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[[File:Ashurnasipal with official600px-Victory_stele_of_Naram_Sin_9066.jpg|thumbnail|Figure 31. An Assyrian official meeting with the Assyrian Stele of Naram-Sin (2254–2218 BC), an Akkadian king., standing over his enemies and who likely employed professional soldiers in his empire as he created a larger empire|200px]]
Warfare has been a constant throughout human history and conflict can certainly be traced back to our hominid ancestors in our evolutionary past. While technology today is often used as the distinguishing characteristic of warfare, the development of the professional army, that is fulltime soldiers and formations of a standing army, was also an important factor in making warfare an affair conducted throughout the year and allowed the establishment of large-scale states and empires to be possible.<ref>For general information about the history of war and armies, see: Chaliand, Gérard, ed. 1994. ''The Art of War in World History: From Antiquity to the Nuclear Age''. Berkeley: University of California Press.</ref> This also paved the way for early states and empires to compete more with each other, helping to develop a variety of other social and technical innovations, including shaping our own world.
In early warfare, from what we can tell when textual sources first become available to us at around the 3rd millennium BC, men would be conscripted for specific campaigns or years when kings were fighting neighboring kingdoms, where the conscripted soldiers would not be required to serve for very long periods and would simply return to their previous employment/professions after the campaign would finish.<ref>For information about early conscription in warfare in city-states, see: Trigger, Bruce G. 2007. ''Understanding Early Civilizations: A Comparative Study''. 1. paperback ed. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press.</ref> By the mid 3rd millennium BC, there were attempts to create standing armies of professional soldiers.<ref>For information on early professional armies in Mesopotamia, see Bauer, S. Wise. 2007. ''The History of the Ancient World: From the Earliest Accounts to the Fall of Rome''. 1st ed. New York: W.W. Norton, pg. 167.</ref> Nevertheless, the presence of war helped to solidify the importance of kingship, while also giving kings greater authority in governing and at time economic affairs. The Akkadian army was one of the first empires and its constant state of warfare in the early period of its first king, Sargon, required soldiers to be constantly campaigning rather than fighting on only a temporary basis (Figure 1).<ref> For information about the Akkadian Empire, starting from Sargon and his likely military developments, see: Spielvogel, Jackson J. 2015. ''Western Civilization''. Ninth edition. Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning, pg. 13.</ref> This demonstrated the need to create a system of soldiers who could at least be contracted or employed for a period of time longer than the typical agricultural cycle, or rather when their farm labor was not required.
[[File:600px-Victory_stele_of_Naram_Sin_9066Ramesses II on chariot.jpgpng|thumbnail|Figure 12. Stele Image of NaramRamses II on a chariot. Horse-Sin (2254–2218 drawn chariots, by the late 2nd millennium BC), an Akkadian king, standing over his enemies became associated with elite troops and who likely employed professional soldiers in his empire as he created a larger empire|200pxroyalty.]]
Another early king we know who attempted to make a professional army was Shulgi (c. 2094-2047 BC), a king who ruled the empire of Ur (the so-called Ur III Empire). <ref> For information on Shulgi and his reforms, including related to the military, see: Foster, Benjamin R. 2015. ''The Age of Agade: Inventing Empire in Ancient Mesopotamia''. New York, NY: Routledge.</ref> While it is not clear what he did exactly, he did make the army more professional, full-time, permanent, and was a force that could easily called upon as needed. This suggests that the army now consisted of soldiers who were strictly employed as professional soldiers rather than having other occupations, although the details of how this was done and the extent of this are not very clear.
In the Late Bronze Age (1600-1200 BC), as empires became larger and increasingly encountered foreign populations, the use of vassal states and the troops they could raise to augment the main army became a new development. This type of development allowed foreigners now to be a part of the army, although their full integration was likely still sometime away, as these foreign units likely served under their own leaders and units.<ref>Drews, Robert. 1996. The End of the Bronze Age: Changes in Warfare and the Catastrophe Ca. 1200 BC. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, pg. 151.</ref> Other developments include the use of elite troops, such as the chariotry by ancient Egypt (Figure 2), as shock troops who were better trained and equipped. Early development of iron, present in the Hittite Empire, also gave that kingdom an advantage in tools. These differences in equipment and training may have created incentives to provide more resources to at least some of the soldiers of the state, developing a potential officer and professional core that would be complemented with conscripted regulars.<ref>Fields, Nic, and Brian Delf. 2006. Bronze Age War Chariots. New Vanguard 119. Oxford ; New York: Osprey.</ref> These types of early, perhaps semi-professional armies, Egypt and the Hittites, fought each other in a famous battle at Kadesh. In both cases, it is clear that the armies were divided into elite units where supplemented by other, regular units. <ref>Meskell, Lynn. 2004. Private Life in New Kingdom Egypt. Princeton, N.J.; Woodstock: Princeton University Press.</ref> What was beginning to change in warfare in the Near East and the military, in general, was war not only began to be professional but it also occurred in new and different places. This included the high seas, such as the Mediterranean, where navies developed and specialized troops who were trained to fight on ships developed, perhaps for the first time.<ref>Wachsmann, Shelley. 2009. Seagoing Ships and Seamanship in the Bronze Age Levant. 2. print. Ed Rachal Foundation Nautical Archaeology Series. College Station, Tex: Texas A & M Univ. Press.</ref>
==Key Reforms==
[[File:Ashurnasipal with official.jpg|thumbnail|Figure 3. An Assyrian official meeting with the Assyrian king.]]While these early armies may be considered professional and represent transformations in how warfare was conducted with standing armies, it was not until key reforms under the Neo-Assyrian Empire (911-612 BC) do we now see consistent use of professional armies that becomes prominent in the Near East from this period onwards. This begins to spreads to Europe and eventually influence the Roman Empire.<ref>For information about the Neo-Assyrian state and its development, see: Radner, Karen. 2015. ''Ancient Assyria: A Very Short Introduction''. First edition. Very Short Introductions 424. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.</ref> However, what preceded the professionalization of the military was the professionalization of the provincial and administrative system. In other words, running an empire became a more professional task. Beginning in the 9th century BC, we begin to see a new pattern, where kings appear to depend more on trained high officials who are eunuchs and a host of other bureaucratic officials began to be associated with the royal court and provinces. The empire appears to depend on officials, or “Great Ones,” who obtained their position, in part, based on merit and not simply through family or lineage connections to the royal family. <ref>For more information, see: Karlsson, Mattias. 2016. Relations of Power in Early Neo-Assyrian State Ideology. Studies in Ancient Near Eastern Records, volume 10. Boston: De Gruyter, pg. 38.</ref> Thus, it was the realization that professional administration was needed that likely suggested that other aspects of empire needed to become professional (Figure 3).
In the reign of Tiglath-pileser III (744-727 BC), new military reforms took place within the Neo-Assyrian state that saw a standing professional army develop, similar to what had been done in the third millennium BC, but now with more specialized soldiers along with auxiliary soldiers from various parts of the empire being incorporated into the military. These army units began to have distinct ranks and be part of specialized units within the military (Figure 4).<ref> For general information on the military reforms of Tigleth-Pileser III, see: Gabriel, Richard A. 2002. ''The Great Armies of Antiquity''. Westport, Conn: Praeger, pg. 127. For other information about Tigleth-Pileser III and his military reforms, see also: Anspacher, Abraham S. 2009. Tiglath Pileser III. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press.</ref> This included the chariotry, cavalry, and infantry units; specialized units also included naval units consisting of Phoenicians. Other specialized soldiers include engineering units used for siege warfare. In addition, the army’s command structure became more sophisticated with developed ranks, similar to modern militaries. Several different large and independent armies were created within the state, as this helped to ensure that no single military unit would have unrestrained power and threaten the king’s authority. While kings still often led battles, generals now also began to have greater authority to lead armies without the presence of the king. The armies were now always able to fight in any time of the year, giving them a major advantage over enemies who were still constrained by labor shortages during the agriculture season, when men would have been needed to work the fields. Although this facilitated the Neo-Assyrian Empire’s ability to conduct warfare and expand in many areas, and sometimes simultaneously, generals could still potentially be threats to the throne. Foreigners were also given opportunities to be involved in the military, which gave them a way to socially rise and benefit from the Neo-Assyrian Empire. Auxiliary and support troops, but also foreign-born officers, began to be evident in the Assyrian state. <ref>Radner, Karen. 2015. Ancient Assyria: A Very Short Introduction. First edition. Very Short Introductions 424. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, pg. 97.</ref> Furthermore, the Neo-Assyrians maintained the traditional conscription of its citizens as needed, which helped it attain reserve soldiers that were sometimes needed in times of crises or men shortages.
