Canaanite progress and research thread
I'm back! After a long period of moving and unforeseen circumstances I'm happy to say I'm finally able to resume modding again. (for now)
The first order of business would be re-doing the Canaanites as I had originally intended to do... a year ago.
However armed with a few more years of better research I am confident I can tackle this beast.
My WIP roster is as follows:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Linguistically this has been a challenge - the names are reconstructed Ugaritic and with these archaic semitic languages the vowels always produce a challenge, thus I have reconstructed them based off of related Arabic and Hebrew words with some Egyptian mentions (Na'ar).
The main source of these terms are A dictionary of the Ugaritic Language in the Alphabetic Tradition by Joaquin Sanmartin and Gregorio del Olmo Lete and The Military Personnel of Ugarit by A.F. Rainey.
The majority of the Canaanite fighting force was mustered from rural levies referred to as ḫptm, these would be lightly armed and unarmored as they are frequently depicted in Egyptian artwork.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
This army would be backed up by archers or tnnm (Akkadian snn) and elite Indo-Aryan influenced charioteers known as maryannu, it is unknown if these charioteers were native Syrians or Indo-Europeans as the origins of the word are Indo-Aryan.
These elite charioteers were nobles appointed by the king, these men owned land and used this money to maintain three-horse chariots and a small retinue. The retinue included the necessary crew required to maintain the chariot and care for the horses as well as a small band of light infantry as an escort, both the horses and the chariot crew would be armored in a way similar to that of Mitanni.
The first line troops are referred to as Na'ar and later appear as Ne'arim in Biblical Hebrew. Egyptians reference these troops at the battle of Qaddesh and imply that they are elite fighting men.
Though armor isn't mentioned it is likely that these men would be armored. It has been suggested by John Macdonald in Leeds University: Oriental Studies - Near Eastern Researches Part ii that the Na'ar may have held a higher rank within the Maryannu class, the evidence of this coming from Ugaritic palace records referring to a "Na'ar of the Maryannu" implying that Na'ar may be a term used for elites of any type, the term literally means 'chosen men' and these men were hand picked by the King. [The Military History of Ancient Israel By Richard A. Gabriel]
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The Canaanite armies were bolstered by foreign troops as well, mentions of units such as the ḫddm implies Hurrian soldiers and further possibilities of reinforcements from the Canaanite state's overlords. These armies would also be backed up by Ahlamu which is a general term applied to nomads in the Fertile Crescent, people such as the Shasu, Sutu or Arameans. These nomads were raiders by nature, take for example the Apiru who raided for flocks and booty. These bands were by no means small, there are records of an Apiru band assaulting Alalakh with a force of roughly 1037 men, 80 of whom being charioteers. This may not seem like much compared to the forces of Assyria or the Hittites but keep in mind that garrisons in Canaanite cities under Egyptian occupation could be as small as 50 men.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
It is not exactly known what the equipment of the local Canaanite troops would be, clubs, bows and spears are frequent in Egyptian depictions however palace records from Ugarit and Akkadian texts frequently mention spearmen or mrḫy this presents a problem with the depiction of units. The majority of Canaanites would likely have had to supply their own weapons. The el-Amarna letters mention Canaanites armed with bows and spears which seems to be consistent with the running theme of the Egyptian depictions, we also see round shields used by Canaanites in some Egyptian depictions, there is also strong evidence for Canaanites adopting the Hittie 'figure-8 shield' and we also see Egyptian artwork depicting Canaanites using large board shields.
It is likely that the mḥrm or professional soldiers of the Canaanite city states were well armed, leather armor, khopesh swords and conical helmets are likely.
Straight swords phased out the Khopesh in Canaanite armies after the arrival of the Sea-Peoples, scale armor also became more common-place among elites.
Egyptian artwork also depicts Canaanites and Syrians in long robes, nomads are often depicted in a garment that wraps across the torso and lesser troops it seems would be wearing a humble skirt around their waist. The Canaanite clothes depicted in Egyptian artwork are colorful and often even the simplest garb has a pattern.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
The Canaanite warriors appear to be well trained, in one Egyptian depiction of the battle of Qadesh shows a Canaanite phalanx advancing in a 10x10 formations with spears and large shields.
Overall the military force of the Canaanites appears similar to Mitanni in its use of tactics and the equipment of its elite troops, like Mitanni the Canaanites placed emphasis on using Chariots in battle to support the infantry.
While heavy armor is seldom depicted in Egyptian artwork we have written evidence to the contrary, palace records from Ugarit and Alalakh reference updtm which corresponds to a similar word in Hebrew meaning 'to cover up' coming from a root meaning 'metal sheeting', it is likely then that these men would be armored in metal.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
There is also evidence for the use of turbans, see the relief below:
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A Canaanite can be seen below with a dagger or short sword in his sash:
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We know for a fact that the Canaanites had walled fortifications that were likely influenced by the Mitannians, these show up in a number of battle depictions including Kadesh, Ashkelon and Tabor.
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The Canaanites were never a united kingdom but rather a cluster of city-states and small kingdoms which depended on trade. It is only natural that these sea-faring people would have a navy.
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The Canaanite navy was by no means lacking, ships were referred to in the Ugaritic language as ḫmšm and their number was not small. A letter from Ugarit requests reinforcements, asking the King to equip 150 ships to go to the aid of an existing naval force in need. It should be noted that the navies of Canaan, especially that of Ugarit were able to defend themselves from the Sea People for a few decades before finally being overrun. It is stated in On the Skirts of Canaan in the Iron Age: Historical and Topographical Researches by Edward Lipiński that the Sea people's incursions to Egypt were for a time halted in Syro-Phoenicia by the Canaanite navies. Through out history the land of Canaan had been renowned for its ship building, in the later Iron Age those who conquered it often employed the Phoenicians to construct their ships and enlist them as marines.
Through out history we see the Canaanites adopting from their neighbors the Hittites, Egypt and Mitanni. Later after the invasions of the Sea-Peoples we see the adoption of straight swords called mdrnm and bucklers called art before this we saw the Canaanites adopt the Figure-8 Shield from the Hittites, fortifications from Mitanni and their chariot tactics from Mitanni as well.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
It's because of this that I deduce the armed forces of the Canaanite city-states would be a capable force, the navy slightly superior to the ground forces due to the quality of ships and it being the local expertise. Though the Canaanite armies would no doubt posses elite and well trained infantry from among their warrior castes the majority of the army would still be unarmored levies, allies from other city states and mercenaries. Though the Canaanites would likely be experienced due to their forces constantly engaging raiding forces of Apiru and other nomadic bandits.
Disclaimer: I am in the process of making these units playable, I may add or remove things during this time. I will update this thread with screenshots and more information.
A massive thanks to my good friend PrinceOfJudah for helping me obtain the necessary research.
-Brivime
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