1846030811.osprey - warrior 120 - hittite warrior

8/6/2019 1846030811.Osprey - Warrior 120 - Hittite Warrior

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Hittite Warrior


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nU;VOR ElRYCJ:; is a classicistlind ancient Near Easternhistorian who has publisheClextensil!ely in both areas,He is currently EmeritusProfeasorat t.he !Jniversityof New England~ Australiaand has been awarded theAustralian .Centeri'ary Medalfor Sefllice to Australi!,!nSociety and the Humanitiesin the Study of History. He hasheld teachlnqfellowshlps atnumerous. universities,including tile universities ofOxforCl and Prineeton. In 2004he wa$ historical consultantfor a BBC documentary cailedThe Truth of Troy .

ADAM HOOK_studied graphicdesign, and began his workas an illustrator in 1913;3.He specializes in detailedhistorical reconstruetlons,and has illustrated Ospreytitles on the Aztec.s, the Greeks,several 19th-century Americansubjects, and a number ofbooks in the Fortress Series.Hi;!>work features in exhibitionsand publi~tjons throughoutthe-world,


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Warrior 120

Hittite Warrior


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First publ ished in Great Bri tain in 2007 by Osprey Publishing,Midland House, West Way, Batley, Oxford 0X2 OPH, UK443 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016, USAE-mail: [email protected]

2007 Osprey Publ lshinq Ltd.All rights reserved, Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study,research, criticisrn or review, as permitted under the COpyrigllt, Designs andPatents Act, 1988, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in ar et rie va l s ys te m, o r - tr an sm itte d i~ an y fosm or ~ y. a ny m ea ns , electronic,e lectrica l, chemical" mechanicakopt ical , photocopyl ng, record Ing or otherwise,w itho ut. the prior w ritten p er-m is sio n of the cop yright o wn er. En quirie s sho uld beaddressed to the Publ 'shers,

A CIP catalogue, record for this book is available from the British LibraryISBN: 978 1 84603081 9

Page layout by Scribe, Oxford.Index by Alan ThatcherMaps by John RichardsTypeset in Helvetica Neue and ITC New BaskervilleOriginated by PDQ Digi tal Media Solut ionsPrinted ih China through Worldpr inl

07 08 09 10 11 10 9 8 7 !3 5 4 3 2 1FOR A CATALOGUE.oF ALL BOOKS PUBLISHED BY OSPREY MILITARY ANDAVIATION PLEASE CONTACT:

NORTH AMERICAOsprey Direct, c/o Random House Distribution Center, 400 Hahn Road,Westminster, MD 21157E-mail: [email protected]

ALL OTHER REGIONSOsprey Direct UK, P"O, Bm('140 Wel liQgborougll, Northants, NN'S 2FA" UK

Artist's note

A house of entertainment'Lord of the Watchtower''Chief of the Bodyguards''Man of the Weapon' - civilianssometimes called up for military serviceThe Hittite king's most prestigiousbodyguardsProfessional standing army troops

Readers may care to note that the original paintings fromwhich the colour plates in this book were prepared areavailable for private sale. All reproduction copyrightwhatsoever is retained by the Publishers. All enquiriesshould be addressed to:Adam Hook,Scorpio Gallery,PO Box 475,Hai/sham,East SussexBN272SLUKThe Publishers regret that they can enter into nocorrespondence upon this matter.

GlossaryarzanaBEL MADGALTIGALMESHEDIUjG/STUKULMESHEDIUKU.US
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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CONTENTSINTRODUCTION 4CHRONOLOGY 6

THE HIERARCHY OF COMMAND 8ENLISTMENT 10

CLOTHING AND EQUIPMENT 15nrcss Weaponry

THE HITTITES ON CAMPAIGN 21TRAINING AND DISCIPLINE 27BELIEF AND BELONGING 29THE ARMY IN BATTLE 31


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HITTITE WARRIOR

INTRODUCTIONorne 3,7()Oyears ago,at the dawn of the Late Bronze Age, a kingdomarose in central Anatolia (modem Turkey), w:hich became one ofthe great superpowers of the ancient Neat Eastern world, It was

called the kingdom of Hatti. Today, we refer to the. inhabitants. of this landas the Hittites. In their own day, the Hittites simply called themselves thepeople of the Land of Hatti. From their royal capital Hattusa, the rulers ofHatti embarked on a programme of territorial expansion that took theirarmies westwards across the face of Anatolia to the Aegean Sea, south-eastwards through northern Syria and then across the Euphrates river intoMesopotamia, In the 14th and 13th centuries Be, the Hittites controlledthe most powerful empire of the Late Bronze Age. By the 1320s BG , undertheir warlord emperor Suppiluliuma, they had destroyed their mostdangerous rival, the kingdom of Mitanni, Egypt, Babylon and Assyria werethe other great powers of the age. Their rulers formed with Suppiluliurnaa kind of elite, highly exclusive dub. They corresponded regularly withone another, exchanged gifts and addressed one another as 'My Brother'


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MediterraneaSea SYRIAN

DES'ER T


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The acropolis today. Thewell-preserved foundationsof the acropolis building wereunearthed by a succession of

Hittite kings used diplomacy as an extremely important tool inmanaging their empire, It was exercised primarily through sworn pacts,which the kings drew up with their subject rulers and their royal peers,


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1590-1525 Mursili is assassinated. The Hittite kingdom is weakened by successionstruggles. Enemy forces invade the homeland.

1525-1500 Telipinu seizes the. throne, stabilizes the monarchy and regains some ofthe Hittites' lost territories.

15CJO.- .1400 Weakness and division in the kingdom under a succession of ineffectiverulers. ln northern Mesopotamia and Syria, the Hurrian kingdom of Mitanniemerges.

1400-1350 Foundation of Hittite N.ew Kingd0m. Hatti reasserts its authority as aninternational power, with military campaigns in Anatolia and Syria. Massive enemyattacks on its homeland, however, aLmost destroy the kingdom. Hattusa is

Suppiluliuma I, as depictedin the docu-drama The Hittites.He was the greatest: of :all Hittitewarrior-kings. During hls reignin the: 14th century BC, thekingdom of Hatti became thesupreme political and militarypower in the Near Eastern world.(Courtesy Ekip Film)

in-Ia\!jj 525-1500: ((elipinuSWotl.ier~

in-law)(sen-In-Iaw)(inte/loper)

15DI:H4DO: Hanlili II (sGnofAlluwarnna?)Zidanta II (SPA?)Hu~~ya I[(son?)Muwattalli Ioterloper)


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Seal impression of the kingMursili II. Documents werevalidated by the seals of kingsand royal officials. On this sealimpression, we see two rings ofcuneiform I'wedge-shaped') signs

THE HIERARCHY OF COMMANDWho were the troops making up the Hittite army, where, did they comefrom and how were they recruited? The Great King himself wascommander-in-chief of the army. He spent part of almost every year onmilitary campaigns, often in regions far from the homeland. Prowess inwarwas an essential part of the ideology of kingship. A king was expectedto prove himself in battle, and to equal, and i f possible snrpass, hispredecessors' military exploits. Hence his need to conduct campaigns Inperson - not only to defend his realm but also, to maintain his credibilityamong his own subjects, and to ensure his troops' loyalty by bestowingupon them a share of the spoils of conquest. He had also to demonstratehis military prowess to his enemies, who were quick to seize upon a newlung's inexperience as a war leader to attack and plunder his lands. Theyoung king Mursili II, for example, who found himself upon the throneafter the sudden death of his father and elder brother, was treated withcontempt by the kingdom's enemies:

You ate a child; you knowrmthing and instil no fear in me. Yourland is now in ruins, your infantry and chariotry are few. Againstyour infantry, J have many infantry; against your chariotry, I havemany chariotry. Your father had many infantry and chariotry, Butyon, who are a-child, how can you match hirnr!Because of their vulnerability, particular attention wasgiven to training

future kings from an early age in the techniques and skills of warfare. Onat least twooccasions, crown princes received their battlefield initiation intheir early teens. The later king Tudhaliya IV was given command of a


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immediately below the king and the crown 'prince, particularly if they heldthe highly prestigious post of GAL lY IE SHEDI (Chief of the Bodyguards).Other officers, usually of princely status" bote the titles Chief of the Chariot-Warriors of the Right, Chief of the Chariot-Warriorsof the Left, Chief ofthe Standing Army-Troops of the Right, Chiefof the Standing Army-Troops

The king departs on a militarycampaign. He probably led histroops from the city through theso-called King's Gate. afterpraying for success against hisenemies at a chapel just insidethe gate. His robe and headbanddistinguish him from the rest ofhis' forces. (


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ENLISTMENTHittite texts are not very helpful for attempts to calculate the size of theHittite military forces. Obviously, the size of the force varied,depending on the nature of the military operation. We have somefigures for troops who took part in sieges; the size of a siege-force wasgoverned by the size of the besieged city and the strength of itsfortifications and defencling force. A text datin.g back a century or sobefore the Hittite period records the siege of the city of Hattus,predecessor of the Hittite capital Hattusa. Hattus was a small city,witha population of perhaps no more than 5,000, but it is likely that a forceof at least 1,500 infantry and 50 to 100 chariots would have beenneeded to breach its fortifications and.capture it. Investment of largercities like Carchemish in the Hittite period probably required asubstantially greater besieging force. Expeditionary units dispatchedagainst rebellious vassals or hostile independent states likely numberedbetween 5,000 and 10,000 troops, depending on the strength of theenemy, the su.pport they hag from other states in the region and theextent to which the Hittites could call upon assistance from loyal vassalsin the region, Fot a major engagement against another great king, theHittites undoubtedly puta much larger force into the field. In thebattle of Kadesh, Ramesses tells us that the Hittite forces numbered47,500, including3,5QO chariotry and 37,000 infantry. This figure i sprobably not exaggerated. The Hittite king drew heavily on all availableresources for his showdown with Egypt, including contingents fromfar-flung parts of his realm, and an unknown number of mercenaries.An international conflict on this scale involved tens of thousands ofinfantry and charlo try.

Throughout their history the Hittites were faced with chronic


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As we have seen, the highest ranks in thearmy were held bymembers of the royal family.None were full-time soldiers. The king himselfwas not only his kingdom's war-leader, but alsoits supreme judicial authority and chief priest.So too his sons, brothers and other members ofhis family combined military roles with judicial,religious and administrative responsibilities.Many of -the nobility who provided the kingwith his officer class had other roles as well.At least some of them constituted a kind ofland-owning aristocracy. They owned ruralestates where crops and orchards were grownand livestock raised, and joined the king formilitary campaigns on a seasonal basis. Muchof their land may have come to them as a grantfrom the king - a reward for their past loyaltyor to ensure their future loyalty. A majorincentive for serving in the army was that theyreceived a substantial part of the booty fromeach campaign, in the form of sheep, cattleand prisoners-of-war, which they used torestock their estates. Military duties constitutedbut one part of a range of responsibilitiesexercised by the king's provincial governors,particularly in the outlying districts of thehomeland "territories.

The lower levels of the officer class would have been made up of The Pharaoh Ramesses II,. from


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Soldiers of the standing army.They are in the midst of amilitary campaign and are

Conscripts from a particular district were kept together in I-Iattusa,and quartered in the same barracks. The unit in which they served andthe barrackswhere they were quartered were named after tile province


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keeping transportees together under a commander from their ownregion backfired, as Kukkulli stirred his countrymen to rebellion. Therebellion WdS promptly crushed, and Kukkulli was killed.

Clearly there were risks in not promptly dispersing groups 0 1 'prisoners from a conquered state. No doubt this particular episode ledto more stringent safeguards and tighter control over such groups. Butthere were obvious advantages in selecting, for a permanent standingarmy, conscripts from conquered countries in their physical prime,experienced in battle and fierce-spirited, For this reason, some of thestanding army was made up of recruits from one of the most formidablepeoples confronting the Hittites throughout their history: These weretribesmen [rom the land of Kaska, which occupied the mountainousPontic region along the southern shores of the Black Sea, north of theHittite homeland. Able-bodied males from this land who had peacefullysettled in Hittite territory were recruited by Hattusili illas standingtroops for the army. Hattusili had direct experience of their fightingqualit.ies, and apparently welcomed the opportunity to harness thesequalities for his own forces. He did not altogether trust them, however.They were kept under close supervision, and had limitations imposedon their movements, including a ban on entering a city in the territorywhere they were quartered.

In the peak period of the empire, the Hittite standing army wasprobably some tens of thousands strong. Generally, this was a sufficientforce to maintain order and security throughout the empire. Yet when aking had to mount campaigns on two or more fronts, received news ofwidespread uprisings in the vassal states, or was threatened by a powerfulforeign ruler, itwas time for ageneral levyof the Hittite male population,to swell tile ranks of the professional army. Troops were called up from


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Black Sea

u a tertaneanSea SYRIAN


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arrangement no doubt had its problems, since soldier-fanners must ofteh have been away on campaign preciselywhen their farms most needed their attention orsupervision. Additionally, the unsettling effects of dividingone's time between the excitement and unpredictability ofmilitary campaigns and the often tedious routine of fanninglife would hardly have been conducive to maintaininga stable productive agricultural workforce. The system ofpaying troops with;Ulotments of land may .havebeenabolished or considerably scaled clown early in Hittitehistory; but it wasextended to other forms of employmentin the king's service..Anyone paid in this way continued tobe tailed a 'Man o r the Weapon', even. after the term hadlost itsmilitary connotations.

Mercenaries were recruited from time to time, thoughprobably only when the king needed to muster a larger thannormal fighting force to confront apowerful adversary: Thebest known example of the use of mercenaries is in thebattle of Kadesh, According to Ramesses:

t,heWretched Fallen One at Kadesh [i.e, the Hittite kingMuwattalli] left no silver in the land. He stripped it of allits possessions, and gave them to all the foreigncountries in order to bring them with him to fightl .Ramesses isalmost certainly talking about the mercenary

troops that the Hittites brought to Kadesh, and hee~aggerates their role in the conflict Even so, a number of


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His raised left arm terminates ina clenched fist. The gate on which thisfigure appears is commonly known as the King's Gate, for it WaS longthought to depict a Hittite king departing for war, However, it is almostcertainly a Hittite god in warrior garb - probably the god Sharrumma,patron deity of King Tudhaliya IV (d237-1209), in whose reign, thefigure was carved. His raised left ann, and clenched fist may represent avictory salute to the k.ii'ig as he leads his troops from Hattusa at thebeginning of a campaign.

What we see is probably the basic kit of a Hittite soldier on campaign.That a god should be so represented is appropriate, for Hittite kingsbelieved that their gods literally accompanied them on the march, andran before them into battle. For a warrior, the figure wears surprisinglylittle in the way of protective armour, though it has been suggested,implausibly, that the chest-hair should be interpreted as part of a shirt ofmail. Another depiction of a warrior figure found in the Hittite capital hasa well-clad upper torso. The warrior in this case survives in fragmentaryform and has been incised On the inside of a broken ceramic bowl. He toowears a helmet with cheek and neck flaps, and has a long plume attachedto the back of his helmet. But the helmet itself is much more elaboratethan that worn by the warrior-god. It is decorated on its surface Withregisters of diagonal lines (like those on .the kilt of tbe warrior-god), has afigure-Sshaped crest and a hom-shaped protuberance. The warrior wearsa jacket, decorated with a pattern of concentric circles and with sleevesreaching just below the elbows. Thisjacket may have covered a shirt ofscale-armour. Unfortunately, we cannot be sure if the figure we have beendescribing was in fact a Hittite warrior. The piece of pottery depicting himshows only part of the original composirioncand he may have beenanenemy from the Aegean world, in combat with a Hittite warrior now lost


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to us. The scale-armour was certainly a standard part of a Hittite warrior'sprotective covering, for pieces of such armour have been unearthedin Hattusa ..A leather jacket over a shirt of scale-armour, however, wouldhavebeen extremely hot, probably unbearably so on a long route-marchin mid-summer.

Almost certainly, Hittite troops on the march clad themselves aslightly as possible. Their campaigns often took them over hundreds ofmiles, during the hottest part of the year and through desert or semi-desert terrain. The speed with which they could move and the largedistances. they could cover in a day would have been impossible if theymarched in full battle kit. This must have been donned only when theywere about to confront the enemy. Perhaps they wore their protectiveheadgear during the march as well as on the. field of battle, though in

Hittite. warriors on the march.The troops are in battleformation as they prepare toengage the enemy. (CourtesyEkip Filml


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Nt

We may gain a clearer .idea of the dressof Hittite rwarriors in battle from Egyptiandepictions of the battlefield at Kadesh, Incontrast to the more lightly dad warrior-god atHattusa, the soldiers at Kadesh wear neck-to-ankle sleeved garments. The Anatolian scholarJames Macqueen has suggested that this garmentwas tropical kit issued for use in the hot Syrianclimate, Or a sort of great-coat to be left with thebaggage-train when swift action was intended.Perhaps itwas a long coat of mail, worn over acloth garment and donned just before the battlebegan. The notable absence of shields amongthe Hittite infantry may support this suggestion,if the garments themselves provided someprotection againstan enemy's swords and spears.

To judge from both Hittite and Egyptianreliefs, even the highest-ranking Hittite officersseem not to have stood out conspicuously fromtheir troops, as far as battledress and equipmentwere concerned. From the warrior-god at Hatrusa,we probably learn as much about the commonsoldier's kit while on the march as we do aboutme kit and accoutrements of the king himself.The differences in weapons and protectiveequipment between contingents of Hittite troopswere probably determined primarily by the rolesassigned to them in the battle, and by their placesof origin.. Thus the armaments of the chariotryTho Woodof l.abwl


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SwordsThe standard Hittite weapon used by all ranksand sections of the militia was the short stabbingsword with ribbed blade and crescent-shapedpommel. The blade was sometimes slightlycurved, as in the case of the sword or daggercarried by the warrior-god in bis belt. Whileother weapons and military equipment were nodoubt stored in the baggage-train during route-marches, the short sword could be convenientlytucked into the soldier's belt, thus ensuring thatevery member of the Flittite army was at alltimes armed. Longswords also constituted partof the army's arsenal. In 1991, one such weaponwas discovered near the so-called Lion Gate ofthe Hittite capital. Itbeats an inscription" whichrecords a victory by the early 14th-century king'Iudhaliya over a western coalition of countriescommonly known from day tablet texts as theAssuwan Confederacy The inscription reads:'A s Tudhaliya the Great King shattered theAssuwan country, he dedicated these swords to the Storm God, his lord.'The sword was perhaps part of the booty of this campaign. Sickle-shapedor slashing swords, like those with which me 12 gods at Yazihkaya werearmed, illustrate anomer kind ofHittite weapon. In this case the blade wason the outer rather than the inner edge. One advantage of the sickleswordwas that it was less prone to snapping than straight-edged swords.Stabbing and slashing swords 'Wereused for fighting at close quarters,

Hittite shield, reconstructed fromrelief scenes. The leather wasstretched tight over a woodenframe. Designed for lightness,and primarily intended to parryblows, it was unlikely toWithstand a direct spear thrustor an arrow fired directly at it.(Courtesy Ekip Film)


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Bows and arrowsThe principal weapon of the Hittite chariotcontingent was the bow and arrow. There may alsohave been contingents of archers in the Hittiteinfantry, though we have no proof of this. Thehow was made of a composite of wood and homglued together, which gave it much strength andflexibility. The arrow shafts were of wood or reed,and to these bronze arrow heads, often barbed,were attached by a tang. Quivers, probably ofleather, held 20 or 30 arrows. Large quantitiesof these missiles were no doubt manufacturedalong with other weapons for the Hittite army in

government-operated armament factories, and stockpiled in thebaggage-train that accompanied the army on the march, ready for rapiddistribution to the, troops as they prepared for battle. Yet amajor conflictcould rapidly exhaust the stockpile, and it may have been commonpractice for supplies to be replenished by subject states in or near the.regions where. the army was campaigning.

A horseman with a mund shieldfrom TeUHalaf, in north-easternSyria, dating to the 10th centuryBC, now in the British Museum.(Courtesy British Museum)

least mined in sufficient quanuues to meet theHittites' needs. This situation meant that theyhad to import most and probably all of their tinsupplies, very likely from sources in Mghanistanvia east-west trade routes that passed throughMesopotamia and Syria. It thus became essential tohave some control over the regions through whichthese routes passed.


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THE HITTITES ON CAMPAIGN

Depiction of the last-knownHittite king, Suppiluliuma II, asan archer; He is also armed witha.Iance, The relief appears, alongwith a hi'eroglypilic inscriptionrecordihg S.uppiluliuma'sconquests; in the recentlydiscovered 'SQdbuf!]' buildingin Hattusa,

Em the Hittites; the thaw of the-winter snows would denote the time forthe campaigning season to begin. At this time the king. would put. histrtmps on alert, for possible mobilization against an enemy who wasthreatening the security of'his realm, or to putdowna rebellion amo)Jl5:stbisvassal states. Almost inevitably; each new year would bring a fresh cropof.crises that could only be resolved by military-force. News.ofsuch crisesw:onld be brought back by the king's messengers from various parts of thekinldonl, or sent in reports by the king's Joyal vassal rulers in trouble-prone subject territories. These communications indicated the regionswhere Hittite military intervention might be called tor. Conscious of theneed to use his military resources in the best way possible, the king had Wjudge whether a particular crisis requiredmilitary actiol1.,and i f so, howlarge a nrilitary expedition was needed to deal wi111it, and whether heshould take personal command of the operation.

Let us suppose that the king has received reports o f a major uprisingamong a number of his subject states, aided and abetted by a foreignpower. The crisis is seriousenough to warrant a general mobilization of thekingdom's military forces, and significant enough for tire king himselfto take command. However, he must leave behind a sufficiently s'u-Qllgdefence force to ensure that his homeland isprotected while the main army is avvay. This is one ofthe reasons wb;, he calls up both reservists and'dw.lian soldiers. Some of these will reinforce theranks of the. campaigning army, but others wil l beused, along wi11Ta number of the king~~permanenttroops, to guard the homeland, The king also sends


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The assembly area is also where the king will hold strategy meetingswith his chief officers. One or more of these may be members of his ownfamily. He may decide at this point to send a detachment of troopsahead of the main army, in the hope that this mere show of force willsuffice to bring the rebels to heel, or that the expeditionary force willput down the rebellion, perhaps by capturing its ringleaders, withoutthe need for committing the entire army to the operation. Or he maysend a verbal or written message to the leaders of the rebellion, seeking

The 'Temple 5' complex inHattusa, which lies close tothe King's .Gate. It includeswhat have tentatively beenidentif ied as a palace-annexand three small chapels.The king may have spenthis final hours in this precinct,communfnq with his gods and


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towriswhere silos had been constructed primarily, it seems, for storinggi-ain and fodder. for Hittite troops and their S;nirnals while mi.ccampaign. Almost 100 Hittite cities are recorded a s having thesefacilities. They are called 'seal-house cities of grain', O r 'seal-house citiesof fodder' _The enormous grain-storage facilities recently excavated inthe Hittite capital, while almost certainly on. a much larger scale thanany of the provincial 'seal-house' cities, give a good indication of whatthesestorage facilities must have been like, and the highly efficient wayinwhich grain was stored and preserved in them, free of vermin, diseaseOrdeterioration through rotting.

EVen if sufficient to keep body and soul together, the soldier's foodrations were extremely basic, and there must have been considerabletemptation for the troops to pillage the towns they passed along or nearthe campaign route. Such pilfering activities were strictly forbidden,however. No plundering or even foraging was permitted while troopswere passing through Hittite.subject states. On the other hand, the rulerof such a,state could be expected to 'provide food and drink fora Hittitearmy en route through his territory, if so requested. This provisioning-w~scovered by strict regulations, and the king guaranteed that anythingrequisitioned from the local community would be paid for in full. Verylikely, provisioning" of troops by a local subject kingdom was fairly rare,required only if the army was nmning low OJ) supplies. Yet once thetroops had passed beyond Hittite SUbject territory, they were free toplunder the lands of theirenemies, and perhaps do the same toindependent states that had no agreement with their king. They mayoften have been forced to forage for food in these states as their ownrations started to run out. .

Granaries at Hattusa, Theremains of the built grain pitsdepicted here were recentlydiscovered on the hill nowCalled Buyilkkaya, which layon Hattusa's north-easternextremity. Elsewhere in theCity, an underground storagecomplex consisting of twoparallel rows of 16 chamberseach was brought to light.


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Ambush was aconstal1t threat faced. by the troops mice they hadentetedenemy or enertly-occupied ti:mitory. Almost certainly, recon-naissaI1.ce parties w e r e regi,llatly ,s:eiltaneqd of The main tQrc 'both to $~ekout sources of food and watf..t , and tQ check fqr signs of possible surpriseenemy attacks. The nrtmost vigilance was needed. On ~me cecasion,unusual agitationan:d noise by birds near the route ahead of the litttitetroops betrayed and thwarted-an enemy ambush. O n another occasion intheearly 14thcerttut)', III 01'near a region balled Lukka in south-westernTurkeY,a.Hittite expeditionary force Wallnat so fortunate. ItS comr;h'j.nderwa~ t : t i : ' . k e 4 bya tte,acherous ally into leading his troops into an enemyambush. Thecommander was.killedand his fQrceannihilated..

A Hittite commander made every diort to draw an (memy into @penbattle > by burning the enemy's tro,ps and villages, for example, I f hesucceeded, then his fortes werealmost invariably victorious. Whereverthe Hittites fought in the Near Eastern world, tbeir hajrlefieldtraining,and the skills of their charioteers in par-ticular, almo~talways guafantee:dtheir suc.cess- provided the-enemy met them on open ground. However,an enemy that resorted to ambush, to sudden attacks and withdrawalsand to fcrcingthe Hittites to comeafter them-in mountainous at thicklyforested terrain w h e . t e chariotry was useless, could prove a , formidable,elusive and sometimes unconquerable oppOnent. Also" an enemy whosQught.pr.()t~,cti@n behind the walls-of a heavily fortified cirysometimesfUf!1ed the Hittites into a long and costly siege, where the besiegerscould end up suffering 'as much, if hdt mere than, the besieged. AHittite king often did all he could to avoid laying siege to a well,defended city,orin,deed thldrigany city by forte. The enemy was alwaygiven the option of vqluntary subwission.$hould their ruler fyjeo.t this


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Let us try to imagine the.situatiorr. The Hittite army; already wearied bythe demands of months of active campaigning far from their homeland,now had the responsibility of feeding and guarding on a trek of perhapsseveral hundred miles large numbers of unwilling transportees and evenlargermmlbersoflivestock.. Adequate supplies of food had to be found forall of these to ensure that they remained fit enough to survive the journey.This burden must have considerably slowed the army's progress andincreased its vulnerability to enemy attack. Bands ofbrigands were ready toexploit any slackening of vigilance to plunder the baggage train, rustlelivestock that had strayed from the herd, then escape with their prizesto their mountain hideouts. The booty-people needed strict, constantsupervision to ensure they made no attempt to escape.

The Hittites' transportation system caused much human tragedy forits victims. Men, women and children all became pan of the spoils ofwar. Families were tom apart, husbands and wives, chiJdren and parentswere separated, proud warriors were reduced to slavery. All down to thesmallest child were forced to undergo the rigours of walking hundreds ofmiles, often in extremely harsh conditions. Casualties along the way arelikely to have been high. For those who survived the ordeal, the prospectat the end of itwas lifelong servitude in the land of the conqueror. Verylikely there were frequent escape attempts, and no doubt recapturedescapees were severely punished in an attempt to discourage futureattempts. One way inwhich the Hittites sought to minimize such attemptswas to close off to the prisoners places to which they might escape. Localrulers whose countries might serve as possible places of refuge we'restrictly warned against providing shelter to escaped Hittite prisoners.Failure to heed this warning could result in severe reprisals.

From recently discovered letters in a provincial centre of the Hittitehomeland, another disturbing possibility has emerged concerning the


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TRAINING AND DISCIPLINETraining and discipline contributed hugely to the string of victorieswon by the Hittites on the battlefield. Unfortunately, we have littleinformation about Hittite military training programmes. Without doubt,the most highly trained troops were those of the professional army, andvery likely the reservists were also required to rep ott for training ona regular basis. The elite chariot contingent probably underwent themost rigorous training programme, under the supervision of speciallyappointed training officers. A fragmentary early Hittite text provides afew pieces of information about this programme.P Developing a high

Hittite chariot, reconstructed.Chariots had to be lightenough to ensure speedand manoeuvrability in battle,but also s.ufficientlyrobustto carry three warriors, andendure the rigours of a longcampaigning season.


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A detailed manual has survived concerning the preparation of Hittitehorses for chariot combat. It is credited to aman called Kikkwi, one of theHittites' Mitannian prison :war. The training regime for the chariothorses extended over a ad of214 days,with 32 of these days devoted tonight manoeuvres. Night training was intended to familiarize th e animalswith battle conditions under cover of darkness. Also"muchof the traveldone by the Hittite amy may have taken place at riight, to a,toidl,lnnecessaryexposure to the heat of the day. The manual contains manytechnical terms whose meanings are uncertain, bitt it is dear that muchof the training programme addressed aspect~ suchaa the horse's speed,strength, promptness to obey commands and, above all?stamina. There wasa severe culling of animals before the programme pegan. Only the fittestand strongest animals survived the cull. Indeed, the horses were bred asmuch for endurance and stamina-as for speed and manoeuvrability inbattle. Like their drivers, the horses often had to travel hundreds of milesto the battlefield, and still be able to operate at-their peak inthe battle itself

At all levels in the military hierarchy, Hittite soldiers were no doubttrained to a high level of physical fitness to ensure that even after a long,gruelling march they Were still in a state of bat de preparedne~s, ready totake on an enemy who was fresh and had simply awaited their adversary'sarrival. Above all, Hittite troops were trained to accept and act uponwithout question the commands of their superiorofficers, and never. tobreak ranks or retreat even in the face of apparently insurmountableodds. Strict discipline musthave helped ensurethat these requirementswere met. Discipline and punishment at all levels were almost certainlyharsh, though we have little specific information. Desertion was aseriouscrime, and instances of it were referred directly to the king, very likely anindication that it was a capital offence. Troops Were also expected toreport instances of disloyal acts by their bwnoffiters, and vice versa.


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Military service took an a variety of forms, and encompassed a widerange .o f duties and skills. Fulfilment of these duties required differentkinds of training, much of which probably took place on the job, underthe supervision of the soldiers' immediate superiors.

BELIEF AND BELONGINGWe have noted that the core .of the Hittite defence forces was aprofessional standing army, which was employed by the state all yearround. They were the kingdom's elite fighting farce, and no doubt tookmuch pride i.n their status. Many of them may have been handpicked bythe king himself, especially at officer level. Undoubtedly, they built up astrang sense of identity, and strang bands of loyalty within their ownranks. The first loyalty of each of them, however, was to his king, hiscommander-in-chief. Indeed itwas to the king rather than to the state thathe gave his allegiance. The standing army, therefore, was the core militarybody that gave coherence to the kingdom's entire fighting farce.

From within the ranks of the standing army, there came the mast elitegroup of all - the Icing's personaJ bodyguards. There were two groups ofroyal bodyguards. The more prestigious of them was called the MESHEDIThey were armed with spears and stationed on 24-h.our guard duty, in shiftsof 12 at a time, in the palace's main courtyard. They were the king's firstline of protection, Very likely, they. wore a distinctive uniform. They formeda close inner ring around the king whenever he went forth into and fromhis capital to take part in religious festivals, to make pilgrimages to the

Entrance to the acropolis,Hattusa. The gate-building thatwas constructed here providedofficial access to the palace froma viaduct leading from the south.It would have been guarded24 hours a day by membersof the king's elite bodyguard.Guard-rooms tlanked thegate-building's entrance.


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various holy cities of h~$realm and to lead military campaigns. They wereamong the most trusted of all the king's subjects. A second group ofbodyguards, also 12 in number at any one time, were known as the 'Menof the Golden Spear'. The principal duty of both groups was to keep theking sate from harmatall times. More than any other troops, they gavetheir royalty to the king alone. No doubt a rigorous selection processhelped ensure that they were above suspicion, and had all the qualitiesnecessary to fulfil therequirementsof their office.

The unconditional loyalty that all troops were expected to give to theking and his family is emphasized in an oath-taking ceremony thatmarked the induction of the lower order of officers and the rank-and-file troops into the army:

They bring the garments of a woman, a.distaff and a mirror, theybreak an arrow and you speak as follows: 'Is not this that yousee here garments of a woman? We have them here for [theceremony of taking] the oath. Whoever breaks these oaths anddoes evil to the king and the queen and the princes, let theseoaths change him from a man into a.woman! Let them change histroops into women, let them dress them in the fashion of womenand covertheir heads with a length of cloth! Let them break thebows, arrows, and clubs in their hands and let them put in theirhands distaff and mirrorl'"The importance of having a core militia whose allegiance was

focused on the person of the king becomes all the dearer when weconsiderthe nature of the rest of the Hittite fighting forces, and moregenerally the nature of the rest of the kingdom. Hittite armies were


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There were no doubt a number of times during a campaign whenmorale amongst the troops dropped to a low level, wbether due to thephysical demands imposed on them by harsh environmental conditions,or through shortages of rations, disease, harassment by enemy guerrillabands ora military setback. No doubt the king and his officers were fullyaware of possible morale problems and had various ways of dealing VI~ththem. Special rituals seem to have played a role in boosting moralewhen the soldiers' spirits were flagging. One of the rituals reads thus:

When it gets scary in the field for a 'lord of the army' or when all

Scribes copying treaties. Theoriginal treaties were were ofteninscribed on metal tablets (gold,silver Dr bronze). Clay tabletcopies were made by staffsof scribes for storing in thecapital's palace or templearchives. (Courtesy Ekip Film)


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axle with six-spoked wooden wheels. To begin with, it was similar to thechariot used inEgypt. It was pulled by two stallions attached to either sideofa lo'ng pole' that extended from the underside of the car. Initially theHittite chariot, like its Egyptian counterpart, contained two men - thedriver and the fighter. By the time of the battle; of Kadesh, however, theHittites had introduced a third man into the chariot. This man carried ashield that he used to protect both the driver and the fighter. The fightercould thus concentrate oil attacking the enemy, and the driver on:manoeuvring the. vehiclesarrd keeping it uptight, while the defenderfended off missiles and spear thrusts aimed at his comrades.

The fighter wasarmed with both spear-and bow and arrow. The spearmay have been used primarily in the initial battle charge; for hurling orthrusting at the enemy. After discharging this weapon, the fighter maythen have used his bow and arrow, extracting the bow from a caseattached to the sideof his chariot, and hisarrows from a..quiver slungover his back. In the. hands of askilled chariot.fighter, the bowand arrowcould be used with devastating, effect against an, enemy's infantry ranks,but ultimate victory probably depended very largely on the outcomeOf contests between opposing chariot forces. Many of the enemies.that the Hittites encountered could put chariots into the field, oftenin considerable numbers. King Hattnsili III informs us that when hegoverned the northern part of the Hittite. kingdom during his brother'Sreign, one of the rulers in the region brought no fewer than 8.00 chariotsinto battle against him. This is probably an exaggeration, but there is nodoubt that the military forces ofeven relatively small kingdoms includedsome hundreds of chariots.

Rigorous training must have given Hittite charioteers the edge overmany of the enemy contingents, But they were far from invincible,


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A: Hittite warriors


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c: Hittite chariot training


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E: Kings harnessed to a baggage wagon

: = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : _ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ~ F ; : ~ T h e ~ a n S P Q r t e e s--~--~r


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G: The battle of Kadesh


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H; Frontier duty


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infantry assumed a much more active role - in storming mountain orforest refuges, eIl,gaging the enemy in combat on a one-to-one basis,

Hittite three-man chariot. Thiscomes from an Egyptian relief


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Reconstructed baggage cart,used for carrying food andmilitary supplies (the latterno doubt including spare partsfor charlets and large reserve.sof arrows and spears] along thecampaig'n route. Once loadedup, the sides and top of the cartwould pre'sumably havebeencovered in animal skins or othermaterials stitched together.

battle over frequently rough terrain, evenassuming theymanageQ. to. survive thejourney irione piece. We. must also. spare a though; for thehorses who pulled them in battle. Even the fittest,and strongest of these animals would have hadtheir battle-preparedness seriously impaired hadthey been used as transport animals, hauling;manned chariots fOT perhaps weeks on eridbefore conflict beg


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towards an old woman pleading for her son. In actual fact, the king'sdecision not to attack was based on much sounder, more pragmaticreasons. The campaigning season wasdrawing rapidly to an end, and thetroops had a long march ahead of them to reach their homeland. Thelast thing they could have wanted was a protracted siege that wouldalmost certainly mean wintering in the field, with food supplies runningshort and with limited opportunities for replenishing these suppliesas winter deepened. Instead of admitting this fact, Mursili preferred to

Hattusa fortifications, asrecently reconstructed. Ndtethe. mujj~ric1!. construction ona stone foundation. (Courtesy'Deutsches ArchaologischeInstitut - Istanbul}


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Map showing the location


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BLACK

SYRIANDESERT

of Cyprus, and sea and landgrain routes.


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Ramessess III' (c. 1184-1" 153 BC) the ships and set fire to them in the sea. But when I arrived on dry land,

fighting force included a large number of Hittite troops who took on the


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As for what you have written to me; 'Ships of the enemy have beenseen at sea!' Wen, you must remain firm. Indeed for your part,where are your troops, your chariots. stationed? Are they notstationed near you? No? Behind the enemy, who pres s upon you?Surround your towns with ramparts. Have your troops. andchariots enter there, and await the enemy with great resolutionl"

enemy's land forces after the Hittite navy had destroyed their ships 'at sea.The size of Bronze Age fleets was small. A text from Ugarit records

that a mere seven enemy vessels were sufficient to wreak.havoc upon thecities along the eastern Mediterranean coast. Amrnurapi, king ofUgarit,sought assistance from the Hittite viceroy stationed at Carchemish onthe Euphrates river. But his appeal met witha less than enthusiasticresponse. Ammurapi WaS told that he must use his own resources toprotect his capital as best he could against the enemy:

The crisis confronting the Ugaritic king became even more desperatewhen news came that his own ships and crews were actually collaboratingwith the approaching enemy they had been sent out to repel.

Piracy and other naval operations were not confined to the high seas.Seaborne raiders often attacked cities along the coastlands of southernAnatolia, Syria-Palestine, Egypt and Cyprus, Indeed in the 14th centurya king of Alasiya wrote indignantly to the pharaoh Akhenaten, when thelatter accused the Alasiyan people of aiding and abetting the enterprisesof pirates who had been raiding his coastal cities. The Alasiyan kinghotly rejected the accusation, declaring that his country too was a victimof raids by pirates from the Lukka lands in southern Anatolia: 'Why does

A Hittite queen in her robes


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of state. Several queens, likethe wives of Suppiluliuma I andHattusili II I, played major rolesin the kingdom's political, judicialand diplomatic affairs. The statusthat they enjoyed continued forthe whole of their lives, even iftheir husbands died before them.(Courtesy Ekip Films)

process itself. :Root-soldierspenformed a variety of other duties. We havenoted that the king's two gTOUpSof bodyguards, the MESHED! and the'Men of the Colden Spear', had the principal task of guarding the king'sperson in the course of whatever activities he wasengaged upon. A greatdeal of their time was probably spent on basic sentry duty outside theking's quarters, whether in the palace in Hattusa, in royal residencesdispersed throughout regional centres of the kingdom or on campaign.


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Map showing the locations of


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tbree frontier towns (Sapinuwa,Tapikka and Sarissa) on theHittite homeland's northernand eastern peripheries.Tablet archives discoveredin these towns shed valuablelight on the dangers oftenfaced by the populationsliving in these regions.

Black Sea

Sapinuwa(Ortakoyje Tapikka(Masat) HATTUSA

Sarissa(Ku~aklI)

For this last region, we have a vivid first-hand account of the dangersand hardships experienced by the troops stationed there to guard theHittite frontier against an Egyptian attack. The account is provided ina letter, discovered in Ugarit in 1956, written by the field commanderto the Hittite king, probably the great warrior-king Suppiluliuma I(d350-1322)_l4 The last part of the field commander's name is lost. We

The Yerkapi rampart appears


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property. It was within the fortress itself that they Were fighting.' Thegarrison had stood its ground, but the crisisWasfar from over. One of theenemy was taken prisoner, and under interrogation revealed an alarmingpiece of news: the pharaoh himself was preparing to come to the region.Almost certainly this meant a major Egyptian campaign was beingplanned, under the pharaoh's personal command. 1 that happened,

to have formed part of HaHusa'sfortification system in the south.Staircases led from the groundto the top. There area numberof practical reasons for believingthe rampart was not intended tostrengthen Hattusa's defencesso much as to serve as anarchitectural monument tothe city's might and splendour.


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When all the inhabitants of the settlement were safely inside for the


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night, the bronze-sheathed wooden gates were swung shut, and copperbolts were inserted and sealed with the stamp of the authorized officer,Once the settlement's gates had been bolted and sealed, an addedprecaution was taken against a secret infiltration or surprise enemy attackby assigning a number of soldiers to bunk down for the night immediatelyinside the gatehouses. Itwould thus have been impossible for any intrudersto enter the city through the gate~ without alerting the soldiers sleepingthere, for the gates opened inwards. The following morning, sentrieschecked the horizon carefully to ensure, once more, that there were noenemy groups in me area. When the all-clear had beell given, the seal ofthe gate was inspected to confirm that it had not been tampered with, andthen broken so that the bolts could be removed and the gates opened. Thesettlement's inhabitants could now safely return to their fields.

Frontier settlements played a vital role in the security of the Hittitehomeland - particularly those located in the northern part of thehomeland, which was especially vulnerable to raiding expeditions andsometimes full-scale invasions by the Kaskan tribes. Left unchecked, thesepeoples could sweep through the Hatti land, destroying everything intheir path. In fact, much of the northern part of the homeland was formany years left in a ruined, abandoned state because of Kaskan raids.From the late 14th ce11lury onwards, however, Hittite kings instituted a


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Troops marching through a repopulation programme, rebuilding the mined and abandoned cities,

Despite reports of military successes by frontier commanders against


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the enemies, other reports make clear how fragile Hittite security oftenwas in these regions. It was virtually impossible to provide a completedefence against the hit-and-run raids into Hittite territory at which theKaskan tribesmen were so skilful. 'In twoplaces the enemy has crossed thefrontiers in great numbers', a frontier official informs the king. Raids oncattle and crops were a further problem. Abulletin from the commandingofficer in a fran tier town called Kasepurareports to the king: 'The enemymarched in great numbers in the night, in one place 600 enemy, inanother place 400 enemy, and harvested the grain_' Enemy raids on food-producing lands could have had the most serious consequences, for thehomeland was highly dependent on these territories. It was vital that theagricultural produce of the state be secured against the enemy, at all costs.Outbreaks of fever and plague were yet further hazards faced bythe local population. The worst recorded plague of all was brought backto the Hatti land by Egyptian prisoners-of-war in the aftermath of asuccessful Hittite expedition into Egyptian territory in southern Syria,The plague carried off the great Hittite king Suppiluliuma and his sonand first successor Arnuwanda. It ravaged the Hittite homeland anddecimated its population for some 20 years before it finally abated.Undoubtedly, life in the frontier settlements could be hard forsoldier and civilian alike. We should also stress that these settlementswere not merely military outposts. They were fully fledged townshipswith temples and no doubt many of the amenities of life enjoyed byinhabitants in the larger cities. The defence force was probably of mixedorigin, made up partly of regular professional troops, partly of troopslevied from provincial regions, partly of transportees from conqueredterritories now conscripted into the king's militia, and partly of called-


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Relief sculpture from the walls warriors, since they appear to have been built outside the townships. The

SITES, MUSEUMS AND


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ELECTRONIC SOURCESThe Hittites have lett us with relatively few remains of their materialcivilization. By far the most prominent archaeological site is the Hittitecapital Hattusa in xentral Turkey, about 16.0km (10Q miles) east ofAnkara near the modern village called Boghazkoy or Boghazkale. Thecity's\vallsencompass an area of about 162 hectares (400 acres).Though now in a very ruined ':state, there are still significant remains ofthe Late Bronze Age city. These include the City's three maingates,identified tbday by their sculptures - the Lion, Sphinx and 'Ring's'gates. Large parts of the city'ssouthern fortifications survive, includinga postern tunnel and an .impressive stone rampart with staircases leadingto the summit. The northern orso-called 'lower city' contains Hattusa'sroyal acropolis, where the foundations of palace buildings can stillbe seen. Close to the acropolis lies t.he massive Temple of the StormGod, the Hittites' greatest architectural achievement, covering an areaof 20,OOOsq.m (23,000 sq.yards). Hattusa h as been under almostcontinuous excavation by German archaeological teams since the. early20th century: Discoveries in recent times include 26 temples (bringingthe total number of known temples in the city tCi31), two sets oflargegranaries, sacred pools and a building now referred to as the 'Sudbnrgstructure', probably a symbolic entrance to the Underworld. Dating tothe last years of the Bronze Age, this building is embellished with reliefs,and a hieroglyphic inscription composed by the lasr known Hittite king,Suppiluliuma II. It provides valuable information about the kingdom'sfinal years. Recently, a large section of Hatrusa's fortifications has been


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Hittite reliefand fteestan(lingsqJ,:~ptute~, tablets and stamp-seals withcuneiform and hieroglyphic inscriptions, ceramic ware, weapons, tools,


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domestic utensils and ritual objects are distributed among many museums,including the British Museum, the Ashmolean Museum (Oxford, UK),the Louvre, the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, theMetropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and the archaeological museumin Istanbul. But by far the.finest.collection of Hittite.material is to be foundin the Museum of AncientAnatQIian Civilizations inAnkara. This museumhas a superb assemblage of Hittite remains as well as material from otherancient Anatolian civilizations ..The museum at Bcghazkov, near the Hittitecapital, contains some of the most recent discoveries from Hattusa. Itshould certainly be included in a Visitto Hattusa,

The Hittites have featqred in a number of television documentaries,including Michael WOod's In, Search oj th e Trojan War, by the BritishBroadcasting Corporation (BBC) ,and the BBC's later film The 11uth oflTo ' } It has also recently completed a documentary on the Hittitesentitled The D ark Llfrd r: o f Hattush(L Directed by Martin Wilson, itcontains excellent dramatic re-enactments and computer-generatedreconstructions pf the Hittite capital, and reflects up-to-date researchon the Hittites themselves, especially in their final years. The mostcomprehensive treatment 0fihe Hittites on film is the Turkish-Americanproduction Yke Hittites, directed by TOlgaOtnek of Ekip Film. Thedocu-drama ranges overalinost 500 years of Hittite history from its risein the l Zth century to i t s " follapse early in the 12thcentur:y Be. Filmingwas done on 36 archaeological sites in Turkey, Syria and 'Egypt. Fifteeninternational experts wereinvolved in the project. The film providesexcellent material f@fstudents and anyone else wishing to explorefurther the history and civilization of the Hittites. For DVDs of the film,


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COLO~UR PLATE COMMENTARY


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B: RECRUITING SCENEThe Hittites' annual and often lengthy campaigns,sometimes in countries far trorn the hornetand, were aconstant drain On the kingdom's:.actult male population. Sotoo was the dispatch of garrison forces to vulnerable frontierregions. Chronic manpower shortages led to the need forregular and comprehensive reeruiting campaiqns throughoutthe kingdom. Recruits were selected frornprlsoners-of-wartaken from a conquered city, from the civilian population ofthe homeland and from levies imposed On the subjectterritories. This last category is depicted here. It was theresponsibility ofthe authorities in each districtto decide whothe recruits would be - though slaves were banned. Formany draftees taken from distant parts of the Hittite empire,life In the Hittite army could have had little appeal. like allrecruits, they faced a hard and uncertain life, torn from theirfamilies, subject to harsh discipline and to the rigours anddangers of long campaigns. All these hardships they wereforced to undergo in the service of a king and a kihgdom forwhom they felt little er no loyalty. The only consolation was

A: HITTITE WARRIORSThe warriors depicted here are based qn Egyptian reliefs ofHittite warriors as well as oh reliefs from the Hittite world.Both are ihfantrymen from the ranks, though there, seems tohave been little to differentiate ordinary soldiers from Officersin terms of the uniforms they wore. Soldiers wore their hairshoulder length, sometimes plaited, probably to help protectthe backs of their necks in battle. All wore leather ankle-length boots" upturned at the-tees; apparently an advantagewhen rr archlr-q hundreds of miles over rough and stonyground. The torso was covered bya garment made ora lightfabric, belted at the waist, with sleevesteacninq to thewrlstsor jus,! below the elbows. Its length varied from J U S ! abovethe knees to just above the ankles. Quite possibly, eachsoldier had in his kit both typss of garment for use in differentconditions, depending on whether he was on the march,preparing for battle, laying siege to a city or confrontinq anenemy in forested, rugged mountain terrain. Helmets wereprobably worn at all times on a campaign. They were madeeither of leather or bronze. A short sword or dagger wasstandard equiprnent. The infantry carried spears ..2.1-2Am(7-8ft) in length, bl,l.t perhaps only in the front ranks, fordischarging at the.snerny in the initial battle charge. Sentriesand guards always carried spears. The: battle-axe wasalmost certainly standard issue for aU troops. Shieldsextending from chin to thigh were made of animal hidestretched tightly over a wooden frame. Their use may havebeen restricted to charfoteers and tront-Ilne infantry.

Reconstruction of theKing's,Gate, one of the threemain gates providing access to the Hittite royal capital.On the inner side of the gate is depicted an armed soldier,almost certainly intended to be a goo.equipped for war.(U.Betin atter P. Neve; courtesy Deutsches ArchaologischeInstitut - Istanbul)

that recruits frerna particular area lived and fought togetheras a militafy unit, under a comrnenderfrom the same area. In

a full moon that Illurninates the city, while its attackersremain largely shrouded in darkness. Under cover of


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tbis plate, unwilling draftees are having their names andre@ians recorded ti)y scribes, perhaps along with any skillsthey already posses's that miglit be useful to the army,~tibr to receiving their basic uniform and equipment, It was'e~sefltial to keep a record of all recruits, to ensure thatdesertion - which did occur and was harshly punished - waskept to a minimum.c: HITTITE CHARIOT TRAININGThe Hittite army's elite force was its chariot contingentIndeed, the outcome of a battle often depended very largelyon th"e effectiveness of the chariotry, Though details havenot been preserved, we Know that the charioteers wereobliged to undergo a riQorous training programme. Thisprobably became even more rigorolls when the Hittiteschanged from two-man to three-man chariots some timebefore the battle of Kadesh (1274) ..The extra man createdadditional challenges in ensuring thatthe chariot continuedto be fast, stable and manoeuvrable. in battle. From a Hittitehorse-tralninq manual, we; can concluqe that an ellipticaltrack was marked out for the training of both horses andcharioteers. Plate C shows a training session in progress. A .mishap has' occurred, One of the chariots has overturned,either because of driver error, or the failure .o f the fighterand defender to shift their Weight and lean the right wayat the right time, or because the vehicJe1s undercarriagehas Collapsed. This mishap also provides a usefl) I testfor the fallowing chariot, Which is fast bearing down uponthe overturned vehicle. The driver of the chariot mustmanoeuvre around the obstacle within a very confined

archers "firing their rnlssilas, at the defenders on the walls,who are rainif1g down fire-arrOWsaAgspear:s lJPon theatta9ker's, a grOl.lp of soldiers lal)iich an assault on the city'smain gate with ananormous wooden battering ram'. Thegate isa double-leaved wooden structure sheathed inbronze. A daylight assault on this gate had failed when thedefenders mounted a furious counter-attack at the gate'sentrance, soms of-them by suddenly oPElning and streamingthrough the gate brandi'shing swords andaxes, others bycharging out of the postern tunnel to the. left of the maingate, catching the battering contingent and its coveringarchers completely 8ft guard.E: KINGS HA,Rt4ESSED TO A BA~GAGE WAGOIIIThis a reconstruction of a recorded historical event. Afterfierce resistance, the city either known as Hahha or Hahhumon the Euphrates river finally fell to the. Hittitf:) king Hattuslil I(c.1650-20), who plundered it and. put it to the torch: 'And Imarched against Hahha and three times made battle withinthe gates. I cJestroyed Hahhaand took possesston ot itsproperty and carried i,t off to Hattusa, Two pairs of transportwagons were loaded with srlver,' The defenders who hadcourageously fought back the Hittites in three engagement~finally succumbed. A city that submitted to the Hittiteswithout resistance was spared plunder arid the slaughter ofits inhabitants, but if the city had to be taken by force, nomercy wassiiown. Hahua/Hahhum was sIJph a city .. Afterlooting everything of value within it, the Hittites razed it to theground. There was one final indignity to be inflicted,however. When the baggage wagons were being laden with

back to the Hittite homeland. Their journey often took themthrough a harsh and hostile environment that provided little


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enough sustenance for the troops themselves. It wasessential to maintain steady progress, and those who fellill or were too weak to continue were probably simplyabandoned. A sentry posted on the hill in the foregroundkeeps a lookout for signs of a possible ambush ahead. Closevigilance. also has .to be maintained over the prisoners toensure that none of them try to escape, and find refuge in aneighbouring country.G: THE SATTLE OF KADESHThe famous battle of Kadesh, fought between the pharaohRamesses II and the Hittite king Muwattalli II in 1274, is oneof the best-documented battles of the ancient world. Anaccount of it and the events leading up to it are emblazonedon the walls of five Egyptian temples. Unfortunately, we haveno correspondihg Hittite version, and the Egyptian accountis heavily biased and distorted. In spite of Ramesses' claimto have won a great victory, the battle ended in a stalemate,and the pharaoh's statement that he single-handedlydestroyed all the Hittite chariotry surrounding him isclearly a gross exaggeration. Undoubtedly Ramesses foughtcourageously and succeeded in blunting the force of thesurprise Hittite attack, but he must have had more supportthan he admits. Here the pharaoh is personally leading hischariot contingent into battle- as he may well have done -against an opposing Hittite chariot force. We see here thedifference between the two-man Egyptian and the three-manHittite chariot. There is no indication that the Hittitesbenefited in this or in any other battlefrom their innovation in

lNDE.X


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1~de:[:ei.1.0~.:;to:ml1.:itrt1tionsi1r~i~]{6wn_ i n bold.Plates ate: show n w ith p~g~..aIld'.i:ii-1p.tia'n IO.9l.t9fSin brackets.

Abu Sim15111Akhcnaren, Pharoah ~17.1.51AI.c. 'H;;Yllk'(Ari"na?) is, 5'6,';7-58AlcPlj


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978 1 84176 583 9 Warrior9781841769738 Warrior978 1 84176 950 9 Warrior978 1 85532300 1 Campaign9780 85045 6868 Elite978 1 85532 1632 Elite978 1 85532 2080 Elite978 1 '855:32659 0 Elite9781841767703 Elite9781841767826 Elite9781841764733 Essential Histories978 1 841763293 Men-at-Arms9781841764856 Men-at-Arms9781841766058 New Vanguard978 1 841769448 New Vanguard

84 Mongol Warrior 1200-1350101 Roman Auxiliary Cavalryman103 Macedonian Warrior22 Oadesh 1300 Be7 The Ancient Greeks39 The Ancient Assyrians40 New Kingdom Egypt66 The Spartan Army121 Ancient Siege Warfare126 Siege Warfare in the Roman World26 The Wars of Alexander the Great360 The Thracians 700 Be-AD 46373 The Sarmatians 600 BC-AD45078 Greek and Roman SiegeMachinery 399 BC-AD363119 Bronze AgeWar Chariots


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Insights into the daily lives of history's fighting men andwomen, past and present, detailing their motivation, training,tactics, weaponry and experiences

Full colour artwork

Unrivalled detail

Hitti te Warrior

Wnttenby Trevor Bryce, oneof the world's leading expertson the Hittites, this bookcharts the rise and fall ofa warrior people famed fortheir ferocity, who builtan empire which stretchedfromMesopotamia to Syriaand Palestine. The authorexamines their training,equipment, tactics andmotivations. Rare first-handsources describe day-to-day life,from the rituals of the king'sbodyguards to the training

cuffs, collar, and lining. Breeches werewhite, the waistcoat white or blue. Longwhite linen gaiters were introduced thatyear, to be 1o"ornover white st0ckiflgs.


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Spanish Ja.cobitesDear Sir, ,I thought some of your readers might beinterested in further details of the SpanishSoldiers who fought in the Jacobite risingof 1719, an account of which appeared inthe March 19~1 issue of MilNnryModelling. A total of 319 Spaniards sur-v.ived the ftgbtlnq, 45 surrendering atEilea Donan, 'arid the' rest, under D.Nicolas Bolano at GlenshieL They werepart of Regimiento No.3 LaCorona, whichhad been until 1717 a tercio of marineinfantry, and was- founded as the Naplestereio in 1566. Perhaps it was because ofthe Regiment's amphibious tradition that

The coat and waistcoat were much like.those of contempor


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