Editing Ancient Egypt (section)

==Military==
{{Main|Military of ancient Egypt}}
{{Further|Ancient Egyptian navy}}
[[File:King_Tut_charging_enemies,_18th_dynasty.jpg|thumb|Tutankhamun charging enemies on his [[chariot]], 18th dynasty]]

The ancient Egyptian military was responsible for defending Egypt against foreign invasion, and for maintaining Egypt's domination in the [[ancient Near East]]. The military protected mining expeditions to the Sinai during the Old Kingdom and fought civil wars during the First and Second Intermediate Periods. The military was responsible for maintaining fortifications along important trade routes, such as those found at the city of [[Buhen]] on the way to Nubia. Forts also were constructed to serve as military bases, such as the fortress at Sile, which was a base of operations for expeditions to the [[Levant]]. In the New Kingdom, a series of pharaohs used the standing Egyptian army to attack and conquer [[Kingdom of Kush|Kush]] and parts of the Levant.{{sfnp|Shaw|2003|p=245}}

[[File:Mesehtisoldiers.JPG|thumb|Wooden figures of soldiers, from the tomb of nomarch [[Mesehti]] ([[Eleventh Dynasty of Egypt|11th dynasty]])]]

Typical military equipment included [[Bow (weapon)|bows and arrows]], spears, and round-topped shields made by stretching [[Leather|animal skin]] over a wooden frame. In the New Kingdom, the military began using [[Chariotry in ancient Egypt|chariots]] that had earlier been introduced by the Hyksos invaders. Weapons and armor continued to improve after the adoption of bronze: shields were now made from solid wood with a bronze buckle, spears were tipped with a bronze point, and the [[khopesh]] was adopted from Asiatic soldiers.{{sfnp|Gutgesell|1998|p=365}} The pharaoh was usually depicted in art and literature riding at the head of the army; it has been suggested that at least a few pharaohs, such as [[Seqenenre Tao II]] and his sons, did do so.{{sfnp|Clayton|1994|p=96}} However, it has also been argued that "kings of this period did not personally act as frontline war leaders, fighting alongside their troops".{{sfnp|Shaw|2009}} Soldiers were recruited from the general population, but during, and especially after, the New Kingdom, mercenaries from Nubia, Kush, and Libya were hired to fight for Egypt.{{sfnp|Shaw|2003|p=400}}