And it’s a hello to the Tjehenu: the Early Libyans

Three weeks in the bright sunshine of Cyprus and I`ve finally finished the Libyans.  The “Extroverts” need a dip in Army-painter but I`m quite happy with them.  The zebra skin cloaks on some of these boys were a joy to paint.

I intermingled some javelinmen among the swordsmen, mainly because of parsimony, but I`m quite pleased with them.  I`ve also been hitting the books, trying to find out more about the history and culture of this somewhat enigmatic people.  There's not much to find, because there seems to be an Early Libyan shaped hole in history.

The Egyptians called the Western-Desert the “Red Land.”  This part of Libya is a vast featureless expanse of sand and stone-plateaus with a hyper-arid climate. The coastal-plain (the littoral) is partially protected from the desert’s extremes but it could never compare with the fertility of the Nile Valley.   If the climate change that dried the Sahara was linked to the Sea peoples invasions and the end of the Bronze age, the nomadic tribes must have been increasingly desperate to move into the Nile Delta.
 

Of course the very name “Libya” is a misnomer.  The Libu tribe isn’t recorded until the reign of Merenptah, when they headed the coalition from Western-Cyrenaica,  It was Greek authors who named this harsh environment Libya.  The Egyptian inscriptions are precise and spell out the name of the desert tribesmen phonetically as “Tjehenu.” The temple inscriptions of Seti-I, Merenptah, and Ramesses III all agree on this name.  

My Egyptian civilians.

Among the Greek writers who did look at these people Diodorus scathingly wrote that the Libyans were “nomads who had neither rulers nor laws and lived by raiding and rapine.”  Most conflict involving Egypt and Libya was identified as raids, counter-raids, and petty-revolts.    There is a strong resonance of this in the Tuareg, the Berber tribes who still inhabit parts of the Saharan interior as nomadic pastoralists,  Harshly judged by the colonial powers as “mendacious and masters of surprise tactics” these descendants of the Tjehenu provide a good parallel for their ancestors conflict with Egypt, another colonial power.

The archaeology of the area of the western desert has been understandably neglected.  There were no tombs filled with gold, no heroic poems to follow.  That the tribes finally succeeded and Egypt saw a Libyan dynasty is largely forgotten.   

Oddly enough it is among wargamers that the Early Libyans saw something of a resurgence.  The army was quite popular under DBM as a sort of masochistic counterbalance to the gamery of "perfect army" tournament players.  With the best will in the world an army of the Tjehenu is a bit of a loser.  On the other hand mendacious ... masters of surprise tactics," raiders and petty revolts sound like excellent skirmish material to me.  

My only Egyptian so far, a chariot runner off to warn the Pharaoh. 

So it's on to the Egyptians.  Now I have one army done the "colonial power" needs sorting out and painting up.  Can`t wait to get some games in with these. 

The Ancient Libyans near completion

My Libyans in Warbases stands

The first “army” of my Bronze Age project is nearing completion.  I`m hoping that the light in Cyprus will improve my painting!  I`m slowly painting the animal skin cloaks, but by and large they are looking good. 

I`ve also been reading up on the Libyans to try to make sure that my forces are as historically representative as they can be.  The problem I have hit recently is that I`m not sure that they are.

The bulk of my Infantry are archer skirmishers.  It seems clear from the evidence that the Libyans did not adopt close order bow formations as the Egyptians seem to have done, and possibly even the Nubians to a certain extent.  Perhaps it is the terrain.  The Sahara was becoming more desiccated during the Bronze Age, and whilst it was not totally the bare desert we see today, the Egyptian frontiers would offer sufficient rough terrain for raiding and skirmishing. 

The Libyans - tackle out!

Although raiding occurred along the western frontier, the Libyans lands ran as far south as Nubia, the bulk of the incursions occurred in the North.  It seems that the fertile Nile Delta was particularly attractive for the Libyans who moved in as whole tribes looking for lands to settle.  The Egyptians had fortifications, but these could be bypassed by large forces.  Spalinger points out that a warrior society such as the Libyans would have a very high percentage of combatants, much higher than the Egyptians.   It seems clear however that the professionalism of the Egyptians generally overmatched the Libyans.

Libyan Archers - fear the prick of their arrows!

O’Connor  points out that Rameses III faced a Libyan army composed of 5–10 percent chariots; 25–35 percent swordsmen; and over 50 percent foot archers.  I added in some Javelin skirmishers, since these are clearly seen on the Egyptian reliefs, although as a minority.  Clearly however my single unit of 12 swordsmen should be two units of 12.  After a battle against an estimated 16000 Libyans the Pharaoh Meremptah captured over 9000 swords.  Libyans archers are rarely shown with swords on Egyptian reliefs so it can probably be surmised that there were 9000 swordsmen (and only a handful of chariots) in that battle.  Still I should perhaps add a single light chariot group.   My original plan had been to give the Libyans a group of three chariots by using Sea People allies, with Larry as my single Libyan High Chief, and that still looks reasonable.

O’Connor also notes that Libyans at this time served as mercenaries in the Egyptian army, so our view of them as simplistic “barbarians” is probably incorrect.  I cannot however agree that this means that such trained warriors would have gone home to serve in a Libyan tribal force.  It seems doubtful that any Libyans were Maryannu, even if they had served in the Egyptian Army.  I had also planned to use a single group of Sea Peoples swordsmen, but on reflection I think the Libyans would be a far more dangerous force with the chariots and more swordsmen.

The Chiefs discuss penis sheath colours

I need no suggestions for names from the MPGC.  I have gone for anacronistic yet Heroic names.  My High Chief is Larry, the sub-chiefs Lester and Lola.  Other first names beginning with L are available.  They will all have epithets beginning with L, Larry being “the Lame,” due to the terrible things I did to his feet to get him to fit into the chariot.  Lester is “the Lanky,” just because he looks taller than his mates, and Lola “the Leopard-skin,” because of the shoes I`ve painted on him.  His handbag however does not match his penis sheath.

We all have some doubts about Lola.

As well as Stillman and Tallis I`ve just finished these two:
Anthony J. Spalinger, “War in Ancient Egypt. The New Kingdom”
O’Connor, “The Nature of the Tjemhu (Libyan) Society in the Later New Kingdom”

Uriah’s Bronze Age Army Lists

Uriah’s Bronze Age Army Lists
For Chariot Rampant

As part of my Bronze Age project I had to make some decisions about army lists, simply on the basis of the composition of the armies I want to raise.  This entailed some background reading but there is a surprising amount of supposition involved in the accepted “history.”  I based my troop types on Stillman and Tallis, and in my defence so has everyone else, however I am following Spalinger for the composition of the 19th and 20th dynasty and its opponents.  

The New Kingdom had three distinct military phases.  It seems clear that the 18th dynasty warfare of the revolt against the Hyksos that founded the New Kingdom, was based on marine warfare on the Nile, with the use of warships and professional crews.  A second period, moving into the 19th dynasty and the Imperial expansion into Nubia, Palestine and Syria, would have seen chariot warfare becoming the focus, and a radical change in the logistics required.

Finally the desperate 20th dynasty struggle against the Sea Peoples which the Egyptians alone in the Near East seem to have weathered, saw the contraction of Egypt’s power among its neighbours.  It has been argued by Cline, Drew and others that the Egyptians began a reliance on mercenary foot soldiers, but this is not as clear cut from the documented evidence, and I give the option to use a slightly different form for 20th Dynasty armies.

In some areas I've cheated, for example it seems clear that the Shassu Bedouin, and Sheklesh “Sea Peoples” tribe are one and the same, Rohl certainly thinks  so, yet I've gone with the traditional view, and indeed my Sea Peoples are a composite of tribes, just to get the “look.”  In any event the idea of, and misleading name for the Sea Peoples, were essentially made up by a nineteenth century French Egyptologist.  When it comes down to it a lot of Egyptology was created in similar imaginative circumstances.

I also cheated with the Hittites, essentially using the Canaanites but adding some additional Spearmen.  Maryannu chariots and their crews were pretty much ubiquitous, even the Egyptians using “asiatic” mercenaries, so I feel justified in using my Chariot stock to create separate armies. Old Ramesses in his chariot, accompanied by his pet Lion is pretty much distinctive, but the rest are pretty damn similar.

As a wargamer I also consulted the wisdom of Filbarrka the zorca-expert, and his DBA and DBM army lists, condensing the flavour if not sometimes the reality of an army.  (War wagons for the Sea people baggage.  Really?) From this I adopted a seven group format for all armies, mainly because my table won't handle more than that, and it does introduce some level of balance.  If I decide that I don't like it I can always go back to points.  The six armies I am gathering are outlined below, although several are amalgamated from core forces of three chariots and 24 or so foot.

Retinues in Lion Rampant are up to 24 points.  If I want to use even point armies rather than a mandatory seven groups the following rules are used.  No more than four units of any one type can be chosen.  Retinues must comprise seven groups. (or 24 points, if I decide I prefer that method)

Bronze Age Retinues

1 Samuel 18: 'The king desires no marriage present except a hundred foreskins of the Philistines,

All Retinues are built from the following units.

Chariots @4

Spearmen @4

Bowmen @4

Skirmishers @2

Fierce Foot @4

Slave levy types@1

Retinues are up to 24 points.  No more than four units of any one type can be chosen.

Troop types

Samuel 2:11 15 "Set Uriah the Hittite in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him”

Maryannu Chariots @4 points.

Comprising three chariot models each with two crew and two chariot runners.  12 figures.

Almost solely armed with bows, and a very large arrow supply, chariotry uses distance bow fire to whittle down opponents.  Their speed means that they are often able to avoid charges by enemy, shooting as they retire, or to aggressively counter charge chariotry or foot skirmishers, threading them, reforming and charging back through.

Attack    7+                AV   5+

Move     5+                DV   6

Shoot     6+               SV/Range   5+/12”

Courage 5+              Max Move    12”

Armour   3                Special Rules:  Skirmish.  Evade.  Counter-         .                                charge chariots or skirmishers.

Upgrade to Heavier Chariot, Spear armed @5 points.  Shoot 6”, AV4+  DV5+

Elite Maryannu @5 points

3 chariots, 6 runners is 12 figures.

Elite Household troops, Egyptian Shar, Guards, Elite bow armed chariotry.

Attack    5+                AV   3+

Move     5+                DV   5

Shoot     6+               SV/Range   5+/12”

Courage 3+              Max Move    12”

Armour   4                Special Rules:  Skirmish.  Evade.  Counter-         .                                charge chariots or skirmishers.

Upgrade to Elite Heavier Chariot, Spear armed @6 points.  Shoot 6”, AV4+  DV5+

Foot Spearmen @4 Points  Units of 12

Often armoured, equipped with spear and shield, able to form a ‘wall of spears.’  May be upgraded to Expert representing troops such as elite picked foot guards.

Attack    6+               AV   5+

Move     5+               DV   4

Shoot                       SV/Range  

Courage 4+              Max Move    6”

Armour   3                Special Rules:  Wall of Spears

Upgrade to Expert hand to hand@ 2 points more, no wall of spears, AV becomes 4+ Represents elite axe men.

Downgrade to Levy Spears@1 point less. No shields, DV5, Armour 2.

Foot Levy @ 3 Points    Models per unit: 12
Levy generally poorly armoured spearmen fulfilling a very similar role to Foot Spearmen.  They usually lack shields and body armour, but like Foot Spearmen they can use their long spears to form a Wall of Spears for protection in close combat. Although they lack the staying power of Foot Spearmen, they are manoeuvrable and therefore well suited to taking objectives and holding them against light opposition. They are under threat from missile fire, which are able to shoot them down from a distance.
They may be upgraded to Expert in the same manner as Foot Spears, and they also have an option to upgrade to carry javelins, giving them a short range missile threat of their own.

Attack 6+                  Attack Value 5+
Move 5+                   Defence Value 4+
Shoot –                    Shoot Value –
Courage 4+             Maximum movement 8”
Armour 2                 Special rules Wall of Spears

SPECIAL RULES:
• Spear wall: There needs to be 6 or more models in unit to form a Wall of Spears. On a Move order, form the unit into a two rank formation based around a central model; a spear wall cannot form in Rough terrain or in cover, and it cannot move in this formation. Spear walls increase their Armour by 1 point.

Fierce Foot  @4 points  Units of 12

War bands such as the Sea Peoples, folk with a nasty outlook on life, Libyan Swordsmen, Nubian Club men,  Habiru Gibborim,  Achilles Myrmidons.

Attack    5+                AV   3+

Move     6+                DV   6

Shoot                        SV/Range   

Courage 4+              Max Move    8”

Armour   2                Special Rules:  Ferocious, Wild Charge, Counter charge vs foot, Fleet Footed.

Closed Ranked Bowmen @4  units of 12

Attack    7+                AV   6+

Move     6+                DV   5

Shoot     6+               SV/Range   5+/18”

Courage 5+              Max Move    6”

Armour   2                 Special Rules:  

Upgrade to Expert @2 points per unit.  SV becomes 4+

Downgrade to Levy bowmen @-1 point per unit, SV becomes 6+, Courage 6+.

Light Skirmishing Foot @2 Units of 6

Light archers operating as skirmishers, but also tribal skirmishers such as the Libyans relying on javelins and throw sticks rather than the bow.

Attack    7+                AV   6+

Move     5+                DV   6

Shoot     7+               SV/Range   5+/Javelin 6”, Bow 18”

Courage 5+              Max Move    8”

Armour   1                Special Rules:  Skirmish.  Evade.  Fleet footed.

              2 vs shooting

Upgrade to Chariot runners, trained Light Javelinmen, @1, AV5,  DV5  Courage 4.

The Egyptians

1 x  Elite Maryannu @5 points
1 x  Maryannu Chariots @4 points
2 x  Foot Spearmen @4 points
1 x  Closed Ranked Bowmen @4 points
2 x  Chariot runners, Elite Skirmishers @3 points
(Later Option) 1 x  Fierce Foot  @4 points Sherden guard to replace 1 chariot runner.
1 CinC in Chariot, 2 foot Generals for Sword and Spear.
27 or 28 points

The Libyans
1 x Fierce Foot  @4 points, Swordsmen
1 x Light Skirmishing Foot @2 points
3 x Light Skirmishing Bow @2 points

1 chariot General, 1 or 2 Sub-chiefs for Sword and Spear.

Either

2 x Light Skirmishing Bow @2 pointd

Or

1 x  Maryannu Chariots @4 points

1 x  Fierce Foot  @4 points
2 groups of Sea Peoples allied/mercenaries groups, under an allied chief.
16 or 20 points

The Sea Peoples

1 x  Maryannu Chariots @4 points

5 x groups of fierce foot,
     1 x  Fierce Foot  @4 points Sherden swordsmen
     1 x  Fierce Foot  @4 pointsPeleset
     1 x Fierce Foot  @4 points Sheklesh
     1 x Fierce Foot  @4 points Lukka
     1 x Fierce Foot  @4 points Weshwesh
     1 x Light Skirmishing Foot @2 Shassu javelinmen
1 Command Chariot, 2 allied Foot chieftains for Sword and Spear.
26 points

The Nubians
3 foot commanders
2 x  Fierce Foot  @4 points clubmen

2 x  Closed Ranked Bowmen @4 points
3 x  Light Skirmishing Bow @2 points

3 foot Generals for Sword and Spear.
22 points

The Canaanites
1 x  Maryannu Chariots @4 points Canaanite
1 x  Elite Maryannu @5 points Hittites
1 x  Maryannu Chariots @4 points Sea Peoples
1 x  Foot Levy @ 3 Points
1 x  Levy Close Bowmen @ 3 points
1 x  Chariot runners, Elite Skirmishers @3 points
1 x  Light Skirmishing Bow @2 points

1 chariot General, 2 foot chieftains for Sword and Spear.
24 points

Hittites
1 x  Elite Maryannu @5 points Hittites

1 x  Maryannu Chariots @4 points Canaanite vassals
1 x  Maryannu Chariots @4 points Sea Peoples vassals
1 x  Foot Levy @ 3 Points
1 x  Levy Close Bowmen @ 3 points
1 x  Chariot runners, Elite Skirmishers @3 points
1 x  Foot Spearmen @4 points.

(I'm cheating, this is exactly the same as the Canaanites, with no archer skirmishers but one additional spear group.)
26 points.

Uriah in the lists

Since its very inception the Marshal Petain Club have been big fans of army lists.  The Club Secretary, Hannibal Parka is of course a cunning Carthaginian, and used a well oiled machine raised from a very dodgy list.  He faced the solid wall of the Republican Romans of Quintus Whitmorus, another army list that was a bare approximation of its historical reality.    

Luckily all these armies had to contend with were the less than efficient Celts of Uriah the Gaul.  I was allowed far too much cavalry, no chariots, and had to take masses of very inferior spearmen and poor light infantry. The army lists were, by and large, hugely fictitious.  These were of course WRG 5th ed lists... and seemed to delight in condensing centuries of military development into a single list.  The Chinese army list alone was a thing of wonder!

The rules favoured regular and well armed troops, with a focus on form rather than function, and the rubbish that the Celts could deploy were frankly not up to it.  Uriah the Gaul was roundly and routinely defeated.  Historically correct you might say, but the fact is that the much vaunted points system simply did not work, and I would argue that it never has worked.  Not that this ever daunted me, I have sufficient enthusiasm to see me through the vicissitudes of uncounted games of massacre the barbarian.

15mm Gauls... and why not!

 The arrival of the DBA stable of games gave the Celts a boost.  Turns out all those javelin light spear light medium rubbish infantry were in fact warband... and dangerous little buggers they now were.  The Celts became Mighty.  No longer could you beat up the Gauls with impunity, now they could easily beat you back.  So dangerous were they that an online conspiracy ensued pressuring 'the Phil' to do something about them. Change the factors, change the destroyed result into a recoil, change their points value!  So many "experts" gave their opinions that I think some of those guys actually believed they had been there on an ancient battlefield and were reporting what they had seen.  I suspect that they were lobbying for their favourites, and it worked.  

Soon the barbarians had been neutered, and the forces of regular righteousness, tournament gamery and army listery were once again in control.  They missed the point as always.  The Celts were never a choice for someone who gamed merely to win, but they were always fun.  Generally I am a solo gamer and the “tournament” attitude leaves me perplexed.  I genuinely don't understand why anyone would choose an army only on the basis of whether they thought it was a game winner or not.

The points system in army lists has always left me a little cold.  Whatever the prejudices of ancient writers it seems clear that those “rubbish” Celts of mine could amass huge numbers of scary individuals, pretty much unrepresentable on table.  To the Rebublican Romans the Gauls were a much feared opponent, but the early lists graded troops on their weapons and armour types, a game in which the Celts would always come off worse, and come off worse they did.

Luckily when the DBM lists appeared they were far more researched.  Actually they set the standard, and are still worthy of some study.  I went back to these, and to my own reading, for my Bronze Age project.  There are still some armies out there that only a solo gamer could love!

Larry the Libyan with his new wheels...

A case in point is the Early Libyan army.  Points system or not I suspect that they have never won a tournament.  “Winners” is probably not a noun ever used when discussing the Early Libyans.  “Characterful” describes them better, although I doubt that is a real word.  An army of ill armed, naked tribesmen are probably doomed against the Egyptian professionals.  That only makes them worth playing in my book.

Larry's boys in their new dip

Whilst I did some work on the points system of Lion Rampant for my Bronze age games I actually prefer the DBA idea of having a fixed number of groups.  Function should triumph over form, and given the right terrain even the Libyans can be dangerous.  The Early Libyan tribes are the first of my armies ready for battle.  Their army list has seven groups, and I settled for seven groups as the basis of my lists.  The lists contain Generals and groups.  For Sword and Spear rules these represent the units and generals needed.  For Chariot Rampant only one General is needed and he will be part of his own bodyguard group. (the others will be Captains and additional characters)  I will publish the remaining lists in a separate post, but as a taster here are the Libyans:

1 × General in chariot.

1 or 2 x foot Generals.

1 x fierce foot, Libyan Swordsmen, 12 figures

1 x javelinmen, 6 figures

3 x Archer Skirmishers, 6 figures each

And;

2 x Archer Skirmishers, 6 figures each

Or;
Two groups of Sea Peoples, under a Sea Peoples Allied General

Uriah reclaims his Mighty Chariot

Uriah, a horny Helmet,
Sherden Hero, in his cart,
Trundles along,
Propelled by flatulent wind.

An update on Larry the Libyan

The forces of Larry the lame Libyan Chief, so named because I had to remove his base and move his feet to fit him into the Hittite chariot, are slowly taking shape on my painting table.  The undercoating and skintone shading are done, as is the basing.  The original warband of ten swordsmen I had planned has been increased to 12 for my Chariot Rampant conversion, and these are the very definition of fierce foot. 

 I noted that Phil Barker calls the Early Libyans “extrovert.”  Perhaps a euphemism for being almost totally naked, and wearing a penis sheath!  Well then extrovert it is.  I'm still waiting for my Army Painter, but the tones I've done for the Libyans will darken considerably under that, so I'm pretty pleased with the result so far.

For the distinctive leather cloaks I’ve experimented with the giraffe patterns, zebra patterns as well as more 1970 weave like patterns, and they are a joy to paint. I fear they will be mince meat to the Egyptian war machine, but they will look good!

In other news my desert house has had two more shades, each progressively lighter.  I will use dip to seal and highlight, but it's almost there.  The first civilians are also coming along nicely too, baboon fighting, naked Ancient Egyptian slave girls with wine jars, what’s not to like?

Ramesses Brynner vs Moses Heston, Wargames terrain.

I blame Cecil B.Demille.  Somewhat less to blame are Moses Heston and Ramesses Brynner, but then I question the acting ability of the pair of them.  Cecil remains the major culprit however, say what you will, that boy knew how to film an epic.  And it is an Epic, ‘The Ten Commandments,’ in glorious “technicolor.”  That’s pretty much just “colour” to us, but in 1956 Cecil was radical, and in one respect I agree, it's glorious.

Cecil's epic.

The colours are vibrant, and we are shown Hollywood Ancient Egypt in all its US accented detail.  Nobody ever explains why the Pharaoh speaks with a Russian accent of course!  Hollywood biblical architecture was created on back lots, with wood and paper, no CGI, and a fortune spent on extras.   But Cecil achieves “the look.”

Some of my preconceptions about Bronze Age terrain are then firmly the fault of old Cecil.  In wargaming what I need is “the look.”  I can adopt some of his “Epic” for my tabletop Bronze Age Near East.  But only for Egypt I'm afraid.  In Egypt small villages and isolated dwellings would have spread along the Nile, but further North into Canaan walled cities of 10000 population become more the norm, and that would be where a lot of my wargames would be set.

The look...

In “The Ancient Near East: History, Society and Economy” Mario Liverani postulates that a few fortified building settlements with smaller populations would spread into uplands, but that the overarching pattern would remain the Bronze Age city.  Small settlements such as isolated farms or villages are rare or just don't happen.  This will affect my project terrain, no “raiding the village” games.

Wilkinson, in “Archaeological Landscapes of the Near East,” points out that these nucleated Bronze Age settlements were focused on plains or rocky outcrops adjacent to the plains, a defensible city site, and a cultivated area.  The city would have a chariot force that could defend its cultivated area from nomadic raiders, who would strike from the hills or the sea.  

Moses Heston brandishes a pair of the latest tablets. 

The image is one redolent of the Bible, Habiru tribes subsisting in the hills, enviously eyeing the ‘promised land’ of the city states on the plains below.

The population growth of the early Iron Age would drastically alter this pattern as regions hitherto unsettled were expanded into, and these too would have relied on fortified buildings.  As Flag Fen and other European Bronze and Iron Age sites seem to attest the city state was a phenomenon of the Near East and its endemic culture of warfare.  

There are commercial models available.

More peaceful Egypt could afford to use a different settlement pattern, one focused on food production and the nile, rather than almost solely on defence.

This then gives me a basis for my project terrain.  A desert landscape, rocky hills, a walled city, some Egyptian features and cultivated areas.

Terrain list for my Bronze Age Wargaming project.

City walls 6” high in 3 x 10 inch sections.  Great gate 9 inches high towers.  Corner tower 8” high.  Will double as an Egyptian Fort,  or coastal town.

A couple of town houses, and Perry Miniatures do a great one.

Plinth for the city to raise it higher still making it a classic Bronze Age city on a mound.  Plinth to be recessed to hold the wall sections in place.

Rocky area templates, x 6, of different shapes, built up to 1” high.  To include a burning bush!

Tented camp, for nomads or for a siege encampment.

Palm trees.

Egyptian Statuary in various degree of ruin, made with Das.

Broken down stone wall in the desert. 1” high.

Sea Peoples ship based on the template if the 15mm Essex ship.



"Behold,  a bush that can act."

Lastly of course I will need a burning bush, appearing randomly among any rocky areas on the tabletop, to remind me of one of my favourite moments from Cecil’s movie, where Moses Heston is out acted by a bush.

(In the interests of balance I would just point out that he is also out acted by a golden calf, two stone tablets and his own walking stick, which parts the Red Sea almost without his help.  In later movies in his illustrious career he was out acted by monkeys, and the Statue of Liberty.  Indeed so decisively did Madam Liberty outshine him that he ended that movie in a proper huff beating the sand and cursing the American viewing public.)