moveable cap of soft leather sewed to the upper end. It was always attached to the war chariots; and across it inclined, in an opposite direction, another large case, containing two spears and an abundant stock of arrows *; and besides the quiver he wore, the warrior had frequently three others attached to his car. Archers of the infantry were furnished with a smaller sheath for the bow t, of which it covered the centre, leaving the two ends exposed; and being of a pliable substance, probably leather, it was put round the bow, as they held it in their hand during a march. Besides the bow, their principal weapon of offence, they, like the mounted archers, who fought in cars, were provided with a falchion, dagger, curved stick, mace, or battle-axe, for close combat, when their arrows were exhausted; and their defensive arms were the helmet, or quilted headpiece, and a coat of the same materials; but they were not allowed a shield, being considered an impediment to the free use of the bow. The spear, or pike, was of wood ‡, between five and six feet in length, with a metal head, into which the shaft was inserted and fixed with nails: and one of them preserved in the Berlin Museum S satisfactorily accords with the general appearance of those represented in the sculptures. The head * Vide infrà, the Egyptian chariot. Wood-cut, No. 53. a. + Vide wood-cut, No. 13. Homer mentions spears of ash, with brass or bronze heads. wood-cuts, Nos. 13, 14. 21. Vide § This spear is about five feet and a half long, but the shank of its bronze head is much longer than usual. Vide wood-cut, 34. a. fig. 1. was of bronze or iron, sometimes very large, usually with a double edge, like that of the Greeks; but the spear does not appear to have been furnished with a metal point at the other extremity, called σaupwτn by Homert, which is still adopted in Turkish, modern Egyptian, and other spears, in order to plant them upright in the ground, as the spear of Saul was fixed near his head, while he lay sleeping within the trench." Spears of this kind should perhaps come under the denomination of javelins, the metal being intended as well for a counterpoise in their flight as for the purpose above alluded to; and such an addition to those of the heavy-armed infantry would neither be requisite nor convenient. 66 The javelin, lighter and shorter than the spear, was also of wood, and similarly armed with a strong two-edged metal head, generally of an elongated diamond shape, either flat, or increasing in thickness at the centre, and sometimes tapering to a very long point §; and the upper extremity of its shaft terminated in a bronze knob, surmounted by a ball, to which were attached two thongs or tassels, intended both as an ornament and a counterpoise αμφι δ' έταιροι Εύδον· ὑπο κρασιν δ' έχον ασπίδας" εγχεα δε σφιν 1 Sam. xxvi. 7. Conf. Virg. Æn. xii. 130: "Defigunt tellure hastas, et scuta reclinant." § Vide wood-cut at end of Chap. III. fig. 9. to the weight of its point. It was sometimes used as a spear, for thrusting, being held with one or with two hands; and sometimes, when the adversary was within reach, it was darted, and still retained in the warrior's grasp, the shaft being allowed to pass through his hand till stopped by the blow, or by the fingers suddenly closing on the band of metal at the end; a custom I have often observed among the modern Nubians and Ababdeh. They had another javelin apparently of wood, tapering to a sharp point, without the usual metal head+; and a still lighter kind, armed with a small bronze point, which was frequently four-sided, three pl. xiii. fig. 8. It resembles the Parthian javelin. Vide Hope's Costumes, vol. i. Wood-cut, No. 35. fig. 1.; and wood-cut at end of Chap. III. bladed*, or broad and nearly flat; and from the upper end of the shaft being destitute of any metal counterpoiset, it resembled a dart now used by the people of Dar-Foor, and other African tribes, who, without any scientific knowledge of projectiles, or the curve of a parabola, dexterously strike their enemy with its falling point. Another inferior kind of javelin was made of reed, with a metal head; but this can scarcely be considered a military weapon, nor would it hold a high rank among those employed by the Egyptian chasseur, most of which were of excellent workmanship, and adapted to all the purposes of the chase, whether in the river or the field. Of these last, the most remarkable was one used for spearing fish: it was propelled by the hand with the assistance of a thin cord + passing over its notched summit, and extending down the shaft: but being solely intended for sportsmen, and not among the arms *Wood-cut, No. 35. fig. 2. + Wood-cut, No. 35. fig. 4. I do not find any instance of the amentum, mentioned by Seneca, Virgil, and other writers, which was a thong bound round the middle of a heavy dart. Æn. ix. 665. 66 Amentaque torquent." borne by the soldier, it is unnecessary here to describe it more minutely. The sling was a thong, of leather*, or string plaited †, broad in the middle, and having a loop at one end, by which it was fixed upon and firmly held with the hand; the other extremity terminating in a lash, which escaped from the fingers as the stone was thrown: and when used, the slinger whirled it two or three times over his head, to steady it, and to increase the impetus.‡ fig. 1. fig. 2. No. 36. Slingers. Beni Hassan and Thebes. It was an arm looked upon by many of the Greeks with great contempt, especially by heavyinfantry, though generally carried by some of the light troops; and Q. Curtius tells us that Alex * Homer mentions one made of a sheep's fleece, and describes Agenor binding the wounded hand of Helenus with it: « Αύτην δε ξυνεδησεν ευστροφῳ οιος αωτῳ : Σφενδονῃ, ἣν αρα οἱ θεραπων εχε ποιμένι λαών.” II. v, 599. + As that still used in Egypt to drive away birds from the corn Vide wood-cut at end of Chap. III. figs. 4 and 5. fields. Conf. Virg. Æn. ix. 587.: |