Daily Life – Warfare | Global Posts & Tags

Daily Life-Warfare

Sarah Haddix

Soldiers

Egypt had an army of fulltime soldiers who were stationed throughout the Empire.
Soldiers had to take part in regular wrestling matches.
The Ancient Egyptians also had mercenaries, who were soldiers from other lands paid to fight for Egypt.
When the Pharaoh sent the army into battle, the Pharaoh would take one of every ten men who worked in the temples.
Soldiers were rewarded for bravery with gold and silver weapons, jewels, or gold medals in the shape of flies.

Organization

The Egyptian Army was organized into companies and divisions.
A company had about 200 foot soldiers or infantry.
A division had about 5,000 men.
A captain led each company and carried a staff topped with the company’s emblem.
A General or Lieutenant-General led each division.
Divisions marched under the banner of their local god.
Experienced soldiers fought in the front with newer recruits located in the back.
Trumpeters and standard bearers (men who carried flags) became essential for keeping organized.

Peacetime

Soldiers worked on different jobs during peacetime.
Some jobs they might do are digging irrigation canals or carrying stone from the desert to build a Pharaoh’s tomb.
When not working on a large project they would quarry and mine stone.

Wartime

In the New Kingdom, Egypt went to war regularly.
In war slaves could win their freedom with bravery and strength.
Foot soldiers used javelins (long spears used for throwing), daggers, and short, curved swords. To protect themselves, they used shields made out of rawhide and wore headgear made of padded caps.
The Ancient Egyptians attacked first with bow and arrow, and then sent in their melee troops.
Some soldiers fought in chariots.
Chariots were wooden horse draw carriages and served as moving platforms for archers to shoot off of.
Two soldiers rode in each chariot, the driver and the archer.
The driver wore a leather or bronze helmet and leather body armor and drove the chariot.
The archer was armed with a bow and arrow for shooting long range targets an javelins for close range targets.