Nubia in the Old Kingdom. Several settlements were estab-
lished south of Elephantine to control the frontier, including
the town at Buhen at the second cataract.
In the Middle Kingdom, two series of fortresses were
built along the Nile to protect Egyptian interests in the south.
Th e fi rst series of forts was built to the north of the second
cataract and includes the fortress at Buhen. Th ese forts were
completed by the end of the reign of Sesostris I (r. 1971–1926
b.c.e.). Th e second set of forts—at Semna, Kumma, Uronarti,
Shelfak, and Askut—was built south of the second cataract by
Sesostris III (r. 1878–1841 b.c.e.). Between Semna and Uron-
arti there is also a fortifi ed brick wall almost three miles long.
Sesostris III left inscriptions declaring Semna to be the bor-
der of Egyptian control. Th e inscriptions announced that no
Nubian was allowed to pass Semna either by land or by wa-
ter, with the exception of Nubian traders and envoys; Nubian
traders were allowed to travel as far as Iken, just south of the
second cataract. Th e control of the region between Elephan-
tine and Semna was entrusted to the governor of Elephantine,
who held the titles Great Controller of Nubia and Overseer of
all Foreign Lands.
Th e kings of the New Kingdom increased the zone of
infl uence and built forts from Semna to the fourth cataract.
South of the fourth cataract, Th utmose III (r. 1479–1425 b.c.e.)
built a fort at Napata and left an inscription delineating the
boundary of the Egyptian Empire. Th e length of the Nile from
Edfu, north of Elephantine, down to Karoy, the region be-
yond the fourth cataract, was entrusted to the leadership of
the viceroy of Kush. Th e viceroy acted on the king’s behalf in
Nubia, protecting the trade routes and leading the Egyptian
army against Nubian rebellions when necessary.
In the east, along the length of the Nile Valley, the desert
was uninhabitable by a sedentary civilization. However, the
eastern desert was populated by the nomadic Medjay, whose
numbers were insuffi cient for a major invasion of Egypt, yet
they were independent enough to be considered a minor
threat. Beyond the eastern desert lies the Red Sea and the
Arabian Peninsula, which is largely uninhabited. Th e only
point in the east where Egypt was vulnerable to attack was the
eastern edge of the delta, where a frontier region was recog-
nized from the Mediterranean to the Gulf of Suez. Th e Middle
Kingdom pharaoh Amenemhet I (r. 1991–1962 b.c.e.) built a
fortress there called the Walls of the Ruler as a base for trad-
ing and mining expeditions into Sinai. Th e eastern delta was
a heavily traffi cked area, as it was the entrance point for the
caravan route to Palestine. Th e road from Egypt to Palestine
was called the Ways of Horus and was protected by a series of
fortresses. In the New Kingdom, Avaris, the former capital of
the Hyksos, was transformed into a military stronghold.
As in the east, the greater part of the western border was
protected by an extensive desert. Also as in the east, the most
vulnerable spot was at the western edge of the delta. New
Kingdom Egypt saw an increase in attacks from the west. As
a result, a line of fortresses was built along the edge of the
delta, most likely by Ramses II (r. 1290–1224 b.c.e.). Th e fort
marking the westernmost point of Egyptian occupation was
called “Th e Fortress of the West.”THE MIDDLE EAST
BY KIRK H. BEETZ
During the 7000s b.c.e. nomadic peoples gradually settled
in Mesopotamia and domesticated crops such as wheat and
barley. Th eir territory was defi ned by two great, meandering
rivers that fl owed across the Near East and into the Persian
Gulf, the Tigris and the Euphrates. At fi rst the settlements
were small, and there was little concept of borders. As set-
tlements grew during a population boom enabled by secure
farming techniques, some became city-states.
Th e settlements dug irrigation ditches to draw water
from the rivers into farmlands; rain was rare, however, and
without rain to leech out salts left from the irrigation water,
lands became ever less fertile, requiring that more and more
land be farmed to feed the growing population. Th is meant
that during the Uruk Period of roughly 4300–3100 b.c.e.,
farmlands of diff erent Sumerian cities began bumping into
each other. By then the notion of land ownership was well es-
tablished, with property owners identifying their boundaries
with large stones. However, ownership of territory by a city’s
people was hard to establish, because there were no defensible
frontiers. Further complicating the situation were nomadic
tribes that would loot the food and wealth of a city or would
move into a region of land and settle, creating pressure on
nearby cities by competing for natural resources.
During the Early Dynastic Period of the Sumerian culture
(2900–2334 b.c.e.) competition for land frequently resulted in
warfare. City administrations had been run by a chief admin-
istrator, who could be overruled on city policy by a council of
civic leaders that in turn could be overruled by a vote of the
people. Success in war required strong leaders, and chief ad-
ministrators who were notably successful gradually became
kings, though their power was still tempered by the will of the
voters. Cities came to defi ne their territory as having at their
core an urban land area; during the 2000s b.c.e., walls were
built around these central urban areas. Around the walled
city would be homes and intensively cultivated land, the outer
limits of which constantly expanded. Th en there was a sphere
of infl uence that included villages protected by the central
city and a frontier that was disputed by other cities.
In 2334 b.c.e. Sargon I became king of the city-state
Kish, and he may have been the ruler who began the doctrine
of constant territorial expansion in order to protect territory
already held. Without defensible frontiers, any territory was
open to invasion. To many rulers in the ancient Near East the
best way to secure territory was to push the frontier out as far
as possible; this created a perpetual state of conquest, because
protection of newly won lands meant conquering the neigh-
bors of those lands. To help hold together his ever-expanding
kingdom, Sargon I created a cult of personality, in which he
became synonymous with the city-state and claimed to be the142 borders and frontiers: The Middle East