How the west was won.
Around 1298 BCE, King Sety I (Men-ma’at-Ra) led a campaign west. He attacked the peoples of modern-day Libya and, in a supposedly swift victory, took many captives back to Egypt. The relationship between Libyans and ancient Egyptians is complicated, but we go in search of some answers…
- Date: c.1298 BCE (Sety I, year 6).
- Music intro/outro: “Godzilla theme” by Akira Ifukube, cover version by Luke Chaos.
- Music interludes by: Keith Zizza, Luke Chaos.
- Sety’s War Reliefs at Karnak: Available in Open Access at The University of Chicago.
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Sety charges the Libyans. Colourised interpretation at the British Museum (Photo Dominic Perry 2023).
Sety spears a Libyan “Great One” (Champollion).
Sety brings prisoners to Karnak (Champollion).
The gods receive Sety’s gift (Champollion).
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Veronica Moreno
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Jolle Kirpensteijn
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Bibliography
- P. J. Brand, The Monuments of Seti I: Epigraphic, Historical and Art Historical Analysis (2000).
- P. J. Brand, Ramesses II: Egypt’s Ultimate Pharaoh (2023).
- W. A. Cooney, ‘Egypt’s Encounter with the West: Race, Culture and Identity’, Unpublished PhD. Thesis, University of Durham (2011).
- A. Dodson, Sethy I King of Egypt: His Life and Afterlife (2019).
- A. A. el Magd, ‘Dehumanization of the “Other:” Animal Metaphors of Defeated Enemies in the New Kingdom Military Texts’, Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 52 (2016), 329–341.
- H. El Saady, ‘The Wars of Sety I at Karnak: A New Chronological Structure’, Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur 19 (1992), 285–94.
- R. O. Faulkner, ‘The Wars of Sethos I’, The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 33 (1947), 34–9.
- J. C. M. García, ‘Ḥwt jḥ(w)t, The Administration of the Western Delta and the “Libyan Question” in the Third Millennium BC’, Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 101 (2015), 69–105.
- K. A. Kitchen, Ramesside Inscriptions Historical and Biographical, I (Oxford, 1975).
- K. A. Kitchen, ‘The Arrival of the Libyans in Late New Kingdom Egypt’, in A. Leahy (ed.), Libya and Egypt c.1300–750 BC (1990), 15–27.
- K. A. Kitchen, Ramesside Inscriptions Translated and Annotated: Translations Volume I: Ramesses I, Sethos I and Contemporaries (Second Publication edn, 2017).
- E. F. Morris, The Architecture of Imperialism: Military Bases and the Evolution of Foreign Policy in Egypt’s New Kingdom (2005).
- W. J. Murnane, The Road to Kadesh: A Historical Interpretation of the Battle Reliefs of King Sety I at Karnak (1985).
- D. O’Connor, ‘The Nature of Tjemhu (Libyan) Society in the Later New Kingdom’, in A. Leahy (ed.), Libya and Egypt c.1300–750 BC (1990), 29–113.
- A. J. Spalinger, ‘The Northern Wars of Seti I: An Integrative Study’, Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 16 (1979), 29–47.
- A. J. Spalinger, War in Ancient Egypt: The New Kingdom (2005).
- The Epigraphic Survey, Medinet Habu, Volume I. Earlier Historical Records of Ramses III (1930).
- The Epigraphic Survey, Medinet Habu, Volume II. The Later Historical Records of Ramses III (1932).
- The Epigraphic Survey, Reliefs and Inscriptions at Karnak Volume 4: The Battle Reliefs of King Sety I (1986).
Great episode! Really appreciated the spotlight on ancient Libyans. Hopefully some day more work will uncover these peoples and let them speak for themselves.