent pharaohs had to take into account the interest of all three sectors. With the expanding empire and the need to find capable soldiers, the Egyptians began to induct prisoners of war into their army, such as Sherden captured during the incursions of the Sea Peoples. Their loyalty to the throne was such, that Sherden only were chosen for the bodyguard of Ramses II. It was probably during the reign of Ramses II that the first regular mounted cavalry - as opposed to horse-drawn chariots - was introduced in any army, but it was only the Persians in the 6th century BCE who realized its full potential. The XIX and XX Dynasties saw some of the most spectacular exploits of Egyptian power but also its decline, with Egypt barely able to defend its frontiers and relying heavily on mercenaries. By the middle of the 12th century sixty percent of the soldiers were non-Egyptians. Sheshonq I (XXII Dynasty) recreated the royal army after years of neglect: "Sesonchosis created an elite of the most robust men... he raised 600,000 footsoldiers, 24,000 knights, 27,000 war chariots. He shared government with the companions of his youth, all experienced at fighting, full of bravery, numbering 1700 and more. Sesonchosis gave them the best land so they could devote themselves entirely to war, being economically secure." Diodorus (I,54)
The Army Organisation
 Ancient armies were typically small compared to modern mass armies. The Egyptian army of the New Kingdom was composed of three divisions under Seti I on his Canaan Campaign, named Suteh (Set) - "the heroic archers", Amen - "the mighty archers" and Re - "the many-armed", and of four under Ramses II on his Kadesh Campaign, the forth being named Ptah. A division numbered several thousand men, typically 4000 infantry and 1000 chariotry, organised into ten battalions of about 500 soldiers, which were subdivided into companies 250 strong, platoons of fifty men and ten men squads. The overall command lay in the hands of the pharaoh himself or one of his close relatives, generally a son. Similar to the administration of the whole kingdom, the army was divided into a northern and a southern corps overseen by Chief Deputies. The line of command included ranks corresponding to the modern generals, battalion commanders, standard bearers and adjutants at the company level, lieutenants leading the platoons, and non-commissioned officers in charge of squads. The chariotry was led by marshals (jmj-rA ssmwt - Ami-Re-sesemut). It was divided into brigades, each of which was comprised of two or more squadrons. Five companies of ten chariots each made up a squadron. Egyptian chariots were manned by two soldiers, a driver and an archer. Parallel to the combat line of command there was a scribal administration organised on hierarchical lines and distinct from the combat officers.
Standards of Behaviour After Victory
While the Egyptians were perhaps less cruel than the Assyrians who erased cities and destroyed whole peoples in order to frighten others into submission, they still let the conquered know who was master, enslaving survivors both civilian and military and destroying or plundering their means of livelihood. "This army returned in peace, [after] it had torn down its forts.
This army returned in peace, [after] it had cut down its figs and its vines.
this army returned in peace, [after] it threw fire amongst all its [troops]
this army returned in peace, [after] it killed its troops there in many ten thousands.
this army returned in peace, [after] it brought from its troops there a great many prisoners of war.
His majesty praised me for it more than anything
His majesty sent me to lead this army five times
to subdue the land of the Sand Dwellers, every time they rebelled, with these troops.
I acted so that his majesty praised me for it." From the autobiography of Weni the Elder
translated by J.Carrington After the conquest of Megiddo by Thutmose the surviving princes surrendered to the pharaoh, and after accepting the Egyptian king as their overlord, they were allowed to continue ruling their cities.
Behold, the chiefs of this country came to render their portions, to do obeisance to the fame of his majesty, to crave breath for their nostrils, because of the greatness of his power, because of the might of the fame of his majesty the country came to his fame, bearing their gifts, consisting of silver, gold, lapis lazuli, malachite; bringing clean grain, wine, large cattle, and small cattle for the army of his majesty. Each of the Kode among them bore the tribute southward. Behold, his majesty appointed the chiefs anew. James Henry Breasted, Ancient Records of Egypt: Historical Documents.
(Chicago: 1906), Part II § 434.
Booty was important as a source of remuneration of one's followers and was sometimes the reason for not achieving military success. During the battle of Kadesh the Hittite charioteers seem to have abandoned the pursuit of Ramses and the remnants of his forces in order to plunder the Egyptian camp, which gave the pharaoh time to reorganize his forces and drive the Hittites back towards Kadesh. Thutmose III exercised better control over his troops at Megiddo. Plundering started after the victory over the enemy chariotry was complete, though it prevented, according to the chronicler, the taking of the town by assault. The booty belonged to the king who distributed it to those he deemed deserving. Some conquered territories like Nubia and the Sinai were annexed, administered by Egyptian officials and controlled with the help of the army, while in others, like Canaan, local kings subservient to the pharaohs ruled with armies of their own.
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The Navy
 Egyptian squadrons composed of speedy keftiu, kebentiu from Byblos and Egyptian transports patrolled the eastern Mediterranean. Unlike the later Greeks who developed special naval techniques (used also by Late Period Egypt), maritime battles by New Kingdom Egyptians and their opponents, the Sea Peoples, were fought by seaborne land troops. The Egyptian deployment of archers and the fact, that Egyptian ships could both be sailed and rowed, gave them a decisive advantage, despite the inferiority of the vessels themselves, which were at times quite sizable carrying up to two hundred and fifty soldiers. But often the navy was little more than a means for getting land troops quickly to the Asiatic coast. Thutmose III employed this technique with great success. Egypt lost its role of maritime superpower after the end of the New Kingdom. Phoenicians and Greeks became the main players in the Mediterranean. Continental powers like the Persians used these sea-faring nations to impose their control on the seas. Egypt renewed its navy under Necho II, investing heavily in the development of biremes and was possibly among the inventors of the more powerful triremes in its attempt to fight off the Persians. It was unsuccessful and thereafter its fleet was at the behest of the foreign power controlling the country. Dozens of Egyptian ships were incorporated into the Persian fleet fighting the Greeks. The last of the Ptolemies, Queen Cleopatra VII joined forces with the Roman Marc Antony, in an attempt to preserve Egypt's independence. But her fleet was defeated at Actium, which spelled out the end of pharaonic Egypt.
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The Rewards of Military Life
The scribes' view of the soldier's life
Scribes seem not to have had too much respect for the profession of the soldier, nor any other profession for that matter. They often warned their students against a career in the army describing it in the least favourable terms 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. They go in and out in the halls of the palace, saying: "Get laborers!" He is awakened at any hour. One is after him as [after] a donkey. He toils until the Aten sets in his darkness of night. He is hungry, his belly hurts; he is dead while yet alive. When he receives the grain-ration, having been released from duty, it is not good for grinding.
He is called up for Syria. He may not rest. There are no clothes, no sandals. The weapons of war are assembled at the fortress of Sile. His march is uphill through mountains. He drinks water every third day; it is smelly and tastes of salt. His body is ravaged by illness. The enemy comes, surrounds him with missiles, and life recedes from him. He is told: "Quick, forward, valiant soldier! Win for yourself a good name!" He does not know what he is about. His body is weak, his legs fail him.
When victory is won, the captives are handed over to his majesty, to be taken to Egypt. The foreign woman faints on the march; she hangs herself [on] the soldier's neck. His knapsack drops, another grabs it while he is burdened with the woman. His wife and children are in their village; he dies and does not reach it. If he comes out alive, he is worn out from marching.
Be he at large, be he detained, the soldier suffers. If he leaps and joins the deserters, all his people are imprisoned. He dies on the edge of the desert, and there is none to perpetuate his name. He suffers in death as in life. A big sack is brought for him; he does not know his resting place. From the Instructions of the Scribe Wenemdiamun
Miriam Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1976), Vol. I
Booty and Glory
 The soldiers saw it a bit differently. Ahmose, son of Abana, retired to his own estate satisfied that:
"Never will the name and memory of the hero and his deeds be erased on this earth." He saw his profession as well remunerated. After a battle was won the booty was distributed. Brave men, whose names were proclaimed by the royal herald, received grants of land and after the possessions of the king's enemies had been confiscated, they were given slaves and chattels. Ahmose himself got nineteen slaves and slave-girls, and more than once was the recipient of praise and glory in the form of necklaces and trophies with hieroglyphic inscriptions: "Given by the grace of King Menkhepere to the noble prince, the Holy Father, beloved of the God, who fills the heart of the king wherever he is, in all the foreign lands and islands of the Great Green, who fills the treasury with sapphires, silver and gold, over the foreign lands, over the army, the glory of the God is on him."  Didu, a standard bearer, was awarded a necklace with golden bees (or flies) and a golden lion. His cousin, Neb-kemi who had the same rank, received a golden bracelet. The granting of sinecures, such as Ahmose of Nekhabit received, was another way of rewarding loyal servants. Another reward, given to Neb-amen, was the bestowing of the honorific Amkhu, which entitled its bearer to be buried at the pharaoh's expense.
Queen Ahhotep, mother of Ahmose I, received three golden flies for her role in the struggle against the Hyksos.
Quasi Feudal Privileges
In the poem of Pentaur Ramses II says:
"I have made you nemhu (i.e. not subject to compulsory labour). I have made you grow rich with daily sustenance; I have freed you from taxes; I have given the estate of the father to his son."
These privileges were extended by Merneptah and Ramses III to the Libyans, the Meshwesh, the Sherden and other immigrant peoples settled in the Delta. Not always was the king successful in securing the undivided loyalty and support from his well treated troops. Ramses II scolded them for having forsaken him in the face of the enemy:
"Indolent, are you, indolent, my charioteers. I cannot be proud of you. Not one is among you whom I have not shown my benevolence in my land. Am I not exalted, lord of all? Were you not poor and destitute? I have elevated you every day for the sake of my Ka. I gave the father's inheritance to his son. I have done away with evil in this land. I have reduced your taxes. I returned to you what had been taken from you in the past. Whoever had a wish, I fulfilled it. Ther is no ruler who has done as much for his soldiers as has my Majesty. I let you live in your cities and you did not have to serve, my charioteers. I let you take the roads leading to your cities, saying to myself: I will always find them, on the day of the battle and for the parade."
The Ordinary Soldier's Lot
While there is much evidence of the favours bestowed upon elite troops and officers, assessing the fate of the ordinary soldier, who didn't leave tombs decorated with scenes from his life, is more difficult. The depictions showing Amenemheb and Horemheb distributing not just bread and vegetables but also wine, cakes and meat to their soldiers may have been an attempt to improve these officers' chances in the other world.
The Standing of the Military
According to Diodorus (I, 73,94), one third of the land belonged to the king, another third to the priests and the rest to the soldiers.
" ...the warriors are called Calasirians and Hermotybians, and they are of the following districts,--for all Egypt is divided into districts. The districts of the Hermotybians are those of Busiris, Sais, Chemmis, Papremis, the island called Prosopitis, and the half of Natho,--of these districts are the Hermotybians, who reached when most numerous the number of sixteen myriads. Of these not one has been learnt anything of handicraft, but they are given up to war entirely. Again the districts of the Calasirians are those of Thebes, Bubastis, Aphthis, Tanis, Mendes, Sebennytos, Athribis, Pharbaithos, Thmuis, Onuphis, Anytis, Myecphoris,--this last is on an island opposite to the city of Bubastis. These are the districts of the Calasirians; and they reached, when most numerous, to the number of five-and-twenty myriads of men; nor is it lawful for these, any more than for the others, to practise any craft; but they practise that which has to do with war only, handing down the tradition from father to son." Herodotus, Histories II,164f
Project Gutenberg
"The warriors were the only Egyptians, except the priests, who had special privileges: for each of them an untaxed plot of twelve acres was set apart. This acre is a square of a hundred Egyptian cubits each way, the Egyptian cubit being equal to the Samian. These lands were set apart for all; it was never the same men who cultivated them, but each in turn. A thousand Calasirians and as many Hermotybians were the king's annual bodyguard. These men, besides their lands, each received a daily provision of five minae's weight of roast grain, two minae of beef, and four cups of wine. These were the gifts received by each bodyguard." Herodotus, Histories II,168
Project Gutenberg
The Mercenaries
The Greeks were not used to the Egyptian way of remuneration in natura, which had been accepted by the Nubians and Libyans during earlier, moneyless times. They demanded payment in specie and received money originating in Persia, Greece or the Levant. From 360 BCE onwards the Egyptians minted coins themselves in order to pay their Greek mercenaries .
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Persian Gold stater used in Egypt after Persian Conquest |
Athenian Tetradachm similar to the coins minted in Egypt |
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Next Tuesday, continuation of PART I: Ancient Egyptian Military
Weapons
Chariots
Warships
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Hi Darkwing, good to see you this fine day.
