Subject: seneny chariot archer

Culture: New Kingdom Egyptian

Setting: imperial warfare, Egypt 1570-1085BC

Event Photos

* Raaflaub/Rosenstein eds. 1999 p87 (Andrea M Gnirs, "Ancient Egypt" p71-104)

"The most innovative weapon was the chariot, which became common in the entire Near East in the Late Bronze Age. The large number of foreign technical terms connected with maintaining horses and vehicles suggests that the Egyptians adapted the chariot from the Hurrians. It is not clear, however, whether it actually served as a shock weapon or rather as a vehicle of prestige and speed. Egyptians and their Asiatic adversaries used the light chariot -- only the Hittites and later the Assyrians developed heavier versions; thus, chariotry was deployable only in plain areas. Yet according to battle scenes and reports it must have had a certain strategic importance. Moreover, the command of the chariotry required standardized military training, which seems to corroborate its crucial military role."

Primary Sources

* Shaw 2019 p107

"It is worth noting that the chariot was closely associated with elite presentation, and that this is probably a major reason why chariotry-based warfare has survived better in the visual record.

"Egyptian chariots, chariot forces and their production are all depicted in funerary contexts, as well as on temple walls, and the physical remains of around a dozen chariots have primarily survived from royal funerary contexts, such as those from the tombs of Tutankhamun, Yuya and Tuyu, Thutmose IV and Amenhotep II (just a fragmentary wheel in the case of the latter)."

* Spalinger 2005 p236-237

"The Karnak text describes six hours of carnage, a lengthy period of time. Although the foe was numerous and strong, and the combat intense, the enemy chieftain was defeated and fled. The main account emphasizes his loss of sandals, bow and arrow, but not any chariot. With the precipitate flight of their leader, the Libyans broke ranks in panic. Egyptians on horses, the seneny, chased after their opponents. In fact, the Karnak text appears to indicate that they used their bows and shot at the enemy, thereby massacring them. The passage in which this highly important statement occurs is, however, broken, and we cannot be sure whether these Egyptians were actually horse riders with bows. If so, then this encounter could reveal an important facet of late New Kingdom warfare as practiced by the Egyptians."

Secondary Sources

Field Notes