This is where to find recommendations and reviews of military history books covering the time period from the dawn of history to the fall of the neo Babylonian Empire to the Persians in 559 BC
Drews, Robert The End of the Bronze Age: Changes in Warfare and the Catastrophe ca. 1200 B.C. Princeton University Press; New edition (22 Dec 1995) ISBN-10: 0691025916 ISBN-13: 978-0691025919
A thought provoking and controversial book in which the author argues that the over specialised chariot dominated armies of the late bronze age were laid low by the emergence, of skirmishing infantry able to use javelins to hunt down and take out light chariots in much the same way as Stinger missiles were used to end the dominance of Mil 24 helicopter gunships in the Soviet Afghan war.
While I don’t buy all of his arguments as they stand, I do think he is on to something here with javelin armed skirmishers not interested in playing by the rules of civilised chariot warfare by attacking over chariot friendly terrain. I also think he could have strengthened his case by drawing attention to the fact that the emergence of cavalry skirmishers (able to operate over a wider range of terrain challenged the specific role of the light chariot archer (as opposed to chariots more generally, which got heavier over the next 500 years) by offering a more versatile and cheaper alternative form of mobile firepower.
Stillman , Nigel & Tallis, Nigel Armies of the Ancient Near East, 3000 BC - 539 BC Wargames Research Group. (Oct 1984) ISBN-10: 0904417336 ISBN-13: 978-0904417333
Despite being published more than 27 years ago this is still by far and away the best one volume source on the armies of the biblical era covered by the (hopefully) forthcoming “Swifter Than Eagles” “Field Of Glory Digital” module, but for many of which (such as Egyptians, Libyans, Nubians and Midianites) the unit graphics are already present in the game.
Including sections on tactics, organisation and major battles of the period (unfortunately without maps) the book also has an extensive set of illustrations of troop types which can be matched up with suitable unit graphics in the game, to widen still further the range of biblical scenarios and armies that can be created right now. For example the suitability of some of the “greek–classical”, “punic” and “spanish-ancient” battle groups to stand in for Philistines, Sea peoples and Israelites. Only now available via Amazon Marketplace and not cheep this book is still well worth the money if you want to construct scenarios from its time period.
Drews, Robert The End of the Bronze Age: Changes in Warfare and the Catastrophe ca. 1200 B.C. Princeton University Press; New edition (22 Dec 1995) ISBN-10: 0691025916 ISBN-13: 978-0691025919
A thought provoking and controversial book in which the author argues that the over specialised chariot dominated armies of the late bronze age were laid low by the emergence, of skirmishing infantry able to use javelins to hunt down and take out light chariots in much the same way as Stinger missiles were used to end the dominance of Mil 24 helicopter gunships in the Soviet Afghan war.
While I don’t buy all of his arguments as they stand, I do think he is on to something here with javelin armed skirmishers not interested in playing by the rules of civilised chariot warfare by attacking over chariot friendly terrain. I also think he could have strengthened his case by drawing attention to the fact that the emergence of cavalry skirmishers (able to operate over a wider range of terrain challenged the specific role of the light chariot archer (as opposed to chariots more generally, which got heavier over the next 500 years) by offering a more versatile and cheaper alternative form of mobile firepower.
Stillman , Nigel & Tallis, Nigel Armies of the Ancient Near East, 3000 BC - 539 BC Wargames Research Group. (Oct 1984) ISBN-10: 0904417336 ISBN-13: 978-0904417333
Despite being published more than 27 years ago this is still by far and away the best one volume source on the armies of the biblical era covered by the (hopefully) forthcoming “Swifter Than Eagles” “Field Of Glory Digital” module, but for many of which (such as Egyptians, Libyans, Nubians and Midianites) the unit graphics are already present in the game.
Including sections on tactics, organisation and major battles of the period (unfortunately without maps) the book also has an extensive set of illustrations of troop types which can be matched up with suitable unit graphics in the game, to widen still further the range of biblical scenarios and armies that can be created right now. For example the suitability of some of the “greek–classical”, “punic” and “spanish-ancient” battle groups to stand in for Philistines, Sea peoples and Israelites. Only now available via Amazon Marketplace and not cheep this book is still well worth the money if you want to construct scenarios from its time period.