I was reading Midrash (a holy text) the other day and it said that when Pharoah was chasing the Israelites, who were approaching the Red Sea, he had 3 charioteers instead of two- did Egypt have 2 man chariots? Also, it said that the Egpytians had 6 types of weapons but only specifically mention the sword. I would assume the spear, the sling, the bow and arrow and the club are up there- I'm still missing one.
Any thoughts, thanx.
MS
Do you know if those wierd sycle shaped swords in "The Mummy" movies have any historical accuracy?
Did they distinguish between javelins and spears?
How about daggers?
No idea at all. Maybe TFS can help us out.
thanx
I believe they used a stone-headed mace (unless that is the club you are referring to).
I've never been big on chariot warfare for some reason, and so I don't really know the specifics of Egyptian chariots, etc. I do know that the Hittites, who were great enemies of the Egyptians, were really big exponents of chariot warfare--at least until Ramsees smashed them at Kadesh.
The axe was also a popular Egyptian weapon. The Egyptians borrowed a lot of weapons from the Hyksos, who invaded Egypt to a while.
Does anyone know the combat effectiveness of that Egyptian Scimitar? That is one of the most evil looking weapons I have ever seen.
*drools on keyboard...reaches for crotch"
I noticed in The Mummy 2, the two women fighting (as fine as they were) used Bronze Sai's. I thought Sai's were only used in Japan, unless, historically, the use of the Sai spread throughout the Middle East, the Far East and into Japan?
Takedown
sword w/ "sickle shape" = khopesh.
The khopesh (khopsh) was an ancient Egyptian weapon which first became popular beginning with the period when upper and lower Egypt were united under one pharaoh. The khopesh design was devastatingly effective and changed the development of edged weapons around the known world.
Its sickle-like blade could be edged either on the inside or outside curve, or both. The spine of the weapon (the strongest part of the blade, generally opposite the blade?s edge) was made to be heavier than the spine of most other swords. Edged to the outside, the weapon was extremely effective at creating slashing wounds. Edged to the inside, it was used for hacking an opponent. In either case, the heavy spine of the weapon and center of gravity centered along the blade instead of close to the hilt made the khopesh the most effective weapon of the period.
Given the limitation of smelting and metalworking during the early Egyptian dynasties, most of the weapons were crafted from iron or bronze. As time, and technology progressed, the khopesh design evolved into a number of other styles; the materials used for crafting these weapons also improved, making them even more deadly.
The Greek kopis is the most easily recognizable descendant of the khopsh design. The falchion design of the middle ages evolved from the khopesh design via the kopis; the saber is the most recent descendant of the khopesh concept.
Lord Freth?s weapon of choice is the khopesh.
"I noticed in The Mummy 2, the two women fighting (as fine as they were) used Bronze Sai's. I thought Sai's were only used in Japan, unless, historically, the use of the Sai spread throughout the Middle East, the Far East and into Japan?"Takedown, "The Mummy 2" isn't exactly a great place for historical accuracy. Even though I dared not watch the film, I have a very strong suspicion that many of the weapons in the movie are Hollywood bulsh*&t. The bronze sai certainly sound so.
"I have a very strong suspicion that many of the weapons in the movie are Hollywood bulsh*&t. The bronze sai certainly sound so."
Yeah, but the chicks were almost naked. It's very hot in Egypt, so that was historically accurate was it not?
BIC,The Greek kopis is the most easily recognizable descendant of the khopsh design. The falchion design of the middle ages evolved from the khopesh design via the kopis; the saber is the most recent descendant of the khopesh concept.Descendants of the khopsh would include the Greek kopis (also used by Latin armies--Romans, Etruscans, etc), the machiera, and the Iberian falcata. These all feature a concave edge. However, I don't know if I'd list the saber as a derivative of the khopsh--there have been lots of swords made over the centuries with convex edges for slashing--and besides, sabers first apparently appeared in Central Asia...
nude is still fine with me.... but that's just my .02c.
A lot of old Egyptian art depicts soldiers using a
'conventional' straight type sword.
Use of a short shaped 'throwing stick' has also been
documented. Similar to an Australian aborigine hunting
boomerang. Used mainly to hunt birds - it was hurled into
rising flocks of birds when flushed by beaters. Although
slightly bent - it was not designed to return, like a classic
boomerang.
:)
"in environments above 98.6 degrees F, it would benefit you to wear MORE clothes"How is that so?
Ye Lunatic, I don't know about the Egpytians but many Bedouin tribes where 1-4 layers of light clothing to keep themselves insulated (keep cool) and to keep sand, dust and dirt off their bodies. I would assume Egyptians would follow the same basic premise.
MS
Interesting. I would like to hear more about this.
In Israel, on a hot day for Israel, you want to work but minimize sun exposure, minimize sweating, minimize the amound of dust your body is exposed to. Don't know the physics behind it but I know it works.
MS