The Flying Pharaohs!

Despite the title, this is not an ASB premise.

Let's suppose that during that time of of one the great pharaohs, Rameses II for example, some visionary or just plain lucky inventor manages to build a floating lantern. He shows it at court, and get backing to make a bigger one, one that can carry people. He manages to build at least a one-person hot air balloon, and what might come of that?
 
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Despite the title, this not an ASB premise.

Let's suppose that during that time of of one the great pharaohs, Rameses II for example, some visionary or just plain lucky inventor manages to build a floating lantern. He shows it at court, and get backing to make a bigger one, one that can carry people. He manages to build at least a one-person hot air balloon, and what might come of that?
Probably initially used as a symbol of great propagandistic/religious value. Ascending to the heavens is an extremely potent symbol. The practical value will quickly become clear. Battlefield reconnaissance is the most obvious example, and will likely lead to a transformation of tactics. Initially the Egyptians will have a huge battlefield advantage which they may use effectively against the Hittites. I imagine the development will spread, however.

Other benefits include land surveillance for building.
 
A lot of paraplegics, quadriplegics, and outright dead people line the way for Egypt to get some nice extra recon capabilities. A primitive balloon like that is dangerous.

There's also the problem of what fabric you're going to use for it, since you'll need a lot, and fabric was never cheap. The original hot air balloon used silk, which is obviously unavailable at that point (I doubt this would spur domestication of some wild silkworm for that matter), so they'll need something else. So these are going to be rare and expensive, and probably used for ceremonial purposes only. Which doesn't preclude battlefield use--send a priest up there to "bless" the soldiers (and report what he sees).
 
I've wondered too why the hot air balloon hasn't been invented earlier than OTL. The explanation I see is that it must not be as easy as it look to build one... As mentioned, you need silk. Linen apparently can't be a replacement.

Apart from the immediate military usage, the benefit of air survey are huge: accurate cartography and land measurement lead to efficient taxation and resource management.
 
Back in the 1970s Jim Woodman was able to build and fly a linen balloon (made airtight using soot from a smudge fire).
Granted he only reached 400' altitude for a few minutes, and the Inca probably didn't actually have these, but it's a proof of concept.
 
Silk from Kos existed, and likely was spun from cocoons a f a Mediterranean moth, I forget the species.
Don't know if it was fine enough for balloons.
 
There was a timeline here once revolving around African silk (apparently there used to live a kind of silk worms but they died). That could get Egypt the cloth it needed.
 
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