[Teaser] True Size: Buhen Fortress

Apologies for anyone trying to join the Discord and the link expired. Here's the newest link to join: https://discord.gg/kR4AApBjM For now, enjoy this teaser of the script for our upcoming video on the True Size of the Buhen Fortress!

Intro

Deep in the deserts of Egypt lurk monumental fortresses lost to the sands of time. Massive bastions from the Bronze Age which put the castles of the Middle Ages to shame despite having been erected more than 2 millenia before. Built to wage war upon the Nubians of the south, their scope and complexity baffles the mind. Sadly they have been lost to the ravages of time and the rising waters of the Aswan Dam. But today let us bring their glory to life by exploring the True Size of the Buhen Fortress.

Defenses of Southern Egypt

The traditional borders of Egypt were the western desert, the northeastern Sinai, and the first cataract of the Nile. Each of these locations provided natural barriers which had served to organically partition the region. Yet as civilizations expanded they began to spill over these frontiers. Thus it was in the interest of those who controlled the fertile Nile to reinforce their domains with man-made defenses.

This would happen most prominently in the transitory region of the upper Nile which was marked by a series of cataracts that served to limit efficient modes of water travel. To the North, the Pharaohs of Egypt had consolidated their holdings over the course of centuries which spanned the long history of the Old, the Intermediate and the Middle Kingdom periods. To the south meanwhile, the various leaders of Nubia had done much the same. Theirs was a land rich in livestock, precious metals, and trade routes into the African interior which spawned its own glorious civilization. The power struggles between the two would be fought across these cataracts with each country’s sphere of influence waxing and waning over the years.

A major shift in Egyptian-Nubian relations would occur at the height of the Middle Kingdom with the rise of the 5th King of the 12th Dynasty, Pharaoh Senusret the Third. He was a mighty warrior king who leveraged the full power of his nation to launch a series of major campaigns into Nubia around the year 1860 BC. As a part of these ambitions to tame the southern border, he would also embark on a massive building programme of river forts and citadels. Let us zoom in to the region to better appreciate this project.

Here you can see the constellation of defensive positions which were built or upgraded in this period. Most are clustered around the second cataract, cementing control of all lands to the north, checking the movement of people and goods across the frontier, and serving as a staging point for raids and invasions to the south. Fascinatingly, the very names of these fortresses can be translated to give us a sense of their purpose. Examples include, quote “To combine the two countries”, “The Conqueror of Nubia”, and “Repelling the Medjai”. Some even proudly boast of their features such as this one: quote “The one, who is resistant to the Bowmen”. Another bears the proud title of its creator: quote “Senusret the Third, Justified”.

Regarding their strategic positioning, each bastion was located within eyesight of its neighbor and when this was not possible they were connected by a series of watchtowers and patrolled roads. Generally speaking, such Nubian border forts shared similar design principles one might find elsewhere in Egypt, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. Namely, they consisted of a central citadel surrounded by an outer, rectangular perimeter wall. Within was housed a barracks, a granary, a central magazine, a shrine, and a treasury. Such facilities could accommodate a population of several hundred including civilian, military, and administrative personnel.

Defensively speaking, we find that these fortresses were of advanced design, with multi-layered fortifications, overlapping fields of fire, and elaborate support facilities. For instance, at Mirgissa, there was built a more than 1 km long, in-land slipway which allowed ships and goods to efficiently bypass the rough waters of the second cataract.

Taken together this line of fortifications was truly impressive, a fact which led archeologist William Adams to proclaim them, “a chain of the mightiest fortifications ever erected in the ancient world”.