aracter of their equipment.
The blacksmith's art had made such progress among the Assyrians since
the times of Thutmosis III. and Ramses IL, that both the character and
the materials of the armour were entirely changed.

[Illustration: 185a.jpg HARNESS OF THE HORSES]

Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from G. Rawlinson.

[Illustration: 185b.jpg PIKEMAN]

While the Egyptian of old entered into the contest almost naked, and
without other defence than a padded cap, a light shield, and a leather
apron, the Assyrian of the new age set out for war almost cased in
metal. The pikemen and archers of whom the infantry of the line was
composed wore a copper or iron helmet, conical in form, and having
cheek-pieces covering the ears; they were clad in a sort of leathern
shirt covered with plates or imbricated scales of metal, which protected
the body and the upper part of the arm; a quilted and padded loin-cloth
came over the haunches, while close-fitting trousers, and buskins laced
up in the front, completed their attire. The pikemen were armed with a
lance six feet long, a cutlass or short sword passed through the girdle,
and an enormous shield, sometimes round and convex, sometimes arched at
the top and square at the bottom. The bowmen did not encumber themselves
with a buckler, but carried, in addition to the bow and quiver,
a poignard or mace. The light infantry consisted of pikemen and
archers--each of whom wore a crested helmet and a round shield of
wicker-work--of slingers and club-bearers, as well as of men armed with
the two-bladed battle-axe. The chariots were heavier and larger than
those of the Egyptians. They had high, strongly made wheels with eight
spokes, and the body of the vehicle rested directly on the axle; the
panels were of solid wood, sometimes covered with embossed or carved
metal, but frequently painted; they were further decorated sometimes
with gold, silver, or ivory mountings, and with precious stones. The
pole, which was long and heavy, ended in a boss of carved wood or
incised metal, representing a flower, a rosette, the muzzle of a lion,
or a horse's head. It was attached to the axle under the floor of the
vehicle, and as it had to bear a great strain, it was not only fixed to
this point by leather thongs such as were employed in Egypt, but also
bound to the front of the chariot by a crossbar shaped like a spindle,
and covered with embroidered stuff--an arrangement which prevented its
becoming detached