HITTITES ARMY

The Hittite army was the formation, which for the first time in history armed its soldiers in iron. The main strength of the army was the Hittite chariot, which for many years secured the reign of this nation in the region. Also, a system of alliances, in which the Hittites netted their country, provided their army infantry. The Hittites also developed a good intelligence system and logistics. These two factors were necessary to control a large state surrounded by different enemies. For the first time in history, also it used biological weapons against hostile countries.

Initially the Hittites, formed semi nomadic tribes of Indo-Europian origin, which also were engage at farming. Originally they lived up the north of the Black Sea. Maybe around the year 2500 they began their journey in the direction of today's Turkey. Around 1800 the Hittites appeared in Anatolia, where they founded a number of autonomous cities – states, conquering local population Chatti after whom they eventually adopted their name. The influence of the local population on the invaders was so large that the Indo Europeans took over the names and local titulary. According to their tradition, the Hittites were united by Prince Labarna I in the seventeenth or eighteenth century (so the Old Kingdom). The Hittites constituted a patriarchal monarchy, in which the king distributed land and titles among his relatives. Over time and successive conquest of more lands, also people unrelated with the ruler could perform certain important functions. In exchange for their position they were obliged to take an oath of loyalty to the king. In the country, without a short periors, the main power represented the military aristocracy, which transact specific agreements with the king, allowing them to retain considerable influence in the affairs of state. This system was adopted from the Hurrians. The Hittite power, after the collapse of the Old Kingdom (for unknown reasons), renewed Suppiluliuma I (1380 - 1346), who first consolidated the kingdom, and then started a fight against the superpower of that time - Mitanni, for leadership in Near East. He entered into a series of alliances with Mitanni enemies: state Hurii (Armenia) and Syrian small states. Thanks to that, after fighting variables, subjected Mitanni to his rule and conquered northern Syria, together with Damascus, setting down there the Hittites. Nevertheless, Suppiluliuma's successors were forced to fierce fights to keep their dominant position in then the Hittite world. Particularly a difficult competitor was Egypt, which ruled by Ramesses II (1291 - 1224) undertook a plan to subject the rich Syrian cities to Egypt.

One of the main factor in the emergence and development of the Hittite power was a use of iron weapons, which the technology was not known of that time. In some period the iron became several times more expensive than gold. Living in the land rich in iron, the Hittites learned, about 1500 BC, to extract iron from ore. They used this valuable knowledge to make iron tools and weapons. Heating up any ore of iron and removing dirt from it, blacksmiths dipped it into cold water and then forged it. It helped to create much more harder and even more sharper than the current bronze and copper weapons. In the production of iron, some role played some religious elements. The Hittites believed that iron ore was a gift from the gods, which occurred on the earth in falling meteorites. Therefore, the Hittites protected the secret of melting the ore, refusing to reveal it to foreign countries. As an explanation, they refuse to reveal the secrets on the ground of their religious believes.

The Hettie army, as well as its mortal enemy Mitanni, was originally built around the corps of war chariots, which were supported by infantry troops. At the head of the army stood the ruler, who was called the Great King. On behalf of the king, most military campaigns were led by en appointed by him commander. The appointment was very often determined by signs and omens, so that there was a lack of permanent body of generals, and most commanders were changed after one campaign. All military expeditions the Hittites prepared with a particular accuracy. A well-developed spy network provided relevant information about enemy forces and to-be-fight territory. Appropriate selecting the site of a battle was decisive whether army could use its main weapon - chariots. Most likely, the Hittites also introduced, for the first time in history, a kind of biological warfare. They transported on the enemy's land ill animal and infected with typhoid, smallpox and venereal diseases, women, in order to spread pestilences among opponents.

The main Hittite army stationed in the capital, Hattusa. In times of peace it was used as a police force, to carry out public works and parades to celebrate the state and religious holidays. The strength of the Hittites lied also in a system of alliances, with which they surround their country. The conquered nations usually did not completely lose their independence. In the treaties, which subjected lands were required to sing, they were obliged to tribute, the ban on the conduct of independent foreign policy and supply troops, mostly infantry. Vassals’ squads made up nearly half of the military forces the empire. The remaining part of the country was divided into provinces, where troops stationed under the Governor’s command who, in turn, was under strict control of the king. All movements of troops in the provinces, were under the king’s strict control. The Ruler controlled troops dislocations in provinces. Furthermore the king’s position was strengthen by a specific oath which superstitious soldiers took. They brought with them women’s clothes and obliged themselves to total faithfulness to the king and his family. In a case of breaking the oath they were suppose to become women and wear the women’s clothes forever. It is no a coincidence that army revolts were very rare compared with other countries. The biggest danger the for legitimate kings were palace conspiracies of ambitious relatives and aristocrats as well rebellions of the subjected nations. They were inspired by external enemies, mainly Mitanni and Egypt.

The two-horse war chariots were the main strength of the Hittite army They were introduced around 1600 years, most likely from the Hurrians. Warriors fighting on chariots, as in Mitanni or in some other Asian countries, were the army's elite. Initially, the crew comprised two persons, a driver and warrior. Both were protected by scale armour and iron helmets. The warrior had various weapons available to his disposal - a spear (as a primary weapon), sword and a bow. Fight tactics consisted of a massive frontal attack on enemy. Chariots advantage, in the direct attack, was their heavy, in the case of equality of land - speed. These factors helped break the ranks of infantry. If necessary, the attacks were repeated by successive waves of chariots. According to some opinions, the chariots of that period were quite heavy and difficult to manoeuvre. Significant changes had been introduced during the New Kingdom (1430 – 1200) period. The Hittites competed with Syrian chariots, introduced lighter type. They were crewed by a driver and an archer. In addition, about 900 BC , the Hittites constructed chariots pulled by three or four horses, with a crew of three (in addition, a shield bearer), or four people (shield bearer and a spearman). According to some theories the chariots pulled by three horses got even to China, where adapted this type of warfare from western Asia. To make the army more mobile and ensure it is not fatigue by long marches, the Hittites well-developed the transportation. Their battle wagons were not designed to cover long distances, but for purely military tasks. The chariots could not, without damage or even being destroy, to cover hundreds of kilometres of different and often inconvenient ground. Also, horses could unnecessarily got tired during long campaigns, which could have a bad effect on the strength of the army during the battle. For this reason, the chariots were broken down into parts and transported by a specially designated for this wagons pulled by donkeys or oxen. Similarly, transported were spare parts. In order to facilitate the transport and movement of troops, the Hittites began building roads on a large scale. According to some Egyptian sources, the Hittites had also cavalry. There were, however, not significant force and serve rather to reconnaissance and delivering orders, than fight itself.

Infantry in the Hittite army played second fiddle to the chariot units. During the battle the infantrymen attacked the enemy after char charges of chariots, whose task was to weaken or break the enemy lines. The role of the infantry increased when fighting took place in mountain areas, forming a natural barrier to the chariots. Infantry soldiers were also important in capturing fortified points. The footsoldiers were supplied mainly by the allies and vassals of the Hittite empire. The infantry soldiers were also recruited among modest, free Hittites who were given by the ruler (only for a period of life) a plot of land, together with the obligation of military service. However, it is impossible to say whether the Hittites were free professional soldiers or only militia. In rare cases, the ruler hired mercenary troops too. The infantry were armed with axes, short swords, bows and spears. More than 90 percent of troops were armed with long spears, which were the primary weapons of footsoldiers of that time.

The collapse of the state happened about 1200 BC. Historians link it with military pressure of so-called The Sea Peoples. Some Hittites managed to withdrew to northern Syria, where they founded several states - cities. The final blow to their existence delivered the Assyrians who conquered their organisms in 710 BC .