This article will discuss why drummers were used in the war in ancient times.

A defensive battle and internal security

From the second to fourth millennia BC, Egypt used both a cataphract (equipped with a great shield and spear) and a chariot-riding cavalry, and both were used in the defensive battle.

These men protected the army during frontal assaults by using their shields and spear. If the enemy managed to break through them, the chariots came into action, and each warrior was protected by several riders.

The tactics of Ancient Egypt during battles were based on the nature of battles, which was often highly unpredictable.

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The defensive battle theory was the first system used to fight foreign armies. In this battle system, infantry attacked the enemy, but only after the chariots had drawn the enemy army’s attention and used their momentum to ‘skid’ the enemy towards the main lines of infantry.

The chariots used for the attack were called kedrophori, and the distance between the kedrophori and the chariots used to prepare them for the battle was 100 paces because each movement was limited by the energy generated by the chariots, and the technique was called klophori, which is an ancient Greek word meaning “wave”.

Armed chariots would only be used to support the attacks of the cavalry. After the chariot used to draw the enemy’s attention had successfully ‘skidded’ the enemy, the chariots attacked them from the rear and cut the cavalry off.

As soon as a particularly threatening enemy was spotted, the chariots would be sent forward. A chariot had to wait until the enemy was right in front of them to jump into action.

The chariot would be positioned and positioned until it was safe, while the supporting infantry used an assortment of weapons to delay the enemy and stun them.

During the warfare, Egyptian infantry played a very important role, so the use of war horses in Egypt was never taken lightly.

The chariot was the most advanced and innovative force of destruction in Ancient Egypt, which was used by the army as a defensive weapon in battles.

Economy and supply

The chariot was a very versatile weapon, it could be used in many different ways. As a defensive weapon, it could stop enemy movements and attacks.

To create even more chaos in the enemy’s mind, the chariot could be used as a primary offensive weapon, which would help give the warriors a good grip on an enemy’s nerves.

Through the use of chariots, the Egyptians were able to create ‘drums of war’, which greatly increased their mobility.

This contributed to the ability of the armies to be extremely mobile. As you can see, the chariot was the best way to attack enemy forces.

It did not hurt if the chariots were blocked by an enemy’s stone, for example.

The chariots were therefore used for fighting against armored troops and also against soldiers wielding simple weapons such as knives, pikes, and bows.

This might seem like a joke, but it’s not. The role of chariots in Ancient Egyptian warfare was vital.

First and foremost, the chariot was the most important weapon of Ancient Egypt. Even if the man-portable weapons were a great success for the Egyptians, the armies were still limited because the Egyptians could not cope with the regular needs for food.

The chariot helped Egyptians make successful attacks on other countries, and was still a great achievement in ancient Egypt.

In the year 2980 BC, which was 100 years after the great Kadesh battles, the king (Amasis) is remembered as having a massive fleet of warships and sails. It was a similar style of ship to the Phoenicians.

This means that he was able to lead his forces to conquer the world.

Egyptian ships were large and were more than twice as long as the Phoenician ships. If Egyptians captured other countries, Egyptians would call their ships “petite people”, which means “small people”.

The chariot was the weapon of choice for several different reasons. It could turn a battle around, and could also provide a big advantage in sieges.

Temples

More and more temples were added to the Egyptian civilization during the pharaohs.

The King was responsible for their construction, which was done by the Nubian craftsmen.

Statues

Egyptians were not the first to have statues. Statues have been found in Anatolia and Assyria, while there are bronze statues in the Egyptian province of Edom, dating back to around 4000 BC.

The earliest statues were found on Saqqara, including the Sphinx and Tutankhamen.

The statue of the sphinx, however, does have some features in common with the Statue of Zeus at Olympia.

However, the most common statues belonged to people and were carved from wood. It was very common for Egyptians to use wooden statues as a wall decoration, as well as to represent rulers.

Other figures in art represented people or animals with the help of an alloy called lozenge or cartonnage.

The most common types of bronze statues are lions, pharaohs, and deities such as Amun and Aten.

Books

Books came into use around 2500 BC. It was common for the Egyptian Pharaohs to carry on their person a book, that was always kept in their left hand.

Each book was approximately 1 meter (3 feet) long and weighed approximately 500 kilos.

Both the King and the person who was supposed to be carrying the book would wear a leather bag in the form of a cowl around their heads. It was extremely rare to find a person who did not wear a book in their hands.

Most of the time, books in Ancient Egypt were printed on papyrus, but there are some examples of books that were carved on stone, which might have been used by both the King and a clerk.

If you would like to take a closer look at these statues, we recommend you visit the Pyramid Museum in Giza.

You will also enjoy our Ancient Egypt and Beyond resource, which is focused on three ancient civilizations – the Egyptians, the Greeks, and the Romans.