kingdoms established in the region by people of Hurrian origin – an ethnic group present in various kingdoms across northern Mesopotamia who spoke their own language.
At roughly the same time that King Ahmose I was ruling Egypt, Hattusilis I, king of the Hittites, launched an attack against the city of Alalakh in Yamkhad, causing devastation. He followed this with an assault on Urshu
– a city on the Euphrates – and then four years later attacked Yamkhad’s capital, Aleppo. Probably to much rejoicing in Yamkhad, Hattusilis died soon after, but his son, Mursilis I, continued the offensive. He returned to Aleppo and destroyed it, then set off down the Euphrates to loot Babylon, successfully ending the Amorite Dynasty in the process (most famous for King
Hammurabi); this enabled the Kassites, a people from north-west Iran, to take power as the new Kassite Babylonian dynasty.
Who knows what Mursilis might have done next if his life hadn’t been
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Mursilis was assassinated, leading to unrest across the Hittite Empire.
The Hittite grip over Yamkhad now loosened. With the Hittites fighting
amongst themselves, and Yamkhad in turmoil, a Hurrian group decided to
take advantage of the situation: they founded a new kingdom, best known today as the land of Mitanni, though the Egyptians would know the territory as Naharin, and the Hittites would call it Hanigalbat. Their capital was established at Washukanni, a city that hasn’t yet been firmly archaeologically identified. Quickly becoming the new major power in the northern Levant, and with the region’s northern city-states under their control, the Mitanni would eventually push the limits of their territory against the Hittites to the north-west, the Kassite Babylonians to the south-east, and eventually, once the Egyptians had expanded their own influence far enough, against their territory too.
The New Kingdom Army
With the establishment of a standing army following the expulsion of the Hyksos, the Egyptian military entered a new phase of its existence (although men could still be levied against their will if necessary). As well as the troops
– roughly divided into light infantry (armed with projectiles) and heavy infantry (handheld weaponry) – and charioteers (see the additional box text below), there were also numerous military scribes, administrators, and high-level generals. An army division consisted of ca. 5,000 men; within this, the troops were divided into squads of ten men, with five squads forming a platoon of fifty. Five platoons created a company of 250, and a host consisted of two companies, making 500 men. Each division was led by a great overseer of the division, who marched under the banner of a different state god, such as Amun or Ptah. With the increased presence of horses in Egypt, horse
riding scouts also became part of the army.
The Birth of an Empire: Crushing Kerma
Ahmose I dead, mummified, and buried, King Amenhotep I ascended the
throne as the second ruler of the 18th Dynasty. Despite the problems his father had faced with the Hyksos to the north-east, Amenhotep decided to focus his military attention southward. His goal was to strengthen Egyptian control of Nubia. Both Kamose and Ahmose had already made progress in
Nubia: by Amenhotep’s accession, the limit of Egyptian control was firmly at the Second Cataract – roughly at the spot where the Middle Kingdom
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kings had established their border. Ahmose Son of Ibana, a soldier that had earlier served in the wars of Ahmose, says that during his campaign south, Amenhotep I killed a Nubian bowman – presumably an enemy ruler – and
that the Nubian army were brought away in fetters, without any missing.
Amenhotep I is said to have seen Ahmose’s bravery while the soldier was fighting at the front of the army. Later, Ahmose brought two hands – cut from fallen enemies – to prove his valour. Amenhotep rewarded him with a promotion to warrior of the ruler, and he was allowed to keep two Nubian women that he’d captured. Another soldier, Ahmose Pennekhbet, says that under Amenhotep I, he also received rewards, including gold, bracelets, necklaces, an armlet, golden flies, gold lions, and two golden axes. He fought for Amenhotep I in Kush – in the region of Kerma – and also faced a little known Libyan group called the Imukehek. Unfortunately, little else can be said about the campaigns of Amenhotep I. After a reign of twenty-one years, the throne passed to a man unrelated to the Ahmosid bloodline, but who
nonetheless was regarded as a continuation of the 18th Dynasty line. This man was King Tuthmosis I.
Like Amenhotep I, Tuthmosis I initially focused his attention on Nubia.
Ahmose Son of Ibana reports that the king travelled south to a place called Khenthennefer, where he crushed a rebellion and repelled intruders from the desert. We’re also told that the king’s first arrow pierced the chest of a Nubian, and that the Egyptians slaughtered many Nubians and took away
some as prisoners. At Tombos – at the Third Cataract of the Nile – the
Egyptians carved a stele into the rock, recording in poetic and violent phrase-ology the success of this campaign. Kerma, the capital of the Kingdom of Kush, was only a short distance south, and it’s most probable that under Tuthmosis I this city was sacked and destroyed. Afterwards, the Egyptian army continued to the Nile’s Fourth Cataract, where Tuthmosis marked
his southern border. As a macabre footnote, Ahmose Son of Ibana says that during the army’s return journey to Egypt, the Nubian ‘bowman’ – surely the king of Kerma – was hung, head down, from the front of Tuthmosis’ boat.
With Kerma civilization crushed, Egypt was free to reorganize the region and incorporate it into its whole. Vassal rulers were appointed at Sai, Kerma, and Bugdumbush – three locations spread across the newly taken territory, and the king’s son of Kush – a man with responsibility for the entire region –
oversaw Egypt’s interests there. Nubia was firmly under Egyptian control, and with it came access to the region’s extensive natural resources, primarily gold, which would help fuel Egypt’s growing imperial machine. Taxation of the region followed.
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Tuthmosis Travels North
His southern territory now secure, Tuthmosis turned his attention north.
Again, our major sources for his activities are the accounts of the soldiers Ahmose Pennekhbet and Ahmose Son of Ibana. Taken together, these
relate that Tuthmosis and his army travelled north through the region of Retenu (roughly Syria-Palestine) and into the Mitanni controlled territory of Naharin, where vassals loyal to the Mitanni were gathering troops. A battle ensued, in which the Egyptians killed many enemies and took prison-
ers. Named on an artefact in Berlin, a charioteer called Karay served under Tuthmosis I and possibly accompanied this campaign, raising the likelihood that other charioteers came along too, even though the chariotry was not a well-established part of the Egyptian army at this time. After defeating the Mitanni vassals, Tuthmosis crossed the River Euphrates and erected a stele on its far side. This commemorated his achievement and marked the northern boundary of what the Egyptians now regarded as their territory. Finally, not too tired after all his campaigning, Tuthmosis turned around and went to hunt elephants in the region of Niy, about 50 km east of Ugarit. (Syrian elephants were hunted into extinction by around 100 BCE.)
This campaign marks a major turning point in Egypt’s relationship with
the Levant. Now, instead of sending trading missions and the occasional raiding force, a large Egyptian military contingent had marched through the Levant, seizing territory and demanding tribute from the
city-states they’d encountered. The Egyptians also confronted, and presumably angered, the vassals of a major foreign kingdom – a true regional power, rather than a tiny city-state. With this campaign, Tuthmosis I set the blueprint for the New Kingdom attitude towards Egypt’s eastern neighbours, creating expectations that would inspire and torment his royal successors: the River Euphrates was a goal to be reached, the extent of territorial control that a great king could achieve.
Charioteers: The Knights of Ancient Egypt
Although the Egyptians produced their own chariots from the early 18th
Dynasty, it was not until the reign of King Amenhotep III that the chariotry became a separate division of the army, with its own ranking system.
Egyptian-made chariots were lightweight, open-backed, and tended to
have either four or six spokes on their wheels. They were pulled by two horses yoked to the chassis by a long pole. Two men stood on board, one War and Trade with the Pharaohs.indd 78
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steering, and the other shooting arrows. To protect the horses, there was also a runner, who ran beside the chariot carrying a javelin. To keep themselves safe, charioteers wore scale armour, formed of bronze or leather scales attached to a linen or leather tunic. Bronze helmets, adorned with two tassels at the peak, protected their heads. In Egyptian sources, body armour is first mentioned in the Annals of King Tuthmosis III, and first depicted in the tomb of the courtier Kenamun. Bronze scales have also been found at the palace of King Amenhotep III at Malkata on the west bank of the Nile at Luxor.
Contrary to the imagery found in Egyptian scenes of royal warfare, chariots did not charge directly at the enemy – these were lightweight mobile platforms, not ancient tanks. Instead, they drove perpendicular to the enemy line, firing arrows from a safe distance. Nevertheless, charioteers were heavily armed: one text relates that standard chariot equipment included one or two bows, two to four quivers – with one on either side of the chariot chassis, providing access to around eighty arrows – a spear, with perhaps also a javelin, an axe, and shield. Such assortments can often be seen in battle depictions.
Being a charioteer conveyed a sense of social and political importance. To be a member of the chariot corps meant that you were an aristocratic warrior
– a type of person known in the Near East as a maryannu or ‘Young Hero.’ As well as the status conveyed, the chariot itself was treated with love and care: one poem about the royal chariot assigns gods to each part of its body. Even more fun, Papyrus Anastasi I provides an account of a charioteer visiting a repair shop in Jaffa, much like a car owner today goes to get his car tuned up at the garage. It says, ‘They take care of your chariot so that it is no longer loose. Your pole is freshly trimmed and its attachments are fitted on. They put bindings on your collar piece … and they fix up your yoke. They apply your ensign, engraved with a chisel, and they put a handle on your whip and attach a lash to it. You sally forth quickly to fight at the pass and accomplish glorious deeds.’1
War, Trade, and Diplomacy under Hatshepsut
Reigning only briefly, Tuthmosis II only had time to send a single campaign into Nubia before his death, leaving the Levant untouched (unless fragmentary scenes from his mortuary temple, showing Asiatics firing arrows, represent a true event). This Nubian campaign occurred during his first War and Trade with the Pharaohs.indd 79
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year on the throne, and is recorded near Aswan. Having been informed of a rebellion in Nubia, Tuthmosis made an oath that none of the Nubian males among the rebels would live. He duly sent out a large army to deal with the uprising, led by his own bau – a mystical manifestation of his anger at the loss of order. So, despite Tuthmosis not accompanying his army into Nubia himself, his scribes still presented the campaign as a personal royal victory.
All the Nubian males were killed, just as the king had pledged, except for the son of a great one of Kush (along with his dependents), who was brought back to Egypt and dragged before the king.
Tuthmosis II and his Great Royal Wife Hatshepsut had no male offspring, so the royal successor, also called Tuthmosis, was born of a minor wife. With Tuthmosis III only a child at the time of his father’s death, Hatshepsut ruled as queen regent. But slowly, over a number of years, she assumed the titles and regalia of a pharaoh herself. Tuthmosis didn’t suffer during this time, instead he worked as a priest at the Temple of Amun at Karnak and later perhaps even led the army during a campaign in Gaza. Under Hatshepsut,
rebellions continued to erupt in Nubia, and various courtiers describe battles fought to restore control. One such man was an official named Tiy, who says that under Hatshepsut, Nubians were overthrown, and the chiefs brought
back to Egypt as prisoners. An official named Djehuty refers to booty being taken on the battlefield in Kush.
But it wasn’t these successful military ventures that Hatshepsut chose
to promote on the walls of her great mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri, on the west bank of Thebes. Rather, an entire section of the temple’s decoration was dedicated to, and dominated by, an act of trade and diplomacy: her mission to Punt. This event, in which Egypt reopened trade with the land of Punt for the first time since the end of the Middle Kingdom, occurred in the ninth year of Hatshepsut’s reign. Five ships, loaded with gifts, journeyed south along the Red Sea, led by a chancellor named Nehesy and escorted by soldiers carrying shields and spears. Upon arrival, small ships helped the Egyptians offload their gifts and trade goods from the fleet to the shore.
These were piled high for the Great One of Punt Parahu, who greeted the Egyptians with upraised arms – the customary Egyptian way of praising a person. He was quite surprised by their sudden appearance: ‘How have you reached here, to this foreign land unknown to people?’ He said. ‘Have you descended through the ways of the sky? Have you travelled upon water and land? God’s Land is happy because you have stepped on it as Re.’2
Soon after, the Egyptians erected a tent – a place for them to meet with Parahu and his wife. Puntite goods, including gold rings and ebony, were War and Trade with the Pharaohs.indd 80
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heaped outside, while the Puntites and Egyptians shared a meal together.
On the menu, so the Egyptians tell us, was bread, beer, wine, meat, fruits, and all the good things of Egypt. Later, both Egyptians and Puntites carried incense trees in baskets (one Puntite apparently complained about his load being too heavy) to the waiting ships, as well as other goods, including ebony, panther skins, and animals, such as monkeys. Puntite families, including children, also went along. Later, back in Egypt, the goods were unloaded and the great ones of Punt prostrated themselves before Hatshepsut (who was awarded her own panther). The mission had successfully brought back thirty-one myrrh trees, a portion of which Hatshepsut offered to the god Amun.
Hatshepsut’s Punt scenes are complemented by images in the tomb of
the High Priest of Amun Hapuseneb at Thebes, which show a man (presum-
ably Hapuseneb himself) leaning on his staff, while watching others chop down Puntite trees with axes. Hapuseneb had an interest in the supply of the incense that came from these trees, as it was used on a daily basis in the rituals performed before Amun and the other gods of Karnak Temple.
Life on Campaign
Due to the increased prominence of the military in New Kingdom Egypt,
we start to find more scenes of army life appearing in tombs. One scene, for example, in the tomb of Userhat at Thebes, shows barbers cutting the hair of military recruits and rations being distributed. The tomb of Tjanuni, also at Thebes, shows cattle being brought to camp as food, as well as soldiers on the march.
One satirical papyrus – Papyrus Anastasi I – presents the life of a soldier in miserable terms (al
though we must bear in mind that it was composed
to convince scribes that they’d chosen the best profession). This describes infantrymen as confined to their barracks and often beaten ‘like a piece of papyrus.’ Then, when on the march, they are forced to carry bread and water on their shoulders ‘like a donkey’s burden.’ The soldier, the text goes on to say, has to drink disgusting water during the journey and feels weak by the time he reaches his enemy on the battlefield. And if he returns home, he’s carried back as if paralyzed, with his clothes stolen and his servant having run away.
The arrangement of an Egyptian military camp can be seen in depictions
of the Battle of Qadesh under King Ramesses II of the 19th Dynasty, and in the tomb of Horemheb at Saqqara. At the centre of the camp, these show War and Trade with the Pharaohs.indd 81
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the royal tent, one half low and rectangular, the other taller with a pyramidal peak – this pointed peak was created by a column within, holding aloft the fabric. To make it easier to transport the king’s furniture, each item was foldable – such items can be seen in depictions, and a foldable bed was found in the tomb of King Tutankhamun of the 18th Dynasty. Guards’ tents or those of generals were located nearby. As no tents for soldiers are shown in depictions, it’s probable that they slept on the ground in the open air. Horses and chariots were lined up in rows, and the charioteers placed their helmets on the floor in front of them. Charioteers could also sleep in their chariots.
Shields driven into the earth marked the camp’s perimeter.
The Battle of Megiddo and Its Aftermath
War & Trade With the Pharaohs Page 13
