Fighting Pharaohs: Weapons and Warfare (None) Review

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(More customer reviews)The "Fighting Pharaohs" text is still striving to compile what little information we have in the archaeological record for the military in ancient Egypt and put it into a comprehensive whole. However, I have serious doubts about the aims of this book. It tries to draw conclusions that are simply not there - who were the 'enemies of Egypt', the khepesh sword as a weapon etc. It concerns me that someone would take this book too literally. So if your interested in warrior pharaohs, I recommend this title but also get Shaw's 'Egyptain Weapons and Warfare', Healy's "armies of the pharaohs", and read the 'military' section in Redford's Oxford Encyclopedia of ancient Egypt - this will give a better rounded view of the material and what can be drawn from it.

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The image of a Pharaoh smiting the enemies of Egypt is a recurring one throughout the Dynastic Period of Ancient Civilisation. Fighting Pharaohs looks in some detail at the range of weapons used, the training of troops and the tactics for battles and sieges, before looking at the military campaigns of the Pharaohs. Drawing on contemporary evidence, over three thousand years are covered, from Narmer to Cleopatra.

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Bronze Age War Chariots (New Vanguard) Review

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(More customer reviews)Author Nic Fields has covered the subject reasonably well and provides comfortable reading. There is discussion of the domestication and breed development of the horse, speeds of yoked horses, as well as the composite bow. The author has provided a good bibliography.
Brian Delf's plates are good, but not exceptional. The poses are well chosen and the proportions are excellent (compared to McBride's sometimes stocky figures.) However, the colors are not as lifelike as McBride's work and consequently the plates are not as crisp. Plates include Sumerian battlewagons, Egyptian chariots, Hittite chariots, and both box and rail types of Mycenaean chariots. The discussion of the progression of Mycenaean and Hittite chariots definitely adds value to this inexpensive work.
As with most Osprey works there are a few things that might have been covered more fully. One thing that could have been added is some sort of depiction of Mitanni or Canaanite chariotry of the period. Mitanni was the initial master of Bronze Age two-wheel chariotry and training.
While I recommend this book to those interested specifically in Bronze Age chariots, I should also note that much of the same information is available in several other Osprey works, though not all in the same place or to the same depth. For example, "The Mycenaeans" covers their chariotry well; while "New Kingdom Egypt" discusses Egyptian, Hittite, and Mitannian chariotry, and "Ancient Armies of the Middle East" has Egyptian chariots and Sumerian battlewagons. I guess the main complaint about the work is that I've read too many studies of the battle of Quadesh already, so I was hoping for even broader coverage of chariots in this.


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Chariots, the first mobile fighting vehicle, seem to have originated in Mesopotamia in the third millennium BC. The highly mobile two-wheeled war chariot, carrying a driver and an archer armed with a short composite bow, revolutionized military tactics after 1700 BC. This expensive weapon spread throughout the Middle East and is thought to have reached Egypt with the conquering Hyksos. It spread into Asia Minor, Greece, and was known in Northern Europe by 1500 BC. This book covers the evolution of the war chariot throughout the Bronze Age, detailing its design, development and combat history - in particular its fundamental involvement at the battle of Qadesh.

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Egyptian Warfare and Weapons (Shire Egyptology) Review

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(More customer reviews)If you are like me and have read hints in other books referring to the Egyptian military but have always wondered just what the structure of the army was at different points in Pharaonic history and how many men were in each type of unit, this book is for you! Shaw whisks over topics relevant to ancient Egypt's military with chapters on "Egypt's Enemies", "Fortresses and Frontiers", "The Egyptian Army", "Weapons and Military Technology", "Imperial Strategies and International Diplomacy" and "Naval Battles" among others. A well-illustrated (b/w) little work (part of the Shire Egyptology series) that supplies good information without eating up your wallet and your bookshelf.

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Ancient and Medieval Siege Weapons: A Fully Illustrated Guide to Siege Weapons and Tactics Review

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(More customer reviews)Sub-Title: A Fully Illustrated Guide to Siege Weapons and Tactics ==This is a beautifully illustrated book on the seige weapons used by most of the major armies from Ancient Egypt through the mid 1400's. It is surprisingly detailed. It is based, in the early days at least, on drawings carved into rock. These have been re-sketched so that the points he is trying to make. In the more recent times, printed materias were used and these make pictures that are (somewhat) more clear. Finally an artist Vladimir Golubev (I presume) made a series of absolutely beautiful color drawings to illustrate various siege engines.
The written part was done by Dr. Nossov and originally published in Russian. It is clearly a work of schlorship that may become the standard by which others are compared in future years. Certainly I have never seen a more complete or better written description of these engines.

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War in Ancient Egypt: The New Kingdom (Ancient World at War) Review

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(More customer reviews)Spalinger has triumphed in his attempt to produce a very scholarly book on such a difficult subject. A casual reader might find him a bit verbose but what he is really trying to do is demonstrate how New Kingdom can be studied in an academic way (you know, with references and citations). This book is sure to be referenced in ancient warfare studies for the next 50 years.

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This book is an introduction to the war machine of New Kingdom Egypt from c. 1575 bc–1100 bc.
Focuses on the period in which the Egyptians created a professional army and gained control of Syria, creating an "Empire of Asia".
Written by a respected Egyptologist.
Highlights new technological developments, such as the use of chariots and siege technology.
Considers the socio-political aspects of warfare, particularly the rise to power of a new group of men.
Evaluates the military effectiveness of the Egyptian state, looking at the logistics of warfare during this period.
Incorporates maps and photographs, a chronological table, and a chart of dynasties and pharaohs

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