Mary White is a research fellow since 2021.
Research Project: The Use of Horses in Battle – From the Middle Bronze Age to the Dawn of the Iron Age in the Levant
With the introduction of horses and chariots in the MB IIA, they quickly became a “game changer” in the battle field and give birth to a new class of weapons in the MBA arms race. To comprehend the impact the MB arms race had on battlefield performance, one must understand the investment required for training both horses and men as well monumental facilities investment required housing, training, equipping and supporting an effective Chariot Corp.
The purpose of this study is an attempt to fill the gaps between epigraphic data (e.g., Kikkuli text et al);archaeological architecture (i.e., ancient horse stables); archaeozoology (e.g., location of horse bone finds); history for understanding the location of chariot battles and the results of experimental archaeology (e.g., reconstruction and testing Egyptian chariots as a battle platform and training horses) to gain a an understand for how kingdom-based Chariot Corps were established as part of the chariot arms race. This includes elaboration and validation of the idea of a kingdom funded, monumental Chariot Corps impacted historical alignment of kingdom structures throughout the BA. Therefore, this study will also present data to determine the validity of an idea that kings with the largest, skilled Chariot Corps became kingdoms or empires while kings without access to a large Chariot Corp and/or adequate training became vassals in the Ancient Near East.