Egyptian Army

 

 The egyptians kept a strong army ready for when they needed it. There were 3 different types of people that served in this army. Those 2 were: professional soldiers, Nome conscripts, and Nubian and Libyan mercenaries. Nomes, at most times, had to fill a quota of men for the army when the king called for it.

During the 1st Intermediate Period, the armies were made up of a core of "house" troops belonging
to the king. The core was made up of conscripts and helped by allied troops. Mercenaries,
from Nubia, were also used in a lot of the battles of this time.

The middle kingdom didn't make any changes composition wise.

The 2nd Intermediate Period saw the use of mainly Egyptians in the Theben army. This was once
again a core composed of "house" troops, the personal troops of the monarch, or king,, helped this time by conscripts. The Nubians were independent of the king and fought against the Thebens.

The New Kingdom was back to the practice of the Old Kingdom.

It is not until the Late Periods where the explicit use of Greeks were allowed into the army. By the
Late Period, the army was essentially a home grown Greek mercenary unit.

Even though the composition of the soldiers did change through out the differing dynasties,
professional soldiers and soldiers fighting for Egypt occupied one of the highest castes of Egypt,
and were regarded as highly as the Scribes, nobles, and priests.