ers as the expansion of trade warranted a military pres-
ence in remote regions. These positions appear to have
been hereditary, the beginnings of a military caste. Ordi-
nance and other logistical and provisionary departments
were already functioning, and there were reserves and
supplies mandated for the military units.
In Nubia there was a decided shift in Egyptian activi-
ties. Men like Weni used Nubian mercenaries, particu-
larly when he served as the governor of Upper Egypt, but
trade was the key to Egypt’s relationship with Nubia.
HARKHUFand his famous expedition for the child ruler
PEPI II(r. 2246–2152 B.C.E.) indicate a limited role in
Nubia, mostly economic, not military. Buhen and the
other forts were no longer invested with troops, and
Nubia was comparatively free of Egyptian forces.
The soldiers of the Old Kingdom were depicted as
wearing skullcaps and carrying clan or nome totems.
They used maces with wooden heads or pear-shaped
stone heads. Bows and arrows were standard gear, with
square-tipped flint arrowheads and leather quivers. Some
shields, made of hides, were in use but not generally.
Most of the troops were barefoot, dressed in simple kilts
or naked.FIRST INTERMEDIATE PERIOD
With the collapse of the Old Kingdom in 2134 B.C.E., mil-
itary activities in Egypt were confined once again to the
regions within the nation’s borders. The KHETYclan of
HERAKLEOPOLISmoved against their northern and western
neighbors to carve out a new royal realm. The rulers of
the Ninth and Tenth Dynasties (2134–2040 B.C.E.) were
vigorous warriors, aided by nome allies. They could not
penetrate into Upper Egypt because of the Theban resis-
tance, and eventually the Thebans attacked their south-ern outposts and began marching on their capital. Nubian
troops were employed in the battles in the place of the
ruler. In 2040 B.C.E., the armies of MONTUHOTEP IItook
Herakleopolis, and the internal wars of Egypt were com-
ing to a close.
THE MIDDLE KINGDOM
The fall of Herakleopolis ended the Tenth Dynasty and
started the Middle Kingdom. The land was united, but
there were standing armies in some nomes, and aristo-
crats did not hesitate to use their forces to exact
vengeance or to consolidate holdings. Such nobles were
free to act on their own behalf as long as they provided
the required number of troops to the royal campaigns.
Such petty feuds between the nomes were ended in the
Twelfth Dynasty.
There was a standing army in this period, composed
of conscripts. There was a minister of war and a com-
mander in chief of the army, or an official who worked in
that capacity. Frontier units were on duty at the borders,
and troops accompanied many of the mining and quarry-
ing expeditions.
Montuhotep and his successors continued vigorous
campaigns against LIBYAand the SINAIand are reported as
having expanded their operations even into Syrian lands.
The rulers of the Twelfth Dynasty (1991–1783 B.C.E.), the
Amenemhets, started their reigns with military cam-
paigns. AMENEMHET I(r. 1991–1962 B.C.E.) was a usurper
and was skilled in military affairs, having served in mar-
tial and administrative affairs for the last Montuhotep.
Upon staking his claims, he took an armada of ships up
and down the Nile to discourage any rebellions from
nome clans. He also erected a series of garrisoned
fortresses on the northern borders, called the WALL OF
THE PRINCE. When Amenemhet I died, his son and heir,
SENWOSRET I, was on a campaign in Libya, having a small
unit of bodyguards with him.
A vast army of scribes and administrators served the
military forces of Egypt in this period. The frontier fortifi-
cations were manned, and there were even “shock
troops” used in campaigns. There are some indications
that professional soldiers were in the ranks of the Egyp-
tian army at this time, called “the Brave” or “the Valiant.”
Officers could be denoted in reliefs by the feathers that
they wore in their caps.
In NUBIA the Middle Kingdom had considerable
impact. The Montuhoteps continued their raids, and the
Amenemhets made a policy of fortifying trade settlements
as part of their dynastic goals. Senwosret I (1971–1926
B.C.E.) erected several fortresses and kept them fully
staffed with troops. Ikkur, ANIBA, and QUBANdate to this
era, and the region around Buhen was more stiffly forti-
fied. The Twelfth Dynasty rulers may have erected
fortresses as far south as SEMNA.
The term Kushcame into being here, to designate a
region of Nubia that had its capital at KERMEH. During themilitary 245A relief depicting Ramesses II in battle array
array, displayed on a Karnak wall.(Hulton Archive.)