Egyptian war chariot.
Only the founder of the 12th (c. 2300) dynasty, Amenemhat I, having defeated his rivals at Titaui (to the south of Memphis) and strengthened the throne for himself, paid attention to external affairs. enterprises: the gold mine has taken over. mines of Nubia (see map to Art. Egypt), thrown into turmoil. time, and undertook a number of successes. trips to the neighbor. land. His successor, Usurtusen I Kheperkari, undertook successes. ex-tion to the land of Kush (now Sudan) and conquered the dark-skinned tribes of Hasa, Sheat, Shemik, etc., expanding the borders of the country to Wadi Halfa, i.e. almost to the 2nd Nile. waterfall His son, Amenemhat II Nubkauri, built several. tools to protect Nubia from Negro raids. tribes One of his successors, Usurtusen III Hakauri, undertook the conquest of the country of Kush and conquered all of Nubia. The inscription says that the king went deep into the country between the Nile and Krasn. by sea, captured many people, stole cattle and burned grain in the fields. South The city of the monarchy of the pharaohs then extended to the villages of Semnekh and Kummeh, founded by Usurtusen, which served Egypt as a bulwark against invasions from the south. Under Pharaoh Timeos (16th dynasty, ca. 2000), Egypt was attacked by the Canaanites, Semites and Arabians. nomads, who conquered the country and dominated it for approx. 4 centuries. The Egyptians repeatedly tried to lose weight. yoke, but to no avail. The liberation of the country went more successfully when one of the rulers of the south became the head of the uprising. okr-v, Theban. book Ra-Sakenen I Tiaua, who founded the 17th dynasty; Smaller Egyptians took his side. princes and rulers. Conquerors b. pushed to the east. part of the Delta to Avaris, where they held out for a long time. Ra-Sakenen's successors had to endure a difficult battle. and persistent the fight against the nomads, and all their efforts were frustrated by impassability. strongholds of Avaris. Only Pharaoh Ahmose managed to take possession of Avaris, after which the remnants of the prot-ka retired to Syria, where once again b. defeated at Sharukhan, and the village itself was taken by storm.
Battle of Cadet: arrival of the Fta Legion. (From an ancient Egyptian bas-relief.).
The struggle for independence was important. consequences: in such a non-warlike nation as the Egyptian one, warriors awakened. fervor, which soon led to a series of campaigns in Syria. 3) New Theban period (1800-1095). After the expulsion of the nomads, Ahmose provided the east with Ukrainians. the city of Egypt, having built the village of Zara (Tsar) to block the paths of the Asians. hordes into the Nile Valley. Amengotep I Serkara, the son and successor of Ahmose, completed the conquest of Ethiopia, and then, moving to the village, defeated the Libyan. Amu-Kekak tribe (west of the Delta). His son, Thutmes I Aakheperkari, the first of the pharaohs of the 18th dynasty, set out on a foreign path. conquests He again conquered the fallen Nubia, defeated the Ethiopians and, strengthening the monarchy in the south. (through the construction of Ukrainian and observation posts), moved to Asia. The first blows hit Syria, b. devastated; then the pharaoh went to Naharana and at Karkemish (near present-day Aleppo) crossed the Euphrates, erected monuments to himself on the banks of the river, after which with numerous. returned to Egypt captives, horses and chariots. During the campaign of Thutmes I, the Egyptians first became acquainted with the Syrian-Asian. culture, borrowed from Asia the idea of organizing battles. chariots, introduced horses into their country (during this kingdom the 1st horse factory was established in the Delta) and organized troops in Asia. sample. Thutmes I's son and successor, Thutmes II, repelled the Arabs who launched a campaign against the Delta. Thutmes III Menchopri (c. 1625 BC) expanded the borders of Egypt. kingdom and handed it over to his successors as powerful and extensive as it had never been. Coming out from the village of Zara, Egypt. the army in June approached the city of Mageddo, where b. collected means. Syrian forces. At dawn the army lined up for battle. order: right flank b. provided r. Kina, and the left reached the north-west. outside Mageddo. The pharaoh himself commanded the battles. chariots that formed the center of the battles. order. Thutmes's plan was to decide. attack on rights flank to push the Syrians away from the retreat route and press them to the river, for which the front of the battles. order b. facing north-east The details of the battle have not been preserved, it is only known that he b. short-lived, and the Syrians fled. Having subjugated Syria and the south to his power. Phenicia, Thutmes moved to Naharana, ravaged the cities of Tunep and Karkemish, and then approached the walls of the fortification. Arad and, not having time to take the city, devastated the region. Next The Egyptians again appeared in Syria and forced the cities of Kadesh, Arad and others to surrender. Sir. leaders b. forced to make peace, give their sons as hostages and take over the supply of provisions for Egypt. troops, in case of movement of the latter along the sir. territories. Then Thutmes invaded Naharana and defeated the Hittite tribe, who at that time occupied part of the north. Syria. Capture of the mountains Kadesh on the Orontes was the merit of one of Egypt. military commander, Amenemhiba, who, together with several. brave men made a hole in the fortress. wall, after which the city b. taken by storm. Thutmes was succeeded by his son, Amengotep II Aakhepruri. Naharana and sev. Syria, upon hearing the news of the death of the formidable pharaoh, was indignant and made an attempt to overthrow Egypt. yoke. The mutiny lasted approx. 3 l. and b. depressed cool measures. At the same time, the military commander Amenemhib suppressed the nomadic uprising. tribes to the from Nile. Amengotep II's son, Thutmes IV Menkhepruri, made great fortunes. ex-tions to Syria, Ethiopia and the land of Kush, and the grandson of Amengotep II, Amengotep III Manebri, undertook success. expedition to the land of Kush and Ethiopia. The ancestor of the 19th dynasty, Ramses I Menpehutiri, first directed his weapons against the Canaanite tribe of Heta (Hittites), who lived along the lower river. Oronta. This is the warriors. a tribe that had great military organization, was dangerous for Egypt. dominance in front Asia and being the head of the union is Asian. cities, fought with the pharaohs fiercely. war. Ramses attacked him in the Orontes Valley, but then concluded a defense with them. union. The son of Ramses I, Seti I Minefta (c. 1400 BC), made a campaign into the lands of the Bedouins Shasu and took the town of Kanan by storm. Invading Khara (Phenicia), the pharaoh defeated the Bedouins. After a few time it was the turn of the south. Phenicia, which provided support to Shas in the war with Egypt; in the battle under the walls of Jamnia, the Canaanites b. defeated, and the country submitted to the Network. Hence Egypt. The army moved towards Kadesh and the unexpected. she took possession of the land by attack, seizing into her hands the key to the Orontes Valley; Seti moved towards the village. against Heth and defeated the Hittite army. Having concluded an agreement with King Heta Motur, taking the ogre. booty and many captives, Seti returned to Egypt. His son and successor, Ramses II Miamun (c. 1330 BC), hastened to block the road to Egypt. Tirsena tribe, which landed in Africa. shore and entered into an alliance with the Libyans in order to common. forces to raid the banks of the Nile. Ramses defeated the allied army and forced them into haste. retreat. Meanwhile, a new thunderstorm was approaching Egypt. King of the Hittites Motur b. killed, and the new one (his brother Hitisar) set out to expel the Egyptians from Syria. Thanks to my diplomat. art, he managed to win over to his side Naharana, Arad, sev. Phenicia, Aleppo (Aleppo), Kadesh and other cities. News of the uprising forced the pharaoh to move against the coalition. armies to Migdol, Gaza and further through Mageddo to Kadesh. Spies sent by Khitisar assured the king that the heads. Allied forces are concentrated in Aleppo. Convinced that the advance was still far away, Ramses, leaving Kadesh, moved the army to the village. Meanwhile, the Allied army, concentrating in the gorges located to the north-east. from Kadesh, was preparing to attack the Egyptians on the flank. march. The forces were not significant: only battles. The allies had over 2½ tons of chariots (3 hours each). Subsequently, Khitisar modified his original. plan and decided, after waiting for the removal of Pharaoh’s troops from Kadesh, to bypass the city from the west. sides, go to the rear and cut off the Egyptians' retreat. However, Ramses, having received information that the allied forces were concentrated beyond Kadesh, ordered all troops to hurry to the south. Meanwhile, Hitisar gave a signal, and his chariots rushed to Ramses' arron, who delayed the advance until the leaders approached. forces that forced Hitisar to retreat to Kadesh. Ramses' troops bivouacked on the battlefield and lined up for battle at dawn. order, front to the north-east; The 1st and 3rd lines consisted of chariots, the 2nd - infantry. For his part, Hitisar was actively preparing for battle: he pulled together all the troops and positioned them in front of Kadesh, in which he left part of the infantry in order, in case of defeat, to delay the pursuit of the Egyptians and give the army the opportunity to take refuge in the fortress . Right Hitisar's flank rested on the river. Orontes and b. secured, left, on the contrary, b. it is open why Ramses decided to lead the chapters. attack on this flank. At dawn the battle began. After the shootout, which served to start the battle, Egypt. the chariots rushed towards the battles. the chariots of Higisar, showering them with clouds of arrows, overturning the ranks of the enemy and creating chaos among them. Having broken through the 1st line and driving the broken chariots in front of them, the Egyptians were already preparing to launch an offensive with the entire front, when suddenly Hitisar, reinforcing his retreating chariots with spare ones and part of the heavy ones. infantry, attacked the center of Egypt. fights order, knocked it over and crashed into the disordered ranks of the enemy. But at that moment the lion had already walked around Pharaoh. flank of the Allied army and energetically launched an attack on it. The allies wavered and sought refuge in flight. Then Ramses hastened to stand in the way of the enemy’s retreat in order to prevent him from getting killed, but at this time, according to the order given in advance, 8 thousand. Mr. Kadesh made a sortie and, unexpectedly attacking the triumphant victors, gave the opportunity to the remnants of the defeated army to take refuge in the fortress. The pharaoh agreed to the peace proposed by Hitisar. However, the latter soon violated it, and the war resumed. Hitisar, taught by experience, avoided confrontations in the open. field, and military actions were limited to small ones. skirmishes, demonstrations, sieges of cities and towns, and the successes of the Egyptians often gave way to very sensitive ones. failures. Ramses now rarely appeared before the troops, leaving the conduct of operations to his regiments, who were unable to break the courage and tenacity of the Hittites. Finally, in the 21st year of his reign, the pharaoh saw himself forced to make peace with them. His son and successor, Minefta I Binri-Miamun (c. 1320 BC), soon after his accession to the throne d.b. take up arms: the Tyrsenes, Shardans, Lycians and certain other peoples of Asia, having learned about the death of Ramses, decided to invade Egypt. They landed on the shores of Libya with the intention of conquering the Delta and establishing colonies there. The Libyan king Marawi united with them, and the allies moved towards the Nile Valley.
Battle of Cadet: Ramses II on his war chariot. (From an ancient Egyptian bas-relief.).
The news of their approach brought terror to the country, which was completely unprepared for war: the army b. reduced, launched. The Christians were not able to resist. But the son of the great Ramses discovered a notice. energy and control: making sure that the blow is not directed from the right. to the Delta, the Ministry of Oil decided to deploy troops in two groups: chapters. strength b. concentrated on the position at Peiru, but remained. part of it is at the Canopic branch of the Nile, brought into defense. state. Holding the offensive cont. forces from the front, the pharaoh delayed the attack until he received news that the detachment he had sent across the desert had not penetrated the rear. Then he ordered an immediate attack on the allies, whose columns were meanwhile approaching Peir, with the intention of dislodging the Egyptians from their position covering the road to Memphis. Got stubborn. and will continue. battle, in which the Egyptians defeated the Libyans and their allies. Track. The pharaoh, Ramses III Hacon (c. 1200 BC), 2nd king of the 20th dynasty, fought happily with the Libyans. Following this were the Tyrsenians, Jackalashians, Teucrians, Lycians, Philistines, and so on. The small peoples of M. Asia discovered their intention to invade Egypt. The fight against such a threat was more serious than the war with the Libyans and required the exertion of all the forces of the state. Delta b. placed in defense. condition, many Ukrainian buildings have been erected, and the fields. the army took a position at Migdol, reinforced from the right. flank line Ukrainian, and from the left. - the sea, which was dominated by Egypt. flotilla. This is where the decision happened. battle. After persistent battle cont. fleet b. sunk by the Egyptians, and dry. the army fled. Soon Libyan. King Kapoor, in alliance with certain neighbors. tribes, made an attempt to take control of the Delta. But energetic. The pharaoh, vigilantly watching all his actions, hurried to the shore of the Canopic branch (now Maddiyeh), defeated Kapur and threw him into the desert. Following this, the Pharaoh's troops, having crossed the city, brought the rebel sires into obedience. provinces and, penetrating the island of Cyprus, occupied by the Phoenicians, took the giant. prey. 4) Sais period(1095-345). Shashank I Miamun, pharaoh of the 20th dynasty, wanting to expand the borders of Egypt to the north. For example, he moved troops into Judea and plundered Jerusalem. He reached Naharana, but his campaign in Palestine was not successful. dominion in Judea, which ceased after his death. Under the ancestor of the 24th dynasty, Pharaoh Tafnakht, Egypt entered into a fight with Ethiopia, the king of which was Pianhi-Miamun (c. 1000 BC) hoped to unite the Nile Valley under the leadership. the rule of Ethiopia. The beginning of the war was marked by pestilence. the victory of the Ethiopians over the fleet of Tafnakht, sailing up the Nile to Thebes, after which Pianhi besieged the mountains. Khmuny (now Ashmunen), the ruler of K-rago, vassal of Tafnakht, Namrud, taking advantage of the fact that the Ethiopians hesitated too long in the provinces they occupied, managed to prepare for defense. The blockade of Khmuna continued without success until Pianhi ordered it to be replaced by a proper siege. Seeing the impossibility of holding out longer and receiving no help, Namrud surrendered the city to the Ethiopians, who then moved along the road to Memphis. Last b. strongly fortified, it meant. g-zones and b. provided with food. Meanwhile, strong the Ethiopian fleet penetrated the harbor, capturing the Sais ships stationed there, and the dry land. the troops moved to attack. After 2 days persistent battles on the streets of Memphis, the city surrendered, and with its fall most of the region. rulers and princes submitted to the authority of Piankha, who brought the country of the pharaohs into vassalage. depending on Ethiopia. One of the kings of the latter, dey. and energetic Shabak, proclaiming himself pharaoh, entered into the fight against Assyria, but b. defeated under Raphia, and under his successors Egypt fell under the rule of the Assyrians (see. Assyrian wars). Pharaoh of the 26th dynasty, Psametikh I (652-612 BC), freed from vassals. Dependent on Assyria, he took possession of the Nubian territory of Dodekaschena and conquered the mountains. Nitrogen (see this word). The son and successor of Psametikh I, Necho (Niko), set out on a foreign path. conquests, moving his troops to Syria, which belonged to the Chaldeans, in 605. The Jewish troops of King Josiah tried to block the path, but in battle. under Mageddo b. broken; Necho took possession of all of Syria. In 604-603. Babylon. King Nabopolassar (see Assyrian wars), having decided to take it away from Nehao, is conquered. them provinces and put an end to their conquest. attempts of the Egyptians in Syria, sent a strong force against them. army, led by his son, the famous Nebuchadnezzar. Having received news of the advance of the Chaldeans, Pharaoh hastened to meet them. On the banks of the Euphrates at Karkemish (603) a decision occurred. a battle that ended in the defeat of Egypt. army. This defeat entailed the loss of all the conquests made by Necho in Syria, and the limitation of the boundaries of the pharaonic monarchy to the Nile Valley. Necho's grandson, Pharaoh Uahabri, however, again undertook a campaign in Syria and took the date by storm. Sidon repelled the Chaldean invasion of Egypt, but he could not prevent Nebuchadnezzar from taking Jerusalem and establishing the Chaldeans there. influence (see Babylon). Under Pharaoh Psametikh III (531-527, 27th dynasty), Egypt, in its quest for dominance over Asia, met with strong. rival at a young age state - Persia, King Cambyses undertook the conquest of the Nile Valley. Having collected a huge army, he approached Pelusium, under the walls of which a decision took place. battle (527), in which the Egyptians were defeated. The pharaoh fled and locked himself in the citadel of Memphis. The city, besieged on all sides, would soon be... forced to capitulate, political. the freedom of Egypt perished, and the country of the pharaohs turned into Persian. province of Mudraya. After the defeat of Pers. army at Marathon (see Greco-Persian Wars) in 486, a rebellion broke out in Egypt, a foreigner. g-zones b. driven out, the country declared free, and the descendant the last. dynasty, Habbasha, b. proclaimed pharaoh. For 2 years, the latter prepared the shores of the Delta for defense and strengthened the mouth of the river. Despite, however, the energy of the pharaoh, the country was unable to resist the Persians. hordes, and uprising b. depressed. After 23 years, at the head of the new. Libyan became indignant. ruler Inar, who was considered the son of Psametikh III (463). The population of the Delta, oppressed by the governor Achaemenes, took his side, and the Athenians sent 200 k-bley, separating them from their squadron, which cruised approx. Cyprus. Achaemenes b. forced to flee to the established Persian. the throne to his nephew Artaxerxes I; the latter moved the army and navy to Egypt, and entrusted the leadership of the ex-tion to the same Achaemenes (see. Greco-Persian Wars). Meanwhile, help came to the rescue of the Egyptians. Greek detachments, the appearance of which immediately changed the situation. In Papremis pers. army b. defeated and almost all destroyed, and Achaemenes also died. After several days after this victory of Athens. Esdra Charitimides destroyed the date. the fleet that sailed to help the Persians. Following this, the Attic-Ionian troops together with the natives. Inar's army drove out the Persians. g-zons from Memphis and captured the city, except for the citadel of the fortress. Thanks success. defense of the citadel, Artaxerxes managed to introduce new ones. army of the satrap Megabaza (see. Greco-Persian Wars) and the fleet of the satrap Artabazus. The combined forces of both Persians. The military leaders forced the Egyptians and Athenians to lift the blockade of Memphis. quote and retreat to heaven. Nilsk island of Prosopitida, where the allies b. forced within 18 months. withstand a siege. Large part of the auxiliary Hellene. troops fell in battle or b. taken prisoner, some managed to get to Cyrene and return to their fatherland, and the rest fled with Inar, but soon, pursued on their heels, d.b. surrender with the leader. 50 Athens. K-bley, not knowing about the disaster that befell the army of Inar, entered the Mendesian branch and fell into the hands of the Phoenicians. This pogrom put an end to the uprising. However, in the future, circumstances developed in such a way that the Egyptians’ hope for liberation, at least temporarily, could be realized, since within the Achaemenid monarchy, which was declining after the death of Artaxerxes I, customs began. bloody disputes for the throne (425). Taking advantage of the availability of these conditions, one of the descendants of Sais. home, Noferit I, expelled from the country by a foreigner. g-zone and took the title of pharaoh. His successor, Hakori, gathered his forces to more important strategists. regarding the points and prepared in case of new things. Persian. invasions. At the same time, he hired 20 tons of Greek. mercenaries, entered into an alliance with the Pisidians and felt so strong that he intended to commit sabotage to M. Asia. Under Hakori's successors, the country b. pulled into internal civil strife and, if the Persians took advantage of the opportunity. moment, they could easily bring the renegade Mudraya to submission, but the uprising on the island of Cyprus (led by the talented Evagoras of Salamis and supported by the Athenians) absorbed their attention. Meanwhile, Egypt, having found itself in a hard place. hands, gathered his strength and, having prepared for the fight, could expect the invasion of the Persians, which, in fact, was not slow to follow. Pharaoh Nectaneb I (Nechtaribi) entrusted the organization of the defense of Egypt to the Athenian regiment Chabrius, who erected a whole system of fortifications in the Delta, providing them with military zones and battles. stocks. But later minute Egypt lost its best. strategist: through the intrigues of the Susa court, which feared the talents of Chabrius, and with the help of the Persians. gold distributed to the opposition. Athens speakers, Chabriy b. recalled to Greece. Meanwhile, in May 373, Pers. the army of the satrap Pharnabazus, consisting of 200 tons of soldiers, 20 tons of Greek. mercenaries, 300 triremes, 230 oars. galleys and cargo. k-bley, went on a campaign.
Battle of Kadet. Collision of war chariots. (From an ancient Egyptian bas-relief).
The first thing that blocked the Persians’ path was Pelusium. Taking advantage of the delays that arose from disagreements between the Pers. leaders and from the indecision of Pharnabazus, Nectanebo went from defense to the offensive, attacked the Persians. camp and in several won the fight. By the way, the period of flooding arrived, and the Nile overflowed its banks. Farnabaz d.b. retreat and return to Syria. However, it was not difficult to foresee that the conquest of Egypt by the Persians was a matter of time, since the weakened country itself was not able to seriously support them. resistance. Soon a new Persian. King Artaxerxes III Oh, pacifying the rebellion. provinces, decided to subjugate the fallen Mudraya. He personally led the campaign, but for the first time he had serious expectations. failure: attack b. repulsed with great damage, thanks to art. tactics of the leaders of the Greek. auxiliary detachments, Lamia of Sparta and Diophantus of Athens, who were in Egypt. service. In 346, Okh undertook a new one. campaign, exposing 330 tons. Asian. troops and 10 tons of Greek. mercenaries and hoping with this force to crush the rebellion. Egypt. Pharaoh Nectaneb II could field 60 tons of Egyptians, 20 tons of Libyans and the same number of Greeks. Fighting actions concentrated approx. Pelusium, occupied by 5 thousand. Philofron's detachment, which blocked the Persians' path to the Nile Valley. The Thebans, who served with Ochus, lured the city out of the city and, although they did not win, decided. victories in open. battle, but they provided the opportunity to divert water from the canal surrounding the city, build a dam across the latter and, moving the detachment to the fortress. walls, with the help of machines to make an accessible breach. This circumstance did not have important consequences only because the defenders of Pelusium turned out to be skillful. engineers: while the outer wall was falling, a new one was already rising behind it, which was no less serious. let. The siege dragged on, and the arrival of Nectanebo with 45 thousand. army attracted the attention of the Persians to him and did not allow them to move forward. But impatience is Greek. the leaders who served Pharaoh ruined the whole matter and served as leaders. the reason for the loss of the campaign. They lost sight of the fact that they had to act not against the wild hordes of Asians, but, Ch. arr., against their own brothers, trained in tactics. techniques invented by Xenophon and improved by Iphicrates; in addition, in Pers. army, including Hellenes. mercenaries, many Thebans served in battles. the companions of Epaminondas, who gained fame on the fields of Leuctra and Mantinea and represented the best battles. element in the army of Okha. Availability of these conditions b. Greek ignored leaders of Nectanebo, and they rushed headlong into the most risks. enterprises that destroyed wisely launched wars. actions. At this time, the Argive Nicostratus, who served in the troops at Ochus, proposed to penetrate into one of the mouths of the Nile unprotected by fortifications, land a detachment there and, going to the rear of Nectanebo’s army, prepare for the fall of the fortress. With nothing. With his own strength, he successfully accomplished this. Beginning of g-zone neighbor. city, Clinius of Kos, came out to meet Nicostratus and was defeated; after a few days, the truth fell and thus opened the way into the interior of the monarchy of the pharaohs. Nectaneb, however, managed to retreat to the top of the Delta, trying to gather and organize troops, but his army lost heart, and entire detachments began to desert from it. Now the pharaoh had no choice but to take care of his own. salvation. Having seized the treasure, he fled to Ethiopia, and his monarchy was destroyed again. forced to submit to the Persian. yoke (345), although this time the Persian rule lasted only 13 years, after which Egypt passed into the hands of Alexander the Great in 332 (see. this word). (V. P. Maksutov, History of the Ancient East; Brugsch, Histoire d'Egypte dès Les premiers temps De son existence jusqu'à nos jours; Erman, Aegypten und ägypt. Leben im Alterihum; Lenormant, Manuel d'histoire ancienne De l'Orient jusqu'aux guerres midiques; Lepsius, Denkmäler aus Aegypten und Ethiopien; Maspero, Histoire ancienne Des peuples De l'Orient; Muller, Asien und Europa nach Altägyptischen Denkmälern; Salviolini, Campagne De Rhamsès Le Giand contre Les Schéta Et Leur Alliés; Vigouroux, La Bible Et Les Découvertes Modernes en Palistine, en Egypte Et en Assyrie).
Civilization of Ancient Egypt
This happened 10 thousand years ago or a little earlier...
A small detachment of hunters who came from the Sahara, then still a flowering plain, approached the edge of the plateau, beyond which a new, unknown country opened up. Antelope hunters, familiar only with the small rivers of their native steppes that dry up in summer, have never seen such a miracle! A wide, deep river majestically carried its muddy waters past them; from where and where - no one knew. Without breaking the silence, people looked at the river for a long time, seized with sacred awe and the desire to fall on their knees before the powerful ruler of these places. The hunters did not even dare to go down to the water itself, near which poisonous snakes swarmed. The banks of the river were swamped for hundreds of meters and overgrown with dense reeds. Hippos and crocodiles rested in the shallows. The hunters left, but they, and subsequently their descendants, had to return to the tempting and frightening shores. Game in the drying steppes of the Sahara became less and less, clashes between hunting tribes became more and more fierce and bloody. The defeated tribes, pushed out of their familiar steppe, settled on the unfamiliar banks of a large river. The population of the Nile Valley gradually developed from small groups that “seeped” here, among which were people with different colors skin - olive-yellow, brownish or completely dark.
The first settlements discovered by archaeologists on the banks of the Nile date back to a rather late time - 6-4 thousand BC. They were located in high areas of the river valley, far from the water - people were afraid of floods. They did not yet know how to properly cultivate the fertile soil of the “lower fields,” although they already knew the simplest techniques for caring for cultivated plants.
The settlers (who later became known as Egyptians) maintained an affectionate and respectful attitude towards the mighty stream. The Nile was a living being to them; in prayers and songs they addressed him as a father. And the father, in the minds of the ancients, is the one who gives food and takes care of his children. Of course, the Egyptians had to get their own food, but Father Nile gave them the most important thing - the fertile lands of their shores and water for their irrigation.
The dark soil in the Nile Valley was so different from the rocky and clayey soil of the neighboring plateaus that the Egyptians called their country “Kemet” - “Black”. The river itself brought the extraordinary soil, laying a fertile layer millimeter by millimeter on the stone base of the banks. The water in the Nile is cloudy because it contains many tiny particles of different origins - there are also grains in it rocks, picked up by the river where it flows over a rocky bed, and plant remains brought by tributaries from coastal tropical forests.
When mountain snows begin to melt in early summer in East Africa, where the source of the Nile is located, the water level in the river rises and the flood begins. The Nile slows down its already calm flow and floods the low banks, turning them into real swamps for several months. In stagnant water, suspended particles gradually settle down, and when the river returns to its channel, the banks are covered with a new layer of fertile silt. In the southern regions of Egypt, the water rise begins in mid-July, and the highest - 8-10 meters above the normal level! -water rises in August - September and remains high until mid-November. During a flood, the water rises slowly, its level rises by several centimeters per day, so that people have time to leave, taking property and livestock.
The main difficulty in processing the most fertile flooded “lower fields” is due to the fact that after the water subsides, the moisture is distributed unevenly - high-lying areas lose it too quickly, while coastal fields, on the contrary, become swampy, because the water stands on them almost all year round. And the Egyptians came up with a very simple device that allowed them to regulate the amount of water in the fields at their discretion. Almost in the same way as children building earthen dams on streams in the spring, the Egyptians began to build walls of densely packed earth, coated with clay, on the flooded banks of the river so that water would not seep through them. From a bird's eye view, the Nile Valley looked like a notebook sheet lined with squares. During a spill, water fell into “cells” - pools, and people could dispose of it as needed - hold it for a long time in high places or, conversely, break through an earthen wall and drain excess water. Gradually, individual structures were linked into long chains stretching along the Nile for tens of kilometers. To maintain this complex system people created control centers for chains of dams - the first Egyptian cities. Each city united around itself a small region, which the Greeks, who later conquered Egypt, called “nome”, and its ruler - “nomarch”. The rulers gave orders to prepare fields for sowing, erect new earthen dam walls and lay canals to drain excess water, ensure that all crops from the fields were brought to city barns, and grain was distributed more or less equally to the entire population throughout the year.
The nomarchs fought fiercely with each other for supreme power over the entire country, ravaging the cities of their neighbors, stealing their cattle and enslaving Egyptians like themselves. By the time of the formation of a unified Egyptian kingdom (about 3000 BC), there were approximately forty such nomes.
The Egyptians rarely prepared their own food - most often they took the resulting grain to special “canteens”, in which the entire village or several neighboring villages were fed. These “dining rooms” were also under the supervision of the nomarchs or the king himself, who was called “pharaoh.” A special official made sure that the cooks did not steal food, distributed stewage, porridge and beer equally, he also collected taxes from them and tried their cases in court. The Egyptians were hardworking farmers and obtained the highest yields in the ancient world from their rich lands, although the tools they worked with were almost no different from those used by other peoples of the Ancient East. The abundance of grain in the country made it possible to free some people from working on the land and use them as builders or soldiers. We will talk about how and what the Egyptians built later, but for now let’s see how and what they fought for.
The pharaoh, who most often stood at the head of the Egyptian army, tried to fight quickly so that within a few months he could return home to the capital. The army consisted of two parts: a small detachment of specially trained and well-prepared soldiers and a large militia of peasants, recruited into the army for only a few months and temporarily released from field work. The Egyptians did not know how to take enemy fortresses by storm, so they besieged them, which took a lot of time. Often the Egyptian army returned home after a three- to four-month campaign, having captured only one or two small fortresses. Major battles happened rarely - the commanders took care of the soldiers, whom they called “the flock of God.” Neither the Egyptians nor their opponents wanted to take risks: the Nubians in the south, the rulers of small Syrian and Palestinian cities and the Hittite kings in the north. Very rarely did victory in a war lead to the capture of someone else's kingdom, because governing them was difficult and troublesome. The pharaohs preferred to place a ruler loyal to Egypt on the throne in a foreign country, and if he became rebellious, replace him with another, who for the time being was kept at court as an honorary hostage.
The main goal of the war was military spoils - fish, livestock, rare wood, ivory, gold, precious stones. After a successful campaign, the pharaohs returned with piles of wealth; ordinary soldiers also got a lot. A soldier could bring in 3-5 slaves and either sell them profitably on the slave market or use them on his farm. The thirst for military spoils was, however, not the only reason that forced the pharaohs to go with their troops to foreign lands.
The fact is that Egypt did not have good wood for the construction of ships, mines for the extraction of various metals, and even the stone necessary for the construction of temples and palaces. The more advanced Egyptian buildings became, the more the country depended on imported materials from foreign lands. The widespread use of copper required the constant presence of Egyptian troops in the Sinai Peninsula, where the richest copper mines were located. They were exported from the Levant valuable species trees. The situation in Egypt became even more difficult when, around 1500 BC. Bronze, an alloy of copper and tin, began to be widely used. Weapons made of bronze were much better than copper, and the army, armed with bronze swords, arrows and bronze-tipped spears, had a great advantage over the enemy. The Egyptians could get copper, but there were no tin mines nearby, and the famous pharaohs of the New Kingdom (1580 - 1085 BC) Thutmose III and Ramses II had to fight long wars
in Syria and Palestine up to the Euphrates River, in order to bring the main trade routes along which tin was transported under Egyptian control. IN in some cases The Egyptians bought the products and materials they needed, but most often they tried to get what they needed by force.
The enormous wealth accumulated by the pharaohs allowed the Egyptians to build so much, majesticly and beautifully, as no other people in the Ancient East could. The construction was supervised by a specially trained priest-architect who was able to perform quite complex mathematical calculations. The names of the most famous architects have survived to this day. There were not so many construction workers, headed by brigadier officials, and they performed the most difficult work- final processing of large stone blocks, their grinding and laying. This was done so carefully that even now, after more than four thousand years, it is impossible to insert a thin razor blade between many stone blocks - they are laid so tightly. A lot depended on the accuracy when processing and laying stones, because the Egyptians did not fasten the stones with a special solution, but simply laid them one on top of the other, as children do when building a tower from wooden cubes. The strength and stability of the building depended on how well the “cubes” fit together.
The simplest jobs - dragging heavy objects, rough cutting stones, laying roads to the construction site - were left to peasants driven from nearby villages. The bosses made sure that they did not sit idly by even during the Nile flood, when there was no work in the fields.
Slave labor was rarely used on construction sites. Although there were always a lot of slaves in Egypt, until the era of the New Kingdom they were mainly engaged in housework: they baked, washed, cleaned rooms, guarded the owners’ house, weaved canvas, and looked after poultry.
The pharaoh's officials united free Egyptians into "working detachments" consisting of several dozen people. They performed many different tasks: in just a year a person could change several occupations, such as cultivating fields, digging canals, laying roads, constructing buildings.
In the era of the Old Kingdom (2800-2250 BC), the working groups were controlled by the pharaoh through his officials, and even noble people were forced to turn to the pharaoh with a request to provide them with workers to cultivate the land. During the Middle Kingdom (2050 - 1750 BC), the nobles had already acquired their own dependent people and disposed of them at their own discretion.
The largest temples and pyramids took decades to build. The temple, unfinished by one king, was completed by his successor on the throne, but the pyramid sometimes remained unfinished. Pyramids are the tombs of the pharaohs; the coffin with the body of the king, transformed by the craftsmen into an incorruptible mummy, was installed in a secret room inside the pyramid; The entrances to the burial room and to the pyramid itself were blocked with stones. The pharaoh began to build a pyramid for himself from the first days of his reign, but not everyone had time to finish it.
The tallest (they are called “Great”) pyramids were erected during the Old Kingdom era near the city of Memphis, the then capital of Egypt, by the pharaohs Khufu (the Greeks called him Cheops) and Khafre (Chephren). The height of the first of them in ancient times was 146.7 m, the second – 143.5 m. Their tops have suffered quite a lot over time, and now both pyramids are several meters lower. When constructing such huge structures, Egyptian architects had to solve complex technical problems. The pyramid of Khufu, for example, is made of 2,300,000 (!) stone blocks, each of which weighs about two and a half tons. The total weight of the pyramid - 6.5 or 7 million tons - should have been calculated so that the pressure on the interior spaces (galleries, burial chambers, sanctuaries) was distributed evenly and the pyramid did not collapse inward from its own gravity. The admiration of the Egyptians themselves and their neighbors for the Great Pyramids was so great that they were considered one of the seven wonders of the world.
Why did the Egyptians build giant tombs for their kings? To understand this, you need to know at least a little about the gods of Ancient Egypt and the religious beliefs of its inhabitants. We are used to talking about the human "soul"; the Egyptians believed that a person has several such souls, and immortal life after earthly death bestowed by the gods those people, whose souls are well looked after by priest-priests. The tomb was seen as the home of one of these souls, which the Egyptians called "Ka" (the double of the deceased person). Therefore, during their lifetime, kings and nobles did not spare gold, silver, precious stones, ebony and ebony, and ivory in order to make the future home of their “Ka” beautiful and pleasant. Unfortunately, most of the tombs were robbed by thieves and robbers in ancient times. Only a few, accidentally preserved and probably not the richest burials have reached us. The tomb of Tutankhamun, a young king who died at the age of nineteen, discovered by archaeologists, has become widely known.
Many gods were worshiped in Egypt. Some of them were very ancient and looked more like animals - cats, bulls, crocodiles - and were kept in special rooms, ponds or stalls. Insulting animals was punishable by death, because damage was caused to the gods they personified. Each nome had its own gods (sometimes little known outside its borders), but there were also common Egyptian deities, whose temples were built throughout the country: Horus, Ra, Osiris, Isis and others. The god of the most influential nome was considered the most powerful. When, after the collapse of the Old Kingdom, the capital of the country was moved from Memphis to Thebes, the Theban Amon-Ra began to be considered the supreme deity.
It is also known that Pharaoh Akhenaten tried to ban the worship of all gods except the god of the solar disk named Aten. But the Egyptians' attachment to the old gods turned out to be stronger than fear before the formidable king. Akhenaten's attempt failed, and his successors tried to erase even the memory of him.
The Egyptians associated myths about the gods with natural phenomena, the change of seasons, and the floods of the Nile. When the hot winds from the desert began to blow, the inhabitants of Egypt said that the treacherous god of the desert, Set, had killed his brother Osiris and now reigned supreme in the world. According to the Egyptians, the tears of the goddess Isis, mourning her husband Osiris, caused the Nile to flood. The beginning of the rising of the crops was considered the resurrection of Osiris, who was saved by his son Horus. All this became known when in the first third of the 19th century. Frenchman Champollion deciphered Egyptian hieroglyphs, and scientists were able to read the inscriptions in the pyramids and the “Book of the Dead” with a description of the underground Kingdom of the Dead. Some of the myths were written on papyrus - the Egyptian predecessor of paper, made in a complex way from the papyrus plant - and have survived to this day.
For a long time, the Egyptians managed to protect the Nile Valley from foreign invasions. During the first two thousand years of Egyptian history, the country was conquered only once by the nomadic Hyksos tribes around 1750. BC. Less than 200 years later, the conquerors were expelled, and Egypt entered an era of prolonged prosperity. However, neighboring countries still developed faster than Egypt, which had difficulty learning new things due to adherence to its traditions, and in the 1st millennium BC. The country in the Nile Valley was conquered first by the Assyrians, then by the Iranians, Greeks and, finally, by the Romans. But even under foreign rule, the Egyptians retained their unique culture and memories of the great past of their homeland for a long time.
Prerequisites for the creation of a standing army
The army in Ancient Egypt has come a long way in development. This is due to the fact that the Egyptians were not a warlike people. They are, first of all, peaceful farmers.
During the period of the Old Kingdom, the state could not have a single standing army, since there was no unity in the state itself. Egypt consisted of separate independent regions - nomes. The fragmented state was constantly in a state of danger, while each individual nome had its own armed detachment - the militia. Such a detachment, as a rule, was led by a civilian official who did not have special military training. There was no special officer class. Large temple estates could also have similar detachments.
In the event of war - an attack on the borders of the state by hostile tribes, each nome supplied its troops to the combined army. Command was most often entrusted to some capable official. War was not a special occupation for the Egyptians. Military operations were reduced to the defense of borders or to predatory raids on neighboring tribes. Individual nome or temple military detachments could take part in such expeditions. Naturally, the spoils were concentrated in the hands of the nomarchs and the priesthood, whose influence was steadily growing and the pharaohs, without having their own military force, had to put up with it.
However, already at the beginning of the Middle Kingdom, the pharaohs tried to surround themselves with people devoted and loyal. Many officials are chosen from the ruler's inner circle. A class of the pharaoh's military retinue, his guards, emerges. These units consisted of professional soldiers stationed in groups of 100 in palaces and fortresses throughout Egypt from Nubia to the borders of Asia. They formed the core of the standing army, although at that time they were still very small in number and their main task was to protect the ruler. Their bosses were of upper middle class origin.
During the war, the army, as before, consisted of detachments of different nomes, led by nomarchs. In peacetime, these people were involved in public works, that is, there were almost no professional soldiers, since the whole war boiled down to a series of poorly organized predatory raids, which indicates the non-militant mood of the Egyptians.
During the Middle Kingdom, Egyptian rulers were no longer content with periodic raids on neighboring tribes. They strive not only to seize these territories, but also to retain them in order to obtain a permanent income. Border fortresses guarded by garrisons were supposed to control the occupied territories. The first fortresses in Nubia and Kush were built by the legendary Senusret III, with whom the first foreign conquests of the Egyptians are associated. But it was impossible to protect the borders without a standing army. But war was still not a special activity in Egypt. Only after the fall of the Middle Kingdom and almost 100 years of domination of the nomadic Asian tribes - the Hyksos, did the Egyptians learn to fight for real. The expulsion of the Hyksos and the desire of the pharaoh to retain power in his hands became important stage in the formation of a standing Egyptian army.
The regular army was finally formed by Pharaoh Ahmose I, the founder of the Egyptian Empire during the New Kingdom. Through prolonged wars and sieges, Egypt became a military power. Confrontation with the Hyksos and campaigns in Asia allowed the Egyptians to study military science. During this period, the “profession” of a warrior became the most in demand. Having realized what wealth could be gained through war, the once unwarlike Egyptians now sought to join the army. Administrative officials now became military leaders. Military affairs became prestigious.
So, we can conclude that the prerequisites for the creation of a standing army in Ancient Egypt were initially the pharaoh’s desire to ensure his safety, surround himself with loyal people and reduce the influence of the nomarchs. Later, realizing that it was much more profitable to regularly receive tribute from conquered territories than to periodically, through poorly organized raids, seize the necessary resources, the pharaohs gradually formed more or less permanent military detachments and garrisons to protect the borders.
But the main reason for the emergence of a regular army is the Egyptians’ desire for wealth and luxury through military conquests, which were formed among a non-warlike people during the period of liberation struggle against the Hyksos (XVII-XVI centuries BC), warlike customs that taught the Egyptians differently relate to the war.
Armament of an ancient Egyptian warrior. Combat tactics
The only branch of the permanent Egyptian army that began to take shape during the Middle Kingdom was the infantry. Later a fleet and detachments of charioteers appeared.
“The warriors of the Old Kingdom were armed with: a mace with a stone tip, a battle ax made of copper, a spear with a stone tip, a dagger made of stone or copper. In an earlier period, the boomerang was widely used. As a defensive weapon, the warriors had a wooden shield covered with fur.” “When storming fortresses, the Egyptians used assault ladders with wooden disc wheels, which made them easier to install and move along the fortress walls. They made holes in the fortress walls with large crowbars.” Already in the Old Kingdom, the Egyptians had rowing ships with sails. 2 fleets were created - one in Upper Egypt, and the other in Lower Egypt.
The armament of the Egyptian warriors of the Middle Kingdom improved somewhat compared to the previous period, as a result of improving metal processing methods. Spears and arrows were now made of bronze. “A reinforced bow appeared, which increased the range of the arrow and the accuracy of its hit. The arrows had tips of various shapes and plumage; their length ranged from 55 to 100 cm. Common for the Ancient East, arrows with a leaf-shaped tip, initially flint, and then copper and bronze, were less effective weapons than arrows with a faceted tip - bone or bronze, introduced by the Scythians in the 2nd quarter of the 7th century BC.A aimed shot from a bow, the flight distance of a boomerang and a throwing spear were approximately the same: 150-180 m; the best accuracy of a boomerang and a throwing spear was reached at a distance of 50 m. A fur-lined shield, half a man's height, continued to be the only protective equipment." In the Middle Kingdom, units of equally armed warriors appeared - spearmen and archers.
For a long time, weapons were not improved - there was no need for this. There were enough spears, swords and bows to pacify the neighboring wild tribes. Significant innovations appeared during the period of Hyksos rule. The Egyptians learned a lot from the warlike nomads - they mastered new methods of making weapons and improved the technology of making weapons from bronze. Another innovation also appears - now horses brought by nomads are harnessed to chariots, which subsequently helps them win a number of victories. Thus, we can say that the Egyptians drove out the Hyksos with the help of their own weapons.
With the advent of mercenaries, not only the composition of the army changes, but also its weapons. Most mercenaries, being professional warriors, prefer to use their own weapons. This means the emergence of a variety of weapons.
The basis of the Egyptian army was still infantry, consisting of detachments of archers, slingers, spearmen and warriors with swords. During the campaign, the army was divided into several detachments that moved in columns. Reconnaissance was sent ahead.
When stopping, the Egyptians set up a fortified camp of shields. “When storming cities, they used a formation called a turtle (a canopy of shields that covered the soldiers from above), a ram, a vine (a low canopy of vines covered with turf to protect soldiers during siege work) and an assault ladder.”
It is known that during campaigns, warriors were sometimes transferred to the battle site from their permanent locations on cargo river ships.
The Egyptians' combat tactics were quite varied. The battle was fought mainly on land, sometimes on water. There are cases when the battle was fought both at sea and on land at the same time. In battle, especially during the New Kingdom, charioteer units became widely used, but infantry was still more common.
The main prey of the Egyptians were slaves. Also highly valued were “trophies”—hands cut off from defeated enemies. The vanquished were mercilessly robbed - clothes, weapons, and other valuables were seized. The occupied territories were also treated barbarously.
Not all prisoners were used as additional labor, but almost exclusively Asians. Prisoners sea pirates- Sherdans - possibly immigrants from distant Sardinia - often became the royal bodyguards. Libyans and Ethiopians were recruited into the Egyptian army, probably at first only as auxiliary units.
Thus, we can conclude that before the Hyksos conquest, the warrior’s weapons were quite simple. It is improved with the arrival of nomads. Not only the arsenal of weapons becomes richer, but also the military experience of the Egyptians themselves. With the advent of horses and new types of weapons, combat tactics are also improved.
The position of the army in ancient Egyptian society
Initially, when the army was an army assembled from new detachments, there were no professional soldiers, and all able-bodied men were recruited into the militia. In peacetime, they were engaged in public works or equipped for expeditions.
Professional soldiers appeared already in the Middle Kingdom. Their task was to protect the pharaoh and the borders of the state. However, the profession of a soldier became truly necessary and in demand only during the New Kingdom.
The ranks of the soldiers were replenished mainly by representatives of the middle class, and officials who previously held administrative positions became military leaders. “The official who described the estates in the era of the XVIII dynasty divided the people into “soldiers, priests, royal serfs and all artisans,” and this classification is confirmed by everything that we know about the era; it should, however, be borne in mind that all divisions of the free middle class are included here among the "soldiers." The soldiers of the standing army, therefore, now also became a special class. Representatives of the free middle class, obliged to perform military service, are called "citizens of the army" - a term already known in the era of the Middle Kingdom, but which became common in this time; thus, conscription becomes a characteristic designation of the class of society bearing it."
The army and the servant class now become one of the 3 great social groups, along with the priesthood and officials.
Ordinary soldiers received very little pay, but they could gain wealth by plundering the vanquished. Being a military man was also beneficial because every soldier could have a career prospect. He could be noticed and awarded for valor and service. Of course, it was extremely rare for an ordinary soldier to achieve this. Most often, this was used by the militarized nobility. It is the military leaders who get the best of military campaigns. All the most valuable things were subject to a census and handed over to the pharaoh, who distributed the loot among military leaders and officials, sacrificing the lion's share to temples and priesthood.
A special role was played by the “escort soldiers” - the royal guard. For their service to the pharaoh, such warriors receive gifts from the ruler - land, slaves. In addition, they feed from the royal household. These warriors - bodyguards from among the selected army and a group of close military leaders - accompanied the pharaoh in all public appearances.
Unlike the elite, the common soldier had a hard time if he returned from a campaign without achieving glory. Representatives of this class suffered various oppressions from the ruling class. But they were free, and if they were lucky enough to get something during the campaign, they could dispose of it freely, including slaves.
At the end of the New Kingdom, when mercenaries began to predominate in the army, the warrior profession became unprofitable for the Egyptian. Egyptians prefer to return to agriculture and peaceful work. Anastasi, for example, claims that the profession of a scribe is much better than a warrior. In his papyrus, he describes the pitiful fate of the warrior and charioteer. He may be exaggerating in his reasoning, but there is undoubtedly some truth in his statements. However, despite all this, the power of the pharaoh still continues to be based on the strength of the army, so the army is a significant force and does not occupy the last place in society.
At the end of the period, the free and semi-dependent sections of the population were increasingly exploited by the elite of the nobility. A military career for the ordinary soldier is becoming even more inaccessible. If after the expulsion of the Hyksos and the formation of a new, XVIII, the advancing Theban house needed new loyal confidants and bestowed gifts, honors and titles on all those who really distinguished themselves in battle, now positions and titles became hereditary and families enriched due to these privileges passed on their titles by inheritance.
We can conclude that in general, the army occupied a significant place in ancient Egyptian society. During the era of the empire, the army and military affairs received the greatest development. The military is getting big social group along with the priesthood and officials. The army becomes the main support of the despotic power of the pharaoh.
The influence of a standing army on the socio-economic development of Ancient Egypt
With the advent of a standing army, the socio-economic situation in Egypt changed significantly. First of all, it has changed dramatically social structure society.
Military campaigns, international trade, and the recruitment of foreigners into the army led to the influx into the country of a huge number of both free and dependent foreigners. Conquest campaigns gave a large number of slaves from all over the East, mainly Semites and Nubians.
Prisoners of war were exploited in various ways. Their labor was used in royal and temple farms, as well as in the farms of individual communities. Sherdens and Libyans could serve in the army. In general, foreigners could easily do military career at court. “A brilliant career was open to the Asians in the army, although the lower ranks of the pharaoh’s troops were replenished mainly with recruits from among the western and southern peoples.” In addition, with the emergence of a regular army in ancient Egyptian society, a new class was formed - the military class. The role of the army in economic development the country was that now it was not the Egyptians who fought, but foreign mercenaries, not farmers, but professional warriors. Mostly slaves worked in the fields and farms. The Egyptians themselves were able to work quietly in their possessions, using the fruits of their conquests. “The warlike spirit that made Egypt the first world empire lasted only a few centuries, and the essentially non-warlike people returned to their usual peaceful life...” The standing army made it possible not only to conquer new territories, wealth, slaves, but also to hold new lands for empire. The army controlled these territories and guarded the borders of the state.
The influence of the standing army on the socio-economic development of Egypt is that:
1. Egypt is becoming a multinational power due to the large influx of foreigners into the country - mercenaries, slaves, traders.
2. Foreigners began to predominate in the standing army, which entailed the distraction of the Egyptians from military affairs. They had no need to fight themselves - professional soldiers did it for them. In other words, they became dependent on foreign mercenaries.
3. The country was able to develop economically thanks to a standing army that reliably defended the borders of the empire.
4. The country developed economically due to captured lands, slaves and other war booty. The Egyptian army has come a long way in development. Having initially appeared for the purpose of protecting the pharaoh and protecting borders, it, constantly improving, became the support of the despotic power of the kings. The armament of the Egyptian warrior was distinguished by its simplicity and convenience, which indicates the non-militant mood of the Egyptians. It was improved with the arrival of the Hyksos. After the expulsion of the nomads, the army continues to develop. Now it occupies an important place in ancient Egyptian society, and the warrior profession is becoming in demand. The army supplied Egypt with conquered wealth, which made it increasingly powerful and allowed the country to develop economically.
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE OF UKRAINE
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE ARC
RHEI "CRIMEAN HUMANITIES UNIVERSITY"
Yevpatoria Pedagogical Faculty
Department of History and Law
COURSE WORK
IN THE DISCIPLINE "HISTORY OF THE ANCIENT WORLD"
ON THE TOPIC
MILITARY POLICY OF ANCIENT EGYPT
Performed:
1st year student of group 11-EI
Mekhontseva Yulia Vadimovna
Scientific adviser:
Chernykh Igor Ivanovich
Evpatoria, 2008
CHAPTER 1. ARMY IN ANCIENT EGYPT
1. 1 Prerequisites for the creation of a standing army
1. 2 Armament of the ancient Egyptian warrior. Combat tactics
1. 3 The position of the army in ancient Egyptian society
1. 4 The influence of a standing army on the socio-economic development of Ancient Egypt
CHAPTER 2. WARS OF CONQUEST OF THE RULERS OF ANCIENT EGYPT
2. 1 Old Kingdom Period
2. 2 Middle Kingdom
2. 3 Conquests of the New Kingdom era
CHAPTER 3. FEATURES OF THE MILITARY POLICY OF THE RULERS OF THE LATE KINGDOM
3. 1 Rule of foreign conquerors
3. 2 Rulers of the XXVI Dynasty
3. 3 Egypt under Persian rule
CHAPTER 4. THE ROLE OF WAR IN ANCIENT EGYPT
4. 1 Wars and economics
4. 2 Impact of wars on social relations in ancient Egyptian society
CONCLUSION
LIST OF REFERENCES USED
INTRODUCTION
This topic, according to the author, has received little attention in historiography. This topic has been studied one-sidedly. We know about military campaigns only from a few sources, which are not always objective. For example, military victories always praise rulers, and occasionally military leaders, but little is known about the life and position of ordinary soldiers. In addition, victories are most often exaggerated, but little is said about defeats, which does not make it possible to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the Egyptian army and the organization of military campaigns. Such sources do not allow us to fully explore the life, everyday life and position in society of ordinary soldiers, through whose efforts the huge Egyptian empire was created.
This topic is also relevant because it has a connection with modernity. The Egyptian Empire of the New Kingdom pursued an active policy of conquest. Without strong army and waging successful wars of conquest would have made the development that Egypt received impossible. The comprehensive development of the country directly depended on the army and wars. IN modern world This dependence, which appeared in Ancient Egypt, has been preserved.
The purpose of this work is to characterize the military policy of Ancient Egypt, the policy of military campaigns, the causes and consequences of wars in Ancient Egypt and their impact on ancient Egyptian society.
Based on the goal, the objectives of this work are the following:
1. Analyze the causes, features and position of the standing army in ancient Egyptian society.
2. Characterize the conquest expeditions of the rulers of Ancient Egypt during the periods of the Ancient, Middle and New Kingdoms.
3. Explore the features of the military policy of the rulers of the Late Kingdom.
4. Characterize the significance of wars for the socio-economic development of ancient Egyptian society.
This work, in accordance with the objectives, consists of 4 chapters and 12 subchapters.
In Chapter I, the author tries to analyze the reasons for the appearance, influence of the army and its position in ancient Egyptian society. The author also describes the weapons of the ancient Egyptian warrior and combat tactics. In Chapter II, the author characterizes the military campaigns of the rulers of Ancient Egypt and provides a comparative description of the conquests in different periods.
In Chapter III, the author examines the military policy of the rulers of the Late Kingdom. Chapter IV describes the role of wars in Ancient Egypt, their influence on the socio-economic and cultural development of ancient Egyptian society.
In this work, the author uses the method of structural analysis in Chapter I to characterize the importance of a standing army in ancient Egyptian society; in Chapter II, analyzing the results of the aggressive policies of the rulers of the Ancient, Middle, and New Kingdoms; in Chapter III when studying the military policies of the rulers of the Late Kingdom; in Chapter IV, when characterizing the role of wars in Ancient Egypt and their influence on the cultural and socio-economic development of ancient Egyptian society.
The work also uses the method of critical analysis in Chapter I when characterizing the position of the army in ancient Egyptian society, as well as in Chapter III when studying the features of the military policy of rulers during the Late Kingdom and in Chapter IV when characterizing the significance of wars for the socio-economic and cultural development of Ancient Egypt .
The Anastasi Papyrus describes the fate of a warrior and the fate of a charioteer. He encourages the reader to choose the profession of a scribe from all existing professions, while showing their negative sides. The papyrus is a recording of the author's monologue, proving that the profession of a scribe is better than others. This is a monologue from the end of the New Kingdom. This also explains the author’s negative attitude towards the warrior profession.
The biography of the nobleman Una describes the military campaigns of the nobleman led by the pharaoh himself. The document also talks about the award Una received for bravery. This document cannot be completely objective, since it describes the absolute victory of the pharaoh and. perhaps embellishes it somewhat.
The will of Ramses III describes in detail all the deeds of the pharaoh, his campaigns, wars with nomads, etc. This document also cannot be completely objective, since it was written with the aim of emphasizing and exalting the power of the pharaoh.
In the work of Professor Vsevolod Igorevich Avdiev " Military history Ancient Egypt" thoroughly examines the military policy and military affairs of Egypt during the period of the Ancient, Middle and New Kingdoms. The causes of wars, their consequences and the organization of military affairs in Egypt are described in detail.
Turaev Boris Aleksandrovich in the first two volumes of the “History of the Ancient East” considered political history and social relations in ancient Egypt. In his work, the author characterized the influence of wars on socio-economic and cultural changes in ancient Egyptian society.
“The History of Military Art” by Evgeniy Andreevich Razin characterizes the armament of the Egyptians, the organization of military affairs and analyzes the development of military art in Ancient Egypt.
This work cannot claim to be a complete study and requires further refinement.
CHAPTER 1. ARMY IN ANCIENT EGYPT
1. 1 Prerequisites for the creation of a standing army
The army in Ancient Egypt has come a long way of development. This is due to the fact that the Egyptians were not a warlike people. They are, first of all, peaceful farmers.
During the period of the Old Kingdom, the state could not have a single standing army, since there was no unity in the state itself. Egypt consisted of separate independent regions - nomes. The fragmented state was constantly in a state of danger, while each individual nome had its own armed detachment - the militia. Such a detachment, as a rule, was led by a civilian official who did not have a special military training. There was no special officer class. Large temple estates could also have similar detachments.
In the event of war - an attack on the borders of the state by hostile tribes, each nome supplied its troops to the combined army. Command was most often entrusted to some capable official. War was not a special occupation for the Egyptians. Military operations were reduced to the defense of borders or to predatory raids on neighboring tribes. Individual nome or temple military detachments could take part in such expeditions. Naturally, the spoils were concentrated in the hands of the nomarchs and the priesthood, whose influence was steadily growing and the pharaohs, not having their own military strength, had to put up with this.
However, already at the beginning of the Middle Kingdom, the pharaohs tried to surround themselves with people devoted and loyal. Many officials are chosen from the ruler's inner circle. A class of the pharaoh's military retinue, his guards, emerges. These units consisted of professional soldiers stationed in groups of 100 in palaces and fortresses throughout Egypt from Nubia to the borders of Asia. They formed the core of the standing army, although at that time they were still very small in number and their main task was to protect the ruler. Their bosses were of upper middle class origin.
During the war, the army, as before, consisted of detachments of different nomes, led by nomarchs. In peacetime, these people were involved in public works, that is, there were almost no professional soldiers, since the entire war boiled down to a series of poorly organized predatory raids, which indicates the non-militant mood of the Egyptians.
During the Middle Kingdom, Egyptian rulers were no longer content with periodic raids on neighboring tribes. They strive not only to seize these territories, but also to retain them in order to obtain a permanent income. Border fortresses guarded by garrisons were supposed to control the occupied territories. The first fortresses in Nubia and Kush were built by the legendary Senusret III, with whom the first foreign conquests of the Egyptians are associated. But it was impossible to protect the borders without a standing army. But war was still not a special activity in Egypt. Only after the fall of the Middle Kingdom and almost 100 years of domination of the nomadic Asian tribes - the Hyksos, did the Egyptians learn to fight for real. The expulsion of the Hyksos and the desire of the pharaoh to retain power in his hands became an important stage in the formation of a permanent Egyptian army.
Wars between Egypt and the Hittite power (the state of Hatti), which occupied the territory of Asia Minor, for dominance in Palestine, Syria and Phenicia.
According to Egyptian sources, the Hittites were the first to attack the borders of Egypt. The Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II set out on a campaign against the Hittite king Muwatalli in the fifth year of the war. The battle took place in 1312 BC. e. near the city of Kadet (Kinza) in Syria, where the 20,000-strong Egyptian army, dominated by Numidian mercenaries, faced a 30,000-strong Hittite army (according to other sources, Muwatalli had 35 thousand warriors, including 6 thousand horsemen and 3500 fighting chariots).
The Hittite army was numerically dominated by Asia Minor and Palestinian allies. The Egyptian army, like the Hittite one, consisted of infantry and chariots and was divided into three detachments. There was no communication between the detachments on the march. Ramses believed that the enemy was far to the north, and with an advance detachment he moved to Kadet, hoping to occupy the fortress before the Hittites arrived.
But the detachment was ambushed by the Asia Minor allies of the Hittites, including the Dardanians - believed to be the legendary Trojans of the Homeric epic. The pharaoh believed the report of a spy sent to him, who claimed that the Hittite troops had retreated north of Kadet, and hastened to occupy the city. The commanders of the Egyptian detachments in Palestine also reported to him about the retreat of the Hittites.
Suddenly, a wall of enemy chariots appeared in front of the Pharaoh’s detachment, breaking through the Egyptian system and almost reaching Ramesses’ headquarters. These chariots were forded across the Orontes River. They were larger than the Egyptian ones and carried a crew of three people: a driver and two archers.
The pharaoh rushed into battle in a chariot along with his bodyguards and soon found himself surrounded. However, the crowding of the cumbersome Hittite chariots prevented the Hittites from capitalizing on their success. Here Ramses was saved by a detachment of selected “well done men” approaching the battlefield, moving from the sea coast. Their chariots caused confusion in the enemy ranks. The Hittite chariots were under double attack. Many of them were thrown into the Orontes River. However, Muwatalli sent another thousand chariots into battle, and military fortunes again began to lean towards the Hittites. Only with great difficulty was the pharaoh’s detachment able to escape from the encirclement after the arrival of reinforcements. At the same time, the Egyptians disrupted the enemy ranks and captured prisoners. But the Hittite army was not defeated and retreated in order to Kadet.
Muwatalli used almost no infantry in the battle and retained enough strength to continue the battle another day. The next day the battle did not have a decisive outcome. When the Egyptians began to prevail, an 8,000-strong detachment under the command of Muwatalli emerged from the gates of Kadesh. He stopped the onslaught of the Egyptians and gave the Hittite army the opportunity to safely take refuge behind the fortress walls. Both sides suffered heavy losses in two days of fighting. The Egyptians failed to capture Kadesh. At the suggestion of Muwatalli, a truce was concluded. Ramesses secured Palestine from Hittite claims. The Hittites, in turn, retained their control over Syria.
Three years later, the war resumed, and Egyptian troops again reached the Syrian border. The pharaoh had to suppress the uprising of his Palestinian subjects from the Canaanite tribe and take a number of fortresses in Palestine and southern Syria.
The assault on the city usually proceeded as follows. With the help of axes, the Egyptians tried to crush the fortress gates, and long ladders helped them climb the walls. The attackers were covered with shields and movable walls with canopies. A hail of arrows, darts and stones rained down on the defenders. The population of the conquered cities was reduced to slavery.
The Egyptians also managed to capture the fortress of Debir in Northern Syria, subject to the Hittites, and Dapur in the Hittite possessions of Asia Minor. In 1296, already under the new Hittite king Hattusili III, a peace treaty was concluded between Egypt and the Hittite state, sealed by the marriage of Ramesses with the daughter of Hattusili. Both sides recognized the division of Syria and left Palestine for Egypt. The pharaoh, although he had proven his military superiority over the Hittites, now saw friendly relations with his recent enemy as a guarantee of maintaining his control over the Syro-Palestinian lands. Egypt only took tribute from local princes, preferring not to permanently maintain significant contingents of troops there. An increase in the size of tribute led to uprisings only when local rulers could rely on Hittite support. Now, after the reconciliation of Hatti with Egypt, the population of Palestine became much less prone to rebellion.