Re: war chariots

[Neil Maclay <nmaclay@btg.com>]

Poster: Neil Maclay <nmaclay@btg.com>

At 10:07 AM 10/15/96 -0400, you wrote:

>But consider this: You are in charge of the defense of a Bronze Age
>city-state.  There has never been a disciplined army in the history
>of the world.  To your knowledge, it's always been chariots that have
>decided a battle.  What could persuade you to divert your defense funds
>from charioteering to the expenses involved with pulling the farmers out
>of the fields to do drills?  And how would you know what specific
>techniques to drill the soldiers in?  What would you say to your
>troops to get them to stand fast against the approaching chariots?
>(Remember you can't tell them it's ever worked before).
>
>I suggest that this might not be as simple as it seems in hindsight.
>
>-- Alfredo
> 
Nice train fo argument. But the archaelogical 
record contradicts. Professional armies existed 
before chariots came on the scene. I refer to the 
reports of the contents of the library of Ebla in 
Syria. This city was conquered and burned either by 
Sargon of Agade or by his grandson Nirim-Sim (I hope 
I got the name right! ). Anyway the library of clay 
tablets was burned in the 23rd century BC and the 
tablets were thus fired and preserved. They indicate 
a military organization of a core of prfessionals 
supported by the city militia. The pictorial evidence
shows uniformly equiped troops moving in ordered formations. 
The records indicate that the militia was expected to 
train and record their provisioning while they
were doing so.

The city states of Mesopotania had been warring on 
each other for over a thousand years before war chariots 
( two wheeled, pulled by horses ) show up. The records
and pictures show that they knew about discipline but 
chariots still kicked butt.

Master Malcolm MacMalcolm, Marshal
( just say MMMMM... )

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