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Campaigns
Nubia
Nubia, the land to the south of Egypt, consisted of Wawat (Lower Nubia), which stretched from Elephantine (Aswan) to the Second Cataract, and Kush (Upper Nubia) between the Second and Fourth Cataracts. The Egyptians used Nubia as a corridor to gain access to the region’s goods and to the exotic products of central Africa. King Djer’s name appears in a rock carving at Wadi Halfa accompanying a battle scene; this indicates that military campaigns had reached the Second Cataract as early as Dynasty 1. By the Old Kingdom, inscriptions in the tombs of local governors at Elephantine describe an increasing number of official trading expeditions supported by military force. In Dynasty 6 the local governor Harkhuf describes his expedition to Yam (whose chieftain had tried to seize control of one of the western oases). This journey was probably undertaken partly by river and partly overland using donkeys; he brought back incense, ebony, ivory, oil, panther skins, and oxen and also a dancing dwarf to entertain the young king of Egypt. ANNEXATIONThese expeditions ceased during the First Intermediate Period because of Egypt’s own internal conflicts, but the new rulers of Dynasty 12 were determined to conquer and colonize Nubia. As early as the Archaic Period the Egyptians had established their southern frontier at Elephantine (Aswan) at the First Cataract. Senusret I now launched a ruthless campaign to conquer and occupy Lower Nubia in year 18 of his reign. He was able to annex the region so that Egypt controlled the land between the Second and Third Cataracts and thus ensured their access to local supplies of gold, copper, granite, diorite, and amethyst. Senusret III, a successor, is best remembered for his activity in Nubia where he consolidated the annexation of the whole area. There had been conflicts in the region during the reigns of his two predecessors, so in year 8 of his reign and on at least three other occasions Senusret III led campaigns to Nubia. He cut a new channel in the First Cataract near the island of Sehel, allowing him to reach Nubia through a navigable waterway that linked Upper Egypt and Lower Nubia. His domain now reached as far as Semna at the southern end of the Second Cataract where the frontier was now fixed, but the Egyptians exerted influence even beyond this. To safeguard their possessions here, he established a string of brick fortresses, as Senusret I had done too. At least eight, built or extended by Senusret III, were situated on islands and promontories and lay between Semna South (at the frontier) and Buhen (at the northern end of the Second Cataract). They provided an effective defense system. Senusret III was deified and worshiped in Nubia in later times in commemoration of the vital role he had played in making Nubia part of Egypt. When the Middle Kingdom declined, however, the Nubians broke away and established their own kingdom. They helped the Hyksos when the Egyptians tried to expel them, and the repossession of Nubia became a top priority for the rulers of Dynasty 18. Tuthmosis I campaigned there in year 2 of his reign; this is recalled in an inscription on a rock near the island of Tombos above the Third Cataract and also in the biographical inscription of his commander, Ahmose of el-Kab. Tuthmosis I eventually took Egypt’s control of Nubia to its farthest point when he campaigned beyond the Fourth Cataract. Tuthmosis III continued the subjugation of Nubia and established the most distant major outpost at Napata near the Fourth Cataract. With these great advances many fortresses established in the Middle Kingdom had now lost their military significance, and so the rulers of Dynasty 18 built additional forts including those at Sai, Sedeinga, Napata, and Sulb. Once the military campaigns had reestablished Egypt’s domination of Nubia, further rebellions were prevented by the introduction of political measures. The whole area south of Nekhen in Upper Egypt as far as the southern limits of Egyptian influence (between the Fourth and Fifth Cataracts) was placed under the control of a viceroy, the “King’s Son of Kush.” One of his duties was to oversee the construction of great temples, often cut out of the rock, at Beit el-Wali, Gerf Hussein, Wadi el-Sebu’a, Amada, ed-Derr, and Abu Simbel; these temples were designed to impress and intimidate the local population. Egyptian power in Nubia was at its height during the New Kingdom, and the Nubians accepted their part as a colony of Egypt, sending annual tribute of gold, ostrich plumes, leopard skins, animals, precious stones, and slaves. The few minor revolts led by desert tribesmen were quickly subdued by expeditionary forces. .
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THE NUBIAN DYNASTY
After the Ramesside kings of Dynasty 20, the
administration of Nubia through the viceroys continued for some
time, but ultimately a separate kingdom emerged in the south ruled
from its capital, Napata. This preserved many aspects of Egyptian
civilization including the worship of the god Amen-Re. When Egypt
itself was split and ruled by a number of princelings in Dynasties
22 and 23, Piankhy, the son of a Napatan chieftain, marched
northward to attack these rulers. A large stela dating to year 21 of
Piankhy’s reign is inscribed with the account of this conquest,
giving details of his seizure of the cities and the resultant
slaughter and capture of prisoners. He returned to his southern
kingdom where he was buried in a pyramid at Kurru, but his successor
Shabako went back to Egypt to continue the fight. Established as the
first Nubian pharaoh, Shabako ruled the whole of Egypt, and his
successors formed Egypt’s Dynasty 25. The dynasty’s greatest ruler,
Taharka, was finally driven out of Egypt by the Assyrians. He
escaped to Napata in the far south where he eventually died and was
buried in a pyramid at Nuri. His successor Tanuatamun again claimed
the joint kingship of Nubia and Egypt and briefly regained Egypt
from the Assyrians and their vassals. The native vassal rulers
appointed by the Assyrians, however, soon established themselves as
the new kings of Egypt and founded Dynasty 26, thus bringing the
Nubian overlordship to an end.
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Syria/Palestine
During the First Intermediate Period the ‘Aamu (“Asiatics” or Bedouin) infiltrated Egypt through the northeastern border. These incursions had not ceased by the start of Dynasty 12, and it was necessary for Amenemhet I to construct the “Walls of the Ruler” (perhaps a line of fortresses) in this area to repel the Asiatics. Some of the ‘Aamu, many of whom apparently lived in Egypt in later years, may have entered the country at this time as prisoners of war. Generally, however, the Egyptians seem to have enjoyed good relations with their northern neighbors during Dynasty 12. These contacts were mainly based on trade, but there were also military encounters. The stela of Nesoumontou indicates that he campaigned under both Amenemhet I and Senusret I against the Asiatics. Later, Senusret III and his troops reached as far north as Sekmem (probably the district of Shechem in Samaria); details are preserved in the stela of Sebekkhu who fought in this campaign. During the New Kingdom Egypt’s military relations with her northern neighbors were dominated by activities against the Hyksos (early Dynasty 18), conflict with the Mitannians (mid-Dynasty 18) and the Hittites (Dynasty 19), and then the arrival and repulsion of the Sea Peoples (Dynasty 20). In Dynasty 18, the first important steps were taken to establish the Egyptian Empire. The Theban rulers Seqenenre Ta’o II, Kamose, and Amosis I had acted to expel the Hyksos from Egypt. According to inscriptions in tombs at el- Kab Amosis I besieged and took the Hyksos fortress of Avaris and then, over a three-year period, besieged the town of Sharuhen in southwest Palestine so that the Hyksos would have no base for a return attack. This seems to mark the extent to these Theban rulers’ campaigns in Palestine. Amenhotep I has left no record of his activities in Asia, but he seems to have pursued and extended his father’s policies rather than merely attempting to restore Egypt’s earlier border. Possibly, he took preliminary action in Palestine that laid the foundation for Tuthmosis I’s new, aggressive policy. .
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Campaigns
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