Pharaoh at War: Warfare In The Late Dynastic Period

Recordings will be made available for those unable to attend the live sessions!

This course will explore warfare in ancient Egypt from the Third Intermediate Period (c. 1070 BCE) through the Late and Ptolemaic Period to Roman Egypt (ending 641 CE). It will investigate how warfare changed from the Late Bronze Age to the Iron Age and how Egypt became increasingly embroiled with mighty empires, including the Assyrians and the Persians. The course will also show how the Egyptian pharaohs came to increasingly rely on mercenaries from the Hellenistic world.

While most studies of ancient Egyptian warfare focus on the height of Egypt’s New Kingdom, this course will introduce participants to a new side of ancient Egyptian warfare and showcase Egypt’s crucial role in a number of battles which helped shape the ancient world, including the Battle of Salamis and the Battle of Raphia.

The Nile mosaic of Palestrina, depicting Hellenistic soldiers during the Ptolemaic Period (c. 100 BCE).

This course, as with its predecessor course: Pharaoh at War, which covered ancient Egyptian warfare from the Predynastic to the end of the New Kingdom, assumes some basic knowledge of Egypt, including an understanding of ancient Egyptian history and geography. The course will be of interest to those who enjoy Egyptian, Greek or Roman history, art and material culture, looking to gain further knowledge on this particular topic. 

Tutor

Dr Nicky Nielsen

Senior Lecturer in Egyptology, University of Manchester

Find out more

The Svenigorodsky cylinder seal imprint, depicting a Persian king thrusting his lance at an Egyptian pharaoh, while holding four captives on a rope.

Course Outline

Please note that main content will be delivered between 18:00-19:30, though some optional participation (quizzes, Q&A, etc.) may continue beyond that time. 

Thursday 22 May 2025, 18:00-19:30 (UK time)
Week One - A Land of Many Wars and Many Kings
This lecture will focus on the civil wars and foreign invasions of Egypt’s Third Intermediate Period, including the Kushite invasion of Egypt by Piy and the decades of strife which preceded it.

Thursday 29 May 2025, 18:00-19:30 (UK time)
Week Two - Friends of Greeks
This lecture will explore the changes made to the Egyptian army during the Late Period, including the formalisation of the machimoi and the increasing reliance on Greek mercenaries. The lecture will also include a discussion of the crucial Battle of Pelusium which saw Egypt occupied by the Persian Empire and the subsequent Egyptian revolts and rebellions.

Thursday 5 June 2025, 18:00-19:30 (UK time)
Week Three - “There is no better paymaster than Ptolemy!”
This lecture will explore the role of Alexander the Great in expelling the Persians from Egypt. But mainly, it will focus on the changes made to the Egyptian army by the Ptolemies, in particular the much greater reliance on Greek mercenaries and cleruchs. Part of the lecture will also explore how Egypt is presented in Greek texts of the time and on the influence that the need to pay mercenaries had on the Egyptian economy of the Ptolemaic Period.

Depiction of Alexander the Great in The Alexander Mosaic, also known as the Battle of Issus Mosaic, (originally from House of the Faun in Pompeii, Italy, now in the National Archaeological Museum, Naples).

Thursday 12 June 2025, 18:00-19:30 (UK time)
Week Four - A Day at Raphia
The Battle of Raphia was among the most significant battles of the ancient world, and certainly included the greatest numbers of troops (including war elephants!) The battle, between the Egyptians on the one side and the Selucid Empire on the other, will be explored in detail through the eyes of a named Greek mercenary who fell in the battle and whose grave memorial mention this fact. 

Thursday 19 June 2025, 18:00-19:30 (UK time)
Week Five - The Egyptian Legions
This lecture will explore the role that warfare played in the fall of Pharaonic Egypt, including the Battle of Actium between the forces of Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII on one side and Octavian/Augustus on the other. The lecture will then explore how the Roman Empire kept Egypt under control as a province in its empire. The lecture will investigate how the Byzantines changed the composition of Egypt’s armies and how the country eventually fell to the Arabic invasion of 641 CE.

War elephants depicted in the battle of Zama, c. 202 BCE, (Henri-Paul Motte).

Booking and information

Register for your place in advance using the link below. Here, you can select to pay for several add-ons, including the bonus material from our previous "Pharaoh at War!" course by Dr Nicky Nielsen. You can also buy a personalised certificate for £5.99, featuring your name, the event name and start date, which will be signed by the EES Engagement Manager to confirm your attendance at this online course. 

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about your booking. If you do not receive your email, then please check your junk folders before contacting the Egypt Exploration Society. The course will be held on our Zoom platform and attendees will be able to interact by asking questions, using the chat and polls. It is not necessary to have a working webcam or microphone for this course. The online course will be complemented by Google Drive, where resources will be uploaded.

Please ensure that you have read our guide to attending EES online events before the course begins.