Late Bronze Age Military Paradigms: Trial-by-Battle and Armed Combat David G. Terrell Six Late Bronze Age (LBA) kingdoms were dominant in the western Mediterranean and in Mesopotamia between 1600 and 1200 B.C.: Mycenae, Hatti, Assyria, Babylon, Mitanni, and Egypt. The civilization they exemplified was an international, cross-fertilized one

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with common trade, technological transfer, functional norms of diplomacy, a fair amount of immigration between nations, spheres of power based on suzerain/vassal covenants, peer-to-peer international agreements based on dynastic marriage, and war.

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Warfare carried out by these six great kingdoms was fought in accordance with two distinct paradigms: trial-by-battle and armed conflict. This essay will discuss each paradigm, the forces used in support of their execution; and the battlefield tactics exemplifying each paradigm.

Trial-by-Battle

The best documented paradigm of LBA warfare consisted of ritualized, glorified trials-by-battle, described as occurring between various gods and fought by their representatives, the kings. These royal demigods, assisted

by their “ knights” or “companion s”,

and organized into dedicated chariot divisions,

fought these “duels” in response to percei

ved slights, insults, or international diplomatic failures, calling upon divine favor in their prosecutio n. It is important to understand that religion in this time and place consisted in large measure of the worship of various territorial gods, each being deemed the principal divine force for a particular locale. These gods were, in a real sense, tied to the land and mortals worshipped the gods of the land in which they resided. The ruler over the land was deemed blesse d or sanctified by the local deities and, as their direct representative, spoke in their name

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as long as the blessing of the gods rested upon him. The king, in his divine role was personally responsible for acting as commander-in-chief and champion in the field and as chief priest at home. Threats to the integrity of the land or insults directed against the person of the

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Barry S Strauss,

The Trojan War: A New History