Warfare

The maintenance of armies and the defense of cities were of the highest concern for the Canaanites and Israelites. Over the course of time, styles of warfare and weaponry evolved in the southern Levant. Fortified cities were built for defense against marauding bands and enemy armies as early as 3000 BCE. Most of the evidence for early warfare comes from "Warrior tombs" of the Middle Bronze Age. Warriors were equipped with a bronze belt, a "duckbill" axe or a narrow, chisel-shaped axe, a spear and a leaf-shaped dagger with a wooden handle and a stone pommel. Large rounded stones were also fastened to handles to create the mace, a primitive blunt instrument. [Manners and Customs] [University of Pennsylvania Museum]

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