The Meshwesh (often abbreviated in ancient
Egyptian
Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt.
Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to:
Nations and ethnic groups
* Egyptians, a national group in North Africa
** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...
as Ma) was an
ancient Libyan Berber
Berber or Berbers may refer to:
Ethnic group
* Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa
* Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages
Places
* Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile
People with the surname
* Ady Berber (1913–196 ...
tribe, along with other groups like
Libu
The Libu ( egy, rbw; also transcribed Rebu, Lebu, Lbou, Libou) were an Ancient Libyan tribe of Berber origin, from which the name ''Libya'' derives.
Early history
Their occupation of Ancient Libya is first attested in Egyptian language text ...
and Tehenou/Tehenu.
Early records of the Meshwesh date back to the
Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt from the reign of
Amenhotep III
Amenhotep III ( egy, jmn-ḥtp(.w), ''Amānəḥūtpū'' , "Amun is Satisfied"; Hellenized as Amenophis III), also known as Amenhotep the Magnificent or Amenhotep the Great, was the ninth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty. According to different ...
. During the
19th and
20th dynasties (c. 1295 – 1075 BC), the Meshwesh were in almost constant conflict with the Egyptian state. During the late
21st Dynasty
The Twenty-first Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XXI, alternatively 21st Dynasty or Dynasty 21) is usually classified as the first Dynasty of the Ancient Egyptian Third Intermediate Period, lasting from 1077 BC to 943 BC.
History
After the r ...
, increasing numbers of Meswesh Libyans began to settle in the Western Delta region of Egypt. They would ultimately take control of the country during the late 21st Dynasty first under
Osorkon the Elder
Aakheperre Setepenre Osorkon the Elder was the fifth king of the 21st Dynasty of Ancient Egypt and was the first Pharaoh of Meshwesh ( Ancient Libyan) origin. He is also sometimes known as Osochor, following Manetho's ''Aegyptiaca''.
Biograph ...
. After an interregnum of 38 years, during which the native Egyptian kings
Siamun
Neterkheperre or Netjerkheperre-Setepenamun Siamun was the sixth pharaoh of Egypt during the Twenty-first Dynasty. He built extensively in Lower Egypt for a king of the Third Intermediate Period and is regarded as one of the most powerful ruler ...
and
assumed the throne, the Meshwesh ruled Egypt throughout the
22nd and
23rd Dynasties under such powerful
pharaoh
Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: ''pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until the an ...
s as
Shoshenq I
Hedjkheperre Setepenre Shoshenq I (Egyptian ''ššnq''; reigned c. 943–922 BC)—also known as Shashank or Sheshonk or Sheshonq Ifor discussion of the spelling, see Shoshenq—was a pharaoh of ancient Egypt and the founder of the Twenty-secon ...
,
Osorkon I
Sekhemkheperre Osorkon I was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 22nd Dynasty. Osorkon's territory included much of the Levant.
The Osorkon Bust found at Byblos is one of the five Byblian royal inscriptions.
Biography
The son of Shoshenq I and ...
,
Osorkon II
Usermaatre Setepenamun Osorkon II was the fifth king of the Twenty-second Dynasty of Ancient Egypt and the son of King Takelot I and Queen Kapes. He ruled Egypt from approximately 872 BC to 837 BC from Tanis, the capital of that dynasty.
After ...
,
Shoshenq III
King Usermaatre Setepenre Shoshenq III of the 22nd Dynasty ruled for 39 years according to contemporary historical records. Two Apis Bulls were buried in the fourth and 28th years of his reign and he celebrated his Heb Sed Jubilee in his regnal ...
and
Osorkon III
Usermaatre Setepenamun Osorkon III Si-Ese was Pharaoh of Egypt in the 8th Century BC. He is the same person as the Crown Prince and High Priest of Amun Osorkon B, son of Takelot II by his Great Royal Wife Karomama II. Prince Osorkon B is best a ...
.
Libyan origins
That the Meshwesh were of
Libyan
Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, and religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. The ...
origin is explicitly stated in a genealogy contained on the
stela of Pasenhor (dated to the reign of
Shoshenq V
Aakheperre Shoshenq V was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the late 22nd Dynasty.
Despite having enjoyed one of the longest reigns of the entire dynasty – 38 years – and having left a fair amount of attestations, little is known about Shoshe ...
), where the great chiefs of the Meshwesh (including the kings of the 22nd Dynasty) are stated to be the descendants of "Buyuwawa the Libyan." The Libyo-Berber origin of the Meshwesh is also indicated in their personal names (such as Osorkon, Takelot, Nimlot, Shoshenq, etc.) and a handful of non-Egyptian titles used by these people that are related to the
Berber languages
The Berber languages, also known as the Amazigh languages or Tamazight,, ber, label=Tuareg Tifinagh, ⵜⵎⵣⵗⵜ, ) are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They comprise a group of closely related languages spoken by Berber commun ...
. After the Egyptians, the Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines mentioned various other tribes in Libya. Later tribal names differ from the Egyptian ones but, probably, some tribes were named in the Egyptian sources and the later ones, as well. The Meshwesh tribe represents this assumption. Some scholars argue it would be the same tribe called ''Mazyes'' by
Hecataeus of Miletus
Hecataeus of Miletus (; el, Ἑκαταῖος ὁ Μιλήσιος; c. 550 BC – c. 476 BC), son of Hegesander, was an early Greek historian and geographer.
Biography
Hailing from a very wealthy family, he lived in Miletus, then under Per ...
and ''Maxyes'' by
Herodotus
Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known f ...
, while the tribe was called
''Mazices'' and ''Mazax'' in Latin sources.
History
![GraniteBlockShowingCapturedForeignTowns-BritishMuseum-August19-08](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/GraniteBlockShowingCapturedForeignTowns-BritishMuseum-August19-08.jpg)
The Meshwesh are known from ancient
Egyptian
Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt.
Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to:
Nations and ethnic groups
* Egyptians, a national group in North Africa
** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...
texts as early as the
18th Dynasty, where they are mentioned as a source of cattle provided to king
Amenhotep III
Amenhotep III ( egy, jmn-ḥtp(.w), ''Amānəḥūtpū'' , "Amun is Satisfied"; Hellenized as Amenophis III), also known as Amenhotep the Magnificent or Amenhotep the Great, was the ninth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty. According to different ...
's palace at
Malkata
Malkata (or Malqata; ar, الملقطة, lit=the place where things are picked up), is the site of an Ancient Egyptian palace complex built during the New Kingdom, by the 18th Dynasty pharaoh Amenhotep III. It is located on the West Bank of the ...
. This indicates there may have been some trade relations between the Meshwesh and the Egyptians at the time. At the very least, it can be said that the Egyptians were familiar with the Meshwesh. For the remainder of the 18th Dynasty, information about Meshwesh or Libyans in general is sketchy. There are, however, representations of Libyans (perhaps Meshwesh) from the reign of
Akhenaten
Akhenaten (pronounced ), also spelled Echnaton, Akhenaton, ( egy, ꜣḫ-n-jtn ''ʾŪḫə-nə-yātəy'', , meaning "Effective for the Aten"), was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh reigning or 1351–1334 BC, the tenth ruler of the Eighteenth Dy ...
, including a remarkable
papyrus
Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, '' Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'') can also refer to a ...
depicting a group of Libyans slaying an Egyptian. However, the papyrus is fragmentary, so it is not known what the historical context was. The Meshwesh or Ma were nomad hunter pastoralists, living off their goats, camels and other livestock while hunting and gathering at the same time. Milk, meat, hides and wool were gathered from their livestock for food, tents and clothing.
The first ancient Egyptian sources described the Meshwesh men with tattoos and long hair with longer side locks in the front, while centuries later they appear with shorter hair of Egyptian influence but braided and beaded, neatly parted in both sides from their temples and decorated with one or two feathers attached to leather bands around the crown of the head. They still used the same robes as before, a thin mantle of antelope hide, dyed and printed, crossing one of their shoulders and coming down until mid calf length to make an open robe over a loincloth with an adorned phallus sheath, being the only exception of the new addition of a
kilt
A kilt ( gd, fèileadh ; Irish: ''féileadh'') is a garment resembling a wrap-around knee-length skirt, made of twill woven worsted wool with heavy pleats at the sides and back and traditionally a tartan pattern. Originating in the Scottish Hi ...
above the knees and an animal tail in the Egyptian manner of king
Narmer
Narmer ( egy, Wiktionary:nꜥr-mr, nꜥr-mr, meaning "painful catfish," "stinging catfish," "harsh catfish," or "fierce catfish;" ) was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Early Dynastic Period (Egypt), Early Dynastic Period. He was the successor ...
and the phallus adornment over it. Men wore facial hair trimmed except at their chin and the older men kept their longer chin tufts braided. Women wore the same robes as men, plaited, decorated hair and both genders wore heavy jewelry. Later images showed them to have accepted and adapted some Greek or Macedonian
tunics
A tunic is a garment for the body, usually simple in style, reaching from the shoulders to a length somewhere between the hips and the knees. The name derives from the Latin ''tunica'', the basic garment worn by both men and women in Ancient Rome ...
. Weapons included bows and arrows, hatchets, spears and daggers.
The relations between the
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...
ns and the
Egyptians
Egyptians ( arz, المَصرِيُون, translit=al-Maṣriyyūn, ; arz, المَصرِيِين, translit=al-Maṣriyyīn, ; cop, ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ, remenkhēmi) are an ethnic group native to the Nile, Nile Valley in Egypt. Egyptian ...
during the
Ramesside Period
The Twentieth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XX, alternatively 20th Dynasty or Dynasty 20) is the third and last dynasty of the Ancient Egyptian New Kingdom period, lasting from 1189 BC to 1077 BC. The 19th and 20th Dynasties furthermore togeth ...
were typically one of constant conflict. Battle reliefs at
Karnak
The Karnak Temple Complex, commonly known as Karnak (, which was originally derived from ar, خورنق ''Khurnaq'' "fortified village"), comprises a vast mix of decayed temples, pylons, chapels, and other buildings near Luxor, Egypt. Construct ...
from the reign of
Seti I
Menmaatre Seti I (or Sethos I in Greek) was the second pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt during the New Kingdom period, ruling c.1294 or 1290 BC to 1279 BC. He was the son of Ramesses I and Sitre, and the father of Ramesses II.
The ...
depict the king in combat with Libyan masses; however the text only describes the Libyans as being ''Tjehenu'', one of the generic terms for "Libyan" in the
Egyptian language
The Egyptian language or Ancient Egyptian ( ) is a dead language, dead Afroasiatic languages, Afro-Asiatic language that was spoken in ancient Egypt. It is known today from a large Text corpus, corpus of surviving texts which were made acces ...
, rather than a specific tribal designation. During the following reign, that of
Ramesses II
Ramesses II ( egy, wikt:rꜥ-ms-sw, rꜥ-ms-sw ''Rīʿa-məsī-sū'', , meaning "Ra is the one who bore him"; ), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Along with Thutmose III he is oft ...
, the Egyptians constructed a series of coastal fortresses running west to the region of
Marsa Matruh
Mersa Matruh ( ar, مرسى مطروح, translit=Marsā Maṭrūḥ, ), also transliterated as ''Marsa Matruh'', is a port in Egypt and the capital of Matrouh Governorate. It is located west of Alexandria and east of Sallum on the main highway ...
, including at
al-Alamayn an
Zawayat Umm al-Rakham The presence of these fortresses indicates a serious threat from the west, and Ramesses does claim to have overthrown Libyans in various rhetorical texts. However, as with Seti I, he does not specify if Meshwesh were involved or not.
![Kneeling Statue of Nesbanebdjedet, ca](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/Kneeling_Statue_of_Nesbanebdjedet%2C_ca._755-730_B.C.E.%2C37.344E.jpg)
During the reign of
Merneptah
Merneptah or Merenptah (reigned July or August 1213 BC – May 2, 1203 BC) was the fourth pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt. He ruled Egypt for almost ten years, from late July or early August 1213 BC until his death on May 2, 1 ...
it seems that the early-warning system from his father's time had fallen into disrepair, as there was an unexpected Libyan invasion into the Nile Delta and the Western
Oases
In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.”
The location of oases has been of critical imp ...
in Year 5 of his reign. Unlike his predecessors, Merenptah states in his battle reliefs at Karnak that it was primarily the
Libu
The Libu ( egy, rbw; also transcribed Rebu, Lebu, Lbou, Libou) were an Ancient Libyan tribe of Berber origin, from which the name ''Libya'' derives.
Early history
Their occupation of Ancient Libya is first attested in Egyptian language text ...
tribe who led the conflict, but that Meshwesh and
Sea People
The Sea Peoples are a hypothesized seafaring confederation that attacked ancient Egypt and other regions in the East Mediterranean prior to and during the Late Bronze Age collapse (1200–900 BCE).. Quote: "First coined in 1881 by the Fren ...
allies were also involved. Indeed, Merenptah claims that "9,100 swords of the Meshwesh" were captured. (This conflict is also described on the
Merneptah Stele
The Merneptah Stele, also known as the Israel Stele or the Victory Stele of Merneptah, is an inscription by Merneptah, a pharaoh in ancient Egypt who reigned from 1213–1203 BCE. Discovered by Flinders Petrie at Thebes in 1896, it is now hous ...
, also known as the ''Israel Stele''.)
About twenty-five years later, during the reign of
Ramesses III
Usermaatre Meryamun Ramesses III (also written Ramses and Rameses) was the second Pharaoh of the Twentieth Dynasty in Ancient Egypt. He is thought to have reigned from 26 March 1186 to 15 April 1155 BC and is considered to be the last great monar ...
, the growing conflict between the Egyptians and Libyans came to a head. This time, it was the Meshwesh who instigated the conflict, though other Libyan tribes and their
Sea People
The Sea Peoples are a hypothesized seafaring confederation that attacked ancient Egypt and other regions in the East Mediterranean prior to and during the Late Bronze Age collapse (1200–900 BCE).. Quote: "First coined in 1881 by the Fren ...
allies were involved in fighting two major campaigns against the Egyptian king, in Ramesses III's Regnal Years 5 and 11. The Year 11 campaign was concerned almost exclusively with the Meshwesh, however. Ramesses claimed victory, and settled the Meshwesh in military
concentration camps
Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...
in Middle Egypt in order to force their assimilation into Egyptian culture and press them into military service for the Egyptian state. According to
Papyrus Harris I
Papyrus Harris I is also known as the Great Harris Papyrus and (less accurately) simply the Harris Papyrus (though there are a number of other papyri in the Harris collection). Its technical designation is ''Papyrus British Museum EA 9999''. At 41 ...
, Ramesses "settled
hem
A hem in sewing is a garment finishing method, where the edge of a piece of cloth is folded and sewn to prevent unravelling of the fabric and to adjust the length of the piece in garments, such as at the end of the sleeve or the bottom of the ga ...
in strongholds of the Victorious King, they hear the language of the
gyptian
Windel Beneto Edwards (born 25 October 1983), better known by his stage name Gyptian (), is a Jamaican reggae singer. He often appears with roots reggae songs within the reggae subgenre dancehall.
Early life
Born to a Seventh-day Adventist mo ...
people, serving the King, he makes their language disappear."
A
Third Intermediate Period
The Third Intermediate Period of ancient Egypt began with the death of Pharaoh Ramesses XI in 1077 BC, which ended the New Kingdom, and was eventually followed by the Late Period. Various points are offered as the beginning for the latt ...
text mentions there being at least five "Fortresses of the Meshwesh" in the area of
Herakleopolis Magna
Heracleopolis Magna ( grc-gre, Μεγάλη Ἡρακλέους πόλις, ''Megálē Herakléous pólis'') and Heracleopolis (, ''Herakleópolis'') and Herakleoupolis (), is the Roman name of the capital of the 20th nome of ancient Upper Eg ...
; these were probably the ones established by Ramesses. Throughout the
20th Dynasty
The Twentieth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XX, alternatively 20th Dynasty or Dynasty 20) is the third and last dynasty of the Ancient Egyptian New Kingdom period, lasting from 1189 BC to 1077 BC. The 19th and 20th Dynasties furthermore toget ...
, various texts on
ostraca
An ostracon (Greek language, Greek: ''ostrakon'', plural ''ostraka'') is a piece of pottery, usually broken off from a vase or other earthenware vessel. In an archaeology, archaeological or epigraphy, epigraphical context, ''ostraca'' refer ...
and papyri mention attacks by Meshwesh tribesmen as far south as
Thebes, where the workmen of
Deir el-Medina
Deir el-Medina ( arz, دير المدينة), or Dayr al-Madīnah, is an ancient Egyptian workmen's village which was home to the artisans who worked on the tombs in the Valley of the Kings during the 18th to 20th Dynasties of the New Kingdom of ...
were forced to seek protection inside the
mortuary temple Mortuary temples (or funerary temples) were temples that were erected adjacent to, or in the vicinity of, royal tombs in Ancient Egypt. The temples were designed to commemorate the reign of the Pharaoh under whom they were constructed, as well as f ...
of
Medinet Habu.
During the late Third Intermediate Period, the Nile Delta hosted the four great chiefdoms of the Meshwesh, each ruled by a "Great Chief of the Ma", whose seats of power were in the cities of
Mendes
Mendes ( grc-gre, Μένδης, ''gen''.: ), the Greek name of the ancient Egyptian city of Djedet, also known in ancient Egypt as Per-Banebdjedet ("The Domain of the Ram Lord of Djedet") and Anpet, is known today as Tell El-Ruba ( ar, تل ال ...
,
Sebennytos
Samannud ( ar, سمنود ) is a city (''markaz'') located in Gharbia Governorate, Egypt. Known in classical antiquity as Sebennytos ( grc-gre, Σεβέννυτος), Samannud is a historic city that has been inhabited since the Ancient Egyptia ...
,
Busiris and
Per-Sopdu
Saft el-Hinna ( ar, صفط الحنا, translit=Ṣafṭ al-Ḥinnā), also written as Saft el-Hinneh, Saft el-Henna, Saft el-Henneh, is a village and an archaeological site in Egypt. It is located in the modern Al Sharqia Governorate, in the Ni ...
respectively; other lesser chiefdoms, led by a simple "Chief of the Ma", were located at
Sais
Sais ( grc, Σάϊς, cop, Ⲥⲁⲓ) was an ancient Egyptian city in the Western Nile Delta on the Canopic branch of the Nile,Mish, Frederick C., Editor in Chief. "Saïs." '' Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary''. 9th ed. Springfiel ...
and
Pharbaithos.
References
*Bates, Oric. 1914. ''The Eastern Libyans: An Essay''. Cass Library of African Studies 87. London: Frank Cass and Company Limited.
*Dodson, Aidan Mark. 1995. "Rise & Fall of The House of Shoshenq: The Libyan Centuries of Egyptian History." ''KMT: A Modern Journal of Ancient Egypt'' 6 (3):52–67.
*Gomaà, Farouk. 1974. ''Die libyschen Fürstentümer des Deltas von Tod Osorkons II. bis zur Wiedervereinigen Ägyptens durch Psametik I.'' Tübinger Atlas des Vorderen Orients (Reihe B
eistewissenschaften 6. Wiesbaden: Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag.
*Haring, Bernardus Johannes Jozef. 1992. "Libyans in the Late Twentieth Dynasty". In ''Village Voices: Proceedings of the Symposium 'Texts from Deir el-Medîna and Their Interpretation,' Leiden, May 31–June 1, 1991'', edited by Robert Johannes Demarée and Arno Egberts. Centre of Non-Western Studies Publications 13. Leiden: Centre of Non-Western Studies, Leiden University. 71–80.
*Kitchen, Kenneth Anderson.
996
Year 996 ( CMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Japan
* February - Chotoku Incident: Fujiwara no Korechika and Takaie shoot an arrow at Retired Em ...
''The Third Intermediate Period in Egypt (1100–650 BC)''. 3rd ed. Warminster: Aris & Phillips Limited.
*Leahy, M. Anthony. 1985. "The Libyan Period in Egypt: An Essay in Interpretation." ''Libyan Studies'' 16:51–65.
*———, ed. 1990. ''Libya and Egypt c1300–750 BC''. London: School of Oriental and African Studies, Centre of Near and Middle Eastern Studies, and The Society for Libyan Studies.
*Snape, Steven. 2003. "The Emergence of Libya on the Horizon of Egypt". In ''Mysterious Lands'', edited by David B. O'Connor and Stephen G. J. Quirke. Encounters with Ancient Egypt 5. London: Institute of Archaeology, University College London and UCL Press. 93–106.
*Wainwright, Geoffrey Avery. 1962. "The Meshwesh." ''Journal of Egyptian Archæology'' 48:89–99.
*White, Donald. 1994. "Before the Greeks Came: A Survey of the Current Archaeological Evidence for the Pre-Greek Libyans." ''Libyan Studies'' 25 (Cyrenaican Archaeology: An International Colloquium):31–39, 43–44.
*Yoyotte, Jean. 1961. "Les principautés du Delta au temps de l'anarchie libyenne (Études d'histoire politique)". In ''Mélanges Maspero. Volume 1: Orient ancien''. Mémoires publiés par les membres de l'Institut français d'archéologie orientale du Caire 66/1 (fascicle 4). Cairo: Imprimerie de l'Institut français d'archéologie orientale du Caire. 121–181.
See also
*
Ancient Libya
The Latin name ''Libya'' (from Greek Λιβύη: ''Libyē'', which came from Berber: ''Libu'') referred to North Africa during the Iron Age and Classical Antiquity. Berbers occupied the area for thousands of years before the recording of histor ...
*
Libu
The Libu ( egy, rbw; also transcribed Rebu, Lebu, Lbou, Libou) were an Ancient Libyan tribe of Berber origin, from which the name ''Libya'' derives.
Early history
Their occupation of Ancient Libya is first attested in Egyptian language text ...
*
Phut
Phut or Put ( he, ''Pūṭ''; Septuagint Greek ''Phoud'') is the third son of Ham (one of the sons of Noah), in the biblical Table of Nations (Genesis ; cf. 1 Chronicles ). The name Put (or Phut) is used in the Bible for Ancient Libya, but a f ...
{{Berber
Military history of ancient Egypt
Sea Peoples
African nomads
Nile Delta
Ancient Libya
Egypt–Libya relations
Ancient Libyans
Berber peoples and tribes