Invaders or just herders? Libyans in Egypt in the third and second millennia bce

• Published in: World archaeology Vol. 46; no. 4; pp. 610 - 623
• Main Author: Moreno García, Juan Carlos
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Routledge 01.01.2014; Taylor & Francis, Ltd; Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group
• Subjects: Ancient Egypt; Ancient Libyans; Archaeological collections; Archaeology; Autonomy; Conflict theory; Egypt; History; Kom el-Hisn; Landscape; Libya; Lifestyles; Lower Egypt; pastoral economy; Texts; Egypt
• ISSN: 0043-8243; 1470-1375
• DOI: 10.1080/00438243.2014.931820

An increasing body of archaeological data and a careful re-evaluation of Egyptian texts are showing Libyans, usually depicted in pharaonic sources as a menacing force of wandering herders, in a different light. The western Delta and Middle Egypt formed a vast area with low human density, scattered settlements, abundant grazing and wooded land and porous borders, an ideal landscape not only for herders (both Libyan and Egyptian), but also for foragers and fishermen. Their autonomous mobile lifestyles usually clashed with the fiscal and agricultural interests of the Pharaohs, but conflict did not necessarily ensue. Thus, while some kind of mutual agreement dominated much of third-millennium relations between Libyans and Egyptian kings, the foundation of a new capital in the eastern Delta, at Pi-Ramesses, and its heavy impact on Delta resources launched an increasing wave of conflicts with Libyan herders. Competition then actually underlies what pharaonic sources unilaterally present as invasions.