The strategy underpinning Homeric warfare, that of the period of the Trojan War, finds its basis in the Hittite records regarding Wilusa (Troy), Western Anatolia, and the Mycenaean Greek-speaking Kingdom of Ahhiyawa (Achaea). The records suggest that the Ahhiyawan mode of warfare was not based around a brute force assault against Troy. Instead, it methodically isolated Troy from its allies, destroyed its economy, and strained its supplies. This strategy also ensured that Troy’s Hittite allies, who politically dominated Anatolia, did not intervene. Thus, Homeric warfare was a sophisticated, multi-faceted affair, which looked not only to destroy a rival’s force, but also his very ability to fight and defend himself. The actual siege of Troy was simply the final act of this ten-year-long conflict.
The Hittite angle
Relative to the Hittite evidence, a discussion of Homeric warfare need not limit itself to weapons and tactics. Historical Homeric warfare, as seen in the Bronze Age records, reflects a multi-faceted strategy expected in any historical conflict. The Trojan War in the is probably the record of one of several Late Bronze Age conflicts involving the Mycenaean Greekspeaking Kingdom of Ahhiyawa, the Western Anatolian states, and the Hittite Empire. Ultimately, like most wars, it centred on economics and
