Egyptian Cavalry

The Old Kingdom of 2575 to 2125 B.C. and the Middle Kingdom of 2010 to 1630 B.C. used armies of part-time conscripts backed by Nubian mercenaries, a system effective only for occasional raids and skirmishes. The professional military of the New Kingdom (1550 to 1070 B.C.) included fast and maneuverable horse-drawn chariots, each of which carried two soldiers, an archer and a driver. Chariot soldiers were the elite of the ancient Egyptian military. Commanders used them to weaken enemy infantry forces before a decisive charge. If the enemy forces broke and ran, the charioteers would pursue and harass them.

Egyptian Infantry

Egyptian infantry forces of the New Kingdom were organized into 50-man platoons, subdivided into five squads of 10 men each. Companies of four or five platoons were commanded by an officer called a standard bearer, and could be combined into larger battalions as needed. Infantry soldiers were frequently underfed and physically abused by their commanders, and were expected to supplement their rations with plunder from enemy territories. If a soldier deserted, his family could be put in prison. Soldiers were not allowed to carry any weapons other than a cudgel unless battle was imminent. When the army was about to fight, soldiers were issued bows, axes, swords and daggers. The Egyptian navy was not a separate institution from the army. Instead, soldiers could be assigned to serve with either the infantry or the naval forces as the situation required.

Egyptian Swords

Egyptian soldiers used an unusual type of sword called a "khopesh," sometimes referred to as a sickle sword. The khopesh is a single-handed sword with a blade that flares out in a wide, sickle-shaped curve about halfway up. Unlike a true sickle, the cutting edge of the khopesh is on the outside of the curve according to Bronze Age Military Equipment by Dan Howard. Egyptian soldiers wore no heavy body armor, but did carry a shield to defend themselves from attacks. Instead of the khopesh, some soldiers carried war clubs or battle axes, along with daggers to cut off the hands or genitals of enemy corpses so they could be counted.

Egyptian Archery

Protected by the shields of the chariot drivers, Egyptian archers could ride up to the enemy lines, shoot at the infantry and then race away again unharmed. A chariot could hold as many as 80 arrows in an attached case, allowing the archer to maintain a continuous attack. Infantry soldiers carried bows, slings, throwing spears and javelins. Some arrows had flat tips for percussive power, while others had barbed tips that could not be extracted easily from a wound. The tomb of King Tutankhamen contained 430 arrows from the New Kingdom era, each made of a thin and lightweight piece of reed.

By Scott Thompson (http://www.ehow.com/facts_5214698_war-weapons-ancient-egypt.html#info_12263422_wear-pyramids-egypt.html?&_suid=14610122938000409915890996737)