Warfare And Weapons In Pharaonic Egypt
Egypt under Pharaoh reign had it's soldiers equipped with a variety of weapons
, these ranged from cudgels, daggers, maces, bows and arrows e.t.c. Battle axes and Quivers were later used prior to the Intermediary Period "This was a time that Egyptian martial art witnessed significant revolution". Arrow heads were made from hammered copper heads in as early as 2000 BCE.
The chief weapon of the Egyptian military was the bow and arrow. Nubian mercenaries were particularly revered because they were master archers and were contracted by the Egyptians for combat purposes. Bow and arrows received a boost after the introduction of a composite bow designed from sinews, wood and horn referred to as Hyskos. This was used together with body armor made from broad leather straps.
The infantry of the New Kingdom carried spears, battle axes, sickle-swords and daggers. The sicklesword (MdC transliteration: xpS - khepesh or khopesh) came to Egypt from Syria, where Thutmose III used it first. There are many depictions of the gods handing the pharaoh this weapon of victory . It quickly became part of the infantryman's basic equipment.
After the bowmen, either on foot or on chariots, had softened up the enemy forces with a shower of arrows , the infantry would rush in, breaking their ranks with hand weapons, maces with wooden handles and stone - later metal - heads, battle axes , hatchets, clubs, swords , sickle-swords and daggers.
The spear was used for stabbing, giving greater reach to the soldier. Charioteers carried with them, apart from their bows and arrows, a number of spears and were thus not left weaponless after shooting their arrows.
Many of the new arms that came into use during the New Kingdom had their origin in Asia. The helmets Ramses III ordered distributed looked like Syrian helmets, the main difference being that the Syrian helmet was decorated with a horsetail while the Egyptian had cords ending in pendants. The body armor was of Asiatic origin too. It consisted of a leather jacket covered with little metal scales, not completely protecting the soldier from arrows, as the Egyptians could conclude from their own successes, or the Syrians when a lucky shot killed the disguised Ahab.
Despite such deficiencies, the charioteers of Thutmose III wore occasionally scale armor centuries before Ahab's mishap, but many preferred broad bands (of leather possibly) crossed over the chest or carried a shield. Their torso was thus more or less protected, while the lower body was shielded by the chariot itself.
The pharaohs often wore armor with inlaid semi-precious stones, which offered better protection, the stones being harder than the metal used for arrow tips. It is difficult to estimate, how widespread the use of armor or helmets really was, as the reliefs depict Egyptians very rarely carrying protection other than shields.
While Egypt produced at least part of the copper it needed, it had to import all the tin required to make bronze and was also wholly dependent on import for iron, which put it at a disadvantage vis-a-vis the rising empires of the east during the first millennium BCE.
by: Mathieu Courchesne
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