Warring sides

The politics of religion,commerce, and war

The armies of Israel, Judah,and Aram

Four warring sides were the primaryparticipants in the outbreak of Israel's majormilitary conflicts in the mid-9th century Be:

Israel, Judah, Aram-Damascus, and Assyria.The HB/OT provides most of the availableinformation for the Israelite and Judeanmilitaries in this time, along with a fewreferences in Assyrian and Babylonian textsand evidence from archeological remains.The fullest biblical descriptions relate,however, to other periods of Israel's history,and the accuracy of all the biblical andextra-biblical descriptions remains debated.

As the HB/OT presents it, in the earliestperiod of a unified Israel and Judah(c.1200-1050), Israel's army was simplya militia of adult males summoned on anoccasional basis. A lack of constancy andstrength necessitated the avoidance of openbattles and the practice of primarily guerrillatactics, such as individual raids and nightattacks.9 By the reigns of David and Solomon(c. 1050-920), the HB/OT claims the presenceof a standing army that included chariotsand cavalry:

Solomon also had forty thousand stallsof horses for his chariots, and twelve thousandhorsemen ... as well as all ofSolomon's storagecities, the cities for his chariotry, the cities forhis cavalry.IO

Both biblical and non-biblical sourcesconfirm that standing armies were in placein Israel and Judah by the Assyrian period inthe 9th century. Little is known of the specificrecruitment, composition, and organizationof these forces, but they consisted of threeprimary elements: infantry, chariotry, andcavalry. Infantry formed the primary fighting

force and included spearmen, eqUipped withspears, lances, javelins, and shields; archers,utilizing bows of various sizes, carrying quiverson their backs, and often accompanied byseparate shield-bearers; and slingers, organizedin combat pairs. The infantry had units of1,000, 100, SO, and 10, and may have livedin garrisons in key cities.II Biblical texts andAssyrian reliefs portray Israelite and Judeaninfantrymen as outfitted with shields, helmets,and coats of armor, sometimes includinga scarf around the head and covering theears.12 While the prominence of cavalryremains unclear, chariotry was particularlyimportant during the reigns of Omri and Ahab(879-853). Israel and Judah did not have anavy, but biblical texts suggest the periodic useof ships for commercial purposes.13 Alongsidethe regular army core, royal guards served theking personally, and occasional levies couldraise additional temporary troops.

Only scant references exist concerningthe leadership of the Israelite and Judeanmilitary. The king was the head of the army.Offices like "captain" (Hebrew, shalish)14and "commander" (Hebrew, sar)IS wereimportant for the army and chariotry,yet the precise nature of these offices andhow one achieved them remains uncertain.

The size of the forces fielded by Israel andJudah varied in different periods and conflicts.For a battle with the Assyrians in 853, forexample, an Assyrian inscription creditedKing Ahab of Israel with 10,000 soldiers, 2,000chariots, and no cavalry, although the numberof chariots seems high here when comparedwith other forces. Archeological excavations atthe city of Megiddo have revealed the presenceof what appear to be stables, probably usedfor chariot forces during the time of Omriand Ahab. The stables had the capacity tohold nearly 500 horses. Second Kings 13: 7describes Judah's army during a time of

Warring sides 21

oppression by Aram-Damascus as consistingof 10,000 soldiers, SO cavalry, and 10 chariots,but texts reflecting other periods credit theJudean army with as many as 300,000 soldiers:

Under their command was an army of three

hundred seven thousand five hundred, who could

make war with mighty power, to help the kingagainst the enemy.16

An Assyrian relief showing stone-slingers in action.Slingers, along with spearmen and archers, formed thecore of the Assyrian infantry. (akg-images/Erich Lessing)

While there is some evidence for offensivecampaigns and city sieges undertaken byIsrael and Judah during the 9th to the 6thcenturies, their primary military tactic was theforming of alliances with surrounding states.

22 Essential Histories • Ancient Israel at War 853-586 Be

Flint stones used in slingshots during the battle of Lachishin 70 I Be. Such distance weapons were probably usedby both the Assyrian forces besieging the city and theJudean forces defending it. (British Museum, London)

These alliances were normally attempts toresist Assyrian or Babylonian hegemonyand to turn back these empires' attemptedreprisals against rebellious subordinates.Thus, the military activity of Israel and Judahprimarily served defensive purposes. Thefortifications of major cities, includinggates with strong towers and double wallsconnected by partitions, reflected thisreality and were designed to defendagainst potential sieges.

When drawn out of their cities, Israeliteand Judean forces practiced conventionalwarfare known throughout the ancientNear East, but without the well-developedmachinery and elite corps of the AssyrianEmpire. Israelite chariotry, and especiallycavalry, were limited to a supportive role.The spearmen constituted the major fightingforce at the front, with archers and slingersproviding assistance from the rear.

Israelite and Judean relations with theirimmediate neighbors vacillated betweencooperation and hostility, but the militariesof these neighbors seem to have been similarto the forces of Israel and Judah. For example,

the Kingdom of Aram-Damascus, locatedimmediately north of Israel and east ofthe Jordan River, at times constitutedIsrael's most powerful enemy and at othertimes their most significant ally. Assyrianand biblical texts provide nearly allthe available information concerning themilitary constitution and practices ofAram-Damascus, but reveal few details.The general composition of the armywas infantry, chariots, and cavalry.The same Assyrian inscription thatdescribed Israel's army in 853 assignedDamascus 20,000 infantry, 1,200 chariots,and 1,200 cavalry.

Perhaps because the various Arameankingdoms like Damascus never united intoan empire, their primary military tactic,like that of Israel and Judah, was theforming of coalitions. Damascus-ledcoalitions were active in the area ofHamath in the late 9th century and wereinvolved in several attempts to throwoff Assyrian domination of Syria-Palestinefrom the mid-9th to mid-8th centuries.The references to "governors of the districts"and "commanders" that replace kings in1 Kings 20: 14-15, 24 may also indicatean Aramean practice of organizing subduedterritories into administrative districts.