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An Egyptian Princess — Volume 09 by Georg Ebers
page 34 of 56 (60%)
The infantry were divided into regiments and companies, under different
standards, and variously equipped.

[In these and the descriptions immediately following, we have drawn
our information, either from the drawings made from Egyptian
monuments in Champollion, Wilkinson, Rosellini and Lepsius, or from
the monuments themselves. There is a dagger in the Berlin Museum,
the blade of which is of bronze, the hilt of ivory and the sheath of
leather. Large swords are only to be seen in the hands of the
foreign auxiliaries, but the native Egyptians are armed with small
ones, like daggers. The largest one of which we have any knowledge
is in the possession of Herr E. Brugsch at Cairo. It is more than
two feet long.]

The heavy-armed soldiers carried large shields, lances, and daggers; the
swordsmen and those who fought with battle-axes had smaller shields and
light clubs; beside these, there were slingers, but the main body of the
army was composed of archers, whose bows unbent were nearly the height of
a man. The only clothing of the horse-soldiers was the apron, and their
weapon a light club in the form of a mace or battle-axe. Those warriors,
on the contrary, who fought in chariots belonged to the highest rank of
the military caste, spent large sums on the decoration of their two-
wheeled chariots and the harness of their magnificent horses, and went to
battle in their most costly ornaments. They were armed with bows and
lances, and a charioteer stood beside each, so that their undivided
attention could be bestowed upon the battle.

The Persian foot was not much more numerous than the Egyptian, but they
had six times the number of horse-soldiers.

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