may have begun as the name of a tribe but became—in the Akkadian of the
Mari scribes—a generic term for “nomads” or “bedouin.”^52 Wolfgang Heimpel
underscored the difference between the Hana and the settled Mesopotamians as
soldiers:
The life of the Hana differed markedly from that of their agricultural and urban
kin. They were experienced outdoor people and highly valued soldiers. They
could deal with lions where urbanites failed (26 106) and found the tastiest
locusts for the royal table in faraway locations (27 64). Their military prowess
is documented frequently and clearly.^53Assyriologist Nele Ziegler has recently looked closely at texts relating to the
recruitment policies of Shamshi-Adad I. Ca. 1800 BCShamshi-Adad ruled from
the city of Shubat-Enlil (Tell Leilan) and then took over both Mari and Assur.
Included in Shamshi-Adad’s instructions to his younger son, Yasmah-Adad,
whom he installed as ruler of Mari, was an order to recruit 400 nomads to guard
Shamshi-Adad’s gate. Two hundred of these nomadic recruits were to be sons of
fathers who could support them, and 200 were to be poor young men, who would
be supported entirely by the palace. Ziegler is surely correct in her conclusion
that Shamshi-Adad insisted on having a substantial number of poor men in his
body-guard because they would be especially devoted and loyal to the king who
provided their livelihood.^54
Shamshi-Adad and his fellow-kings also, of course, continued the time-honored
practice of conscripting thousands of their own subjects. In a typical Old
Babylonian kingdom were many men who owed the king ilkum (conscription)
service. This status often required service as artisans, field workers or construction
laborers, but might also require military service. In return for his ilkumservice a
man received a plot of land, which reverted to the crown when he died or left his
service. The ilkumservants conscripted for military duty may have had some
military training or experience, but other conscripts probably did not. The kingdom
kept a census indicating how many men lived in each village, and in an emergency
each village was assigned a quota of conscripts. That men so conscripted from
the villages received any training in weaponry or tactical deployment is unlikely.^55
Weapons
By the eighteenth century BCmost Great Kings in Mesopotamia and the Levant
had acquired a few chariots, which they used for display, for recreation, and
possibly for hunting excursions. In these lands, however, chariots were not yet
used in warfare: none of the Mari letters mentions chariots in a military context.
As Chapter 4 will show, there is some evidence that by ca. 1750 BCchariots were
beginning to be used in sieges in central Anatolia. If so, the Anatolian kings
not only would have acquired chariots and “tamed” horses but also would have
recruited chariot drivers and archers who were experienced enough and skilled
enough to warrant sending them and their precious transportation into danger.
Warfare in Western Eurasia 71