About the Egyptian Composite Bow
The ancient Egyptian civilization lasted for thousands of years, through three dynasties and innumerable wars. Sometime before the 19th dynasty, the period of Rhamses II, Egyptian archers acquired an important advance in their weaponry in the form of an Egyptian-style composite bow.
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History
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By the time the regions of upper and lower Egypt were united by Menes, also known as Narmer, Egyptians were very skilled at using bows to great advantage. Egypt, however, has a very limited supply of wood, which made archery a costly and spotty addition to its military arsenal. The introduction of a composite-style bow, however, changed that.
Significance
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Sometime during the New Kingdom era of ancient Egyptian history the composite bows was introduced, probably by the Assyrians or Hyksos who attacked Egypt. Within a few short years, the construction and widespread use of composite bows was adopted by the Egyptians. Egyptian composite bows have been depicted on tomb walls, leading experts to reconstruct the bows with relative accuracy.
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Features
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Egyptian composite bows were made much like other composite bows of the era; a wood core had horn plates glued to its interior curve while sinew was glued to its exterior curve. The horn allowed for compression while the sinew acted like a spring to produce a much more powerful bow. The Egyptian version seems to have added bark to the exterior curve over the sinew, either to protect the bow, for aesthetic reasons or to add a little more power to it.
Effects
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By the time of Rhamses II, the Egyptians has improved the effect of the composite bow significantly by pairing the archers with charioteers. A fast pair of horses would pull the chariot at high speed while the charioteer guided them closer to the enemy formation. As the chariot got within range, the archer would loose arrows toward the enemy as fast and as accurately as possible. The charioteer would veer away from the formation when the chariot got too close and the archer would fire back at the formation as the chariot got away. This allowed the Egyptians to stave off some of the attacks by Hittites and Assyrians for several more centuries.
Considerations
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Composite bows were honored in Egyptian society for the power they gave the Egyptian armies and, by extension, the pharoahs. Egyptian composite bows were found in the tomb of King Tutankhamun, also known as King Tut, as part of the equipment he might need in the afterlife.
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