FCSHASU! WHO?
THE SHASU OF PALESTINE IN THE EGYPTIAN TEXTS
Evangelical Theological Society
Valley Forge, Pa
16 November 2005
By
Kenneth R. Cooper
Biblical Faith Ministries
Fort Worth, TX
Shasu. The name looks like a sound you would make when you sneeze. Actually, it is a
name applied to a nebulous group of people in the Middle East by various Egyptian leaders in
the ancient world. “The shasu,” according to Bienkowski and Millard, “are mentioned only in
Egyptian texts, mostly lists of conquered towns and enemies, between c. 1500 and 1100 BC.”1
During this period of time, at least half a dozen or more pharaohs or their military generals
encountered Shasu in their campaigns, enough times for the Shasu to be at the very least a
nuisance. And enough times, you would think, for them to be identified. “Yet,” as William A.
Ward notes, “they have remained an elusive group for all the seeming importance accorded them
in the extant documents. Were they an ethnic group or a social class, a political entity or
scattered tribes, a major enemy or sometime foe?”2 Levy and Holl suggest, “…it can be assumed
that the Shasu people were not an ethnic group tied to only one specific region. Rather the Shasu
seem to represent a social class of nomads who reflect an ancient equivalent of the term
„Bedouin,‟ which crosscuts different ethnic groups and relates more to a generic socioeconomic
subsistence organization devoted to pastoral nomadism.”3 According to the Egyptian texts, the
Egyptians encountered Shasu in Nubia and in Western Asia -- in the Transjordan, in Syria, as
well as southern and eastern Palestine and in the Sinai. The Shasu in western Asia form the
subject of this paper.
We will begin by identifying the pharaohs who either encountered Shasu themselves or
leaders of their armies encountered and took prisoners of the Shasu. John A. Wilson compiled a
list of the Asiatics who came under the Egyptian empire through the conquests of Egypt‟s rulers,
beginning with Thutmose III.4 Thutmose III initiated the practice of listing the countries he had
either conquered or over which he claimed dominion. Other pharaohs followed his lead at least
through the reign of Sheshonk I, with whom Wilson ends his list. Wilson‟s list, consisting of
selections from all of them, identifies ninety-nine such countries including Shasu Bedouin. Six
1
Piotr Bienkowski and Alan Millard, Dictionary of the Ancient Near East (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania
Press, 2000):265.
2
William A. Ward, “The Shasu „Bedouin‟: Notes on a Recent Publication,” Journal on the Economic and Social
History of Egypt, 15 (June 1972): 35. Henceforth, referred to as “Shasu „Bedouin.‟”
3
Thomas E. Levy and Augustin F. C. Holl, “Migrations, Ethnogenesis, and Settlement Dynamics: Israelites in Iron
Age Canaan and Shuwa-Arabs in the Chad Basin,” Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 21 (2002): 96.
4
John A. Wilson, “Lists of Asiatic Countries Under the Egyptian Empire,” in James B. Pritchard, editor, Ancient
Near Eastern Texts (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1969): 242-243. The reference to the Shasu
is in the part of the chart on p. 243.
© Copyright, Kenneth R. Cooper, 2005
1
of the nine pharaohs in Wilson‟s list, representing Dynasties Eighteen through Twenty-Two
encountered Shasu during their reigns: Thutmose IV, Amenhotep III, Hor-em-heb, Seti I,
Ramesses II, and Sheshonk I. Hor-em-heb in the Eighteenth Dynasty only encountered Shasu in
Nubia, so we will not consider his record. In addition to the other five, two Pharaohs (or their
generals) also encountered Shasu in their campaigns: Thutmose II in the Eighteenth Dynasty and
Merenptah in the Nineteenth Dynasty.
In fact, the first significant mention of the Shasu of Palestine in Egyptian texts may very
well be the reference in a note written by a general of Thutmose II. In this text, Ahmose-PenNekhbet claims that he fought the Shasu in a brief battle as he followed the pharaoh north to
fight at Niy in Syria. Ahmose claimed that he took many living prisoners of the Shasu, although
he gave no specific number of prisoners, claiming, he did not count them. So, at least some
group know as Shasu was identified possibly as early as 1510 BC, give or take a few years. But
who were they? And where were they found?
In this paper, we will examine the Egyptian texts to see what we can learn from them
about the Shasu. We will also look at the term Shasu and at the territories of Palestine with
which the Shasu were associated in an attempt to answer these questions.
EGYPTIAN TEXTS THAT RECOUNT ENCOUNTERS WITH THE SHASU
What do the Egyptian texts say about these Shasu? We have already noted the journal of
Ahmose-Pen-Nekhbet, an officer in the army of Thutmose II. Breasted notes, “It is probable that
this defeat of the Shasu was only an incident in the northward march against Niy.”5 In a footnote
to this observation, Breasted notes that Thutmose II reigned for such a short time that he very
likely made only one campaign into Asia and this was it. In this campaign, Ahmose-PenNekhbet took an unnumbered amount of prisoners from the Shasu. In this first recorded
encounter, he doesn‟t even say how many there are except to say “very many living prisoners”
and to identify them as Shasu. We do not know at this point where they came from or exactly
where Ahmose encountered them; but it was north of Egypt and south of Syria, since he was on
his way to Syria when he ran into the Shasu.
Thutmose III, as one of his projects, rebuilt the temple of Semneh “with the pious
intention of restoring the brick sanctuary of his great ancestor (at least officially so), Sesostris III,
in whose fortress of Senmeh the temple stands.”6 At least twice among the inscriptions of
Sesostris III, Thutmose‟s great ancestor referred to the god Khnum as “binder of the (Nine)
Bows, smiter of the Shasu.”7 Apparently, Sesostris encountered a people called the Shasu at
some time during his reign, making the earliest reference to the Shasu occur in the Twelfth
Dynasty, somewhere between 1862 and 1843 BC, give or take; however, both of the inscriptions
of Sesostris refer to the Shasu in Nubia, and so provide little help in identifying the Shasu in
5
James Henry Breasted, Ancient Records of Egypt (1906 reprint, Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2001), 2:51.
According to Alan Gardiner, Niy is a swampy area in the territory of Syria. See Alan Gardiner, Egypt of the
Pharaohs. (London: Oxford University Press, 1961): 179.
6
Breasted, 2:69.
7
Breasted, 2:70-71.
© Copyright, Kenneth R. Cooper, 2005
2
Palestine or Transjordan. However, it does seem to indicate encounters with nomads as early as
Egypt‟s Twelfth Dynasty.
On the other hand, Thutmose III initiated a campaign to the northeastern frontier of Egypt
after which he continued north to receive his usual tribute from Syria and to ensure supplies for
his harbor towns. An inscription recorded by Breasted refers to this campaign: “Year 39.
Behold his majesty was in the land of Retenu on the fourteenth victorious expedition, after [his]
going [to defeat] the fallen ones of shasu (Š’-sw).”8 Breasted introduces this inscription with a
note explaining that the fourteenth campaign in year 39 was introduced by an excursion into the
northeastern frontier of Egypt to punish Bedouin on this frontier. Following this excursion,
Thutmose III continued northward to Syria to receive his tribute from Syria and to ensure
supplies as already noted. Thutmose III‟s reference to the Shasu is followed by a detailed list of
the Syrian tribute acquired by Thutmose III as a result of his journey north. The land of Retenu,
of course, is the Egyptian name for Palestine and Syria.9 Thutmose encountered Shasu in the area
of Palestine on his way north, apparently in enough numbers to consider them a problem. So, he
defeated them and went on his way. However, he says rather little more about them and fails to
identify where he encountered them except that it was on the way to Syria. And, interestingly,
he does not include them in the list referenced by Wilson.
Amenhotep II engaged in at least two campaigns into Asia and these campaigns were
recorded on steles at Memphis and Karnak. In the ninth year of his reign, he proceeded to Syria
where he completed a victorious campaign against the town of Apheq, capturing a number of
additional settlements in the area. The inscription on the steles note that he brought back to
Memphis over 89,000 prisoners, among them 15,200 Shasu.10 Unfortunately, nothing in these
inscriptions notes where Amenhotep encountered the Shasu. It is fair to say somewhere in
Palestine-Syria, but, again, an exact location or area cannot be determined.
Thutmose IV also encountered Shasu in an engagement in Palestine-Syria. However,
Breasted notes, “The records of Thutmose IV‟s Asiatic war or wars are scanty and scattered. It
is clear, however, that he still maintained the empire at its former northern limits.”11 Giveon
identifies a document of Thutmose IV containing a list of toponyms that include the Shasu with a
group of five other peoples, among them Naharin and Qadesh.12 Again, Thutmose IV includes
no specific information to pin down who are the Shasu or where he actually encountered them,
except that here, too, it was evidently in the area of Palestine-Syria.
The inscriptions of Amenhotep III include conquests both in the south (in Nubia) and in
the north (in Palestine-Syria). At least two of these inscriptions address Shasu in Palestine-Syria,
but neither of them identifies any specific localities within Palestine or Syria at which the
8
Breasted, 2:211. Note: Redford calls these annals of Thutmose III at Karnak “the single most important document
for the creation of Egypt‟s Asiatic empire.” Donald Redford, “Contact Between Egypt and Jordan in the New
Kingdom: Some Comments on Sources,” Studies in the History and Archaeology of Jordan, edited by Adnan
Hadidi. (Amman, Jordan: Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Department of Antiquities, 1982): 116.
9
Alan Gardiner, Egypt of the Pharaohs, 131. Gardiner spells it Retjnu, but it is clearly the same term.
10
Wilson, ANET, 247.
11
Breasted, 2:324.
12
Raphael Giveon, Les Bedouins Shosou des documents Ěgyptiens. Documenta et Monumenta Orientis Antiqui 18
(Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1971): 15-16.
© Copyright, Kenneth R. Cooper, 2005
3
pharaoh or his armies encountered this elusive group. However, one inscription makes several
references to the “land of the Shasu.”13 There is nothing in this text to tell us just what is or
where is the “land of the Shasu.” But it is fair to say that it encompasses some part of the
territory of Palestine-Syria in this context. Ward goes so far as to identify the land of the Shasu
with Eastern Jordan. He notes that in Amenhotep III‟s Nubian Temple at Soleb, “there are listed
several localities situated in „the Land of the Shasu,‟ that is, East Jordan.”14 In his commentary
on the first toponym list, Giveon notes the presence of Dothan in with the Shasu and considers it
remarkable. In fact, he notes that Dothan was on an important road connecting it with a cistern
utilized by travelers and semi-nomads who benefited by the nearby pastures. Giveon also notes
that this was the same route traveled by the Midianites who carried Joseph into Egypt. 15 Can he
be hinting that, at least in this case, the Shasu encountered by Amenhotep III were Midianites?
Seti I seems to have more to say about the Shasu. He devotes several reliefs on the wall
at Karnak to the Shasu. In fact, Breasted notes that these reliefs provide the most important
document we have from the reign of Seti I, providing also the only source for the wars of Seti I.
Breasted notes, however, that the function of these reliefs is religious: the god grants pharaoh the
power to prevail over other nations, while the pharaoh brings the captives and the plunder as an
offering to the god. Interestingly, the only date noted in the reliefs is the date associated with
Seti‟s campaigns against the Shasu – year 1. Breasted notes, “It is absurd to suppose that Seti I
completed a war with the Libyans, a campaign against the Shasu, the conquest of Palestine and
some of southern Syria, and a war with the Hittites and finally accomplished the return to
Thebes, all in one year.”16 According to Breasted, the war against the Shasu as well as Palestine
and southern Syria probably occurred in Year 1 of Seti‟s reign. The other wars occurred in later
campaigns. Seti numbered his campaigns, and this would likely be campaign 1. Hasel notes that
both Gardiner and Faulkner agree with Breasted‟s assessment, and that Faulkner “viewed the
registers as representing a chronological order that began with the bottom register on the east
wall from the doorway (the Š3sw campaign).”17 On returning from this campaign of Year 1, he
hears of a rebellion and initiates another campaign to quell it. And so forth.
The first scenes of the Karnak reliefs of Seti I portray the battle with the Shasu. As Seti
moved through the Negev into southern Palestine, he scattered the Shasu, who occasionally
managed to gather together in sufficient numbers to face him and pose a threat. On the Karnak
relief, the inscription over the battle scene with the Shasu reads in part: “The Good God, Sun of
Egypt, Moon of all lands… has extended the boundaries of Egypt as far as the heavens on every
side. The rebels, they know not how they shall [flee]; the vanquished of the Shasu, who were ---,
--- --- his majesty; [becoming like] that which exists not.”18 Breasted notes that Seti continued
fighting Shasu all the way to Canaan, to a frontier town Seti calls Pekanan, “The Canaan.”
13
See Giveon, 27.
William A. Ward, “A Possible Link Between Egypt and Jordan During the Reign of Amenhotep III,” Annual of
the Department of Antiquities of Jordan, 18 (1973): 46.
15
Giveon, 23-24.
16
Breasted, 3:38.
17
Michael G. Hasel, Domination and Resistance: Egyptian Military Activity in the Southern Levant, ca. 1300-1185
B.C. (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1998): 120. Hasel‟s references are to: A. H. Gardiner, “The Ancient Military Road
Between Egypt and Palestine,” Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 6 (1920): 100, and R. O. Faulkner, “The Wars of
Sethos I,” Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 33 (1947): 35.
18
Breasted, 3:46.
14
© Copyright, Kenneth R. Cooper, 2005
4
Scholars are not certain what this name actually means here, but it does indicate the territory of
the war with the Shasu as Palestine-Syria in this case. The Egyptians did call the entire west of
Syria-Palestine “Canaan,” and at this point, it is only certain that Seti is fighting somewhere in
that territory.
In addition to the Karnak inscriptions, Seti I constructed two steles at Beth-Shan in
northern Canaan. On the smaller stele, he describes one group of Asiatic nomads (Shasu)
attacking another group of nomads (Shasu). The attackers consisted of a people called Ha-pí-ru,
while the attacked people are called the people of Ruhma, but both groups, as noted, are called
Shasu.19 Albright notes that scholars have been unable to locate the territory identified as
Ruhma, but he places it in the vicinity of land later occupied by the tribe of Issachar, clearly
supporting the idea that the Shasu were definitely encountered all over Palestine-Syria.
Ramesses II left a great number of inscriptions in the eastern Delta, at Tanis, at Luxor and
at Karnak. Some of these include specific place names where Ramesses encountered the Shasu.
Therefore, we will reserve the examination of these texts until the discussion of the territories
where the Egyptians encountered the Shasu.
Following Ramesses II, Merenptah came to the throne of Egypt. Several inscriptions
during Merenptah‟s reign also refer to the Shasu. For example, Frank Yurco notes that during
the reign of Merenptah, Shasu were encountered in southern Canaan and the Sinai, as reflected in
Papyrus Anastasi VI, 53-61. The Papyrus is considerably fragmentary, but the significant parts
read:
Another matter for the satisfaction of my lord‟s heart [to wit]:
We have finished passing the tribes of the Shasu (Š’-sw) of Edom through the
Fortress of Merneptah-Hotephirma, L. P. H., in Theku, (T-kw) to the pools of
Pithom, of Merneptah-Hotephirma in
Pl. 5
Theku, in order to sustain them and their herds in the domain of Pharaoh, L. P. H.,
the good Sun of every land….20
“This record,” notes Yurco, “kept by frontier officials, shows a peaceful migration of Shasu
shepherds for the purpose of watering their flocks.”21 Yurco notes further that these Shasu are
described as Edomites, and adds, “But Shasu were found all over Canaan; and no doubt some of
them who harried Merenptah‟s forces enroute to subdue the Canaanite cities and Israel, were
captured and incorporated into the victory procession returning to Egypt.” 22 Elaborating on this
inscription, Dalman notes, “A frontier official during [Merenptah‟s] reign reported that he had
either completed or prevented the passing of Shasu bedouin through the border fortress to the
pools of Pithom.” Dalman notes that this frontier report adds some new details about the Shasu.
19
See William F. Albright, “The Smaller Beth-Shan Stele of Sethos 1 (1309-1290 BC),” Bulletin of the American
Schools of Oriental Research, 125 (February 1952): 27.
20
Breasted, 3:273.
21
Frank J. Yurco, “Merenptah‟s Canaanite Campaign,” Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, 23
(1986): 209.
22
Ibid.
© Copyright, Kenneth R. Cooper, 2005
5
“This text,” says Dalman, “depicts the Shasu as having a tribal structure. They were depicted as
having cattle, and as being associated somehow with Seir or Edom.”23 Although, Breasted
translates the text as “the tribes of the Shasu…of Edom,” Hasel translates it as “clansfolk…of
Edom.”24 Either way, the Shasu seem to have some kind of communal structure. The same text
refers to their herds (Breasted) or livestock (Hasel) indicating some kind of pastoral element
within the Shasu people. Hasel notes that the designation “Shasu clansfolk” is accompanied with
a determinative for “man” in the plural, indicating a translation of “Shasu tribesmen” is valid.
He notes further, “The reference here to livestock and the apparent migration from Edom to the
Egyptian-controlled areas for subsistence points toward a possible pastoral element among the
inhabitants of Š3sw.”25 In Papyrus Anastasi I, a kind of literary controversy between two
Egyptian scribes, Amenemope and Hori, Shasu “are found in many areas, ranging from southern
Syria throughout Canaan.”26 Battle reliefs at Karnak provide additional evidence of Shasu
during Merenptah‟s reign. In several scenes, Merenptah is seen either binding Shasu prisoners or
driving Shasu prisoners to Egypt before and under pharaoh‟s chariot.27
The pastoral elements of the Shasu are confirmed by documents from the reign of
Ramesses III who followed Merenptah. In the Papyrus Harris, in a section Breasted labels
“Edomite War,” Ramesses claims, “I destroyed the people of Seir (S’-‘’-r’), of the tribes of the
Shasu (Š’-sw); I plundered their tents of their people, their possessions, their cattle likewise,
without number.”28 Ramesses claims he took them captive as tribute to Egypt where he gave
them as slaves to the gods. Hasel notes that both the terms Shasu and Seir have the same
determinatives to indicate Ramesses is referring to the people identified by these terms as is also
clear from the complete statements themselves. Hasel also notes that Edom and Seir were not
just uninhabited wilderness. They contained enough people to create concern among the
Egyptian officials. Hasel notes that in the Egyptian military documents of the Nineteenth
Dynasty, the term Shasu mostly occurs as a geographic notation. In a number of cases, the term
occurs without a determinative. Hasel notes, “This indicates the overall consistency of Egyptian
scribes in the military documents depicting Š3sw as a geographical territory. Fewer contexts of
the texts provide information regarding the social structure of the inhabitants of Š3sw, i.e. their
apparent pastoral background.”29
Hasel notes further that the Shasu fought on foot only, with various hand weapons, such
as axes and spears. They had no chariots, and apparently no horses. And they are not depicted
as city dwellers. In some cases, such as the battle of Kadesh, they are portrayed as defending
cities of others; but not cities of their own. Hasel notes, “The „Shasu Campaign‟ of Seti I
portrays these people as marauders who may be posing a threat to the Egyptian forts along the
23
Rodger Dalman, A People Come Out of Egypt: Studies in the Books of Exodus, Deuteronomy and Judges (New
Hope, Minnesota: Dalman, 2002): 35. See also Eduoard Naville, “Did Merenptah Invade Syria?” Journal of
Egyptian Archaeology, 2 (October 1915): 198-199. Naville translates the phrase “=Shasu of the land of Adima,” but
notes, “Adimaí from which the Bedouins came has always been considered as being Edom.” (p. 199). However,
Naville argues against Edom here, but see Breasted and Hasel, note 32.
24
Breasted, 3:273; Hasel, 224.
25
Hasel, 224.
26
Yurco, note 36, p. 209.
27
Yurco, 195, 207. Note, p. 195 contains photographs of the reliefs.
28
Breasted, 4:201.
29
Hasel, 225.
© Copyright, Kenneth R. Cooper, 2005
6
„Ways of Horus.‟”30 Furthermore, the actual location of these people is certainly a complex and
debated issue. Recent proposals locate Shasu-land in Syria, southern Transjordan, the Negev and
Sinai regions; and some see the term as a designation for all of Palestine. If we take all of the
data together as previously discussed, we find Shasu in each of these locations during the reigns
of different pharaohs. For example, during the reigns of Seti I and Merenptah, the Egyptians
encountered the Shasu more frequently in the south. The fact that Egypt‟s armies found them at
Beth-Shan and at the battle of Kadesh indicates that at least their influence extended to the north.
Early toponym lists, according to Hasel, seem to suggest a northern location for the Shasu early
in the Eighteenth Dynasty. However, in the reign of Amenhotep III, a toponym list places the
Shasu in northern Canaan in such places as Dothan. Nevertheless, Hasel notes that from the
reign of Amenhotep III and during much of the Nineteenth Dynasty, most lists place the Shasu in
Transjordan. And, as we shall see some texts contain references to Shasu in Moab, Edom, and
Seir.
SHASU – WHAT DOES THAT WORD MEAN?
Before discussing the territories of the Shasu in more detail, let us examine the term
Shasu itself for a moment. The word Shasu seems to defy etymology or lexical derivation.
Ward notes, for example, “The derivation of the word is uncertain: it is related to the Egyptian
verb „to wander‟ or Semitic „to plunder….‟”31 Hasel agrees that the etymology of the word is
uncertain, and adds, “It has been suggested that it may either be related to the Egyptian verb š3s,
„to travel, to wander about… or to the Semitic šasah, šasas, „to plunder, to pillage….‟ The
etymology to some extent influences the meaning of the term as the Egyptians use it. This has
led some to describe the Š3sw as a nomadic element…or as an element of unrest and instability
for the Egyptians….”32 Hasel notes that others have suggested a Hurrian or Indo-Aryan origin
for the word. So, a careful study of the semantic contexts is essential. Bartlett agrees with
Hasel. Bartlett notes, “The name shōsu itself may derive from the Egyptian root s3s. To travel,
to wander; or it may derive from a North-west Semitic root evidenced in the Hebrew šasāh and
šasās, to plunder, to pillage, in šusume of Amarna letter 252:30, „despoilers,‟ „plunderers,‟ and
tšm, „plunderers‟ in the Keret epic from Ugarit.”33 Ward suggests that the Egyptian derivation is
most likely. The Egyptians reached into their own vocabulary to determine how to describe
these people who frequently blocked their progress into Palestine. Bartlett seems to confirm this
as he notes, “If the word is Egyptian, it is probably a generic term for people popularly classed as
wanderers, presumably in distinction from the settled people of the towns or the Nile valley as a
whole, and also, perhaps, in distinction from other Asiatics such as the Huru and the ‘Apiru.”34
Bartlett adds that this category includes people from Edom and Seir, but that the term Shasu did
not apply to a natural group known later to the Israelites as Edomites. According to Bartlett, the
nation (in this case Edom) had not yet come into being, nor, as far as we can tell, had it acquired
any sense of national identity. The name Shasu itself was apparently used in a much wider
sense. As a result, in his early essay on the Shasu, Ward describes the Shasu simply as “semi30
Hasel, 227.
William A. Ward, “Shasu,” Anchor Bible Dictionary, edited by David Noel Freedman. (New York: Doubleday,
1992), 5:1165. Henceforth referred to as “Shasu..”
32
Hasel, 220.
33
John R. Bartlett, Edom and the Edomites (Sheffield: JSOT, 1989): 80
34
Ibid.
31
© Copyright, Kenneth R. Cooper, 2005
7
nomadic shepherds who had at least some interests in common with the urban population of
Canaan.”35
Although some have suggested that “semi-nomadic” is a rather useless term, seminomadic shepherds does seem to fit the situations the Shasu often found themselves in, leaving a
sedentary life to move from place to place seeking pasture for their flocks. 36 Meanwhile, another
term used by Ward, Giveon, and others to tag the Shasu with the description “wanderers” is the
word “Bedouin.” Although the term bedouin is usually associated with camel breeding, Redford
clarifies, “The resultant Š3sw (*shasue), the „Shasu‟ came to be used of wandering groups whom
we would call bedu, with the significant distinction that unlike their modern counterparts they
lacked the camel.”37 Kenneth B. Hoglund simply notes, “The Egyptian term Shasu designates a
nomadic group.”38 William F. Albright, in a footnote on the word Shasu, notes, “On this word,
which meant originally in Egyptian „nomad…‟ was taken into Canaanite before our period [the
reign of Sethos I] in the sense „marauder, bandit‟ (Heb. Śôsêh)….”39 Finally, Dalman describes
the Shasu as “a collection of tribal Bedouin groups who lived in the semi-arid regions around the
Levant.”40 It is safe to say that a consensus of scholars sees the Shasu as either nomadic or seminomadic, at least from the Egyptian perspective; and after all, the Egyptians did coin the phrase,
so to speak. At the same time, based on some of their encounters with the Shasu, they may also
have been considered marauders or bandits as has also been noted. At the very least, then, we
may see the Shasu as wandering nomads, who may or may not be marauding bandits, but who do
range over a certain wide geographical territory from the Sinai to Syria seeking pasture for their
flocks.
SHASU – THEY’RE EVERYWHERE! THEY’RE EVERYWHERE!
Now we can ask just what is the geographical territory associated with the Shasu? Can
we pin it down? The Shasu were apparently prevalent in the southern area of Palestine for some
time during the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Dynasties of Egypt, and some even into the Twentieth
Dynasty. The majority of the references to the Shasu appear in military documents, as the
Egyptian commanders or pharaohs on military campaigns encounter them.
Significantly, Hasel notes that in the documents previously quoted of Ahmose-Pen
Nekhbet and Thutmose III, the term Shasu is accompanied with a determinative that means “hill
country,” thus designating a geographic notation. Hasel notes, “The prepositions hr, „from‟ and
n, „of‟ preceding the subject Š3sw indicate that in this instance the writer was referring to a place
35
Ward, “Shasu „Bedouin,‟” 50. Ward derived this definition from Raphael Giveon, Les bedouins Shosou des
documents Ěgyptiens. Documenta et Monumenta Orientis Antiqui 18: 240f. Ward goes on to note, “It must be kept
in mind that the only picture we have of the Shasu themselves and their place of origin is seen through Egyptian
eyes so that our question must be posed in a slightly different way: what kind of people did the Egyptians consider
the Shasu to be and from whence did the Egyptians believe they came?” (Ibid.)
36
See the discussion of territory associated with the Shasu later in this paper.
37
Donald B. Redford, Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University
Press, 1992): 271. Henceforth, Egypt, Canaan.
38
Kenneth G. Hoglund, “Edomites,” in Peoples of the Old Testament World, edited by Alfred J. Hoerth, Gerald L.
Mattingly, and Edwin M. Yamauchi. (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1994): 335.
39
Albright, 29.
40
Dalman, 35.
© Copyright, Kenneth R. Cooper, 2005
8
of origin for the captives or rebels encountered by the Egyptians.”41 Hasel also notes that in the
reliefs of Seti I, quoted above, the term Shasu is also accompanied with the determinative “hill
country.” This indicates that the “vanquished of the Shasu” come from or belong to a land or
region of the Shasu, making the term a geographical designation rather than an ethnic one. The
spoils referred to are from the land of the Shasu, and the captives depicted in the relief also come
from the land of the Shasu, which would appear to be the hill country of Palestine in this case.
Or at least some part of that hill country. Furthermore, Spalinger seems to think that these
inscriptions indicate from their content the semi-nomadic nature of the Shasu.42
Kenneth A. Kitchen notes that inscriptions during the reign of Ramesses II are of little
help in locating the Shasu very specifically. One stele in the eastern Delta, for instance, states of
Ramesses:
Making great slaughter in the land of (the) Shasu,
He plunders their tells,
Slaying their people and building (sc. Anew?) with towns bearing his name.43
This reference is too general, however, even to tell us where the land of the Shasu might be
located. But Kitchen notes another inscription of Ramesses II that may be of some help.
Obelisk I at Tanis reads:
Terrible and raging lion who despoils the Shasu-land,
Who plunders the mountain of Se‘ir with his valiant arms.44
Kitchen notes that Shasu-land is in a poetic structure of parallelism with Se„ir, which itself is
equated with the land of Edom. Thus Shasu-land, at least in these inscriptions, is located in the
area of Edom, and possibly surrounding territory.
Kitchen also discusses some inscriptions of Ramesses at Luxor that refer to Dibon
located in Moab as one of the towns plundered by Ramesses. He notes another town, B(w)trt
that is described as in the land of Moab, but scholars have as yet not pinpointed its specific
location, nor found a corresponding name in any other texts, Egyptian or Canaanite, that would
help locate it. Kitchen notes that a text of a much later date may provide a hint. This text, the
Tabula Pentingeriana, names a station about 62 Roman miles south of Ammān, called Rababatora. Kitchen notes that this Raba-batora may be identified philologically with B(w)trt;
however, no archaeological excavations have uncovered any evidence from the thirteenth
century B. C. to corroborate this suggestion. Nevertheless, Kitchen argues, “…we have evidence
for the activity of Ramesses II (or at least of his forces) in both Edom and Moab.”45 Whether or
not this activity consisted of one campaign for both or at least two, we do not know. But we do
41
Hasel, 221
Anthony J. Spalinger, “The Northern Wars of Seti I: An Integrative Study,” Journal of the American Research
Center in Egypt, 16 (1979):30.
43
Kenneth A. Kitchen, “Some New Light on the Asiatic Wars of Ramesses II,” journal of Egyptian Archaeology, 50
(December 1964) 66.
44
Ibid.
45
Kitchen, “New Light,” 67.
42
© Copyright, Kenneth R. Cooper, 2005
9
know Ramesses or his forces carried on a campaign or campaigns in both Edom and Moab and
encountered Shasu in these territories.
Furthermore, Ramesses II, in his war with Kadesh in Syria, encountered a couple of
Shasu spies, indicating the Shasu could be found as far north as Syria, at least sometimes. In his
account of the battle of Kadesh, Ramesses refers to the Shasu spies and reports, “Now, these
Shasu spake these words, which they spake to his majesty, falsely, (for) the vanquished chief of
Kheta made them come to spy where his majesty was, in order to cause the army of his majesty
not to draw up for fighting him, to battle with the vanquished chief of the Kheta.”46 Ramesses
had not only captured these spies who served the Hittites, he also defeated the Shasu in a minor
skirmish. Later, in an inscription at the Temple in Abu Simbel, Ramesses claimed that he settled
Shasu “to the land of Nubia. He has placed the Shasu (Šk-sk) into the land of ---, he has settled
the Tehenu on the heights, filling the strongholds, which he built, with the captivity of his mighty
sword, [slaying] Kharu (Hk –rw), [wasting] Retenu (Rtnw), which his sword overthrew.”47
Ramesses boasted that he filled the storehouses of Egypt with Shasu slaves, captives from Syria
and Palestine.
Furthermore, at least four different inscriptions at Karnak, Luxor, and Tanis, Ramesses
lists Shasu in the toponym lists of the peoples plundered by Ramesses II.48 In addition,
Ramesses refers either to the “Land of the Shasu” or to “Shasu Land” over ten times in eight
inscriptions at Amarah, Memphis, Tanis, and other locations in which he provides lists of places
he conquered and/or plundered.49
One of the main locations identified in the texts we have discussed, locations where
Egyptian armies ran into Shasu was Edom or Seir. Interestingly, Bartlett notes, however, that
there are no references from the period of Egypt‟s New Kingdom to either Edom or Seir as place
names for the major area of southern Palestine east and south of the Dead Sea; but rather, “In the
period stretching from the second quarter of the fourteenth century B. C. to the reign of
Ramesses III in the eleventh century B. C. we hear only of the shasu peoples – Bedouin – of
these places.”50 Bartlett notes that during this time period, the Biblical accounts, too, lack any
precise reference to Edom or Seir. When Israel departed from Egypt and first approached the
Promised Land, they encountered a people Moses identified as Edomites. Bartlett notes,
however, that even the Biblical accounts offer no sure evidence that Edom was united under any
kind of central rule such as a monarchy at this time. Consequently, it is fair to suggest that the
references in the Bible as well as the Egyptian texts are likely referring only to the general
territory or the land with these designations, places where unspecified peoples were encountered.
However, in this context, Bartlett does seem to be indicating that the Edomites thus encountered
by Israel at the time of the exodus were possibly Shasu.
46
Breasted, 3:144, see also, Kenneth A. Kitchen, Ramesside Inscriptions (Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1996), 2:
103, 12-16.
47
Breasted, 3:198.
48
See Kitchen, Ramesside Inscriptions, 163,14; 184,9; 186,15; 406,6.
49
See Kitchen, Ramesside Inscriptions, 194,15; 217,10 (four references); 289,15; 300,2; 304,14; 409,1; 413,8;
465,7.
50
J. R. Bartlett, “The Rise and Fall of the Kingdom of Edom,” Palestine Exploration Quarterly 104 (January – June
1972): 26.
© Copyright, Kenneth R. Cooper, 2005
10
In the essay noted above (see note 33, also note 50), Bartlett has suggested that the Shasu
occupied the area of Edom. In another essay, he notes that Edom and Moab were mainly seminomadic, and some occasional permanent settlements began to appear in their territories here and
there.51 Dalman had already noted the Shasu lived around the Levant. He adds, “They could be
found in several areas south and east of Israel‟s territory, but they were associated primarily with
the Region of Seir and Edom.”52 Hoglund agrees, and he limits the Shasu to the territory of
Edom, noting, “Egyptian records are the earliest (from the fifteenth century on), occasionally
noting encounters with groups from Edom and Seir called Shasu.”53 Other scholars place them
in Edom and Seir but some add Moab to the geography of the Shasu. Gerald L. Mattingly, for
example, includes Moab as a home for the Shasu along with Edom. He notes,
there is enough evidence to demonstrate that the pharaohs of the New Kingdom
were interested in and on occasion directly involved in the affairs of the peoples
east of the Jordan Rift Valley. If the Shasu Bedouin mentioned in an account of
Thutmose II‟s campaign were natives of Transjordan, this reference would be
especially important because of the text‟s early date.54
The territory of Transjordan includes Ammon and Moab, as well as Edom and Seir. As such, we
should not be surprised that Redford also places the Shasu in both Edom and Moab. Redford
notes, “Lists from Soleb and Amarah, ultimately of fifteenth century origin, suggest that an
original concentration of Shasu settlements lay in southern Transjordan in the plains of Moab
and northern Edom.”55 Kenneth A. Kitchen, in a discussion of the stele of Ramesses II at Luxor,
notes that an inscription in the Lower register contains a scene explicitly located in the land of
Moab and supports the contention that Ramesses campaigned in eastern Palestine at the Moabite
location of Dibon.56
Furthermore, George Landes notes that Biblical tradition indicates that another group
originated in the area of Transjordan. Although there is little evidence to demonstrate it
historically, Landes claims the Ammonites originated in the area east of the Jordan. He does
note, however, “in all probability [the Ammonites] began as nomadic clans who would leave
behind no evidence of their existence.”57 While this also proves little about the early identity of
the Ammonites, it does suggest that they, too, could be among the Shasu identified in the
Egyptian texts. Moreover, Randall Younker notes that during this time period, the population of
the area of Ammon was “a virtual reversion to non-sedentary occupation end of the settlement
continuum not seen since EB IV.” In addition, Younker notes, “While there does not seem to be
indications of any settlements in Ammon during the LB IB-IIA, there is evidence that people
51
J. R. Bartlett, “The Moabites and Edomites,” Peoples of Old Testament Times, edited by D. J. Wiseman. (Oxford:
Clarendon Press, 1973): 232.
52
Dalman, 35.
53
Hoglund, 335.
54
Gerald L. Mattingly, “Moabites,” in Hoerth, et al, Peoples of the Old Testament World, 323. Mattingly, of course,
refers to the part of Transjordan later known as Moab after the Moabites dwelling there.
55
Redford, Egypt, Canaan, 272.
56
Kenneth A. Kitchen, “Two Notes on Ramesside History,” Oriens Antiquus 15 (1976): 313-314. Henceforth,
“Two notes.”
57
George M. Landes, “The Material Civilization of the Ammonites,”Biblical Archaeologist 24 (September 1961):
67.
© Copyright, Kenneth R. Cooper, 2005
11
were living in the area.”58 Younker notes further that a group of six names listed in a toponym as
located in the Land of the Shasu are names actually located in Edom and Moab and sometimes
located within Ammon. Younker concludes, “If the inhabitants of LB IIA Ammon were not
Shasu, they must have strongly resembled them.”59
The steles of Ramesses at Tanis and Luxor, taken with the claim of Ahmose-Pen Nekhbet
mentioned earlier, tend to reinforce the idea that the Shasu lived in Moab as well as Edom, and
perhaps even had some settlements there. This also supports the idea that the Shasu were at least
a semi-nomadic and possibly even somewhat semi-sedentary group of peoples, associated with
settlements that they ranged near, wandered from and returned to the vicinity of or at least were
associated with in some tangible way. Ahituv tends to support this idea of semi-nomadism.
Ahituv notes that Ramesses II plundered towns in Moab called bwtrt and tbn (this latter town
Ahituv notes was identified as Dibon by Kenneth A. Kitchens-see Notes 56 and 61).60 Kitchen
notes that Ramesses‟ account of this plundering of Dibon occurs in a stele at Luxor depicting
Syrian battle scenes of Ramesses II and specifically identifying the town of Dibon, which is
north of the River Arnon and East of the Dead Sea.61 Furthermore, Kitchen cites an inscription
of Ramesses that indicates that this area east of the Jordan River was called by Ramesses Shasuland. So, while some Shasu were definitely located in Edom and Seir, pharaohs may also have
encountered them further north in the land of Moab.
In addition, Redford locates some Shasu north and west of the Transjordan in the area of
Dothan and Beth-Shan, where the Shasu posed a major threat to principle trade routes.62
Albright, in his study of the smaller stele of Sethos I at Beth-Shan, places Shasu in this location.
In his analysis of the smaller stele of Sethos I at Beth-Shan, Albright identifies two tribes of
Asiatic nomads called Tayaru and Ruhma respectively, whom he locates in the general vicinity
of later Issachar and the Egyptian fortress at Beth-Shan. Albright distinguishes these two tribes
from the „Apiru. Then he notes, “We may safely assume…that the Tayaru and Ruhma would
have been called sutû in cuneiform texts and either by the archaic designation ‘3mw or by the
contemporary term Shâsu in the Egyptian inscriptions.”63 It seems fairly clear, then, that the
Shasu concentrated their activities mainly in the territories of Edom and Moab, at least for a
time.
The associations of the Shasu, however, did reach beyond these territories. Some
scholars identify the Shasu at least by implication with the Midianites who harassed Israel during
the period of the judges. For instance, Dalman notes, “At harvest time, these Bedouin from the
desert fringe passed through Israel‟s territory as far as Gaza. They came through the land with
many livestock and camels.”64 According to Dalman, as they traveled through Israel, these
Bedouin devastated the land like locusts, perhaps justifying the Semitic explanation of marauder
58
Randall W. Younker, “The Emergence of the Ammonites,” Ancient Ammon, edited by Burton MacDonald and
Randall W. Younker. (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1999): 194.
59
Younker, 199.
60
S. Ahituv, “Did Ramesses II Conquer Dibon?” Israel Exploration Journal 22 (1972): 141-142.
61
Kenneth A. Kitchens, “Some New Light on the Asiatic Wars of Ramesses II,” Journal of Egyptian Archaeology
50 (December 1964): 53. Kitchen notes the town as “Tbnỉw (= Dibon).”
62
Redford, Egypt, Canaan, 274f.
63
Albright, 30.
64
Dalman, 34.
© Copyright, Kenneth R. Cooper, 2005
12
for Shasu. Dalman notes, however, that in the famous Merenptah Stele, containing the first clear
reference to Israel in the Egyptian texts, there is no mention of a seven-year-long Midianite
invasion of Palestine as recorded in Judges 6.1-7. Dalman, therefore, places the Midianite
oppression immediately before the reign of Seti I. During the first year of his reign, Seti sent his
army north into Palestine. Dalman notes, “This campaign may provide a historical context for
Gideon‟s battle [against Midian] because of a people described in the Egyptian texts as the
Shasu.”65 This clearly implies that the Shasu and the Midianites were possibly the same people at
this time. Giveon had already hinted as much in his study of the Shasu. 66 Both were Bedouin.
Both roamed Palestine with livestock. And both formed a menace to any they met along the
way.
Concerning the Midianites, William J. Dumbrell notes, “they are also related or
associated with the Edomites, Kenites, Ishmaelites, Hagarites and Kennizites while there are at
least connections with Amalekites and Moabites, and perhaps with Ammonites. All in all, they
are an amorphous and complex grouping.”67 Dumbrell argues that the Midianites covered a wide
geographical range, that they ranged freely through the Transjordan area, and that the Scripture –
in particular the Joseph narratives in Genesis – places them “astride the main trade routes to and
from Egypt.”68 Since Dumbrell‟s list includes Amalekites and Ammonites, among others, as
associated with Midianites, the territory covered by this “amorphous and complex grouping”
ranges from the northwest side of the Levant to a territory east of the Dead Sea, and from the
southernmost point east of the Gulf of Aqaba to as far north as the Sea of Chinnereth. Levy and
Holl note, “…the term Shasu refers to different groups occupying widespread locations in Moab
and Edom in southern Transjordanian land and in northern and southern Palestine as well as
Syria.”69 As we have seen from the texts, when the Egyptians encountered nomads or seminomads in these territories, they identified them all as Shasu.
SOME CONCLUSIONS
Who then are the Shasu? Apparently, we cannot limit them to any precise geographical
boundaries at this time. However, from the documents we have, it is fair to conclude that the
Shasu were a people who were most frequently found within the area of Moab and Seir/Edom in
central and southern Transjordan along with the northern Sinai, so far as we can tell. Their
wanderings, however, definitely took them to other locations all over Palestine.
References to the nature of their culture and lifestyle are rather scanty compared to
geographical notations. However, although only a brief single notation, the Papyrus Harris of
Ramesses III provides at least a clue as to the sociopolitical structure of the Shasu society, as
well as its indication of the focus of Egypt‟s military activities. “This included,” says Hasel, “the
pillaging of their sources of shelter (tents), their economic base (property), and their subsistence
system (livestock/animal husbandry…).”70 These elements provided the core elements of their
65
Ibid.
See note 15 above.
67
William J. Dumbrell, “Midian – a Land or a League?” Vetus Testamentum 25 (May 1975): 323, italics here are
mine.
68
Dumbrell, 327-331, the quotation is from 331.
69
Levy and Holl, 98.
70
Hasel, 238.
66
© Copyright, Kenneth R. Cooper, 2005
13
subsistence and their economy. Life in the wilderness regions would have been impossible
without these elements. The fact that the Shasu are depicted fighting outside of walled fortresses
– out in the open – supports this interpretation.
Were the Shasu Edomites? Were they Midianites, or Moabites? Or were they
Ammonites or Amalekites? There is no way to know for certain. As several scholars have
noted, they were likely not an ethnic group as such, but rather a social class in the ancient Near
East. They were certainly a pastoral people living in tents with their livestock. They were a
Bedouin-type people – nomads, sometimes semi-sedentary -- who wandered all over the area
wherein they were encountered foraging for pasture for their livestock. They were a loosely
structured tribal people. They were a fierce people. They were a fighting people, defending
their territory and flocks from perceived intruders. They were at times a marauding people. And
to the Egyptians, they were frequently a major thorn in the flesh requiring swift extraction.
It is clear, nonetheless, that Egyptians encountered Shasu over a wide geographic range
during the years of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Dynasties. Dumbrell‟s observations
concerning the Midianites and their associations with so many of the various peoples of the
territory of Palestine, suggests that they, too, ranged over a wide geographic territory. Therefore,
while we cannot be absolutely sure, it is reasonable to conclude that this amorphous and complex
grouping Dumbrell identifies as Midianites were the same amorphous and complex grouping the
Egyptians called Shasu, who may have perhaps incorporated other peoples (Moabites,
Ammonites and others) into their tribes as they wandered into and all through the territories of
Palestine searching for pasture.
© Copyright, Kenneth R. Cooper, 2005
14