Latest / Ramses the Great: Egypt's Most Powerful Pharaoh — Fexingo History / Ramses the Great's Stables: How He Raised His War Horses
Transcript
- Lucas: Luna, we've talked a lot about Ramses's chariots — their design at Kadesh, the tactics, the crews. But I realised we've never really asked: where did all those horses come from? Luna: That's a great point. They couldn't have just appeared. Lucas: Exactly. And the answer is that Ramses ran what was essentially a state‑owned horse‑breeding operation on an industrial scale. The heart of it was in his new capital, Per‑Ramesses, in the Delta. Archaeologists working at the site — ancient Qantir — have found enormous stable complexes. We're talking about buildings that could house hundreds of horses at a time, with tethering rings, feeding troughs, even drainage channels for urine. Lucas: This wasn't just a few stalls behind the palace. It was a dedicated, purpose‑built facility. The horse was a military asset, and Ramses treated it like one. Luna: Where did the Egyptians get their horses in the first place? They weren't native to the Nile Valley, were they? Lucas: No, they weren't. The horse was introduced to Egypt sometime during the Second Intermediate Period, probably from the Levant — brought in by the Hyksos. By Ramses's time, Egypt had its own breeding lines, but they still imported stock to keep the bloodlines strong. There's evidence of trade with regions like Lydia and Syria for quality stallions. Lucas: And the scale of the operation is staggering. One inscription from the reign of Ramses III — not our Ramses, but close — mentions a stable that held over 900 horses. Ramses the Great's stables were probably similar. Each chariot required two horses, and a single division in battle could have 500 chariots. That's a thousand horses just for one unit. Luna: So how did they feed them all? That's a lot of hay. Lucas: It was a massive logistical undertaking. The Delta was breadbasket of Egypt, so they could grow barley and straw locally. But horses also need grazing land, and the Delta had plenty of marshland — the ancient name for the area around Per‑Ramesses actually means 'Domain of the Horse' in some texts. They also used the annual inundation of the Nile — Hapi's flood — to ensure lush pasture. Lucas: The daily ration for a warhorse was probably around ten pounds of grain and twenty pounds of hay — plus water, which in the desert is no small thing. There were entire teams of grooms and water‑carriers whose only job was keeping the horses fed and hydrated. Lucas: And the horses weren't just fed — they were trained. Chariot horses had to be conditioned to charge into enemy lines without flinching. They had to respond to voice commands and the pressure of the reins, because in the chaos of battle there was no room for error. Luna: You know, it occurs to me that we take for granted how much work went into making this show. Every episode means research, scripting, editing — and we try to keep it ad‑free so it's just the history, no interruptions. A lot of listeners have asked how they can help, and honestly, if a few people threw in a couple of dollars a month at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo, it genuinely keeps these going. Luna: Yeah, it's a small thing that makes a real difference. And we can go right back to the horses — there's so much more to dig into. Lucas: So back to the stables. One of the most fascinating details comes from a relief at Medinet Habu, which shows Ramses III — again, not our guy, but the iconography is similar — inspecting his horses. The horses are shown with elaborate harnesses and plumes, and each one has a name. The Egyptians named their horses, just like we do today. Lucas: We actually know some of those names from inscriptions: 'Amun‑is‑my‑Protection', 'The‑Great‑of‑Strength', 'The‑Lion‑of‑the‑Battlefield'. These weren't just pets — they were warriors in their own right. A horse that panicked could lose you the battle. So they were selected for courage as much as speed. Luna: Who was in charge of all this? Was there a 'Minister of Horses' or something? Lucas: Not exactly a minister, but there was a high official called the 'Overseer of the Stable of His Majesty'. We know a few of these men by name. One was a guy named Penre — we actually met him in the episode about Ramses's architects, but he also served as a stablemaster. Another was a man called Bekenkhons, who started his career as a stable hand and rose to become High Priest of Amun. Lucas: The stablemaster was a position of real trust, because he had direct access to the king's horses — and by extension, the king's military readiness. The horses were kept in the royal compound, behind the walls of Per‑Ramesses, alongside the chariots. Everything was centralized. Luna: So the stablemaster was basically one of the most important people in the kingdom. Lucas: Absolutely. And we have texts that mention the daily routine: the horses were exercised, groomed, and their hooves checked. They even had veterinarians — there's a papyrus that lists remedies for horse ailments, things like poultices for wounds and mixtures to treat colic. It wasn't folk medicine; it was systematic. Lucas: One of the most interesting finds from Qantir is a set of horse burials — actual skeletons of horses that were buried with full military honors. They were arranged as if they were pulling a chariot, with the harness still in place. That tells us these animals were revered, almost like human soldiers. Luna: What happened to all those stables after Ramses died? Lucas: They declined. The capital moved away from Per‑Ramesses, and the stable complex fell into disuse. But the legacy of Ramses's horse program lasted — later pharaohs like Shoshenq I still relied on chariotry, and the tradition of royal stables continued. But none ever reached the scale of Ramses's operation. Lucas: There's also a theory — and it's just a theory — that the horse breeding at Per‑Ramesses might have contributed to the spread of certain horse lineages across the ancient Near East. Because Egyptian horses were prized, and they were traded or given as diplomatic gifts. So in a way, Ramses helped shape the equine history of the entire region. Luna: It's amazing how one aspect of his reign — the horses — connects to so much: military, economy, diplomacy, even veterinary science. Lucas: And that's what makes studying Ramses the Great so rewarding. Every thread you pull leads to another story. Next time, maybe we'll look at the chariot builders themselves — the craftsmen who actually made those vehicles. But for now, I think we've given the horses their due.