Customer Reviews

Going to War in Ancient Egypt (Armies of the Past)

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Usually, I count on DK Eyewitness books to provide this level of detail and pictorial information. This book is unsurpassed at looking at the defenses and weaponry of ancient Egypt. It covers the different time periods, it tracks the rise and fall of opposing empires, and it SHOWS as well as tells. Really great. Incorporates copies of Egyptian friezes and art to illustrate what is happening.

This is an excellent introductory book (as good as an Osprey volume, for those familiar with that series). It consists of twelve double-page sections, which are The Egyptian world; Egypt's first armies; Enemies of Egypt; Fortresses; Siege; Training; Ready for battle; Weapons and armour; Making camp; Guarding the empire; Sea battles; Rewards for valour, with a Glossary and Index. Each section is excellently illustrated. The army structure illustrated in the `Ready for Battle' section was most useful (as I am a wargamer who wants to paint model figures of the period) with a pyramid(!) showing the figures of the king at the apex, followed in tiers by a general and officer, the four main types of soldier - light skirmisher, mercenary, infantry and chariot, and below them a servant, cook, priest, scribe, groom and armourers, and a doctor. The quality of the artwork for the illustrations is excellent, and in fact I found it more informative than the Osprey volume - Soldier of the Pharaoh: Middle Kingdom Egypt (Warrior) - and considerably cheaper. It doesn't have the archaeological notes of the Osprey, but unless you want to know how to make Egyptian barley beer, or the composition of the doctors' various medicines and poultices, this is the book for you. It also illustrated the various enemies of Egypt, unlike the Osprey, and the fortifications and sieges are also better, though the Osprey does illustrate chariot warfare better. Curiously, Nubian slave-girls are illustrated twice in this volume, but not at all in the Osprey. I found my copy for one penny, plus postage on Amazon.