Medjay (also Medjai, Mazoi, Madjai, Mejay, Egyptian mḏꜣ.j, a
nisba of mḏꜣ,[1]) was a demonym used in various ways throughout ancient
Egyptian history to refer initially to a nomadic group from Nubia and later as
a generic term for desert-ranger police.[2]
Origins
Painted bull's skull from a Pan-Grave burial, dating to the
Second Intermediate Period
In the archaeological record, a culture known as the
Pan-Grave Culture[3] is generally considered by experts to represent the
Medjay.[4][5] This culture is named for its distinctive circular graves, found
throughout Lower Nubia and Upper Egypt, which date to the late Middle Kingdom
and Second Intermediate Period (1800-1550 BC).[4][5] The sudden appearance of
these graves in the Nile Valley suggests that they represent an immigrant
population, while the presence of Nerita shells in many of them suggests their
occupants came from the Eastern Desert between the Nile and the Red Sea.[4]
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.[4]
The first mention of the Medjay in written records dates
back to the Old Kingdom, when they were listed among other Nubian peoples in
the Autobiography of Weni, who was at the time a general serving under Pepi I
Meryre (reigned 2332–2287 BC).[6] During this time the term "Medjay"
referred to people from the land of Medja, a district thought to be located
just east of the Second Nile Cataract in Nubia. Nubia was referred to as
Ta-Seti, meaning "Land of the bow", by the Egyptians and the people
there (including the Medjay) were renown for their military skills,
particularly as archers.[7][8] A decree from Pepi I's reign, which lists different
officials (including an Overseer of the Medja, Irtjet and Satju), illustrates
that Medja was at least to some extent subjugated by the Egyptian
government.[9] Since the time of Alan 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, and that those identified as Medjay may not
have considered themselves to have a shared ethnicity, and certainly were not a
unified polity.[10]
