Warfare in the Ancient Near East to 1600 BC

Holy Warriors at the Dawn of History

William J. Hamblin

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2006
• Print ISBN:
  9780415255899
  9780415255882
• eBook ISBN:
  9781134520626
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Storia
• Subtopic: Storia antica

The only book available that covers this subject, Warfare in the Ancient Near East is a groundbreaking and fascinating study of ancient near Eastern military history from the Neolithic era to the middle Bronze Ages.

Drawing on an extensive range of textual, artistic and archaeological data, William J. Hamblin synthesizes current knowledge and offers a detailed analysis of the military technology, ideology and practices of Near Eastern warfare.

Paying particular attention to the earliest known examples of holy war ideaology in Mesopotamia and Egypt, Hamblin focuses on:

* recruitment and training of the infantry
* the logistics and weaponry of warfare
* the shift from stone to metal weapons
* the role played by magic
* narratives of combat and artistic representations of battle
* the origins and development of the chariot as military transportation
* fortifications and siegecraft
*developments in naval warfare.

Beautifully illustrated, including maps of the region, this book is essential for experts and non-specialists alike.

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Warfare in the Ancient Near East to 1600 BC
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of Illustrations
• Preface
• List of abbreviations
• Introduction
• 1 The Neolithic Age and the origin of warfare {to c. 3000}
• 2 Early Dynastic Mesopotamia {3500–2334}
• 3 The Akkadian empire {2334–2190}
• 4 The Neo-Sumerian period {2190–2004}
• 5 War-carts and chariots
• 6 Middle Bronze Mesopotamia {c. 2000–1600}
• 7 Warfare in the age of Mari
• 8 Mesopotamian siegecraft
• 9 Syria and Lebanon
• 10 Canaan
• 11 Anatolia
• 12 Pre-Dynastic and Early Dynastic Egypt {3500–2687}
• 13 Old Kingdom Egypt {2687–2181}
• 14 Warfare during the Old Kingdom
• 15 First Intermediate Period Egypt {2190–2061}
• 16 Middle Kingdom Egypt {2061–1786}
• 17 The military system of the Middle Kingdom
• 18 Early Second Intermediate Period Egypt {1786–1667}
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index