The Egyptian soldier must have been terrified by these new weapons. While the Egyptians had to anchor their positions with exposed infantry formations, they could be killed from a considerable distance by the arrows from the composite bow which exceeded the range of their own arrows by at least 200 yards. Worse, the Egyptian formations were immobile while the Hyksos could mount horse-drawn chariot charges from all directions. The horse must have had a great psychological impact on the Egyptian soldier, who had never even seen one. The blade axe of the Egyptian soldier was no match for the killing power of the penetrating axe and, without body armor, the sword must have taken a heavy toll in close combat. In 1720 B.C. the Hyksos established their capitol at Avaris (modern Tanis), and in 1674 they captured Memphis. For the next century or so the Hyksos held control of most of Lower Egypt while Upper Egypt remained largely in the hands of the princes of Thebes.
Over time, the Theban princes rebuilt their power until, after a series of short, but bloody, clashes, Ahmose I (1570-1546) drove the asiatics from Avaris, and once again unified Egypt. Under Amenhotep I (1546-1526) Egypt began the process of establishing a great empire. Amenhotep pushed Egypt's borders beyond those of the Old Kingdom and established an Egyptian presence in Asia. Thutmose I (1525-1512), one of Amenhotep's generals, pacified the Nubian south, and his successor, Thutmose II (1512-1504), solidified the Egyptian presence in Palestine to the Syrian border. His successor, Thutmose III (1504-1450) became Egypt's greatest warrior pharaoh, and is known to history as the Napoleon of Egypt. Thutmose III established the empire far into Asia, exacting tribute from Babylon, Assyria, and the Hittites. He fought 17 campaigns abroad and was victorious in all of them. (See Map 2.) Thutmose III established a first-rate professional army through which Egypt reached its pinnacle as a military power.
It is also worth noting that the psychology of the Egyptian leadership had changed drastically. Prior to the Hyksos invasion and occupation, Egypt's strategic culture was marked by a concern for the status quo and a turning inward for a millennium. Unconcerned about foreign threats, Egypt concentrated on developing her high religious culture almost to the point of pacifism. The destruction of the Egyptian army and the occupation of the homeland by a culturally foreign power, the Hyksos , engendered in Egyptian culture a great fear of invasion. Accordingly, having eventually removed the Hyksos from Egyptian soil, the Egyptians continued to press outward from their borders in order to establish a series of weak states on the periphery that could act as a buffer to their territory in time of war. The new strategic culture of Egypt was marked by paranoia and a fear of being surrounded. As such, she became militarily aggressive in a search to control all possible threats to her east by a policy of preemptive military action and aggressive diplomacy.
The wars of liberation and expansion under the Thutmosides wrought a profound change in Egyptian society. For the first time there came into being a truly professional military caste. Military families were given grants of land to hold for as long as they provided a son for the officer corps. The army changed its structure and became a truly genuine national force based on conscription. Although the local militias continued to exist, they were thoroughly integrated into a national force structure and, more important, the local barons lost the power to challenge national policy or withhold troop levies. Thutmose III completely changed Egyptian weapons and tactics. He adopted the weapons of the Hyksos -- the chariot, composite bow, penetrating axe, sickle-sword, helmets, and armor -- and made further improvements in the design and tactical employment doctrine of the chariot in battle. Thutmose mounted his newly armed archers on chariots and produced the most important military revolution in ground warfare yet seen in Egypt.
The national army was raised by conscription, with the national levy being one man in 10 instead of the traditional one man in 100. The army was centrally trained by professional officers and noncommissioned officers. The pharaoh himself remained commander-in-chief and was expected to be a true field commander by leading his men in battle. There was also an Army Council that served as a general staff. The field army was organized into divisions, each of which was a complete, combined arms corps, including infantry, archers, and chariots. These divisions numbered 5,000 men, and each was named after one of the principal gods of Egypt. Later Ramses II organized Egypt and the empire into 34 military districts to facilitate conscription, training, and supply of the army. The rank and administrative structures were improved, and there were professional schools to train and test officers in the operational arts.
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