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Osprey Warrior #120
Hittite Warrior
Written by Trevor Bryce, one of the world's leading experts on the Hittites, this book charts the rise and fall of a warrior people famed for their ferocity, who built an empire which stretched from Mesopotamia to Syria and Palestine. Regarded as barbarians by the Egyptians, for a hundred years the Hittites fought a draining war against the Egyptians - the climax of which saw the Hittites defeated and their 400-year-old empire destroyed at the Battle of Qadesh (1274 BC).
Thought to have invented iron, used to forge their weapons, and known for pioneering a revolutionary three-man chariot system, Bryce details the day-to-day lives of Hittite warriors. He examines their training, equipment, tactics, and motivations, as well as their unique attitude to religion which saw them adopt the gods of the people they conquered. The inclusion of a Hittite manual which describes, in detail, the training of horses and the warriors that rode them in battle, as well as original full color illustrations make this book a fascinating and enlightening addition to an often ignored subject.
Thought to have invented iron, used to forge their weapons, and known for pioneering a revolutionary three-man chariot system, Bryce details the day-to-day lives of Hittite warriors. He examines their training, equipment, tactics, and motivations, as well as their unique attitude to religion which saw them adopt the gods of the people they conquered. The inclusion of a Hittite manual which describes, in detail, the training of horses and the warriors that rode them in battle, as well as original full color illustrations make this book a fascinating and enlightening addition to an often ignored subject.
64 pages, Paperback
First published August 21, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 13, 2021
"Hittite Warrior" was a fascinating book. Besides the usual maps, colorful artwork, and photos of artifacts, there were scenes from the docu-drama "The Hittites" by Ekip Film which were a nice touch. The Hittites was a bronze age empire in what is now Turkey. Their methods of warfare and diplomacy were covered. Of course the recruitment and training of the average soldier were included.
Being as they lacked natural defenses, the way they protected the realm was unique, as far as I know. On the outer perimeter they had small watch towers and roving patrols to counter bandits, as well as scavengers trying to make off with harvests from the fields. In the morning a careful tally was taken of those leaving the fortified town to go work in the fields. In the evening the tally was checked to make certain there were no infiltrators. Once everybody was in the gate was locked and sealed till morning. One can only imagine the guards having to answer for a broken seal from their watch.
Warfare was peculiar back then. If the Hittite king felt the need to go to war, failing diplomacy, he tried to either beat the enemy on the field using his chariots or a surprise attack at night on a fortified town. It seems that the whole Hittite army, chariots included, were trained for night warfare. If an enemy city was offered the chance to surrender before the fighting started then they would be spared. If the city had to be taken then it would be looted and burned. The inhabitants would then be transported to a distant part of the empire and resettled. Prisoners of war were incorporated into the Hittite army under their own commanders. They didn't waste good manpower by putting them to the sword.
There were a lot more interesting facts in this excellent book which compliments other books in this series.
Being as they lacked natural defenses, the way they protected the realm was unique, as far as I know. On the outer perimeter they had small watch towers and roving patrols to counter bandits, as well as scavengers trying to make off with harvests from the fields. In the morning a careful tally was taken of those leaving the fortified town to go work in the fields. In the evening the tally was checked to make certain there were no infiltrators. Once everybody was in the gate was locked and sealed till morning. One can only imagine the guards having to answer for a broken seal from their watch.
Warfare was peculiar back then. If the Hittite king felt the need to go to war, failing diplomacy, he tried to either beat the enemy on the field using his chariots or a surprise attack at night on a fortified town. It seems that the whole Hittite army, chariots included, were trained for night warfare. If an enemy city was offered the chance to surrender before the fighting started then they would be spared. If the city had to be taken then it would be looted and burned. The inhabitants would then be transported to a distant part of the empire and resettled. Prisoners of war were incorporated into the Hittite army under their own commanders. They didn't waste good manpower by putting them to the sword.
There were a lot more interesting facts in this excellent book which compliments other books in this series.
February 15, 2021
Some very cool bronze age stuff in this one. Did you know they learned to drive their chariots in the dark so they could go on nigh marches? wild.
February 17, 2011
Part picture book, part history book, this is an excellent introduction to Hittite weapons and warfare for those interested in this topic area of the ancient world. Trevor Bryce is one of the leading historians of the Hittites, so despite being a book pitched to a younger crowd, the information is first rate and reliable. For more books and articles about the Hittites www.judithstarkston.com
December 12, 2025
The info and artwork is solid as always, but as someone primarily interested in using these books as reference for arms and armor, this had precious little variation. Undoubtedly that’s due to the available historical evidence, but it doesn’t make the book any more useful for my purposes.
Also, blurbs accompanying the illustrations are not placed among the main text like in other Osprey books, but are dumped all at once in the back pages. This makes for a disjointed reading experience where you don’t know when to check each illustration or read about its subject. I ended up just reading/looking at them all at once. It’s ironic because the book is clearly structured to accommodate each illustration in sequence (there’s a part specifically about the conquered king being forced to pull a cart, a part about siege warfare, a part about chariot drills, etc) but it’s like they forgot to place the blurbs where they were supposed to go.
Aside from that, most of the other images are pulled heavily from a documentary film about the Hittites, rather than archaeological photos. It sort of made me wonder why I wouldn’t just watch that documentary instead.
情報よかったとイラストが上手，けど僕の1番興味はアーマーとか武器とか。そんなに種類多くはない。みんなはちょっと同じ装備してる。後アート以外，色んな写真は歴史的な写真よりなんかドキュメンタリーの方から使ってる
Also, blurbs accompanying the illustrations are not placed among the main text like in other Osprey books, but are dumped all at once in the back pages. This makes for a disjointed reading experience where you don’t know when to check each illustration or read about its subject. I ended up just reading/looking at them all at once. It’s ironic because the book is clearly structured to accommodate each illustration in sequence (there’s a part specifically about the conquered king being forced to pull a cart, a part about siege warfare, a part about chariot drills, etc) but it’s like they forgot to place the blurbs where they were supposed to go.
Aside from that, most of the other images are pulled heavily from a documentary film about the Hittites, rather than archaeological photos. It sort of made me wonder why I wouldn’t just watch that documentary instead.
情報よかったとイラストが上手，けど僕の1番興味はアーマーとか武器とか。そんなに種類多くはない。みんなはちょっと同じ装備してる。後アート以外，色んな写真は歴史的な写真よりなんかドキュメンタリーの方から使ってる
January 2, 2024
Short, as one expects from an Osprey book, but well written with plenty of sources and anecdotes from historical documentation. There are quite a few depictions of Hittites taken from a 2004 documentary called The Hittites which aren't bad, but are noticeable when other Osprey books primarily utilize images of actual historical artifacts. The author does a good job of covering a range of topics that concern the Hittite military, including relations with vassal states, the difficulties of calling up farmer-soldiers during campaign seasons, and more.
April 11, 2021
Bir solukta okunan hap gibi bilgiler içeren bir kitap. Keşke illüstrasyonlara ek olarak kullanılan belgeselden alınma görüntülerde BBC'in The Dark Lords Of Hattusha adlı yayınından seçkiler yapılsaydı.
November 14, 2023
A bit to simple, I would have wanted some more meat on the bones. Nice with the pictures from the Ekip movie in the text, and some adequate maps.
But the main illustrator is sadly not Angus McBride or Peter Dennis.
But the main illustrator is sadly not Angus McBride or Peter Dennis.
July 22, 2018
Hitit savaş teçhizatı ve taktikleri konusunda bilgilendirici bir çalışma. Görsel ve ilistirasyonlar ile de daha doyurucu olmuş.
Daha fazlası için;
https://goo.gl/kgzcms
Daha fazlası için;
https://goo.gl/kgzcms
April 1, 2025
This is an excellent book that specifically portrays the elements of Hittite campaigning.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews