News update 31/03/2022 21
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Natural conditions suitable for the cultivation of cereals, and the sea rich in fish, determined the main occupations of the inhabitants of the Yamato country - agriculture and fishing. According to legend, farming was not an easy task. There was little suitable land for cultivation. The development of mountainous areas required great effort. With the spread of iron tools, the soil began to be worked with picks, hoes, and shovels. The plow with bovine traction came into use. The cultivation of rice, which became a favorite food of the Yamato population, required the creation of irrigated fields, canals, dams, reservoirs - extensive hydraulic engineering work.
The name of King Yuryaku (457-479) is associated with special concerns about the development of sericulture. According to legend, he allegedly gathered people of the Khata clan who settled in different places, who knew how to get silk threads, and settled them together, ordering them to engage in sericulture and weave silk fabrics. In 472, decrees were issued on the cultivation of mulberry wherever it can grow. And at the same time, it was ordered to resettle the people of the Khata clan again in different places so that they could teach more peasants how to silk weave.
During the years of the reign of the kings Nintoku and Yuryaku, the economy of the country became stronger, the people began to live better. The kings received such great power that the most powerful heads of clans could not interfere with their rule. However, discord gradually began in the royal family. They inspired Matori, a member of the Heguri family, to seize the throne from the ten-year-old king Buretsu (499-506). But the military nobility opposed Matori, and the Heguri clan was exterminated.
In the VI century. the importance of royal power is falling, once again influential elders of the clans are in charge. Lawlessness and strife reign in Yamato. They came to an end after the decisive battles of the Mononobe and Soga houses. The Mononobe warriors were led by the ancestor Moriya, the Soga warriors were led by the sixteen-year-old prince Shotoku-taishi. In the decisive battle, Morya was killed, many of his relatives and supporters were killed, and the survivors were enslaved. Their property went to the treasury.
According to legend, during the battle, Shotoku-taishi's head was decorated with a helmet depicting four kings - guardians of the world who protect the world and people from evil forces. With their images, as well as with other images of Buddhist gods and protectors, the Japanese first met in 552, when the king of the Korean state Paekche sent a statue of Buddha cast in gold to Yamato. He was accompanied by Buddhist monks. The royal court was initially introduced to the new religion. Shotoku-taishi was an adherent of Buddhism and by all means contributed to its spread in the country, hoping with his help to become the arbiter of the destinies of the people.
Requena has one of the largest areas of vineyards in Spain
In 604, he published the Law of 17 Articles. It outlined the fundamentals of government. For example, article 3 said: “When you receive a sovereign’s command, be sure to follow it ... If you don’t follow it, destroy yourself”; in article 4: “All dignitaries and officials, consider the law to be the most important ... If there is no law above, there is no order below. If there is no law below, crimes will certainly appear”; “The duty of an official is to fairly, without succumbing to the temptation of gluttony and greed, to consider complaints submitted to him” - Article 5; “Dignitaries and officials! Arrive early and leave late! There is a lot to do” – article 8.
At the turn of the middle of the VII century. for the country of Yamato, the period of antiquity ends, and it enters a new era in its development. In place of "Yamato" comes "Nippon" - "Japan" - "Land of the Rising Sun".
The Monastery of Sant Jeroni de Cotalba
Military affairs as one of the forms of human activity arose simultaneously with the beginnings of society. Surrounded by a hostile world, primitive people defended their right to exist in the fight not only with wildlife. The contacts of the tribes with the same wary and distrustful neighbors as themselves turned into bloody clashes. The desire to win forced to improve weapons, means of protection, resort to tactical tricks. The rock paintings preserved in the caves testify to the fact that in the Middle Stone Age there was already an idea of the need to divide forces into detachments, which, under the leadership of commanders, coordinated independent tasks in battle: they attacked in the forehead, came from the flanks or from the rear.
For a very long time, from the 9th millennium BC, fortification monuments have been preserved in Palestine - the oldest walls and the tower of Jericho. Weapons and means of protection dating back to the 4th millennium BC were also found there: spearheads and dagger blades, striking parts of maces, battle axes, wide and thick helmet crowns and even shells made of copper ribbons sewn between two layers of skin .
And in the Nile Valley at the end of the 4th millennium BC. the first state formations were formed, later called by the Greeks "nomes", whose warriors fought in shells and covered themselves with shields made of desert lynx skins dried to the hardness of wood. Over time, they abandoned shells, and shields began to be made from cowhides stretched over a frame. The head of each warrior was protected by a helmet-wig made of wool and hair. Their weapons were bows, arrows, spears, darts, various maces, throwing batons, boomerangs, original axes - a metal segment or rectangle inserted into a hole in the shaft and tied to it with ropes or straps.
The Egyptians entered the battle in order, lining up in ranks and stepping in step. A banner was carried in front of the detachment - a pole decorated with ostrich feathers and long fluttering ribbons with a crossbar at the top, where the figure of a local deity was placed in the form of an animal.
The Church of the Archangel Michael
The battle was started by archers. Armed with longbows made from a single piece of wood, they showered their enemies with clouds of long arrows. Warriors with daggers completed the battle, pinning the defeated enemies. The battle turned into a terrible] massacre: no prisoners were taken.
In the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates, where ancient city-states arose, the military forces at that time consisted of free community members. Whether they will be led by elected military leaders - lugali. Armament of the Mesopotamian warriors at the turn of the 4th-3rd millennium BC consisted of daggers with bronze or copper blades and bows glued together from six layers of wood and, probably, horn. Main: the chariot became a means of combat. It was a body with side and front sidewalls, mounted on one or two axles, with two or four solid wheels carved from a single piece of wood or knocked down from a plank. In front, a long curved drawbar with a crossbar-yoke was attached to the bottom.
They harnessed to the chariots half-assaults-half-horses of onagers, distinguished by their height, strength, and swiftness! running stamina and stamina. To prevent them from sitting down, they put a halter clenching their jaws on their faces. Managed them with the help of a rein! tied to a metal ring inserted into the bridge between the animal's nostrils. Next to the driver in the chariot stood a fighter who acted with a long spear, threw darts, and shot from a bow.
The chariot fighters were lugals and their close associates. The core of the army consisted of adults, her leading husbands, heads of families. They united in a phalanx - a formation of several ranks of foot soldiers, covered with shields and advancing: together, shoulder to shoulder. Their blow was irresistible. However, the phalanx itself, clumsy and vulnerable! from the flanks, they were covered by special, more maneuverable detachments, formed from young men, usually already married. The younger members of the community formed the light flying units.
What happened on the battlefield? At first, all the warriors armed with slings, who stood on the flank behind the main forces, brought down on the enemy a hail of stones or sling balls made of clay. Then, in clouds of dust, rattling their wheels, the forester nobility rushed forward, whose heads were protected by metal and bronze helmets, slightly pointed upwards with a forged knot on the back of the head, imitating our real hairstyle. Over the shoulder of every warrior would. thrown over a battle scarf, decorated with either strands of wool or bronze plaques. If the enemies did not scatter at the sight of this frightening splendor, a phalanx advanced on them with a quick and measured step - a wall of huge shields covered with thick cowhide with large bronze plaques. The shields were so heavy that they were carried by special shield bearers who made up the first row. Behind them came spearmen in several ranks, their thick bristles of bronze stingers sticking out from behind their shields. The warriors were protected by rounded, slightly pointed metal helmets, shells made of thick leather or quilted felt in the form of two wide strips hanging on the shoulders and attached to a wide belt, as well as long skirts made of sheepskins.
The fighters covering the edges of the phalanx had the same protective equipment, and were armed with a spear and an ax. They crushed the enemy. And throwing stones, and the roar of chariots, and the onslaught of the phalanx were aimed primarily at breaking the line and undermining the morale of the enemy. And lightly armed slingers had to grab prisoners and finish off the wounded, not fit for ransom or forced labor.
Such a combat system lasted, however, only about 300 years. In the last quarter of the III millennium BC. it was reformed by the famous Akkadian king Sargon and thanks to this he was able to win impressive victories, uniting Mesopotamia under his rule. He replaced the phalanx with archers. Obviously, the influence of the intensified West-Semitic pastoral tribes, which brought, more precisely, returned to Mesopotamia, the massive use of a powerful compound bow, had an effect. They themselves served as mercenaries in the squads of local rulers.
The nature of the battle now changed: after a powerful shelling with bows and slings, an attack of chariots followed. Then spear-bearing axes joined the battle. Moreover, during the battle, the archers constantly interacted, as more mobile and numerous, with all detachments of the troops and could concentrate the shelling on the desired area of the battle. In addition, the archers themselves were protected by metal or quilted helmets and shells.
By the beginning of the II millennium BC. Western Semitic nomads, skillful and brave fighters, are more and more willingly invited to military service by the rulers of various regions of Mesopotamia, western Syria, and the Eastern Mediterranean. The nomads perfectly mastered the local types of weapons and, using the achievements in the weapons business, created their own weapons complex. They also worked on improving the chariots.
A powerful military-administrative despotism developed in Egypt by the 2nd millennium BC. The whole country was organized in a military way. The pharaohs maintained a huge army. It did not so much protect the borders of Egypt as it was intended to capture and colonize new lands. The army consisted of the personal guard of the pharaoh, detachments of governors of the regions, reserve, training and internal units. In addition to the Egyptians, it began to include detachments of Negroes hired or brought from the occupied territories - in order to keep the local population in obedience. The military successes of Egypt were achieved, apparently, due to the large number, discipline and combat skills of the troops.
The aggressive strategy of Egypt was distinguished by the creation of a reliable system of fortifications in the border areas. On the borders with Nubia in the south and the Sinai desert in the north, giant fortresses arose, alternating with smaller fortifications. Even individual people could not cross the border unnoticed. Frontier troops were based in and around the fortresses. From them, detachments of explorers were formed, whose task included reconnaissance, trade and exchange, diplomatic and military operations. If necessary, reinforcements were brought from the fortresses. The zone of influence of Egypt expanded, providing the flow of gold, elephant tusks, ostrich feathers, leopard and giraffe skins, ebony, copper, vases, wine, dates, livestock, fair-skinned Asian warriors and slaves from the north, black warriors and slaves from the south.
At the end of the second millennium BC. Egypt broke up into several states that fought fiercely among themselves. The northern nomes, like the Mesopotamian states, began to settle West-Semitic shepherd clans in the Nile Delta and include their warriors in their troops, moreover, as independent detachments.
The first to centuries of the II millennium BC. were marked by innovations in military affairs. In Syria, chariots appeared with a reduced and lightweight body and wheels, consisting of a rim and two crossed boards, later replaced by spokes. Another innovation was the widespread use of horses on the battlefields, previously used only to produce hybrids with donkeys - mules. The horses were not so hardy, but they had a good step, high growth, complaisant disposition and, most importantly, they were easy to train.
In the XVIII century. BC. the king of Babylon, Hammurabi (see article "Babylon") united Mesopotamia and defeated the coalition of shepherd tribes. The masses of the defeated in search of shelter poured west, passed the fertile, but cramped valleys of the Eastern Mediterranean and reached the Nile Delta. Then militant nomads from Canaan moved there, but not as peaceful petitioners... On the other side of the border they were met by people close in language and culture. However, the warlike, skillful, brave in battle shepherds were few in number before the army of Egypt, which had united by that time. The outcome of this clash was to be decided by the weapon.
Asian warriors fought with large, sickle-like bronze cleavers, heavy axes of terrible piercing power, powerful bows with heavy arrows, defended themselves with quilted shells and helmets, rectangular shields made of leather and twigs. The victory for the nomadic warriors was ensured by light gigs harnessed by two or four horses; archers (or spearmen, axe-bearers, swordsmen) rose on them, chained from knees to lips in armor made of bronze plates. The sight of horses, chariots, warriors, made, it seemed, of blinding metal, shining with the sun, made a stunning impression on the Egyptian warriors. The Hyksos - as the Egyptians called the conquerors - took control of the northern part of the country for almost two centuries (see the article "Ancient Egypt").
The Egyptians did not waste time during these centuries. They acquired horses and chariots. And although the Hyksos did not borrow protective weapons, the chariot business was staged on an Egyptian scale: instead of single crews, they had thousands of chariots. And now the transformed army smashes the Hyksos, drives them out of the country and, on the shoulders of a defeated enemy, breaks into Canaan, the neighboring regions of the Eastern Mediterranean.
Over time, the onslaught of the Egyptians began to meet a growing rebuff. The small states of Syria and Palestine began to unite in coalitions, and the weapons of local soldiers surpassed the Egyptian ones: metal and leather, metal-reinforced shells and helmets spread and improved. The protective blankets of horses were sheathed with metal, the bodies of chariots were upholstered. But all this did not help much to withstand the disciplined, trained and huge Egyptian army, led by very capable and brave pharaoh commanders.
However, a third force appeared in the region - the mighty Hittite state. Little is known about the military affairs of the Hittites: they had foot and chariot troops, siege equipment and powerful fortresses, beautiful bronze spearheads, daggers and axes, bows with arrows, bronze belts and shells borrowed from metal plates in Canaan, combed bronze helmets of Syrian origin. The power of the Hittite kings was not as heavy as the power of the pharaohs, and local rulers willingly became their supporters.
Elche (inland)
In the XIII century. BC. at the Syrian city of Kadet, a decisive battle took place between the army of Pharaoh Ramesses II and the troops of the Hittite king (see the article “The Hittite Kingdom”). The Egyptian army marched in three large detachments. The distance between them was a day's journey. Their opponent, having concentrated his forces near Kadesh, sent scouts, from whom the pharaoh learned that the enemies were still far away. The Egyptians did not have time to prepare, and the chariots of the allies of the Hittites had already fallen on them. Only the unparalleled courage of the pharaoh, who gathered his soldiers and organized resistance, and the indiscipline of the Syrians, who rushed to rob the Egyptian camp, allowed the detachment of Ramesses II to hold out until the rest of the forces approached. The heroism of the pharaoh did not change, however, the military-political outcome of the campaign: the Hittites ousted the Egyptians from Syria and Palestine.
Another center of military development was located far to the east of Egypt, the Mediterranean and Mesopotamia.
In the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. cattle breeders of the Great Eurasian steppe bring to the borders of the Chinese plain a great Middle Eastern invention - a horse fighting cart, as well as bronze helmets. The northern Chinese state of Shang had a powerful army that was constantly at war with its “barbarian” neighbors, who were captured only to be put to a painful death during sacrifices to the glory of one or another deity. The weapons of the Shan people were flat bronze picks on a long shaft, bronze axes, spears with massive tips, large combat knives, powerful compound bows. They were covered with armor-cuirasses made of thick, hard patent leather and rectangular shields made of wood or woven from rods and covered with patent leather. Their steppe opponents used picks and axes, daggers and sometimes long knives.
Chariots at first gave the steppes undeniable advantages. But when the Chinese borrowed from them and mastered the novelty, what happened in Egypt was repeated: a powerful production base and an abundance of skilled workers made it possible to create a chariot army. In the late Shan period (13th-11th centuries BC), Chinese warriors fought protected by bronze helmets and masks-masks, leather armor and shields covered with bronze disks. But the wonderful weapons did not save the cruel kings from being defeated by their neighbors - the Zhou tribe.