[Illustration:  194.jpg AN ASSYRIAN CAMP]

     Drawn by Boudier, from Layard.

The tent-poles at the angles of these habitations were plated with metal, and terminated at their upper extremities in figures of goats and other animals made of the same material.  The tents of the soldiers, were conical in form, and each was maintained in its position by a forked pole placed inside.  They contained the ordinary requirements of the peasant—–­bed and head-rest, table with legs like those of a gazelle, stools and folding-chairs; the household utensils and the provisions hung from the forks of the support.  The monuments, which usually give few details of humble life, are remarkable for their complete reproductions of the daily scenes in the camp.  We see on them, the soldier making his bed, grinding corn, dressing the carcase of a sheep, which he had just killed, or pouring out wine; the pot boiling on the fire is watched by the vigilant eye of a trooper or of a woman, while those not actively employed are grouped together in twos and threes, eating, drinking, and chatting.  A certain number of priests and soothsayers accompanied the army, but they did not bring the statues of their gods with them, the only emblems of the divinities seen in battle being the two royal ensigns, one representing Assur as lord of the territory, borne on a single bull and bending his bow, while the other depicted him standing on two bulls as King of Assyria.* An altar smoked before the chariot on which these two standards were planted, and every night and morning the prince and his nobles laid offerings upon it, and recited prayers before it for the well-being of the army.

Military tactics had not made much progress since the time of the great Egyptian invasions.  The Assyrian generals set out in haste from Nineveh or Assur in the hope of surprising their enemy, and they often succeeded in penetrating into the very heart of his country before he had time to mobilise or concentrate his forces.  The work of subduing him was performed piecemeal; they devastated his fields, robbed his orchards, and, marching all through the night,** they would arrive with such suddenness before one or other of his towns, that he would have no time to organise a defence.  Most of their campaigns were mere forced marches across plains and mountains, without regular sieges or pitched battles.

* It is possible that each of these standards corresponded to some dignity of the sovereign; the first belonged to him, inasmuch as he was shar kishshati, “king of the regions,” and the other, by virtue of his office, of shar Ashshur, “King of Assyria.”

     ** Assurnazirpal mentions several night marches, which
     enabled him to reach the heart of the enemy’s country.

[Illustration:  196.jpg A FORTIFIED TOWN]