A Society Frequently At War
The history of Ancient Egypt covers a long period of around five thousand years during, which time the Ancient Egyptians were both invaders as well as been invaded by other states and empires. Having the latest weapons and the most up to date military tactics was important for establishing and maintaining internal order as much as it was for being successful in wars against other states and empires.
Periods Of Power Interspersed with Military Weakness
The military power of the Ancient Egyptians fluctuated between periods of strength in the Old Kingdom, the Middle Kingdom, and New Kingdoms in contrast to periods of weakness or occupation such as in any of the three intermediate periods alongside the Late Period.
The ancient Egyptians used weapons such as swords, lances, spears, and bows in their many wars, conflicts and invasions. At the very start of the Pre-Dynastic Period the ancient Egyptians were using stone age weapons, by the end of the New Kingdom they were facing enemies with iron age weapons.
Decline After Rameses II
The Ancient Egyptians were probably at their most militarily potent in terms of weapons, tactics, and actual military conquests during the very long reign of Rameses II. The weapons used by the Ancient Egyptians were used most effectively when they had a strong Pharaoh such as Rameses II were in power.
The ancient Egyptians used different weapons for their infantry, their cavalry, and also their chariot forces. The Ancient Egyptians faced a variety of enemies throughout their long history from primitive tribes in Nubia, to some of the best equipped armies in the ancient world like the Persians, and the forces of Alexander the Great. In the end the Ancient Egyptians did not have the weapons, the tactics, or the resources to defeat the forces of Alexander the Great, and the Romans. Historians date the end of Ancient Egypt to either the arrival of Ptolemy, or at the latest to the Roman invasion of
33 AD.
Bibliography
Crystal, D (2003) The Penguin Concise Encyclopedia, Penguin Group, London
Geddes and Grosset (2004) Ancient Egypt Myth & History, The Gresham Publishing Company, New Lanark
Grimal, N (1992) A History of Ancient Egypt, translated by I Shaw, Blackwell, Oxford
Moore, R I (1999) Philip’s Atlas of World History, Chancellor Press, London
Shaw, I (2000) The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, Oxford University, Oxford
Tyldesley, J (2003) Pyramids – the real story behind Egypt’s most ancient monuments, Viking, London
Verner, M (2002) The Pyramids – Their Archaeology and History, translated by S Rendall, Atlantic Books, London
