Peasants in the Military

According to pg. 54, Joannes presents the idea that the army consisted of Assyrian peasants that were recruited and expected to give the king annual military service. Ashur's troops especially were expected to close territories such as mountainous valleys in east Assyria or the plain of Upper Mesopotamia. Therefore, the peasants were most likely familiar with the region they were closing in on. There were many Assyrian peasants available to fight in the military, which made the Assyrian army strong in terms of its number of troops, hence they were able to overpower other armies.

Peasants are agricultural workers that work in the fields and some must have owned or rented some of the the land they were closing in on. The main focus of the Assyrian military was to gain permanent superiority over land and its adversaries. Assyria comprised mainly of rural population where many of the peasants resided. With many peasants to choose from, the military was able to create a diversified army that was able to incorporate vast territories into the original kingdom and transform the original empire into a multi-ethnic empire.