• Author / Uploaded
• libellula01

Citation preview

THE END OF THE BRONZE AGE C H A NGE S IN WARfAR E AND T HE C A T A ST R O P HE C A . 12 0 0 B.C .

Robert Drews

\

I

1

""

PRI N C ET O N UN I VE RS I T Y P R E S S PR I N C ET ON, N EW J ER S E Y

i j

'[

CO N T EN TS Co pyrig ht {' 1993

by Pnn ceto n Unive rsity I'ress

Pu blished by Princet on Uni versrrv Press. 41 \X'Jlham Stree t. L IST O F lL L U ST R A TlO N .'

Pri nceton. New j ersev 0 854 0 In the United Kingdom : Prince to n University Press, Chiche ster, West Sussex

A C KN O W LE D G M EN TS

\' 11 IX

All RIgh ts Reserved AB B RE VI A n O N S

Lib rary

ol Con gress Cataloging-in-Pnbiicatirm Dat u

XI

PA RT O N E: INT ROD UCTIO N

Drew s, Ra be n. Th e en d of [he Bro nze Age: C h anges in \'(Iar fare and [he ca tastro p he ca . 120 0

p.

B. C.

i Ra ben Drew s.

C H APT ER 01':E

The Ca tas tro phe an d Its Chro no log y

3

O L\P T ER TWO

em .

Includes bibliog rap h ical referenc es an d index. ISBN 0 · 69 1-0 4811 ·8 1. Bro nze ag e-c-M edir er r.mean Regio n.

M ed iterranean Region.

2. \X'arfare. Prehisroric-

3. Chariot warfare-c-- Med irerr anean Region.

4. \V'e3pon s. Preh istor ic-c-M edirerr .mean Region . Reg ion - A nti quities .

G N 77 8 .3 .A ID 74

5 . Med uerrauean

l. Title.

199 3

930 ' .09 822 -dc2 0

92 -4 65 1 1

CIP

T his book has been com posed in Saban Prince ton Un iversity Press bo o ks arc printed on acid -free paper

Th e Ca tastro phe Surveyed 8 Anatolia 8 Cyp rus 11 Syria 13 111e Sal/them l.euant 15 Mesopotam ia 17 Egyp t 18 G reece and th e Aegean Islands Crete 26 Su m m ary 29

21

Co m mitt ee on Prod uct ion Guidelines fo r Book Lo ngevity o f the

PART rwo. ALTER N ATIV E EXPLAN ATIO NS O F TH E CATAST RO PH E

Co unci l o n Library Resou rces

C HA PTE R T HREE

an d mee t the gui delin e s for perma nence and dur ab ility o f the

Prin ted in [he Uni ted Sta res o f America

10

9

8

7

6

5

4 .J

Earthqu ak es

33

C H APTER f O UR

M igrat ion s

4H

The Egyptian Evidence 48 The O rigins of th e Thesis 5.1 Ar chaeo logical ,111.1 Historical Considerations C HA PTE R FIVE

Ironwork ing

73

C H APT ER SIX

Dro ught

77

C II APT ER SEVEN

Systems Co llapse

S5

61

vi

C O:-':T E ~T S

LIST O F ILL USTRATI O NS

( HAPTER EIGHT

Ra iders

91

PART THREE: A MILITARY EXPLANATI ON O F THE CATAST RO PH E

FIGURE I. M ap of Eastern Mediterranean, show ing ma jor sites destroyed in the Ca tastro phe

CHAPTER N INE

Preface

to

a Military Exp lan atio n of the Catastrophe

97

CHA PTER TEN

The Cha riot Warfare of th e La te Bronze Age

104

Th e Beginn ings of Char iot War fare 104 Chariotries: Numbers and Costs 106 How Chariots Were Used in Battle 113 Th e Battles at Megiddo and Kad esh 129 CHAPTE R ELEVEN

Foorsoldiers in the Late Bro nze Age

135 " Runners ": Th e Role of lnfantryrnen in Chariot Warfare 141 T he Recruitment of Infantrym en ill the Late BrOllZe Age 147 infantry For ces in the Catastrop he 157

CHA PTER 1WELVE

Inf antry a nd Horse Troops in th e Earl y Iron Age

164

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Ch anges in Armor a nd Weapons at th e End of the Bronze Age

Armor 174 Javelins , Sp ears, and Lan ces Sw ords 192

180

CHA PTER FOURTEEN

The End of C ha riot War fare in the C atast ro phe BIBLIO GRAPHY I NDEX

245

227

209

174

FIGUR!" 2. Tanged, ellip tica l weapon-heads of th e late second millenn ium : a. RS 1l0/99, fro m Catast ro phe de struction level at Uga rit ; 7 em. ; after Yon et aI., " O rga nisatio n," figure 28 b. RS 80/270, fro m Catastrophe destruction level at Ugarit; 8.5 crn. ; after Yon et a l., "Organisarion.," figure 27 c. J 1 3; from EI Kh adr, Isr ael ; 9.2 em.; aft er Cross and Mil ik, "Typological Study, n figure 2 d. Fro m Mycenae; 13 .7 cm.; after Avila, Lan zen spitzen, Tafel 28 , no. 76 9 e. Fro m Hazar; head , 8.5 em ., sho e, 4 crn.; after Yadin et aI., Ha zar , vols . 3-4, plate 347 , nos. 3 and 6 FIGURE 3 . Ea stern Mediterranean sw ords of the Late Bronze Age: a. Sick le swo rd from tomb of Turankh arnun ; 40 em.; after Ya din, Art of Warfare, vol. 1, 207 b. LH II rapier from Plovdiv, Bulgaria; 76 crn.; after Sanda rs, " Later Aegean Bronze Swords, n plate 22 , no. 7 c. Anato lian rapier found near Bogh azk 6y; 79 em . including " killed " tang; aft er Un al et aI. , " H ittite Sword, n 47 FIGURE 4. Cur- and-thrust swo rds from the period of th e Catast ro p he: a. N aue Type II swo rd from Aran yos, Hungary; ca . 65 crn.; after Cowen, " Flange-H ilred Cutt ing Sword, n fig. 2, no. 4 b. " M erne pra h Swo rd" from Ugarit; 74 crn.; after Schaeffer, " Bro nze Sword from Ugarit, n 227. c. Longest of the four swords from " Ia maison du Grandprerre d'Ugarit" ; 73 crn. ; after Sch aeffer, Ugaritica, vol. 3,fig.223 d . N aue Type II sword from M ycenae ; 60 crn.; a fter Cowen , " Fla nge-H ilted C utti ng Sword, n fig. 2, no . 6 PLATE 1. Sen I attacking the ch ariots of the Hittite king. Line draw ing of relief from Amun temple at Ka rn ak . Plate 34 in The

9

188

197

2 02

Bat tle Relie fs uf King Set) ' I. Co urresv of rhe O rienta l lnsrirure of rhc Un iversity of Ch icago

ACK N OW U-:D G,'vl ENTS 123

PLATE 2 . " Ba rtle Scene" fresco fro m Pylo s, recon stru c ted by Pier de j ong, Fresco 22 H64 (pla re ,\1) in M abel La ng, T he Palace of Ne stor at Pylas . \ ' 0 1. 2 : T he Frescoes (Princeton : Princet on University Press, 196 9). Reprodu ced by permission of Prince ton Universit y Press. Pho tograp h o btai ned fro m rhe University of Cin cinnati

141

PLATE 3. A shardana skirm ishe r slayin g a H irrire cha rioteer a r Kade sh . Ab yd o s relief. Pho to grap h courtesy of Vronw y H ankey

144

PLATE 4. A shardana skirm ishe r cu tt ing off rhe ha nd o f a slain H irrire ch a r iotee r a r Kad esh. Ab ydos relief. Pho rogr aph co u rtesy of Vro nwy Hankey

145

PLA TE 5. Sharda na bod yguar ds of Ram esses II, a r Kadesh. Abydos relie f. Phoro grap h cou rtesy of Vro nw y Ha nkey

154

PLATE 6 . Land barrie of Ram esses III, in Yea r Eighr , agai ns t Philistine and other aggr essor s. Line drawing of relief from M cdin er H abu . Co urtesy o f the Oriental lnsrirure o f the Un ivers ity of C hic a go

15 9

PLATE 7. Sea bat tle of Rarn esscs III, in Year Eigh t, aga inst Philistine an d othe r aggressor s. Line d rawing of relief from Mediner H abu . Co u rtesy of rhe O rie nt al Inst itute o f th e Un iversity of C hicago

160

PLATE 8 . "Warrio r Vase " fro m M ycen ae, side A. Ph ot og ra p h o b ra ine d from Marburg! An Resource, Ne w York

162

PLATE 9. Seri I arracking Shos h u Bedouin in Ca n aa n. Line drawin g of relief from Arnun temp le ar Ka rna k. Plat e J in The Battle Reliefs of King Sety 1. Co urtesy of rhe Oriental lnsrirure of rhe University of C hicago

183

PLATE J O. Bartle of Rarnesses III again st Libya ns. Line d rawing of relief from Medin cr H abu . Co urtesy of the O rienta l Institute of the Univc r siry of C hicago

200

F

O R PH OTO GR APH S a nd per mission to publis h th em in thi s book I a m gra tef ul ro the O rienta l lnsrirure of the University of Ch icago and to Princeton Univer sirv Press. Ar the O rie nt.rl Insrirure my req ues rs we re very kind ly expedi ted by Jo hn Lar son and Lisa Sn ide r. T he pho to gra ph of t he reconstructed "Barrie Scene" fresco ar Pylos was mad e for me by Tucke r Blackburn, Rese a rch Assoc iate in th e Depa rtment of Clas sics ar rhe Universirv of Cin cinnari. For rhe illust rat io ns of "Sharda na warriors" I am indebted to Vronwy Han key, who pro rnp rly and gracio usly respo nded to my requ est for her ma tch less pho togr aph s of the Ab ydo s reliefs of rhe Barrie of Kadcsh , The " \Va rrio r Vase" illustr atio n ca me from :>-!arbu rg ! An Reso ur ce, of New York. For th e d rawing of ligures 2- 4 I rh ank !\kg Coo de Sha nnon . D rs. Joanna Scurloc k a nd Richa rd Bea l p rovided me wirh much co nsrruc rive criticism ar c1 cru cial suge of rhis ma nuscr ipt . I rh.ink rhem for sav in g me fro m errors lar ge a nd sma ll and exone ra te them en ti re ly tr oru tho se rh ar remain . I a m also inde bted, for vario us ki ndn esses and cornmu nicari on s, ro Professor s Leo na rd Albe rsrudr, Fra nk C ross, Stuart Piggo rr, Anthony Sno dgrass, and Sma rr Wh l.'eler. T he cdiror s ar Princeton Universiry Press have again been very help ful : fo r rheir good work and judgme n t I rha nk Lauren Os bo rne, Co lin Barr, and especia lly Lauren O ppenhe im. For bib lical passages, un less otherw ise , pec ihed . I have used rhe RSV rra nslar io n. T he rr.m slar iou s of occasio nal lines fro l1l Ho mer a ncl o the r G ree k a ut ho rs a re my ow n.

A Hf3R F VI AT/O NS

.1 /).'\.-1

AJ.4

A .\' rt

A T< Arcb. A llz. AS lHSOR B IA L Bib . A rcb. n eff C -\ff

CP

CQ lEI lAOS IA/~ C f

}Il L

./EA

tus

INES I SOT }SS ,\f J)'-\ I

OA t rr, A ,II.

I'1'Q 1'1'.'1 }'R lJ

A II III/ ,7 } 0/ th e Briti sh Scbo i)! a t .vtbcn« Allleric ,1II}0I/ TIl.I } 0/ Arch. reo/0 R."

.J.

B. Pr itc hard , ed ., A II Ci,"lt N t'.tr-!·:.Istt'm Tex ts ReI.ltillg t .. th e O ld Test.nn ent, 3d ed. Prin ceton : Prince ton Uni vers ity Press, J 969 A rcba eologi c.i! Reports

Arcb.iologischer Anzciger Al/ ata/i,lII Stl/ die; Bulletin 0/ th e AIIIN ic,m S,:/wo!; 0/ Oriont,i l Resc.uch Bul let »: 0/ th e l nstitute 0/ A rdJ,1eoiogy (l .{//1/101I) RilJ/ic,rI Arcb.ieol og ist Bulletin de Ca rresp o nd.m cc l lcllcn iqu » I.E.S. Edw a rds, C. J. G'ldd , "J.G .L. Ha m mo nd , a nd E. So l· lbe rge r, eds , Th e Ca mb ridge A llt-ielll HIsto ry. _i d ed . Ca mb ridge: C am h ridge Univers itv Press, 19 70 Cl.issic.tl Philology Clas sica l Q I/arterly

Israel Explor.ttion lou rn.il j ournal 0/ the A meric'lII O ri"III.rI Societ y [o urnal 0/ the Amcric.nt Rrsc.trc]... Cen ter in F,:.:vpt IOIlT/ r.1} 0/ Bih lica ! l .it cr.ttu rc [ou rnal 0/ f gypti,m A rc/Men/og)' kmrn.t! 0/ I lellenu: St udi es [c ntrn.tl 0/ Nc.i r Eastern Stu di.» [ourua l /0 1' t lu : Stu dv o{ t lu : ()}, I '}"st,IIII,'1I1 '1011 m al 0/ Sem itir Stndies .\ I;ttei}l/ngell d,'s Dvn tscb cn :l rd "'jnl,,gist!,,'11 lnstu ut s

°11l1. Alt ogether, th e ass aults up on Egypt in th e reign of Ram esses III seem to have co ns tituted th e most serio us external threat that Egypt had faced since the invasion of th e byksos in the sevente enth century B.C .

GR EECE AND T H E A EG EAN I SLAND S

None of the pa laces of Late Hell adi c Gre ece surv ived ver y far int o th e tw" 7 (1963): J 17-53. Avila, Bnmscne Lanzen- "",I Netls pitzen der griecln schen Spatb ronz czeit, Pdhistotis che Bron zefunde, pan 5, vo l. 1 (M u nich, 1983 ;. .,. V. Bianco Pe roni, Die Sclnoerter in ltalien: Le Spade nell 'Italia continentale, Prahisronsche Bronzefun d e. part 4, vol. 1 {M unich. 19 i Oj; on the publication of the Yugos lavian swo rds see Ha rding , M )'n -'nJeul1s and Europe. 163 .

100

A MI L I TAR Y E X

r L A :-J A T l O S

net 's on the rest of th e Near East - sketched a n elementar y typ olo gy,S Detailed typologies of Ne a r Easte rn ax es, daggers, swo rd s, a nd spea rs h ave since been publ ished but have been seldo m used o r even ment ioned.. Ch ario rs have been of greater interest, and it is encouragin g to note th at recently th eir technical aspects hav e received exp ert attention . 10 An understa nding of th e milita ry applications of the chari ot, o n the other hand, lags far behind .! Seve ra l assumptions a bo ut th e role of th e ch a rio t on th e ba tt lefield see m to be quite mista ke n, a nd we have apparentl y ign or ed the extent to w hich warfar e in the Lite Bro nze Age wa s "cha riot warfare. " In additio n to the ar ch aeological a nd rypolo gical studies of weap on ry and a rmor, we now have det ailed a na lyses-severa l of th em in d oct oral d issertation s at American universiries-c-of text s dealing with military matter s. Focu sin g especiall y on the technical terminology used in the do cuments of thi s o r that kingdom , the se studies provide kingd om -b y-kingd om surveys of things military at Mari, N uzi, Hatri, Uga rit, Israel, Egypt, Pylos, and Kno sso s.t • Hans Bon net , Die Waffeu d er \6lker d es alten O rien ts (Leipzig, 192 6); Walthe r Wolf , Die B