Empires are built on battlefields, but their survival depends on far more than victory. Behind the extraordinary expansion of ancient Assyria stood a military system of remarkable sophistication, combining powerful armies, advanced siege engineering, disciplined command and the resources of an imperial state.

The Assyrian Army, c. 911?609 BC by Edward Harcourt takes readers into the military world of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, revealing how its soldiers, weapons, commanders and campaigns transformed a kingdom in northern Mesopotamia into one of antiquity's greatest imperial powers.

From heavily armed infantry and mounted archers to massive siege ramps and the assault on fortified cities, this volume explores the practical realities of Assyrian warfare. Drawing upon archaeological evidence, royal inscriptions and the extraordinary military reliefs of Assyrian palaces, Harcourt explains how the army functioned, how its soldiers fought and how its military institutions evolved across three centuries.

Inside, readers will discover:

• The soldiers and weapons of Assyria: professional troops, provincial levies, royal guards, iron weaponry, scale armour, infantry formations, cavalry and the changing role of war chariots.
• The art of siege warfare: battering rams, siege ramps, protective shields, engineers and the coordinated assaults that made fortified cities vulnerable, including the celebrated siege of Lachish.
• The machinery of imperial conquest: military recruitment, royal command, intelligence, supply networks, river crossings and the organisation required to sustain armies across enormous distances.
• The campaigns that shaped an empire: the military achievements of Tiglath-Pileser III, Sargon II, Sennacherib, Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal, culminating in the struggles that brought Assyrian imperial power to an end.

Through engaging historical narrative and detailed military analysis, readers will gain a deeper understanding of the relationships between weapons, tactics, organisation, logistics and political power.

A compelling exploration of one of the ancient world's most formidable military systems, this volume brings the Assyrian soldier, the siege engineer, the cavalryman and the imperial commander into a coherent portrait of warfare in the ancient Near East.

Armies of the Ancient World ? Volume 3