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I PLAN in my next tabletop battle to use Neil Thomas's biblical rules from Ancient & Medieval Wargaming, pitting Egyptians against Hebrews.

As a twist, I think it will be fun to set up the two armies using the suggested deployments in the book.

That means the Egyptians will consist of three elite chariot squadrons, two units of spearmen (one upgraded to medium armour), two units of close-order archers and a unit of elite Sherden.

The suggested deployment for a pre-Solomon Hebrew army involves two elite units of Simeonite and Ephraimite auxiliary infantry, two units of javelinmen (Gadites and Issacharites), two units of Benjaminite slingers and two units of ordinary auxiliary infantry.

The two armies - Egyptians on the right

However, before proceeding further there are some adjustments I want to make to the rules that will in my opinion improve the game.

Full Hebrew Army

UNDER Neil Thomas's rules in Ancient & Medieval Wargaming, an army always starts with eight units, each consisting of four bases.

I think this system works well for ancient battles, particularly for biblical-era ones where army strengths are usually a matter of speculation.

Having completed painting my latest batch of chariots from Old Glory, I now have enough troops to field the options from Thomas's Israelite Army (1220-940 BC) list.

For Post-Solomonic armies (740-587 BC) he suggests using his Canaanite/Philistine list as "later [Israelite] armies seem to have lost their cutting edge."

Thomas adds: "This can be accounted for by allowing for the increased prominence of the chariot arm, and decline in the quality of foot soldiers."

Note that there is a 200-year between the main list and the start of Post-Solomonic armies.

It is hard to tell whether this is a typo, or perhaps deliberate, allowing the player to gradually move from early Hebrew to later monarchy.*

Anyway, so far I have troops to cover the Hebrew invasion of the Promised Land and the start of the united monarchy, before the split under Solomon's son Rehoboam into the twin monarchies of Israel, aka Samaria, and Judah (the reason I prefer to use Hebrew over Israelite is that it avoids confusion as to what exactly is meant).

My Hebrew forces

Left to right are two units of Simeonites and Ephraimites (auxiliary infantry, light armour, elite), two units of Gadites and Issacharites (javelin-armed open-order infantry, light armour, average), two units of Benjaminites (sling-armed open-order infantry, light armour, average), four units of Other Seven Tribes (auxiliary infantry, light armour, average) and three squadrons of Light Chariots (bow-armed, elite).

The pre-Solomon list reads:

Simeonites & Ephraimites 1-2 units

Gadites & Issacharites 1-2 units

Benjaminites 1-2 units

Other Seven Tribes 2-4 units

This army has the Guerrilla Warfare rule, which allows the Hebrew general to place extra rocky terrain and set an ambush.

That rule is lost for King Solomon's army, but the general instead gets to choose from 1-3 chariot squadrons.

*A typo seems more likely, especially as on the previous page Issachar is spelt Issacher.

Chariotry

Have painted 10 10mm chariots from Old Glory

They are specifically designed for a Solomonic Hebrew army under Neil Thomas's biblical rules in Ancient & Medieval Wargaming, but will be usable by other nations.

Prince Bruncvik

NEAR the south end of the Charles Bridge, ie on the Lesser Town side, is a statue erected in 1884.

It depicts the legendary Prince Bruncvik, who is famed for setting off on an adventure with a magical sword

At one point, so the story goes, he helped a lion defeat a dragon, resulting in the former becoming the prince's faithful companion.

The lion can be seen at the statue's feet

The interesting thing to me is the prince's armour, which seems a mix of medieval and renaissance, but that may say more about the state of my knowledge than about the accuracy of the depiction.

Powder Power

WORK on Prague's imposing Powder Gate began in 1475, and was intended as a grand entrance to the Old Town rather than a practical defensive structure.

Gunpowder made tall fortifications largely redundant, but they still looked good

Originally called New Tower, it was modelled after the 14th century Old Town Bridge Tower.

The building was used to store gunpower in the 1600s, hence its modern name of Powder Gate or Powder Tower.

It was badly damaged in 1757, during Frederick the Great's attempt to capture Prague after conquering Saxony to open the Seven Years War, but was quickly repaired, and received its most recent major restoration last year.

Signing Off

A FINAL set of shouse signs from Prague Old Town.

This stone carving of an elephant dates back to the 1300s, and was placed on an inn - now a hotel - as a symbol of wealth and prestige

The House At The Black Bear - now the Beer Restaurant - was built in 1428 in a merchants' courtyard that had its own high walls and moat to separate it from the rest of the old town

Peacocks are another symbol of wealth, although the building on which this iron peacock spreads its feathers has seen better times, and is now partly a Duck Boutique - a shop selling rubber ducks in various colours and sizes

Hotel Metamorphis was converted from a historic building known as The Blue House, and the sign above the entrance may have had a special religious meaning for a previous owner as the image and wording refer to the seven golden lampstands of Revelation, which symbolised seven early Christian churches, and the woman is probably the Wife of the Lamb, ie the church symbolised as Jesus's bride

Signing On

 MORE signs from Prague Old Town, and the stories behind them.

These bears were originally gilded, and may have referred to the building's use as a tannery (Czech leather makers often used bear skins rather cattle hide), although it was later occupied by an alchemist with connections to Habsburg royalty (bears were an early symbol of alchemy)

No one seems to know the significance of the blue horse - it may have just been a way of identifying the building in days before house numbers became common

The Golden Jug underground hostelry dates back to medieval times, but the name of the next-door Golden Kettle Irish bar is presumably more modern 

These three ducks may indicate the building was also used as a restaurant, but probably was just a house sign symbolising family and nurturing

Signs Of The Times

WALKING around Prague Old Town I have had a lot of fun looking at the district's many house signs from the days of mass illiteracy, and trying to guess what they signify.

This looks as if it should be on a winebar or tavern, but was placed on a housefront in the late 1700s by owners who wanted to highlight the biblical story of Joshua and Caleb bringing a huge bunch of grapes from the Promised Land 

I guessed this golden animal represented a lion, and indeed the house - now a pub-restaurant - previously had a lion as its emblem, but this was changed in 1713 to what is apparently a tiger

Snakes and their venom were associated with Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine, and this one indicates the building was once a pharmacy

This mermaid is a long way from the sea, but has had plenty of time to contemplate her fate, having been installed in 1439 for reasons no longer known

Lesser Prague

OPPOSITE Prague Old Town on the opposite bank of the Vltava is the Lesser Town, which in modern times has become the embassy district.

Access to the Charles Bridge is through an arched gateway guarded by the Lesser Town Bridge Tower, built in the second half of the 15th century and modelled on the Old Town Bridge Tower.

The Lesser Town Bridge Tower was built partly in response to the district being the site of fierce fighting between Hussites and the castle garrison in 1419

Towering Defence

ACCESS to Prague Old Town from the Charles Bridge is protected by the Old Town Bridge Tower, sometimes called the Charles Tower in reference to Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV (1316-78).

It became customary for kings of Bohemia to pass through the tower's arch as part of their coronation procession.

Old Town Bridge Tower ... still impressive

The tower's role in repulsing Swedish attacks in 1648 is commemorated in a Latin inscription: SISTE VIATOR, SED LUBENS, AC VOLENS UBI SISTERE DEBUIT, SED COACTUS GOTHORUM, AC VANDALORUM FUROR

Roughly translated: "Stop, traveller, willingly; here unwillingly were stopped the Goths and their vandalistic fury."