Rare Depictions of Horseback Riding Challenge Assumptions About Ancient Egyptian Horsemanship
A recent examination of ancient Egyptian artwork indicates that horseback riding might have been a practice during the New Kingdom (c. 1550–1070 BC). While the majority of illustrations associate horses with chariots, at least 16 images depict riders engaged in military activities and personal items. This finding contradicts the notion that Egyptians did not ride horses. An article in TheCollector posits that the lack of riding imagery in grand art is due to societal stigma rather than a lack of practice. The riders featured include military figures, foreigners, and the goddess Astarte. The study references examples from various museums, such as the British Museum and Museo Civico Archeologico Bologna, concluding that horseback riding lacked prestige and was not widely celebrated.
Key facts
- At least 16 known depictions of horseback riders survive from the New Kingdom (c. 1550–1070 BC).
- Nearly all surviving images of horses in ancient Egypt associate them with chariots.
- Riders appear in military scenes, on personal objects like wig curlers, and on a toy chariot.
- Mounted scouts (ḥpwty) are depicted in battle reliefs, including the Battle of Kadesh at Abu Simbel and Luxor Temples.
- The goddess Astarte is depicted riding side-saddle on horseback.
- Riding was stigmatized, similar to donkey riding, which was associated with foreigners or those with no other choice.
- Scholar Schulman (1957) suggested mounted scouts were among the earliest examples of cavalry.
- The article concludes that horseback riding was not prestigious, central, or widely monumentalized in ancient Egypt.
Entities
Artists
- Ramesses III
- Tutankhamun
- Ramesses II
- Queen Nefertiti
- Horemheb
- Nebamun
- Ahmose I
- Kamose
- Astarte
Institutions
- British Museum
- Museo Civico Archeologico Bologna
- National Museum Scotland
- Fitzwilliam Museum
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Science Museum, London
- New York Public Library
Locations
- Egypt
- Thebes
- Luxor
- Abu Simbel
- Amarna
- Levant
- Sinai Peninsula
- London
- Bologna
- Edinburgh
- Cambridge
- New York