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Are you interested in the ancient Egyptian army? Do you want to know what kinds of weapons they used, what it was like to be a soldier in ancient Egypt, and much more? Then keep reading, because that is what this paper is all about.
Weapons Weapons and armor in ancient Egypt where very interesting. I prefer a long iron sword, with a small copper shield, and maybe a bow in case I need to attack from long range. Most archers mostly rode on chariots pulled by horses, because imagine trying to sprint while loading a bow and arrow. Many soldiers rushed into battle on their feet. The soldiers that ran mostly carried maces, spears, and many more weapons, but mostly melee weapons. I sometimes run on my feet but mostly ride on horses. Pharaohs would battle, also they usually have the most protection like the best armor and the best soldiers surrounding him. The pharaoh would also command the army before and during battle. Later on, the weapons and armor became more advanced. Weapons went from tin or wood to gold or copper, and the shields went from small and easily breakable to big and strong. Most soldiers would not wear armor, because they were running around all day in the desert so they tried to wear as little clothing as possible. Until later on, when they discovered how to make the armor breathe by making metal flaps so arrows or swords could not get through but there were still openings.
Fun Fact That type of armor that they used was called scale armor and the ancient Egyptian army stole it from the Romans.
Sword
Shields
Armor
Bow and arrow
Soldiers Now that we learned about weapons, let’s learn about the people that used them, soldiers like me. Being a soldier was really hard. There were different kinds of soldiers. Archers and spearmen are some examples. We had to go through a very hard test to be in the army and even if you didn’t want to sometimes they would force you to. If you passed they would make you have a trainer and if you didn’t do well enough he was allowed to whip you. In the mornings we would have to wake up early and practice. There were some upsides to being a soldier though, like if you did something good in battle you would be rewarded with promotion, medals, food, pensions on retirement, and slaves. Being a soldier was very hard, but sometimes it’s worth protecting your country.
Pictures of what the soldiers looked like during battle.
Wars The wars we fought were very rough. At the time, Egypt had maybe the most food and resources and one of the most powerful militaries in the world, so you could imagine many people wanted to take it over. Here is a list of our enemies: Desert Raiders, the Hitties army from Palestine and Syria, Hyksos from all around Asia, Greeks, Romans, and the Kushite army from Nubia and Sudan. The Hyksos where probably the strongest army we had faced, because Asia was giant, and the Hyksos where from all around Asia. Actually for a period of time, the Hyksos controlled Egypt when around 1800 BC they invaded. Around 1640 BC they finally took over, and in 1550 BC the Egyptian army took their land back and forced the Hyksos out. How the ancient Egyptian era ended was because Cleopatra killed herself when the Romans where invading and the Egyptian army didn’t know what to do without someone ruling them. So the Romans took over. No one really knows why she killed herself. People think that she fell in love with the ruler of the Roman army, and then he died so she killed herself.
Pictures of ancient Egyptian war. There were a lot of wars in ancient Egypt. The weapons where very interesting, and being a soldier was very hard. I hope that answered all your questions about the weapons, wars and soldiers in Ancient Egypt.
Glossary
Archer-An archer is a soldier that uses a bow and arrow. Chariot-A chariot is a wagon like vehicle pulled by horses. Copper-Copper is the type of metal pennies are made out of. Mace-A mace is a weapon that had a stick with a powerful metal ball at the end. Melee- A melee weapon is a hand to hand weapon. Military –The military is the whole countries armed forces. Pensions-Pensions means to be paid after you retire. Spearmen-spearmen are soldiers that use spears.
Bibliography Deady, K. (2004). Ancient Egypt. Mankato: Capstone. Defensive Equipment of the Ancient Egyptian Army. (n.d.). Retrieved March 25, 2013, from touregypt.net: www.touregypt.net/featurestories/defense.htm Egyptian Weapons. (n.d.). Retrieved April 14, 2013, from Ancient Millitary: http://www.ancientmilitary.com/egyptian-weapons.htm Harvey, G. (2002). Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt. New York: Usborne Publishing. History of Ancient Egyptian Army. (n.d.). Retrieved April 23, 2013, from history-of-armor.com: http://www.history-of-armor.com/AncientEgyptianArmor.html Jestice, P. G. (2010). Ancient Egyptian Warfare. New York: Amber Books. Weapons in Ancient Egypt. (n.d.). Retrieved April 8, 2013, from reshafim.org: http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/weapons/index.html