THE NEO-BABYLONIANS - Late 6th Century BC to Early 5th Century BC
(as always, an article with details for the unit makers in the audience
)
The Assyrian and Babylonian Empires had developed alongside each other for centuries with one then the other holding sway. When the Assyrian Empire gained a marked ascendancy during the period 745BC until their fall the Babylonians were still a force to be reckoned, and fought, with. The Babylonian royal line was by this time a mixture of the Chaldean and Aramaean tribal peoples who had taken political power over the preceding centuries. During this period the Babylonian Empire was also beginning it's decline which was to be completed by Cyrus the Great of Persia in 539BC.
The Babylonian army was very similar to that of the Assyrians with some notable differences that make it an interesting alternative to collect and play with. this is on the late armies that fought Assyria and Persia.
The Qurubuti Guard Regiments: These consisted of chariotry, cavalry and infantry on the Assyrian model.
The Chaldean and Aramaean contingent: This is where we find the greatest difference in army composition, the Babylonians relied upon massed archers as their main troop-type. These would fulfil different roles and have quite separate equipment and appearance so I will go into a little more depth than usual in describing them.
The militia: These archers were unarmoured and could skirmish or form a firing line to deliver heavy showers of arrows as the need arose.
"Heavy" archers: There are troops mentioned as carrying spears and shields in addition to their bows and these must have been able to stand in the main battle line.
Mantlet-bearers: After facing the Persian sparabara formation the Babylonians partially adopted a similar system. In this case they seem to have taken up in a more shallow formation which can be simulated by either having alternate shield-bearers and archers or with a front rank of shield-bearers and rear rank of archers. . Ideally the shieldsmen should be mostly bareheaded so a few head-swops would not go amiss.
Militia cavalry: more or less unarmoured cavalry men
Levies: During the crisis periods towards the end of the Empire huge numbers of badly equipped infantry were pressed into action, these are more or less exactly the same way as the levies and dikut mati in the Neo-Assyrian army.
Mercenaries: The Babylonians used mercenaries to bolster their armies and these can add colour and be useful on the battlefield. Greek hoplites from the Asian cities were hired in small numbers. Skythians fought for many armies during this period and a added some much-needed skirmishing ability. Arab tribesmen riding camels were used in quite large numbers and these would be useful against a foe with large numbers of cavalry (although the Arabs may be more interested in looting than fighting!).
An interesting tactic worth mentioning is that they would often deliberately open the irrigation gates to flood an area to slow their enemies and then launch an attack from behind them!
(as always, an article with details for the unit makers in the audience
)The Assyrian and Babylonian Empires had developed alongside each other for centuries with one then the other holding sway. When the Assyrian Empire gained a marked ascendancy during the period 745BC until their fall the Babylonians were still a force to be reckoned, and fought, with. The Babylonian royal line was by this time a mixture of the Chaldean and Aramaean tribal peoples who had taken political power over the preceding centuries. During this period the Babylonian Empire was also beginning it's decline which was to be completed by Cyrus the Great of Persia in 539BC.
The Babylonian army was very similar to that of the Assyrians with some notable differences that make it an interesting alternative to collect and play with. this is on the late armies that fought Assyria and Persia.
The Qurubuti Guard Regiments: These consisted of chariotry, cavalry and infantry on the Assyrian model.
The Chaldean and Aramaean contingent: This is where we find the greatest difference in army composition, the Babylonians relied upon massed archers as their main troop-type. These would fulfil different roles and have quite separate equipment and appearance so I will go into a little more depth than usual in describing them.
The militia: These archers were unarmoured and could skirmish or form a firing line to deliver heavy showers of arrows as the need arose.
"Heavy" archers: There are troops mentioned as carrying spears and shields in addition to their bows and these must have been able to stand in the main battle line.
Mantlet-bearers: After facing the Persian sparabara formation the Babylonians partially adopted a similar system. In this case they seem to have taken up in a more shallow formation which can be simulated by either having alternate shield-bearers and archers or with a front rank of shield-bearers and rear rank of archers. . Ideally the shieldsmen should be mostly bareheaded so a few head-swops would not go amiss.
Militia cavalry: more or less unarmoured cavalry men
Levies: During the crisis periods towards the end of the Empire huge numbers of badly equipped infantry were pressed into action, these are more or less exactly the same way as the levies and dikut mati in the Neo-Assyrian army.
Mercenaries: The Babylonians used mercenaries to bolster their armies and these can add colour and be useful on the battlefield. Greek hoplites from the Asian cities were hired in small numbers. Skythians fought for many armies during this period and a added some much-needed skirmishing ability. Arab tribesmen riding camels were used in quite large numbers and these would be useful against a foe with large numbers of cavalry (although the Arabs may be more interested in looting than fighting!).
An interesting tactic worth mentioning is that they would often deliberately open the irrigation gates to flood an area to slow their enemies and then launch an attack from behind them!
