first armies

[VAE VICTUS]

i would like some info. on the first known armies. (sumer?)what weapons were used,tactics.ect. anything really.


napoleon after 1815

[PanzerJaeger]

Hmm? First armies ever in the history of the world or the first armies after 1815? There were already many established before 1815...

Could you be more specific.

[DemonArchangel]

In terms of the world, the first true armies (paid regulars) were the sumerians.

[Redleg]

Well I would have to say the egyptians had the first army.

The Second Dynasty, maintained the war records of raids into Nubia. None of the raid efforts were large scale or resulted in permanent conquest, but they are indicative of a desire for the wealth of Nubia. Another large exploit of the Egyptians during the Second Dynasty is the shift of a power center from Abydos to Memphis. This shift, due largely in part to resources, could also possibly have been due to the cult of the Sun god Ra beginning during this period, and also due to a want for greater political control by the king. By the end of the 2nd Dynasty an end to political opposition of north and south established a basic economic, religious and political system, which lasted well into dynasties to come, and paved the way for the more affluent Third Dynasty.

The 2nd Dynasty dates somewhere around 3000 BC.

However one might want to define what they mean by armies. As either organized bands of troops that are brought together to fight as units against an enemy - or as groups of individuals that were paid to be fighters for the state as a full time job.


Then the Archaic period of Egpyt when the unification of the settlements along the Nile happened started around 3400 BC, one can possibly assume that some type of army was fielded to force the settlements under one leader.

No time of the Predynastic offers as many questions as the period of unification of southern and northern Egypt. Exactly who conquered whom is the first. Many sources point to the event as the victory of the south over the north, yet the resulting social system resembles more that of the north than the south. Kurt Sethe and Hermann Kees, among the first to draw conclusions about this period came up with a combination of both theories: that Egypt was first unified under the north, but for one reason or another collapsed and the power was picked up by the southern kings, who kept the original form of government set up by the north. Recent archaeological evidence is beginning to discredit this, but it still seems to be among the most logical explanations. Another theory is that the south conquered the north, but adopted much of the northern culture into their own.

[sharrukin]

These are some pretty basic websites for what you might be looking for.

Egyptian army

http://nefertiti.iwebland.com/timelines/topics/army.htm

http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/war.htm

Khopesh sword;

http://members.aol.com/dargolyt/TheForge/khopesh.htm

Sumerian army

http://joseph_berrigan.tripod.com/id46.html

http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/...z/gabr0004.htm

http://www.art.man.ac.uk/ARTHIST/EStates/Freeman.htm

[Ash]

Hmm? First armies ever in the history of the world or the first armies after 1815? There were already many established before 1815...

Could you be more specific.

Well depends on the definition of 'army'.

Uniforms were first introduced during Louis XIV's reign in France. Mass conscription introduced out of bitter necessity during the French revolution when the whole of Europe declared war against France (and vice versa). I don't know when armies started relying solely on the government to provide for ordinance, pay and food (probably end 18th century).

First armies I guess would be located in early city-esque communities in Messopotamia and Egypt. Although I admit to knowing nothing about China, the Indus or Japan couple thousend years BC.