In the picture: the word “Meshwesh” in hieroglyphs (bottom middle) on an Egyptian tablet from the time of Ramses II.
The first historical mentions of the people which, since the Arab conquests, we call “Berbers”, goes back to Ancient Egypt.
From the time of the Old Kingdom (2575 to 2150 BC), the Egyptians entertained close relations with their western neighbors, the Lebu, Libyans, Tehenu, Tehemu or Meshwesh (all of these names have been used to refer to the “Berbers”), which were divided into many tribes. Sometimes these relations were pacific, while other times the two peoples were at war.
One prominent historical event was the invasion attempt of the delta by king Meryey son of Ded of Libya, during the 5th year of the reign of Pharaoh Merneptah (1227 BC). This event gave us valuable information about the Berbers, such as names and descriptions by image and by writing, of great historical and ethnographic importance.
