The Lower Nubian Egyptian Fortresses in the Middle Kingdom: A Strategic Point of View

• Main Author: Eduardo Ferreira
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Athens Institute for Education and Research 2019-01-01
• Series: Athens Journal of History
• Online Access: https://www.athensjournals.gr/history/2019-5-1-2-Ferreira.pdf

The Ancient Egypt was a highly militarized society that operated within various theaters of war. From the Middle Kingdom period to the following times, warfare was always present in the foreign and internal policy of the pharaohs and their officers. One of these was to build a network of defensive structures along the river Nile, in the regions of the Second Cataract and in Batn el-Hagar, in Lower Nubia. The forts were relevant in both the defense and offensive affairs of the Egyptian army. Built in Lower Nubia by the pharaohs of the XII dynasty of the Middle Kingdom, these fortresses providing support to the armies that usually came from the North in campaign and allowed the ancient Egyptians to control the frontier with Kush. In fact, one of the most important features of these fortresses was the possibility to control specific territorial points of larger region which, due to it’s characteristics, was difficult to contain. Although they were built in a period of about thirty-two years, these strongholds throughout the reign of Senuseret I until the rulership of Senuseret III, they demonstrate a considerable diversification in terms of size, defenses, functions, and the context operated. They were the main reason why Egypt could maintain a territory so vast as the Lower Nubia. In fact, this circumstance is verified in the Second Intermediate Period when all the forts were occupied by Kerma, a chiefdom that araised in Upper Nubia during the end of the Middle Kingdom, especially after c. 1720 BC, at a time when Egypt had bigger problems in the North (Delta) due to the Hyksos presence. Besides this fact, the lesser might of the central power in Egypt is also one reason why this society had lost control over these structures and, as a consequence, over Lower Nubia.