DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.55202#0182
162
THE MIDDLE KINGDOM IN THEBES
copper the result is bronze, and bronze was the great Hyksos in-
novation in Egyptian metallurgy. An occasional specimen of bronze
dating from before the Shepherds entered the land may have been
noted, but it can hardly be taken as proving that such alloys were
compounded intentionally in Egypt before the invasion.
As compared to native copper, bronze has great advantages. It
has a lower melting point than pure copper. It can be cast in a
closed mold, and it gives a cleaner casting when so molded. Finally,
all of these advantages are as nothing in comparison to the harder
temper and greater cutting power which comes with bronze as com-
pared with pure copper. Bronze was an alloy which must have con-
tributed immeasurably to the success of the Hyksos invasion of
Egypt, and bronze was one of the greatest Hyksos gifts to the natives
of the Nile Valley.
Then again as a protection for his own person the Hyksos was
clearly better off than the native of Egypt against whom he was
struggling. The Egyptian had only a big mop of hair to protect his
head, and he lurked behind his enormous shield at the foot of the
castle wall when he was conducting a siege. The bodies of the soldiers
of Neb-hepet-Ret killed in the siege of Heracleopolis and pictures at
Beni Hasan show us the Middle Kingdom warrior investing walled
towns. After the Hyksos had been in the land things were somewhat
different, and there is no reason to doubt that most of what the
Egyptians learned about the making of war was from the invaders.
As we have already seen, the Middle Kingdom shield was an
instrument used in sieges, perhaps wholly. After the Hyksos it was
not at all unusual to see the driver of the chariot with a small
shield in his hand to cover-up and protect the bowman who was
doing the fighting from the vehicle, and this shield was usually made
of leather-covered wood.37 Naturally this does not take account of
the innumerable pictures we have of barbarians, often in the Egyp-
tian army, carrying little round targets throughout the days of the
New Kingdom.
Of body armor there is perhaps no unquestioned representation
for some time, but bronze scales from armored shirts have frequently
been found in Egypt from the Eighteenth Dynasty and onwards.
Those from the palace built in the reign of Amun-hotpe HI are per-
haps the earliest we have today. They are quite large and obviously
37 Davies, Amarna, 1, Pl. XV, etc.; Carter, Tut.ankh.Amen, III, p. 142, Pl. XLV1I.
THE MIDDLE KINGDOM IN THEBES
copper the result is bronze, and bronze was the great Hyksos in-
novation in Egyptian metallurgy. An occasional specimen of bronze
dating from before the Shepherds entered the land may have been
noted, but it can hardly be taken as proving that such alloys were
compounded intentionally in Egypt before the invasion.
As compared to native copper, bronze has great advantages. It
has a lower melting point than pure copper. It can be cast in a
closed mold, and it gives a cleaner casting when so molded. Finally,
all of these advantages are as nothing in comparison to the harder
temper and greater cutting power which comes with bronze as com-
pared with pure copper. Bronze was an alloy which must have con-
tributed immeasurably to the success of the Hyksos invasion of
Egypt, and bronze was one of the greatest Hyksos gifts to the natives
of the Nile Valley.
Then again as a protection for his own person the Hyksos was
clearly better off than the native of Egypt against whom he was
struggling. The Egyptian had only a big mop of hair to protect his
head, and he lurked behind his enormous shield at the foot of the
castle wall when he was conducting a siege. The bodies of the soldiers
of Neb-hepet-Ret killed in the siege of Heracleopolis and pictures at
Beni Hasan show us the Middle Kingdom warrior investing walled
towns. After the Hyksos had been in the land things were somewhat
different, and there is no reason to doubt that most of what the
Egyptians learned about the making of war was from the invaders.
As we have already seen, the Middle Kingdom shield was an
instrument used in sieges, perhaps wholly. After the Hyksos it was
not at all unusual to see the driver of the chariot with a small
shield in his hand to cover-up and protect the bowman who was
doing the fighting from the vehicle, and this shield was usually made
of leather-covered wood.37 Naturally this does not take account of
the innumerable pictures we have of barbarians, often in the Egyp-
tian army, carrying little round targets throughout the days of the
New Kingdom.
Of body armor there is perhaps no unquestioned representation
for some time, but bronze scales from armored shirts have frequently
been found in Egypt from the Eighteenth Dynasty and onwards.
Those from the palace built in the reign of Amun-hotpe HI are per-
haps the earliest we have today. They are quite large and obviously
37 Davies, Amarna, 1, Pl. XV, etc.; Carter, Tut.ankh.Amen, III, p. 142, Pl. XLV1I.