Below is the eleventh in a series of articles from Mark McLaughlin showcasing the 16 civilizations in Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East. You can find the first ten articles in the series here.
For thus hath the Lord spoken unto me, Like as the lion and the young lion roaring on his prey, when a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him, he will not be afraid of their voice, nor abase himself for the noise of them: so shall the Lord of hosts come down to fight for mount Zion, and for the hill thereof
Isaiah 31:4
The Israelites are familiar to us mostly because the Old Testament is their story, much of which was written down while they were captives of Babylon. Although warlike, they did not seek to build a vast empire, but instead wanted to carve out a homeland where they could live and worship their one, true god. Many tribes and kingdoms stood in their path – and were dealt with ruthlessly, as the Bible so graphically tells us. Briefly a regional power, their United Monarchy which reached its height under Kings David and Solomon dissolved to form two separate kingdoms – Judah and Israel. The first fell to the Assyrians in 722 BC, and the second to the Babylonians 150 years later. Freed from captivity and allowed to rebuild by Cyrus the Great, Israel would later exist as a client state or province of numerous ancient empires, including that of Rome.
In the game, the Israelites are unique in two respects. First, they begin with the Monotheism card, which not only gives them two victory points rather than the usual one for a Deity, but also gives them additional victory points for capturing Deities. To reflect the compactness of their kingdom, they gain bonus victory points for cities in and around their core. Egypt can be a serious threat, or, as they were historically, a strong ally, and one happy to let Israel guard its frontiers against the peoples of Mesopotamia and Anatolia.
Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East: Meet the Sumerians
Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East: Meet the Egyptians
Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East: Meet the Elamites
Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East: Meet the Assyrians
Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East: Meet the Akkadians
Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East: Meet the Babylonians
Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East: Meet the Hittites
Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East: Meet the Mittani
Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East: Meet the Sea Peoples
Author: Mark McLaughlin
finally Israelite’s. So many war games or Miniature companies do not put them in even though the best selling book(BIBLE) is all about them. The Bible has many well known stories about wars.
The Israelite in this game is not necessarily out to conquer the world – their strengths and bonuses are tied to their home area and the areas surrounding it; that is where they gain bonuses in competition (ie war) and extra victory points. Starting with Monotheism is a big boost – they do not have to spend cards/mina/disks to establish a religion, as they start with one – and a powerful one. Monotheism is a big boost…..and, frankly, being stuck in the middle with great empires all around them, they can use the help.
I have run numerous miniatures games with Israelites – last fall I did Deborah’s battle at Mt. Tabor….complete with drizzle and rain that turned the ground into mud, sucking down the wheels of the enemy chariots….and I also did the battle where the king of judah joined with four other kings to defeat the assyrians….my developer, Fred Schachter, by the way, is the guy who designed Siege of Jerusalem