55,000 (give or take a few thousand) –plus mercenaries if and
when hired, and levies from subject-states if and when called upon.
THE COMPOSITION OF THE ARMY
The core of the army was a professional standing force on all-year-
round duty. They lived in military barracks, and were on constant
standby, for immediate military action. But generally, military
campaigning was a seasonal activity, carried out between spring
and early autumn. In ‘off-seasons’, full-time soldiers could be
employed on public projects, like the construction and mainten-
ance of roads, public buildings and defence works, and on policing
activities. Many members of the standing army were probably
recruited from the subject-territories. Sometimes, certain states,
like Tarhuntassa, were granted exemption from the obligation of
providing their own youth for full-time service in the Hittite army.
Otherwise, local officials were responsible for recruiting young men
from their districts and sending them to Hattusa for military
training. One can imagine that many lived in dread of a knock on
the door by the local recruiting agent. And once selected, there was
no way out, nor any chance of paying someone else to take your
place, even if you could afford it. A mild consolation for reluctant
draftees was that they joined units made up of other draftees from
their own regions, and served under officers also recruited locally.
To the above recruitment pool we should add a significant
number of the deportees brought back as spoils of war from Hittite
military conquests. As we’ve noted, many were assigned as farm
labourers to agricultural estates and to various other labour-
intensive activities, but many also helped swell the ranks of, or
make up for shortfalls in, the military forces–some as part of the
standing army, some as reservists called upon as the need arose.
The king was the army’s commander-in-chief and often led
campaigns in person, in keeping with his image in royal ideology as
a great warrior-leader. But he sometimes deputised his command
to other family members, notably the crown prince, or one of the
king’s brothers. This happened especially at times when Hittite
armies were obliged tofight campaigns in several different regions
ALL THE KING’S HORSES AND ALL THE KING’S MEN 169