184: Fighting for Pharaoh

Sety I (Part 6): Mesha, Menfat, Pedjet, Pecherer. By 1300 BCE, Egyptians had developed a sophisticated, well-organised military system. Distinct branches and types of troops (infantry, archers, auxiliaries, and more) marched and fought in identifiable units. Their weapons survive in the archaeological record, and ancient texts and art reveal their equipment, behaviour, and battlefield roles. Today, we introduce the soldiers who won Sety I’s wars…

Details and sources:

Date: c. 1300 BCE.

Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com.

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Music intro and interludes: Bettina Joy de Guzman.

Interludes: Luke Chaos.

Music outro: Keith Zizza.

Texts: Kenneth Kitchen's Ramesside Inscriptions volume 1. Hieroglyph versions at Internet Archive, English translations at Abercromby Press.

Peter Brand, Ramesses II: Egypt's Ultimate Pharaoh, out now from Lockwood Press.

Select Bibliography:

P. J. Brand, The Monuments of Seti I: Epigraphic, Historical and Art Historical Analysis (2000).

P. J. Brand, Ramesses II: Egypt’s Ultimate Pharaoh (2023).

A. H. Gardiner, ‘The Ancient Military Road between Egypt and Palestine’, The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 6 (1920), 99–116.

B. Heagren, ‘The Art of War in Pharaonic Egypt’, Unpublished PhD. Thesis, The University of Auckland (2010).

M. Healy, Qadesh 1300 BC: Clash of the Warrior Kings (1993).

K. A. Kitchen, Ramesside Inscriptions Translated and Annotated: Notes and Comments, I (Oxford, 1993).

K. A. Kitchen, Ramesside Inscriptions Translated and Annotated: Translations, I (Wallasey, 2017).

S. McDermott, ‘Ancient Egyptian Footsoldiers and Their Weapons: A Study of Military Iconography and Weapon Remains’, Unpublished PhD. Thesis, The University of Manchester (2002).

E. F. Morris, The Architecture of Imperialism: Military Bases and the Evolution of Foreign Policy in Egypt’s New Kingdom (2005).

W. J. Murnane, The Road to Kadesh: A Historical Interpretation of the Battle Reliefs of King Sety I at Karnak (1985).

A. R. Schulman, ‘Military Rank, Title, and Organization in the Egyptian New Kingdom’, Unpublished PhD. Thesis, University of Pennsylvania (1962).

A. J. Spalinger, Aspects of the Military Documents of the Ancient Egyptians (1982).

A. J. Spalinger, War in Ancient Egypt: The New Kingdom (2005).

A. J. Spalinger, ‘The Army’, in T. Wilkinson (ed.), The Egyptian World (New York, 2007), 118–131.

The Epigraphic Survey, Medinet Habu, Volume I. Earlier Historical Records of Ramses III (1930).

The Epigraphic Survey, Medinet Habu, Volume II. The Later Historical Records of Ramses III (1932).

The Epigraphic Survey, Reliefs and Inscriptions at Karnak Volume 4: The Battle Reliefs of King Sety I (1986).

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