Ashkelon besieged by Ramesses II

Referred to as Asqanu in Egyptian texts and among the cities revolting against Ramesses II. Scenes of the battle for Ashkelon (including the one shown here) are shown on the walls of Ramesses’ temple at Karnak. The scene shows many activities taking place at once.

The army of Ashkelon is being defeated in the center, pressed between the Pharaoh at right (all that’s visible are the legs of his chariot horses) and the Egyptian army at left.

Note the “skirts” worn by the Ashkelonites and the “kilts” of the Egyptians, also the curved swords (called “khopesh“) and large shields of the Egyptians.

An Egyptian climbs a ladder to attack the city’s defenders, while a comrade chops at the gates with an axe. The people of Ashkelon, under fire from Egyptian archers, pull up over the walls fellow citizens left outside when the city’s gates were closed.

Ashkelon was an ancient city on the Mediterranean Sea, in what is now Israel. It was located on the northeastern border of Egypt, and around 1280 B.C., Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II attacked the city to suppress a rebellion there.

Ashkelon besieged by Ramesses II. The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Picture Collection / The New York Public Library Digital Collections