Hittite Empire

This post covers my 15mm Hittite army.  It includes enough troops to cover both variants of the Hittite Empire DBA list (I/24 a and b), from 1380 - 1180 BC.  The Hittites ruled most of Anatolia and at times parts of Syria, Phoenicia and Mesopotamia.  They fought many wars against the Egyptians (most notably at the battle of Kadesh) and other near eastern peoples.  Their kingdom came to an end in the 12th century BC with the onslaught of the Sea Peoples.

The Hittites are the third and last of my biblical army trio to be posted to my blog.  They were painted at roughly the same time as the New Kingdom Egyptians and Canaanites (see earlier posts) in 2004 or 2005.  The Hittites are my favorite of the three for several reasons.  I find their history very interesting.  There are some spectacular ruins of their capital, Hattusas, at Bogazkoy in modern Turkey that I'd love to visit.  Plus, their rulers had great names.  My favorite is Suppiluliumas (reigned 1350-1322 BC).  How cool is that name?

Click on the pictures for close-ups.  Figure manufacturers are noted in each picture.

First is the usual picture of the entire army.

These are the archers (2x2Ps) and the subject levies (1x7Hd) from one of the many Anatolian or Syrian cities the Hittites ruled.  The archers are from Falcon UK and the levies from Old Glory.

The spearmen (6x3Sp) are the backbone of the army.  These are my favorite figures in the army.  They are a mix of Essex (the ones with shields) and Falcon UK (without shields).  The Falcon figures come with separate shields, but I chose not to attach them because they are holding their spear with both hands and I like how they look without the shields.  They are wearing the typically bright clothing that the Hittites preferred.

This is the general's chariot from Essex Miniatures.  The Hittite 3-crew chariots can serve as either a light or heavy chariot depending on which army list you're playing.  The early period features all light chariots, with a mix of light and heavy chariots in the later period.

 Here are the other chariots.  The one in the middle is from Essex and the left and right ones from Falcon UK.  As I noted in the post on my Canaanites, I often use one of their chariots as a Syrian subject when playing with the Hittites.

Last is the camp.  This is one of my favorite camps that I've made and is newer than the rest of the army.  I painted it in the winter of 2009-10.  The Hittite king Suppiluliumas is being attended by scribes while in front of the royal tent.  In the background, a column of slaves is bringing up supplies.  The tent is from Baueda, the king and scribes from Museum, the slaves and the royal guard from Essex, the slave guards from Old Glory, and the ram's head standard from Irregular.