ANTIQUITIES DreVos

Assyriologists and archaeologists have long been interested in the study of the history of the Assyrian army. Despite this interest in the topic, however, very few monographic syntheses on the Assyrian army exist. Generally speaking our knowledge about the military history of Assyria and the details of the structure of the Assyrian army is increasing, but no synthesis which covers all the aspects of the topic has yet been written. There is a large number of short articles on the Assyrian army, which include general summaries of the topic, and articles elaborating on certain

aspects of the history of the Assyrian military, such as the history of certain campaigns, the branches of service (for example the chariotry, the supply, reserves and logistics), weaponry, the tactical reinterpretation of certain battles in Assyrian military history, reconstruction of the Assyrian (military) intelligence system, and nowadays the reconstruction of the different aspects of the structure of the Assyrian army. Much emphasis has been laid on the study of foreign elements in the Assyrian army. Undoubtedly, the reason for the three hundred years of Assyrian

military success is hidden in these details. However, little research has been conducted so far with a view to reconstruct the Assyrian army from its representations in Assyrian sculpture.