Medjay

The tale of the Medjay

South of Egypt, in the deserts of Nubia between the Nile and the Red Sea, lived a people of herders and hunters whom the Egyptians called the Medjay. They were famous across the ancient world for their skill with the bow, their speed on foot and their knowledge of the desert's paths and wells. Egyptian soldiers who had to cross the eastern desert were glad to have them as scouts.

At first the Medjay were enemies, then mercenaries, then allies. During the wars that freed Egypt from the Hyksos kings around 1550 BC, Medjay archers fought on the side of the Theban princes. When the New Kingdom began, they became part of Egypt itself.

The pharaoh's police

Over time the name "Medjay" stopped meaning a people and came to mean a job. In the New Kingdom the Medjay were Egypt's police: an elite force of guards who kept order in the cities, protected the borders, guarded the gold mines, escorted caravans and, above all, guarded the most precious places in Egypt, the royal tombs.

In the Valley of the Kings, the hidden cemetery of the pharaohs near Thebes, the Medjay kept watch day and night. They patrolled the cliffs and the paths, checked on the tombs, and protected the workmen's village at Deir el-Medina. They were armed with bows, spears or the curved sword called the khopesh, and carried shields of animal hide. Some of them kept dogs to help them on patrol.

The great tomb robbery

Tomb robbing was the worst crime in Egypt: stealing from the dead put their souls in danger. Around 1110 BC, under King Ramesses IX, a great scandal broke out. Papyri tell how gangs of robbers, helped by corrupt officials, had broken into royal tombs, stripped the mummies of their gold and burned the wooden coffins. One brave official accused the mayor of western Thebes, and the chief of the Medjay helped to investigate. Robbers were caught and put on trial. The records of their confessions still survive.

Medjay in Battle of Myths

The Medjay is a cost 1 Egyptian hero with two aspects. As the Desert Guard (warrior and guardian) he makes a Khopesh Sweep across his target and the enemies beside it, then becomes harder to hurt. As the Desert Bowman (hunter and warrior) he shoots Fire Arrows that set his target burning. As his quote says, the tombs are quiet tonight, because of him. With every Egyptian hero he shares the Sun Cycle: by day the Egyptians strike faster, and at nightfall they are shielded.

Did you know?

• In the video game Assassin's Creed Origins, the hero Bayek is one of the last Medjay.
• Ancient "pan-grave" burials found in Upper Egypt are thought to belong to Medjay soldiers, buried with their bows and painted animal skulls.