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Armies of the Ancient Near East 3,000 BC to 539 BC

Organisation, tactics, dress and equipment. 210 illustrations and 9 maps.

by Nigel StiUman and Nigel Tallis

Egyptian Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, New Kingdom, S,itc, libyan, Nubian, KU5hiu~. Sumerian, Akkadian, Eblaitc. Amoritc, HammUl1lpic lhhylonian, Old Assyrian, Human, MilaMian, K.ssitc, Middle: Assyrian, Neo Assyrian, Neo Babylonia n, Chaldun, GUlian, Mannatan, Iranian, Cimmerian, Hyluos. Canaanite, Syrian, Ugaritic, Hebrew, Philistine, Midianitc Arab, Cypriot, Phoenician, Hanian. Hillile, Anatolian, Sea Peoples, Neo Hin ile, Aramaun, Phrygian. Lydian. Uranian, Elamilc, Minoan. Mycenaean, Harappan.

A WARGAMES RESEARCH GROUP PUBLICATION

INTRODUCTION This book. chronologically the finl in the W.R.G. series, attempts the diflkulltaP: of ducribingl he military organisa-

tion and equipment of the many civilisations ohhe ancienl Near East over a period of 2,500 years. It is du.slening to note tbatthis span oftime is equivalent to half of all recorded history and that a single companion volume, should anyone wish to attempt it, wou.ld have to encompass the period 539 BC to 1922 AD! We hope that our researches will rcOca the: .... St amount of archacologiaJ, pictorial and tarual evidence ..... hich has survived and been rW)vered from this region. It is a matter of some rcp-ct that tbe results of much of the research accumulated in this century has tended to be disperKd among a variety of sometimes obscure publications. Consequently, it is seldom that this mJterial is aplo!ted to its full potcoti.al IS a source for military history. We have attempted 10 be as comptcbensive IS possible and to make UK of the lcuer known sourcCI and the most recent ruearm. Since, although scveral works have coocen~raled on the military aspectS oflhe: bener·known general 'Biblical' nations in some depth, other nations, such IS MitaMi and Urartu, which probably had a greater impact in terms of military developments, hive remained in comparative obKurity. Previous research has also tended 10 focus on the better documented periods while the later dynutiCi of Egypt and the: Early Dynastic and Akkadian periods in Muopotamia for aample, are often summarily dealt with. Within tbe usually accepted ceographical limits of the Near East (Anatolia, Syria, Egypt, the Levant, Mesopotamia and Iran) _ have included the Aegean civilisations because their military orpniAlion and equipment .....ere dosely related to their Ncar Eastern contemporarin and because It times they played a signiflcant pan in the politia of the re,ion. For the ,eneral reader the nature of the evideo« with which we are dealin, often presents problems of interpretation. Ancient styles of an appear unusual and di$toned to the modem eye, the: anistic principles and aims of ancient anisllare frequently not our own. M regards written evidence, we do not pouess the type of histories and military manuab that researches ofiuer ages can dnw on. Instead, one musl utilise the often equally valuable royal annals, chrooklcs, letters, commemorative stelae and all manner of bureaucratic evidence in order (0 ,lean items or military relevance. That many nations were fully competcot in mJtten of organisation, tletia and drill is clear from the Idministrative and economk tats which were conamed only with day to day reality. Obviously, ..... hat can be Aid concerning the various nations ofthc Near Easl at diffuent periods depends on the nature and amount ofthc IUMv' inC cvidencc. HoftYU, this evidence is subject 10 cmtinual iDCale and rc-inttrpmllion IS arch:teoloPcal in\utiptioD in the repon procrCIKI. For those readers who wilb to pursue tbe subject fuMer we have included I bibliography Illhe bKlt ofthc booIt.. It. lenph well illustrates the IJlUI of infomtation lvailable. In ,eneral it lists only those works either of most usc during out research or those most nsily available for the ,eocral reader, Ind we ofTet our lpolOCicsto tbose tcholtn who were Dot' included, but whose works provided maoy valUlble inai,htl into this period of military history. We would like to thank Phil Barlter and Bob O'Brien ofW.R.G. for livin, us the: opponunity to write this boolt, and for Iheir great patiencc during the liter stages of the work. N. R. Stillman, N. C. T allis October 1984

Copyrighl 1984 © N. R. Slillman and N. C. Tallis

Note

OD

Term.laololY

Military terminolOl)', in the lanJUagcs of the nations concerned, appctn throughout in ittlic. These (emlS often defy adequate tran.llllon, .Ithough Iheir context in ancientlexu indicates their meanin,. In DUny CIJCS it is from the intensive study of such terms thlt mi litary organisa tions can be reconstructed, it is therefore most relevant to include them_ El}'Ptiao terms have been rendered II Egyptologists would pronounce the c:oruonantal skeleton written in hlc:roc.Iyphic and we have followed the convenlion of rendering the Sumerian in capitals with stpartte syllables. Fonunltciy the ocher lanrua,es can be rendered directly. PbocOKl and printed in England by Flu:iprinl Ltd., Wonhin" SIWCX 2

CONT ENTS

P.,. INTROD UCTION .....•.•.............•...................... .. ........ • ......

2

ORGANiSATION ............... . ...... .... . . ............... . ...... .... ........

5

Egypt .............•. . .••.• . • ..• ••. . . ..• • • . •..•.•••••. • •. . .. •• .... Th~ Libyans ........... . • . . •.• .... • .•....•......•. • .. •. •......•.... Nubia ..................... .......... ...............•... ..... Sum~ r and Akkad ................. .... ...............•. • ...... •.. .. Th~ Old Babylonian and Old Assyrian Kingdoms .............. . ...... ... Milanni and Mesopotamia .... . .....................•.•..•.•.... •.. .. Assyria ..... . .........................................•...... • .... Babylon ....... ...... ........•. ...•.•....•........•....• . •....•.... Canaan and Syria .....•......•••..•••••.. • •• •..... •• ... •. • • ....••... Th ~ H~br~w s . .... .......•...•.•..•.•.............•....•.•.. . .•.... Th~ Philistin~s ......................•.............•......•.... •.... Phoenicia and Cyprus ..............••• •• . ..• •. .•.. •• •.... • •••..•••.. Anatolia and lh~ Hittit~ Empir~ .......•......•......•...... • ......... Th~ Sea· Peoples ................... •... ......... .. .•.. .. .. • ....•.... Th~ Neo-Hin iles and Aramaeans ..... .... . .... . ....................... Phrygians and Lydians ..............•• • • •.•• • • • ... .. • . . . ... • • ...•... Uranu ............................. • .•....•............... • ....... Elam ............ . .................•... . ..•...............•.... ... The A~g~a n ..........•..... , .......•.• . " .•••. , . . ,' •... ".. . ...... Th~ Indus Va ll ~y ... , . .•. , .. .. , • •... , ..•. ,........... . ........ . .....

5 13 13 15

20 23 26 32 32 36 38 38 39 42 43

46 46 47 48 53

TACTICAL METHODS ..................... . .......... . . ... .... . .... . .........

53

Egypt .", ... , ....................... •.. .. • . , ... ..........•.•..... Libyans and Nubians ................ .. , .. . ... , . . . ........ . ..... Sumerian tactics ..... . ......... , ........ ,., ... ,.... . . .. ...... ... .... The Old Babylonian and Old Assyrian Kingdoms. . . . . . . . . •. . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Mitannians and Kassites .......... , ... ,............. ............. The Assyrians ...................................•. • • . •.. . ...• . .... The Babylonians ...............••• . .... • •.....••.• . ...•.• . ...•.. . .. Th~ Elamit~s ........... . . • ...... • ...... . ........ •. ... •....... ..... Canaan and Syria ................ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . •. • . . . . •. . . . . . . . . . . . Hittit ~ tactics ..................... . • . ..•.•. . ....•••••••• • . .•.. • .... Th~ N~o- H ittites and Arama~a ns ......•.............•.•..• .•.... ...... Th~ Minoans and Myc~na~ans ........ . ........... . .. , . . . •. . . . . . . . . . . . The Mountain Kingdoms ............ • .•. . •• • ... ..••. . ...••••... . •... Th~ Nomads ...................• .. • . •.. • .• . ............•. • .... • ...

58 59 59 60 60 62 63 63 64 65 66 67 68

MAJOR BATTLES OF T HE PERIOD ....... . . .. . .. . ... . . .. . .... .. ............ ..

69

DRESS AND EQUIPMENT ................. .. .... ... .... . ...... . .... . .. .......

91

SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................... . . ................. . ............

203

CHRONOLOG ICA L CHART

208

Th~

3

53

NILE D ELTA NAUK RATIS

,

~.

G UI

Lower Egypt ('

lower Eg ypt Upper Egypt Abu ( E~ph,anu,,4t 1 Ineb-hedj

1

~

f AY UMo1l

Sina i

" " "•

,

JSIWA

EGYPT AND NUBIA Egyptian Nomes

'

~11f' 1\

f8u~.m)

5

,

11

Shos-hot ep

12 Tu-il e( 1Al rul) 13 '" C HHln 14 Qu 15 Khmun Wawat 16 tc)ty. Hebenu ·_ l Ko-Sa 17 lC,nopoI") Medj.y 18 H,pponul Per- me~ed 19 10.,.,n< II ELEPHANTINE

--

SOU!

IeUIU }

NUBIA

lHumopol,,)

~~" Buhf" _

-