Saissky battle - a battle that occurred on April 19, 1208 BC. er , in the 5th year of the reign of the pharaoh Merneptah , near the ancient Egyptian city of Sais in the west of the Nile Delta between the army of Egypt and the combined detachments of the Libyans and the " peoples of the sea ." As in the battle of Kadesh , the continued existence of the Egyptian state depended on the outcome of the Saiss battle. The victory of the Egyptians was accompanied by thousands of losses on both sides (total losses are estimated at 12,000 - 14,000 people).
| Sais battle | |||
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| date | April 19, 1208 BC. er | ||
| A place | western part of the Nile Delta | ||
| Total | Egyptian victory | ||
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Background
For many hundreds of years, the territory of ancient Egypt was attacked by the Libyan tribes. As a rule, these were the temekhu and tehenu peoples who made trips to the Nile delta during the times of the Old Kingdom .
Already in his first year of rule, Pharaoh Merneptakh had to suppress unrest in the dependent lands of Palestine. In order to prevent future attacks from Asia, he builds several fortresses on the approaches to Heliopolis. According to the Karnak inscriptions, in mid-March 1208 BC. er during this construction on the eastern outskirts of the Delta, Merneptah received a message about the invasion of enemies from the western border. Apparently, the Libyan prince Mrauy (Meriya) for a long time watched the fortification work on the eastern border of Egypt, and decided not to hesitate anymore with the attack on Egypt. Combining their military detachments with the warlike "peoples of the sea", the Libyans of the Western Desert no longer made an ordinary predatory raid, but a real conquest. Among the “peoples of the sea”, the most numerous were aquivas (now identified with Achaean Greeks), as well as turish (Etruscans), Shelekes (apparently Sicilians), and representatives of the country of Luca (peoples of Asia Minor). In the Libyan army, almost all men capable of carrying weapons fought.
Battle
Merenptah spent 14 days to assemble an army and prepare it to fight back. Immediately before the battle, he symbolically “received” the holy sword khopesh from the god Ptah . After the victory of Merneptah, many reliefs were carved in Karnak , which reported the defeat of the enemy: “ On the third day of the third month of Shem, a storm spread over the country Kemet and Aton once again give their rays to Ta Meri (Beloved Country). The locked gates were reopened and the people sighed freely. The unhappy prince of Livia fled at night (to his own country), losing the crown, wives, and family. His campground burned to the ground. Now everyone says Libyan - “Well, Libyans, how are you? Still happy? ". Crazy and stupid is he who dares to fight with the country Kemet. Those who attacked her are only captives in my hand. Now That Mary commands Libya. Everyone is glad to sit next to the strong and in the Beloved country songs of joy are heard. No plaintive cries are heard, and the destroyed cities will be restored. Merneptah - the savior of the people. "(TUAT 1 / AF, S. 544–552)
The attacks of the “peoples of the sea” and the Libyans on Egypt, which began under Pharaoh Ramses II, were only temporarily suspended by their defeat in the Battle of Sais. When Pharaoh Ramses III held a new big battle between the old opponents.
Literature
- Texte aus der Umwelt des Alten Testaments (TUAT), Gütersloher Verlagshaus, Gütersloh 2003
- Jean Meeus: Astronomische Algorithmen , ua Anwendungen für Ephemeris Tool 4.5 Barth Leipzig 2.Aufl. 2000, ISBN 3-3350-0400-0
- The Nineteenth Dynasty - Bd. 3 , Repro, englisch, London 1988, ISBN 1-85417-027-9