Overlooked Minor Nations
for DBA/DBM Armies

Armies in Historical Books:
Armies of the Ancient Near East and Africa

by Rudy Scott Nelson



These are forces from Biblical history and Anceint African history. Some of the African forces from the Western region are covered in my earlier article on the Western Sahel. Troop types and weapons did not change much from Anceint to Medieval times.

    “Armies of the Anceint near East”, by Stillman and Tallis, WRG Publications.
    “Battles of the Bible”, by Herzog and Gichon, Greenhill Books.
    “The History of Ancient Israel” by Michael Grant, Scribners Press.
    “Holy Bible: Old Testament”
    “A History of the African People”, by Robert July,Waveland Press.
    “ African Kingdoms” , Great Ages of Man series, Time-Life Publishing.

Moab, Edom and Ammon were located east of Palestine and often fought the Hebrews. While they may be considered part of the Syrian-Cannan Lists. The sources comment that their armies were different than the armies of the ‘northern’ and ‘southern’ Cannanite city states. The use of chariots was rare for these cities and may have been available to the nobles or provided by allies.
1 x LCh or 4 Bd (G), 2 x 3 Ax, 2 x 2 Ps, 2 x 3 Bw, 4 x 3 Ax (urban) or 4 Wb (tribal), 1 x LCh or 3 Ax (ally)

The sources indicate that the Hebrews would often try to lure Cannanite forces into hilly terrain in which they had to dismount from their chariots. To reflect this I would allow the Cannanite LCh to be replaced with 3 Bd (as better Armored) or 4 Bw (primary weapon) or 3 Ax similar to the majority of the army. The choice depends on your interpretation of the data.

Midianites are listed as part of DBA list I-6B.
The leaders are not recorded as being chariot mounted so I would use the 3 Ax or 3 Cm option.

The Amalekites were another desert people defeated in a campaign by Saul of the Hebrews. Being located more in the direction of the Sinai than Arabia, The Amalekites may have had fewer camels or may have fought similar to the Midianites. So players may want to use DBA list I-6B or I-6A for their forces. In either case, they were not viewed as much of a threat by the Hebrews.

Khosian (or Bushman) South and East Africa nomadic, 3000 BC-500 AD
1 x 3 Wb (G), 11 x Ps

Pastorial Berbers and Saharan tribes are noted as traveling in oxen drawn wagons and horse drawn chariots prior to the introduction of Camels. Cave drawings show warriors using bows (almost universal), spears (few) clubs or throwing sticks in battle. They also wore long ox hide capes but the use of shields seems rare. Eras are based on the adopted common use of the horse and the camel.

The lists includes pre -1000 Tuaregs, Early Berbers and the warlike Teda Nomads. The Early Moor list indicates Auxila rather than Warband, so players may want to use this classification for list c. Instead of the period for list d, players may want to use the Tuareg list (III69).


    pre-1000 BC = 1 x 3 Bw (G), 6 x 3 BW or 3 Ax, 4 x 2 Ps (Bw), 1 x 2 Ps or 3 Wb
    1000 – 200 BC = 1 x 2 LCh (G); 2 x 2 LCh; 2 x 3 Bw, 4 x 3 Ax or 3 Wb, 2 x 2 Ps
    200 BC – 300 AD = 1 x 2 LH (G), 4 x 2 LH, 4 x 3 Wb, 2 x 2 Ps, 1 x 3Bw or 3Wb
    300-1000 AD = 1 x 3 Cm (G), 3 x 2 LH or 2 Cm, 8 x 3Cm or 3Wb or 2Ps or Mix

Yoruba, Asante, Mende, Tiv, Akan and the Ibo lived in the forest region of coastal West Africa. They were all dominated by local city states and often fought wars against towns controlled by leaders of a different ethnic group and even attacked towns which were rivals within their own ethnic nation. The use of iron started around 400 BC. The first known walled city in West Africa was in 400 AD. One of the best documented cities is that of Benin. Troop classifications are based on artwork as much as narrative texts.

    Tribal 400BC-400AD= 1 x 3 Wb (G), 8 x 3 Wb, 1 x 2 Ps, 2 x 2 Ps or 3 Wb
    Benin 400-1500AD = 1 x 3 Bd (G), 5 x 3 Bd (armored), 6 x 3 Wb or 3 Ax or 2 Ps
    Wolof 400-800 AD = 1 x 3Bd (G), 2 x 3Bd or 4Ax (Slave soldiers), 6 x 3Wb, 3 x 2Ps
    Tribal 400-1500 AD = 1 x 3 Wb (G), 6 x 3 Wb, 4 x 2 Ps, 1 x 3 Ax or 2 Ps (allies)

Overlooked Minor Nations for DBA/DBM Armies


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