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Admin moved page Is the Film Exodus: Gods and Kings Historically Accurate? to Is the Film Exodus: Gods and Kings Historically Accurate
[[File: Exodus2014Poster.jpg|200px|thumbnail|left|Exodus: Gods and Kings]] __NOTOC__
The 2014 film, <i>Exodus: Gods and Kings</i>, staring starring Christian Bale in the lead role as Moses, is a fictional take on some historical events in Late Bronze Age/New Kingdom Egypt, combined with a loose retelling of the biblical [[Did the Biblical Exodus Actually Happen?|book of Exodus]]. The epic begins with the Hebrew people enslaved in Egypt during the reign of Pharaoh Seti I (ruled ca. 1294-1279 BC) and ends with Moses ascending Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments. In between, there is plenty of action, which includes large-scale battles, biblical plagues, slaves being whipped, temples being built, and romances taking place. In more than two hours, the big budget film seemingly has something for everyone, but how historically accurate is it? A review of <i>Exodus: Gods and Kings</i> reveal that there are plenty of factual historical elements portrayed, but also a fair amount of fiction that often appears factual.
====Historical Fact in the Film====
The battle scene accurately depicted the use of chariot corps by both the Hittite and Egyptian armies, but erroneously depicted cavalry attacks. Cavalry was not fully developed until the Iron Age by the Assyrians for a number of reasons, the most important being that horses were too small in the Bronze Age. Horses were sometimes ridden for reconnaissance or to deliver messages, but they were only utilized with chariots in battle during the Bronze Age. <ref> Drews, Robert. <i>The End of the Bronze Age: Changes in Warfare and the Catastrophe ca. 120 BC.</i> (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press 1993), p. 251</ref>
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The film’s depiction of slavery in New Kingdom Egypt is also somewhat complex and problematic. There were a number of “Asiatics” as the Egyptians called them (people from the Levant, such as the Hebrews) living in Egypt during the New Kingdom, especially in the Delta, but it is difficult to call all of them slaves. Many were prisoners of war, some were dissidents and refugees, while others were merchants, and some were in fact slaves. <ref> Redford, Donald B. <i>Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times.</i> (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1992), p. 221</ref> With that said, the form of slavery as it was depicted in the movie was more like “chattel” slavery that was common in the early modern Atlantic world. The Egyptians never practiced chattel slavery and Egyptians could be slaves as well as other non-Egyptian ethnicities. <ref> Shaw and Nicholson, p. 272</ref>
The 2014 film <i>Exodus: Gods and Kings</i> is a new telling of the biblical Exodus story for the silver screen. It has plenty of action, great sets and CGI, and some decent acting. In terms of its historical accuracy, the film gets many of the bigger aspects of ancient Egyptian and Late Bronze Age history correct but gets many details wrong. With that said, it is a movie worth checking out if you are interested in the history of the ancient world.
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====Related DailyHistory.org Articles====
{{#dpl:category=Historically Accurate|ordermethod=firstedit|order=descending|count=7}}
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====References====
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[[Category: Historically Accurate]] [[Category: Ancient History]] [[Category: Ancient Egyptian History]] [[Category: Biblical History]] [[Category:Wikis]]
