The Earliest Images of Horse and Chariot Battle in Egypt: A Re-Evaluation

Mary Tefft White Cultural Center, University Library

Since the discovery at Abydos in 1993 of fragments of a complex horse and chariot battle narrative in the remains of the pyramid temple of King Ahmose (ca 1550-1525 BCE), a number of previously unknown or lost fragments of similar battle scenes featuring equids have come to light. In particular, the recent publication of battle scenes from the temple of Thutmose I in Qurna, as well as the relocation of many of the battle scene fragments from the temple of Thutmose II, allow a more thorough re-evaluation of the Ahmose fragments in relation to these stylistically related decorative programs. The apparent influence of the innovative Ahmose scenes, the earliest yet known in Egyptian art, will be elucidated in an effort to sketch the development of the horse and chariot genre during the first half of the Eighteenth Dynasty.