Latest / Ramses the Great: Egypt's Most Powerful Pharaoh — Fexingo History / Ramses the Great's Army: Soldiers and Strategy in the New Kingdom
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've talked a lot about Ramses as a builder, a diplomat, a propagandist. But I want to talk about something we haven't really touched on: the army he commanded. The actual men who fought for him. Luna: We've focused on the big battles like Kadesh, but not the soldiers themselves. Lucas: Exactly. The Egyptian army of the New Kingdom was a professional force, but it wasn't just one thing. You had the core of career officers and elite troops, then conscripts drafted from the peasantry for campaigns, and then foreign mercenaries — like the Sherden, who we mentioned in the Sea Peoples episode. Lucas: By Ramses' time, the army had a clear hierarchy. At the top, the pharaoh was the commander-in-chief, but day-to-day operations fell to a 'Scribe of the Army' — an administrator who tracked supplies, pay, and personnel. Then you had 'great generals of the army' who led divisions, each named after a god: the Division of Amun, of Re, of Ptah, of Seth. Luna: Those are the same divisions we heard about at Kadesh. Lucas: Right, and they were huge. A division probably had about 5,000 men: 4,000 infantry and 1,000 charioteers. The infantry were split into regiments of 250 men, further broken into platoons of 50 and squads of 10. The chariot corps was the elite arm, but it took years to train both the horses and the crew. Luna: What kind of training did a chariot crew have? Lucas: A chariot had two men: a driver and a fighter. The driver had to be incredibly skilled — controlling two horses at a gallop, often on rough terrain, while the fighter shot arrows or threw javelins. They trained on flat, open ground, running drills where the driver would wheel and turn on command. The horses were specially bred from foreign stock, and expensive — a good chariot horse could cost a year's wages. Lucas: Infantry were more straightforward. They carried spears, axes, and shields, or bows for archers. The standard tactic was to advance in ranks, with archers softening the enemy, then a charge. But sieges were brutal — they'd use battering rams and scaling ladders, and the defenders would pour hot pitch or drop stones. Luna: Did the soldiers get paid well? Lucas: They got rations — bread, beer, meat, and oil — plus land grants after service. A soldier could earn promotion through bravery, and there are records of common soldiers rising to become 'standard-bearer' or even 'great general'. One famous example is a man named Urhiya, a charioteer who became a general under Ramses. Lucas: And then there were the foreign mercenaries. The Sherden were originally pirates that Ramses defeated and then incorporated into his guard. They wore distinctive horned helmets and carried round shields and long swords. The Medjay, from Nubia, were expert archers and scouts. These units were loyal because they were paid well and given land. Luna: So the army was a mix of Egyptians, Nubians, and even 'Sea Peoples'. Lucas: Exactly. It was a multicultural force, and that was deliberate — it prevented any one group from becoming too powerful. And the soldiers themselves came from all over Kemet. Recruitment was handled by local officials who would muster men from each nome, or province. The conscripts served for the duration of a campaign, but the core professional soldiers were always on duty. Lucas: Logistics were a massive challenge. An army of 20,000 men needs about 40,000 pounds of grain per day. That's why campaigns were usually launched after the harvest, so the army could live off the land. They also had supply ships on the Nile and donkey caravans for dessert routes. Luna: And you needed scribes to keep track of all that. Lucas: Absolutely. The 'Scribe of the Army' was one of the most important roles. He recorded every soldier's name, unit, and equipment. Papyri from the period show detailed rosters, even listing who had a shield, who needed a new bow — it's astonishingly bureaucratic. Lucas: And speaking of bureaucracy, you know, there's a reason we can talk about this in such detail. It's because documents survive. And that's thanks to places like the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and the work of scholars who've spent decades translating these texts. But a lot of that research is funded by small donations from enthusiasts. Luna: It's true — the kind of deep dive we do on this show wouldn't be possible without listener support. Lucas: If today's episode was worth a coffee to you, that's the link: buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It helps us keep the show ad-free and pay our researchers. Luna: Yeah, it really does make a difference. Lucas: So back to the army — one last detail. Ramses was known for rewarding his soldiers. After Kadesh, he granted land and cattle to his veterans, and some of these grants were recorded on stelae that survive. It's a reminder that for all the propaganda, he understood his army was the backbone of his power. Luna: It's easy to think of Ramses as this larger than life figure, but he relied on thousands of ordinary men. Lucas: Exactly. And those men, with their spears and chariots, made his empire possible.