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Medjay (alsoMedjai,Mazoi,Madjai,Mejay, Egyptianmḏꜣ.j, anisba ofmḏꜣ[1]) was ademonym used in various ways throughoutancient Egyptian history to refer initially to anomadic group fromNubia and later as a generic term for desert-rangerpolice.[2]They were sometimes confused with thePan-Grave culture.
The first mention of the Medjay in written records dates back to theOld Kingdom of Egypt, when they were listed among other Nubian peoples in theAutobiography of Weni, who was at the time a general serving underPepi I Meryre (reigned 2332–2287 BCE).[3] During this time the term "Medjay" referred to people from the land of Medja, a district thought to be located just east of theSecond Nile Cataract inNubia. Nubia was referred to asTa-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] 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] Since the time ofAlan 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 “Medjay” which evolved through three meanings in the Egyptian language: First, in the Old Kingdom, the word “Medja” 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 theSecond Intermediate Period, the word “Medjay” 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 “Medjay” had lost its ethnic connection to Nubia and was an occupational title for policemen or desert-rangers. Additionally, the works of Säve-Söderbergh 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 theSemna 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 theMiddle Kingdom.Senusret III (r. 1878-1839 BCE) enacted a prohibition on Nubian movement north ofSemna, which is recorded in missives from the border guard atElephantine.[8]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 thestele of Res and Ptahwer). During the Second Intermediate Period, they were even used duringKamose's campaign against theHyksos[10] and became instrumental in making the Egyptian state into a military power.[11] The Medjay were also hired as soldiers and guards in theKushite military as well as theRoman Egypt army.[12]
In thearchaeological record, aculture known as the Pan-Grave culture[13] is generally considered by experts to represent the Medjay.[14][15] This culture is named for its distinctive circular graves, found throughoutLower Nubia andUpper Egypt, which date to the late Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period (1800-1550 BC).[14][15] The sudden appearance of these graves in theNile Valley suggests that they represent an immigrant population, while the presence ofNerita shells in many of them suggests their occupants came from theEastern Desert between the Nile and theRed Sea.[14] 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]
By the Eighteenth Dynasty during the New Kingdom, the Medjay were an eliteparamilitary police force.[16] 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 inThebes and the surrounding areas, the Medjay were used throughoutUpper andLower Egypt. Each regional unit had its own captains.[17] 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]
After the20th 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 theKush during the 5th and 4th centuries B.C. might have been related to the Medjay.[16]
Linguistic evidence indicates that the Medjay spoke an ancientCushitic language related to theCushiticBeja language and that theBlemmyes were a subdivision of the Medjay. Rilly (2019) mentions historical records of a powerfulCushitic speaking group which controlledLower Nubia and some cities inUpper Egypt. He claims a linguistic relationship between the modernBeja language and the ancient Cushitic Blemmyan language, which dominated Lower Nubia, and that the Blemmyes could be regarded as a particular tribe of the Medjay.[18]
In the 1999 remakeThe Mummy, and the sequelThe Mummy Returns (2001).[19] the Medjay are mentioned as PharaohSeti I's personal bodyguards inancient Egypt.[20]
In the 2017 video gameAssassin's Creed Origins, the protagonist,Bayek of Siwa, is considered "the last Medjay".In the game, the Medjay are depicted as a police force whose job is to protect thepharaoh. However, Bayek abandons his duty when he learns that the pharaohPtolemy XIII 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 novel20s 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 gameFor Honor, in the July 2022 "Curse of the Scarab: Title Update 2"software update, aplayable character named for and inspired by the Medjay was released.[23]
In the 2021 video gameForewarned, 1-4 players explore ancient Egyptian tombs and gather evidence to identify the evilMedjai haunting the area, and can perform elaborate hidden rituals to banish them to theEgyptian afterlife. In this game,Medjay, orMedjai are depicted as malevolent undead spirits.[24]
Whatever role ethnicity may have played in their society previously, ethnogenesis of a "Medjay" ethnic group began towards the middle of the Twelfth Dynasty.
Players take on the role of Bayek, a Medjay.
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