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Victims of civil war, bound with ropes and with their heads cut off and placed between their legs, from the Narmer palette, about 3000 BC

Victims of civil war in ancient Egypt. They’re bound with ropes and have their heads cut off and placed between their legs. (from the Narmer palette, about 3000 BC)

Civil wars in ancient Egypt

Because it is surrounded by deserts like the Land of Oz, Egypt is pretty hard to invade. So a lot of the time Egypt was at peace.

More about Egypt’s geography
Lots of Ancient Egypt articles

But not all the time. The Egyptians fought among themselves over who would be in charge of their country, and over whether the country would be united (as in the First Intermediate Period).

Soldiers from the 11th Dynasty (about 2000 BC)

Soldiers from the 11th Dynasty (about 2000 BC)

Who invaded Egypt?

The Egyptians also sometimes fought off invasions from the Libyans to their west, or from the Nubians to their south (and sometimes they lost to these attacks too).

More about the Nubians

Around 1700 BC, there was a big invasion of Hyksos from the north. They brought the first horses and chariots to Egypt.

More about the Hyksos

War chariots and weapons in ancient Egypt

The Egyptian army had bronze-tipped spears and shields made of wood and ox-hide. They also had highly trained archers who used bows and arrows. Egyptian soldiers do not seem to have worn armor, maybe because it was too hot.

More about bows and arrows

The Pharaohs in the New Kingdom fought from chariots drawn by horses, but probably before the New Kingdom the Egyptians did not have horse-drawn war chariots.
Egyptian Pharaoh Rameses at the Battle of Kadesh (Abu Simbel, New Kingdom)

Egyptian Pharaoh Rameses at the Battle of Qadesh (Abu Simbel, New Kingdom)

Ancient Egypt’s mercenary soldiers from Sudan and Greece

Beginning as early as the Middle Kingdom, Egyptian pharaohs hired Nubian mercenaries from Sudan to fight in their wars.

More about mercenary soldiers

It is likely (though not proven) that the New Kingdom Egyptians hired Greek mercenary soldiers to fight in their wars with them about 1500 BC.

Greek hoplite soldiers

Certainly many Greek soldiers fought for Egypt while Egypt was revolting against Persian rule in the 500s and 400s BC.

Learn by doing: archery
More about bows and arrows
And more about the Nubians

Bibliography and further reading about Egyptian warfare:

Eyewitness: Ancient Egypt, by George Hart. Easy reading.

The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, by Ian Shaw (2002).

History of Ancient Egypt: An Introduction, by Erik Hornung (1999). A college textbook. On the conservative side – not much on new developments.

Ancient Near Eastern History and Culture, by William H. Stiebing (2002). Expensive for a paperback, but brief and very up to date. And yes, it includes Egypt in the Near East.

More about African warfare
More about chariots and horses
And more about mercenary soldiers
More about ancient Egypt
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