The Battle of Bardawil was a battle fought between the invading Shekelesh "Sea People" and the army of New Kingdom Egypt in 1198 BC. The Egyptian general Ahmenet led an army out to sea to intercept Cutu's invasion fleet off Lake Bardawil, and the two armies beached near al-Maraziqih Point, where the Shekelesh were annihilated after a bloody battle.
History[]
From 1200 to 1199 BC, Prince Ramesses and his generals defeated a Weshesh invasion of Egypt; while most of the fighting occurred in Lower Egypt and the Sinai, some Weshesh fleets made it up the Nile beyond Mennefer before being defeated. In 1198 BC, a wave of Shekelesh fleets followed up on the initial Weshesh incursion. Ramesses, whose efforts were focused in Middle Egypt, recruited the general Ahmenet in the Sinai and entrusted him with raising an army of Medjay swordsmen and Canaanite and Habiru axemen and bowmen. Ahmenet led this fresh army out to sea to intercept a large fleet of Shekelesh warriors led by Cutu, and the two armies beached at al-Maraziqih Point on a spit of land beyond Lake Bardawil.
In the ensuing battle, Ahmenet's army divided in half, with rock formations protecting the center. Ahmenet planned to outflank and destroy the Shekelesh army, but Cutu's army focused its attention on the Ramessid left, nearly eliminating it. The Ramessid right had greater success in breaking through the Shekelesh left, and the Ramessid right came to the relief of the badly-mauled Ramessid left, slaying Cutu and most of his brave warriors. The remnants of Cutu's army fled back to the Mediterranean as Cure, Metus, Kaisie, Arnth, and Huzlu's invasion fleets arrived to threaten the Nile Delta and the Sinai.
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