War Books
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Berkley Trade (01 January 1999)Price: $10.20 -
W. W. Norton & Company (01 April 1999)Price: $12.21 -
Michael Wiese Productions (01 August 2005)Price: $16.47 -
Penguin (Non-Classics) (28 January 2003)Price: $10.40 -
Anchor (01 February 1996)Price: $10.20
Definition
The first war in recorded history took place in Mesopotamia in 2700 BCE between Sumer and Elam. The Sumerians, under command of the King of Kish, Enembaragesi, defeated the Elamites in this war and, it is recorded, “carried away as spoils the weapons of Elam.” At approximately the same time as this campaign, King Gilgamesh of Uruk marched on his neighbors in order to procure cedar for construction of a temple (while it has been argued that Gilgamesh is a mythological character, the archaeological evidence of a historical King Enembaragesi, who is mentioned in the Epic of Gilgamesh, lends weight to the claim that the latter was also a real historical figure).
Warfare certainly did not begin in 2700 BCE, however. The earliest pictographs of armies at war come from the kingdom of Kish, dated to about 3500 BCE. Jericho, claimed as the world’s oldest city, has provided archaeologists with solid evidence that a fortified city stood on the site before 7000 BCE. The walls of the fortress were ten feet thick and thirteen feet high surrounded by a moat thirty feet wide and ten feet deep. The bow was in use in Mesopotamia as early as 10,000 BCE and cemeteries from northern Mesopotamia to Egypt attest to early warfare on a fairly significant scale (the best known being Jebel Sahaba, Egypt and the so-called Site 117 where fifty-nine skeletons were uncovered, all of whom show clear evidence of violent death at about the same time).
War has been an important factor in creating states and empires throughout history and, equally so, in destroying them. Major advances in science, technology, and engineering have been brought about through necessity during times of war. It is written that the army of King Croesus of Lydia was once stopped by the Halys River, which seemed impossible to cross. The philosopher Thales of Miletus, a member of Croesus’ army, had a crew of engineers dig a channel up stream, giving it a crescent shape, “so that it should flow round the back of where the army was encamped, being diverted in this way from its old course and passing the camp, should flow into its old course once more.” Once the river was made shallow in both channels it was, of course, easy to cross.
Even so, with advancements in technology, war has increasingly wreaked chaos and destruction upon the lives and cities of combatants and non-combatants and, true to the origins of the name, has sown confusion throughout time.
Articles
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The Poem of Pentaur is the official Egyptian record (along with The Bulletin) of Rameses II The Great’s victory over the Hittite King Muwatalli II at the Battle of Kadesh in 1274 BCE (in modern-day Syria). So proud was Rameses of this `victory’ that he had the poem, which details his personal valor against overwhelming odds, inscribed on the walls of temples at Abydos, Luxor, Karnak, Abu Simbel and in his Ramesseum.
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Just as the Athenian Agora was home to the many legal and political headquarters of the polis, it also was home base to the all-important Athenian army. In the chronicles of ancient history, we can see how armies and navies played a vital role on the succession of power of important ancient civilizations, and Athens is no exception. The Athenian military power was a vital ingredient in the success of Athens. In ancient history, no respectable city would have gone unfortified by walls, or unprotected by an army.
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One of the most effective and enduring military formations in ancient warfare was that of the Greek Phalanx. The age of the Phalanx may be traced back to Sumeria in the 25th century BCE, through Egypt, and finally appearing in Greek literature through Homer in the 8th century BCE (and, since, has been generally associated with Greek warfare strategy, the name itself being from the Greek for `finger’). The phalanx formation was a close-rank, dense grouping of warriors armed with long spears and interlocking shields. The Greek Hoplite soldier provided his own weapon (a seven or eight foot spear known as a `doru’) and shield as well as breast plate, helmet and greaves. There was no official `training’ for a Greek Hoplite and it was the responsibility of the individual commander to make sure his troops could fight in a unified form. Philip II of Macedon changed how armies were trained and enhanced the phalanx formation by introducing the idea of the 'professional soldier' to Macedon, providing his warriors with training, a smaller shield, and a longer spear known as a `sarissa’ which, besides simply being able to inflict greater casualties at a further distance, had the added advantage of masking the formation’s movements when the sarissa’s were held in certain ways.
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After securing the eastern Mediterranean seaboard and Egypt, Alexander pushed east into Mesopotamia with the intention of bringing Darius to battle. After crossing the Euphrates river unopposed, he marched his army eastward along the foothills of the Armenian mountains before crossing the Tigris.
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After defeating Darius III at the battle of Issus in November 333 BC, Alexander marched his army (about 35,000-40,000 strong) into Phoenicia, where he received the capitulation of Byblus and Sidon. Tyrian envoys met with Alexander whilst he was on the march, declaring their intent to honour his wishes.
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Illustrations
