How did the Isrealites fight in ancient times?
(there was also another country called judah, if so them too).
Isreali warfare
How did the Isrealites fight in ancient times?
(there was also another country called judah, if so them too).
Re: Isreali warfare
Most likly like many other armies at the time, bows, chariots, slings, spears, swords and the like. I think there is an Osprey book (quite new too) detailing the specific subject you mentioned as well.
Re: Isreali warfare
Theres a great series on the history channel about this very topic. Ancient battles of the bible. Of course there are those who claim the bible is all fiction LOL.
Fighting for Truth , Justice and the American way
Re: Isreali warfare
I wonder how those folks deal with the Mesopotamian and Egyptian sources that in part at least corroborate the general events though.
"Let us remember that there are multiple theories of Intelligent Design. I and many others around the world are of the strong belief that the universe was created by a Flying Spaghetti Monster. --- Proof of the existence of the FSM, if needed, can be found in the recent uptick of global warming, earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters. Apparently His Pastaness is to be worshipped in full pirate regalia. The decline in worldwide pirate population over the past 200 years directly corresponds with the increase in global temperature. Here is a graph to illustrate the point."
-Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster
Re: Isreali warfare
After watching that program, and taking a look at the bible and other sources, I arrived at the conclusion that the ancient Isrealis where outstanding Light Infantry with a particular penchant for special operations-just as they are today.
Rotorgun
Onasander...the general must neither be so undecided that he entirely distrusts himself, nor so obstinate as not to think that anyone can have a better idea...for such a man...is bound to make many costly mistakes
Editing my posts due to poor typing and grammer is a way of life.
Re: Isreali warfare
By what I've read their exact methods and patterns varied over time (big suprise there). Obviously back when they were still a bunch of camel-herding nomads their approach was rather different from the time they were settled down in the fertile lands of Judea, which had supported towns and cities from quite early in history, and for example possessed their own war chariot fleet.
Nomads tend to fight as light infantry (cavalry not really being aorund at that time yet) already by default, as their lifestyle is good training for such light-equipement mobility-heavy tactics. Settled farmers and city-dwellers, less mobile but more used to working side-by-side and moreover richer and needing to defend their immobile possessions, conversely have always tended more towards varying patterns combining close-order heavy infantry and "aristocratic" mobile striking arms (initially chariots, later cavalry), with the light infantry and such tending to be drawn from amongst the poorer citizens, herdsmen, highland folk and similar "peripherals" of the society.
I've read one tribe in Judea seemed to specialize in what would today be thought of as "special forces" type operations. A guess could be hazarded that these folks dwelt in harsher and more rugged conditions than was the norm in the kingdom, and thus were more inclined for "hill tribe" style sneaky hit-and-run warfare.
I've also read that the Judeans at one point had serious trouble with Bedouin raiders who fought exclusively as camel-mounted archers, and were flatly impossible for the Israelite infantry to catch. It could be deduced from this that at the time they had a serious shortage of mobile strike forces and good ranged troops - perhaps the expensive chariot arm had been run down due to financial reaons (or not yet been built up), and the realm was agrarian and urbane enough that sufficient numbers of slingers and archers (normally recruited from herdsmen and hunters in such societies) could not be found ? Dang, I should really go find the damn Osprey books on the subject.
"Let us remember that there are multiple theories of Intelligent Design. I and many others around the world are of the strong belief that the universe was created by a Flying Spaghetti Monster. --- Proof of the existence of the FSM, if needed, can be found in the recent uptick of global warming, earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters. Apparently His Pastaness is to be worshipped in full pirate regalia. The decline in worldwide pirate population over the past 200 years directly corresponds with the increase in global temperature. Here is a graph to illustrate the point."
-Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster
Re: Isreali warfare
Here's a link to the book I mentioned before. If anyone's intressted.
http://www.ospreypublishing.com/titl...e=T0366~per=40
Re: Isreali warfare
There is another series on the History channel that follows the military tradition of the Isrealites. It uses the bible as reference with corraboration from Egyptian and other sources. The episode on the Exodus as a military campaign is very interesting itself including the placement of the Israelites as a documented composition of Egyptian fighting effectives in the north, but my favorites were the chronicles of the conflicts with the Hittites.Originally Posted by Gawain of Orkeny
"There is a true glory and a true honor; the glory in duty done and the honor in the integrity of principle."
"The truth is this; the march of Providence so long, that of the individual so brief, that we often only see the ebb of the advancing wave. It is history which teaches us to hope."
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