Late Bronze Age Resource Material

[Motylos]

When I first started to get interested in the Hittites and their contemporaries there was very little readily available in English: the Penguin book The Hittites by Oliver Gurney and the later Thames & Hudson volume The Hittites and their Contemporaries by James Macqueen were the best and most accessible publications.  I used Inter-Library Loan to get academic articles (a slow and costly process) until I studied Hittite at SOAS for two terms, when I had access to its wonderful library.  However, with the web and a plethora of books in English, perhaps it is now difficult to know where to start and what to access, and, web-wise, what to trust.  So if people are interested, I thought I would share what is available, what (at least initially) my recommendations would be to get started.  But also to generate a sharing of resources from other people's experiences.

My main thought was to provide details and short comments on the more readily available primary sources that have become available in English, specifically regarding military matters, but also looking at language and culture, which help to provide points of reference and understanding if developing a historical overview, a battle or campaign scenario or a set of wargaming rules.

If people are interested I am going to look at some recently published volumes in further postings: Jared L. Miller (2013), Royal Hittite Instructions and Related Administrative Texts.  Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature.  ISBN 978-1-58983-656-3
André J. Veldmeijer & Salima Ikram, eds. (2014), Chasing Chariots: Proceedings of the First International Chariots Conference (Cairo 2012).  Leiden: Sidestone Press.  ISBN 978-90-8890-209-3
Tamaś Dezśo (2012), The Assyrian Army: I. The Structure of the Assyrian Army; 1. Infantry.  Budapest: Eötvös University Press.  ISBN 978-963-312-075-0

[Andreas Johansson]

I'm interested in the subject, but may I suggest you stick to the default font, size, and colour in following posts? Changing them puts unnecessary obstacles between you and interested readers.

[Motylos]

I'm interested in the subject, but may I suggest you stick to the default font, size, and colour in following posts? Changing them puts unnecessary obstacles between you and interested readers.

I not sure why this font in this colour, for example, would be an 'unnecessary obstacle', Andreas?
Professionally I have always tried to work with larger font sizes, 15.5 point — for example — ideally as a minimum, and clearer typefaces, such as Georgia, in which bold and italic clearly are depicted graphically.
If this puts you off further involvement, I am sorry.

[Prufrock]

I'm sure there would be plenty of interest!

[Andreas Johansson]

I'm interested in the subject, but may I suggest you stick to the default font, size, and colour in following posts? Changing them puts unnecessary obstacles between you and interested readers.

I not sure why this font in this colour, for example, would be an 'unnecessary obstacle', Andreas?

The colour is a minor annoyance really, an unpleasant reminder of the early days of the Web when crazy font colours were everywhere. What actually makes your posts hard to read (for me) is the font size - my screen and browser settings are set to make the normal one easily readable, so yours shows up as too large for comfort.

[Patrick Waterson]

Not wishing to be in the least offputting about a promising thread, I do agree with Andreas.   Information - ideal.     Font size/colour ... arrgh!!! 

[Motylos]

I will compromise on the font colour and size.   

I hope to get some material out for this forum on Jared's book, with particular reference to military matters.

Chasing Chariots is also available as an e-book from the publishers Sidestone Press.  A bargain at £4.50. 

http://www.sidestone.com/library/?m=any&q=Chasing+Chariots

[Andreas Johansson]

It's appreciated.

The Chasing Chariots e-book doesn't look very ebook-reader-friendly, unfortunately, with multicolumn text and colour illustrations. Might end up getting the dead tree version.

[Motylos]

It is a pdf download, Andreas, and I have found it easily accessible.

It is €4.50 not £4.50, of course.

[Motylos]

In Jared Miller's Royal Hittite Instructions, the personal name Āshapāla is mentioned in two of the texts, both military, and perhaps referring to the same person, as both come from the reigns of Great Kings Tudhaliya I (c. 1420s-1390s) and Arnuwanda I (c. 1390s-1370s).  The second of these documents (No. 19) is an oath sworn by Āshapāla on behalf of himself and the troops he will provide.  These number in total 30, which are to be brought to Hattusa the Hittite capital, but which come from three different towns — 10 each from  Tapap[anuwa], Tapapahsu, and Tiya[ssilta].  In the second document (No. 14) Ashapala is listed as commander (LÚ.DUGUD) of S[ās]ana, one of at least 23 such officers, swearing allegiance to Arnuwanda, his queen Ašmunikkal, and the Crown Prince Tudhaliya.  They are all listed as commanders (LÚ.MEŠ.DUGUD), serving under the UGULA LÚ.MEŠ LI-IM — which Miller translates as 'Clan Chiefs', but could also be understood as 'Chiliarchs' or Leaders of 1,000 — of the land of Kinnara.  We have here, therefore, some indication of the make-up and recruitment of the Hittite army.  Each town supplies a 'file' of troops, ten soldiers ideally, and these are organised into the 'regiment' of the land to which they belong: the nominal 'thousand'.  Interestingly, whether or not the two Ashapalas mentioned are one and the same, the office title of LÚ.DUGUD remains the same for numbers, if we are right, from 10 to at least 30.  There is, however, differentiation in ranking in 'The Instructions of Arnuwanda for the Frontier Post Governors' (No. 17), where  the LÚ.MEŠ.DUGUD are mentioned as being of "of second rank, third rank (or) fourth rank (LÚ.DUGUD 2 pēdan, LÚ.DUGUD 3 pēdan, LÚ.DUGUD 4 pēdan".  As the Commander of the 2nd rank is mentioned first, perhaps this is the highest of the LÚ.MEŠ.DUGUD/commanders? The foremost rank of the LÚ.DUGUD is, perhaps, 'second' as the UGULA LÚ.MEŠ LI-IM is 'first'.