To achieve their imperialistic aims, the Hittite kings needed an efficient fighting force. A small permanent troop of infantry served as the king's bodyguard and also carried out other duties such as patrolling the empire's frontiers. However, when the king embarked on a military campaign, a much larger force, numbering up to 30,000 men, was needed.
The soldiers were recruited from the estates of the Hittite nobles or from satellite kingdoms. Sometimes their numbers were augmented by mercenaries. The army consisted of two main divisions—foot soldiers and charioteers. The charioteers were highly skilled. The horse-drawn
Chariots were built of timber and were lightweight, fast, and exceptionally maneuverable. However, the chariots were also easily overturned, so a steady nerve and a sure hand were needed to keep them upright in a charge. Each chariot carried three men—a charioteer to drive the chariot, a warrior with a spear, and a soldier with a shield to protect the other two.
Following behind the chariots came the infantry, which were armed with daggers, long spears, and sickle-shaped swords that were used with a slashing movement. Some soldiers also used axes and bows and arrows. For protection in battle, the soldiers wore pointed helmets, with hanging flaps that covered the cheeks and neck. Sometimes, the foot soldiers wore body armor made of small overlapping scales of bronze, covered by a leather tunic, and carried shields to ward off blows.
As supreme military commander, the king generally led his army into battle himself. Lesser commands were held by members of the nobility. The army was divided into units of 10, 100, and 1,000 men. All units were subjected to rigorous training that resulted in a highly disciplined and efficient fighting force, which meant that troops could be moved quickly and secretly into position to make a surprise attack.
It is not known how the soldiers were paid. A large army was expensive to maintain, and it is probable that the troops lived by plundering the local inhabitants when in enemy territory. After a success in battle, booty was distributed liberally, which gave the army an extra incentive to be on the victorious side.
This statue depicts a Hittite soldier, wearing the pointed helmet that was typically used by Hittite troops at the time of the empire.
Rock,
From Sumer and Babylon, as well as local Anatolian influences from the third millennium BCE. Hittite metalworkers produced elaborate bronze and gold ornaments, while Hittite potters produced jugs, cups, and vases, sometimes modeled in the shape of animals or birds.
The Hittites were skilled at carving. Some particularly impressive representations of their deities were found at Carchemish. Made to adorn a royal robe, these ornaments were carved in lapis lazuli and mounted on gold.
Stonemasons made giant stone relief sculptures of animals, humans, and gods. In one great sanctuary, a magnificent series of mythological scenes, discovered carved
Depicts lions and sphinxes serving gods and goddesses. Other carvings have shown gods wearing high pointed hats, short-skirted robes, and boots with long curling toes, clothes that identify them as part of the pantheon of Mesopotamian and northern Syrian gods adopted by the Hittites.
Reliefs at Carchemish suggest that music and dancing were popular with the later Hittites. One relief depicts soldiers
This gravestone depicts a Hittite nobleman and his wife from Marash, which was an important Hittite city.
World History
