Military Campaigns
Pharaoh Seti I - The Pharaohs - The PeopleAs Pharaoh, Seti’s first Military Campaign was to take his military and move along the Horus Military Road which led, along the coast, from the northeastern corner of the Nile Delta to Canaan. Along the way the route was dotted throughout with Military Forts and Garrisons, each of which had their own internal Well for water. Egyptologists are aware of these details due to Reliefs that Pharaoh commissioned on the Northern Wall of the Hypostyle Hall at Karnak.
This was a strategic move for a newly crowned Pharaoh in order to “sure up” his weakest link. Pharaoh Akhenaten had lost Egypt’s grasp over the Hittite’s after the death of his mother left the Foreign Policy of Egypt is very less capable hands and they were now encroaching into Egypt’s lands more frequently and with more voracity. To learn more about this period, click here and scroll down to the Reign of a new Pharaoh Section.
During his Campaign down the Horus Military Road, Pharaoh and his Army met and fought with local Shasu Bedouins; then in Canaan he captured the City States of Yenoam and Beth Shan; and on into Lebanon where the local Chieftains handed Pharaoh valuable Cedar Wood as a tribute to him. Egyptologists are aware of all these details due to Stelae that Pharaoh had commissioned in these Cities.
His main foe in this regard was that of the Hittite Empire and concentrating the attack on the now Syrian town of Kadesh. His Military Campaign was successful in reclaiming the city and with his son, Crown Prince Ramses II, and they entered the city triumphantly. Although they quickly realised that they would need the majority of their army to remain in Kadesh if they wanted to permanently hold the city and so they eventually ceded it back to the Hittites.
Pharaoh Seti I went on to regain most of the land that Egypt had lost during the reigns of Pharaoh Akhenaten, his son Pharaoh Tutankhamun, and Pharaoh Ay through his phenomenally successful Military Campaigns. For more information about Egypt’s ongoing dealings with the Hittite Empire, click here.
His Military Campaigns with Libya occurred at various points throughout his reign, but we are not aware of any exact dates at this juncture.
In Regnal Year 8, Pharaoh’s Army, led by Crown Prince Ramses defused a small upheaval to the South in Nubia.
