By the Eighteenth Dynasty during the New Kingdom, the Medjay were an elite paramilitary police force.
Curated/Reviewed by Matthew A. McIntosh
Public Historian
Brewminate
Introduction and Origins
Medjayย (alsoย Medjai,ย Mazoi,ย Madjai,ย Mejay, Egyptianย mแธ๊ฃ.j, aย nisbaย ofย mแธ๊ฃ[1]) was aย demonymย used in various ways throughoutย ancient Egyptian historyย to refer initially to aย nomadicย group fromย Nubiaย and later as a generic term for desert-rangerย police.[2]ย They were sometimes confused with theย Pan-Grave Culture.
The first mention of the Medjay in written records dates back to theย Old Kingdom of Egypt, when they were listed among other Nubian peoples in theย Autobiography of Weni, who was at the time a general serving underย Pepi I Meryreย (reigned 2332โ2287 BCE).[3]ย During this time the term “Medjay” referred to people from the land of Medja, a district thought to be located just east of theย Second Nile Cataractย inย Nubia. Nubia was referred to asย Ta-Seti, meaning “Land of the bow”, by the Egyptians and the people there (including the Medjay) were renowned for their military skills, particularly as archers.[4][5]ย A decree from Pepi I Meryre’s reign, which lists different officials (including an Overseer of the Medja, Irtjet, and Satju, i.e. of the various Nubian groups), illustrates that Medja was at least to some extent subjugated by the Egyptian government.[6]ย Since the time ofย Alan Gardiner, a common account has been that the Medjay constituted an ethnic group. More recent work suggests that the term was initially an Egyptian exonym. Those identified as Medjay may not have considered themselves a shared ethnicity and certainly were not a unified polity.
Gardiner suggested a diachronic model for the word โMedjayโ which evolved through three meanings in the Egyptian language: First, in the Old Kingdom, the word โMedjaโ was a place name that seems to refer to an area north of the Second Cataract. That was the location where the Egyptians encountered groups of people associated with Medja. Second, until the end of theย Second Intermediate Period, the word โMedjayโ denoted an ethnic group of Nubian people who lived in the Eastern Desert around the First and Second Cataracts. They were primarily pastoral nomads. Third, in the New Kingdom, the word โMedjayโ had lost its ethnic connection to Nubia and was an occupational title for policemen or desert-rangers. Additionally, the works of Sรคve-Sรถderbergh and Bietak have connected the Medjay to the Pangrave material culture of the Late Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period.[7]
Written accounts from the Middle Kingdom, such as theย Semna Despatches, describe the Medjay as nomadic desert people. Egyptian sources are inconsistent in distinguishing between Nubian people generally and Medjay until the latter portion of theย Middle Kingdom.ย Senusret IIIย (r. 1878-1839 BCE) enacted a prohibition on Nubian movement north ofย Semna, which is recorded in missives from the border guard atย Elephantine.[8]ย At the same time, the administration began making a distinction between these two categories of people. Kate Liszka hypothesizes this may have motivated people to take on Medjay as an ethnic identity.[9]
They also were sometimes employed as soldiers (as we know from theย steleย of Res and Ptahwer). During the Second Intermediate Period, they were even used duringย Kamose’s campaign against theย Hyksos[10]ย and became instrumental in making the Egyptian state into a military power.[11]ย The Medjay were also hired as soldiers and guards in theย Kushite militaryย as well as theย Roman Egyptย army.[12]
Pan-Graves
In theย archaeological record, aย cultureย known as the Pan-Grave Culture[13]ย is generally considered by experts to represent the Medjay.[14][15]ย This culture is named for its distinctive circular graves, found throughoutย Lower Nubiaย andย Upper Egypt, which date to the late Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period (1800-1550 BC).[14][15]ย The sudden appearance of these graves in theย Nileย Valley suggests that they represent an immigrant population, while the presence ofย Neritaย shells in many of them suggests their occupants came from theย Eastern Desertย between the Nile and theย Red Sea.[14]ย Other objects commonly found in these graves include the painted skulls of various horned animals, which are found either arranged in a circle around the burial pit or placed in separate offering pits.[14]
Police Force
By the Eighteenth Dynasty during the New Kingdom, the Medjay were an eliteย paramilitaryย police force.[16]ย No longer did the term refer to an ethnic group, and over time the new meaning became synonymous with policing in general. As an elite force, the Medjay were often used to protect valuable areas, especially areas of pharaonic interest like capital cities, royal cemeteries, and the borders of Egypt. Though they are best known for their protection of the royal palaces and tombs inย Thebesย and the surrounding areas, the Medjay were used throughoutย Upperย andย Lower Egypt. Each regional unit had its own captains.[17]ย Chiefs of the Medjay are also known from the New Kingdom, but that title is more likely to refer to a person in charge of building and building material procurement.
At first, the group just consisted of ethnic Medjay and those descended from that ancient tribal group. This changed over time as more and more Egyptians took up their occupation. Records show that various Medjay chiefs and captains had Egyptian names and were depicted as such. Why this change occurred is not known, but it is assumed that, because of the Medjay’s elite status, Egyptians joined them.[17]
Demise
After theย 20th Dynasty, the term Medjay is no longer found in Egyptian records. It is unknown whether the Medjay as an occupation had been abolished or the name of the force had changed. However, there is speculation that a group of people called the Meded who fought against theย Kushย during the 5th and 4th centuries B.C. might have been related to the Medjay.[16]
Language
Linguistic evidence indicates that the Medjay spoke an ancientย Cushiticย language related to theย Cushiticย Beja languageย and that theย Blemmyesย were a subdivision of the Medjay. Rilly (2019) mentions historical records of a powerfulย Cushiticย speaking group which controlledย Lower Nubiaย and some cities inย Upper Egypt. He claims a linguistic relationship between the modernย Beja languageย and the ancient Cushitic Blemmyan language, which dominated Lower Nubia, and that the Blemmyes could be regarded as a particular tribe of the Medjay.
The Blemmyes are another Cushitic speaking tribe, or more likely a subdivision of the Medjay/Beja people, which is attested in Napatan and Egyptian texts from the 6th century BC on. (โฆ) From the end of the 4th century until the 6th century AD, they held parts of Lower Nubia and some cities of Upper Egypt. (โฆ) The Blemmyan language is so close to modern Beja that it is probably nothing else than an early dialect of the same language. In this case, the Blemmyes can be regarded as a particular tribe of the Medjay.[18]
Cultural Depictions
In the 1999 remakeย The Mummy, and the sequelย The Mummy Returnsย (2001).[19]ย the Medjay are mentioned as Pharaohย Seti I’s personal bodyguards inย ancient Egypt.[20]
In the 2017 video gameย Assassin’s Creed Origins, the protagonist,ย Bayek of Siwa, is considered “the last Medjay”. In the game, the Medjay are depicted as a police force whose job is to protect theย pharaoh. However, Bayek abandons his duty when he learns that the pharaohย Ptolemy XIIIย is an ally to a dark and mysterious organization called “The Order of the Ancients” which is responsible for the death of his son.[21]
In the 2020 graphic novelย 20s A Difficult Age: The Blue Madjai, by Marcus Orelias, the protagonist of the series goes by the moniker “the Blue Madjai”.[22]
In the 2017 video gameย For Honor, in the July 2022 “Curse of the Scarab: Title Update 2”ย software update, aย playable characterย named for and inspired by the Medjay was released.[23]
In the 2021 video gameย Forewarned, 1-4 players explore ancient Egyptian tombs and gather evidence to identify the evilย Medjaiย haunting the area, and can perform elaborate hidden rituals to banish them to theย Egyptian afterlife. In this game,ย Medjay, orย Medjaiย are depicted as malevolent undead spirits.[24]
See endnotes and bibliography at source.
Originally published by Wikipedia, 07.09.2004, under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license.
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