The army of Ramesside Egypt had a complex hierarchical structure and served several important roles. It was organized into divisions, battalions, companies, platoons, and sections. The infantry consisted of archers and shock troops, while chariots provided mobility. The army also utilized mercenaries, fortresses, and a navy. The military defended Egypt, garrisoned frontiers, gained loot, expanded the empire, and participated in construction projects. It played a vital part in the security and power of Egypt during this period.

1. Ramesside Egypt:
The Nature & Role of the Army

2. Objective
• Explain the nature and role of the army in the
Ramesside Period
• Recall sources of evidence for the army

3. Outline
• Nature
– Structure and organisation
– Infantry, chariots, siege warfare
– Mercenaries
– Forts
– Navy
– Support
• Role
– Defence
– Garrison
– Gaining Booty
– Expanding the empire
– Public works
– Policing
– Ceremony
– Social advancement

4. Structure
• Section (10)
• Platoon (50)
• Company (250)
• Battalion (500)
• Division/army (4000)
• Geographic basis

5. Temple of Hatshepsut
Shaykh 'Abd Al-Qurnah

6. Royal War Imagery
“came forth to the [rear] in the palace the
majesty of this august god, Amon, king of
gods, his son before him. He embraced his
beauty crowned with the royal helmet, in
order to assign to him the circuit of the
sun. The Nine Bows are beneath his feet.”
- Coronation inscription of Horemheb
The Head of a Statue of
Amenhotep III, Re-Carved for
Ramesses II
Ramesses
III smiting
a Nubian –
Medinet
Habu

7. Infantry
• Archers
– Composite bow (range 175 m, 75 mm
penetration of metal)
– No armour
• Nakhtu-aa (shock troops)
– Weapons: spears, maces, khopesh
– Armour: stiffened cloth or bronze
scales, leather or bronze helmets
– Shields: Round-topped wooden shields
• Tactics
– Aggressive manoeuvre
– Massed volleys to cover advance and
disrupt enemy
– Chariots or Nakhtu-aa close
– Shield-wall

11. Come, [let me tell] you the woes of the
soldier, and how many are his superiors:
the general, the troop-commander, the
officer who leads, the standard-bearer,
the lieutenant, the scribe, the
commander of fifty, and the garrison-
captain.
- Papyus Lansing

12. Hittite style shield moulds from Per-
Ramesses
Hittite charioteer in Kadesh scenes at
Abu Simbel

13. very interesting bronze sword has been found in
Ugarit Syria. This sword is inscribed with the
cartouche of Merneptah and it displays a general
typological affinity with central European bronzework.
However, features such as the grooved blade and the
cartouche imply Near Eastern production based on a
foreign model.
Late Bronze Age swords found in Egypt which have not
Egyptain origin and recall in general shape and design
some of the ones handled by the Sea Peoples.
Achaean B Type sword

14. Chariots
• Strong, lightweight construction (34
kg)
• Reconstructions reach ~ 38 km/h
• Trained horses could travel ~ 60
km/day
• Manned by driver with shield and
warrior with bow; long scale armour
• Versatile
– Scout
– Raid
– Patrol lines of seiges
– Harass infantry then retreat
– Ride down fleeing enemies
Ramesses II at Battle of
Kadesh –Meha temple at
Abu Simbel

15. Siege Warfare
• Scaling ladders (Darpur)
• Sappers
• Siege towers
• Enclosing with walls
(Megiddo)
• Infiltration (Megiddo)

16. Relief from the Temple of Ramesses III at
Medinet Habu depicting severed right
hands being counted and put into a heap.
pits containing altogether 16 severed right
hands at Tell el-Daba

17. Mercenaries
• Nubian tribesmen (Medjay)
– Guarded KV
– Hide shields
– Simple bows or spears
• Sea People
– Sherden tribe was bodyguard to
Ramesses II, then given land
– Round shields, bronze corslets
and helmets
– Sword fighting specialists Sherden
bodyguard of
Ramses II – Sun
Temple at Abu
Simbel

18. Forts
• Built at strategic points on all frontiers
• Ditches
• Stone or mudbrick walls
• Crenelated battlements
• Interior towers
Foundation of the Fortress at Tell Haboa
Medinet Habu

19. Support
• Musicians
• Medics
– Request for bandages (pBN 197.V)
– Manual for treating battle wounds (P. Edwin
Smith)
• Priests
• Embalmers
• Scribes

20. P. Edwin Smith – Case 2
Title:
Instructions concerning a gaping wound
in his head, penetrating to the bone.
Examination:
If you examine a man having a gaping
wound in his head, penetrating to the
bone,
You should pal[pate his wound.
If you find his skull uninjured, not
having a perforation in it...
Diagnosis:
You should say regarding him: “This is
one having a gaping wound in his head.
An ailment which I will treat.“
Treatment:
You should bind fresh meat upon it the
first day; thou should apply for him two
strips of linen, and treat afterward with
grease, honey, and lint every day until
he recovers.
Gloss: As for: "Two strips of linen," it
means two bands of linen which one
applies upon the two lips of the gaping
wound in order to cause that one join to
the other.

21. P. Edwin Smith
• 1st written evidence of scientific
reasoning (observation to
conclusion)
• 1st description of brain, meninges
and Cerebrospinal fluid
• 1st evidence of systematic triage
(ailment to treat /not to treat)
• 1st use of splints and bandages
• 1st to note effects on lower limb
from head wounds
1) knives; (2) drill; (3) saw; (4) forceps
or pincers; (5) censer; (6) hooks; (7)
bags tied with string; (8, 10) beaked
vessel; (11) vase with burning incense;
(12) Horus eyes; (13) scales; (14) pot
with flowers of Upper and Lower Egypt;
(15) pot on pedestal; (16) graduated
cubit or papyrus scroll without side
knot (or a case holding reed scalpels);
(17) shears; (18) spoons.

22. Tomb of
Horemheb at
Memphis

23. Abu Simbel

24. Navy
• Egyptian ships had no keel,
few ribs, planks pinned
together
• Sail/oar powered
• Used to transport army and
supplies on Nile and along
coast
• Marines attack with bows,
javelins
• Boarding parties of infantry
• Use of grapples to overturn
top-heavy galleys

25. Enemies – ‘9 Bows’
Hypostyle Hall at
Karnak
Glazed tiles from Medinet Habu

26. The Merneptah Stele
Merneptah year 5
The kings are overthrown saying "Salem!"
Not one holds up his head among the nine nations of the
bow.
Wasted is Tehenu,
The Hittite Land is pacified,
Plundered is the Canaan, with every evil,
Carried off is Askalon,
Seized upon is Gezer,
Yeneam is made as a thing not existing.
Israel is desolated, her seed is not,
Palestine has become a [defenceless] widow for Egypt,
All lands are united, they are pacified;
Every one that is turbulent is bound by king Merneptah…