Attack on the Men-nefer Palace District

## Belligerents

**Organization of Free Kingdoms:**
• Kingdom of Egypt
**Eastern Coalition (unofficially):**
• Sons of Montu
• Various Egyptian civilian rioters

## Commanders and leaders

**Organization of Free Kingdoms:**
• Ramesses XI
• Nedjmet
• Uaprahet
**Eastern Coalition:**
• Montuherkhepeshef

## Strength

**Organization of Free Kingdoms:**
~3 200
**Eastern Coalition:**
~5 500

## Casualties and losses

~400
**Eastern Coalition:**
~3 200 killed in battle or executed
~1 200 arrested and sentenced to hard labor

The attack on the Men-nefer Palace District in 74 AEE was organized and executed by the Sons of Montu, with the help of several thousand Egyptian civilians. This event was a result of months of tensions in Egypt, as many people were angry at the government for allowing the Hittite exiles under Muwatalli III to stay in the country. This was noticed by the Sons of Montu under Montuherkhepeshef, who used this opportunity to elevate his defunct organization and gain new members and allies. Already being a reactionary group, designated as a terrorist organization for its actions decades ago, the Sons of Montu fit in well with the newly disenfranchised Egyptian citizens and began stoking the flames even harder. Soon, the causes of protests and riots included not only Hittites staying in Egypt, but also the Assyrian exiles doing the same, and women being allowed to join the army, as per the decree of Ramesses XI.

These tensions were almost immediately noticed by the Elamite king Shilhak-Inshushinak, who found this a great opportunity to further disrupt Egypt, as it was the only major opponent still standing in his way in the OFK-EC War. In late 73 AEE he began supplying the Sons of Montu with weapons and resources so that they would be more effective, using the Kingdom of Kush, also fighting against Egypt, as an intermediary for the supplies. In 74 AEE the riots intensified, though they were mostly concentrated in the capital Men-nefer. Hundreds of civilians were killed, on both sides, in the preparation for the main attack, and while the Egyptian government managed to find out that it was the Sons of Montu behind all this and take out a few of their bases, they were still found rather unprepared on 12 Peret I, as the Sons of Montu and their civilian allies unexpectedly attacked the Palace District in the morning.

The attack began as thousands of rioters surrounded the palace and began trying to get it. The palace district was completely cut off from the outside and so could not send word for help, but it managed to hold out well for a few hours and kill many of the intruders. However, eventually the rioters brought out a chariot carrying large explosives, which managed to reach the palace wall and destroy a portion of it, giving the rioters an entrance. In the meantime, the medjay force under the city's medjay commander Uaprahet engaged the rioters from the outside, but could not push through due to being outnumbered. Thus many of the attackers managed to get into the palace complex and take over a large portion of it, including the port.

However, their fortunes soon turned, as an Egyptian army division composed of women, under Nedjmet, was nearby and so arrived in time to help Uaprahet's force. Nedjmet's unit crossed the canal and arrived in the palatial port, quickly clearing it out and proceeding to join the palace guards in fighting the rioters. Meanwhile Uaprahet's men pushed forwards and broke the rioter lines, as now there were fewer of them due to most being inside the palace grounds. The medjay soon pushed most of the rioters inside the palace and surrounded the complex, while the women soldiers inside, along with the royal guards led by Ramesses XI himself, began pushing the rioters out. Soon enough, the attackers realized that they were trapped, with the medjay waiting outside and the soldiers inside the palace, which caused mass panic among the mostly untrained civilian militia, with the trained Sons of Montu unable to control them. The next couple hours resulted in a total rout of the rioters, as their force was completely destroyed, with hundreds killed and thousands more captured. A few hundred managed to escape, but soon all the exits were closed off and the remaining rioters surrendered, which put an end to the insurrection.

In the following weeks the palace grounds were rebuilt and further strengthened, while the captured rioters were tried for treason and various other charges. Apart from those killed in the battle itself, around a thousand more were executed by court order, while a further 1200 were sentenced to heavy labor, with the remaining civilians receiving a heavy fine and being put under surveillance. The Sons of Montu members meanwhile were all mostly executed after being tortured for information on their organization and its future plans. Most did not talk, but a certain Sepheres did, revealing the location of the Sons of Montu headquarters, located under outer Men-nefer, and the organization's plans to carry out another attack in the near future. Thus the Egyptians quickly prepared their forces and set out to take out the headquarters before the Sons of Montu could cause more damage.