What was the size of the Ancient Egyptian army?

Answer 1

The number of troops changed over time. In the Old Kingdom there is no evidence for a professional standing army of any kind - when the need arose, temples, provincial governors and large estates called up local male workers and formed them into military units under local officials. Military training must have been limited and low in quality.

In the 1st Intermediate Period the earliest professional army units were formed and by the Middle Kingdom a permanent royal army under professional officers was established. We do not have any reliable figures for the number of men involved; the size of the army probably changed depending on the whim of the king.

It is known that under Sethos I there were three native Egyptian divisions of around 5,000 men each; under Ramesses II there were four divisions. There were also many units of mercenary, auxilliary and allied troops - Libyans, Medjay Nubians, Sherden and others. Their numbers are not known.

It has been estimated that at no time did the standing army consist of more than three per cent of the male population, so it was always fairly small in numbers compared with other nation's armies.

Answer 2

Ancient Greece was the word for over 2,000 independent city-states dispersed around the Mediterranean and Black Sea littorals. Each had an army comprised of its citizens which varied from a few hundred to about 10,000.

Answer 3

It varied over the millennia. You would need to nominate a perior.

Answer 4

9000 people