Ancient Warfare IV.4, 2010
release August 25th. Theme: Darkness descends: End of the Bronze Age Empires. Introduction: Mark Schwartz, 'Introduction to the theme'. Illustrated by Carlos de la Rocha. In the early 12th century BC, the king of the Syrian trading city of Ugarit sent a panicked correspondence to the king of Cyprus. “Father,” he stated, “the ships of the enemy have been coming. They have been burning down my villages and have done evil things to the country. Does my father not know that all my troops (and chariots) are in Hatti and that all my ships are in Lukka?” The source: Bridget McDermott, 'The source - The Harris Papyrus' The Harris Papyrus deals with important aspects of the reign of Ramesses III, who came to the throne in 1186 BC. He adopted the title Usermaatre Meryamun which means "powerful is the justice of Re, most loved by Amun." Ramesses came from an ineffective line of rulers; during this period the power and prestige that lay behind Egypt's extensive empire building had ebbed away.
Around 1200 BC, the eastern Mediterranean was rocked by troubles of some sort. Among other events, this relatively brief period saw the demise of the Hittite Empire, the destruction and abandonment of the prosperous city-state of Ugarit, and the end of Mycenaean Greece. There have been many hypotheses as regards the exact cause for the collapse of the Mycenaean palaces, including systems collapse, sudden climate changes, and natural disasters (earthquakes, droughts, and so on). Whatever caused this period of instability is still unknown, but we know for certain that most of the Mycenaean palaces in Greece were ultimately destroyed by fire, which suggests some human agency was at least responsible for dealing the final blow. Theme: Paul McDonnell-Staff, 'The weapon - Bronze battle-axes of the Middle East.' Beyond the thrown stone and primitive club – little more than a thick stick – the three most common made weapons in human history must surely be the spear, bow and axe. The first two doubtless began as hunting weapons, but the third is derived from a tool. It was with well-made polished stone axes of various sorts that the people of Neolithic times began clearing the land and turning from hunters to farmers. Theme: Duncan B. Campbell, 'Homes for heroes - Mycenaean citadels in Bronze Age Greece.' Homer’s Iliad seemed to be entirely mythical, until the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann discovered Troy. Having found the Trojans, the next logical step was to seek their Greek adversaries. Now, decades of archaeological work at Tiryns, Pylos and Mycenae have opened the door into the Mycenaean world of homer’s Achaeans. Theme:Raffaele D'Amato and Andrea Salimbeti, 'The War of the Eighth Year - the battle of the Delta.' Illustrated by Igor Dzis. The texts and images of Medinet Habu provide tell the tale of the conflict that took place in the eighth year of the reign of the Pharaoh, the invasion of Egypt by the so-called 'Sea People', last phase in the wave of destruction that had consumed most of the Late Bronze Age. In images and prose they tell of the impetuous invaders who threatened to engulf Egypt and which Ramesses claimed to have totally defeated. Theme: Ross Cowan, 'Bringer of Dark Death - The bronze sword in the Iliad.'
The Iliad is a unique source for combat in the Late Bronze Age. In Homer’s epic poem, the brazen spear is the pre-eminent weapon of Achaean (Greek) and Trojan heroes, but when spears are lost or broken, silver-studded and double-edged swords are unsheathed and rarely returned to their scabbards without having brought dark death and mighty fate to enemy warriors. Theme: Stephan Berry, 'Cutting edge technology - Elucidating the secrets of early metallurgy.' Illustrated by Andrew Brozyna Good steel is much harder than bronze, and with hindsight the transition from Bronze Age to Iron Age weaponry seems only natural. However, iron metallurgy is full of pitfalls, and the rise of the steel blade was a slow and wearisome process. Features
The traditional image of classical Greek warfare usually consists of two lines of bronze-clad hoplites forming up into ranks and charging across open ground to clash in a short, sharp, but bloody action. This view does have some merit and initially during the Peloponnesian war, generals did struggle to meet any departure from this set piece style battle. However, a close reading of Thucydides will show that there were, even during the first phase of the Peloponnesian War, two generals, one Spartan, one Athenian, who stand out as willing to innovate and adapt to prevailing conditions. The debate: Jasper Oorthuys, 'Fleets of the Empire - Finding tasks for the Italic squadrons.' Illustrated by Graham Sumner It is not overly difficult to explain why the Roman emperors maintained squadrons along the watery borders of the Empire – in the Channel, along the Lower Rhine, Upper and Lower Danube and in the Black Sea. Similarly, tasks for the (semi) permanent squadrons in Mauretania, Syria and Egypt can be pointed out. But, as Tacitus says, Rome’s strongest naval forces lay in Italy at Misenum and Ravenna, where they were apparently good for nothing more than ferrying the emperor around, assisting Tiberius in his Capri hideaway and forming willing accomplices in Nero’s mad scheme to assassinate his mother with a collapsing ship. |
