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Early Expeditions
As early as the Old Kingdom there was a national
army with a loosely organized military hierarchy, permanent forces
that undertook specialist duties, and additional conscripted troops
who could be raised when the need arose. It was only after the
Hyksos domination that the Egyptians considered it necessary to
adopt an aggressive military policy to prevent future invasion of
their country. In earlier times, however, they were not threatened
by their neighbors and did not seek to conquer and impose their rule
over other lands. When punitive expeditions were necessary to subdue
border incursions or when military force was needed to underpin
trading expeditions, district governors (nomarchs) were requested to
raise temporary troops from their own locality to assist the king.
These were conscripted from the peasants. The national army, a
relatively small core of permanent soldiers, was generally used for
peaceful expeditions such as collecting produce from neighboring
countries, for escorting the minerals from the desert mines, for
cutting and carrying blocks of stone at building sites, or for
duties such as guarding the palace or policing the desert frontiers.
Byblos
Some of the expeditions went to Byblos on the Syrian coast. This city’s association with Egypt lasted from early dynastic times until the Ptolemaic era. The rulers of Dynasty 2 imported cedar through Byblos; the first Egyptian object discovered there that can be dated accurately is a fragment of a stone polished vase inscribed with the name of a Dynasty 2 ruler, Khasekhemui. By the Old Kingdom contact between Egypt and Byblos was well established: In Sahure’s pyramid complex at Abusir there were reliefs showing ships returning from Syria, possibly from an expedition to obtain timber. Aboard these ships are depicted sailors; some are bearded foreigners, but they appear to be visitors or envoys rather than bound captives as they lift up their arms to praise the Egyptian king. Stone vessels inscribed with the names of Old Kingdom kings Teti and Unas have been excavated at Byblos. They were probably brought to Byblos by Egyptian traders as offerings to the local goddess, the “Mistress of Byblos,” whom they identified with the Egyptian deity Hathor. During the First Intermediate Period when Egypt was preoccupied with civil wars, the trade with Byblos fell away. Under the kings of Dynasty 11, however, this was revived, and during Dynasty 12 close ties were once again established. Although Byblos was never an Egyptian colony, there was a strong Egyptian influence; the local ruler used an Egyptian title that meant “hereditary prince” or “governor,” and goods and jewelry found at Byblos were either imported from Egypt or made locally in imitation of Egyptian styles. .
Sinai
Expeditions were also sent by boat to the Wadi Maghara or Serabit el-Khadim in Sinai; inscriptions on the rocks at Wadi Maghara indicate that the Egyptians traveled there from Dynasty 1 through to the Late Period. This area provided them with turquoise and copper. As well as the mining communities, there were also trading centers that attracted merchants from far afield who came in search of turquoise. The transportation of precious commodities back to the Nile Valley involved dangers for the soldiers who accompanied these expeditions. There were skirmishes with various desert tribes, and punitive expeditions were organized during the Old Kingdom to stop acts of aggression by these nomads (the “Sand Dwellers”). .
Nubia
The Egyptians sent early expeditions to the south to gain access to building stone and gem stones and later to gold. People from this region were also engaged to work for the Egyptians as soldiers and in the mines and quarries. In order to maintain control over this area the Egyptians of the earliest dynasties annexed the region that lay north of Elephantine (Aswan) and fixed the frontier at the First Cataract. Djer, a king of Dynasty 1, led his army as far south as the Second Cataract, and by the Old Kingdom an increasing number of commercial expeditions were sent to Nubia, supported by the militia. Tombs, cut into the cliffside at Aswan, belonging to the governors of Elephantine contain inscriptions with interesting details about these expeditions. During the First Intermediate Period this contact with the south was interrupted, but the rulers of Dynasty 12 colonized Nubia and conquered the country as far as Semna, which lay south of the Second Cataract. Senusret III was famous for his conquests in Nubia, and he and a predecessor, Senusret I, safeguarded the new frontier with a string of fortresses built between Semna South and Buhen at the Second Cataract. Punt The Egyptians also sent expeditions to Punt, a region situated somewhere to the southeast of Egypt, probably on the east coast of Africa near the southern end of the Red Sea. Their relationship with the people of Punt was similar to their contacts with Byblos. Regular expeditions were sent there to negotiate with the local inhabitants for the highly prized commodities of myrrh trees, packed in baskets for planting in temple groves in Egypt, and ebony, ivory, leopard skins, and baboons. The Egyptians traded with Punt from at least Dynasty 5, but there may have been even earlier expeditions. They appear to have established a trading route between Byblos and Punt going via Egypt. Ships used for these voyages were known as “Byblos ships” and were built at a place on the Red Sea coast (probably near the modern Wadi el-Gasus). Expeditions set out from here for Punt, but when they returned they had to disembark and their produce was loaded onto donkeys so that it could be taken overland to the Nile Valley.
Western Desert
Finally, to the west of the Nile Valley there lies a string of oases that the Egyptians controlled. In Dynasty 6, when a Nubian chieftain attempted to gain control of one of these, peace was restored by Harkhuf, the governor of Elephantine. The Egyptians recruited soldiers from the oases but also used them as a place of banishment for criminals. Beyond the oases lay Tjehenu, a desert area inhabited by a number of tribes including the Tjemhu, Tjehnya, and later the Meshwesh and Libu.
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Early Expeditions
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