e army, but it
was differently constituted from that of the Egyptians, and employed
other tactics.

The Hittite chariots were heavier, and the framework, instead of being a
mere skeleton, was pannelled on the sides, the contour at the top being
sometimes quite square, at other times rudely curved. It was bound
together in the front by two disks of metal, and strengthened by strips
of copper or bronze, which were sometimes plated with silver or gold.
There were no quiver-cases as in Egyptian chariots, for the Hittite
charioteers rarely resorted to the bow and arrow. The occupants of
a chariot were three in number--the driver; the shield-bearer, whose
office it was to protect his companions by means of a shield, sometimes
of a round form, with a segment taken out on each side, and sometimes
square; and finally, the warrior, with his sword and lance. The Hittite
princes whom fortune had brought into relations with Thutmosis III. and
Amenothes II. were not able to avail themselves properly of the latent
forces around them. It was owing probably to the feebleness of their
character or to the turbulence of their barons that we must ascribe the
poor part they played in the revolutions of the Eastern world at this
time. The establishment of a strong military power on their southern
frontier was certain, moreover, to be anything but pleasing to them; if
they preferred not to risk everything by entering into a great struggle
with the invaders, they could, without compromising themselves too
much, harass them with sudden attacks, and intrigue in an underhand way
against them to their own profit. Pharaoh's generals were accustomed
to punish, one after the other, these bands of invading tribes, and the
sculptors duly recorded their names on a pylon at Thebes among those
of the conquered nations, but these disasters had little effect in
restraining the Hittites. They continued, in spite of them, to march
southward, and the letters from the Egyptian governors record their
progress year after year. They had a hand in all the plots which were
being hatched among the Syrians, and all the disaffected who wished
to be free from foreign oppression--such as Abdashirti and his son
Aziru--addressed themselves to them for help in the way of chariots and
men.*

* Aziru defends himself in one of his letters against the
accusation of having received four messengers from the King
of the Khati, while he refused to receive those from