Editing Montu (section)

== Montu and the pharaohs at war ==
The cult of this military god enjoyed great prestige under the pharaohs of the 11th Dynasty,<ref name=":2" /> whose expansionism and military successes led, around 2055 BC, to the reunification of Egypt, the end of a period of chaos known today as the [[First Intermediate Period of Egypt|First Intermediate Period]], and a new era of greatness for the country. This part of Egyptian history, known as the [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt|Middle Kingdom]] (c. 2055–1650 BC),<ref>Gae Callender: ''The Middle Kingdom Renaissance'', In: Ian Shaw (ed): ''The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt'', Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2000, {{ISBN|0-19-815034-2}}, pp. 148-183.</ref> was a period in which Montu assumed the role of supreme god — before then gradually being surpassed by the other Theban god [[Amun]], destined to become the most important deity of the Egyptian pantheon.<ref name=":0" />
[[File:Mentuhotep II Deir el Bahri.jpg|left|thumb|187x187px|Mentuhotep II, devotee of Montu – from [[Mortuary Temple of Mentuhotep|his mortuary temple]] in [[Deir el-Bahari]].]][[File:Montu Ptolemaic Period Louvre.JPG|thumb|411x411px|[[Ptolemaic Kingdom|Ptolemaic]] (4th/1st century BC) statue of Montu with bull's head, symbol of military valour. [[Louvre]], [[Paris]].]]
From the 11th Dynasty onward, Montu was considered the symbol of the pharaohs as rulers, conquerors and winners, as well as their inspirer on the battlefield. The Egyptian armies were surmounted by the insignia of the "four Montu" (Montu of Thebes, of [[Armant, Egypt|Armant]], of [[Medamud]], and of [[El-Tod]]: the main cult centers of the god), all represented while trampling and piercing enemies with a spear in a classic pugnacious pose.<ref name=":4" /> A ceremonial battle ax, belonging to the funeral kit of Queen [[Ahhotep II]], [[Great Royal Wife]] of the warlike pharaoh Kamose (c. 1555–1550 BC), who lived between the [[Seventeenth Dynasty of Egypt|17th]] and [[Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt|18th Dynasty]], represents Montu as a proud winged [[griffin]]: an iconography clearly influenced by the same [[History of Syria|Syriac]] origin which inspired [[Minoan art]].<ref name=":6">Hart 1986, p. 127.</ref>

Egypt's greatest general-kings called themselves "Mighty Bull", "Son Of Montu", "Montu Is with His Strong/Right Arm" (''Montuherkhepeshef'': which was also the given name of a [[List of children of Ramesses II|son]] of [[Ramesses II]], of [[Montuherkhopshef (son of Ramesses III)|one]] of [[Ramesses III]] and [[Mentuherkhepeshef (son of Ramesses IX)|one]] of [[Ramesses IX]]). [[Thutmose III]] (c. 1479—1425 BC), "the [[Napoleon]] of Egypt",<ref>[[James Henry Breasted|J.H. Breasted]], ''Ancient Times: A History of the Early World; An Introduction to the Study of Ancient History and the Career of Early Man''. Outlines of European History 1. Boston: Ginn and Company, 1914, p. 85.</ref> was described in ancient times as a "Valiant Montu on the Battlefield".<ref name=":1" /> An inscription from his son [[Amenhotep II]] (1427–1401 BC) recalls that the eighteen-year-old pharaoh was able to shoot arrows through [[copper]] targets while driving a [[Chariot|war chariot]], commenting that he had the skill and strength of Montu.<ref name=":3" /> The latter's grandson, [[Amenhotep III|Amenhotep III the Magnificent]] (c.1388–1350 BC), called himself "Montu of the Rulers" in spite of his own peaceful reign.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MzVszHxO3JoC&q=amenophis+iii+montu&pg=PR13|title=Amenhotep III: Perspectives on His Reign|last1=O'Connor|first1=David|last2=Cline|first2=Eric H.|date=2001|publisher=University of Michigan Press|isbn=978-0472088331|language=en}}, pp 69-70</ref> In [[Kadesh inscriptions|the narrative]] of the [[Battle of Kadesh]] (c. 1274 BC), [[Ramesses II|Ramesses II the Great]] — who proudly called himself "Montu of the [[Upper and Lower Egypt|Two Lands]]"<ref name=":1" /> — was said to have seen the enemy and "raged at them like Montu, Lord of Thebes".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/kadeshaccounts.htm|title=Egyptian Accounts of the Battle of Kadesh|website=www.reshafim.org.il|access-date=2018-05-04}}</ref>

{{Quote|text=[...] his majesty passed the [[Tjaru|fortress of Tjaru]], like Montu when he goes forth. Every country trembled before him, fear was in their hearts [...] The goodly watch in [[Ankh wedja seneb|life, prosperity and health]], in the tent of his majesty, was on the highland south of Kadesh. When his majesty appeared like the rising of Re, he assumed the adornments of his father, Montu. [...]|sign=[[Kadesh inscriptions]]<ref>[http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/kadeshaccounts.htm Egyptian Accounts of the Battle of Kadesh]</ref>|source=}}