der Ramses III (r. 1194–1163 b.c.e.), aft er the gods Amun,
Ptah, Re, and Seth. Each division was divided into about 20
companies of 250 men and each of these into fi ve platoons
of 50, in addition to 20 administrative supervisers and mili-
tary scribes for managing provisions and other logistics. By
the middle of the Eighteenth Dynasty (ca. 1550–ca. 1307
b.c.e.) the Egyptian army had an organized chariot division,
which functioned mainly as a mobile platform for archers.
Th e cavalry division was, until the campaign of Sheshonk I
(r. ca. 945–924 b.c.e.) of the Twenty-second^ Dynasty, limited
mainly to scouting parties.
Th e navy was not a separate division of the Egyptian
army, and for most of Egyptian history sailors appear to have
been regular soldiers who used boats simply as waterborne
platforms. Th ese troops were normally stationed in barracks
at Th ebes, Heliopolis, Memphis, and Piramesse, the royal
residence during the Nineteenth Dynasty (ca. 1307–ca. 1196
b.c.e.). For one military campaign abroad the 20,000 soldiers
mobilized immediately, and large Egyptian warships, such as
Star of Egypt, Soul of the Gods, Wild Bull, Beloved of Amun, or
Th utmose Appears in Memphis, transported troops and sup-
plies via the Pelusiac Branch of the Nile to Byblos (later called
Jubayl) on the coast of what is now Lebanon.
Like any modern army, the Egyptian forces were organized
along strictly hierarchical lines. Th ey were under the com-
mand of the king, who had an advisory council made up of a
vizier (sometimes called the “overseer” of the troops), generals,
and senior functionaries. Divisions, companies, and platoons
had supervisers equivalent to modern offi cers and noncom-
missioned offi cers. As in every other sphere of the Egyptian
bureaucracy, sons were able to follow their fathers’ military
profession for the sake of a career and a secure livelihood.
During the Old Kingdom (ca. 2575–ca. 2134 b.c.e.) the
Egyptian army was largely considered a national one, with
the exception of Nubian archers, who joined the army in the
Sixth Dynasty. From then on, notably in the New Kingdom,
foreign units began to form with the gradual subjugation of
neighboring people in Asia, the Mediterranean, and the re-
gion of modern-day Libya. From the time of King Seti I (r.
1306–1290 b.c.e.) the army included a contingent of Sherdan
mercenaries, originally from the Mediterranean islands, who
were distinct from the Egyptian forces with their swords,
spiked helmets, and shields. It was not unusual for foreign
mercenaries to reach the senior ranks in the Egyptian army
or even to join the king’s elite bodyguard. For instance, the
guard of Amenhotep III (r. 1391–1353 b.c.e.) was composed
of Nubians and Canaanites. Beginning in the Second Inter-
mediate Period (ca. 1640–ca. 1532 b.c.e.) the Egyptians em-
ployed the Medjay, a pastoral people who lived in the Arabian
Desert, as police within Egypt and along its southern frontier.
By the New Kingdom the term Medjay had become virtually
synonymous with police, which, like the military, were orga-
nized hierarchically and headed by the chief of the Medjay.
Many kings during the New Kingdom campaigned in
western Asia on a nearly annual basis. As might be expected
from a temporarily mustered force, the troops left Egypt aft er
the harvest was gathered and returned in time for the plant-
ing season. Textual evidence refers to the transportation
of food and fodder by ships to the large port centers in the
eastern Mediterranean region. Th ere is no evidence that the
soldiers’ families accompanied the troops during any cam-
paign. Instead, they prayed to the deity Amun in temples or
in domestic shrines to return their sons and relatives home
safely. Th e family members of the scribe Dhutmose in the
Twentieth Dynasty (ca. 1196–1070 b.c.e.), for example, are
recorded “calling upon Amun, Mut, Khonsu, Re-Horakhti
in his rising and in his setting and all gods of Th ebes” to re-
turn their son Dhutmose, who was sent in military mission
in Nubia, “back alive from the next war.”
In early times a young man’s military service began at the
age of 20, and in later periods the recruits were much younger.
A recruit faced a hard school of discipline and toughening up.
His uniform was a short kilt or merely a penis sheath, and
he wore a feather in his hair as an ornament. Physical exer-
cise and wrestling alternated with training in weaponry. For
breaches of discipline the commander would order a thrash-
ing; one text refers to an off ender being beaten by his fellow
recruits “like papyrus.” Military reviews were held on state
holidays or aft er the return of a victorious army in presence
of the kings, to the accompaniment of trumpets, fi fes, and
drums.
During such festivals offi cers and soldiers could receive
gold awards for bravery and other awards, including deco-
rated axes, daggers, or swords, for other military virtues.
Trinkets such as little golden lions, representing bravery, and
gold fl ies, symbolizing perseverance in the attack, could be
considered the world’s oldest medals. Esteemed offi cers could
be granted numbers of prisoners, male or female, to be kept
as slaves, and sometimes plots of land.
Military strategy was usually adapted according to the
natural conditions and situations the Egyptians encountered.
Textual and pictorial sources describe, for example, the tac-
tics of the battle of Kadesh, which took place around 1274
b.c.e. during the reign of Ramses II (r. 1290–1224 b.c.e.).
Ramses II apparently believed the story of two Hittite spies
who presented themselves as Bedouins and reported to the
king that the Hittite army had retreated. Ramses II therefore
rapidly moved through enemy territory without scouting
the area ahead, ignoring one of the most basic military prin-
ciples. Having crossed the Orontes River without sending
troops ahead, he was attacked by the Hittites, and the river
lay between him and his supporting troops. Egyptian forces
traveling by warship managed to save the Egyptian army
from destruction.
Several series of forts, watchtowers, and way stations
facilitated the Egyptian army’s march and served as part of
a signaling system adjacent to the cliff s along the Nile in
Nubia and along the northeastern border with the ancient
Near East. Th e system of military stations in this frontier
region was known during the New Kingdom as the WaysMilitary: Egypt 727