The Physics of War Read Free

one of the first in history. And the soldiers were given uniforms and some of the best weapons of the time. He also significantly improved the roads throughout Assyria.

    An Assyrian warrior.
    Chariots were still being used, but Tiglath-pileser immediately saw the advantage of cavalry, setting up a large cavalry division. The Assyrians did not have much experience with horses, and they were initially not nearly as good on them as the barbarians were. But with training they improved. At first the Assyrian cavalrymen worked in pairs, with one controlling the horses and the other shooting arrows. But soon each warrior had his own lance and control of his own horse. Cavalry eventually became the core of the Assyrian army, with thousands of cavalrymen on horses. This meant, of course, that large numbers of horses were needed, and Tiglath-pileser also took care of this. Large stables were set up to raise and care for horses.
    There's no doubt that the Assyrians were a “warring nation” right from the beginning. They were, in fact, at war most of the time they were in power. And under Tiglath-pileser they continued their warring ways, conquering country after country. Not only did Tiglath-pileser build up the cavalry; he also significantly improved the infantry. The infantry consisted of archers, shield bearers, slingers, and spearmen. Slingers, who threw stones, were frequently used to distract the enemy. Large shields were used by most nations to protect their forces against the onslaught of arrows. Arrows were usually fired high so they would drop down on the enemy; the shield bearers would therefore hold their shields over their heads to protect the infantry. Tiglath-pileser employed slingers to project stones directly at the enemy, and to protect themselves they had to lower their shields. The Assyrian archers would then fire over their heads so that falling arrows would not be deflected by their shields. Tiglath-pileser also introduced lancers; they were soldiers with particularly long spears, called lances. They were much longer than swords are daggers, and, as a result, when they were used in an attack, swords were quite ineffective against them. 4
    There was, however, a serious problem for the Assyrians. So many nations were at war at this time that cities and towns were in constant danger of being invaded, not only by other nations, but even by their neighbors. And they needed protection. Kings and rulers, with their huge egos and aggressive ways, were always hungrily eyeing the resources and wealth of their neighbors and neighboring countries. Few were satisfied with what they had. War was a natural thing, and they had to go to war not only to conquer new lands, but also to build up their treasury.
    The Assyrians were certainly guilty of this. Furthermore, it was well-known to all their enemies in the surrounding countries that they were brutal. They frequently killed entire populations, and they killed indiscriminately. They also used mass deportation as a terror weapon. If there were uprisings in any of the countries they conquered, they would deport thousands of people to other lands.Tiglath-pileser was well known for this. For example, in 744 BCE he deported sixty-five thousand people from Iran to the Assyrian-Babylonian border, and in 742 BCE he deported thirty thousand people from Syria to the Zagros Mountains in present-day Iran.
    Because of these practices, many people put considerable effort into building huge walls around their towns or cities for protection. These walls were usually several feet thick and at least twenty feet high. Several years were frequently spent building them. The earliest walls were made of mud mixed with various other materials; they were thick enough to give some protection, but it soon became obvious that they were vulnerable. Mud was not very strong. Nevertheless, an enemy would frequently bypass a city if its walls were too thick and high. It was usually too much trouble for