Customer Reviews

Tutankhamun's Armies: Battle and Conquest During Ancient Egypt's Late Eighteenth Dynasty

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"Tutankhamun's Armies" sets out to be, more or less, a military history of the late Eighteenth Cynasty of Ancient Egytp, the Amarna period of Akhenaten and Nefertiti and Tutankhamen, but in reality the ground covered is much broader than that, providing comprehensive, if concise, descriptions of political and artistic currents of that interesting era. In fact, I cannot think of another book that provides in such a compact format such an illuminating account of the thorny question of who succeeded Akhenaten and what was behind the artistic direction of Eguyptian sculptures and paintings of that era; the authors construct a persuasive theological framework for what happened during Akhenaten's reign. The military aspects of that period -- the late 14th century BCE -- are not neglected, with an informed discussion of the weapons and tactics employed by the Egyptian army (and navy). Although the title makes use of the modern fame of Tutankamen -- otherwise a rather minor ruler -- the real focus of the book has a broader scope. Often, the reign of Akhenaten is dismissed as a period of international neglect on the part of a fuzzy-thinking, distracted pharoah, but the authors of "Tutankamun's Armies" instead argue that the Egyptian ruler pursued a hardnosed Realpolitik policy to protect Egyptian interests.

I can thoroughly recommend this book, based as it is on the authors' joint study of Egyptian New Kingdom military history. Don't be misled by the title - the book covers actions both before and after King Tut, with especial reference to Akhenaten and the Amarna period leading up to Tutankhamun's reign.

I was mainly drawn to this book for the content on the Asiatic scene, but have found the discussions of Egyptian forays and methods of control over Nubia equally fascinating, especially learning how the sheer geography of the region has steered military history not just in the ancient world but through into the British Empire's actions in the same area.

Their conclusions on Akhenaten - both his military activities and the religious thinking that lay behind it - will come as a surprise to many, but are solidly based on modern research, and are thoroughly documented for those who want to go back to the source material and check things out for themselves.

All in all a great book which I have no hesitation in recommending to others. Darnell and Manassa have successfully rewritten their scholarly research into a very accessible volume with potentially a much wider audience. If you are at all interested in current thinking on the military and political scene in the Amarna period and shortly after, this is definitely a book for you.

Re lordhoot's second complaint, Spalinger's "War in Ancient Egypt:" (ISBN 1405113723) contains such facts and figures, though is not as well written as this volume!

Contrary to the first reviewer, I found the writing style of this book to be very clear and informative. As a student of Ancient Egyptian history and religion, Darnell and Manassa's explanation of Akhenaten's religion and the reasons for his so-called revolution were well thought-out and supported by evidence in all cases; I was able to logically follow how they reached their conclusions on a very complex and difficult topic. Tutankhamen's Armies is relatively short (about 200 pages)--the extra pages are references, some of which are also excellent, highly recommended books. I would recommend this title to anyone seeking to gain not only a greater understanding of the military developments of the 18th Dynasty but also a feel for its general history.

This book delivers on its title, and more. It is in effect a military history of the late 18th Dynasty,
and a good one.

However, chapter 2 gives a coherent exposition of the theology of Amunhotep III and IV, the first that I
(tolerably well read in Egyptology but far from expert) have ever read. Akhnaten and his father
in the authors' treatment were anything but simple-minded monotheists. In fact their idea of God/gods was
of a single Godhead with many persons, which were organised not in sexless triplets but
in male-female pairs: Akhnaten and Nefertiti in particular, who are claimed to have
been locked in a perpetual present moment of creation.

My description doesn't do the authors justice. This book will be of interest to religious people as well
as those of military interest.

My Egyptology professor at Cal recommended this book in her latest class, & boy, am I glad she did! The chapters on the background of the Amarna Period are one of the best summaries I've ever read. They provide new interpretations on Akhenaten's foreign policy (i.e., the Amarna Letters) that are a real revelation, & their view of the radical early Amarna art style makes logical sense. I differ with their view on Hatshepsut, but that's another matter. Although the title of this book makes you think its topic is the ancient Egyptian military, its focus is much broader and far more interesting, looking at events at the end of the 18th Dynasty in context. A much more fascinating book than I expected.

After reading this book, only thing I can think about the book is that its a worthy effort. This short book is about the military history of the New Kingdom's 18th Dynasty, its relations with foreign powers, military organization and its foreign military campaigns and policies. The book basically centered around two individual reigns, Pharaoh Akhenaten and his more famous son, Tutankhamun - the boy Pharaoh with the golden mask.

Since this is rather a rare subject matter, it should be welcome by most military historians and those interested in Ancient Egypt. It come well supplied with maps and illustrations that proves to be helpful and interesting. What bring this book down however, is the writing. Either the two authors have too much knowledge or too little, but the book is extremely overwritten so the accounts are muddled up and tedious to read. This is especially true with the first 60 pages of this book where the authors traces the background material for the rise of 18th Dynasty. I had to reread certain pages twice over to make sure I got what the authors' were trying to rely since its simply not written very clearly.

My second complaint is that book is pretty sketchy on all the facts and figures. Not once, get I get an idea how big a typical Egyptian army was or how they formed their army in battle or how their siege operation was conducted, fate of the prisoners and other material. The book was pretty vague on the real meat and potatoes part of the subtitle of this book.

Still, the book do have some merits and it does give some insight to this time period where military history lies under the veil of mist with few hints to historians. So the book isn't a total waste but it could have been better.