Medjay The Medjay ( also Medjai , Mazoi , Madjai , Mejay , Egyptian " mDA . y " ) – from " mDA " , represents the name Ancient Egyptians gave to a region in northern Sudan – where an ancient people of Nubia inhabited . In the New Kingdom , the word Medjay evolved to refer to members of the Ancient Egyptian military as desert scouts and protectors of areas of pharaonic interest . However , this evolution is more likely based on a change in the definition of the word , Medjay , rather than a change in the Eastern Desert peoples . Recorded history . The first mention of the Medjay in written records dates back to the Old Kingdom , when they were listed among other Nubian peoples by Weni , who was at the time a general serving under Pepi I . During this time the term “ Medjay ” referred to people from the land of Medja , a district estimated to be located just east of the Second Cataract in Nubia . 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 . During the Middle Kingdom , the definition of " Medjay " started to refer more to a tribe or clan of people , rather than a land , ( although references to Medja - land do exist ) . Written accounts , like the Semna Despatches detail the Medjay as nomadic desert people . As itinerant peoples , they worked in all parts of Egyptian society , including palace attendants , temple employees , merchants , and more . The Medjay worked in Egyptian fortifications in Nubia and patrolled the deserts and helped to patrol the desert with other Egyptian soldiers , like the Akhwty . They also were sometimes employees as soldiers ( as we may know from the Stela of Res and Ptahwer ) . And during the Second Intermediate Period , they were even later used during Kamose ’ s campaign against the Hyksos and became instrumental in making the Egyptian state into a military power . By the 18th Dynasty of the New Kingdom period , the Medjay were an elite paramilitary police force . No longer did the term refer to an ethnic group and over time the new meaning became synonymous with the policing occupation in general . Being an elite police 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 most notable for their protection of the royal palaces and tombs in Thebes and the surrounding areas , the Medjay were known to have been used throughout Upper and Lower Egypt . Each regional unit had its own captains . Chiefs of the Medjay are also known from the New Kingdom , but that title is more likely equated with a person in charge of building and building material procurement . At first , the group just consisted of those who were considered ethnically Medjay and were descended from the ancient tribal group . This changed over time , however , as more and more Egyptians joined the occupation . Based on the written records , it can be seen that various Medjay chiefs and captains had Egyptian names and were depicted as such . Why this change occurred is not exactly known by Egyptologists , but it could be assumed that because the Medjay were seen as an elite group of warriors , more Egyptians might have joined to achieve a similar status . After the 20th Dynasty , the term Medjay is no longer found in Egyptian written records . Egyptologists do not know whether the Medjay as an occupation had been abolished or the name had just been changed . However , there is speculation that a group of people called the Meded who fought against the Kush during the 5th and 4th centuries B . C . might have been related to the Medjay . Regardless , there is no doubt that the Medjay played an important role in Ancient Egypt , first as foreign mercenaries employed by the Egyptian army and later as a paramilitary police force that guarded royal palaces and tombs . The Medjay will forever be known as a group of elite warriors .