Medjay
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| medjay "mDA.y" (throw stick det. , for "foreign-peoples") in hieroglyphs | |||||||||
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In the New Kingdom of ancient Egypt, the Medjay (also Medjai, Mazoi, Madjai, Mejay, Egyptian mDA.y), from mDA,[1] were an elite paramilitary police force: desert scouts and protectors of areas of Pharaonic interest. The term originally referred to a region in northern Sudan and southern Egypt inhabited by an ancient people of Nubia, who were employed by the Egyptians as mercenaries, and later came to describe their force. The Medjay are no longer mentioned after the 20th Dynasty (1189–1077 BCE).
Origins and mercenary duties
The first mention of the Medjay in written records dates back to the Old Kingdom, when they were listed among other Nubian peoples by Weni, who was at the time a general serving under Pepi I.[2] During this time the term "Medjay" referred to people from the land of Medja, a district thought to be located just east of the Second Cataract in Nubia. A decree from Pepi I's reign, which lists different officials (including an Overseer of the Medja, Irtjet and Satju), illustrates that Medja was at least to some extent subjugated by the Egyptian government.[3]
During the Middle Kingdom, the definition of "Medjay" started to refer more to a tribe than a land, (although references to Medja-land do exist). Written accounts, like the Semna Despatches detail the Medjay as nomadic desert people. As itinerant peoples, they worked in all parts of Egyptian society, as palace attendants, temple employees, merchants, and more. The Medjay worked in Egyptian fortifications in Nubia and patrolled the deserts and helped to patrol the desert with other Egyptian soldiers, like the Akhwty. They also were sometimes employed as soldiers (as we know from the stela of Res and Ptahwer). And during the Second Intermediate Period, they were even used during Kamose's campaign against the Hyksos[4] and became instrumental in making the Egyptian state into a military power.[5]
Police force
By the 18th Dynasty of the New Kingdom period, the Medjay were an elite paramilitary police force.[6] No longer did the term refer to an ethnic group, and over time the new meaning became synonymous with policing in general. As an elite force, the Medjay were often used to protect valuable areas, especially areas of pharaonic interest like capital cities, royal cemeteries, and the borders of Egypt. Though they are best known for their protection of the royal palaces and tombs in Thebes and the surrounding areas, the Medjay were used throughout Upper and Lower Egypt. Each regional unit had its own captains.[7] Chiefs of the Medjay are also known from the New Kingdom, but that title is more likely to refer to a person in charge of building and building material procurement.
At first, the group just consisted of ethnic Medjay and those descended from that ancient tribal group. This changed over time as more and more Egyptians took up their occupation. Records show that various Medjay chiefs and captains had Egyptian names and were depicted as such. Why this change occurred is not known, but it is assumed that because of the Medjay's elite status, Egyptians joined them.[7]
Demise
After the 20th Dynasty, the term Medjay is no longer found in Egyptian records. It is unknown whether the Medjay as an occupation had been abolished or the name of the force had changed. However, there is speculation that a group of people called the Meded who fought against the Kush during the 5th and 4th centuries B.C. might have been related to the Medjay.[6] Regardless, there is no doubt that the Medjay played an important role in ancient Egypt, first as foreign mercenaries employed by the Egyptian army and later as a paramilitary police force that guarded royal palaces and tombs.
In media
In the 1999 film The Mummy and its 2001 sequel The Mummy Returns, the Medjay are mentioned as Pharaoh Seti I's personal bodyguards in ancient Egypt.
In the 2017 video game Assassin's Creed Origins, the protagonist, Bayek, is considered "the last Medjay", acting as a "sheriff" throughout first century BCE Egypt.[8]
References
- ^ Erman & Grapow, Wörterbuch der ägyptischen Sprache, 2, 186.1-2
- ^ Breasted (1906), §§ 317, 324
- ^ Gardiner (1947), p. 74
- ^ Shaw (2000), p. 201
- ^ Steindorff & Seele (1957), p. 28
- ^ a b Wilkinson (2005), p. 147
- ^ a b Gardiner (1947), pp. 82–85
- ^ Cacho, Gieson (24 June 2017). "How Ubisoft fixed combat in 'Assassin's Creed Origins'". The Mercury News. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
Players take on the role of Bayek, a Medjay, which is essentially the sheriff of the day.
Bibliography
- Breasted, J. H. (1906). Ancient Records of Egypt, part one. Chicago.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Gardiner, Alan H. (1947). Ancient Egyptian Onomastica. Vol. 1. Oxford University Press.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Shaw, Ian (2000). The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-280293-3.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Steindorff, George; Seele, Keith C. (1957). When Egypt Ruled the East. University of Chicago Press.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Wilkinson, Toby (2005). Dictionary of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson.
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