The army in Babylonia from the 6th to the 4th century B.C. ; L'armée en Babylonie du 6ème au 4ème siècle av. n. è

Abstract

Studying the Army in Babylonia between the 6th and the 4th century BCE consists less of a "war study" than an essay on economic, social and institutional history as Cuneiform documentation originating from this period consist essentially of administrative and economic texts. The composition of the military which allowed the emergence and expansion of the Neo Babylonian empire (622 -539 BCE), is studied from the perspective of three social backgrounds which contributed to its establishment: The temples which provided the royal army with support troops, issued from their oblates, a category of individuals denied of freedom who were dedicated to the temple. Some of them were trained in handling weapons. The Babylonian traditional elites who paid a fee to compensate for the service. Their participation developed mainly from the Achaemenid Period Military colonists who were non-Babylonian soldiers receiving an allotment from the Crown in exchange of a fee paid in kind and a duty of military service From 539 BCE onward, the Babylonian army was probably dismantled following the Babylonian conquest by Cyrus the Great and the region was integrated to the new Achaemenid empire (539 -331 BCE). Nonetheless, institutional structures enabling its establishment were maintained or developed in the case of the contribution of the notability, providing soldiers but also workers travelling to Persia to participate in the large construction works of the Royal administration. In a similar way, the Achaemenid kings made use of the rich agricultural lands in order to pursue the policy consisting of allocating lands to soldiers. ; Traiter de l'armée en Babylonie du VIe au IVe siècle av. n. è. consiste moins en une étude sur la guerre qu'en un essai d'histoire économique, sociale et institutionnelle, puisque la documentation cunéiforme produite à cette époque est constituée essentiellement de sources de la pratique. La nature de l'armée qui permit l'émergence et l'expansion de l'empire néo-babylonien (622-539 av. n. è.) a été étudiée à ...